Marko Hanželic
It all looks almost like a conspiracy - Toyota TS050Hybrid will race for 24 hours Le Mans started from the first starting position for the fourth time in a row. Thirdly, he is also responsible for this Kamui Kobayashi. And yet the Japanese have so far always left the scene with their heads bowed.
The former Formula 1 driver wanted to break his record at Circuit of the Sarthe, which is still 3: 14,791 minutes. He set that time in 2017. Now this one will most likely stay for a while longer as the new race cars will be (hypercars) za Le Mans, which will be in use from 2021, will be significantly slower.
Compared to time 3: 15,267 minutes, which was enough for pole position this year, the Japanese improved significantly again in the last attempt. After two sectors, he was almost three-quarters of a second faster. The third sector covers half of the track, and there it is Kobayashi still lost too much to improve his record mark.
"I'm a little disappointed because I could definitely improve the record on the second try," said the Japanese: "The car was great, the conditions were good and thanks to the Hyperpole mode we were able to be very unencumbered in terms of traffic conditions and focus entirely on the car's performance."
Of course, the question arises as to whether it can Kobayashi, Mike Conway in Jose Maria Lopez they finally win at 24 Hours of Le Mans. In the previous two Toyota wins, the trio has beaten the trio twice Kazuki Nakajima, Sebastien Buemi in Fernando Alonso. In 2017, the disappointment was especially great as it spoiled their joy a flat tire, while they were in sovereign leadership.
