For the second consecutive year, Toyota Gazoo Racing has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the No. 8 TS050 piloted by Fernando Alonso, Sebastien Buemi, and Kazuki Nakajima claiming the overall victory.
However, until the final hour, it looked like the defending race winners would have to settle for second to the No. 7 car, piloted by teammates Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José Maria López. The No. 7 led the majority of the race before a suspected puncture in the right-front tire sent López into the pits with one hour, three minutes remaining.
The issue turned out to be a sensor issue with the right-rear tire, which forced the No. 7 to hastily limp around the 8.467-mile Circuit de la Sarthe for another lap before coming in for a second pit stop. That handed the lead - and overall victory - to Alonso, Buemi and Nakajima.
#8 @Toyota_Hybrid TS050 wins the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the second time this Super season!
— 24 Hours of Le Mans (@24hoursoflemans) June 16, 2019
Well done to @alo_oficial, @kazuki_info and @Sebastien_buemi!#WEC #SuperFinale #LeMans24 pic.twitter.com/fEgnzaxiRc
The victory also helped the No. 8 trio earn the FIA World Endurance Drivers’ Championship in LMP1, with Buemi a champion for the second time (2014).
The No. 7 finished second overall, 16.972 seconds behind.
The No. 11 SMP Racing entry of Stoffel Vandoorne, Mikhail Aleshin, and Vitaly Petrov took third and final position on the podium, finishing six laps down.
LMP2: Signatech wins after G-Drive suffers wiring issue
In LMP2, the Signatech Alpine Matmut trio of Nicolas Lapierre, Pierre Thiriet and Andre Negrao (No. 36 Oreca) won for the second consecutive year and claimed the WEC class championship as well.
Signatech’s latest Le Mans victory came thanks in part to a mechanical issue suffered by the G-Drive Racing team.
Their No. 26 Oreca, shared by Roman Rusinov, Jean-Eric Vergne, and Job van Uitert, lost a three-minute lead due to a wiring issue on a pit stop 19 hours into the race. The No. 26 car spent 20 minutes in the pits attempting to fix the issue, losing several positions in the process.
After catching a lucky break, it was smooth sailing for the No. 36 team, who finished a lap ahead of second place finishers Ho-Pin Tung, Stephane Richelmi, and Gabriel Aubry in the No. 38 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca.
The No. 28 TDS Racing Oreca of Loic Duval, Matthieu Vaxiviere, and Francois Perrodo finished third in LMP2.
GTE Pro: Ferrari wins in heartbreaking race for Corvette
Ferrari claimed their first Le Mans GTE Pro victory since 2014, with the No. 51 AF Corse 488 GTE shared by James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi, and Daniel Serra taking the checkered flag.
.@FIAWEC WE DID IT! #Ferrari wins @24hoursoflemans for the 36th time (9 outright + 27 class wins)! BRAVISSIMI RAGAZZI @afcorse #51 #488GTE @DanielSerra29 @CaladoJames @Ale_PierGuidi! You're now in the history books of this legendary race! 🥇🏆🇮🇹 #FerrariCompetizioniGT #LeMans24H pic.twitter.com/FDwWk4e3x4
— Ferrari Races (@FerrariRaces) June 16, 2019
The team claimed the win over the No. 91 Porsche 911 RSR of Gianmaria Bruni, Frederic Makowiecki, and Richard Lietz, with the No. 93 Porsche of IMSA regulars Nick Tandy, Earl Bamber, and Patrick Pilet finishing third.
The No. 66 Chip Ganassi Ford GT of Sebastien Bourdais, Dirk Muller, and Joey Hand finished fourth, as the team and manufacturer marked their final Le Mans run together as a factory effort.
Both Corvette entries did not fare well in the event, with the No. 64 entry of Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Marcel Fassler out of the race when Fassler hit the tire barriers in the Porsche curves towards the end of Hour 6.
The No. 63 Corvette of Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen, and Mike Rockenfeller battled for the class victory into the morning hours. But Magnussen spun in the same part of the track as Fassler, making contact with the barriers and sending the car into the garage for 15 minutes. The team eventually finished five laps off the pace.
GTE Am: Keating Ford narrowly claims class victory
The No. 85 Keating Motorsports Ford GT of Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen, and Felipe Fraga narrowly took the GTE Am class victory, after almost losing the top spot when Keating had to serve a stop-and-go penalty in the closing laps.
Keating Motorsports won the GTE Am battle! Great drive by Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Felipe Fraga! What a well deserved success! 🏆#WEC #LEMANS24 #SuperFinale pic.twitter.com/YTh2sKGPiA
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) June 16, 2019
The penalty shrunk the team’s 36-second lead to less than five seconds over the No. 56 Project 1 Porsche of Jorg Bergmeister, Egidio Perfetti, and Patrick Lindsey. But a strong final stint from Bleekemolen was enough to keep the Wynn’s machine in front at the end.
It marks the first class win for the Ford GT in its customer racing debut.
The No. 84 JMW Motorsport Ferrari of Rodrigo Baptista, Jeff Segal, and Wei Lu was third on the GTE Am podium.