Motorsports can be a cruel sport. Few know this better than Toyota. Since the 1980s the Japanese car manufacturer has been trying to win its first 24 Hours of Le Mans, never coming closer than second place. With the clock counting down to the end of the 2016 race, Toyota was in the lead. Smiles turned into tears when the Kazuki Nakajima-driven Toyota TS050 Hybrid came to a stand-still at the start of the final lap. Porsche took over at the front, having been within striking distance for the whole race. Never giving up and pushing Toyota to the breaking point, the sports car manufacturer from Stuttgart saw their relentless late-race pursuit pay off with its eighteenth overall Le Mans victory.
Photos by Julian Schmidt and Daniel Schnichels.
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