Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez will start the 2020 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from pole position. They also did so in 2019, providing them with a chance to correct the greatest tragedy of the 2019 edition of the French endurance classic.
The #7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid was firmly leading Le Mans in 2019. Some particularly fantastic driving from Conway had left the team with a healthy gap back to the #8 sister car of Sebastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Fernando Alonso, which were already on their way to winning the world championship.
Buemi, Nakajima and Alonso had already taken Toyota’s maiden Le Mans win the year before and looked set to finish second behind the #7 car, which had been the dominant car throughout the day. Until it all fell apart in the final hour.
With Lopez behind the wheel, the #7 Toyota suffered an apparent front right puncture. Luckily for the Argentinean, the puncture occurred late in the lap, so he was able to make it to the pits without losing much of the two-minute gap he had over Nakajima. Lopez pitted, Toyota bolted on a new front right and sent him back on his way.
The problem, however, was not solved. The tyre pressure system, that had detected the apparent puncture on the old tyre, still indicated the front right tyre was puncture. This time, with an entire lap to go, Lopez was forced to crawl back to the pits again. This time, the consequences were much more severe as it handed the lead to Nakajima after a stunning 191-lap period in which the #7 Toyota held the lead.
Nakajima, Buemi and Alonso went on to win their second consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans and seal the world title, while Conway, Kobayashi and Lopez were left heartbroken and disillusioned.
The #7 crew’s feelings were perfectly put into words by Kobayashi in the press conference directly after the race.
“Right now, I don’t like Le Mans. For the moment. Sebastien tried six times and won two times. This is my fourth one, so maybe the next one is our chance. Maybe.
We will never give up, but for the moment, as you know, I think we tried our best. I tried really hard to win this race and it looked good for 23 hours and we lost it. It’s hard to take it. But this is life, this is racing, I know.”
It was later revealed that the issue was caused by an incorrectly wired tyre sensor. As it turned out, the car did have a puncture, but it was to the rear left, not the right front.
It is the cruel reality that is Le Mans: the smallest things can make the difference. But after such a dominant 23 hours, the result was a difficult one to accept. Even Fernando Alonso, adding another win to his rich resume, admitted that the race had not been theirs to win.
“This one was definitely completely unexpected,” the Spaniard said. “As Kazuki said, I think we didn’t have the pace for 24 hours. We were not as quick as car #7, and definitely, we didn’t deserve to win on track. Luck was a big factor today.
“Sometimes in motorsport, I remember watching on television, Kazuki stopped one minute before the end in 2016. What can you do in those cases? They are incredibly hard.
“I experienced those moments as well, fighting for the world championship with McLaren in 2007, with Ferrari in 2010 and 2012. When you arrive at the last moment and are not able to complete the job, it feels bad.
And I feel sad, you know, and I feel bad for my team-mates because they are not only team-mates, they are friends as well. They deserved it today. The race chose us to win it, and we take it.”
Alonso, Buemi and Nakajima took the win, but there were some in attendance that definitely disagreed. That was evidenced by a scene of quiet protest in the paddock after the race had finished. Written in sharpie on the canvas at Toyota’s hospitality unit, the words: ‘What puncture?’
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