The 84th Running of Le Mans – 24 Hours is one for the history books
With the 84th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours behind us, I think it will go down into the history books as one of the most exciting and heartbreaking. It is also one for the history books as it is first Le Mans race ever to have a safety-car start due to wet weather conditions.
With the race underway, there was a huge battle between Porsche, Audi and Toyota with Audi having to drop early on because of a turbocharger failure.
Action was not limited to the Prototype class. The GT class saw plenty of action as well. With the largest grid ever of 60 cars, there were several incidents between the faster LMP1 cars and slower traffic.
With the onslaught of nightfall, the trouble started for Audi as side panel lights had to be replaced. Porsche then lost their #1 position as a result of an overheating issue, which would continue to plague the vehicle throughout the race.
Porsche’s GT class did not have the luck of its LMP1 class vehicles. Both GT cars suffered engine failures.
In LMP2, there was the longtime-leading Thiriet by TDS Oreca we saw shunt in spectacular fashion, handing the class to the Signatech Alpine squad.
Porsche vs Toyota
The big story of the race was the battle waging between Porsche and Toyota. With the #6 Toyota spinning out, and sustaining body damage, it was down to the #2 Porsche to and the #5 Toyota to fight it out to the end.
With Toyota leading in spectacular fashion as a new-comer to the legendary race, they lost in equally spectacular fashion. Kazuki Nakajima’s car broke down in the leading position on the final lap of the race opening it up for the #2 Porsche to grab the win.
In the GTE Am class, we saw a famous win for Ford, 50 years after its first win at Le Mans. The #82 Ferrari spun at Porsche Curves opening up the win for Ford.
Overall, it was an amazing race with times between the first and second position mere seconds. It was definitely a great race for the history books.
Source: Motorsports.com
