Toyota: 'We'll be back'

Toyota has vowed to fight on in search of an elusive first Le Mans 24-hour victory after coming up short for the 16th time in the sports car classic on the weekend.

In what is turning into one of the sporting world’s most high-profile losing streaks, Toyota Racing managed to claim pole and have the fastest cars in the race, yet emerged with only a third place to show for it.

The pole-qualifying #7 TS040 petrol-electric hybrid went out in the 14th hour with an electrical failure related to the wiring loom when holding a 90-second lead.

The #8 car was eliminated from winning contention after just 90 minutes when it got tangled up in multi-car accident during a Mulsanne straight monsoon and lost 50 minutes being repaired.

It drove back through the field, clambering on to the podium after both Porsches 919 Hybrids went out in the 22nd hour.

The race turned into a one-two triumph for the Audi team, despite being unable to match the pace of the Toyotas and Porsches in qualifying.

The R18 e-tron quattros motored through to the front despite both having the turbochargers changed in their V6 diesel engines during the race.

Beforehand, Toyota Racing president Yoshiaki Kinoshita had boldly declared winning was the only mission statement for Le Mans 2014. He made no attempt to pretend Toyota’s fifth podium at the race compensated for missing out.

“There is certainly a huge amount of disappointment in our team because both of our TS040 Hybrids had enough speed to win the race,” he said.

“But part of the magic of Le Mans is that it is so unpredictable and challenging; today we only needed to avoid misfortune. Sadly that wasn’t the case but that’s motorsport and we have to accept the result.

“We will come back stronger for this experience and we have a world championship to fight for, starting at the next race.”

The driver under the most pressure as expectation mounted back in Japan pre-race was Japanese Kazuki Nakjima, who brought anticipation to fever pitch by qualifying on pole. He was in the #7 when it ground to a halt.

“It is heartbreaking. I don’t know what to say. I really feel for the team and for all the people who support us. I think we were doing a great race until that moment. We were leading and showing great pace."

"Somehow I thought maybe we could make it this time and then this happens. That’s Le Mans and that’s why we come here to take on the challenge. We will try again.”

The fact it still leads both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ world endurance championship is the silver lining Toyota is clinging on to in the wake of the result.

“In the end it looks not too bad to be third at Le Mans considering what happened at the beginning of the race,” said Nicolas Lapierre, who was at the wheel of the #8 during the frightening incident on Mulsanne.

“The #8 crew even extended our lead in the world championship. But it is a big disappointment. Car #7 did a great job all weekend and deserved much better than that. We deserved to be on the podium but it’s not the position we wanted. It is very frustrating for Toyota because we have been fighting for many years to win Le Mans and we had a great chance.”