AF Corse’s Ferrari achieves a historic first triumph in the thrilling sprint finish that decided the Lone Star Le Mans, the sixth round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship.
In Austin, the 499P #83 driven masterfully by Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman, and Yifei Ye led for 4 hours before being overtaken by Toyota #7, which, after suffering a penalty in the final moments, attempted a desperate comeback but had to settle for second place.
The official Ferrari #50 of Molina/Nielsen/Fuoco also made it to the podium, gaining valuable points in the standings over Porsche, while in the LMGT3 class, the Aston Martin of Heart of Racing dominated ahead of the Porsches of Manthey PureRxcing and Manthey EMA.
It was a beautiful race full of surprises at every hour, and AF Corse’s Ferrari finally took home the victory. The 499P #83 had taken the lead in the first hour and stayed there until the fifth, when the Toyota #7 of Kobayashi/Conway/De Vries, which had become a threat, passed it after the pit stop.
The GR010 Hybrid extended its lead and seemed destined for victory, but with 45 minutes to go, it was handed a drive-through penalty for not slowing down under yellow flags displayed earlier when the Peugeot #94 had stopped.
Kobayashi rejoined about ten seconds behind Robert Shwartzman but did not give up, attempting a huge comeback, which was thwarted by a couple of braking errors and the determined defense by the Maranello driver, who pushed to the limit to secure the overall win and also victory among the category’s private teams, giving Ferrari’s 499P its first victory outside the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
This double joy alleviates the disappointment of the early retirement of the 499P #51 of Giovinazzi/Pier Guidi/Calado, which was knocked out after the first stint due to a transmission failure caused by a collision with an LMGT3 car.
The trio of Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen also reached the podium with the 499P #50, although they could not stay close to the leading duo after a strong start by the Spaniard. The crew, winners at Sarthe, collected 15 valuable points, keeping them tied for second place with the Toyota #7 trio and 12 points behind the lead in the Drivers’ Championship.
The Cadillac duo Lynn/Bamber probably deserved the podium, coming back strong with a good fourth place despite having to recover again after an early contact with the Alpine #35 of Milesi/Habsburg/Chatin, which achieved a fantastic Top 5 finish with great performances and the best result of the season for an A424.
On a day when they couldn’t be very competitive, the official Porsche Team Penske cars secured a crucial sixth and seventh place: the 963 #6 of Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor also paid the price of a drive-through penalty for not slowing under yellow flags and narrowly avoided disaster when Sébastien Buemi nearly pushed Estre into the wall on the straight after turn 11. In the end, they earned points that keep them at the top of the World Championship standings, followed at the finish by the #5 of Christensen/Makowiecki/Campbell, who had to make an early pit stop due to a team oversight that left a protective cover on the Pitot tube above the cockpit.
The 963s have to thank a faulty and unlucky BMW: the #20 of Van Der Linde/Frijns/Rast fought for the Top 5 in the early stages, dropping to sixth along the way, but eventually received a 100-second Stop & Go for a technical infraction after already serving a drive-through penalty for track limits, falling to an unremarkable 14th place.
The #15 of Marciello/Vanthoor/Wittmann was initially with its sister car, then suffered a tire issue, spinning out and losing ground, finishing eighth as the best of Team WRT’s M Hybrid V8s.
Rounding out the Top 10 overall was the Alpine #36 of Schumacher/Vaxiviere/Lapierre, followed by the Porsche #38 of Jota driven by Button/Rasmussen/Hanson, second in the privateer category, ahead of its category rival, the #99 of Proton Competition (Andlauer/Jani/Tincknell).
Only the Peugeot #93 of Vergne/Muller/Jensen saw the checkered flag in 12th place, as the #94 of Di Resta/Vandoorne/Duval stopped during the fifth hour due to a technical problem.
Lamborghini secured 13th place with Bortolotti/Kvyat/Mortara, followed by the Toyota #8 of Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa, which served a 30-second Stop & Go penalty for the contact with the Porsche #6 and a drive-through penalty for not respecting blue flags.
In the LMGT3 class, there was no contest as the Aston Martin #27 of Heart Of Racing led from start to finish without any trouble, securing the first win for the new Vantage and also for the American team led by driver Ian James, who, along with Daniel Mancinelli and Alex Riberas, was flawless for all 164 laps.
The Porsches were far behind, filling the remaining podium spots: the 911 #92 of Manthey PureRxcing, driven by Bachler/Malykhin/Sturm, made a strong recovery that brings them closer to the World Championship title, followed by the #91 of Manthey EMA, driven by Lietz/Shahin/Schuring, which beat its rivals in a fierce battle for third place.
The McLaren #59 of Saucy/Cottingham/Costa (United Autosports) and the BMW #31 of Farfus/Gelael/Leung (Team WRT) finished just inside the Top 5, gaining a position due to the late retirement of the BMW #46 of Martin/Rossi/Al Harthy due to a technical issue that denied them a potential podium.
Sixth, a lap down, was the Ford Mustang #77 of Barker/Robichon/Hardwick (Proton Competition), while the #88 of Olsen/Keating/Pedersen retired in the final hour due to problems.
Seventh was the McLaren #95 of United driven by Sato/Pino/Caygill, followed by the Corvette #82 of Juncadella/Koizumi/Baud, the best of TF Sport’s Z06s, as the #81 had to retire due to problems after also serving a penalty for the contact that knocked the Lamborghini #85 of the Iron Dames Gatting/Bovy/Frey out of the Top 10.
The Lexus #78 of Akkodis-ASP finished ninth with Schmid/Robin/K.Van Der Linde. Unfortunately, the Ferrari #55 of AF Corse, driven by Rovera/Mann/Heriau, was handed a 100-second penalty for a technical infraction, after being in the running for a Top 5 finish until the end.
Lamborghinis were left empty-handed, with the #60 of Iron Lynx (Cressoni/Schiavoni/Perera) finishing 12th behind the Lexus #87 and ahead of the Huracan of the Iron Dames.
The Aston Martin #777 of D’Station Racing and the Ferrari #54 of AF Corse also retired due to mechanical problems.
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