Kubica/Ye/Hanson are heroic with the #83 Giallo Modena 499P, beating the Porsche-Penske #6 and the Ferraris #51 and #50. Cadillac in Top 5 ahead of Toyota, LMP2 won by Inter Europol, Porsche-Manthey’s Pera wins LMGT3.
AF Corse’s triumph at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a historic success, the team’s second overall win since competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with the Ferrari 499P.
The official Ferraris #51 and #50 victories between 2023 and 2024 are now followed by a remarkable performance from the privately run #83 Giallo Modena, managed by the Piacenza-based squad that already claimed victory last year in Austin.
In the LMP2 class, Inter Europol Competition edged out VDS Panis Racing at the last moment, while Porsche-Manthey with Riccardo Pera on board claimed the LMGT3 class win.
HYPERCAR: Ferrari’s Triple Win
The heroes of the 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans are Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, and Philip Hanson, after a race long dominated by Ferrari, with the Porsche-Penske threat closing in late following a strong start.
The battle was decided by strategies aimed at fending off the official #6 963, expertly driven by Estre/Campbell/Vanthoor, who, just a couple of hours from the finish, fitted fresh tires to challenge the 499Ps.
After the penalty for the #51 of Giovinazzi/Calado/Pier Guidi, the lead passed to the trio in the Giallo Modena #83 prototype with a solid margin to manage, and it was Kubica who ultimately brought the car home.
Porsche pushed hard, overtaking the official Ferraris, but could not surpass the private Piacenza team led by Amato Ferrari. Le Mans remains Ferrari territory, with the special note that this win came from an independent team, marking a triple victory for three different 499Ps in as many years.
Porsche, still chasing its 20th Sarthe victory, must wait longer, while the #51 finished third again for the second consecutive time, leaving the #50 of Fuoco/Nielsen/Molina in fourth.
Among the others, Cadillac finished only with the V-Series.R #12 and #38 run by Jota, finishing fifth and eighth respectively with Stevens/Lynn/Nato and Bamber/Bourdais/Button, both falling back after a good start and suffering some penalties, but still ahead of the Wayne Taylor Racing #101 and Action Express Racing #311 that retired.
Between them was the Porsche-Penske #5 driven by Christensen/Andlauer/Jaminet in seventh, quickly dropping in order and never recovering, behind Toyota #7 of Kobayashi/Conway/De Vries. The white-and-red GR010 Hybrid struggled early due to penalties, but finished sixth — the only Toyota to score points after the #8 of Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa suffered a wheel failure on Sunday morning and dropped to 16th.
In ninth was the third Porsche-Penske #9 of Nasr/Tandy/Wehrlein, followed by Alpine. The #35 with Milesi/Habsburg/Chatin finished ahead of the #36 driven by Schumacher/Gounon/Makowiecki, who, after a couple of penalties, were never able to recover and were among the weekend’s disappointments.
Peugeot had another forgettable outing, failing to score points and remaining anonymous for most of the race. Now all eyes turn to the future of the 9X8, which has been disappointing in every aspect despite heavy investment.
The Aston Martin Valkyries finished their first Le Mans, far from the leaders despite having no ballast and impressive power. The positive note is that no technical problems occurred, a good sign given this was their debut in the toughest race on the calendar.
Finally, disappointment also came from BMW, from which better performance was expected. The M Hybrid V8s struggled to secure top 10 places and had to return to the garage late in the race due to technical issues, losing laps and points, leaving France with a bitter taste.
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