Heartfelt congratulations to Porsche for a monumental one-two GT PRO victory at Le Mans in this 70th anniversary year of the German sports car!
Porsche has once again made history and won both GTE classes at the world’s toughest long distance race. In the pro-category, the Porsche 911 RSR with the starting number 92 concluded the 86th edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours in first place after 344 laps.
The driver trio Kévin Estre (France), Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) and Michael Christensen (Denmark) held the lead for almost the entire distance and controlled the race on the tradition-steeped 13.626-kilometre racetrack. The works drivers crowned their flawless performance with class victory number 106 for Porsche.
The sister car (#91) shared by Richard Lietz (Austria), Frédéric Makowiecki (France) and Gianmaria Bruni (Italy) perfectly rounded off the double victory for Porsche in the GTE-Pro class. Frédéric Makowiecki provided a special highlight. The Frenchman fought an epic duel with a competitor for an hour and a half, fending off all attacks to claim second place.
With these two triumphs at the 24-hour marathon in France, Porsche has extended its lead in the drivers’ and manufacturers’ classifications of the FIA WEC world championship.
Technical problems with the #93 911 threw the car far behind during the night. Patrick Pilet (France), Earl Bamber (New Zealand) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain) lost 25 minutes due to repairs and ultimately finished on eleventh.
For Romain Dumas (France), Timo Bernhard and Sven Müller (both Germany), the race was over after seven hours. Their car (#94) retired in the night with suspension damage.
The #77 Porsche fielded by Dempsey-Proton Racing celebrated an impressive win in the GTE-Am class. Putting in an inspired drive, Porsche Young Professional Matt Campbell (Australia), Christian Ried (Germany) and Porsche Junior Julien Andlauer (France) notched up the 107th class win for Porsche. At just 18 years of age, Julien Andlauer has become the youngest class winner at Le Mans.
“We’re absolutely delighted that we were able to come out on top in this fierce competition against five other automobile manufacturers after starting from Pole Position. These two wins underline once again why Porsche is a record-holder at Le Mans,” says Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser, Vice President Motorsport and GT Cars.
No other marque has secured as many successes at the world’s toughest long-distance race and is as closely linked to the legend of Le Mans as Porsche. 2013 marked the last time Porsche celebrated a double victory with the 911 RSR.