Ferrari fends off Toyota to win Le Mans 24 Hours for second year running

This year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans was an action-packed affair, with nine different Hypercar entries leading the race at some point. But, Ferrari survived changing conditions and late-race drama to win the fabled endurance race for the second consecutive year.

The No. 50 Ferrari 499P, with Nicklas Nielsen behind the wheel, crossed the finish line with just two percent of energy in the tank. The No. 7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid of Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries and Jose Maria Lopez had navigated to the front of the pack after starting all the way down in P23 – after Kobayashi brought out the red flag in qualifying, leading to his lap being deleted. However, they had to settle for second place, 14.221secs behind the winning Ferrari.

2023 Le Mans winners Antonio Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado finished third in the No. 51 Ferrari.

1. Double podium for Ferrari
2. No. 7 Toyota goes from P23 to P2
3. First Le Mans podium for Mustang

Ferrari wins 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours

An extended Safety Car period due to treacherous conditions bunched up the field in the closing hours. The No. 50 Ferrari ended up on an alternate strategy after the car’s right-hand-side door came loose. Nielsen was forced to pit to get the issue fixed, and as a result, he had to run his final stint for much longer than his nearest rivals.

Despite being hampered with a power issue, Lopez tried to chase down Nielsen in the closing stages. But the No. 50 Ferrari had just enough energy to hold on to the lead till the finish line. “Returning to Le Mans and winning again, achieving the Prancing Horse’s eleventh overall victory in its history, is something extraordinary—the result of tremendous team effort that proves last year’s success was no fluke,” said Antonello Coletta, Ferrari’s Global Head of Endurance and Corse Clienti.

Ferrari ended up with two cars on the podium. The No. 51 Ferrari finished third overall, despite serving a five-second penalty at the final stop for spinning the No. 8 Toyota. They beat out the No. 6 Porsche for the final spot on the podium by just over a second.

Both of the Iron Lynx-run Lamborghini cars made it to the chequered flag, albeit two laps down. Alpine had to retire both of its cars due to engine failures. BMW had just one car make it to the finish line – it repaired the No. 20 car, which crashed early in the race, and sent it out in the final hour. It was the last car classified, down in 47th place (215 laps down).

Le Mans LMP2 winner: United Autosports

The No. 22 crew of Oliver Jarvis, Nolan Siegel and Bijoy Garg handed United Autosports their second Le Mans win in the LMP2 class. They finished 18.651secs ahead of the No. 34 Inter Europol Competition entry of Clement Novalak, Vlad Lomko and Jakub Smiechowski.

The IDEC Sport Oreca-Gibson entry of Job van Uitert, Paul Lafargue and Reshad de Gerus grabbed the final podium position.

Le Mans LMGT3 winner: Manthey EMA Porsche

Morris Schuring, Yasser Shahin and Richard Lietz, in the No. 91 Manthey EMA Porsche RSR 911, become the first-ever winners in the new LMGT3 class at Le Mans. This new class, which replaces GTE, features race cars based on production models.

The No. 31 Team WRT BMW of Darren Leung, Augusto Farfus and Sean Gelael finished a lap down in second place, followed by the No.88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang driven by Dennis Olsen, Giorgio Roda and Mikkel Pedersen. This is the first-ever podium position for a Mustang at Le Mans.

Seven-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi was in contention for victory in the LMGT3 class, but his No. 46 WRT BMW car had to retire overnight after Ahmad Al Harthy crashed while exiting the Dunlop chicane.

2024 Le Mans 24 Hours winners