[h=2]2017 24 Hours of Le Mans: Five Things to Watch[/h] Monday, 12 June 2017
Stephen Kilbey / Images by Toyota & Ehrhardt, JEP/LAT
It's that time of year again, when the focus of world motorsport turns to sportscar racing, for its most important event of the year, the Le Mans 24 Hours. This year, for the 85th running, 60 cars are set to lineup across the four classes, making for an intriguing set of storylines up and down the entry list.
With race week having finally arrived, here are five key storylines to watch.
1. Is 2017 finally Toyota's year?
In LMP1, the focus is on the titanic battle between Porsche and Toyota, a re-match of sorts after last year's race which ended in heartbreak for the Japanese make and jubilation for the Germans. Toyota will once again be throwing everything it has at winning the French class for the first time, after decades of trying, and all too often, coming tantalizingly close.
As it stands though, the Japanese marque looks to be the favorite, with strength in numbers – three TS050 Hybrids to match up against Porsche's pair of 919 Hybrids – the fastest times at the Test Day two weeks ago, and two wins out of two races so far this season in the WEC.
Further compounding Toyota's perceived advantage is the fact that Porsche's Test Day didn't go to plan. Pace concerns aside, the No.2 919 lost valuable track time due to a rare engine change, for which no definitive explanation has yet been given.
But Porsche shouldn't be counted out. With a world-class set of drivers and two 919s that ran Toyota close at both WEC races this year, despite the German marque running its Le Mans downforce kit, which didn't suit either circuit. Reigning Le Mans and WEC champ Neel Jani will race with ex-Audi LMP1 star Andre Lotterer and 2015 Le Mans winner Nick Tandy in the No.1, while 2015 WEC winners Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard will share with another returning 2015 Le Mans winner, Earl Bamber, in the No.2.
Over at Toyota, the steady hands of Stephane Sarrazin, Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi will pilot the No.7, while a trio of ex-F1 drivers Anthony Davidson, Kazuki Nakajima and Sebastien Buemi will be entrusted to the No.8.
The third TS050 for WTCC champion Jose Maria Lopez and Super Formula champion Yuji Kunimoto - both Le Mans rookies - and reigning LMP2 champion Nicolas Lapierre: a rather more inexperienced trio. It's a lineup that's been shuffled since Spa, with Lopez moving over from the No.7, swapping with Sarrazin, after losing crucial track time because of his injuries following an incident at Silverstone that forced him to sit out the race in Belgium.
Can Toyota triumph for the first time, and put to rest last year's disappointment? Or will Porsche score its 19th victory, and reaffirm its position as the king of Le Mans?