Ryo Hirakawa ♍was leading the race in its 16th hour but his 12 second-lead was disappearing, and a visit to the pits resulted in the entire front end of his car being replaced.

The #51 Ferrari took the lead w🎉hich was converted into a historic♕ victory - but Toyota’s woes have now been attributed to the local wildlife.

Pascal Vasselon, their technical director, explained: “There were some windows whe꧃re we were sometꦚimes dominating Ferrari. There is a logic behind that. 

“After one of these moments where we w𒅌ere competitive, Ryo hit a squirrel. 

“It was probably not a very small one because it has done big da🔴mage to the front end. 

“He was in trouble until the end of the s💃tint 🍸when we could change the front end.”

The #8 did, at🐈 least, finish the 24 Hours of Le Mans but Toyota saw their other car retire earl😼y.

The #7 of Ka༺mui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Jose Maria Lopꦬez endured a premature end when Kobayashi was involved in a multi-car incident.

Toyota had won five editions in a row of the 24 Hours of Le Mans before this past we𒉰ekend.