24h Le Mans
For the very first time, Toyota Gazoo Racing has brought together its five 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning cars in celebration of the Centenary edition starting at 16:00 on Saturday 10 June.
Since its maiden triumph in 2018, Toyota Gazoo Racing has kept each winning car exactly in the condition in which it crossed the finish line.
To celebrate Toyota’s place in the 24 Hours of Le Mans history books, the five cars posed for a photograph in the circuit’s final chicane.
Since its 2018 victory, the #8 TS050 Hybrid is housed at the Toyota Gazoo Racing factory in Cologne (Germany). The 2019 winner is displayed in Japan while the 2020 victor forms part of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Museum’s permanent collection. The three LMP1s have never been seen together before.
The GR010 Hybrid that won in 2021 is generally to be found in Cologne while the winner of last year’s race is regularly exhibited for fans in the firm’s home country.
En route to Le Mans, four of the former winners stopped off at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing France plant in Valenciennes. They were welcomed by some of the factory’s 5,000 employees who took the opportunity to pass on their best wishes for the Centenary race.
Following the photo shoot, the five cars joined the Grande Exposition du Centenaire des 24 Heures du Mans, open from Thursday 1 June to Sunday 2 July. Moreover, the 2018-winning TS050 and last year’s victorious GR010 Hybrid will take to the track for the Centenary Parade to be held from 12:30 to 13:25 on Saturday 10 June. The cars will be driven by two former winners, Alex Wurz and Kazuki Nakajima. Wurz will take the wheel of the TS050 Hybrid while Nakajima will drive the GR010 Hybrid.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary will mark the Japanese manufacturer’s 25th appearance in the race. Toyota made its Le Mans début in 1985.
