Toyota notches up fourth Le Mans 24 Hour race win
Toyota has taken the chequered flag in the 2021 LeMans 24-Hour – its fourth win in succession – with a new 'Hypercar' that ushers in a new era of motor racing.
Toyota’s GR010 has won the inaugural Le Mans 24 Hour Hypercar event, with drivers Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and José Maria López behind the wheel.
The Japanese hybrid V6 led from start to finish, beating out challenges from Alpine and Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus to give Toyota its fourth consecutive outright victory at the world’s most famous endurance race.
Approximately 50,000 fans were in attendance, making it one of the larger live sporting events in France since the coronavirus pandemic began. An estimated 14.2 million people watched the race on television.
The occasion had its fair share of controversy however, with multiple contentious accidents in the wet and a close scare on the final lap as LMP2 driver Robin Frijns came within metres of hitting an official as the chequered flag was waved (shown above).
The new top-tier category – which replaces the outgoing LMP1 class – does not regulate engine displacement or the number of cylinders permitted, however combined power output is capped at 500kW. Peugeot is set to join the competition next year with its 9X8, while Ferrari promises an entrance by 2023.
Last week, Drive reported a road-going production variant of the Toyota GR010 may have been scrapped, following a spate of development hurdles.