Porsche completes its hat trick at Le Mans
The Porsche 919 Hybrid number 2 finished first at the 85th Le Mans 24 Hours, completing the manufacturer’s hat trick at the endurance racing event.
With 65 minutes to go, Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca driven by Ho-Ping Tung was leading the race, while both, Toyota and Porsche had retiremenets with mechanical issues, before leading the race comfortably. The race even saw an LM2 car lead after the 20th hour for the first time ever.
The number 2 Porsche, which took almost an hour in the pits to get its axle repaired charged from 55th position and finally claimed victory with just 65 minutes left in the race. The car, lead by Timo Bernhand in his second outright Le Mans win (third in all) was co-driven by Earl bamber who claimed his first ever Le Mans win.
It was worse for Toyota after the last year’s debacle, as the number 7 TS050 Hybrid retired from the lead, suffering a clutch issue. After a few minutes, the number 9 Toyota was involved in a spectacular collision with the number 25 Manor Oreca, sending both the cars in to the pits. The last standing number 8 Toyota too suffered a front motor failure and retired prematurely.
Jackie Chan DC Racing though claimed a double podium in LMP2 in the end.
In the GTE Pro class, Jonny Adam in his number 97 Aston Martin Racing car claimed victory after battling Jordan Taylor (number 63, Corvette Racing – GM) who suffered a last lap puncture and finished third behind number 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK.
Meanwhile, in the GTE Am class, Dries Vanthoor guided the JMW Motorsport Ferrari to the chequred flag with just two laps to spare. The number 55 Spirit of Race Ferrari came a close second while number 62 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari finished third.
