Toyota, Alonso take 24 Hours of Le Mans victory, Porsche dominates GTE

By Jun 17, 2018, 9:56 AM EDT
Photo: Getty Images
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The 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans was as heartbreaking a finish as there ever has been in any racing event, with Kaz Nakajima, Sebastien Buemi, and Anthony Davidson coming up just short after their No. 5 Toyota TS050 ground to a halt as it took the white flag.

This year, it was a case of triumphant redemption for the Japanese marque and team, Toyota Gazoo Racing, with Nakajima and Buemi taking an overdue win, and Fernando Alonso scoring victory in the second leg of the “triple crown” (the Monaco Grand Prix – a race he’s won twice – the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Indianapolis 500).

The trio’s No. 8 entry battled hard with the sister No. 7, in the hands of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and José María López, with the two cars trading the lead multiple times in the first 12 hours.

However, fortunes turned in the favor of the No. 8 in the overnight hours, with Alonso turning in a blistering pace to slash the gap separating the two down to 30 seconds – it had grown to around two minutes – followed by Nakajima continuing the same pace to put the No. 8 car back into the lead.

Buemi then followed suit to build up a healthy lead for the No. 8, while the No. 7 encountered late-race problems that hampered their challenge. Specifically, Lopez spun in the Dunlop chicane, and then Koboyashi was hit with a pair of stop-and-go penalties for a somewhat bizarre incident in which he missed pit entry for a routine stop.

In doing so, it meant Koboyashi both exceeded the permitted amount of fuel use and exceeded the maximum number of laps required between stops – he was forced to do separate stop-and-go penalties for those infractions, dropping him a lap off the leading No. 8, in the hands of Nakajima.

In the end, though, both Toyotas proved fast and reliable, and they finished 1-2 to give Toyota its first Le Mans triumph, and redemption for their 2016 heartbreak. It’s particularly redemptive for Nakajima and Buemi, who were a part of the driving lineup that year, with Nakajima driving the car at the time when it failed.

The team had Nakajima in the car to finish the 2018 race, giving him an extra piece of personal redemption as well.

Rebellion Racing rounded out the LMP1 and overall podium, with Thomas Laurent, Mathias Beche, and Gustavo Menezes piloting the No. 3 R13-Gibson to third.

In LMP2, G-Drive Racing dominated much of the way, with Roman Rusinov, Jean-Eric Vergne, and Andrea Pizzitola taking a class victory by over two laps in their Oreca 07-Gibson, ahead of the Signatech Alpine No. 36 A470-Gibson, in the hands of Nicolas Lapierre, Andre Negrao, and Pierre Thiriet.

For Vergne, who finished the race for G-Drive, it continues a supreme year that also sees him lead the ABB FIA Formula E Championship with one round remaining.

Graff-SO24 finished third in LMP2, with Vincent Capaillaire, Tristan Gommendy, and Jonathan Hirschi rounding out the podium in the No. 39 Oreca.

In GTE, Porsche dominated both the Pro and Am classes. The Nos. 92 and 91 Porsche 911 RSRs, FIA World Endurance Championship entrants for Porsche’s factory team, scored a 1-2 for the German marque as they celebrated their 70th anniversary – both cars featured classic Porsche liveries, with the No. 92 in the “Pink Pig” livery, and the No. 91 in the Rothmans livery.

Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Lietz, and Frederic Makowiecki claimed the victory in the No. 92, followed by Michael Christensen, Kevin Estre, and Laurens Vanthoor in the No. 91.

Ford Chip Ganassi Racing finished third with the No. 68 Ford GT, the best class result for any team from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, in the hands of Sebastien Bourdais, Dirk Muller, and Joey Hand.

In GTE-Am,the Patrick Dempsey co-owned Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche took the victory, with Christian Ried, Matt Campbell, and Julien Andlauer enjoying a faultless race that saw them lead most of the way in their No. 77 Porsche.

The Spirit of Race No. 54 Ferrari 488 GTE finished second in the hands of Giancarlo Fisichella, Francesco Castellacci, and Thomas Flohr, while IMSA’s Keating Motorsports finished third, with Jeroen Bleekemolen, Ben Keating, and Luca Stolz rounding out the podium in the No. 85 Ferrari.

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Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
Ford Performance
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LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).