The Japanese manufacturer has been a contender at the legendary Le Mans 24 Hour race for a number of years now, but hasn't quite been able to match its German opposition. Audi has, of course, dominated over the past decade, but was dethroned by Porsche last year. All three manufacturers came to Le Mans this year with new cars effectively. The Porsche wasn't all-new, but was three-quarters of the way there. The Audi was brand new and no longer featured a flywheel hybrid system but a 4.0-litre six-cylinder diesel-hybrid with a lithium-ion battery pack producing a combined horsepower rating in excess of 1,000 horses. In a car weighing about 900 kilos, that's more than a thousand horsepower per tonne. Before the race though, Audi was concerned about race pace of course, but reliability more so. They had been running behind schedule, and hadn't quite been able to iron out the kinks prior to Le Mans. And reliability, above all, is paramount at Le Mans.
2016 Le Mans - Porsche
A torrential downpour hit just as the cars lined up on the grid prior to their 3pm start on Saturday. The race would start under the safety car. For the majority of the first hour, even after the rain abated, the entire grid crawled around the famous circuit behind the safety car. The officials obviously weren't taking any chances. And before the first hour passed, there was trouble in the Audi pits as the Number 7 Audi of Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler had to be brought in to the garage replace a turbocharger. When the racing began in earnest, the Porsches and Toyotas fought for the lead as the Number 8 Audi of Lucas di Grassi, Loic Duval and Oliver Jarvis started to drop back. As night fell, the Porsches and Toyotas went at it hammer-and-tong. But it wasn't long before the gremlins struck the leading Porsche of current World Endurance champions Mark Webber, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley - putting them out of contention.
2016 Le Mans - Audi
Toyota, however, was not only able to match Porsche's pace but they appeared to have the edge in fuel efficiency as well - which is key at Le Mans. And so, as dawn appeared, it was a three-way battle for the lead between the Number 5 Toyota of Anthony Davidson, Sebastian Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima, the Number 6 Toyota of Stephain Sarrazin, Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi, and the Number 2 Porsche of Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb. The Toyotas themselves were battling for the lead, until an incredible stint from Buemi put them clearly in the lead. In the closing stages, the Number 6 Toyota had to be brought into the pits for floor repair - leaving the battle to the sole Toyota and Porsche. A battle, it seemed, that appeared to be a forgone conclusion. No matter what Porsche tried, Toyota seemed to have the measure of them in 2016. The gap settled into 30 seconds, and pretty much stayed there. Jani knew he couldn't catch the leading Toyota and virtually gave up the chase - content to bring the car home in second place.
24 Hours Le Mans - Toyota
But, with only two minutes to go - before the Number 6 car could cross the start-finish line to begin the final lap it began slowing and came to a dead stop in the middle of the main straight. All of Le Mans went silent, as the Toyota crew could scarcely believe their eyes. Unfortunately, the collective will of the Toyota garage couldn't get the Number 6 car going again. Well, it got going but - sadly - couldn't make it to the finish line. A jubilant Porsche crew leapt up and down as the Number 2 Porsche overtook the ailing Toyota on the main straight - in a twist of fate that couldn't have been thought up by the most imaginative script writers. Just as the Japanese could virtually taste victory, it had been unceremoniously snatched from within their grasp in a cruel finish to the world's greatest endurance race. As they say, to finish first you must first finish - and Toyota had come within sniffing distance of its first win at Le Mans but it seems that it just wasn't to be.
Toyota's Crew Members
As the Toyota mechanics wept on one-another's shoulder the Porsche crew celebrated by donning t-shirts that marked their 18th victory at Le Mans - certainly no mean feat! The Number 6 Toyota got going once again but failed to finish the final lap within the six-minute time limit and was, thus, disqualified. And so the Number 5 Toyota finished in second a couple of laps down, while the Number 8 Audi made up the final spot on the podium. The debriefs had begun at Audi long before the end of the race, and it'll be little consolation to them for making it back onto the podium. 2016 marks Audi's 10th visit to Le Mans with diesel power, and a distant third is not how they would have liked to finish. But, while a congratulations is in order to Porsche for its 18th victory at Le Mans, the majority of fans seemed to empathise with Toyota. To come so close and yet remain so far is a cruel blow, but one that perfectly represents the sheer unpredictability and tumultuous nature of motor racing.
2016 Le Mans - Ford
The feel-good factor at Le Mans, however, was kept intact by the dream debut of the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT's. The Ford GT's made a dream debut winning the LMGTE Pro category exactly 50 years after Ford triumphed over Ferrari to take their first of three consecutive overall victories at Le Mans in 1966. Fast-forward exactly half a century, and Ford and Ferrari were at it again. This time it was the Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE of Giancarlo Fisichella, Toni Vilander, and Matteo Malluclelli against the brand new Ford GT of Joey Hand, Dirk Muller, and Sebastian Bourdais. No one, it seems, told either of these teams that Le Mans is an endurance race - as they went at each other with absolutely everything they had for the entire duration of the race. They were almost always within 15 seconds of each other, until the closing stages when the Ford GT managed to stamp its authority on this battle and create a one-minute gap. On a personal note, I have to say that the Ford GT was the race car of the weekend for me - not only did it sound angry and guttural compared with the thoroughbred screech of the Ferrari, but it looked good too and seemed planted absolutely everywhere on the track.
Another feel-good moment was the finish by quadruple amputee Frederic Sausset, who was this year's Garage 56 entry. He was lowered into the car for his stint each time, and if that's not a visual representation of the strength and determination of the human spirit I don't know what is!
24 Hours Le Mans Endurance Race
But, really, the true heroes of Le Mans are the mechanics - who work tirelessly for days and nights to prepare their respective machines for the weekend, and then labour on for 24-hours straight with resolute determination to ensure that their car makes it to the finish come what may. But the less obvious heroes of Le Mans are the fans, who gather from all parts of Europe for the greatest race in the world. They come in the absolute droves, and set up their tents in every corner of the Le Mans no matter what the conditions. In a weekend that was unseasonably cold, and one that forecast heavy rains (which didn't materialize fortunately, with the exception of the storm at the start), the enthusiasm and passion of the fans was not to be deterred. At a time when the relevance of motorsport itself is beginning to be questioned, the fans at Le Mans restore not only your faith in the sport but also in its place in the modern world. As a sporting event, Le Mans is bigger than ever. At a time when the leading car manufacturers are ready and willing to do battle in endurance racing, the fans have shown that they are unwavering in the passion they bring to what truly is the greatest race in the world!
