The winners at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans across Hypercar, LMP2, LMP2 Pro‑Am and LMGT3 found victory through an alchemy of speed, strategy and sheer grit.
Racing was intense, but when the dust settled, it was a familiar sight on the top step, albeit with a bit of a surprise result.
Hypercar – Ferrari 499P (#83)
Many were hoping that either factory-backed Ferrari 499P was going to take the crown yet again, but as the sun dipped below the horizon on Circuit de la Sarthe, Robert Kubica, in the striking yellow Ferrari 499P (#83), shared with Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson, delivered 387 relentless laps, and a nail‑biting finish with just a 14‑second margin over Porsche Penske ( #6).
Kubica’s victory not only displays his extraordinary recovery from that harrowing rally crash thirteen years ago, but also a personal renaissance. He reflected, “It has not been a smooth one, but we deserved it. There were a few mistakes which we couldn’t avoid, but that’s Le Mans. I have to pinch myself, I’m still dreaming.”
In the closing hour, strategy turned savage: pit‑lane orders reshuffled the factory Ferraris, with #51 leapfrogging #50 for the final podium spot. And unlike their Formula 1 counterparts, Ferrari’s engineering voodoo held strong; no breakdowns, nailed pit‑stops, flawless fuel strategy.
However, after the race had concluded, the #50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P Hypercar was disqualified from its fourth-place finish due to a technical infringement.
The car – piloted by former Le Mans winners Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina – was a contender for victory, but the overnight safety car intervention dealt a blow to its podium prospects, and the car ultimately took the chequered flag fourth, just over a second shy of the sister #51 Ferrari.
Post-race scrutineering determined that the car’s rear wing support was ‘not in compliance’ with the deflection test indicated in Article 3.8.7 of the 2025 LMH Technical Regulations and the homologation form for Car #50.
It was further explained that during the last pit stop at 15:23, a mechanic noticed the absence of only one bolt on the rear wing support, but no corrective action was taken before the end of the race.
LMP2 – Inter Europol Competition ORECA (#43)
The yellow-and-green bullet of Inter Europol Competition’s #43 ORECA, helmed by Tom Dillmann, Jakub Smiechowski, and Nick Yelloly finished on the top step for LMP2, commanding the lead for the better part of eight hours, and even surviving a nerve-rattling late-race drive-through penalty.
Their closest pursuers were VDS Panis Racing’s #48, piloted by Oliver Gray, Esteban Masson, and Franck Perera. They hovered menacingly within striking distance for much of the race, but when it mattered most, the pace ebbed, and the sting went out of the chase.
Third place and Pro/Am class honours was snapped up by the #14 car of AO by TF, thanks to Dane Cameron, Louis Delétraz, and P.J. Hyett.
As for the walking wounded, there were three retirements in LMP2. Turkish driver Cem Bölükbaşı called it a day early, while both IDEC Sport entries succumbed to the same affliction: wheels deciding they’d had enough.
One such instance saw Job van Uitert hurtling through the Porsche Curves when disaster quite literally rolled away from him. Mercifully, he walked away unharmed, though the same couldn’t be said for their podium ambitions.
LMGT3 – Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 (#92)
Over in LMGT3, emerging from the carnage were Ryan Hardwick, Richard Lietz, and Riccardo Pera, the trio behind the wheel of the Manthey PureRxcing #92 Porsche.
This class served up variety – five different constructors in the top five. Vista AF Corse’s #21 Ferrari (Heriau, Mann, Rovera) crossed the line in second, while TF Sport’s #81 Corvette (Andrade, Eastwood, van Rompuy) rounded out the podium.
Behind them was Heart of Racing’s pole-sitting #27 Aston Martin. Completing the top five was the ever-persistent #87 Lexus of Akkodis ASP.
Elsewhere, there were heartbreaks aplenty. United Autosports, fielding McLarens that looked quick and composed, saw both cars bow out due to mechanical gremlins.
Serving Up 24 Hours Of Mayhem
If Le Mans teaches us anything, it’s that while speed gets the spotlight, but resilience earns the applause.
The winners weren’t the fastest all the time, nor the flashiest. They were the ones who absorbed the hits and kept going.
Until next year, Le Mans. You beautiful, brutal mistress.
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