As for the No. 6 Porsche 963 from Vanthoor-Estre-Lotterer, we played on the rubber band throughout the race. Heckled at the start, the German LMDh made it back to the podium before having to serve a drive through at the end of the race and receiving a 5 second penalty. But by beating the No. 40 Ferrari and securing 11th place in the final, Laurens, Kévin and André fulfilled their mission to secure the drivers’ crown.
Portrait: Laurens Vanthoor, the Belgian blade at the top of endurance
For Belgium, the moment is historic since Laurens Vanthoor becomes our first national driver crowned world endurance champion since Jacky Ickx in 1983. A well-deserved crown at the end of a consistent season. André Lotterer returns to the world title and leaves Porsche with his head held high.
Beaten for the drivers’ title, Toyota consoles itself with the manufacturers’ title and a final victory this year for the No. 8 of Buemi-Hirakawa-Hartley who overcame a collision at the start of the race to win. The Japanese Hypercar is ahead of the No. 51 Ferrari 499P of Giovinazzi-Pier Guidi-Calado, long at the forefront, which gained the upper hand in the last km over the No. 5 Porsche 963 of Makowiecki-Campbell-Christensen.
At BMW M Team WRT, we blew hot and cold. At one point on the podium, the No. 15 M Hybrid V8 of D.Vanthoor-Marciello-Wittmann took sixth place overall while the No. 20 of Frijns-Van der Linde-Rast had to retire prematurely due to a mechanical problem. Retirement also for the N°94 Peugeot 9X8 of Stoffel Vandoorne.
Podium for Van Rompuy!
In LMGT3, if the No. 55 AF Corse Ferrari 296 of Heriau-Mann-Rovera won, Tom Van Rompuy saw his efforts rewarded by finishing second in the No. 81 Corvette Z06 which he shared with Rui Andrade and Charlie Eastwood. The Antwerp rider shone again by carrying out solid relays and irresistibly taking the lead at the start of the race.
The podium is completed by the No. 82 Corvette Z06 of Baud-Juncadella-Koizumi. Top 10 for the Lamborghini Iron Dames of Sarah Bovy while the BMW M4 WRTs had a race to forget.
