The Ferrari 499P LMH reaffirmed its dominance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, once again establishing itself as the car to beat. This year, just like last, the Maranello Hypercar demonstrated its superiority on the Circuit de la Sarthe. In the 92nd edition of the legendary French race, the Ferrari #50 crew, composed of Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen, and Miguel Molina, clinched the top spot on the podium. Additionally, Ferrari secured third place with last year's winners: Alessandro Pier Guidi, Antonio Giovinazzi, and James Calado.
The finale was thrilling and uncertain until the very end. An hour before the finish, the standings saw a major shake-up. Nicklas Nielsen, driving the Ferrari 499P with the right door ajar, had to pit to fix the issue. The Ferrari team took the opportunity to adjust the strategy and refuel. Nielsen re-entered the track in fifth position, behind Toyota, Porsche, and his teammate Pier Guidi.
Fortunately, a previous pit stop that could have been deemed unsafe was not penalized. Once back on track, Nielsen began to push, skillfully managing the wet tires and remaining fuel, ultimately crossing the finish line in first place without further stops.
This year, Toyota again had to settle for second place. Just like twelve months ago, a crucial mistake by one of their drivers cost them the race. José Maria Lopez, along with Nyck De Vries and Kamui Kobayashi, lost control while leading, losing precious seconds. Toyota finished just over fourteen seconds behind the winners.
Pier Guidi had to serve a five-second penalty for a collision with Brendon Hartley exiting the pits in the final hours of the race. Despite this, he mounted a spectacular comeback, securing a podium finish and symbolically passing the baton to his teammates.
Despite high expectations, Porsche did not achieve the desired results. Once again, numerical superiority was not enough. The 963 LMDh driven by pole-sitter Kevin Estre, Dries Vanthoor, and André Lotterer finished fourth, ahead of the Toyota of Hartley, Sebastien Buemi, and Ryo Hirakawa. Cadillac, among the fastest in qualifying, finished seventh with Alex Palou, Alex Lynn, and Earl Bamber.
Making its Le Mans debut, Lamborghini met its goal of bringing both cars to the finish. The trio of Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara, and Daniil Kvyat achieved a tenth-place finish overall. Special mention goes to Isotta Fraschini, which finished the race with respectable gaps from the rest of the field.
French teams had less fortune: Alpine was forced to retire, and Peugeot never managed to compete for top positions. BMW had a tough race, plagued by errors and accidents. Notably, the Ferrari 499P from the AF Corse team, driven by Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, and Robert Shwartzman, battled for top positions before retiring due to a hybrid system failure.
As always, the LMP2 race was unpredictable. United Autosport triumphed for the second time with the crew of Oliver Jarvis, Nolan Siegel, and Bijoy Garg, finishing eighteen seconds ahead of last year's winners, Inter Europol Competition. The podium was completed by the Idec Sport team with Paul Lafargue, Job van Uitert, and Reshad de Gerus. The AF Corse team achieved a class victory in ProAm with François Perrodo, Ben Barnicoat, and Nicolas Varrone, finishing fourth overall.
Porsche inaugurated the LMGT3 category with a victory, thanks to Team Manthey and the crew of Richard Lietz, Morris Schuring, and Yasser Shahin. The BMW M4 GT3 from the WRT team, driven by Darren Leung, Sean Gelael, and Augusto Farfus, secured second place.
Valentino Rossi was a standout in the GT3 category, holding the class lead for the WRT team until his teammate Ahmad Al Harthy lost control in the wet conditions. The third place went to the Ford Mustang of Proton Competition, driven by Giorgio Roda, Mikkel Pedersen, and Dennis Olsen, marking a historic result for the iconic Pony Car.
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