Le Mans – Beginning of explanation of the breakdown of the n°5

The image will haunt those responsible for a long time Toyota. At the start of the last round of 24 Hours of Le Mans last Sunday, the TS050 Hybrid n°5 of Kazuki Nakajima stopped in the pit straight, slowed down by a mechanical problem, which offered an 18th unexpected success to Porsche.

Although the Japanese firm had indicated that it was studying the issue very closely, no official information had so far emerged on the causes of this stoppage. Toyota Motorsport finally communicated this Thursday.

« No. 5 encountered a technical fault on a connector on the air line between the turbo and the exchanger, causing a loss of control of the turbo charge. The team attempted to change the control settings to restore power, which was done to allow the car to complete the final lap.

However, this operation was carried out too late to be able to complete this round within the required six-minute time limit. At the moment, we do not know exactly why this damage occurred, and we need to verify the manufacturing process of the part in Cologne (Germany).

Other more in-depth analyzes are necessary to determine the origin. It is certain that there is no link with the engine problems encountered at Spa. Extensive analyzes are underway at TMG to determine the precise reason for the problem in order to establish measures to avoid any recurrence in the future. »

The Japanese firm saved second place thanks to the No. 6 of Sarrazin – Kobayashi - Conway, long in the running for victory before an error by the Japanese driver in the last hours before the finish.

Find the full report and analysis of the 24 2016 Hours of Le Mans, produced by our special correspondents in Sarthe, in issue 2068 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version and on newsstands.