The 88th 24 Hours of Le Mans was a 24 hour automobile endurance race for Le Mans Prototype (LMP) and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) cars fielded by teams of three drivers each held from 19 to 20 September 2020 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, close to Le Mans, France. It was the 88th running of the event, as organised by the automotive group, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) since 1923. The race, held behind closed doors, was the seventh in the 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship, having been postponed from June to September as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in France.
Patrick Pilet (pictured) replaced Dwight Merriman after he was injured in an accident during practice
Kamui Kobayashi set the fastest lap of the Hyperpole session to take pole position in the No. 7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid.
The start of the race as viewed at the Dunlop Chicane
The LMP2 post-race podium ceremony
The Toyota TS050 Hybrid is a sports prototype racing car developed for the 2016 Le Mans Prototype rules in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The car is the direct successor of the Toyota TS040 Hybrid, which competed in both the 2014 and 2015 FIA WEC seasons. Drivers that have tested the TS050 include Sam Bird, Thomas Laurent, Pipo Derani, Kenta Yamashita, Nyck de Vries, and Yannick Dalmas. The TS050 was revealed at the Circuit Paul Ricard on 24 March 2016 due to Toyota's two-year cycle policy. The engine is a 2.4L twin-turbocharged petrol V6, while the two previous cars used a naturally aspirated petrol V8. It has an 8-megajoule hybrid system, which uses lithium-ion batteries.
The Toyota TS050 Hybrid on display at the 2018 Osaka Auto Messe
#8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid during the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans
The winning #8 TS050 from the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans, preserved with dirt from the race.
Toyota TS050 Hybrid #7 in garage, showing the front suspension