Rarely have we had such a clear Petit Le Mans. Well, that’s a big word all the same… Indeed, this 27th edition has only been interrupted five times. A godsend for the No. 7 Porsche 963 and its duo Felipe Nasr / Dane Cameron, for whom an eighth place was enough to secure the crown. Third under the checkerboard, the mission was carried out without fear.
Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr both won their third title, Cameron after 2016 and 2019, Nasr after 2018 and 2020. Third coronation also for Team Penske in IMSA after those won with Acura in 2019 and 2020, the first with Porsche, with whom the training The Captain had already been crowned in CanAm or even in ALMS.
As we mentioned here, Porsche had already secured the Manufacturers’ title by taking part in the launch lap. However, the triumph is not complete for the German brand, which saw victory slip away from it today with around ten minutes to go.
It all came down to money time. While fighting for the win, the No. 10 WTR Andretti Acura ARX-06 saw its hopes disappear 57′ from the goal. The unfortunate Ricky Taylor was unable to avoid the #55 Mustang GT3 across the track after a collision with the #120 Porsche 911 GT3 R. The American, who was unable to do anything, tore off the entire right side of his mount.
On the restart 35′ from the checkerboard, the duel for victory was quickly limited to a duel between Nick Tandy (Porsche 963 n°6) and Renger van der Zande (Cadillac n°01), the BMW n°24 and the #7 Porsche losing time in a ferry crossing. At the wheel of a “one-eyed” V-Series.R, the Dutchman gave everything, eager to end his adventure with Cadillac with a victory in a classic. And he won his case 13′ from the checkerboard, thanks to a daring but magnificent overtake at the end of the pit straight.
Hit in the process by Philipp Eng (BMW no. 24) who suffered a drive through, Tandy lost 4” on the Cadillac no. 01, a gap that he would never be able to fill. The fact remains that van der Zande trembled until the end. Because three minutes from the finish, it was the left headlight that went out, leaving him without optics, which is completely prohibited by the regulations. But a few seconds later, it came back on… even followed by the right optic, which failed again a few moments later. One lighthouse, two sentences, zero lighthouses…
Finally, the left optics held and Van der Zande passed under the checkerboard with a lead of 2”9 over Tandy and 13”8 over Felipe Nasr, who offered his employer a double podium. The top five is completed by Philipp Eng (BMW no. 24) and Jack Aitken (Cadillac no. 31).
The BMW M Hybrid V8s never gave the feeling of being able to join the fight for victory on a regular basis, the No. 25 even having to give up quite quickly due to a fuel supply problem. Another car in the GTP category to be retired: the #85 963 from JDC-Miller MotorSports (power steering), while the other private Porsche, the #5 from Proton Competition, shone at the start of the event before returning in the ranking, but still finished in a good sixth place.
In LMP2, TDS Racing won the race and the Michelin Endurance Cup thanks to the Jensen / Thomas / McElrea trio. The title falls to Inter Europol by PR1 and the duo Nick Boulle / Tom Dillmann, supported in the long races by Jakub Smiechowski.
Despite a rather disastrous race ending in 11th place, AO Racing won the GTD Pro title with Laurin Heinrich. The race was won by the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 / Iron Lynx of Jorddan Pepper, Franck Perera and Mirko Bortolotti.
Victory for the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 driven by Albert Costa / Manny Franco / Cédric Sbirrazzuoli in GTD. It is Winward and his duo Philipp Ellis / Russell Ward who are crowned.
➡️ The rankings are ICI.
