Porsche has won the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, setting a new record for most wins at the famed day-long enduro. Porsche’s tally for checkered flags now stands at 17, smashing Audi’s hopes for their sixth win in a row.
You could say Stuttgart was full of confidence entering the race, having painted their lead car in the red and white livery of the first Porsche to win Le Mans, the 1970 917 KH. However, in the end it was the number 19 Porsche 919 Hybrid driven by Nico Hulkenberg, Earl Bamber and Eric Tandy that crossed the finish line first. Still, the throwback red and white car came in a respectable second, ahead of an Audi R18 e-tron quattro in third.
Other high-profile contenders included the Toyota TS040 Hybrid. However, the most promising entrant was involved in an collision early on, costing the team dearly with a lengthy repair. The duo managed to clinch sixth and eight place overall.
Lastly, Nissan’s trio of GT-R LM NISMO prototypes was perhaps the most talked about leading up to the main event, due to its novel front-engined, front-wheel-drive layout at odds with every other car. Two of the unconventional cars were forced to retire after due to mechanical woes, and the third was damaged due to debris on the Mulsanne straight. However, it did finish, albeit in 40th, and the team, which has treated Le Mans as a real-time test for their grand experiment, considers that a success for their first high profile outing.
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