For the first time in the last five years, the three drivers of one of the Toyota team cars were not on the top of the podium at the 24 hours of Le Mans. Ferrari, with its prototype number 51 driven by Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi they took victory largely thanks to the fact that in the last relay they were left without a rival.
Ryo Hirakawa He was the driver behind the wheel of the Toyota 8, the only one with real options in the last hours of the mythical event at the La Sarthe circuit after the number 7 was left out of the fight during the previous morning. The Japanese manufacturer’s unwritten rule that he was one of the pilots of the Japanese country Whoever takes his car to the finish line cost him a victory that would have continued for another year the absolute dominance they have over what is considered the greatest race in the world.
The decision to put the less experienced driver behind the wheel of the last relay at a critical moment in which they needed to push to try to overtake Ferrari was immediately criticized, because the decision came from an ex-driver like Kazuki Nakajimawho already knows what it is like to lose the 24 hours of Le Mans at the last moment (literally: his Toyota broke down on the last lap of the 2016 event).
However, it was neither Hirakawa’s inexperience, nor controversial pre-race regulatory decisions, nor a possible car malfunction that caused a run off the track that deprived Toyota of fighting for victory at the last moment. According to the technical director, Pascal Vasselonit is a small rodent that caused the series of catstrophic misfortunes.
The French engineer assures that Hirakawa’s exit from the track was due to the fact that the front of the prototype was damaged due to the fact that they had previously run over a squirrelwhich affected its aerodynamic performance.
Toyota led entering the final third of the race, to the point where they held a relatively comfortable 12-second lead over Ferrari. Towards the 16th hour of the race, the car that would end up being proclaimed champion of the event managed to overtake them.
“After one of those moments where we were competitive, Ryo (Hirakawa) has run over a squirrel. It probably wasn’t a very small one because it did a lot of damage to the front end. (…) He had problems until the end of the stint, when we were able to change the front section, “Vasselon explained after the race, in which they finished second.
