In LMGTE Pro at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the podium places were filled by teams from the USA, with Ford securing a triumphant victory on its return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans 50 years after its 1-2-3 podium lockout in the 1966 edition of the race.
Victory went to the No.68 Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA Ford GT of Dirk Müller, Joey Hand and Sébastien Bourdais.
The Ferrari 488 GTE of Giancarlo Fisichella, Toni Vilander and Matteo Malucelli cames home second, on the same lap while Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook were third in the second #69 Ford GT.
The top WEC competitor was the No.66 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK entry of Olivier Pla, Stefan Mücke and Billy Johnson, which finished 4th in class but collects the maximum 50 world championship points available.
The No.95 (Turner-Thiim-Sørensen) and No.97 (Stanaway-Rees-Adam) Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8s were 5th and 6th in class and will collect 36 and 30 championship points respectively – the result giving the British manufacturer the lead in the World Endurance Cup for GT Manufacturers.
Earl Bamber’s #92 Porsche RSR retired after 140 laps.
Results LMGTE Pro Class
#, drivers, car, laps
68 Joey HAND, Dirk MÜLLER, Sébastien BOURDAIS Ford GT 340
82 Giancarlo FISICHELLA, Toni VILANDER, Matteo MALUCELLI Ferrari 488 GTE 340
69 Ryan BRISCOE, Richard WESTBROOK, Scott DIXON Ford GT 340
66 Olivier PLA, Stefan MÜCKE, Billy JOHNSON Ford GT 339
95 Nicki THIIM, Marco SØRENSEN, Darren TURNER Aston Martin Vantage 338
97 Richie STANAWAY, Fernando REES, Jonathan ADAM Aston Martin Vantage 337
63 Jan MAGNUSSEN, Antonio GARCIA, Ricky TAYLOR Chevrolet Corvette C7.R 336
77 Richard LIETZ, Michael CHRISTENSEN, Philipp ENG Porsche 911 RSR (2016) 329
67 Marino FRANCHITTI, Andy PRIAULX, Harry TINCKNELL Ford GT 306
64 Oliver GAVIN, Tommy MILNER, Jordan TAYLOR Chevrolet Corvette C7.R 219
51 Gianmaria BRUNI, James CALADO, Alessandro PIER GUIDI Ferrari 488 GTE 179
71 Davide RIGON, Sam BIRD, Andrea BERTOLINI Ferrari 488 GTE 143
92 Frédéric MAKOWIECKI, Earl BAMBER, Jörg BERGMEISTER Porsche 911 RSR (2016) 140
91 Patrick PILET, Kevin ESTRE, Nick TANDY Porsche 911 RSR (2016) 135
In LMGTE Am the victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans also went to a competitor from the USA, the No.62 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari F458 Italia. The 2015 car finished nearly three minutes ahead of the second-placed No.83 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia of Rui Aguas, Emmanuel Collard and François Perrodo, who were the top WEC competitors in the class.
The final podium place in the class went to the WEC-entered No.88 Abu Dhabi–Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR of Patrick Long, Khalid Al Qubaisi and David Heinemeier-Hansson, who finished one lap behind the two Ferraris.
Held in front of a crowd of 263,500 spectators, and finishing in bright sunshine to contrast with the very wet start, the cornerstone event of the FIA WEC has once again left everyone with multiple memories of some great performances on track.
The next round of the FIA World Endurance Championship is the 6 Hours of Nürburgring on 22-24 July 2016.
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