MOBIL 1 powers Toyota to Victory in Le Mans 2019
Porsche, powered by Mobil 1, takes double podium that secures
World Endurance Championship title in GTE Pro class
Mobil 1 powered cars claimed a mix of victories, podiums and titles at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Toyota Gazoo Racing claiming its second consecutive LMP1 class win, while the Porsche GT Team achieved a double podium finish in the GTE Pro category.
After more than 5,000 kilometres of non-stop, hard-fought racing in one of the world’s most challenging motor races, it was the #8 car driven by Sebastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima & Fernando Alonso that become the overall race winners – for the second successive year. Their teammates, Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez in the #7 car claimed second place to make it a dominant 1-2 for the Japanese outfit. The team clinched the manufacturers title in the World Endurance Championship last time out in Belgium, with car #8 taking the Drivers’ title this weekend at Le Mans.
The Toyota TS050 Hybrid power unit was lubricated by a specially made blend of Mobil 1 engine oil, essential to maximizing power and performance for each of the 385 laps. Over 200 moving parts, some reaching temperatures of over 150° centigrade, finished the 24-hour race in perfect condition in both cars.
Meanwhile, the Mobil 1 powered Porsche GT Team claimed a double podium finish in the GTE Pro class, with the #91 car driven by Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Lietz and Frederic Makowiecki claiming second place ahead of the #93 Porsche piloted by Nick Tandy, Earl Bamber and Patrick Pilet. This awarded Porsche the GTE Manufacturers’ title in the World Endurance Championship while the #92 crew of Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen took the Drivers’ title. The Porsche 911 RSR power unit was lubricated by the same Mobil 1 engine oil supplied to the German manufacture for production factory fill.
The Corvette Racing team also had the benefit of using Mobil 1 engine oil, with their leading #63 C7.R car claiming 9th position in the GTE Pro class, driven by Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Mike Rockenfeller.
As part of the race build-up, Mobil 1 partner Bentley were invited to Le Mans as Guests of Honour and participated in a spectacular car display to celebrate its Centenary. Bentley’s association with Le Mans goes right back to its very first event in 1923, claiming its first win there in 1924. The British manufacture, whose cars are factory filled with Mobil 1 lubricant, last claimed victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2003 with its famed Bentley Speed 8 machine.
Following the success at this year’s race, David Tsurusaki, Global Motorsport Technology Manager, ExxonMobil, said: “This is a fantastic result for our partners, Toyota and Porsche. The 24 Hours of Le Mans really is the ultimate challenge for drivers, teams, cars and for our Mobil 1 lubricant. The extreme pressures these cars are able to withhold, racing at maximum performance over 5,000km non-stop, is absolutely phenomenal. This is why our partner teams demand use of only the best products which ExxonMobil is able to supply.
“Our valuable partnerships with Toyota, Porsche and Corvette provide us with the perfect platform to demonstrate our passion for motorsport and the capabilities of our race-winning advanced Mobil 1 engine oil. Our high-performance lubricants for the road are developed by using technology learnings from the racetrack. This is why we strive to be the very best in top level motorsport.”
Hisatake Murata, Team President, Toyota Gazoo Racing, said: “We have had another great result at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. All our drivers, team members and technical partners have put in the maximum effort to achieve this result. I would like to thank ExxonMobil for all the work they have done alongside our colleagues at Higashi-Fuji to provide the best possible engine oil with Mobil 1. It is a significant part of our package and an important factor in allowing us to not only survive this race, but also to be quick and reliable in such extreme conditions.”
Fritz Enzinger, Head of Porsche-Motorsport, said: “We are delighted to win the GTE Manufacturers’ title in the World Endurance Championship after claiming a double podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This race is the ultimate challenge in world motorsport, and we are proud to be able to demonstrate the high performance capabilities of our cars. I would like to congratulate ExxonMobil on providing Mobil 1 lubricant that enables us to achieve great success both on the racetrack and on the road.”
