Toyota Gazoo Racing is looking for redemption at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, and it looks to be in the perfect position to get it.

The No. 7 Toyota Gazoo TS050 Hybrid LMP1 will start the 85th running of the historic race from pole following Kamui Kobayashi’s blistering qualifying lap. The Japanese driver pieced together a seemingly faultless lap of the 8.469-mile Circuit de la Sarthe to set a new lap record of 3:14.791.

However, Toyota knows all to well that where you start at Le Mans means almost nothing. The No. 5 Toyota was leading last year’s race after more than 23 hours only to suffer a mechanical failure on the last lap.

Here’s how to watch the 2017 running of the 24 Hours of Le mans online:

When: Saturday, June 17, at 9 a.m. ET until Saturday, June 18, at 9 a.m.

 Live Stream: FOX Sports Go </s> There are no guarantees when it comes to racing at Le Mans. Despite starting on pole, setting the fastest lap, and leading nearly half the race, Toyota’s hopes of victory had evaporated by hour 10. The two leading Toyota TS050 LMP1 cars retired in rapid succession due to mechanical failures, leaving Porsche with a clear shot at its third Le Mans win.

With Audi’s exit last year, the LMP1 class was a two-team race and Toyota’s best chance at finally bringing home a win at Le Mans. Last year, the automaker suffered a heartbreaking failure on the final lap. Sadly, Toyota’s hybrid prototypes again couldn’t go the distance in 2017. The race-leading No. 7 TS050 Hybrid experienced a clutch problem at hour 10 right after it passed the star-finish line and was unable to limp all the way around the 8.5-mile track to get back to the pits. Not long after, the No. 9 Toyota was hit from behind, resulting in a fire. It, too, could not return to the pits under its own power. The No. 8 car came in at hour 8 for a front motor issue, and was eventually able to return to the race to finish in eighth place.

Porsche’s No. 1 919 Hybrid takes the lead after Toyota’s late-night misfortune, but it too suffers problems shortly after 11 am. The No. 2 Porsche is still in the race, but is a few laps down. For a short time, an LMP2 car, the No. 38 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca 07, leads the race. That team is co-owned by action star Jackie Chan and David Cheng. The No. 2 Porsche does eventually pass the much less powerful LMP2 for the win, but the No. 38 finishes second overall and just a lap down from the leader, making for a surprising podium. Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley, and Earl Bamber occupy the top step, marking the first overall win for Hartley and the second overall win for Bernhard and Bamber. Oliver Jarvis, Ho-Pin Tung, and Thomas Laurent win second overall and first in the LMP2 class in the No. 38 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca. It’s the first time a Chinese-owned team has placed on the podium at Le Mans. In third place overall and second in LMP2 is the No. 13 Rebellion Racing Oreca 07 of Nelson Piquet Jr., David Heinemeier Hansson, and Mathias Beche. Rebellion used to race in the top-tier LMP1 class before switching to LMP2 for the 2017 season. Ironically, the team’s first overall podium was achieved in a lower-class car.

The finishing order in the GTE-Pro class was just as surprising. Despite taking home first and third in GTE-Pro last year, the Ford GT couldn’t pull off a win to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt’s 1967 Le Mans victory. The No. 67 Ford GT of Pipo Derani, Harry Tincknell, and Andy Priaulx did place second, however. The class winner was the No. 97 Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE of Darren Turner, Jonathan Adam, and Daniel Serra. That car pulled off a dramatic last-lap pass on the No. 63 Corvette Racing C7.R to bring home Aston’s first class win in a decade. The No. 63 Corvette suffered front end damage and a tire puncture after running wide trying to defend against the Aston, allowing the Ford to slip by and place ‘Vette pilots Jordan Taylor, Jan Magnussen, and Antonio Garcia on the third tier of the GTE-Pro podium.

The 2017 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans proves it’s the toughest road race on the planet. Even if you’re the favorite to win, there are many, many obstacles between you and the finish line. </s> Le Mans, France, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - APP - 16th Jun, 2019 ) :Fernando Alonso celebrated his second straight Le Mans 24 Hour race title on Sunday in a Toyota.

The two-time Formula One champion shared the driving with Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima with whom he triumphed 12 months ago.

Another Toyota driven by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez, was in the lead and on course for victory only to suffer a puncture one hour from the finish. </s> LE MANS, France: Champions Toyota led the Le Mans 24 Hours sportscar race in one-two formation as dawn broke over the famed Mulsanne straight on Sunday.

With five hours remaining, 50 of the 61 cars were still running with the number seven Toyota of Britain's Mike Conway, Japan's Kamui Kobayashi and Argentina's Jose Maria Lopez out in front.

The number eight car, shared by world endurance championship leaders double Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso, Japan's Kazuki Nakajima and Switzerland's Sebastien Buemi, was a lap down.

Alonso's former McLaren Formula One team mate Stoffel Vandoorne, a Le Mans rookie, was also heading for the podium in the third-placed number 11 SMP Racing BR Engineering car shared with Russians Vitaly Petrov and Mikhail Aleshin.

That non-hybrid car was some six laps off the pace as the morning brought sunshine and blue skies after some light overnight rain.

The two Toyota TS050 hybrids had started first and second after dominating qualifying for the 87th edition of the endurance classic and led smoothly through the night at the Circuit de la Sarthe.

The racing was punctuated by crashes, with Venezuelan former F1 driver Pastor Maldonado hitting the barriers at Tertre Rouge in the number 31 Dragonspeed LMP2 after daybreak and bringing out the safety car.

Before that, the number 17 SMP that had been in third place spun out in the early hours at the Karting corner with Russian Egor Orudzhev at the wheel and the car proving too damaged to continue.

Toyota are the only major manufacturer in the top LMP1 category and the championship battle, in a super season that includes two editions of Le Mans, is a private one between their drivers.

Whatever happens, Sunday is guaranteed to see a Japanese driver win a major FIA-sanctioned world championship for the first time.

Alonso, who won Le Mans last year when he was also in his final Formula One season, is departing the world endurance championship after Le Mans.

The Japanese car giant has already clinched the manufacturers' championship and is sure to take the double with the number eight car out of reach of all but car seven in the standings. </s> LE MANS, France: Hot favourites to defend their crown, Toyota dominated the first hour's racing as the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race got under way on Saturday (Jun 15).

Mike Conway got a flying start in car No 7 from pole position, while defending champion and fellow Toyota driver Sebastien Buemi, in car No 8, was running second after the first hour in the 61-car race due to finish at 1300 GMT on Sunday.

Buemi, who won last year alongside teammates Kazuki Nakajima and the Formula 1 legend Fernando Alonso, was left under no illusions about the tussle ahead as Conway broke the lap record on his fourth lap of the Circuit de Sarthe with a time of 3min 17.297sec.

A win for the Toyota hybrids is almost certain, barring an accident, as they have been the only manufacturer on the grid since Porsche and Audi pulled out of the elite LMP1 class, which this year features just six other cars. </s> LE MANS, France: The pole-sitting Toyota of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez led the Le Mans 24 Hour Race into the early hours of Sunday (jUN 16) as the Japanese manufacturer stayed on course for a predictable back-to-back win.

After nine hours, they had a seven-second lead on the other Toyota hybrid of Fernando Alonso, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima who triumphed 12 months ago.

Two laps off the pace was the SMP Racing car of Stephane Sarrazin, Egor Orudzhev and Sergey Sirotkin.

Most of the drama in the opening nine hours was down the field.

The Corvette of Swiss driver Marcel Fassler spun after contact with the Porsche of Japan's Satoshi Hoshino who is driving for the team backed by film star Patrick Dempsey and US television.

After two, violent clashes with the safety barriers, the Corvette had to be lifted off the circuit by a crane with the crew forced to abandon.

Alonso, 37, is signing off on another chapter of his storied career, hoping to add back-to-back Le Mans titles to his two Formula One world championships.

"It's always tough to race for 24 hours," said Alonso who is still in contention for the overall world endurance championship title this season.

Despite his caution, a win for the Toyota hybrids is almost certain.

For the last two seasons, they have been the only manufacturer on the grid after Porsche and Audi pulled out of the elite LMP1 class which this year features just six other cars. </s> The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the toughest tests in motor sports, and this year’s race proved it. After 24 hours of drama, those with a reason to celebrate were teams from Porsche, Aston Martin … and Jackie Chan.

Like 2016, the 2017 race was a heartbreaker for Toyota, which came in with high hopes of achieving its first Le Mans victory, but went away disappointed. Porsche scored its 19th win in the legendary endurance race while, due to high attrition in the top LMP1 class, one of Jackie Chan DC Racing’s lower-level LMP2 cars scored a podium. Aston Martin took the win in the GTE class, the top class for production-based cars.

With Audi out of top-level endurance racing, Le Mans was set to be a straight duel between Porsche and Toyota. The Japanese automaker came into the race strong, setting a lap record in qualifying. But the No. 7 TS050 Hybrid that set that record developed clutch problems about 10 hours into the race, and later dropped out. Shortly after, a second Toyota, No. 9, retired. That left just car No. 8, which was taken out of the running due to a long pit stop.

In a testament to the difficulty of just completing Le Mans, the No. 8 Toyota and the winning No. 2 Porsche 919 Hybrid were the only two of the five LMP1 cars to finish. The No. 1 Porsche developed an enormous lead, but conked out with only three hours to go. The No. 2 Porsche pulled into the lead, giving drivers Timo Bernhard, Earl Bamber, and Brendon Hartley the win.

The LMP1 attrition created spots for the slower LMP2 cars on the podium, something that doesn’t normally happen. The No. 38 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca 07 of Oliver Jarvis, Ho-Pin Tung, and Thomas Laurent came home second overall, and won its class.

While purpose-built LMP prototypes vied for the overall win, the GTE Pro class for production-based cars featured fierce battles as well. The big question was whether Ford could pull off a second class win with its GT to follow up last year’s victory. Rule changes ultimately put Ford at a disadvantage, and the win went to the No. 97 Aston Martin Vantage of Jonny Adam, Darren Turner, and Daniel Serra. The best Ford could muster was second in class.

The end of the race turned into a straight fight between the No. 97 Aston and the No. 63 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, which went off the track and gave Aston the win. Finally, GTE Am, the lower class for production-based cars, was a Ferrari 1-2-3. British outfit JMW Motorsport scored the class win, with drivers Rob Smith, Dries Vanthoor, and Will Stevens in the No. 84 Ferrari 488. </s> They have done it again! Porsche has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2017, their 19th Le Mans win in history and more than any other manufacturer. A last minute problem forced the leading #1 Porsche of Lotterer to retire leaving only the #2 car in the field. Unlike Toyota who had three cars, Porsche had only two cars in LMP1.

The #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing LMP2 car thus assumed the lead as it was the nearest rival to the #1 Porsche, and by rival…some 9 laps behind. The nearest LMP1 car was the #2 car albeit a couple of laps down on the leading LMP2 cars. The with less than 1 hour left in the race, the remaining #2 Porsche had managed to close in on the leaders before taking P1 eventually. Timo Bernhard crossed the finish line first 1 lap ahead of the best LMP2 car.

All was not lost for Jackie Chan’s DC Racing team, they won LMP2 but more importantly, 2nd place overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2017. Third place overall also went to an LMP2 car, the #13 Vaillante Rebellion. This year’s race has seen the largest success ever for the LMP2 cars. Positions 4 to 8 overall was also filled by LMP2 cars, the remaining #8 Toyota crossed the finish line in 9th place to claim P2 in LMP1 class.

But the real action came down to the GT classes where Aston Martin and Corvette staged one of the most epic battles at Le Mans. Jordan Taylor was leading in the #63 Corvette C7.R followed closely by Jonathan Adam in the #97 Aston Martin. The Aston was lapping quicker than the Corvette but Taylor was running beyond his limits. The chase got ruthless in the final minutes, and the Corvette ran off at one time but recovered while still in the lead. A puncture slowed him down and the Aston grabbed the lead almost immediately. Taylor limped to the finish line to claim third place behind the #67 Ford GT.

The AM class was dominated by Ferrari who managed to stage a clean podium sweep. The #84 JMW Motorsport Ferrari 488 GTE won the race in this class, sharing the podium with the #55 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GTE and the #62 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari in 2nd and 3rd places respectively. </s> • Former F1 driver on winning team for second year in a row • Second Toyota team blow race lead after error over puncture

The double Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso won the Le Mans 24 Hours race for the second year in a row on Sunday with his Toyota teammates Kazuki Nakajima of Japan and Switzerland’s Sébastien Buemi after benefiting from an error by another Toyota team, who changed the wrong tyre on their car after it suffered a puncture.

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The No 8 car crew, who took the lead with an hour to go, were also crowned world endurance champions, with Nakajima driving the final stint and becoming the first Japanese to win the title.

Toyota’s No 7 TS050 hybrid car, crewed by Britain’s Mike Conway, Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi and Argentina’s José Maria López, led most of the way but had to stop twice at the end of the race. The first time was because the car had a puncture, and the second time was because the team had changed the wrong tyre during the initial stop. The second stop meant the car dropped to second position, which still meant a one-two finish for the Japanese manufacturer.

The winning margin, after 385 laps of the Sarthe circuit in the 87th edition of a race watched by a crowd of 252,000, came down to 16.972sec. Alonso, 37, recognised luck had played a big part in completing an unprecedented Le Mans double in a single super-season.

“The main goal this weekend was to win the championship,” the Spaniard, who won his Formula One titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006, told Eurosport. “I think car seven was quicker than us for 24 hours, they really deserved the victory but today the luck decided that we have to take the trophy.

“Luck sometimes plays an important part in motor sport and today we feel extremely lucky and maybe we don’t deserve it but we take it. The world championship feels right at this moment.”

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The No 8 crew had needed only a top-seven finish to be sure of the title, with the No 7 car their sole rivals. Alonso’s former McLaren Formula One teammate Stoffel Vandoorne, a Le Mans rookie, joined him on the podium in the third-placed No 11 SMP Racing BR Engineering car shared with the Russians Vitaly Petrov and Mikhail Aleshin. That non-hybrid car finished seven laps off the pace on a sunny afternoon.

The championship was the second of Buemi’s world endurance career, after a first in 2014, and an addition to the all-electric Formula E crown the Swiss won in 2015-16.

The racing was punctuated by crashes, with the Venezuelan former F1 driver Pastor Maldonado hitting the barriers at Tertre Rouge in the No 31 Dragonspeed LMP2 after daybreak and bringing out the safety car.

Before that, the No 17 SMP that had been in third place spun out in the early hours with the Russian Egor Orudzhev at the wheel and the car proving too damaged to continue.
Toyota Gazoo Racing wins the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans.