Photo credit: Porsche
Porsche Penske Motorsport came within 14.084 seconds of outright victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as the No. 6 Porsche 963 crew of Matt Campbell, Kévin Estre, and Laurens Vanthoor crossed the line second after 387 laps. Starting from the back of the Hypercar grid, the 511 kW prototype stormed through the field on lap one and spent much of the race battling for the lead in front of 332,000 fans.
The sister cars also showed strong pace, with the No. 5 entry of Julien Andlauer, Mathieu Jaminet, and Michael Christensen running up front before tire damage and penalties dropped them to seventh. The No. 4 car driven by Nick Tandy, Felipe Nasr and debutant Pascal Wehrlein completed the factory trio in ninth place.
Photo credit: Porsche
In the LMGT3 class Team Manthey celebrated a second straight class victory with the No. 92 Porsche 911 GT3 R. Atlanta resident Ryan Hardwick teamed up with Richard Lietz and Riccardo Pera to top the 26-car field, adding to Lietz’s record six GT class wins for Porsche.
“The team fought with determination right to the end,” said Thomas Laudenbach, Porsche Motorsport vice president. “Being just 14 seconds short of a record-extending 20th Le Mans win is bittersweet but shows our 963’s strength.”
Porsche’s “Racing for Charity” initiative saw the three factory cars dismantle 1,159 laps, triggering a €500 donation per lap to two children’s aid organizations. With its narrow defeat and Manthey’s class triumph, Porsche leaves Le Mans underlining both its prototype and GT credentials.