Audi Sport Team Joest team won the race overall and WEC LMP1 class in their R18 e-tron quatrro with drivers Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Loïc Duval and managed to do 348 laps altogether in dry/wet conditions. This is Loïc Duval first Le Mans win outright, Allan McNish third Le Mans win outright, and Tom Kristensen ninth Le Mans outright win and he dedicate his win to his father who has past early on in the year. Also, to the late Allan Simonsen (I will be writing later in the post).
This was Audi's 12th 24 Hours of Le Mans outright win in the last 14 years. So watch out for Porsche, who will return to the LMP1 category and Le Mans next year, for the first time in 16 years to add to their 16 Le Mans outright wins with their new LMP1 Hybrid race car.
Meanwhile, Toyota Racing team of Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi and Stéphane Sarrazin came in second place in their Toyota TS030 Hybrid, a lap down from the leaders. Third was the second Audi Sport Team Joest drivers of Oliver Jarvis, Marc Gene and Lucas di Grassi in their Audi R18 e-tron, a lap down behind the lead Audi and under two minutes behind the second place Toyota.
Four and half minutes highlights package of the race below from Michelin's own Youtube channel. So enjoy.
Forth place was the second Toyota Toyota TS030 Hybrid of Alexander Wurz, Kazuki Nakajima and Nicolas Lapierre, they were seven laps down at the end, after Nicolas Lapierre crashed heavily at the Porsche curves, but amazingly managed to get his car back to the pits and repaired without dropping any more spots inside the last two hours of the race.
Fifth place was the third Audi R18 e-tron quatrro, current WEC Champions and last years winners of the 24 André Lotterer, Marcel Fässler and Benoît Tréluyerto. They were 10 laps down from the leaders at the end, after they had lead the race from the start until the seventh hour, when the #1 car spent 12 laps in the pits while an alternator problem was fixed. And my opinion they would have won the race again if the R18 e-tron didn't had alternator problems.
Top privateer LMP1 car at Le Mans was Strakka Racing of Nick Leventis, Danny Watts and Jonny Kane in their HPD ARX-03c with a Honda LM-V8 3.4 L V8 was 6th overall, 16 laps behind the leaders.
In LMP2 class, the OAK Racing team of Bertrand Baguette, Martin Plowman and Ricardo González in their Morgan LMP2, Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 engine won in LMP2 class and 7th overall, 19 laps down from the lead Audi.
While in GTE Pro class, was won by Porsche AG Team Manthey team of Romain Dumas, Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz won in their Porsche 991 GT3-RSR, finished in 17th overall, 33 laps down the leading Audi.
While in GTE Am class, was won by Imsa Performance Porsche team of Raymond Narac, Jean-Karl Vernay and Christophe Bourret in their Porsche 997 GT3-RSR and finished in 26th overall, 42 laps behind the leaders.
Also, quick mention to Dempsey Del Piero-Proton team of Hollywood actor Patrick Dempsey, Patrick Long and Joe Foster in their Porsche 997 GT3-RSR, finished in 29th overall, forth in GTE Am class, 43 laps behind the leaders and a lap down behind GTE Am class leaders after 24 hours.
And Finally to Allan Simonsen who was competing at 24 Hours of Le Mans for his seventh time with Christoffer Nygaard and Kristian Poulsen in their Prodrive Aston Martin GE Am spec Aston Martin Vantage GTE, Simonsen spun his Aston Martin Vantage GTE at the Tertre Rouge corner on the third lap of the race and crashed heavily into the barrier. The impact was strong enough to crush part of the roof and rollcage of his Aston Martin Vantage. Simonsen was treated at the scene of the accident before taking him to the circuit's medical centre where he later died from his injuries.
His death was the first such racing incident during a 24 Hours of Le Mans race since Jo Gartner was killed in 1986, while French driver Sébastien Enjolras died more recently in a pre-qualifying session accident prior to the 1997 race.
Motorsport is dangerous sport. No matter if its Go-Karting, motorbikes, Formula 1, Indy Car, Endurance Racing or any kind of Motorsport is dangerous, but motorsport can be safer between tracks, fans, specators, tracks marshells, people in pits, cars and drivers too.
So condolences goes out to Allan Simonsen's family and close friends.
R.I.P. Allan Simonsen (5 July, 1978 – June 22, 2013
Next Stop 6 Hours of São Paulo at the start of September for the FIA World Endurance Championship.
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