It’s Monday, June 12, 2023 and this is “Who Won Where” — your recap of last weekend’s racing action. All eyes in the motorsports world were focused on France for the 24 Hours of Le Mans this past weekend. Elsewhere, Martin Truex Jr. dominated the NASCAR Cup Series visit to Sonoma Raceway in Northern California. Also, MotoGP returned after a four-week break, with Ducati and Francesco Bagnaia continuing their winning form at Mugello.
Ferrari Wins Thrilling 24 Hours of Le Mans
The No. 51 Ferrari 499P, driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi, Antonio Giovinazzi and James Colado, took the checkered flag to win Le Mans’ centennial anniversary edition. The field of potential overall winners dwindled through a driver’s mistake, mechanic failure or misfortune. Both Ferrari hypercars locked out the front row and were fastest on track but were immune from the chaos. Near midnight, Pier Guidi lost control of his 499P and ended up in a gravel trap while avoiding a stopped car.
Race Results
1. - No. 51 Ferrari
2. - No. 8 Toyota - 1:21.793
3. - No. 2 Cadillac - +1 lap
4. - No. 3 Cadillac - +2 laps
5. - No. 50 Ferrari - +5 laps
Garage 56 Camaro Wins Hearts
The NASCAR Chevy Camaro stock car, driven by Jimmie Johnson, Jenson Button and Mike Rockenfeller, was so much faster than the GTE Am field in practice that race organizers placed the Chevy ahead of the GT cars in the starting order for safety reasons. The Garage 56 entry ran as high as 27th until a transaxle failure. After lengthy repairs, the Camaro was able to return to the track and finish 39th.
Race Results
38. - No. 74 Kessel Racing (GTE Am) - +39 laps
39. - No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports (G56) - +57 laps
40. - No. 38 Hertz Team Jota (Hypercar) - +98 laps
Broken Foot, Broken Radio, But A Le Mans Class Win
The No. 34 Inter Europol Competition LMP2, driven by Fabio Scherer, Albert Costa and Jakub Smiechowski, had a uniquely tough day en route to a class victory. During the first 15 minutes, the GTE Am class-winning Corvette ran over Scherer’s left foot in the pit lane. He remained in the race, hopping in and out of the prototype on one leg. The car itself would suffer a radio failure during the race’s closing stage, and the team had to communicate with the car using signals from the pit wall.
LMP2 Class Results
1. - No. 34 Inter Europol
2. - No. 41 Team WRT - 21.015
3. - No. 30 Duqueine Team - +1 lap
4. - No. 36 Alpine Elf Team - +1 lap
5. - No. 31 Team WRT - +1 lap
Corvette Racing’s Dream Swansong
The No. 33 Corvette, driven by Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nicolas Verrone, secured Corvette Racing’s ninth and final Le Mans class win. While there will be at least one Corvette Z06 GT3.R in next year’s race, Le Mans’ upcoming GT3 regulation prohibits factory teams like Corvette Racing.
GTE Am Class Results
1. - No. 33 Corvette Racing
2. - No. 25 ORT by TF Aston Martin - +1 lap
3. - No. 86 GR Racing Porsche - +1 lap
4. - No. 85 Iron Dames Ferrari - +1 lap
5. - No. 54 AF Corsa Ferrari- +1 lap
Truex Triumphant At Sonoma
Martin Truex Jr. hinted that he’s considering retirement, but the 42-year-old is still winning races. Truex won the Toyota/Save Mart 350 convincingly after leading 51 of 110 laps. Joe Gibbs Racing was strong the entire weekend, with Denny Hamlin winning pole and leading early on. Hamlin crashed out with 19 laps to go, setting the stage for the final restart and Truex to drive from fourth to the win.
Race Results
1. - Martin Truex Jr. (Gibbs)
2. - Kyle Busch (Childress) - 2.979 seconds
3. - Joey Logano (Penske) - 7.436 seconds
4. - Chris Buescher (RFK) - 8.707 seconds
5. - Chase Elliott (Hendrick) - 11.298 seconds
Ducati Dominates Mugello
The added pressures of a home race didn’t phase Francesco Bagnaia. The reigning MotoGP World Champion won pole, the sprint race and the feature race. He led a Ducati 1-2-3-4 finish. Behind Bagnaia, the fight for third place saw both Alex and Marc Marquez crash out of the race.
Race Results
1. - Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
2. - Jorge Martin (Pramac) - 1.067 seconds
3. - Johann Zarco (Pramac) - 1.977 seconds
4. - Luca Marini (VR46) - 4.625 seconds
5. - Brad Binder (KTM) - 8.925 seconds