Toyota Gazoo Racing wins its third straight 24 Hours of Le Mans
There were no fans there to witness it in person, but thousands of spectators from around the world tuned in to watch the 88th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans over the weekend. In the end, there wasn’t a lot of drama, as the No. 8 car from Toyota Gazoo TSO50 Hybrid LMP1 team took the checkered flag five laps ahead of the second-place Rebellion Racing’s No. 1 car.
It was the third straight win for Toyota Gazoo Racing; the winning car was co-piloted by Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley. The No. 7 Toyota placed third, six laps behind.
The real excitement was in the LMP2 class, where the United Autosports No. 22 car took the win, with Philip Hanson at the wheel. The margin of victory in LMP2 was roughly 30 seconds. The No. 38 Jota car placed second, while the No. 31 Panis car took third. All three of the winning LMP2 cars were Oreca 07 chassis with Gibson V-8 engines.
Aston Martin Racing dominated the Le Mans GTE Pro class with its Vantage taking first and third, with the second place going to the AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo No. 51. Aston took first in Le Mans GTE Am with the No. 90 TF Sport team’s Vantage, with the No. 77 Porsche 911 RSR of Dempsey-Proton Racing taking second and the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari placing third.
The 2020 race marked only the second time that the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been held in September, this time due to COVID-19. The first time was in 1968, due to social unrest in France.