Porsche won the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans after the leading Toyota stopped on the final lap.
The victory went to Porsche’s No. 2 919 Hybrid, driven by Neel Jani, Marc Lieb and Romain Dumas. Toyota’s No. 5 TS050 Hybrid had led late in the race and appeared certain to deliver the Japanese manufacturer its first overall Le Mans victory.
With only minutes remaining, Kazuki Nakajima reported a loss of power and the Toyota stopped on the pit straight as it began the final lap. Although the car eventually moved again, it completed that lap too slowly to be classified. Porsche therefore inherited the win in one of the most dramatic finishes in endurance-racing history.
Toyota’s No. 6 finished second, while Audi’s No. 8 took third. The result was Porsche’s 18th overall Le Mans victory and its second in succession after winning in 2015. The race is commonly remembered as Toyota’s heartbreaking near-miss rather than simply as another Porsche success.