Le Mans 24 Hours: Ferrari Beats Toyota in Centenary Race of Endurance, Corvette wins in LM GTE Class

Le Mans 24 Hours: With the new 499P Le Mans Hypercar, Italian firm Ferrari returned to top-level racing at the Circuit de la Sarthe, and the #51 crew scored Ferrari its first outright Le Mans triumph. Ahead of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa in the #8 Toyota GR010 HYBRID, Pier Guidi crossed the finish line first. The Cadillac V-Series ranked third, earning a place on the podium. Alex Lynn, Earl Bamber, and Richard Westbrook's R was one lap behind the winning Ferrari. Peugeot and Porsche, the only two other Hypercar manufacturers, had some bad luck in those events. Both of Peugeot's unconventional 9X9s were in the thick of the lead battle early on, but Jean-Eric Vergne lost two laps when his car spun because of wet conditions at Mulsanne corner, and Gustavo Menezes encountered a wreck at the first Mulsanne chicane. The three Porsche 963 LMDhs entered by Penske fared significantly worse, suffering various delays throughout the race.

Also Read: Le Mans 24 Hours: 5 Most Successful Teams and Drivers at Circuit de la Sarthe

Le Mans 24 Hours: Hypercar Race Result

Porsche #75  with a fuel pressure issue was the first Hypercar to withdraw, and then Kevin Estre's accident at the Porsche Curves dropped the manufacturer's best-placed car (#6) out of the race, causing the team to lose even more time, as they had to replace the hybrid battery.

After suffering setbacks caused by a puncture and a leak in the cooling system, the #5 machine driven by Porsche was on track to finish in fifth place. However, in the last hour of the race, it had an unidentified technical failure that caused it to fall to ninth place.

Also Read: Le Mans 24 Hours History: Everything You Need to Know about World's Oldest Endurance Racing Event

Le Mans 24 Hours: Corvette Racing Wins GTE Class

Before the GTE class retires in favour of GT3 vehicles in 2024, Corvette Racing managed to achieve a fitting last win for GTE equipment at Le Mans. A 10-minute pit stop to fix a front damper cost the lone C8.R two laps, and when the safety car came out early to let several cars back on the track, the C8.R still couldn't make up any ground. Due to Nicky Catsburg, Nico Varrone, and Ben Keating's lightning-fast driving, the #33 car was able to recover and rejoin the lead lap by the 16th hour, thanks to a flawless performance afterwards.

The Iron Dames Porsche 911 RSR-19 of Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting, and Sarah Bovy lost their lead to the Corvette in the 21st hour. After the ORT by TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage lost distance overnight due to a puncture and a drive-through penalty, Frey fell to a lower position.

The #33 TF Sport vehicle crossed the finish line two minutes behind the Corvette, with the GR Racing Porsche preventing the Iron Dames car from taking third. The Rexy-liveried AO Racing-Project 1 Porsche was in the hunt for the podium until a problem forced them to pull off the track.

Jimmie Johnson, Jenson Button, and Mike Rockefeller's Garage 56 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 NASCAR Cup car had a number of delays in the closing stages due to what seemed to be gearbox troubles, causing it to finish in 38th place. The number of classified cars (39 out of 62) was the lowest since the 2015 event.