The 79th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been one of the most exciting, dramatic, drama filled races in recent memory.
In LMP1 it had looked like Peugeot had pace combined with economy on their side while Audi had slightly more pace but would have to pit more often. The Audi plan needed two huge changes of direction when they found themselves reduced to a lone contender after accidents eliminated two of their cars.
The leading Audi and Peugeot were always within seconds of each other or side by side. So it would all boil down quite literally to last 45 minutes and the final pit stops. The cars came into the pit lane yards apart, Audi had time to change tires and Peugeot didn’t. They left the pit lane 7.85 seconds apart with the Audi in the lead. Lotterer opened up a slim lead and then it began to rain if it wasn’t tense enough...at the finish they were 13.854 seconds apart after 355 laps. Peugeot who lost the race by just 851 yards after 24 hours of racing…
The winning petrol powered car was the #12 Rebellion Rebellion Racing Lola which came 12th overall behind the diesels.
LMP2
This was due to be the battle of the manufacturers under the new regulations. Nissan versus Honda Performance Development. The winning #41 Zytek Nissan came 8th overall with the #26 Nissan Oreca 9th and the #33 Lola Coupe-HPD 10th. Proof that these cars werse reliable and rapid despite the price constraints imposed upon them.
LM GTE Pro
This was a great result for this new category with GM, Ferrari and BMW all on the podium. 18 cars started the race and 10 finished. All but one of The Porsches finished. The front running #74 Corvette racing Corvette crashed out in a collision with one of the Porsches sidelining the crowds favourite Jan Magnussen
LM GTE Am
This, like LM GTE Pro is a new category and we saw 10 cars start and four finished. The #55 Larbre Competition Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 took the win ahead of the #70 Porsche 911 RSR.
In LMP1 it had looked like Peugeot had pace combined with economy on their side while Audi had slightly more pace but would have to pit more often. The Audi plan needed two huge changes of direction when they found themselves reduced to a lone contender after accidents eliminated two of their cars.
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| Peugeot 908 (Photo: WRI2) |
The leading Audi and Peugeot were always within seconds of each other or side by side. So it would all boil down quite literally to last 45 minutes and the final pit stops. The cars came into the pit lane yards apart, Audi had time to change tires and Peugeot didn’t. They left the pit lane 7.85 seconds apart with the Audi in the lead. Lotterer opened up a slim lead and then it began to rain if it wasn’t tense enough...at the finish they were 13.854 seconds apart after 355 laps. Peugeot who lost the race by just 851 yards after 24 hours of racing…
The winning petrol powered car was the #12 Rebellion Rebellion Racing Lola which came 12th overall behind the diesels.
LMP2
This was due to be the battle of the manufacturers under the new regulations. Nissan versus Honda Performance Development. The winning #41 Zytek Nissan came 8th overall with the #26 Nissan Oreca 9th and the #33 Lola Coupe-HPD 10th. Proof that these cars werse reliable and rapid despite the price constraints imposed upon them.
LM GTE Pro
This was a great result for this new category with GM, Ferrari and BMW all on the podium. 18 cars started the race and 10 finished. All but one of The Porsches finished. The front running #74 Corvette racing Corvette crashed out in a collision with one of the Porsches sidelining the crowds favourite Jan Magnussen
LM GTE Am
This, like LM GTE Pro is a new category and we saw 10 cars start and four finished. The #55 Larbre Competition Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 took the win ahead of the #70 Porsche 911 RSR.
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