Kiyokazu Chiba is sharing his second 24 Hours of Le Mans little by little ... with small finely chiselled drawings! Kiyokazu Chiba is discreet, almost a shy man, but you'd never guess based on the strength of his drawings. Kiyokazu Chiba is a mangaka, a draftsman of mangas, a style of Japanese comics, and his presence with the Toyota team is nothing short of fortuitous. Just one year ago, during the last year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, he was here with friend Motoka Murakami…

“We had had the idea of a comic dedicated to the 24 Hours of Le Mans," he said. "We logically contacted Toyota to get information on the event. Attracted by the project, Toyota invited us to discover the race and to be a part of the event.”

For the two, it was a revelation! They went back to Japan with loads of images in their minds and had a completely different perception of the event.

“Just after our arrival, we went to the Parade," he recalled. "We realized that this event wasn’t only for the teams and drivers but also an event for the locals and fans. The race was everywhere in the city and it created a particular atmosphere.”

In December 2014, both men started work, Kiyokazu at the drawing board and Motoka at the scriptwriter’s keyboard. To give life to their hero, they were quite naturally inspired by the talented Toyota driver Kazuki Nakajima. Both men, who had already produced a manga on F1 at the end of the 80s, got down to the task and saw their work published in less than a month. Today, five issues have already been produced and for their sixth, they are waiting for the outcome of this year's race. With their manga being inspired by Kazuki, they are crossing their fingers (or maybe their pens) hoping that their hero climbs onto the highest step of the podium on Sunday.  If he doesn’t step on the podium…Kiyokazu and Motoka will creat new challenges for him…

J.-Michel Desnoues

Photo : Kiyokasu Chiba (LE MANS, SARTHE), 12 JUNE 2015. Author of mangas, Kiyokasu Chiba presents the last adventures of his hero inspired of Kazuki Nakajima.