The winning Porsche 919 Hybrid. [Photo by Porsche Motorsport]
Well, they did it. Defying all predictions and expectations, Porsche won Le Mans for the 17th time, defeating Audi (and everyone else) in what will be regarded as a classic 24 hour contest.
The winning #19 car, driven by Nico Hulkenberg, Earl Bamber and Nick Tandy (all rookies at Le Mans), bested all the other competitors and won Le Mans going away. Not only did Porsche win, they took second place as well. Audi had to settle for the final spot on the podium, taking home 3rd place honors.
The winning Porsche 919 Hybrid ran flawlessly for the entire 24 hours and was constantly at the top of the timing charts. While their sister cars (#17 & #18) were delayed by occasional mechanical issues, the winning car ran flat out for the entire race without any major incidents.
Audi, on the other hand, had a Le Mans 24 hour race to forget. Although they had the pace of the Porsches on the track (which surprised some), all three Audis experienced delays in the pits due to uncharacteristic mechanical issues. Perhaps we are getting so used to Audi winning Le Mans, we expect them to run flawlessly all the time. In this race, that was not the case.
However, you have to give credit to all of the drivers on the Porsche and Audi squads – they literally ran flat out for the entire 24 hours, doing an incredible job of driving. Watching the live feed from Le Mans of the in car shots gave the observer a true appreciation of the concentration and skill it takes to pilot one of these beasts around the incredibly fast and dangerous Le Mans circuit for stint after stint, hour after hour, in darkness and in sun. Hats off to all of them.
For overall honors it was a Porsche-Audi battle from the very beginning, as the Toyota was never on pace with the Germans and the Nissan wasn’t even close to being a factor. That being said, the battle between Porsche and Audi was a true titanic struggle, with each side taking turns at the head of the field. In the end, however, it was Porsche’s speed and reliability that won the day.
Le Mans is a character builder. There were a few examples of that at Le Mans this year, beside the winning performance of the Porsche squad. How about the race of the winning P2 car KCMG Racing, which lead almost the entire 24 hours? One of its drivers was Nicolas Lapierre, who crashed the Toyota P1 car last year (the car which as it turned out, would have likely won the race going away). He lost his ride at Toyota, came back to Le Mans with KCMG and won this year.
How about Corvette Racing? Having lost their #63 car in a bad accident in qualifying, they regrouped, ran a strong 24 hours and against all odds, won the LM GTE Pro class, fighting hard all the way for the victory.
Also of note, you have to feel for the Ferrari 458 Italia of Bruni, Vilander and Fisichella, also in the LM GTE Pro class. They were leading the Corvette with less than two hours to go when gearbox problems dropped them to third place. It was a great comeback to finish on the podium, but to have a problem like that with the finish in sight must be devastating.
However, the award for most crushing defeat has to go to Paul Dalla Lana who had just taken over for Pedro Lamy in the LM GTE Am class Aston Martin Vantage V8. The car was well in the lead, there were 46 minutes left in the race. All he had to do was cruise around the circuit for those final 46 minutes and victory would have been his. On his out lap, and right before the pits, Dalla Lana flat out lost it and crashed hard into the barriers. Race over, victory gone. Even though close to the pits, that had to be one of the longest walks ever for the driver, to explain to the crew what had happened. But this is racing, and it is hard, and it carries with it all the highs and lows that life can offer – sometimes in just a matter of seconds.
Finally, to end on a high note, the misfortune of the Aston Martin promoted the SMP Racing Porsche to 2nd in the LM GTE Am class. One of their drivers was Patrick Dempsey. Through hard work, a great team and teammates, Dempsey finally got to the podium in his fourth attempt at Le Mans. To him, the elation of that moment must have seemed like an overall victory. To try so hard, to come so close (4th last year), and to finally achieve that podium – that is why racers race and that is why no one outside of racing will ever understand the highs and lows of such a wonderful and cruel sport.
So Le Mans 2015 was a classic. It had drama, excitement, victory and defeat. The winners will bask in their glory; the defeated will regroup and come back. Such is the nature of motorsport; such is the nature of Le Mans.
The following two tabs change content below.