24 Hours of Le Mans 2022: LMGTE PRO Race
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans: Porsche #91 wins Le Mans 2022.
.As it mostly happens at Le Mans, the 24 hours race chooses its winners. Lietz, Bruni and Makowiecki (Porsche 911 RSR-19 #91) were the ones with a clean race, which is critical to winning that two-times-around-the-clock race.
Corvette Racing dominates but double drama makes them retire.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans: Both Corvette before start.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans: Both Corvette takes the lead.
.As winner Richard Lietz confesses, both Corvette C8.R were in a class of their own. After dominating the qualification and hyperpole sessions, the Le Mans pre-race favorites were leading the race until several problems forced #63 to retire and a dramatic accident caused leading #64 to end the race against the Hunaudière rails.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans: It is the first double retirement for Corvette Racing in the longest endurance race of the WEC championship in more than ten years.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans:
The Corvette C8.R #63 of Jordan Taylor, Antonio Garcia and Nicky Catsburg led the first hours until a broken left-rear suspension followed by a change of its diffuser and “significant mechanical damage” forced the team to retire with six hours to go.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans:
Class pole-sitter Nick Tandy and co-drivers Tommy Milner and Alexander Sims’ Corvette C8.R #64 had to change brake earlier, losing the lead. They came back as Sim was battling for the class lead with Pier Guidi’s 51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo until Sims was hit by the #83 AF Corse Oreca 07 Gibson of Francois Perrodo on the Mulsanne straight, ending against the wall on the left-hand side.
François Perrodo admitted making a mistake when swerving left against Sim’s Corvette while attempting to overtake the #47 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca of John Falb on the right on the Mulsanne Straight.
Stunning victory for the #91 Porsche 911 RSR
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans: Victory for Porsche #91 squad.
Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Lietz and Fred Makowiecki claimed victory in the GTE-Pro class with the #91 Porsche 911 RSR-19; a great farewell at Le Mans as the car will no longer race next season in favor of the new LMDh.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans: the Porsche GT Team enjoyed finally a clean race (except for a drive-through penalty for leaving the track), after 34 months without a win for the Bruni-Lietz pairing in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
For once, it was their turn to benefit from both AF Corse’s and Corvette Racing's misfortune.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans: With less than five hours to go, Makowiecki was battling with the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE of Alessandro Pier Guidi until the Italian driver had to stop for a right-rear punctured tire. The #91 was thereby inheriting a 30-plus second lead.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans: Winning Porsche 911 RSR #91
.From then on, the trio benefited from a better performance of the Porsche 911 RSR during the day, with the heat increasing the advantage in the final hours, finishing 42.684 seconds ahead of James Calado.
It is both Lietz’ and Bruni's fourth Le Mans crown and Makowiecki’s long-awaited first Le Mans win after 11 previous starts.
With the double point awarded at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Bruni and Lietz are taking the lead in the driver’s standing and Porsche GT Team extends its top position in the manufacturer’s standing.
AF Corse Ferrari’s completed the podium.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans: Both AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo before start.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans: #51 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo.
After both Corvettes retired and Porsche #92 lost three laps after a puncture, the #51 Ferrari was holding the lead of the class at hour 18 with James Calado at the wheel, leading by 19 seconds over the #91 Porsche 911 RSR-19 of Fred Makowiecki and Miguel Molina, who sits in third in the #52 Ferrari. Alessandro Pier Guidi suffered a puncture losing the lead at hour 20.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans: Pier Guidi and Calado assisted by Daniel Serra on the #51 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo ended second.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans:
The sister #52 Ferrari of Miguel Molina, Antonio Fuoco and Davide Rigon completed the GTE-Pro podium in third.
Porsche #92 misfortune
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans: Estre - Christensen - Vanthoor.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans: The # 92 Porsche 911 RSR was the only one able to follow the pace of both Corvettes in the early hours. Kevin Estre, Michael Christensen and Laurens Vanthoor took the lead in the eighth hour until sunrise when a right-front puncture destroyed the nose of the car.
The trio had two unscheduled pit stops for a rapid brake change losing three laps and ending on a fourth-place class finish.
Trouble-free run for Riley Motorsports Ferrari
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 24 Hours of Le Mans: The IMSA entry of Riley Motorsports Ferrari driven by Sam Bird, Felipe Fraga and Shane van Gisbergen completed the top five with a lack of pace compared to the AF Corse entries.
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