The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the most significant racing events of the year. It’s also one of the longest races. You probably weren’t awake and alert for every single moment of the French endurance classic, or maybe you were too busy over the weekend to watch Le Mans. Here are a collection of the race’s most dramatic moments from the FIA World Endurance Championship.
It would be safe to assume that the 62 drivers taking the start of the twice-round-the-clock odyssey would want to make it through the opening stages safely. However, it looked like the race was 24 minutes long and not 24 hours. The No. 75 Porsche 963 locked up its tires going into the Dunlop Chicane and made contact with a Toyota. Later in the lap, Jack Aitken lost control of the No. 311 Cadillac while exiting the first Mulsanne Chicane on wet pavement.
The early stages of the 24-hour race saw changeable conditions. Teams across all classes gambled and stayed out on dry-weather compound tires for as long as they could, but some took it too far. Several drivers got caught in a heavy downpour and aquaplaned off the track surface.
The multi-class nature of endurance racing is a unique challenge for drivers. There were a few notable inter-class incidents during the race. The most visual dramatic was when the No. 22 United Autosports LMP2 dipped its right wheels off the road and speared into the No. 77 Dempsey-Proton Porsche.
The No. 14 Nielsen Racing LMP2 crashed into the outside wall going into the Dunlop Chicane while moving over for the approaching No. 2 Cadillac Hypercar.
This year’s Le Mans ditched the three-safety car restart procedure for a single safety car line. This meant all the hypercars were bunched together at restarts creating exciting wheel-to-wheel battles.
The hero of the race was arguably the NASCAR Garage 56 Camaro stock car. While not in any class, it was just a cool project to watch. The sights and sounds of a stock car going around Le Mans were simply incredible.
No. 51 Ferrari driver Alessandro Pier Guidi thought everything was lost when he spun into the gravel, avoiding another spinning car ahead of him. Thankfully, his Ferrari was able to be lifted out of the gravel trap.
The No. 7 Toyota was collected with Driver/Team Principal Kamui Kobayashi behind the wheel. Kobayashi slowed for a slow zone, a speed-limited portion of the track, and was piled into by drivers who were less aware of the track condition. The damage forced the Toyota hypercar to retire from the race.
The rear-wing-less No. 94 Peugeot hypercar found its way to a comfortable lead at one point of the race. Gustavo Menezes lost control of the car at the first Mulsanne Chicane and hit the barriers. He got the Peugeot back to the garage, but the chance at the overall victory vanished.
Le Mans’ final quarter shaped up to be a fight for the ages between the No. 8 Toyota and the No. 51 Ferrari for top honors at the centennial anniversary race. The wheel-to-wheel action at points looked ripped straight from a Hollywood movie.
The race’s actual Hollywood star, Michael Fassbender, didn’t get to cross the finish line. With less than five hours left, Fassbender lost control of the No. 911 Proton Porsche at the exit of the Porsche Curves and slammed into a concrete wall.
Ryo Hirakawa locked up the No. 8 Toyota’s rear wheels on entry to Arnage and lost control of the hypercar. The No. 51 Ferrari was just 15 seconds ahead, and Hirakawa was pushing the limit to catch the leader. The Toyota backed into the barrier and Hirakawa was able to drive away, but Toyota’s hope for another Le Mans victory faded.
The leading No. 51 Ferrari pulled into the pitlane with less than 25 minutes left in the race. The 499P’s engine failed to restart immediately after the stop. Every second felt like a minute as the hypercar went through its power cycle and finally pulled away with the Ferrari faithfully breathing a sigh of relief.
After over a half-century away from endurance racing’s top class, Ferrari won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the debut running for the 499P hypercar. It wasn’t just any Le Mans. It was the centennial anniversary edition. The Italian team also defeated Toyota Gazoo Racing, the winners of the last five 24 Hours of Le Mans. In some ways, it was the perfect ending to the milestone event.
Alessandro Pier Guidi took the No. 51 Ferrari to the checkered flag. After the cool-down lap, Pier Guidi made another loop of the start-finish straight with his teammates Antonio Giovinazzi and James Colado riding on the car’s sidepods, holding flags and waving to the crowd. Crowds poured into the pit lane to congratulate the winners.