The Ferrari 499P Hybrid Hypercar victorious at Le Mans on June 16, 2024 (AFP / FRED TANNEAU)
Ferrari won the 92nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Sunday, where no less than nine cars finished on the same lap after an epic battle with Porsche, Toyota and Cadillac.
Thanks to its N.50, driven by the Italian Antonio Fuoco, the Spaniard Miguel Molina and the Dane Nicklas Nielsen, the Prancing Horse brand won at Le Mans for the 11th time, the second in a row after its prestigious victory. last year in the centenary edition.
A Toyota and the other Ferrari, the N.51 which triumphed in 2023, complete the podium. “Starting 23rd to try to win was not easy when you see the competition,” reacted the Japanese Kamui Kobayashi, driver of the Japanese firm.
The first Porsche, which many saw as the favorite, is fourth.
The race, which was started by Zinedine Zidane, reached levels of intensity rarely seen this year: no less than nine Hypercars (the premier category) finished the race in the winner’s lap, a first. And never has a leader been able to take more than a handful of seconds ahead throughout the 24 Hours.
– Almost out of fuel –
The Ferrari 499P victorious at Le Mans on June 16, 2024 (AFP / GUILLAUME SOUVANT)
On the last lap, the Ferrari N.50 then driven by Nielsen was on the verge of running out of fuel, and only crossed the line with 2% of available energy, while the Toyota N.7 was right behind it. about fifteen seconds.
“The hardest thing for me was when they asked me to ride slowly,” said the Dane, who let tears of emotion flow under his helmet as he passed the checkered flag: “The last lap was so long, endless.”
The match, which was announced to be fierce between three of the greatest manufacturers in the history of endurance, Ferrari, Porsche and Toyota, kept all its promises.
These “historicals” were joined by the American outsider Cadillac, never yet crowned at Le Mans.
For two rounds of the clock, the four manufacturers engaged in a back and forth battle in the lead, depending on strategies, refueling and changes of drivers or tires. Never, until the last hour, was one really able to gain the upper hand over the others.
Miguel Molina (d), Antonio Fuoco (g) and Nicklas Nielsen (c) winners of the 24 Le Mans on June 16, 2024 (AFP / GUILLAUME SOUVANT)
The promoters of the new premier category, Hypercars, launched in 2021, can rub their hands. The regulations, which are based on a “balance of performance” allowing organizers to bring cars closer together, are sometimes criticized. But it is thanks to him that endurance is now experiencing a new golden age, offering races that are more competitive than ever.
– Rossi gives up –
The only downside is the more than six hours spent in total behind the safety car: more than a quarter of the race! The management’s decision to neutralize the event for more than four hours during the night due to heavy rain may have surprised, and disappointed, fans accustomed to seeing fights in the rain at Le Mans.
But the drivers seem to have appreciated: “If we had restarted the race earlier, we knew that in the space of two laps, there would be another accident,” commented Peugeot driver Stoffel Vandoorne on Sunday morning.
In the lower categories, the Oreca N.22 of the United Autosports team won in LMP2 and the Porsche N.91 of the Manthey Ema team won in LMGT3, a category in which Valentino Rossi competed for the first time at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Italian motorcycle legend had to retire during the night, after his teammate went off the track at the wheel of their BMW, then in the Top 5.
As for the French manufacturers, they will still have to wait to hope to return to victory at Le Mans: Alpine left the circuit before 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, after the abandonment of its two prototypes due to engine problems.
Peugeot’s new 9X8s crossed the finish line, but after a completely anonymous race finished in 11th and 12th positions, two laps behind the winners.