Porsche take victory at Le Mans
Movie star Jackie Chan’s team finish as runners- up
Porsche won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the third year in a row on Sunday with a stunning last-to- first victory in a race of retirements that left early favorites Toyota nursing more heartache.
The German manufacturer’s 19th outright win at the Circuit de la Sarthe followed a night of drama with Toyota’s top two cars retiring and the No. 1 Porsche also suff ering a terminal problem while leading with four hours to go.
That left the No. 2 Porsche, shared by German Timo Bernhard and New Zealanders Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber, to move surprisingly back into contention after being at the back of the fi eld on Saturday.
The trio’s chances had been written off by team bosses when the car suff ered front axle problems and spent 90 minutes in the garage before rejoining some 22 laps adrift of the leading Toyota.
“It can be the cruellest race or it can be the best race ever. You never know,” said Bernhard, a winner with Audi in 2010, who did the final stint to take the checkered fl ag.
Bamber had won with Porsche in 2015 but Sunday was a first for Hartley, the only driver in the two crews yet to taste overall victory at Le Mans.
It was the first time since 1966, when Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon won for Ford, that two New Zealanders had shared the winning car.
The trio hugged and embraced before the podium celebrations in front of a crowd of 260,000.
Their joy could have been that of the No. 1 Porsche drivers – Neel Jani of Switzerland, Britain’s Nick Tandy and Germany’s Andre Lotterer – who were 13 laps clear when the car halted with four hours to go.
“I’m speechless. It’s a crazy race,” said Lotterer after being sidelined by an oil pressure issue.
The podium was completed by two second- tier LMP2 entries, with the No. 38 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca – the team backed by the Hong Kong action movie star – finishing as runners- up.
Dutch- born Hong Kong racer Ho- Pin Tung shared that car with Britain’s Oliver Jarvis and Frenchman Thomas Laurent.
Vaillante Rebellion’s num- ber 13 Oreca driven by Brazilian Nelson Piquet Junior, Denmark’s David Heinemeier Hansson and Switzerland’s Mathias Beche took third place.
Early pacesetters and favorites Toyota saw their hopes of becoming only the second Japanese manufacturer to win, after Mazda in 1991, disappear in an agonising half hour after midnight.
After securing pole position with a record fastest lap on Thursday, their No. 7 and No. 9 cars retired in quick succession.
“It is so disappointing. The car was running very well and we were just taking things steady, building a gap at the front. Then after the safety car, I just had no power,” said polesitter Kamui Kobayashi.