One big question hangs over the Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend: if Toyota and Fernando Alonso succeed in winning for a second successive year, will it mean anything? After all, who will they have beaten?
It’s inescapable that the top LMP1 class in the World Endurance Championship has yet to recover from the double blow of losing Audi and Porsche. Toyota, the last factory team standing, is literally in a different league to the non-hybrid privateers headed by Rebellion and SMP Racing’s BR1s, despite ‘Equivalence of Technology’ tweaks that are supposed to level the playing field.
The test day last week proved it once again. Sébastien Buemi’s fastest time at the 8.4-mile circuit, a 3min 19.440sec lap set in his hybrid TS050, was a significant 1.883sec faster than André Lotterer’s best in the quickest Rebellion. Only accidents or car failures will give the privateers a sniff.
But does it matter that Toyota can only defeat itself? A win is a win, after all, especially at Le Mans, and at least the team allows its two crews to race – they genuinely have to beat each other. Added to that, Alonso, Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima hold a 31-point lead over Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López in the race to be world champions, which for the first time will be decided at Le Mans as the novel 2018/19 ‘super season’ draws to a close.
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What happened to the proposal...
to introduce a hyper car class, which would have brought cars like the McLaren Senna, the Brabham and the exotics from Toyota, Aston Martin, VW and Mercedes to do battle?
So pointlless
From a racing point of view the top class is a waste of a day, rather see Toyota spend the money on rallying or Forumla E.
As to "it’s still the greatest motor race in the world." more 'quite a good event' but far from greatest motor race. Either way expect changes next year!
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