Toyota back to banish 2016 disappointment

■ TS050 tops times at test day ■ Two WEC victories in 2017

IT was the most dramatic finish in the 94-year history of Le Mans and one of the most heartbreaking defeats in sporting history: Kazuki Nakajima, on his way to what would have been Toyota’s first Le Mans win, grinding to a halt on the startfinish straight (above) with a lap to go.

The thousands of spectators could barely believe what they were seeing as the Porsche of Neel Jani, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb swept through to take victory at the last possible moment.

No-one at Toyota, least of all Nakajima and his co-drivers Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi, will forget the end of the 2016 race, but the entire squad is determined to right the wrong this year.

The unchanged #8 crew have got things off to the best possible start by winning the six-hour races at Silverstone and Spa, as well as setting a strong pace at the pre-le Mans Test Day, where Toyota was first, second and third on the timing sheets. “It’s great to drive around this brilliant circuit; I always enjoy it,” said Davidson after the test.

“This year’s car feels good here; I was happy all day with the balance. The track improved as the day went on and the lap times reflected this. Our car performed well so we’re pleased at this stage.”

Kamui Kobayashi, who set the fastest time of the test day in the #7 TS050, said afterwards: “The lap time was not really brilliant – I had a lot of traffic, so we were missing half a second of lap time, which I think is very positive for us.

“It’s a really exciting feeling when the lap time wasn’t really the best, but we still achieved a good time. It was only at the start of the session, I think the third or fifth lap, so we’ll see more lap time coming in qualifying and the race.”

The other factor working in Toyota’s favour at Le Mans this year is the fact it’s running a third car – the first time that it’s done so since joining the World Endurance Championship in 2012.

Three-time World Touring Cars champion Jose Maria Lopez, team returnee Nicolas Lapierre and young Japanese driver Yuji Kunimoto team up in the #9 car, which won’t contest the remaining WEC races post-le Mans.

“This year’s car felt good at the test day, so we’re pleased at this stage” ANTHONY DAVIDSON Toyota LMP1 driver