Le Mans (AFP)

Toyota claimed its third consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans victory on Sunday thanks to the crew of Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley, the Japanese manufacturer never having been really worried during a rather dull race.

The second place goes to the Rebellion of Norman Nato, Bruno Senna and Gustavo Menezes, five laps away, ahead of the other Toyota of Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Jose Maria Lopez.

If Toyota was never threatened, it did however encounter problems halfway through the race with the car finally coming in third.

This "hat-trick" allows him to keep the trophy given to the winner, which can be displayed in the group's factory in Japan.

It also grants him the title of World Constructors' Champion in the WEC Endurance Championship, the last event of which will be held in Bahrain on November 14.

It is also the third victory at Le Mans for the Swiss Sébastien Buemi and the Japanese Kazuki Nakajima and the second for the New Zealander Brendon Hartley.

"We thought that everything was against us at the start but in the end we ended up with a five-lap lead," said Buemi.

His car had experienced brake problems in the early hours of the event, forcing him to let the other Toyota slip away.

Brendon Hartley said for his part that the atmosphere was "not quite the same without the fans" but that winning Le Mans a second time was "a magnificent feeling".

He won the event in 2017 with Porsche thanks to a failure in the last lap of the then leading Toyota.

"It was special to drive the car for its last victory at Le Mans", commented for his part Kazuki Nakajima adding: "it seems that we were a little luckier than the other car".

This 88th edition took place behind closed doors because of the coronavirus pandemic and took place exceptionally in September after seeing its traditional June date postponed for the same reason.

In principle, Toyota will not participate in the next edition of the legendary endurance test in 2021 with its TS050 hybrid, preparing for the arrival of the new category of "hypercars" from 2022.

Buemi and Nakajima won in 2018 and 2019 with Fernando Alonso, the two-time Formula 1 world champion. But the Spaniard decided to skip the Le Mans event this year to prepare for his return to Formula 1. next with Renault and was replaced by Hartley.

Starting from pole position on Saturday, the N.7 of Conway, Kobayashi and Lopez led until the middle of the race before having to change its faulty turbo.

Kamui Kobayashi's crestfallen face as he got out of his car after driving it back to the pit in the middle of the night spoke volumes about his disappointment.

Already three times second in 2019, 2018 and 2016, "Koba", a former Formula 1 driver, fully intended to take his revenge this year and climb to the top step of the podium.

- While waiting for the hypercars -

The Japanese manufacturer started off as a favorite for a third consecutive victory.

But its superiority on paper was called into question by the balance of performance (BoP) which reduced its advantage over the Rebellion, a private Swiss team which was participating for the last time in the 24 Hours.

In the other categories, the Oreca N.22 of the United Autosports team driven by Filipe Albuquerque, Paul Di Resta and Philip Hanson, won in LMP2.

This team belongs to the American Zak Brown, also owner of the F1 McLaren team.

In Grand Touring, the Aston Martins took the victory both among professional drivers (LM GTE PRO) and among amateurs (LM GTE AM).

This 88th edition did not offer an exceptional field with only five cars entered in the premier LMP1 category, including the Toyota and the Rebellion.

But the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), the organizer of the 24 Hours, is looking to the future with the new hypercar category, which is due to make its appearance in 2022.

It seems to interest other major manufacturers, besides Toyota, and Peugeot has already announced its return to Le Mans with these new cars.

© 2020 AFP