A lengthy 25 kilometer course, more than 170 bends, up and down a hilly mountain road, and countless gaps and bumps everywhere. Nürburgring is unlike any other race track in the world, and therefore, automotive manufacturers, racing teams, and racing drivers from around the world challenge the 24-Hour Endurance Race to prove their speed and skills. Last year, GAZOO Racing was able to realize its ardent wish to win in its class, and for the 5th year, the two LFAs have challenged the Nürburgring 24-Hour Endurance Race with a theme of "Automotive Seasoning."

The 39th Nürburgring 24-Hour Endurance Race saw more entrants from factory-backed teams, famous racing teams, and famous race cars than last year, all aiming for overall victory or class victory. BMW M3 was aiming for its second consecutive win. Among the large number of Porsche entrants, Manthey Racing was seeking to regain its championship. There was also a large group of entrants in the Audi R8. The Mercedes SLS was aiming for a debut-win. Ferrari 458 was participating in the same class as the LFA from this year. All of these rivals have been waging a fierce battle in the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring, and as a result, average lap times had been shortened considerably, and many teams working in the pit demonstrated a　highly-charged atmosphere. By the end of the free practice run before the qualification session, it wasn't hard to imagine that this year's 24-Hour race was going to be the fastest and toughest one in its history.

Saturday 16:00 12℃, the race began under a cold cloudy sky. Over 250,000 spectators saw LFA#87, with Wakisaka, and LFA#88, with Iida steadily keep their positions within 30th overall/2nd and 3rd in class, but 20 minutes after switching to Lotterer, LFA#87 experienced engine trouble, and the team decided to replace the engine. Meanwhile, LFA#88 made its way up to 18th overall/2nd in class, switching drivers to Ishiura and Oshima. However, around 23:30, the car slowed down due to a yellow flag and was hit from behind by a following vehicle, destroying the rear end of the LFA. In order to keep racing for 16 more hours in top condition, the mechanics began repair work. Both LFAs disappeared from the race track for a while, but after 3 hours of repair work, at 2:40, Iida started the engine of LFA#88 and jumped into the pitch-black race track, scorching its tires. Starting at 139th overall/7th in class, and driving almost as fast as the class leader Ferrari 458, LFA#88 darted through the race track at an incredible pace.

At 5:20, after 10.5 hours of exhaustive work, the LFA#87 had received its engine replacement and returned to the race track in the morning. Starting off at 190th overall/bottom of its class, Lotterer posted an excellent record in the first lap, commenting "Thank you very much for your extensive work. I am proud of you all." The mechanics must have been very tired from the long pit work, but their faces seemed very content. The two LFAs kept overtaking other vehicles at a fast and steady pace. Although other top teams hire professional race mechanics, GAZOO Racing has been staffed with ordinary Toyota employees from the very first year under the theme, "strengthen the car, strengthen the people." There were times when they spent too much time on routine pit work, but now they can easily finish changing tires, brake rotors, and brake pads within the scheduled refueling time frame, showing how skillful they have become. They even received praise from the professional racing mechanics from the BMW team in the adjacent pit, with cries of "Good job!" and a thumbs-up.

On a separate note, at the beginning of the lavish awarding ceremony held after the race, President Akio Toyoda of Toyota Motor Corporation and CEO Ulrich Bez of Aston Martin were suddenly called to the podium, and were awarded the special "Distinguished Services to Motor Sport" award plaque by the race organizer ADAC. The plaque is inscribed "For great contributions to the development of motor sports." The friendship with Aston Martin began 5 years ago when GAZOO Racing first entered the Nürburgring 24-Hour Endurance Race with their Altezza and shared the pit with Aston Martin. From the following year, GAZOO Racing entered with the LFA, and the two teams exchanging mutual respect and encouragement as good rivals in the same class. Last year, they launched their first collaboration "iQ Cygnet." Even though their expressions are different, both companies' activities to "learn from racing for the best possible vehicle development and human resource building" were recognized by the traditional "Nürburgring 24-Hour Endurance Race," and the crowd gave them a great round of applause.