It took a spirited effort from the #51 Ferrari AF Corse to dethrone five-time defending champions Toyota Gazoo Racing at Le Mans, with a race-long battle coming to an end in the final two hours when Ryo Hirakawa spun into the wall and lost several minutes on the leaders.
Less than 10 seconds had separated the two entries when Hartley got out of the car for the final time following an impressive four stints, the race poised to come down to the wire.
Hirakawa ultimately came unstuck in the early stages of his first stint, locking up and going nose-first into the wall before spinning and also damaging the rear wing, losing three minutes on the leading Ferrari as he limped to the lane for repairs.
Toyota was able to hold on for second place, a fair reward given the late incident, having battled with a stiff car and a straight-line speed reduction following an added weight penalty of 37kg for Balance of Performance in the week before the race.
“I’m feeling a lot of emotions right now,” said Hartley. “We gave it our all, and we had nothing left. We didn’t have the outright performance, but we were still there, putting pressure on Ferrari all the way through.
“For a moment, it was getting exciting at the end when the conditions came back to us a bit, and we started to close the gap. Ryo was in the most difficult situation. He was told to do go full risk and try to close the gap, so there’s no blame. Right now, it feels like we came so close but were so far away.
“Big congratulations to Ferrari. They were quicker, and they didn’t make mistakes, so well done to them.”
Hirakawa was evidently disappointed following the race and was consoled by the Kiwi and third-driver Sebastien Buemi before the podium celebrations.
“First of all, thanks to Sébastien and Brendon for their hard work and big effort,” said Hirakawa. “Thank you also for the team who did a fantastic job all week, and to all our supporters for their encouragement. It was very hard to challenge Ferrari, but we never gave up hope, and we tried everything to win Le Mans again. We need to analyse this race and find areas to improve.
“Personally, I will learn from my mistake and come back stronger. There are three races remaining in the season, so we will focus on the World Championship. That’s all we can do right now.”
Both the #50 and #51 Ferrari had shown great pace all weekend, only for the former to suffer damage mid-way through the race and lose several laps for repairs. The #51, however, powered on, piling the pressure on Toyota, who went all in to respond.
“It was a tough race,” said Buemi. “At some point, it was not easy just to stay on track due to the changing conditions early in the race. We didn’t have the ultimate pace to win, but we gave it our best shot and pushed them all the way.
“Ferrari were faster than us, so we had to push very hard to stay with them, and that meant taking no margin. We tried everything to win, so we have no regrets. Congratulations to Ferrari for their victory. They were very impressive from qualifying onwards. Now we will look towards the World Championship and work hard to come back stronger in the next races.”
The Toyota Gazoo Racing #7 was a victim of the night in the iconic race, Team Principal Kamui Kobayashi at the wheel and entering a slow zone before a four-car collision ended their event.
“Unfortunately, the centenary Le Mans was not our race,” he said. “We had bad luck on car #7 when I was driving. It’s hard to believe what happened. During a slow zone procedure, a car ahead braked, and I reacted to avoid a penalty, but I was hit from behind. It damaged the car, and there was no solution to get back to the garage. That was tough for us because I think we had done a strong job up to then.
“Car #8 fought as hard as possible until the end and finished second. As a team, we did everything we could; we got the maximum performance from the car, and the drivers gave everything.
“We really fought hard to win this centenary Le Mans, and everyone enjoyed working together to try to get the victory. We need to come back stronger; that’s how we deal with disappointments. Thank you to everyone who has supported. We will fight again together soon.”
Toyota retains its lead at the top of the World Endurance Championship, with Ferrari reducing the gap to 18 points with three rounds remaining.
The WEC returns on July 9 with the 6 Hours of Monza.
