Toyota wins Le Mans for 5th year in a row with hybrid hypercar

Toyota won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the fifth year in a row on Sunday with New Zealand's Brendon Hartley taking the chequered flag to become a triple champion. Swiss driver Sebastien Buemi, now a four-times winner of the world's greatest endurance race, and Japanese first timer Ryo Hirakawa shared the overall victory in the number eight GR010 hybrid hypercar.

The number seven Toyota, crewed by last year's winners Mike Conway of Britain, Japan's Kamui Kobayashi and Argentina's Jose Maria Lopez, secured the predictable one-two finish at the Sarthe circuit.

Glickenhaus Racing's number 709 car completed the podium with Britain's Richard Westbrook, French driver Franck Mailleux and American Ryan Briscoe but they were in a different league to Toyota who had no real rivals.

Congratulations to Toyota on the 2022 victory at #LeMans24 ???? ???? 4th victory for @Sebastien_buemi?? 3rd victory for @BrendonHartley?? 1st victory for @ryohirakawa@ROLEX | #LeMans24 | @FIAWEC | @TGR_WEC pic.twitter.com/VH73z9eI4W

Buemi a Toyota faitful

Hartley won Le Mans in 2017 with Porsche and in 2020 with Toyota when he took the place of Spain's two times Formula1 world champion and double Le Mans winner Fernando Alonso.

Buemi has taken all four of his wins with the Japanese manufacturer.

"Unless I change cars I'll never catch him," joked Kiwi Hartley, who secured pole position on Thursday.

Toyota were the only major manufacturer in a field of just five hypercars, a situation that will change next year when Peugeot, Ferrari, Porsche and Cadillac step up and provide more competition.

Le Mans has a habit of biting back and choosing its winner, however, and reliability can never be taken for granted as the number seven crew discovered. The two Toyotas had