Of the 62 cars that started the motor race, we have had eight official retirements, so, 54 cars still in the race at the end. Only 15% of the field retired, it used to be in the reverse, especially in the 1930s all the way through the '80s with the Group C cars, it was totally different. 362 laps completed for Toyota #8, 3,065 miles. Back in the day, you were good if you got 1/4 of the starters to the end of the race. GR Racing, AF Corse, Dempsey Proton, GR Racing, AF Corse, they have all passed and GR Racing is now fourth in LM GTE Am. Toyota #8 leads the sister car by 2 minutes and 22 seconds. Brendon Hartley going for three wins and Sebastien Buemi going for four while Ryo Hirakawa could win his first. Nico Muller hit a sausage curb and the right front wishbone cracked and fell out.
#10 is a racing driver rental car story. Drive it like you stole it. Toyota #7 can hope to beat their teammates like they did last year. Kobayashi is the fastest man in Toyota #7. They broke their duck a year ago, but today they have not been able to keep up, losing half a minute in a slow zone. The same deal went with the Glickenhaus team. So long, Ben Constanduros. We've enjoyed having you in the booth for this motor race. We welcome Graham Goodwin and Anthony Davidson back to the booth. Nick Cassidy tried getting by Jan Heylen but no. Heylen passed Barker and then should probably have been asked to give it back, or vice versa.
Olivier Pla in the #708 ran a 3:27.765 within Kamui Kobayashi's fastest lap times. In LMP2 most cars are identical, but you can get marginal gains in your setups. JOTA are a well funded team and in eight visits to Le Mans they have had eight podiums. Great driver lineup and engineering too. We will have the highest number of finishers ever and second only in finishing percentage to the first race in 1923 with 33 cars and only three cars retired for brand new jalopies back in the day. Cars have supposedly been improved, but they haven't been this reliable in forever. Your co-drivers are nervous. You are finishing the race, doing your job and the only reason you are nervous are all those dang near misses you've had during the motor race.
Vincent Abril, Simon Mann, they are just a tenth or so apart. Matt Campbell in the #93 Proton Competition Porsche is going to finish. Algarve Pro and TDS Vaillante have been the same way. Jota's final set of tires. Will Stevens will take it to the flag. AF Corse #51 Ferrari in the lane for service. Don't count your chickens until they hatch. It is not over until the fat lady sings. Panis Racing and United are scrapping for LMP2 places. Don't give anyting away ever. They are fighting for 11th and 12th in LMP2. Charles Milesi, Job van Uitert, Phil Hanson, and its' too late for Vector to get by IDEC for 22nd place. Sebastien Bourdais, elbows out, get off my road! Le Mans, 3/4 of it's distance is still a public road.
With the ground effects cars, the Group C cars, don't cross the white line was the mantra and there was a tall hump over Mulsanne corner. RealTeam in the lane in car #41 maybe for their penultimate stop. JOTA could take the championship lead in LMP2 from the retired WRT car. Porsche #91 fueling up to the finish. Hour one is bonkers. Filipe Albuquerque wouldn't have been vulnerable on the first lap and he is far more experienced than that. The abilities are to drive fast, but use spatial awareness and know ehere you fellow racers are. Jota nearly runs into the GR Racing Porsche! #23 and #37 make their final stops. Oliver Jarvis and Yifei Ye.
Next year, the 100th anniversary of Le Mans. If you love cars, and sports cars, go see the race. Yours truly has been to Daytona and wants to go to Le Mans in spite of the racetrack being out in the middle of the country. Ferrari have not had drivability on any circuit in any condition we've been to this year. Make the best of what you've got. Prema could finish third in LMP2 in their first Le Mans race, some place they've never been to before. Sadly, they could not match JOTA and drivers like Antonio Felix Da Costa and company. I wonder if the car is bang on, or if Da Costa's driving was. So long, Peter Dumbreck. We'll see you next year, mate.
Wow! One of the LMP2 cars has a big incident but stays on the road barely! Julien Andlauer being monstered by Nicki Thiim. So long to Duncan Vincent as well. Glickenhaus #709, final pit stop. The Toyota is a bit more usable and serviceable. How do you use the airflow around the car? The Glickenhaus does have Formula 1 elements to it like the Toyota does. Final stop I'll bet for Toyota #8. Jose Maria Lopez cuts fastest lap of the race on lap 371 with 26 minutes to go. #7 still wants to win. All it takes is one mistake. Win it or spin it or bin it. Everyone wants to win Le Mans. #7 and #8 have both won before. Keep pushing.
Felipe Nasr in fifth in the #5 Penske Oreca LMP2. Jose Maria Lopez's final stop happens now. For decades, Toyota were the factory team that had the highest number of second places before they got the monkey off their back in 2018. It will be very interesting to see GT3 cars coming to Le Mans. Nurburgring, Spa, Le Mans, Daytona, in the same kit. Audi, BMW, Porsche, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley, and so on. Fraga, Bird, and van Gisbergen, and the Riley Motorsports #74 Ferrari for Bee Safe from Greensboro, North Carolina, they will finish fifth in GTE Am.
Algarve Pro Racing will win LMP2 Pro-Am. Nielsen Racing have won Road to Le Mans, and they will be on a podium. Same for DKR Engineering. Splash and dash for Prema. Vector Sport back to the garage. Sebastien Bourdais is from Le Mans. Lopez is 2:06 behind Hartley. Lopez is in win it or bin it mode while Hartley is cruising. Toyota could win their fifth Le Mans 24 Hours putting them ahead of two more heavy hitters, Ford, and Alfa Romeo, who are tied with four alongside Toyota. Jota make their final pit stop.
Ben Hanley and Matt Bell are really happy to be at Le Mans. Car #28 for Jota in the pit lane while the sister car goes out, with ten minutes to go. The future of sports car racing looks extremely bright. If you haven't booked tickets yet for the 2023 Le Mans race, the centenary, the 91st overall running, do so. You've got to check it out. Book a hotel, a campsite, an Air B'n'B, whatever. Two laps to go. Just wait. It's not quite done yet. Ryo Hirakawa could be immortal as a Le Mans winner in his first try. One lap to go as the Glickenhaus lets the Toyota through. I feel for Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez, and Mike Conway not being able to defend last year's title. Glickenhaus will get on the podium, the first American designed car to make the podium since 1969 when it was a Ford GT40. In 2005, it was an Audi R8 but it was for an American team, Champion Racing.
380 laps, 3,217 miles. It's the final lap of Le Mans 2022. 24 Hours, 1 minute, and 20 seconds. Get to the end so you finish. Toyota are the benchmark, sending the message. Bring it on. Everyone else is going to come. Now, Toyota wins for the fifth time! Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa, and Sebastien Buemi! Hartley scores his third Le Mans triumph. Hirakawa his first. Buemi, his fourth tying him with Yannick Dalmas, Henri Pescarolo, Jota #28 wins LMP2! Algarve Pro win the Pro-Am LMP2 class. Brendon Hartley gets three wins. Four for Sebastien Buemi putting him in company with Yannick Dalmas, Henri Pescarolo, and Olivier Gendebien.
Porsche wins LM GTE Pro in the #91, Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Lietz, and Fred Makowiecki. GTE Am, Aston Martin's third win in the Am class, second in three years for TF Sport. Ben Keating finally winning in the Am class for real, with Marco Sorensen, and Henrique Chaves. Gianmaria Bruni gets his fourth win, Richard Lietz his second and his fourth, class win, and Fred Makowiecki gets his first GTE Pro win! Henrique Chaves wins his first, Marco Sorensen
Overall/Hypercar: #8 Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid
LMP2: #28 Aberdein/Jones/Rasmussen Jota Oreca 07
LMP2 Pro Am: #45 Allen/Binder/Thomas Algarve Pro Racing Oreca 07
LM GTE Pro: #91 Bruni/Lietz/Makowiecki Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR-19
LM GTE Am: #33 Keating/Sorensen/Chaves TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage
So glad to see fans back here at Le Mans. Cannot wait for the centenary. It is incredible to think that in 1923, with such primitive technology, still all but three cars ran and finished the motor race. That's incredible. Toyota celebrate, again, for the fifth time. This is one of the greatest challenges of man and machine. Of the 62 starters, 53 cars finished. Only nine didn't make it home. Richard Lietz is the only driver to race ever Le Mans race in GTE Pro and now he has won the race in the class!
Gianmaria Bruni joins Daniel Serra as a GTE Pro winner with two different factory teams, winning with Ferrari, and Porsche. The final GTE Pro winners at Le Mans, Porsche! Paul Dalla Lana has finally podiumed at Le Mans! Congratulations! The fire of wanting to win will keeping burning in his soul. This is a race of joy, a race of pain, a race of endurance, a race of emotion. This is the one and the only 24 Hours of Le Mans. It's an event you live, you experience. We are exhausted physically, mentally, emotionally, as anyone else. Le Mans is a rush. We'll see you next year. Thank you to everyone for joining us for another Le Mans race. 2023, the centenary of the greatest sports car race in the world, get tickets, book a place to stay, pack up, or if you can't be there, join us to read all about it. See you next year!
Half the season is complete. The next event will be a shorter one, much shorter, but at an equally magical circuit, the 6 Hours of Monza in Italy, near Milan, next month, and we are going to be ready for an epic race there, too and we have a new guest. Peugeot join the party along with Toyota, Glickenhaus, Alpine, and the GTE brands. It's going to be a fun one to watch!
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