Porsche at Le Mans: Pole But No Cigar!
Pole Position, Four Cars in Top Ten on Lead Lap, & 911 GT3 Victory
Porsche may have missed out on its 20th Le Mans 24-Hour victory over the weekend, but the brand still came home proud with pole position, four cars in the top ten and on the lead lap, and victory first time out in the new GT3 LM class. Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer, and Laurens Vanthoor’s Penske entry was the best of the Porsches in fourth overall.
It was however Ferrari that won its second straight Le Mans 24 Hour since returning to the classic in what can only be described as an epic race. Nicklas Nielsen drove an economy run to squeeze home on empty tanks as he took the Ferrari AF Corse 499P he shared with Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina to victory lane. The trio best survived the odds of a treacherous challenge that tested every competitor to the very limit and beyond.
It would also be safe to say that no car of the 63-car grid had anything close to a clean run. The record 23-strong Hypercar field however thrilled the record, closing on 400,000 fans that gathered from around the world at the Sarthe circuit for a superbly run event, to an incredible spectacle. Former 5-time winners Gazoo Toyota Racing trio, Nyck de Vries, Kamui Kobayashi, and Jose Maria Lopez were second from Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi rounded out the podium in the second 5.
Four Porsches in the Top Ten.
They held Estre, Lotterer, and Vanthoor’s Penske Porsche off by just a second. Sebastien Buemi, Ben Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa followed in the second Toyota with Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen, and Fred Makowiecki sixth in the second #5 Porsche. Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, and Alex Palou followed in seventh for Cadillac, ahead of the two JOTA 963s to make it four Porsches in the top ten.
The weekend started well for Porsche when Kevin Estre put the World Endurance Championship leading number 6 Penske Porsche on pole position. They, the number 5 and the two JOTA Cars remained in contention throughout. All four of them were still on the lead lap of an epic race after 24 hours of incredible action.
Estre converted pole position into the early lead, but Ferrari went onto the attack from the get-go. The 50 jumped up to second behind the leading Porsche. The 50 Ferrari soon moved ahead and then the 50 claimed second from Estre, with the yellow AF Corse 83 Ferrari and the 8 Toyota in chase. There was little drama until the rain started after three hours. Several cars to switched to wet tyres in spite of most of the track remaining dry.
Rain, Fog, and Drama Throughout an Epic Race
That proved the wrong decision. Ferrari duo, Robert Kubica in the yellow car, the red 50, as well as the 6 Porsche proved as much by staying out on slicks to establish a healthy top three lead, which they maintained for a few hours. The lead on track however ebbed and flowed as the chasing pack that had switched back to dry rubber, sat out of sync with the ideal strategy and went ahead every time the net leaders pitted. And it reverted again a few laps later, between all the stops.
The Safety Car was later despatched and stayed out for two hours as Le Mans officials repaired the barriers damaged by a crash until past midnight. And when racing resumed, the lead changed perpetually as the rain came and went. A long safety car for rain and fog followed until dawn, by which different strategies, caused mostly by some misfortune causing cars to pit out of sync, started to play out. That left the final quarter of the race to prove pivotal as the various Ferraris, Toyotas, Porsches, and Cadillacs took turns in the lead.
Once that all settled down, Toyota seemed to enjoy an advantage, but the 50 Ferrari was called in to secure a loose door. Ferrari also took the opportunity to fuel the car at that point. That would later prove a quirk of fate, as the 50 only needed to refuel once more to hand Ferrari its 12th Le Mans 24 Hour victory, and its second on the trot since its return from a 50-year hiatus in 2023.
Porsche Still Won at Le Mans – in GT3
In so doing Ferrari prevented pre-race favourites Porsche from claiming a 20th victory and Gazoo Toyota from taking a Le Mans sixth win. Cadillac impressed again as it stayed in contention for victory throughout. Nine cars, two Ferraris, two Toyotas, four Porsches, and a Cadillac finished on the lead lap. Porsche still leads the 2024 World Endurance Championship by eight points from Ferrari, with Toyota another 3 points adrift.
There was however a sliver lining on Porsche’s cloud of Hypercar defeat. Zufferhausen may not have won overall, but its 911 took yet another Le Mans GT win in the new for ’24 LMGT3 class. Richard Lietz, Yasser Shahin, and Morris Schuring took the Manthey EMA 911 GT3 R to victory after a close fight with Augusto Farfus, Sean Gelael, and Darren Leung’s BMW.
A race of epic proportions in every possible respect, a record 2024 Le Mans 24-Hour grid delivered astounding racing and a result that most of the close to 400,000 crowd will be happy with in the end. Perhaps the most significant motor race on the modern calendar, the countdown now starts for the 2025 race, on the never-ending Road to Le Mans – and Porsche’s 20th Le Mans victory?
Images: FIA WEC