Racing improves the breed. What the constructors develop for motorsport eventually filters down to the cars we drive, no matter if rallying, Formula One or endurance racing. And the most famous endurance race of all has just run its course: the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Steeped in history, it’s the oldest endurance race in the world, and apart from during the Second World War, it has run every year since 1923. As the name suggests, it’s staged over a 24-hour period, always in early June, and is run on a closed circuit made up of private track and public highway, with varying degrees of surface quality. For many fans, it’s the most glamorous, important event on the motorsport calendar, and this year’s race was one of the most jaw-dropping in many a year.
Many manufacturers have made their names at Le Mans, and some of the most valuable cars on the planet have competed at the race. This year marked the return of Ford with its new GT, in homage to the staggering result it achieved in 1966, when the GT40 took first, second and third places in one of the most iconic photo finishes in sporting history. Ford beat Ferrari at its own game then and now, with the GT claiming victory in its class last weekend.
But it was the battle for overall first place that will have people talking for years to come. Porsche took top honours, for the 18th time, but until the final lap, it was Toyota’s for the taking. For 23 hours and 57 minutes, Porsche and Toyota battled it out, but the Japanese team maintained its lead before disaster struck. The leading TS050 car suffered a total loss of power. That Toyota managed to take second place is no consolation, and even Porsche feels a certain hollowness in its victory. Grown men were crying.
It’s this uncertainty that makes the race so exciting – it’s the ultimate test of human and machine. Teams that opt for outright pace are often beaten by those who gun for ultimate reliability and fuel economy, with diesel engines proving the sensible choice in recent years thanks to their parsimonious consumption.
This is why Le Mans is so important to the industry: it forces competing car companies to be innovative, maximise efficiency, reliability, aerodynamic superiority and mechanical and engineering integrity. For more than 5,000 kilometres of non-stop racing, only the fittest survive, and manufacturers waste no time in turning a Le Mans victory into marketing gold. To walk into a showroom and drive away a car that has even a tiny percentage of Le Mans heritage is a big deal.
Toyota will return to Le Mans, and could become only the second Japanese company to win it outright (Mazda won in 1991). The team was cruelly robbed this time, but lessons will be learnt and the results will, eventually, positively impact cars in showrooms all over the world.
motoring@thenational.ae
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