Hard-fought victory for Porsche at Le Mans
THE MOTORSPORT LAP/ It was all about the 24 hours of Le Mans this past weekend with a nail-biting end to the race
Arguably one of the best forms of motorsport, the World Endurance Championship (WEC) continues to draw a fair number of spectators globally, particularly so in the Le Mans 24-Hour race, where both driver and machine are pushed to the limits.
The race, which took place at the Circuit De La Sarthe in France, was characterised by hot temperatures, putting extreme pressure on the drivers, car mechanicals and, crucially, tyres. As usual the top tier LMP1 class was occupied by the Porsche 919 hybrid and the Toyota Gazoo Racing TS04 hybrid cars which jostled for position for the first half of the race.
Sadly, two of Toyota’s cars didn’t see the chequered flag with one of the vehicles crashing, while the other had mechanical maladies — the latter something the team has had to grapple with in recent years. Toyota has also suggested its hybrid system should not be used for 24 hours of racing, in spite of the company being one of the largest makers of hybrid technology, which is an oxymoron on the company’s part.
This meant that Porsche was able to treble its Le Mans winning ways with the team of Bernhard, Bamber and Hartley taking first place on the podium. It was no easy win though, with the team putting in a valiant fight having had front axle issues during the race that meant coming in for an hour of repairs, which relegated them to the back of the pack. Nonetheless, the team’s efforts paid off with an emphatic win after a great charge through the field by Bamber.
Second and third went to the Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca teams of Jarvis, Laurent and Tang and Cheng, Brundle and Gommendy respectively, both LMP2 class cars, in what was a historic moment for the race.
The GTE Pro class was a nailbiting affair that, unfortunately, saw the Corvette Racing team leading car driven by Jordan Taylor losing out on the final lap due to tyre degradation, arguably a typical case of Murphy’s Law, which subsequently opened the door for the charging team of Turner, Adam and Serra (Aston Martin Vantage GTE), who took the class laurels.
They were followed in second by the Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford GT of Priaulx, Tincknell and Derani, while Magnussen, Garcia and Taylor (Corvette Racing) came third.
In the GTE Amateur class, the JVM Motorsport Ferrari 488 GTE of Smith, Stevens and Vanthoor finished first, followed by the Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GTE team of Cameron, Scott and Cioci in second. Third spot went to the Scuderia Corsa Ferrari of MacNeil, Swidler and Bell.
In local motorsport news, it was the Extreme Festival at the Zwartkops Raceway, with the opening race win in the GTC class going to Gennaro Bonafede (Sasol BMW), ahead of Michael Stephen (Engen Xtreme Audi) in second and Mathew Hodges (Volkswagen Jetta) in third spot. Race two went to Stephen who finished ahead of Johan Fourie (EPS Couriers BMW) in second and Bonafede in third position.
In the GTC2 class, Bradley Liebenberg (Ferodo Mini JCW) finished first ahead of Christopher Shorter (Champion Mini JCW) and Keagan Masters (Volkswagen Golf GTI). Meanwhile, the second race saw Liebenberg finish first ahead of Shorter, with Mandla Mdakane (Volkswagen GTI) in third.
HOT TEMPERATURES PUT PRESSURE ON THE DRIVERS, CAR MECHANICALS AND, CRUCIALLY, TYRES