#1 Porsche was driving 'conservatively' before Le Mans retirement
The drivers from the #1 Porsche that retired from the lead of the Le Mans 24 Hours on Sunday morning said they had been trying to drive really conservatively
The car of Andre Lotterer, Nick Tandy and Neel Jani found itself in a commanding position when every other LMP1 car, including its sister #2 machine that went on to win the race, hit major trouble over the first half of the race.
The #1 car was managing a huge lead over the best of the LMP2 runners on Sunday when it lost oil pressure with Lotterer at the wheel.
Despite his attempts to complete a slow lap on electrical power to get back to the pits for repairs, he eventually had to park up on the Mulsanne straight.
"We were driving really conservatively but suddenly the oil pressure dropped," said Lotterer.
"To retire this way is hard, but this is Le Mans.
"It's a pity, very sad. You almost wanted to not believe it.
"I tried to bring the car back with only the battery.
"Maybe we could have done something at the pits, but it's tough when the engine dies on you."
Jani added: "We tried to nurse the car home but it was not to be.
"Mentally the stints were quite hard anyway because when you are not pushing to the limits, too many things and thoughts come up.
"Last year we had the luck on our side [when Toyota retired from the lead in the closing minutes] but this year was not the case."
Earl Bamber, one of the winning drivers in the #2 car, said it was "hard to believe what happened" to the #1 machine.
His fellow 2015 winner Tandy said it was tough to run a clean race with so much action going on around them.
"There's been so many incidents in this race, it's unbelievable," said Tandy.
"There was a lot of debris on the track, it was tough to try to look after the car and avoid punctures, for example.
"I listened out for any strange noises in the car like never before and all seemed OK."
The #2 919 Hybrid completed its recovery from a seemingly lost cause by passing the LMP2 #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECA for the lead in the 23rd hour to salvage the race for Porsche.
Previous article
Porsche defeats LMP2 cars to win 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours
Next article
Top two teams thought Le Mans lead battle would go to final lap
6 Hours of Monza Full Race Highlights
6 Hours of Monza: Qualifying Highlights
Peugeot Hypercar 9X8 Unveiling
WEC: Portugal - Race highlights
WEC: Portugal - Alpine on pole
The standout memories of Le Mans 2021
OPINION: With four of the five Hypercar entries unproven in a 24-hour race, it would not have been unexpected for at least one of them to suffer serious reliability trouble. That they all managed to make it through the race relatively unscathed, says GARY WATKINS, was something of a surprise.
Why Toyota's Le Mans victory was not as simple as it looked
Toyota scored its fourth Le Mans 24 Hours victory and a 1-2, with the #7 car of Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Jose Maria Lopez beating the #8. But although it looked straightforward from the outside, Toyota faced serious problem that had to be solved with some quick-thinking and ingenuity
How overlooked Mazda produced one of Le Mans' greatest shocks
The screaming rotary-engined Mazda 787 is regarded as one of the most popular Le Mans 24 Hours-winning cars, but until its surprise success on this day 30 years ago it was never regarded as a likely victor. But that reckoned without a new technical partner, some canny political manoeuvring and a rival's bizarre self-inflicted weakness
Can Toyota's #7 crew break its Le Mans curse?
One Toyota, normally with the number 7 on the side, always seems to attract the bad luck in the Le Mans 24 Hours. Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez are hoping for a change in fortune this time around, but face significantly more unknowns than in recent years
Why Glickenhaus should be taken seriously on its Le Mans bow
Many were quick to dismiss Glickenhaus when the boutique American sportscar firm's entry into the top class of the Le Mans 24 Hours was announced. It's all-new LMH racer, powered by an engine built by a rally specialist, goes in as the underdog against Toyota but the mathematical odds suggest that it has more than just a faint hope of success
The Asian underdog taking on the mighty GT factories at Le Mans
The rising HubAuto team steps up to GTE Pro at Le Mans this year for an ambitious bid to take on the three works giants – and has every reason to be optimistic of achieving its goal in becoming the first privateer on the podium since 2016
How 1971's benchmark Le Mans team lost with the best car
The JW Automotive Engineering team won twice at the Le Mans 24 Hours with ageing Fords and were considered heavy favourites to add more victories to its tally after partnering with Porsche. But despite being armed with the all-conquering 917, this formidable combination was never as successful in real life as on the big screen
Why Argentina’s current great isn’t motivated by emulating Fangio
Having twice missed out on Formula 1 and reinvented himself as a touring car driver, Jose Maria Lopez has had a rocky ride to becoming a four-time world champion. One more would put him level with his nation's favourite son, but there's another prize he would value far more than the honour of matching Juan Manuel Fangio's tally
