One minute and 22 seconds. That was all that separated Toyota from a sixth consecutive victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours. And what shouldn’t be forgotten is what a historically slim margin that is in the context of the French enduro that was celebrating its centenary running.
Since World War II, there have only been 10 occasions on which the two leading cars have even finished on the same lap, and 1m22s puts the 2023 race fourth on the list of closest conclusions with an officially-timed margin of victory behind the 2011, 2019 and 2004 contests.
It would be facile to suggest it was Ryo Hirakawa’s half-spin aboard the #8 Toyota GR010 HYBRID at Arnage with two hours to go that made the difference. Yes, the time lost (around a minute on-track and another two in the pits) obviously equates to much more than the final winning margin. But Hirakawa had been told to go for it, because pushing to the limit was the only way he was going to catch Antonio Giovinazzi in the leading #51 Ferrari 499P.
Hirakawa had been around 16s adrift at the time of his off, less than the 30s or so the Ferrari would lose in the final hour performing a power cycle at its pitstop. Hindsight is 20/20 and again, it would be too easy to say Hirakawa should have taken it a little easier. It was heartening to see his Toyota colleagues, especially Brendon Hartley, the man who had done so much to put the pressure on Ferrari, coming out in his defence post-race.
Indeed, considering everything that was thrown Toyota’s way in the run-up to Le Mans, with the organisers seemingly desperate to avoid another rout by the Japanese manufacturer after its dominant start to the World Endurance Championship season, the boys and girls at the squad’s Cologne and Higashi-Fuji bases should be proud of their efforts. And the fact that Toyota came so close to overcoming the additional hurdles put in its way by the FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest will have no doubt earned the marque plenty of new admirers after several years of having things all its own way.
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Such sentiments were echoed by Toyota driver/team principal Kamui Kobayashi, who was part of the #7 crew that was eliminated in a somewhat bizarre multi-car incident at Tertre Rouge triggered by a slow zone around the eight-hour mark.
Source: Autosport