Ferrari secured an eleventh victory on the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the second in a row for the 499P after success in final 12 months’s Centenary race. Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen within the #50 499P set the document. the French endurance classics alongside final 12 months’s winners Alessandro Piero Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi.
After a race closely affected by rain, Ferrari got here out on high once more.
Let’s recall essentially the most fascinating moments of this 12 months, by which 23 hypercars competed.
After storming to victory in final 12 months’s Centenary race, Ferrari had been clearly on the checklist of potential winners of the 92nd Le Mans 24 Hours. To nobody’s shock, the 499P was at all times effectively positioned among the many entrance runners. Nevertheless, nobody anticipated that for essentially the most half the purple manufacturing facility automobiles performed second fiddle to the yellow automotive shared by Robert Kubica/Robert Shwartzman/Yifei Ye.
From the beginning, the #50 and #51 manufacturing facility automobiles set the tempo. Nicklas Nielsen in #50 took the lead from Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Laurens Vanthoor in #6 Porsche 963. Antonio Giovinazzi (#51 Ferrari 499P) adopted him and overtook the Belgian. A pair of manufacturing facility Ferrari 499Ps had been on high after simply 13 minutes. Just a little additional again, Robert Kubica (#83 Ferrari 499P) began the race simply as determinedly, transferring from twelfth to fifth place.
Nevertheless, the tifosi’s desires of complete supremacy of the prancing horse image had been dashed by the capricious climate.
When the primary drops of rain started to fall from the sky round 5:40 p.m., the groups needed to shortly resolve on a method. A number of hypercars – such because the #51 Ferrari, #4 Porsche and #7 Toyota – switched to moist climate tires very early on. André Lotterer, who had already changed Laurens Vanthoor, made the identical selection for the #6 Porsche 963. It turned out to be the unsuitable selection. That is when Kubica got here into his personal. #83 499P was the one automotive to modify to delicate slicks. When the monitor dried, Robert Shwartzman changed Kubica and took off. His lead saved growing lap after lap.
Closing shootout
Seven hours earlier than the tip, there have been nonetheless 11 automobiles within the lead-up lap that would nonetheless hope for victory. The rain stopped, the battle on this main group was intense, one struggle after one other.
Not all producers had been able to struggle. Cadillac misplaced two automobiles. An oil leak within the #3 Cadillac V-Collection.R (Sébastien Bourdais/Renger van der Zande/Scott Dixon) and a spectacular crash for Pipo Derani within the #311 Cadillac V-Collection.
Porsche additionally suffered. Felipe Nasr #4963 hit a tire wall at Indianapolis. The #5 and #6 963 automobiles held the tempo however appeared uncomfortable. The drivers could not increase their sport to remove the tenths that make the distinction.
The tempo picked up at midday. Antonio Fuoco took lap 46 with a time of three:29.208. However at 12:15 Alex Palou (#2 Cadillac V-Collection.R, Cadillac Racing) shocked the gang: 3:28.938 on lap 253 and was overshadowed on the next lap by Kamui Kobayashi (#7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid) (3:28.756) .
The rain returned earlier than 2:00 p.m. A number of locations turned to heavier drizzle within the first sector, from the end line to the chicane at Daytona. Brendon Hartley spun off on the Mulsanne nook within the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid after being hit by Alessandro Pier Guidi (#51 Ferrari 499P). Ferrari’s first and second place had been on the horizon. Ultimately, even the red-painted Ferrari was cut up by Toyota GR010-Hybrid #7 with the crew of José María López/Kamui Kobayashi/Nyck de Vries. A lead of simply 14.221 seconds below the checkered flag!
United Autosports is again on a successful streak
LMP2 was extensive open as a number of groups staked out their territory in an unpredictable battle over the course of 24 hours. At the beginning of the race, Hyperpole winner Louis Delétraz led the AO within the TF #14 Oreca 07-Gibson. However as time handed and his fellow riders took the lead, the order modified. Because the groups adjusted their methods, Vector Sport #10 (Ryan Cullen/Patrick Pilet/Stéphane Richelmi) and AF Corse #183 (François Perrodo/Ben Barnicoat/Nicolas Varrone) took the lead.
Ben Keating, who had a earlier Le Mans victory to his title, had a tough first relay and crashed out a number of occasions. He was a part of a high-profile lineup with teammates Filip Albuquerque and Ben Hanley.
On Sunday, the Inter Europol Competitors #34 and Cool Racing #37 groups rose to prominence, however below the checkered flag United Autosports took the honors for the primary time since 2020.
Porsche claimed its first victory in LMGT3
It was virtually unattainable to foretell the end result of this new class when the 9 automotive producers lined up on the grid within the LMGT3 class on Saturday. A lot of them topped the chief board sooner or later within the race. After their final victory at Le Mans in 1995, secured in wet circumstances, McLaren returned to repeat historical past. Inception Racing’s #70 720S LMGT3 Evo2 began from pole place in its class, however the automotive completed thirteenth. The #59 and #95 United Autosports groups – numbered as a reminder of McLaren’s previous victories – did not fare a lot better.
Lexus was within the highlight with the #78 and #87 RC F LMGT3 automobiles of Group Akkodis ASP. It was an encouraging debut for the oldest GT3 on the grid, due to get replaced in 2026.
We had excessive hopes for Valentino Rossi within the #46 BMW M4 GT3. The a number of Moto GP champion led the race, helped by a fantastic contribution from Maxim Martin firstly of the race. Nevertheless, Ahmad Al Harthy misplaced management of the automotive on the best way out of the pits and brought about injury that prevented him from persevering with. #31 is the only survivor of the WRT clan.
The Ford Mustang had a outstanding debut and Proton Competitors acquired the most effective out of the automotive. We will count on it to come back again to win.
The Iron Dames have been impressively constant, with occasional forays into first place. But it surely was Porsche that left its mark on this 92nd race. The badged automotive #92 held on all through the race however struggled with gearbox issues. The Manthey EMA #91 Porsche 911 took the lead with Yasser Shahin/Morris Schuring/Richard Lietz on the wheel. They set a formidable tempo and efficiently shook off the opposition, pushing all however the BMW #31 M4 GT3 again a lap.
Supply and picture: 24 h LeMans.com
Outcomes of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2024
