One year later, the colors of the 24h of Le Mans are still Ferrari Red, with the 499P giving an encore in another exciting race that kept everyone in suspense until the checkered flag.
The fourth event of the FIA World Endurance Championship offered endless emotions on a Circuit de la Sarthe made treacherous by rain which shuffled the cards throughout the night and the final part of the race, along with incredible episodes.
The winners of the 24H of Le Mans #50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen
Photo by: Gianluca D’Alessandro
HYPERCAR: finally #50!
The last thrill for Maranello occurred less than two hours from the end, when Nielsen’s 499P was called back to the pits to close the right door, which remained open after the penultimate stop. This effectively put the Dane in a position to push in order to then be able to make a very quick top-up of energy at the end, and this is where the masterpiece materialized.
The young sprout of the Emilian supply chain, already Champion of the Ferrari Challenge, managed a situation that seemed compromised very well, finding himself once again in front of the Toyota #7 of Lopez/Kobayashi/De Vries, at that moment with the Argentine at the wheel and author of a series of bad mistakes that ended up costing me dearly.
But the applause is well deserved for Nielsen, Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina, who have suffered the pain of hell for a long time, often being the fastest and never rewarded as they could or should have been since the beginning of last year.
For Toyota there remains the regret of having once again played on equal terms, finishing 14.2 seconds behind the winners with a GR010 Hybrid which proved to be competitive in all situations, if put in good conditions, as did not actually happen in the first races. of 2024.
Ferrari completing the podium with the 499P #51 of Alessandro Pier Guidi/James Calado/Antonio Giovinazzi, outgoing Le Mans Champions in a passing of the baton that couldn’t have been better for them and for the Prancing Horse, who were also tenacious in a a race that seemed uphill for a long time.
Porsche is the brand to emerge with wounds to lick as the #6 of Vanthoor/Estre/Lotterer finishes fourth and the #5 of Campbell/Christensen/Makowiecki sixth. The official 963s managed by Team Penske were in the game, losing a bit of ground at the end, but confirming themselves as very solid and better cars than the LMDh.
Among them we have the Toyota #8 of Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa, mocked by adverse episodes in the last two hours, including a wheel that didn’t want to unscrew during a pit stop and the New Zealander’s spin after the tap received from Pier Guidi (punished with a 5″ penalty).
Even the Cadillac was on the scent of a good result, but in the end the best of the V-Series.R was seventh with Palou/Lynn/Bamber, bearers of Chip Ganassi Racing who preceded the Porsches of Team Jota, winners of the Hypercar category reserved for private teams.
Nato/Stevens/Ilott celebrate with the 963 #12, rebuilt in an amazing way by the British team on Friday and ahead of the #38 of Button/Hanson/Rasmussen.
First Top10 grabbed for Lamborghini with the Iron Lynx-designed SC63 #63 of Bortolotti/Kvyat/Mortara, while the #19 of Caldarelli/Cairoli/Grosjean finished in 13th place, without experiencing any problems in the first real 24-hour test for the LMDhs of Sant’Agata Bolognese.
Among them are the disappointing Peugeot #94 and #93, never on the ball in a race where they finally hoped to see the 9X8 in the group of the best.
Finally, honorable mention for the Isotta Fraschini, the smallest Hypercar of the lot in terms of finances and personnel, but which reached the finish line in 14th position with Vernay/Bennett/Serravalle.
The Tipo 6 LMH-C prepared by Michelotto Engineering and managed on the track by Team Duqueine finishes 9 laps from the top, keeping its pace and above all without recording errors or technical problems, a sign that the product can be good and with room for growth from here on out.
#12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963: William Stevens, Norman Nato, Callum Ilott
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
Speaking of the retreatants, it goes without saying that Alpine made a terrible impression, presenting itself with great fanfare complete with a hydrogen Alpenglow and Zinedine Zidane as ambassador and starter of the event.
Two engines fired up in the space of just 6 hours and doors closed well in advance, despite the fact that in the Free Practice we had seen appreciable things from the transalpine LMDh.
There were high expectations at BMW, but the #15 M Hyrid V8 was blamelessly sent to the wall by the #83 Ferrari, while the #20 made too many mistakes and fell back.
The AF Corse 499P itself suffered the worst disgrace, with an electric blackout that denied the yellow Cavallino LMH from fighting for success with just a handful of hours remaining.
The Porsche had an accident with the official 963 #4 on Sunday morning, the #99 of Proton Competition did not confirm the good performances it had performed at Spa, while the #3 Cadillacs were knocked out (technical problem) and #311 (accident).
#22 United Autosports Oreca 07: Gibson: Oliver Jarvis, Bijoy Garg, Nolan Siegel
Photo credit: Rainier Ehrhardt
LMP2: United comeback
United Autosports manages to straighten out a race that seemed to be headed on anything but positive tracks in the LMP2 Class.
The Oreca #22 driven by Jarvis/Garg/Siegel managed to impose itself with a flawless second half, making the most of the night’s Safety Car to get back into the game by beating the Inter Europol Competition #34 of Novalak/Smiechowski/Lomko, winning team last year and still on the podium with a good performance.
Third place goes to the Idec Sport #28 of Van Uitert/Lafargue/De Gérus, which preceded the AF Corse #183 of Perrodo/Varrone/Barnicoat, who take home the success of the PRO/AM subcategory.
Only fifth was the Vector Sport #10 of Pilet/Cullen/Richelmi, long among the 07-Gibson in the lead and left the podium with great regret, ahead of Delétraz/Hyett/Quinn at the finish line, armed with the AO by TF #14 in livery. Spike’ who started from the Hyperpole and finishes second in PRO/AM.
Seventh is the DKR Engineering #33 of Horr/Mattschull/Binder, third PRO/AM with the Algarve Pro Racing #25 in the hands of Caldwell/Kaiser/De Angelis behind.
Among the top ten overall we also find the Panis Racing #65 of Beche/Sales/Huffaker and the Cool Racing #47 driven by Vesti/Rao/Bell, in Top5 PRO/AM.
The Nielsen Racing #24, the Cool Racing #37 (due to last-minute problems) and the United Autosports #23 remain behind.
The Orecas of APR #45, Duqueine #30 and Proton Competition #9 have been withdrawn, all of those that could have had their say before leaving the scene prematurely.
#92 Manthey Purerxcing Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Aliaksandr Malykhin, Joel Sturm, Klaus Bachler
Photo by: Marc Fleury
LMGT3: Porsche beats BMW and Ford
A very intense brawl in the LMGT3 class saw the Porsches emerge along the way and the #91 Manthey EMA with Lietz/Schuring/Shahin was the one celebrating.
The orange-black 911 took the lead and never gave it up, taking advantage of the trouble suffered by its twin #92, and the precious seconds gained in the very last hours on the BMW #31 of Farfus/Leung/Gelael were decisive in getting the better of the M4 by WRT.
Finally a smile for the Ford Mustang too, on the podium with the #88 of Olsen/Pedersen/Roda (Proton Competition) preceding the #44 of Mies/Tuck/Hartshorne at the finish line.
The Iron Dames Gatting/Bovy/Frey bring the Lamborghini #85 to the finish line with satisfaction and also some regret given the potential of the girls, while the usual Alessio Rovera furiously climbs up the slope to sixth place at the wheel of the Ferrari 296 #55 of AF Corse shared with Heriau/Mann.
The Lexus had shown very good things, but at the checkered flag they found themselves only seventh (#78) and tenth (#87), separated by the Ferrari #155 of Spirit of Race and the Aston Martin #777 of D’Station Racing.
The exit of the Corvettes should be forgotten, with the #82 reaching 11th place taking advantage of a final problem suffered by the Ferrari #86 of GR Racing, while the McLarens had also been competitive, only to then lose ground and see the #70 of Inception Racing 13th as best of the 720S.
#Ferrari #masterpiece #499Ps #encore #24h #Mans
