Porsche sweep to Le Mans treble

GERMAN TEAM HAD BEEN LAST ON SATURDAY Toyota suffer their second heartbreak in two years.

Porsche won the Le Mans 24-Hour race for the third year in a row yesterday with a stunning last-to-first victory in a race of retirements that left early favourites Toyota nursing more heartache.

The German manufacturer’s 19th 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 suffering 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 field on Saturday.

Bamber had won with Porsche in 2015 but yesterday 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 Kiwis 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 ground to a halt with four hours to go.

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 runner-up.

Dutch-born Hong Kong racer Ho-Pin Tung shared that car with Britain’s Oliver Jarvis and Frenchman Thomas Laurent.

Vaillante Rebellion’s No 13 Oreca driven by Brazilian Nelson Piquet Junior, Denmark’s David Heinemeier Hansson and Switzerland’s Mathias Beche took third place.

Early pace-setters and favourites 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 with mechanical problems.

After taking pole on Thursday, their No 7 and No 9 cars retired in quick succession. –

Picture: EPA GARLANDED. Germany’s Timo Bernhard (right) and New Zealanders Earl Bamber and Brendon Hartley celebrate on the podium after winning the Le Mans 24-Hour race for Porsche yesterday.