Le Mans News

Fernando Alonso, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima are closing in on Toyota's maiden victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans after pulling one lap clear of the sister #8 car following an error by Kamui Kobayashi that caused a fuel shortage.

Fernando Alonso leads the 24 Hours of Le Mans by more than 90 seconds with three hours remaining after pulling clear of Toyota teammate Jose Maria Lopez, as the Japanese manufacturer closes in on its maiden victory at the Circuit de la Sarthe.

Sebastien Buemi has maintained the rapid pace produced by teammates Fernando Alonso and Kazuki Nakajima to open up a useful lead for the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing over its sister car with six hours remaining of the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours.

Kamui Kobayashi has stemmed the loss of time to its sister #8 Toyota car to see the #7 car lead by 10 seconds with nine hours to go of the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours.

Jose Maria Lopez leads for Toyota at the halfway mark in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but is coming under increasing pressure from Fernando Alonso as the #8 car crew fights back from an earlier penalty.

Mike Conway has stolen a march in the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing to take an advantage over Sebastian Buemi in the #8 Toyota, while the #17 SMP Racing drops out of the race from third place.

Kazuki Nakajima has taken over in the #8 Toyota in the lead of the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours after six hours of the race completed with Fernando Alonso wrestling the lead from Jose Maria Lopez in the #7 sister car as the start of the night running approaches at Circuit de la Sarthe.

Jose Maria Lopez currently leads the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Toyota at the three-hour mark, but has Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso in hot pursuit of him edging into the evening at the Circuit de la Sarthe.

Sebastien Buemi enjoyed a 14-second over Toyota teammate Mike Conway following the opening hour of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Saturday as one of the leading non-hybrid LMP1s dropped out of contention at the front on the first lap.

Toyota has welcomed the planned hypercar regulations announced by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and the FIA World Endurance Championship for the 2020 season, saying it looking forward to playing a role in helping finalise them in the coming months.

Kamui Kobayashi led Toyota to a one-two finish in the final warm up session ahead of the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans later today, pulling out a four-second gap over the fastest non-hybrid runner.

Juan Pablo Montoya says has no priority in securing the Triple Crown despite preparing for his maiden Le Mans 24 Hours with a chance to complete the feat this weekend.

McLaren will make a decision on a possible return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and entry to the FIA World Endurance Championship by the end of the year, according to racing CEO Zak Brown.

Following details outlined by the FIA World Endurance Championship and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) on the hypercar class, technical bosses feel its design proposals will allow brands to make their mark on the category while speeds won’t be compromised.

Sebastien Buemi believes Toyota's sizeable advantage over its non-hybrid LMP1 rivals during qualifying for the 24 Hours of Le Mans will not be as great in the race, adding that pundits are underestimating the challenge that faces the Japanese manufacturer.

Officials from the FIA World Endurance Championship and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) have confirmed plans for a class for hydrogen-powered cars at the 24 Hours of Le Mans by 2024.

The FIA World Endurance Championship and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) have outlined more details for the new hypercar-based class will replace LMP1 as the series’ top tier from 2020.

Full 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours qualifying results

Toyota Gazoo Racing retained its advantage at the top of the timesheets during second qualifying for the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Thursday evening as a red flag brought the session to an early end.

Jose Maria Lopez says all Toyota Gazoo Racing drivers have been trained on how to produce solutions to any problem which requires each of them to have ‘brains like computers’ at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Toyota Gazoo Racing swept to a one-two finish during the first qualifying session for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Fernando Alonso provisionally set to make his debut in the race from pole position.

Toyota is open to using team orders through this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans as it bids to score its maiden overall victory in the classic sports car race.

Kamui Kobayashi headed up a one-two finish for Toyota Gazoo Racing in practice for the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Wednesday evening at the Circuit de la Sarthe as Fernando Alonso enjoyed his final preparations ahead of qualifying later today.

Sebastien Buemi fears Toyota will have no excuses if it fails to win this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours as the sole LMP1 hybrid manufacturer but is confident his team is fully prepared for the race learning from its previous heartaches.