Le Mans 24 Hours: Ferrari survives late drama to score back-to-back wins

Nickas Nielsen, Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina took the chequered flag in the #50 Ferrari 499P with a 14s margin over the #7 Toyota GR010 HYBRID of Nyck de Vries, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez, as the #51 Ferrari of defending champions Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi rounded out the podium.

There was drama in the penultimate hour as the right-side door of the #50 Ferrari began flapping rapidly, prompting race control to show a black-and-orange flag. Nielsen was forced to bring the car back into the pits just six laps into the stint, but was able to hold the net lead over the #7 Toyota.

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Nicklas Nielsen celebrates victory

Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt

Nielsen’s run to the finish was made easier by Lopez spinning at the Dunlop Curve and briefly stopping on track, a mistake that ended any remaining chance of Toyota adding to its five wins at Le Mans.

Ferrari had looked rapid from the get go in the 92nd running of Le Mans, with all three 499Ps - including the AF Corse-entered customer entry - charging to the front in the opening hour.

The #50 factory car and the #83 customer entry elected to stay out when rain hit the track briefly on Saturday evening, a decision that put the two 499Ps well clear of the rest of the field as most cars - including the #51 Ferrari - had to return to the pits to switch back to slicks.

The race was neutralised for the first time after night fell at La Sarthe, when the #15 BMW of Dries Vanthoor crashed at the end of Mulsanne after contact with the #83 Ferrari then driven by Robert Kubica.

It took the best part of two hours for the marshals to replace the barriers, with the action resuming just past midnight. Another safety car period followed in the early hours of the morning, as rain and fog made the track unsafe for racing, with Toyota, Porsche and Ferrari all trading the top spot.

It wasn’t until the break of dawn that the race went back to green, with the complexion of the race changing virtually every hour as a number of manufacturers enjoyed stints at the front.

The #50 Ferrari made major headways in the 18th hour before the final rain shower, as Fuoco overtook the #83 Ferrari and the #5 Porsche of Frederic Makowiecki to take second, which became first when an out of sync #2 Cadillac stopped to switch to wet tyres.

Pier Guidi managed to hang on to the final spot of the podium in the #51 Ferrari he shared with James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi despite coming under serious pressure from the #6 Porsche 963 driven by Laurens Vanthoor.

Pier Guidi was hit with a five-second time penalty for colliding with the #8 Toyota of Brendon Hartley in the penultimate hour, an incident that left Hartley facing the wrong side of the track at the Mulsanne corner.

Pre-race favourite Porsche had to settle for fourth position, with Vanthoor finishing just 1.1s behind Pier Guidi in the #6 963 LMDh he shared with Kevin Estre and Andre Lotterer. 

The #6 Porsche had moved into the front in the 18th hour after pitting under a slow zone, which was ironically caused by Felipe Nasr crashing the sister #4 entry into Indianapolis. However, the #6 had to make its next pitstop under a safety car - brought by the Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3’s shunt at the same turn - which dropped the trio back down the order.

#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Sebastien Buemi

Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt

The #8 Toyota delayed by the incident with Pier Guidi ended up fifth, Sebastien Buemi bringing the car he shares with Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa to the finish line ahead of the #5 Porsche of Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen and Frederic Makowiecki.

Cadillac emerged as a surprise contender for victory on Sunday afternoon, as a well-timed pitstop before the last safety car put the #2 V-Series.R of Alex Lynn, Earl Bamber and Alex Palou in the lead - albeit out of sync on pitstops with its immediate rivals.

However, any advantage the factory Chip Ganassi crew could potentially derive from their pit strategy was negated when rain hit the track in the final three hours, which put the entire Hypercar field on wet tyres at roughly the same time.

Two-time IndyCar champion Palou eventually brought the #2 Caddy to seventh at the finish, ahead of the two customer Jota Porsches.

The #12 Jota Porsche, which was rebuilt around a new chassis in record time after a crash in FP2 on Wednesday, finished eighth ahead of the #38 car.

Peugeot endured another troubled outing with the new 9X8 2024 that made its debut in the Imola round of the World Endurance Championship, with the car struggling for pace in all conditions.

Stoffel Vandoorne, Paul di Resta and Loic Duval finished 11th in the best of the two factory cars from the French manufacturer, three laps down on the winning Toyota, after picking up a drive-through penalty for overtaking under the slow zone.

The #93 car also had to drive through the pitlane after Mikel Jensen was deemed responsible for a collision with the #95 United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 car. That combined with a crash for Nico Muller under the safety car left him, Jensen and Jean-Eric Vergne down in 12th place in the final reckoning, a lap adrift of the sister car.

Lamborghini was the best of the newcomers in the Hypercar class after a solid if unremarkable run for the Iron Lynx-run factory squad at Le Mans. The Italian marque never had the pace to bother its more established factory rivals, but its two SC63s ran without any major hiccups - save for a couple of spins in the fourth hour.

The #63 Lamborghini entered for the full WEC season finished ahead of the Peugeot in 10th with Mirko Bortolotti, Daniil Kvyat and Edoardo Mortara, while the sister #19 car brought over from IMSA and driven by Romain Grosjean, Andrea Caldarelli and Matteo Cairoli ended up in 13th place.

Isotta Fraschini was the only other new manufacturer to be classified, after Jean-Karl Vernay, Carl Wattana Bennett and Antonio Serravalle managed to take the #11 Tipo6-C to 14th place. 

Both BMW and Alpine were out of the running before midnight on Saturday, despite having shown promising pace in the lead-up to the race.

Engine failures were to blame for Alpine’s double retirement at Le Mans, with Ferdinand Habsburg parking the #35 A424 LMDh at Arnage in the fifth hour and Nicolas Lapierre pulling the sister car shortly after into the garage.

BMW’s troubles began in the opening hour itself as Marco Wittmann went off at the Esses and immediately put the #15 M Hybrid V8 on the back foot. Team-mate Dries Vanthoor was trying to recover from the early setback when he had a coming together with the #83 AF Corse Ferrari of Kubica at the end of Mulsanne at night, with the impact sending him head-on into the armco barriers.

By this point, the #20 BMW was already in the garage after Robin Frijns ran over the kerbs at the Ford Chicane and sustained what appeared to be terminal damage against the barrier. BMW was eventually able to get the car repaired to send team-mate Sheldon van der Linde back on track in the final hour, but the car was not classified as it failed to complete the required 70% distance.

The #83 customer Ferrari that led a major portion of the race on Saturday and was well in contention in the early hours of the afternoon eventually retired with technical issues in the 20th hour, with TV images showing plumes of smoke coming out of the front.

The #3 Cadillac and the #4 Porsche were among the six Hypercar entries to not be classified.

#22 United Autosports Oreca 07 Gibson: Oliver Jarvis, Bijoy Garg, Nolan Siegel

Photo by: Shameem Fahath

United takes unlikely LMP2 win

#91 Manthey Ema Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Yasser Shahin, Morris Schuring, Richard Lietz

Photo by: Shameem Fahath

Porsche triumphs in new-for-2024 LMGT3 class

Porsche scored yet another WEC win in the LMGT3 class as Richard Lietz, Yasser Shahin and Morris Schuring took top honours in the #91 Manthey EMA 911 GT3 R.

The victory in the production-based class boiled down to a straight fight between the Manthey Porsche and the #31 WRT of Augusto Farfus, Sean Gelael and Darren Leung in the closing stages, as a number of leading contenders dropped out due to a variety of reasons.

Gelael managed to grab the lead of the race when rain returned on track with just over two hours to go, but factory Porsche driver Lietz had little trouble getting past his silver-rated rival on the run to Indianapolis to lead the #91 crew to the first-ever LMGT3 victory at Le Mans.

The sister #92 Manthey PureRxcing entry was also in the victory battle for much of the enduro and was actually leading the class when Klaus Bachler was forced to bring the car to the garage with electrical problems.

Proton Competition took spots three and four with its pair of Ford Mustang GT3s, the #88 car of Dennis Olsen, Giorgio Roda and Mikkel Pedersen finishing ahead of Christopher Mies, Ben Tuck and John Hartshorne in the sister entry.

All three McLaren 720S GT3 entries, including the pole-winning Inception Racing car, suffered a spate of issues on Sunday that left them out of the reckoning.

Main Information Additional Data Driver Info Driver Info

1

 - 

4

Main Information Additional Data 1  -  2
Cla	Team	#	Drivers	Car	Laps	Time	Interval	Pits	Retirement	Points
1	FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR	50	A. Fuoco M. Molina N. Nielsen	Ferrari 499P	311	24:01'55.856		26
2	Toyota Racing HYPERCAR	7	J. Lopez K. Kobayashi N. de Vries	Toyota GR010 - Hybrid	311	+14.221 24:02'10.077	14.221	31
3	FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR	51	A. Pier Guidi J. Calado A. Giovinazzi	Ferrari 499P	311	+36.730 24:02'32.586	22.509	28
4	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR	6	K. Estre A. Lotterer L. Vanthoor	Porsche 963	311	+37.897 24:02'33.753	1.167	28
5	Toyota Racing HYPERCAR	8	S. Buemi B. Hartley R. Hirakawa	Toyota GR010 - Hybrid	311	+1'02.824 24:02'58.680	24.927	28
6	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR	5	M. Campbell M. Christensen F. Makowiecki	Porsche 963	311	+1'45.654 24:03'41.510	42.830	24
7	CADILLAC RACING HYPERCAR	2	E. Bamber A. Lynn A. Palou	Cadillac V-Series.R	311	+2'34.468 24:04'30.324	48.814	27
8	HERTZ TEAM JOTA HYPERCAR	12	W. Stevens N. Nato C. Ilott	Porsche 963	311	+3'02.691 24:04'58.547	28.223	27
9	HERTZ TEAM JOTA HYPERCAR	38	O. Rasmussen P. Hanson J. Button	Porsche 963	311	+3'36.756 24:05'32.612	34.065	31
10	Lamborghini Iron Lynx HYPERCAR	63	M. Bortolotti D. Kvyat E. Mortara	Lamborghini SC63	309	+2 Laps 24:04'05.323	2 Laps	25
11	PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR	94	S. Vandoorne P. di Resta L. Duval	Peugeot 9X8 2024	309	+2 Laps 24:04'14.073	8.750	31
12	PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR	93	J. Vergne M. Jensen N. Müller	Peugeot 9X8 2024	309	+2 Laps 24:04'31.774	17.701	29
13	Lamborghini Iron Lynx HYPERCAR	19	R. Grosjean A. Caldarelli M. Cairoli	Lamborghini SC63	309	+2 Laps 24:04'53.605	21.831	27
14	Isotta Fraschini HYPERCAR	11	C. Bennett J. Vernay A. Serravalle	Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 Competizione LMH	302	+9 Laps 24:02'15.874	7 Laps	29
15	United Autosports LMP2	22	O. Jarvis B. Garg N. Siegel	Oreca 07	297	+14 Laps 24:05'21.890	5 Laps	30
16	INTER EUROPOL COMPETITION LMP2	34	J. Smiechowski V. Lomko C. Novalak	Oreca 07	297	+14 Laps 24:05'40.541	18.651	30
17	IDEC SPORT LMP2	28	P. Lafargue J. Van Uitert R. de Gerus	Oreca 07	297	+14 Laps 24:05'55.112	14.571	31
18	AF Corse LMP2	183	F. Perrodo B. Barnicoat N. Varrone	Oreca 07	297	+14 Laps 24:05'56.926	1.814	29
19	VECTOR SPORT LMP2	10	R. Cullen P. Pilet S. Richelmi	Oreca 07	297	+14 Laps 24:06'01.039	4.113	31
20	AO by TF LMP2	14	P. Hyett L. Deletraz A. Quinn	Oreca 07	295	+16 Laps 24:02'27.538	2 Laps	28
21	DKR Engineering LMP2	33	A. Mattschull R. Binder L. Hörr	Oreca 07	295	+16 Laps 24:04'52.960	2'25.422	31
22	Algarve Pro Racing Team LMP2	25	M. Kaiser O. Caldwell R. De Angelis	Oreca 07	294	+17 Laps 24:04'03.049	1 Lap	30
23	PANIS RACING LMP2	65	R. Sales M. Beche S. Huffaker	Oreca 07	293	+18 Laps 24:03'11.820	1 Lap	35
24	Cool Racing LMP2	47	N. Rao M. Bell F. Vesti	Oreca 07	291	+20 Laps 24:04'01.725	2 Laps	30
25	NIELSEN RACING LMP2	24	F. Scherer D. Heinemeier Hansson K. Simpson	Oreca 07	291	+20 Laps 24:04'43.625	41.900	30
26	Cool Racing LMP2	37	L. Fluxá M. Jakobsen R. Miyata	Oreca 07	289	+22 Laps 24:04'52.088	2 Laps	29
27	Manthey EMA LMGT3	91	Y. Shahin M. Schuring R. Lietz	Porsche 911 GT3 R	281	+30 Laps 24:05'50.230	8 Laps	28
28	TEAM WRT LMGT3	31	D. Leung S. Gelael A. Farfus	BMW M4 GT3	280	+31 Laps 24:02'00.179	1 Lap	27
29	Whelen Cadillac Racing HYPERCAR	311	P. Derani J. Aitken F. Drugovich	Cadillac V-Series.R	280	+31 Laps 24:04'30.420	2'30.241	25
30	Proton Competition LMGT3	88	G. Roda M. Pedersen D. Olsen	Ford Mustang GT3	280	+31 Laps 24:04'55.845	25.425	29
31	Proton Competition LMGT3	44	J. Hartshorne B. Tuck C. Mies	Ford Mustang GT3	280	+31 Laps 24:05'54.591	58.746	28
32	IRON DAMES LMGT3	85	S. Bovy M. Gatting R. Frey	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2	279	+32 Laps 24:01'55.953	1 Lap	26
33	Vista AF Corse LMGT3	55	F. Heriau S. Mann A. Rovera	Ferrari 296 GT3	279	+32 Laps 24:03'41.797	1'45.844	30
34	AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3	78	A. Robin T. Boguslavskiy K. van der Linde	Lexus RC F GT3	279	+32 Laps 24:04'12.131	30.334	31
35	Spirit of Race LMGT3	155	J. Laursen C. Laursen J. Taylor	Ferrari 296 GT3	279	+32 Laps 24:04'40.609	28.478	28
36	D'Station Racing LMGT3	777	S. Hoshino E. Bastard M. Sorensen	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	279	+32 Laps 24:05'55.786	1'15.177	28
37	AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3	87	T. Kimura E. Masson J. Hawksworth	Lexus RC F GT3	279	+32 Laps 24:06'24.548	28.762	28
38	TF Sport LMGT3	82	H. Koizumi S. Baud D. Juncadella	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	278	+33 Laps 24:03'59.352	1 Lap	28
39	GR RACING LMGT3	86	M. Wainwright D. Serra R. Pera	Ferrari 296 GT3	278	+33 Laps 24:04'37.912	38.560	30
40	INCEPTION RACING LMGT3	70	B. Iribe O. Millroy F. Schandorff	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	275	+36 Laps 24:05'30.195	3 Laps	29
41	Manthey PureRxcing LMGT3	92	A. Malykhin J. Sturm K. Bachler	Porsche 911 GT3 R	273	+38 Laps 24:02'03.825	2 Laps	31
42	UNITED AUTOSPORTS USA LMP2	23	B. Keating F. Albuquerque B. Hanley	Oreca 07	272	+39 Laps 24:02'19.572	1 Lap	31
43	TF Sport LMGT3	81	T. Van Rompuy R. Andrade C. Eastwood	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	267	+44 Laps 24:05'42.545	5 Laps	29
44	IRON LYNX LMGT3	60	C. Schiavoni M. Cressoni F. Perera	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2	258	+53 Laps 24:05'11.290	9 Laps	27
45	Proton Competition HYPERCAR	99	N. Jani H. Tincknell J. Andlauer	Porsche 963	251	+60 Laps 24:05'35.985	7 Laps	24
46	Proton Competition LMGT3	77	R. Hardwick Z. Robichon B. Barker	Ford Mustang GT3	227	+84 Laps 24:05'56.410	24 Laps	23
	AF Corse HYPERCAR	83	R. Kubica R. Shwartzman Y. Yifei	Ferrari 499P	248	+63 Laps 19:59'07.922		21	Retirement
	CADILLAC RACING HYPERCAR	3	S. Bourdais R. van der Zande S. Dixon	Cadillac V-Series.R	223	+88 Laps 18:20'58.055	25 Laps	22	Retirement
	United Autosports LMGT3	59	J. Cottingham N. Costa G. Saucy	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	220	+91 Laps 19:40'37.969	3 Laps	23	Retirement
	United Autosports LMGT3	95	H. Hamaguchi N. Pino M. Sato	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	212	+99 Laps 19:07'00.816	8 Laps	21	Retirement
	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR	4	M. Jaminet F. Nasr N. Tandy	Porsche 963	211	+100 Laps 17:12'11.091	1 Lap	24	Retirement
	Heart of Racing Team LMGT3	27	I. James D. Mancinelli A. Riberas	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	196	+115 Laps 17:31'56.738	15 Laps	17	Retirement
	Crowdstrike Racing by APR LMP2	45	G. Kurtz C. Braun N. Catsburg	Oreca 07	149	+162 Laps 11:03'58.405	47 Laps	16	Retirement
	DUQUEINE TEAM LMP2	30	J. Falb J. Allen J. Simmenauer	Oreca 07	112	+199 Laps 8:25'05.860	37 Laps	14	Retirement
	JMW Motorsport LMGT3	66	G. Petrobelli L. ten Voorde S. Yoluc	Ferrari 296 GT3	112	+199 Laps 8:58'58.762	33'52.902	14	Retirement
	TEAM WRT LMGT3	46	A. Al Harthy V. Rossi M. Martin	BMW M4 GT3	109	+202 Laps 8:41'04.707	3 Laps	10	Retirement
	BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR	15	D. Vanthoor R. Marciello M. Wittmann	BMW M Hybrid V8	102	+209 Laps 6:31'36.419	7 Laps	10	Retirement
	BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR	20	S. Van Der Linde R. Frijns R. Rast	BMW M Hybrid V8	96	+215 Laps 24:04'37.781	6 Laps	10	Retirement
	Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR	36	N. Lapierre M. Schumacher M. Vaxiviere	Alpine A424	88	+223 Laps 5:32'33.079	8 Laps	10	Retirement
	Proton Competition LMP2	9	J. Ried M. Capietto B. Viscaal	Oreca 07	86	+225 Laps 5:41'06.181	2 Laps	10	Retirement
	Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR	35	P. Chatin F. Habsburg C. Milesi	Alpine A424	75	+236 Laps 4:42'52.956	11 Laps	8	Retirement
	Vista AF Corse LMGT3	54	T. Flohr F. Castellacci D. Rigon	Ferrari 296 GT3	30	+281 Laps 2:08'26.769	45 Laps	3	Retirement
View full results