Pechito López got on the podium again at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

José María “Pechito” López was heading to the two-time championship with the British Mike Conway and the Japanese Kamui Kobayashi in the 24 hours of Le Mans under the driving of the number 7 car of the Toyota Gazoo Racing. However, a technical failure in the last third of the race complicated the final outcome of the trinomial, which finished second in the traditional motorsport race, included in the World Endurance Championship.The Argentine had a 15-second advantage when his car stopped in Arnage and allowed the other trio – composed of the Swiss Sebastián Buemi, Australia’s Brendon Hartley and Japan’s Ryo Hirakawa – pass it. When he managed to start the engine, the Cordovan went to the pits, which made him lose more time and be more than one lap behind the Toyota number 8, which ended up being consecrated.
“We knew this was possible, we had planned to reset the car. It is all electronics, which without knowing sometimes appears. We were prepared for that, the procedure usually takes 25 seconds. Unfortunately, I tried two or three times, the car gave a hybrid failure. In the pits afterwards it worked, but we are left with the bitter taste of having wasted so much time on that,” explained “Pechito” López about the technical inconvenience. Beyond the result, it was a historic result achieved by the Argentine, who stood on the podium at Le Mans for the fourth time in this iconic competition. Last year, “Pechito” López had become the second Argentine to win the legendary race after the feat of José Froilán González in 1954, when he did it together with the local Maurice Trintignant aboard a Ferrari 375.

Original source in Spanish