There was a time when securing a Le Mans and World Endurance Championship double was almost a formality for Toyota.

In the final days of LMP1, its Cologne-based team was all too often racing against itself. Not any more.

In this Hypercar era, Toyota has found itself slipping into the long shadow of Ferrari, which claimed three Le Mans wins on the bounce when its sensational 499P burst on to the scene in 2023.

Meanwhile, Alpine, Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Genesis and Peugeot have all jostled for glory this year, with Ford and McLaren preparing to join the fray in 2027.

The depth of competition in contemporary premier-level endurance sports car racing stands comparison with past heydays: GT1 in the late 1990s, Group C in the 1980s and even the halcyon days of the 1960s.

That all helps to explain why Toyota's double this year will be especially satisfying, particularly after a deflating 2025 season in which the team scored just a single victory.

Armed with a potent new iteration of the TS010 Hybrid, Toyota's two crews have bounced back spectacularly.

At Le Mans, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries and Mike Conway delivered the Japanese manufacturer its first victory in the 24 Hours since 2022 and sixth in total (equalling Bentley).

Then in Barcelona this month, Brendon Hartley, Sébastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa headed a convincing one-two to wrap up the WEC manufacturers' crown with a round to spare.

This was a third win of the campaign for the #8 Toyota, and its drivers head their team-mates in the #7 by 17 points with just Monza to come (on 8 November).