Race report

Le Mans 24 Hours: Robert Kubica wins with Ferrari as Porsche spoils 1-2-3

Ferrari dominates race and achieves third consecutive Le Mans 24 Hours win with third different driver crew

Ferrari has won the 93rd running of the Le Mans 24 Hours with its satellite #83 entry, driven by Phil Hanson, Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye.

The Italian constructor could have been the first manufacturer to lock out the podium at La Sarthe since factory Audi outfit Joest Racing took a 1-2-3 in 2012, but the sister #50 (Fuoco-Molina-Nielsen) and #51 (Calado-Giovinazzi-Pier Guidi) cars were eventually outpaced by the #6 Porsche (Campbell-Estre-Vanthoor) which claimed second.

The race largely was a four-way fight between those cars, which all finished within 30 seconds of one another, though other Hypercar competitors did occasionally join the fray.

Ferrari benefitted greatly from a mid-race safety car period that nullified its deficit following several mistakes, after which the Scuderia’s race execution improved, leaving little opportunity to competitors.

The Cadillac Jota cars started 1-2 on the grid after impressing in Hyperpole, but Sebastien Bourdais’ fears about their raceability, related to a lack of top speed, proved well-founded.

It didn’t take more than a minute for Julien Andlauer (#5 Porsche) to take the lead at the expense of Will Stevens (#12 Cadillac) and Earl Bamber (#38 Cadillac).

The Cadillac Jota cars still maintained second and third in the first hour of the race, but by the end of hour three they had plummeted out of the top 10, though their deficit was under 45 seconds.

Start action

Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo

Meanwhile, Porsche proved to be a serious contender for victory following the #6 car’s disqualification from qualifying due to being underweight. Kevin Estre scythed through the pack, going from 21st to fifth in an hour, then overtaking the Cadillacs for third.

Porsche’s Mathieu Jaminet (#5) lost the lead to Ferrari’s Antonio Fuoco (#50) two and a half hours into the race, with the Italian outdragging his opponent at the exit of Mulsanne corner. Jaminet lost second place to the sister #6 car when it was hindered by an LMGT3 car, then the #5 entry got a drive-through penalty for a slow-zone infringement.

Shortly after 8pm, the #51 Ferrari overtook the #6 Porsche, making it a Ferrari 1-2-3, but the Campbell-Estre-Vanthoor crew kept fighting and eventually took the lead back as the Scuderia made more and more mistakes.

The #51 car in particular suffered a left-front puncture in an incident with a Corvette that also led to a five-second penalty, then a 20-second stop-go penalty after malfunctioning brakes meant the car hit 73km/h instead of 60km/h at the pitlane speed trap.

Meanwhile, the #50 entry got a drive-through penalty for a yellow flag infringement. Two of the three Porsches also had to serve drive-throughs for slow-zone shenanigans, but crucially the #6 was not one of them.

Cem Bolukbasi’s crash at Tertre Rouge at 3:12am, ending Nielsen Racing’s #24 LMP2 entry’s race, reshuffled the cards as it caused the only safety car period of the race. The #51 and #50 Ferraris were two minutes down on the #6 Porsche, but that gap evaporated in a matter of minutes.

The #8 Toyota subsequently took the lead, but it was rather short-lived as Ryo Hirakawa was overtaken by Ye (#83) at 4:51am.

Sixteen hours into the race, the #51 and #83 Ferraris were leading by close to two minutes, but yellow-flag breaches meant they both got drive-through penalties, amid team order drama as Kubica (#83) grew increasingly upset with not being allowed to attack Giovinazzzi (#51).

#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, Matt Campbell

Photo by: Marc Fleury

The Scuderia eventually agreed to a swap, but Kubica wasn’t close enough to make the move anymore.

However, the #51’s advantage was squandered at 11:09am when Pier Guidi lost control on the kerb as he came into the pits, spinning into the gravel trap; he had been leading by some 30 seconds. The Italian veteran dropped down to third after his pitstop, behind the #83 and #50 sister cars, with a 26-second deficit on the lead.

As the #8 Toyota was definitively taken out of the fight for the podium positions – or top 10, for that matter – by a loose wheel following a pitstop, the #83 car pulled away with a 33-second advantage.

Yet, the #6 Porsche couldn’t be discounted, and Matt Campbell had a remarkable stint. The Australian driver caught up with Calado (#51) and swiftly overtook him on the Mulsanne straight, then passed the #50 Ferrari in the pits, with both moves occurring shortly before 2pm.

Taking over from Campbell, Estre brought the gap to Kubica down to 10 seconds with just half an hour remaining on the clock, but was unable to make further inroads, though he still took second place.

Giovinazzi and Fuoco battled all the way to the chequered flag for the last spot on the podium, with the former’s #51 car prevailing.

The #12 Cadillac (Lynn-Nato-Stevens) had a very solid race, taking fifth position just two minutes away from victory, after a mostly trouble-free race. The sister #38 car can’t say as much, with a front-left puncture and a couple of driving errors by veteran Bourdais, who did set the fastest lap of the race with a 3m26.063s on lap 310.

#38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-SeriesR: Earl Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais, Jenson Button

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

The customer Cadillacs entered by Whelen and Wayne Taylor Racing both retired due to technical issues described as a loss of power.

The Alpines went largely unnoticed, except when Paul-Loup Chatin hit the #94 Peugeot at Mulsanne with the #35 car and Jules Gounon beached the #36 entry in the gravel at the same corner. That car also got two severe penalties for pitlane speeding.

Peugeot knew it was going to struggle after complaining about the Balance of Performance, but while the #93 car’s race took a turn for the worse as Paul Di Resta crashed in the first hour, the #94 entry was sometimes seen at the front early on, having opted for an alternate strategy with longer stints thanks to fuel-saving. It eventually finished 12th.

BMW suffered a horrid race with a mix of technical issues, penalties and driver errors, with both cars out of the top 15, while Aston Martin was very low-key – but for lack of actual speed, the Valkyries were consistent and largely stayed out of trouble, with its #009 car taking 13th.

LMP2: Inter Europol beats home favourites TDS Panis Racing

The LMP2 class went the way of Tom Dillmann, Jakub Smiechowski and Nick Yelloly in Inter Europol Competition’s #43 ORECA, which led for pretty much the last eight hours and survived a late-race drive-through penalty to win.

Oliver Gray, Esteban Masson and Franck Perera enjoyed a remarkably consistent race in VDS Panis Racing’s #48 entry and offered relentless competition to the winning car, but lost pace in the late stages of the race and failed to capitalise on their opponents’ penalty.

Third place and Pro/Am honours were taken by Dane Cameron, Louis Deletraz and P.J. Hyett for AO by TF, one lap down on the winning car, with the Swiss driver finally tasting success after losing LMP2 victory on the final lap in 2021 and finishing second in class or sub-class in the last three years.

#43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca 07 - Gibson: Jakub Smiechowski, Tom Dillmann, Nick Yelloly

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

TDS Racing’s #29 entry, which Mathias Beche had qualified on pole, finished down in fifth with no major issues other than a couple of penalties, but the Swiss still took second place in the Pro/Am sub-class alongside team-mates Clement Novalak and Rodrigo Sales.

Fourth position went to the Iron Lynx – Proton #9 car, which started from the antepenultimate spot on the LMP2 grid and fought its way through the pack with drivers Maceo Capietto, Reshad de Gerus and Jonas Ried.

On top of Bolukbasi, there were only two further retirements in LMP2 – both IDEC Sport cars, due to losing wheels. Job van Uitert was travelling at high speed in the Porsche curves when it happened to him, but he escaped unharmed – though that #28 car lost a real shot at a podium finish as they were running in third.

LMGT3: Manthey Porsche prevails

In a much more attritional race, Ryan Hardwick, Richard Lietz and Riccardo Pera prevailed in Manthey’s #92 Porsche; their main competitors, Team WRT’s #46 BMW driven by Valentino Rossi, Ahmad Al Harthy and Kelvin van der Linde, retired shortly before the midway point after van der Linde went off at the Porsche curves.

It still was five different constructors in the top five, with Vista AF Corse’s #21 Ferrari (Heriau-Mann-Rovera) and TF Sport’s #81 Corvette (Andrade-Eastwood-van Rompuy) making up the podium ahead of Heart of Racing’s polesitting #27 Aston Martin and Akkodis ASP Team’s #87 Lexus.

Other brands had a tougher race, with United Autosports’ McLarens both retiring after suffering from alternator and drivetrain problems.

2025 Le Mans 24 Hours - Race results

1 - 2
Cla	Team	#	Drivers	Car	Laps	Time	Interval	Pits	Retirement	Points
1	AF Corse HYPERCAR	83	R. Kubica Y. Yifei P. Hanson	Ferrari 499P	387	24:02'53.332		32		50
2	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR	6	K. Estre L. Vanthoor M. Campbell	Porsche 963	387	+14.084 24:03'07.416	14.084	31		36
3	FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR	51	A. Pier Guidi J. Calado A. Giovinazzi	Ferrari 499P	387	+28.487 24:03'21.819	14.403	35		30
dq	FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR	50	A. Fuoco N. Nielsen M. Molina	Ferrari 499P	387	+29.666 24:03'22.998	1.179	33
4	Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA HYPERCAR	12	W. Stevens N. Nato A. Lynn	Cadillac V-Series.R	387	+2'18.639 24:05'11.971	1'48.973	33		24
5	Toyota Racing HYPERCAR	7	M. Conway K. Kobayashi N. de Vries	Toyota GR010 - Hybrid	386	+1 Lap 24:03'08.984	1 Lap	33		21
6	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR	5	J. Andlauer M. Christensen M. Jaminet	Porsche 963	386	+1 Lap 24:03'45.861	36.877	34		16
7	Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA HYPERCAR	38	E. Bamber S. Bourdais J. Button	Cadillac V-Series.R	386	+1 Lap 24:04'30.532	44.671	34		12
8	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR	4	F. Nasr N. Tandy P. Wehrlein	Porsche 963	386	+1 Lap 24:05'28.957	58.425	32
9	Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR	35	P. Chatin F. Habsburg C. Milesi	Alpine A424	385	+2 Laps 24:06'16.781	1 Lap	33		8
10	Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR	36	M. Schumacher F. Makowiecki J. Gounon	Alpine A424	384	+3 Laps 24:03'37.826	1 Lap	34		4
11	PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR	94	L. Duval M. Jakobsen S. Vandoorne	Peugeot 9X8	384	+3 Laps 24:04'18.871	41.045	31		2
12	Aston Martin THOR Team HYPERCAR	009	A. Riberas M. Sorensen R. De Angelis	Aston Martin Valkyrie	383	+4 Laps 24:03'51.079	1 Lap	33
13	Proton Competition HYPERCAR	99	N. Jani N. Pino N. Varrone	Porsche 963	383	+4 Laps 24:05'04.367	1'13.288	32
14	Aston Martin THOR Team HYPERCAR	007	H. Tincknell T. Gamble R. Gunn	Aston Martin Valkyrie	381	+6 Laps 24:02'56.333	2 Laps	33
15	Toyota Racing HYPERCAR	8	S. Buemi B. Hartley R. Hirakawa	Toyota GR010 - Hybrid	380	+7 Laps 24:05'28.156	1 Lap	31
16	PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR	93	P. di Resta M. Jensen J. Vergne	Peugeot 9X8	379	+8 Laps 24:03'16.528	1 Lap	33
17	BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR	20	R. Rast R. Frijns S. Van Der Linde	BMW M Hybrid V8	375	+12 Laps 24:02'56.020	4 Laps	32
18	INTER EUROPOL COMPETITION LMP2	43	J. Smiechowski T. Dillmann N. Yelloly	Oreca 07	367	+20 Laps 24:04'09.023	8 Laps	36
19	VDS Panis Racing LMP2	48	O. Gray E. Masson F. Perera	Oreca 07	367	+20 Laps 24:06'04.776	1'55.753	33
20	AO by TF LMP2	199	P. Hyett D. Cameron L. Deletraz	Oreca 07	366	+21 Laps 24:05'56.819	1 Lap	36
21	Iron Lynx - Proton LMP2	9	J. Ried M. Capietto R. de Gerus	Oreca 07	365	+22 Laps 24:03'03.559	1 Lap	36
22	TDS Racing LMP2	29	R. Sales M. Beche C. Novalak	Oreca 07	365	+22 Laps 24:05'44.469	2'40.910	34
23	Proton Competition LMP2	11	G. Roda R. Binder B. Viscaal	Oreca 07	365	+22 Laps 24:06'09.797	25.328	34
24	United Autosports LMP2	22	R. van der Zande P. Fittipaldi D. Heinemeier Hansson	Oreca 07	364	+23 Laps 24:03'43.736	1 Lap	34
25	Algarve Pro Racing Team LMP2	25	M. Kaiser L. Fluxá T. Pourchaire	Oreca 07	364	+23 Laps 24:04'06.445	22.709	37
26	AF Corse LMP2	183	F. Perrodo M. Vaxiviere A. Felix da Costa	Oreca 07	364	+23 Laps 24:04'41.940	35.495	37
27	INTER EUROPOL COMPETITION LMP2	34	N. Boulle J. Simmenauer L. Ghiotto	Oreca 07	363	+24 Laps 24:03'03.480	1 Lap	35
28	United Autosports LMP2	23	D. Schneider O. Jarvis B. Hanley	Oreca 07	363	+24 Laps 24:06'04.223	3'00.743	33
29	RLR MSport LMP2	16	M. Jensen R. Cullen P. Pilet	Oreca 07	362	+25 Laps 24:02'54.768	1 Lap	34
30	Algarve Pro Racing Team LMP2	45	G. Kurtz N. Catsburg A. Quinn	Oreca 07	362	+25 Laps 24:04'06.381	1'11.613	38
31	BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR	15	D. Vanthoor R. Marciello K. Magnussen	BMW M Hybrid V8	361	+26 Laps 24:04'22.255	1 Lap	32
32	CLX Pure Rxcing LMP2	37	A. Malykhin T. Blomqvist T. Vautier	Oreca 07	358	+29 Laps 24:06'11.786	3 Laps	35
33	Manthey 1st Phorm LMGT3	92	R. Hardwick R. Pera R. Lietz	Porsche 911 GT3 R	341	+46 Laps 24:03'22.925	17 Laps	34
34	Vista AF Corse LMGT3	21	F. Heriau S. Mann A. Rovera	Ferrari 296 GT3	341	+46 Laps 24:03'56.184	33.259	34
35	TF Sport LMGT3	81	T. Rompuy R. Andrade C. Eastwood	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	341	+46 Laps 24:04'34.635	38.451	34
36	Heart of Racing Team LMGT3	27	I. James M. Drudi Z. Robichon	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	341	+46 Laps 24:05'38.047	1'03.412	35
37	AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3	87	R. Umbrarescu J. Lopez C. Schmid	Lexus RC F GT3	340	+47 Laps 24:02'57.829	1 Lap	35
38	Manthey LMGT3	90	A. Au L. Hartog K. Bachler	Porsche 911 GT3 R	340	+47 Laps 24:05'17.091	2'19.262	34
39	TF Sport LMGT3	33	B. Keating J. Edgar D. Juncadella	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	339	+48 Laps 24:04'43.509	1 Lap	34
40	Kessel Racing LMGT3	57	T. Kimura D. Serra C. Stevenson	Ferrari 296 GT3	339	+48 Laps 24:05'03.870	20.361	37
41	Proton Competition LMGT3	77	B. Sousa B. Tuck B. Barker	Ford Mustang GT3	338	+49 Laps 24:03'30.810	1 Lap	33
42	AWA LMGT3	13	O. Fidani L. Kern M. Bell	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	338	+49 Laps 24:03'33.531	2.721	39
43	RICHARD MILLE AF CORSE LMGT3	150	C. Toledo L. Wadoux R. Agostini	Ferrari 296 GT3	338	+49 Laps 24:05'03.140	1'29.609	35
44	IRON LYNX LMGT3	61	M. Berry L. Hodenius M. Martin	Mercedes AMG GT3	337	+50 Laps 24:06'46.484	1 Lap	35
45	Racing Spirit of Leman LMGT3	10	D. DeBoer V. Hasse-Clot D. Barrichello	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	336	+51 Laps 24:03'05.865	1 Lap	35
46	Ziggo Sport Tempesta LMGT3	193	J. Hui C. Froggatt E. Cheever	Ferrari 296 GT3	335	+52 Laps 24:04'20.784	1 Lap	35
47	IRON LYNX LMGT3	63	S. Grove B. Grove L. Stolz	Mercedes AMG GT3	334	+53 Laps 24:03'12.269	1 Lap	35
48	IRON DAMES LMGT3	85	C. Martin R. Frey S. Bovy	Porsche 911 GT3 R	334	+53 Laps 24:03'57.025	44.756	32
dnf	IDEC SPORT LMP2	28	P. Lafargue J. Van Uitert S. Alvarez	Oreca 07	308	+79 Laps 20:18'29.995	26 Laps	28	Retirement
dnf	AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3	78	A. Robin J. Hawksworth F. Gehrsitz	Lexus RC F GT3	268	+119 Laps 19:02'41.151	40 Laps	26	Retirement
dnf	Cadillac Whelen HYPERCAR	311	J. Aitken F. Drugovich F. Vesti	Cadillac V-Series.R	247	+140 Laps 16:00'31.169	21 Laps	22	Retirement
dnf	IDEC SPORT LMP2	18	J. Chadwick M. Jaubert A. Lotterer	Oreca 07	206	+181 Laps 13:34'12.511	41 Laps	19	Retirement
dnf	Vista AF Corse LMGT3	54	T. Flohr F. Castellacci D. Rigon	Ferrari 296 GT3	192	+195 Laps 14:04'56.647	14 Laps	19	Retirement
dnf	Cadillac WTR HYPERCAR	101	R. Taylor J. Taylor F. Albuquerque	Cadillac V-Series.R	189	+198 Laps 11:55'38.240	3 Laps	17	Retirement
dnf	NIELSEN RACING LMP2	24	N. Rao C. Bolukbasi C. Braun	Oreca 07	170	+217 Laps 11:10'29.565	19 Laps	16	Retirement
dnf	The Bend Team WRT LMGT3	31	Y. Shahin T. Boguslavskiy A. Farfus	BMW M4 GT3	168	+219 Laps 13:17'27.884	2 Laps	18	Retirement
dnf	TEAM WRT LMGT3	46	A. Al Harthy V. Rossi K. van der Linde	BMW M4 GT3	156	+231 Laps 11:02'28.095	12 Laps	16	Retirement
dnf	United Autosports LMGT3	95	D. Leung S. Gelael M. Sato	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	80	+307 Laps 5:35'58.499	76 Laps	7	Retirement
dnf	IRON LYNX LMGT3	60	A. Gilbert L. Nicolas Hanafin F. Rueda	Mercedes AMG GT3	57	+330 Laps 6:05'02.685	23 Laps	8	Retirement
dnf	Proton Competition LMGT3	88	S. Gattuso G. Levorato D. Olsen	Ford Mustang GT3	46	+341 Laps 3:11'36.304	11 Laps	4	Retirement
nc	United Autosports LMGT3	59	J. Cottingham G. Saucy S. Baud	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	314	+73 Laps 22:52'42.255	19:41'05.951	33
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