We are in the last hour of racing here at Le Mans. Bring it home. It is a beautiful, sunny afternoon. The gap is a minute and 50 seconds between Alessandro Pier Guidi in the Ferrari and Ryo Hirakawa in the Toyota. Hirakawa does as he is instructed bringing the Toyota to the pits. An unusual decision by Toyota. I wonder if they backed themselves into a corner. That is strange. I don't have any idea why they did not put their more experienced shoe into the car. Brendon Hartley was struggling with rear brake lockup and Hirakawa felt this and made a mistake going into Arnage. Brendon Hartley could have done another stint on the new tires. Action Express now 11th. We did execute well and deserve to be at a race like Le Mans. We might finish outside the top ten but we are going to finish our first Le Mans race. Will we be back? We are not sure yet. I hope we come back.
Both the #2 and #3 Cadillac's at Ganassi Racing have executed well. Antonio Fuoco might hassle the Toyota for the rest of the way and say that AF Corse and the Prancing Horse have come to be here for a reason. Everyone here has a reason to be here to race. This could be the final stop for the Iron Dames. The Peugeot team despite their issues can use this race as a steppingstone to the future. In LMP2, the battle will be between Scherer and Deletraz. We have not heard back about impending penalties for the #34 car. Will there be a penalty in the LMP2 class? That is what we need to find out. Robert Kubica, a Polish driver, races against a Polish team in LMP2. How ironic.
Nicky Catsburg and Corvette lead GTE Am and give a call to both Charlie Eastwood in the Asto Martin and Ricardo Pera in the GR Racing Porsche. They have also turned in stellar drives. Louis Deletraz will take the WRT car to the flag. The gap is down to 10.9 and now 10.6. Albert Costa is concerned. Deletraz is the real deal. He races with Wayne Taylor Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship and did so with Tower Motorsports in the LMP2 class in IMSA as well. This could be yet another thriller of a finish.
Deletraz has to pass though because if the penalty does not come through, there is no guarantee. No worries up front for Alessandro Pier Guidi. He leads Ryo Hirakawa by three minutes. The sector times don't indicate the gaps are any closer. In GTE Am, it is Corvette Racing over ORT by TF Racing and GR Racing. Corvette C8.R, Aston Martin, Porsche, and Porsche with the Iron Dames team for Michelle Gatting, Rahel Frey, and Sarah Bovy. In LMP2 they are pushing, pushing, pushing.
Fabio Scherer is being reeled in by Louis Deletraz. Charlie Eastwood in the Aston Martin is pitting but still in the top three. Again, as I said, don't count out Corvette Racing especially Ben Keating, along with Nicky Catsburg, and Nico Varrone. The next race is Monza in Italy, Fuji in Japan is the race after that and the 8 Hours of Bahrain is the finale. For GM it is a huge day to have one Cadillac on the overall podium and a great finish for Corvette Racing. 41 minutes to go now and it will be a tight squeeze for LMP2.
124 wins globally for Corvette Racing. 113 in North Amrica, eight at Le Mans, and three in the FIA WEC itself. The #31 WRT Oreca of Robin Frijns has been chasing. Corvette Racing congratulating each other on their final pit stop. Ben Keating got his first official Le Mans victory last year with Aston Martin and this year he has teamed up with Nico Varrone and Nicky Catsburg, a couple great drivers. We are into the last half an hour of the race now. Pit lane is closed in the final hour of the race. Will Ferrari do a splash and a dash?
This is the final stop time for LMP2. WRT might have their hand forced. I don't know. No tires for Louis Deletraz so he forces the hand of the leaders in LMP2 to stay on the same tires. It is hammer time. Go for it. The LMP2 cars are weight sensitive. Ferrari last won here at Le Mans for NART (North American Racing Team) with Jochen Rindt, Ed Hugus, and Masten Gregory. Our pal Andrew Marriott did a story on this. Did Ed Hugus even drive? It is possible. We are looking to the final pit stop of the day.
AF Corse are confident. Now into the final 34 mnutes of this race. Fabio Scherer pits the Inter Europol car. It will be a full fuel fill. Or do a short fill to keep the advantage. Have not heard of other penalties in the last few moments. Louis Deletraz continues to push. Porsche #5 for Porsche Penske Motorsports. Michael Christensen, Dane Cameron, and Fred Makowiecki, the car is slow. Glad to have Lena Gade on Eurosport for Le Mans. We will have Alex Brundle join Leigh and Calvin to close out the race.
A solid day for the #3 Ganassi Racing Cadillac. Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande, and Scott Dixon. I must also tip my hat to my buddies at Action Express under team boss Bob Johnson, with Alexander Sims, Pipo Derani, and Jack Aitken. I hope we are able to come back. This race was a learning exeprience, a learning weekend for us. But in learning, now we have knowledge of what Le Mans is all about and I hope we return to Le Mans can be contenders for victory!
Transmission gone on the #5 Porsche 963. Rev limiter engages to limit the torque so the transmission doesn't come apart. Maybe there was a rear axle failure. It's been a tough weekend for the Porsche 963's. Ferrari will box this lap for fuel only with 27 minutes remaining. Final stop. Fuel only, and then drive yourself to sports car racing and Le Mans history. The Toyota army have wilted. We thought Toyota was going to dominate. They didn't.
Was it Ferrari vs. Porsche like the '60s and '70s? Not today. But we have seen Ferrari come through adversity and we knew the boys from Maranello had speed sweeping the front row in quali. This car didn't turn a wheel until July, 2022. Keep that in mind. It is only 11 months old. Here comes Pier Guidi for the final time in the 100th anniversary of Le Mans. The trophy for the centenary is a special one.
Signaling method of car #34 in the signaling area questioned. Maybe that was approved or maybe the signboard was ugly. Bad handwriting. Poor font size. The Ferrari is sitting still! Oh boy! It is not over yet. There is power. There is power? Oh dear! Has Toyota been given a second chance? The Ferrari is OK. Oh man! That was a heart in mouth moment for all Ferrari supporters and all Italians! Mama Mia! James Calado cannot believe it! There is always a sting in the tail. The #2 Cadillac of Earl Bamber will score a podium at Chip Ganassi Racing. Bamber did it twice, including for Porsche with Nick Tandy and Nico Hulkenberg in 2015.
Cadillac have come back to Le Mans for the first time in 21 years and the #2 Cadillac I believe along with the #3 will finish. Oh no! The Glickenhaus is in the wall! Deary me! Franck Mailleux has crunched the wall at the exit of the Daytona Chicane! Very dirty offline. Wow. I think Glickenhaus has had enough of this race and will want to move on. This will be a local yellow. The gap is closing between Toyota and Ferrari with less than 20 minutes to go. Not one single driver in the #51 Ferrari has prototype experience. They are GT and open wheel guys.
Toyota to the lane one final time for the #8. They need the #51 to have issues. Calado has seen this so many times, he is not counting his chickens. Four brands were within a tenth and a half of one another. We have Alpine, BMW, and Lamborghini coming. Honda might come over but we'll see. Bruno Famin, the former Peugeot manager is bringing Alpine. Lamborghini is coming. We'll see how things are and we are back in the golden era of sports car racing.
It is a cyclical situation. This is a great era we are in right now. Alpine incredibly close with Oreca and Hughes de Chaunac. It is an anniversary for Oreca. They have a jump start because that is the frame of the Acura in IMSA with LMDh. Congrats to everyone from NASCAR, IMSA, and Hendrick Motorsports and everyone on the Garage 56 Camaro ZL1 program! I hope that car comes back to Le Mans. I really do.
This is a rebirth of old school endurance racing. Inter Europol Competition leading LMP2. The gap in 13 seconds. WRT are running out of time. 13 and a half minutes to go. Robin Frijns in the #31 WRT entry needs a splash and a dash. Trouble at WRT. Duqueine could get on the podium in LMP2 with 12 minutes left. Neel Jani won here with Porsche in 2016 with the 919 program, alongside Nico Pino, and Rene Binder. WRT know that they might lose a podium. It is evaporating.
Duqueine Team have been around since 1976 and built a popular Formula 3 car in 1983. Sebastien Bourdais racing back at home and will be a step away from the podium. Cadillac and NASCAR Chevrolet Camaro al0ng with Corvette at Le Mans. Just a few more laps to go. There was a threat of late race rain which evaporated. The #5 Porsche 963 is back in pit lane. Last night drivers said they faced the toughest wet conditions ever. No need to push. Bring it home. This is Cadillac Racing with Chip Ganassi Racing.
Hertz Team Jota in front of the garage with the #38 Porsche 963. Mike Conway and the #7 Toyota team, it didn't work out for him or his teammates. Buemi and Hartley will not win today. The target time is a 3:38 so you can avoid crawling around an extra lap. Six minutes is the threshold. Just over sixminutes remaining now. Toyota's points championship chances will take a hit after this race because of losing out on the double points.
Toyota #8 of Hartley, Hirakawa, and Buemi will be at the top of the points, with Ferrari next up and the #2 Cadillac after that. We next race at Monza, Fuji, and Bahrain. Corvette Racing headed for their ninth win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Inter Europol are still waiting for the penalty. The sword of Damocles still there. Method of signaling, pit stops, and reported to the stewards is worse than putting something under investigation.
The #5 Porsche 963 does return to the track. We saw them working in the garage for 20-25 minutes. Tom Kristensen will make the podium presentation. Kristensen has won this race nine times. Toyota were headed for it's sixth win. Ferrari last won this race 58 years ago in 1965. Masten Gregory, Jochen Rindt, and Ed Hugus in a Ferrari 250LM. Final lap. Toyota can only watch. This is a magical moment. Ferrari, for the first time in 58 years, they are going to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans! The win goes to Ferrari, the 499P, after going toe to toe with Porsche, Cadillac, and Toyota. AF Corse, car #51 Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi!
Overall/Hypercar: #51 Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi AF Corse Ferrari 499P
LMP2: #34 Scherer/Smiechowski/Costa Inter Europol Competition Oreca 07
LMP2 Pro-Am: #45 Allen/Braun/Kurtz Algarve Pro Racing Oreca 07
LM GTE Am: #33 Catsburg/Keating/Varrone Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R
Celebrate! Jimmie Johnson, Jenson Button, and Mike Rockenfeller for Garage 56 and the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 NASCAR Gen 7 Cup Car. All three Cadillac's finish as a team. Ganassi #2, Ganassi #3, and Action Express Racing #311! There'll be plenty of tears for all those who win and all those who even finish! Wow! Soak it in. Enjoy it. What a race. What a week. What a celebration of sports car racing. Alessandro Pier Guidi is shocked. He doesn't know what has happened yet.
When we saw the images of this 499P we were all amazed. A Ferrari wins. But I will say this. Congratulations too, to General Motors, to Action Express surviving and bringing the #311 Cadillac home in 10th place. Next year, I hope we come back and maybe next year, will be our year to win the greatest race in the world. Congratulations, too, to Jenson Button, Jimmie Johnson, and Mike Rockenfeller with the NASCAR Garage 56 Chevrolet Camaro endurance NASCAR Cup car. This is a new age, a new golden age of sports car racing.
Let me tell you, we're not getting out of here anytime soon, as the great sports car driver of the recent past, Dorsey Schroeder would say. Congratulations too, to Fabio Scherer and Inter Europol getting their first win ever, at Le Mans! Congratulations too, to General Motors once again on the victory for Corvette and Cadillac, we will be back, I hope. What an incredible Le Mans race again in 2023 for the centenary, this race never ever disappoints. Grand Marshal, Tom Kristensen, the nine-time Le Mans winners, hands the trophies to the Ferrari drivers and team.
A centenary fist bump with The GOAT, Tom Kristensen, and the ceremonial timepieces, the Rolex watches, and the trophies. Celebrate, everyone. You deserve it. Champagne! Go for it! Celebrate! I am glad I write about these races and don't compete. I cannot imagine the emotional rollercoaster that each team and each driver goes through for a race like this. Wow. Ferrari dominated this race. No mistakes. They were formidable the whole time. The LMP2 teams celebrate, Inter Europol. The band plays the Polish anthem.'
We have our last podium for GTE Am and the stars and stripes are represented for Corvette Racing. Congratulations to Ben Keating, Nicolas Varrone, and Nicky Catsburg. It was a very tough race this weekend with the mixed conditions. Congratulations to the GTE Am podium finishers as well. It has been a fantastic celebration of the world's greatest sports car race. So glad we could share it with you. Congratulations to Ferrari and to Corvette. What a day. Thanks for being here and reading the story of the centenary Le Mans. We'll see you next year, everybody. Bring on number 101! So long, everybody. Take care. We'll see you next time in Monza, Italy, at Ferrari's house. See you next month. Le Mans, to, will only get better. We thank you all for being with us. For now, au revoir, bye bye.
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