Toyota claims third consecutive Le Mans crown

Toyota have claimed a Le Mans 24 Hour hat-trick after winning the 88th edition of the annual motorsport race held on the outskirts of the city of Le Mans in central France.

Toyota's Kazuki Nakajima, Sebastien Buemi andr Brendon Hartley won the 2020 edition of Le Mans 24 hrs race. AFP

The race, postponed from June to September as a consequence of the Covid19 pandemic, was held behind closed doors.

Kazuki Nakajima, Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley, took the chequered flag after completing 387 laps in 24 hours of the Ciruit de La Sarthe. La Sarthe circuit.

🏁 @Toyota_Hybrid triumphs at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the third year running. A well-deserved hat trick!🏆
Congratulations @Sebastien_buemi @BrendonHartley and K.Nakajima! #LeMans24 #24hUnited #WEC pic.twitter.com/xJn8wbtfY2

— 24 Hours of Le Mans (@24hoursoflemans) September 20, 2020

“Our race was a real roller coaster, but everyone did a fantastic job and sometimes it seems we have a bit more luck than the other guys,” said Nakajima after the win.

Gustavo Menezes, Norman Nato and Bruno Senna driving a Rebellion claimed second place five laps adrift. The second Toyota of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose-Maria Lopez, which started in pole position, took the final podium place.

“It’s been a steep learning curve coming in and replacing Fernando Alonso and these two guys have really helped me getting to speed with this very complicated and fast race car,” said Hartley, who won the race in 2017 with Porsche.

The fourth place in the Le Mans Prototype 1 or LMP1 category was claimed by the second Rebellion team of Romain Dumas, Nathanael Berthon and Louis Delétraz.

P9 in our 1st @24hoursoflemans, 3 rookies in one of the most competitive fields in the world. A privilege to be part of this project. Thanks for the trust and opportunity @Richard_Mille @fiawim. This is just the beginning, we keep aiming high!! Thanks for the support!! 🙌🏻💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/bFEtMUZDeb

— Tatiana Calderon (@TataCalde) September 21, 2020

The LMP2 title was claimed by Paul Di Resta, Filipe Albuquerque and Philip Hanson of United Autosports. The all-women team of Tatiana Calderon, Sophia Floersch and Beitske Visser finished in ninth place in the LMP2 category.

Aston Martin won both the LM GTE professional and amateur races.