Toyota Gazoo Racing’s team president Toshio Sato says the Japanese outfit will return to Le Mans “stronger and more determined to win” after missing out on this year’s victory.
The No.5 car looked set to take a clear victory but Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima missed out on the final lap after a late reliability problem.
Nakajima was at the wheel when the car suffered a loss of power. He stopped on the main straight with one lap to go and was overtaken by the No.2 Porsche, which went on to win.
The car was able to get back going and cross the finish line but the final lap of the Circuit de la Sarthe was too slow for the No.5 to be classified.
“I am incredibly proud of our team effort, not just today but since Le Mans last year,” Sato said. “Thank you to the team in Higashi-Fuji and Cologne, as well as our partners Oreca.
“The way we have responded to the pain of our 2015 disappointment, by developing an all-new chassis and powertrain in a short timeframe, has been impressive and the performance of the TS050 HYBRID was strong.
“We worked as one team and took part in an amazing Le Mans 24 Hours. Congratulations to Porsche on its victory. I have no words to describe our emotions.
“It is simply heartbreaking but we will return stronger and more determined to win.”
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