Heroic Kubica nets first Le Mans win and third-in-a-row for Ferrari

A marathon stint by the Pole was enough to give the Prancing Horse its third victory since returning to the endurance classic's top class in 2023.

AF Corse’s team principal Amato Ferrari, and drivers Yifei Ye, Robert Kubica and Phil Hanson, together with the Global Head of Ferrari Endurance and Corse Clienti Antonello Coletta celebrate with the trophies on the podium after their victory in the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans. Photo: Fred TANNEAU / AFP

Former Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica stayed off possible fatigue over a final three-hour stint to give Ferrari its third victory in a row at the 93^rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend.

In becoming the first Pole to win the endurance classic, former Sauber F1 driver Kubica and teammates, Phil Hanson and Yifei Ye, also became the first privateer team to win since 2005 when Champion Racing took victory with the ex-works Audi R8 campaigned by Marco Werner, JJ Lehto and Tom Kristensen.

Results

Hypercar

A race described as comparatively uneventful, with only 12 of the 62 entrants falling out and only one safety car period, the winning #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P covered 387 laps to finish ahead of the #6 Penske Porsche 963 of Matt Campbell, Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor.

Despite crossing the line third to make it a 1-3 for the Prancing Horse, the #50 works Ferrari AF Corse entry of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen were disqualified after post-race inspection determined that the rear wing supports did not comply with regulations.

In a statement on Monday evening (16 June) by event organisers, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the disqualification involved missing bolts from the wing support, as well as an overall deflection of 52 mm versus the recommended 15 mm.

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This resulted in the fourth place #51 Ferrari AF Corse entry of James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi and another former F1 driver, Antonio Giovinazzi, moving up a notch to third, and the #12 Hertz Team Jota Cadillac of Alex Lynn, Norman Nato and Will Stevens to fourth.

After a comparatively quiet race where neither it nor its #8 sister car had the pace to compete – not helped by a wheel nut coming off after a pit stop for the latter – the #7 works Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 of former winners Mike Conway, Nyck de Vries and Kamui Kobayashi finished sixth, which ultimately became fifth following the #50 Ferrari’s disqualification.

Out of the 21 cars entered, 18 finished, with the only casualties being the second works Cadillac with engine failure during the night, and the private Whelen entry that stopped on the run to the first corner with the same trouble on Sunday morning.

LMP2

In the second-tier LMP2 class, a late race mishap by the #48 VDS Panis Racing team of Oliver Gray, Esteban Masson and Franck Perera saw victory go to the #43 Inter Europol Competition entry of Tom Dillmann, Jakub Śmiechowski and Nick Yelloly, who themselves were one of the many crews slapped with penalties for speeding in the pitlane during the race.

Taking third in a class making exclusive use of the Gibson-powered Oreca 07 was the #199 AO by TF team of Dane Cameron, Louis Delétraz, P. J. Hyett, and in fourth, the Iron Lynx Proton #9 of Macéo Capietto, Reshad de Gerus and Jonas Ried.

Rounding the top of five of 14 classified LMP2 finishers out of the 17 that started was the TDS Racing #22 of Mathias Beche, Clément Novalak and Rodrigo Sales.

LM GT3

In the LMP GT3 class, race long leaders, WRT, were forced into retirement during the night when an electrical problem sent their BMW M4 into the gravel with South Africa’s Kelvin van der Linde at the wheel.

Never challenged since the BMW’s departure, victory went to the Porsche factory supposed Manthey 1^st Phorm-run 911 GT3 R of Ryan Hardwick, Richard Lietz and Riccardo Pera.

In a top five occupied by five different manufacturers, the #34 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 of François Hériau, Simon Mann and Alessio Rovera finished second, with the final spot on the podium going to the TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette of Rui Andrade, Charlie Eastwood and Tom van Rompuy.

Filling the remainder of the top five in the 16 class car classified, with one not being classified and six others failing to finish, was the Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage crewed by Mattia Drudi, Ian James and Zacharie Robichon, and the Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F of José María López, Clemens Schmid and Răzvan Umbrărescu.

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