One year ago at Le Mans, Aston Martin Racing endured through a dark day with the tragic death of Danish driver Allan Simonsen (pictured, last year prior to his fatal early crash at Tertre Rouge).
But today, their No. 95 team – the team that Simonsen competed for in last year’s 24 Hours – earned top honors in GTE-Am with the all-Danish driver lineup of Kristian Poulsen, David Heinemeier Hansson, and Nicki Thiim.
Poulsen brought the No. 95 to the checkered flag with a two-lap advantage over the No. 88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR. The No. 61 AF Corse Ferrari was third.
It marks the second Le Mans win for Poulsen, who picked up an LMP2 victory in the 2009 race while driving the Team Essex Porsche RS Spyder. As for Thiim and DHH, it’s their first Le Mans win.
In the GTE-Pro class, AF Corse chalked up the win with Gianmaria Bruni, Toni Vilander, and Giancarlo Fisichella in their No. 51 Ferrari 458 Italia.
For a time, AF Corse’s fight with the Aston Martin and Corvette Racing camps in GTE-Pro was the highlight of the entire race itself. But they were able to outlast them both, with the No. 73 Corvette finishing second at one lap behind. The No. 92 Porsche Team Manthey 911 RSR completes the Pro podium, two laps down.
And in LMP2, the No. 38 Jota Sport Zytek-Nissan held on by a slim margin after getting a final splash of fuel in the last half-hour of the race.
When Marc Gene was called in to drive for Audi after Loic Duval’s vicious crash, Oliver Turvey stepped in to help the No. 38 team and co-drivers Harry Tincknell and Simon Dolan. It was Turvey that wound up closing out the race for the No. 38.
Chasing them to the bitter end was the No. 46 Thiriet by TDS Racing Ligier, which survived an instance of suspension damage with four hours remaining. Third place went to the No. 36 Signatech Alpine/Nissan.
