Toyota returned to victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Sunday. The GR010 Hybrid No. 7 driven by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Nyck de Vries triumphed after a long and closely contested race, ahead of the BMW No. 20 of Robin Frijns, René Rast, and Sheldon van der Linde, and then the other Toyota, the No. 8 of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryō Hirakawa. The three cars were separated by just twenty seconds at the finish. This victory marks Toyota's return to the forefront of motorsport after three years of Ferrari dominance. The Japanese manufacturer had not won at Le Mans since 2022. However, they narrowly missed out on a repeat victory, which Toyota had already achieved in 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022.
Toyota built its victory from the back of the grid
Victory wasn't immediate. The No. 7 and No. 8 Toyotas had started from only 14th and 15th positions. From the outset, the Japanese team opted for an alternative strategy, making their first pit stop after just thirty minutes. This choice allowed both cars to gradually climb the ranks thanks to long, consistent stints that were better executed than those of their rivals. The No. 7 ultimately took the lead in the decisive phase. Without outright domination, but with clean execution, Toyota regained control of a race that had initially seemed destined for other manufacturers.
Cadillac thought they had won, Bourdais lost big again
Cadillac was in contention for the win for a long time. The No. 12 and No. 38 cars were the main battle leaders throughout the night, as the race tightened between Toyota, BMW, and Cadillac. For Sébastien Bourdais, driving the No. 38 Cadillac, hope was dashed once again. The Le Mans native and his teammates were fighting for victory when a power steering failure ruined their race. The car spent several minutes in the garage, then attempted several restarts before finally coming to a halt three hours later. Another bitter disappointment for Bourdais, who saw yet another real opportunity to win at Le Mans vanish due to mechanical problems.
BMW limits the damage, Ferrari loses its crown
BMW had placed the No. 15 car on pole position, but it quickly lost pace and fell out of contention. The No. 20 salvaged the German manufacturer's weekend by finishing second, close enough to prevent Toyota from securing a one-two finish. Ferrari, for its part, never posed the same threat as in previous editions. The Italian marque had won three consecutive races, but none of its cars were able to contend for the win until the very end. The Ferrari era has come to an end, at least for this edition. Toyota has returned to Le Mans with a methodical approach: strategy, consistency, and mechanical reliability.
