André Lotterer, Benoît Treluyer and Marcel Fassler win the 24 Hours of Le Mans aboard their Audi R18 e-tron hybrid.
The three drivers take their second Le Mans win in a row, and give Audi its first victory with the hybrid system. Kistensen, McNish and Capello, aboard the sister car, made it a 1-2.
Before settling for second because of an little off by McNish, two hours from the finish, the three veterans were seriously pressuring their teammates.
Audi went as far as sweeping the podium, thanks to the R18 Ultra diesel driven by Bonanomi, Rockenfeller and Jarvis that took third place ahead of the team Rebellion’s Lola-Toyota (Heidfeld, Jani and Prost), fourth and best petrol-powered car.
The fourth Audi, the Ultra diesel driven by Dumas, Gene and Duval, settled for fifth; the car having went off twice during the race.
The two Toyota TS030 were a threat for Audi in the early hours of the contest, until the No. 8 car had a huge crash with Anthony Davidson at the wheel. Later on, the No. 7 was also forced to retire with engine issues.
In the LMP2 class, victory went to Team Starworks’ HPD ARX driven by Potolicchio, Dalziel and Kimber Smith, who inherited the lead after the dominant OAK Racing’s Morgan-Judd was hit by technical issues.
In GTE Pro, after the best performance in qualifying was set by Luxury Racing’s Ferrari F458, it was AF Corse’s Ferrari, driven by Giancarlo Fisichella, Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander, that emerged in the lead, to take class victory.
Finally, the GTE Am class offered a thrilling finish, with a great duel between Larbre Competition’s Corvette and IMSA Performance’s Porsche 997. The Corvette decisively took the lead only fifteen minutes to the end.
Le Mans 24 Hours – Final classification :
1. Lotterer-Fassler-Treluyer (Audi R18 E-Tron) - Audi - 378 tours (1st LMP1)
2. McNish-Capello-Kristensen (Audi R18 E-Tron) - Audi + 1 lap
3. Jarvis-Bonanomi-Rockenfeller (Audi R18 Ultra) - Audi + 3 laps
4. Prost-Jani-Heidfeld (Lola-Toyota) - Rebellion +11 laps
5. Gene-Dumas-Duval (Audi R18 Ultra) - Audi + 12 laps
6. Brabham-Chandhok-Dumbreck (HPD ARX-Honda) - JRM - 21 laps
7. Potolicchio/Dalziel/Kimber-Smith (HPD ARX-Honda) – Starworks - 24 laps (1st LMP2)
8. Thiriet/Beche/Tinseau (Oreca-Nissan) – TDS - 25 laps
9. Perez-Companc/Kaffer/Ayari (Oreca-Nissan) – Pecom - 26 laps
10. Ragues/Panciatici/Rusinov (Oreca-Nissan) – Signatech - 27 laps
(…)
17. Fisichella/Bruni/Vilander (Ferrari 458) – AF Corse - 42 laps (1st GTE Pro)
18. Makowiecki/Melo/Farnbacher (Ferrari 458) - Luxury - 45 laps (1st GTE Am)
Etc.
33 cars classified
The three drivers take their second Le Mans win in a row, and give Audi its first victory with the hybrid system. Kistensen, McNish and Capello, aboard the sister car, made it a 1-2.
Before settling for second because of an little off by McNish, two hours from the finish, the three veterans were seriously pressuring their teammates.
Audi went as far as sweeping the podium, thanks to the R18 Ultra diesel driven by Bonanomi, Rockenfeller and Jarvis that took third place ahead of the team Rebellion’s Lola-Toyota (Heidfeld, Jani and Prost), fourth and best petrol-powered car.
The fourth Audi, the Ultra diesel driven by Dumas, Gene and Duval, settled for fifth; the car having went off twice during the race.
The two Toyota TS030 were a threat for Audi in the early hours of the contest, until the No. 8 car had a huge crash with Anthony Davidson at the wheel. Later on, the No. 7 was also forced to retire with engine issues.
In the LMP2 class, victory went to Team Starworks’ HPD ARX driven by Potolicchio, Dalziel and Kimber Smith, who inherited the lead after the dominant OAK Racing’s Morgan-Judd was hit by technical issues.
In GTE Pro, after the best performance in qualifying was set by Luxury Racing’s Ferrari F458, it was AF Corse’s Ferrari, driven by Giancarlo Fisichella, Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander, that emerged in the lead, to take class victory.
Finally, the GTE Am class offered a thrilling finish, with a great duel between Larbre Competition’s Corvette and IMSA Performance’s Porsche 997. The Corvette decisively took the lead only fifteen minutes to the end.
Le Mans 24 Hours – Final classification :
1. Lotterer-Fassler-Treluyer (Audi R18 E-Tron) - Audi - 378 tours (1st LMP1)
2. McNish-Capello-Kristensen (Audi R18 E-Tron) - Audi + 1 lap
3. Jarvis-Bonanomi-Rockenfeller (Audi R18 Ultra) - Audi + 3 laps
4. Prost-Jani-Heidfeld (Lola-Toyota) - Rebellion +11 laps
5. Gene-Dumas-Duval (Audi R18 Ultra) - Audi + 12 laps
6. Brabham-Chandhok-Dumbreck (HPD ARX-Honda) - JRM - 21 laps
7. Potolicchio/Dalziel/Kimber-Smith (HPD ARX-Honda) – Starworks - 24 laps (1st LMP2)
8. Thiriet/Beche/Tinseau (Oreca-Nissan) – TDS - 25 laps
9. Perez-Companc/Kaffer/Ayari (Oreca-Nissan) – Pecom - 26 laps
10. Ragues/Panciatici/Rusinov (Oreca-Nissan) – Signatech - 27 laps
(…)
17. Fisichella/Bruni/Vilander (Ferrari 458) – AF Corse - 42 laps (1st GTE Pro)
18. Makowiecki/Melo/Farnbacher (Ferrari 458) - Luxury - 45 laps (1st GTE Am)
Etc.
33 cars classified