24h Le Mans
Toyota stunned during Test Day with some very promising performances. As the Japanese team's drivers submit to the administrative checks, one question is on every journalist's mind: will records be broken this year?
Everybody knows you can't stop progress! True, but regulations can always be modified to keep the cars within a certain window for optimal performances and safety conditions. This past winter, the aerodynamic efficiency of the LMP1s was reduced by 30% (enhanced splitter, reduced spoiler), which amounts to a loss of four to five seconds per lap. Yet, the timesheets from Test Day certainly suggest the engineers made excellent use of their time in the off-season, especially those working for Toyota: with a lap in 3'18.132, Kamui Kobayashi has already improved on last year's pole position (3'19.733) by more than 1.5 seconds. All that remains is to shed another 1.5 seconds in order to beat the lap record set in 2015 by Neel Jani in a Porsche 919 Hybrid in 3'16.887. Feasible? Driver of the #7 Toyota, Stéphane Sarrazin: "Theoretically, yes . At the Test Day debriefing, the engineers already had ideas for set-ups to improve the car."
If everything comes together (dry asphalt, 20°C temp, light traffic on the track), the longstanding record set by Hans-Joachim Stuck may also be beaten this year. In 1985 the German driver set the bar very high with his 251.815 km/h lap, an average considered impossible these last 30 years given the numerous chicanes (Dunlop esses, La Chapelle descent, Hunaudières). To surpass the record today, one would have to cover 13.629 km track in 3'14.842. Will it happen?
The record for longest distance covered in 24 hours is currently held by the Audi R15+ winner in 2010 with 5, 410.713 km, but could also fall at this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. Romain Dumas, winner of that outstanding edition with Timo Bernhard and Mike Rockenfeller: "The record will probably be broken because back then our car was running five to six seconds slower than today's cars. Also, the SLOW zone did not exist and our race was disrupted four times with neutralisations, a total of one full hour!" True, but it should be said the unseasonably cool temps at the 2010 edition allowed for optimal filling of the engines and so performances were exceptional.
