Spanish driver Fernando Alonso of Toyota Gazoo Racing won the famed Le Mans 24 Hours race this weekend driving the #8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid, getting him one step closer to achieving motor racing’s triple crown.
To achieve the triple crown one must win three of the most prestigious motor races during their career: Indianapolis 500, 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix. Alonso has already secured Monaco wins in his career and would need to win the Indy 500. Graham Hill is the only driver to ever get the triple crown.
“It has been amazing,” said Fernando Alonso. “We know how important and iconic Le Mans is in the world of motorsport and as a team we achieved an amazing result. Every moment was a reminder of how tough and long this race is, anything can happen so we tried to execute our race and stay calm. Happily everything worked well. The race was hard because the two cars were very close, within one minute after 23 hours, so it was tough competitive but fair and very sporting. We wanted a one-two and we achieved that so I am very happy.”
This is Toyota Gazoo Racing’s first Le Mans 24 hours win after 20 years of competing at the 86-year-old race.
“I am so proud of everyone in the team for this result. It has been our dream to win Le Mans and finally we have achieved it,” said team president Hisatake Murata. “Thank you so much to everyone for their incredible hard work, team spirit and never-give-up attitude. To win Le Mans for Toyota after so many frustrations and disappointments is a truly magical moment.”
The 86th Le Mans 24 Hours results:
1st #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing 388 laps
2nd #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing +2 laps
3rd #3 Rebellion Racing (Laurent/Beche/Menezes) +12 laps
4th #1 Rebellion Racing (Lotterer/Jani/Senna) +13 laps
5th #26 G-Drive Racing (Rusinov/Vergne/Pizzitola) +19 laps
6th #36 Signatech Alpine (Lapierre/Negrão/Thiriet) +21 laps
