After what seemed to be the most thrilling motor race in history, the storybook that was the 2017 24 Hours Of Le Mans has concluded and in the LMP1 class, the race was a survival of the fittest with all the participating cars of the class hitting major problems but finally, the #2 Porsche of Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber won the 24 Hours Of Le Mans after surviving the grueling race and pushing hard till the end.
Before the race, the Toyotas looked to be the strong favourites and this thought continued until in the middle of the night when all of the three competing Toyotas hit problems, with the leading #7 and #9 cars being agonizingly forced to retire due to hybrid issues. The #8 car also struck hybrid issues but fortunately, they were not terminal and the car was brought back to the garage for repairs through the night. Unfortunately for Toyota, their ‘Le Mans Curse’ still continues but they have vowed to come back fighting next year.
The #4 ByKolles Nismo retired due to engine issues only seven minutes into the race, ruining what could have been a potential overall podium finish for the Austrian outfit. They will take a break after the 6 Hours Of Nurburgring; with even more LMP1 privateers entering next year, ByKolles wants to take some time off to focus on it’s car for the forthcoming season.
The Porsches, who looked slower but more durable than their Japanese rivals also suffered drama, with the #2 car being affected by a motor generator failure in the fourth hour and so it had to be brought into the garage for repairs, where it stayed for over an hour. All looked set for the #1 Porsche as it led the race into dawn but a few hours later, the great lead which it had built over the LMP2s crumbled in an instant, with the car having to pull over and retire due to hybrid issues.
That left the #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing, competing in the LMP2 class, with the overall lead of the race. No matter how fast they were in their own class, they suffered a loss of 10-12 seconds per lap to the #2 Porsche, which was pushing hard like a maniac ever since it left it’s garage in the night. The Porsche kept pushing to the limits of aggressive driving to gain as much of time as possible and it paid off for them since they recovered from a 12 lap deficit to breeze past the #38 Jackie Chan car at the run down to Indianapolis corner with an hour to spare.
From that moment onwards, the Porsche didn’t look back and developed a one lap lead.
After 24 Hours of hard, tough and exciting racing full of attrition for the LMP1 cars, the #2 Porsche had conquered Le Mans over all of it’s rivals.
As the famous quote goes, “You don’t win Le Mans. Le Mans lets you win,” Toyota are still looking forward for their first victory and hopefully, they will come back stronger than ever and have another amazing battle with Porsche!
Congratulations To The Whole Porsche Crew For Winning Le Mans!
Image Credits: Getty Images
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