Sébastien Buemi (32) from western Switzerland has been competing regularly in the legendary Le Mans 24-hour race since 2012. In 2016 he was close to winning the race for the first time. But then he had to be patient for another two years before he was finally allowed to put himself on the list of winners. Buemi then won three times in a row. «I would say my first win in 2018 was my best at Le Mans. But 2020 was definitely my most special, ”said the Vaudois looking back on his tenth participation.
Especially because it didn’t look good at the beginning of last year’s race. A tire damage and problems with the brake cooling caused the alternating driver trio Sébastien Buemi (CH), Brendon Hartley (Aus) and Kazuki Nakajima (J) to lose one lap to the competition. But the second twelve hours of the racing marathon turned out to be more enjoyable. Because Buemi / Hartley / Nakajima benefited from turbo problems and a half-hour pit stop by the team-mates who had been leading up to that point, the number 8 Toyota car finally crossed the finish line as the winner. However, there was no cheering in the stands. Because of Corona, the 2020 race took place without spectators. “Especially when almost 300,000 people are simply not there,” said Buemi, commenting on his hat trick at the Le Mans classic.
Will Buemi save his season?
This Sunday, Sébastien Buemi is aiming for his fourth success in a row at Le Mans – again together with his partners Hartley and Nakajima and again at the wheel of a Toyota factory car with starting number 8 of the Gazoo Racing Team. And this time again in front of an audience. Of course, the Vaudois hopes to polish up the messed up motorsport year 2021 with disappointing results in Formula E with another victory at Le Mans.
Series: Model cars related to Switzerland
In cooperation with importer Arwico, we present a model car and its original with a Swiss reference every month – regardless of whether it is a showcase, remote-controlled RC or slot racing model. At the beginning of the series, based on the collector’s model Monteverdi High Speed 375 S High Speed from AutoCult, we showed how much effort it takes to create a small 1:43 model car that costs around 95 to 120 francs in retail.
AutoCult has all of its models hand-built in China and only sells 333 copies each.
Raoul Schwinnen
In cooperation with importer Arwico, we present a model car and its original with a Swiss reference every month – regardless of whether it is a showcase, remote-controlled RC or slot racing model. At the beginning of the series, based on the collector’s model Monteverdi High Speed 375 S High Speed from AutoCult, we showed how much effort it takes to create a small 1:43 model car that costs around 95 to 120 francs in retail.
In addition to many racing fans, the Swiss model toy importer Arwico would be delighted, as they are offering Buemi’s Le Mans winning car Toyota TS050 Hybrid as a 1:24 plastic kit from the Japanese manufacturer Tamiya. “Another Buemi success at Le Mans would certainly further fuel the demand in the specialist trade for our 1:24 model”, suspects Daniel Gasser from Arwico.
Buemi’s winning car as a kit
But how did it come about that we can assemble Buemi’s Le Mans racers from various original plastic moldings on a scale of 1:24 and then put them in the showcase? Gasser: “We meet the Japanese manufacturer Tamiya twice a year and hand over a wish list with vehicles, airplanes and ships that we would like to offer as plastic model kits in Switzerland.” Based on the descriptions and the market opportunities, the Japanese then decide whether a model will be implemented or not. “In the specific case of Buemi’s Le Mans racer,” says Gasser, “of course, in addition to the series of successes, the fact that he drives in the Japanese Toyota Gazoo Racing Team and that the toy manufacturer Tamiya is also a Japanese manufacturer helped us.” In addition, thanks to the selection of different stickers, the 2020 Le Mans model can be assembled as a Toyota factory car with the number 7 (Kobayashi / Conway / Lopez) or number 8 (Buemi / Hartley / Nakajima).
Practice creates masters
Speaking of assembling: The Tamiya kit requires a lot of skill and instinct to finally get the model so that you can proudly put it in the showcase. Because the plastic model, which is kept in a white base color, not only needs to be glued together neatly for a satisfactory look, but also to be colored with a brush (or better, with an airbrush) with colors not included in the kit.
In order to save kit beginners a disappointment, Arwico specialist Daniel Gasser first advises a simpler and cheaper model from Revell with clearer instructions as a practice object before attempting the 59.90 Swiss francs Toyota racer from Tamiya. After all, Sébastien Buemi did not drive his first car race at Le Mans either.