Toyota had the reliability last year as well. The stacked No. 7 car with the F1 drivers would've been a podium contender for sure were it not for the wiring loom failure. That being a show-stopper can only be described as an act of the Le Mans gods. Similar tragedy for Toyota occurred in 99 with the TS020.
It is mysterious to me why Toyota is not fielding a 3rd car. A 3rd car is critical if you're trying to win Le Mans. It is as if they are questioning the financial reason or are satisified with just winning the WEC last year and are preparing to leave the sport. I'm sure they know that winning Le Mans is far more significant. Their goal should be to win at Le Mans before Audi leaves. If that's not their goal, then why even race?
Peugeot didn't win over Audi until the 3rd year of their full works program, and they had
four cars in that race.
Mike Conway said:
“We did the best job we could and fifth was the maximum we could do. It’s a few more points for us but the next race is Le Mans, which is the big one. We just have to get our heads down and keep working away to prepare the most competitive package we can for Le Mans.”
I don't know, not too much confidence in that statement.
As for Nissan, I'm not even sure if they are serious or just gunning for publicity with their outlandish designs, first the DeltaWings, now this front wheel drive monstrosity. The ugliest closed cockpit prototype car ever, for sure. Having missed all the events so far, I'm sure they are aiming to be competitive next year.