Akio Toyoda, President of the Toyota Motor Corporation: "Each one of our drivers gave his all at the wheel of our cars and the battle for victory was very exciting for our fans, so I am very disappointed to lose the win.

I would like to apologize personally to the six drivers for failing to give them a car that would allow them to secure the win they worked so hard for.

Also, I would like to thank our drivers for the confidence they have in our cars and for pushing them to the limit so that we now understand what improvements need to be made.

We will work to give our cars increased performance level for the next race so our drivers can win at the Fuji circuit and hopefully achieve another one-two in the World Endurance Championship (WEC).

A huge thank you to our fans for their unfailing support. I hope you're looking forward to a thrilling race in October."

Japanese fans are diehard when it comes to motorsport and are happy to follow their favorite drivers and teams no matter where they're competing, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The legendary race is very popular in Japan so it was vital that Toyota add a win at Le Mans to its track record. No matter the setbacks it had to overcome - including the iconic GT One in 1999 or the lead TS050 Hybrid's engine failure during the final lap in 2016, Toyota never gave up. That drive, very much in the Spirit of Le Mans, gave the Japanese manufacturer its first win at the 24 Hours in June, putting two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso, Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima on the top step of the overall podium. Now they're looking forward to 14 October and battling for victory the 6 Hours of Fuji, a highly anticipated race in Japan!

 

PHOTO: The two Toyota TS050 Hybrids in the warm-up lap at the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans.