LM GTE @ 24 Hours of Le Mans 2021: ferrari double
AF Corse's with the Ferrari 488 GTE Evo triumphed in the LMGTE Pro and LMGTE Am classes. Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Côme Ledogar at the wheel of the #51 Ferrari won the LMGTE Pro class, while Nicklas Nielsen, François Perrodo and Alessio Rovera won the LMGTE Am class.
LMGTE PRO class
The race was primarily a battle between Corvette and Ferrari, although five cars remained on the lead lap in GTE Pro at the halfway point. It then evolved into a two-car race during the final six hours between the #63 Corvette C8.R and #51 Ferrari GTE Evo and the final win of the Ferrari.
This is the second success at the 24 hours of Le Mans for the 2019 winners Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado. Their co-driver Côme Ledogar as well as Pier Guidi are getting their second two-clock-towers success after their triumph at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps earlier this month.
Corvette Racing showed their usual competitive spirit during their 20th race at Le Mans since 2000. Each of the trio Garcia-Taylor-Catsburg led for a time but the Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R #63 team did not succeed as well in the race's neutralisation phases finishing second of the class with a 41.686 sec. gap.
The third manufacturer in the entry list secured a podium spot with the works drivers Kévin Estre, Neel Jani and Michael Christensen achieving third place in the #92 Porsche 911 RSR. The lacking of speed and the bad luck during two safety car phases causing a gap of around three minutes from the leader in the first third of the race made the two Porsche ending 1 lap behind the class-winning Ferrari.
The #91 sister car driven by Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Lietz and Frédéric Makowiecki wrapped up in fourth place after a spectacular sliding in the last chicane causing damage to the rear of the #91, which had to undergo repairs and a replacement of the brakes.
The #52 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo, crewed by Miguel Molina, Daniel Serra and Sam Bird had a suspension problem with 10 hours left, and a puncture at Tertre Rouge led to another long stop for the Ferrari, which then had to settle for fifth.
The #64 C8.R of Tommy Milner, Nick Tandy and Alexander Sims had bad luck. Milner was hit from behind by Ferrari #51 at the beginning of the formation lap. The contact broke part of the diffuser, but the #64 Corvette even led in a wet start.
The diffuser finally broke in the fifth hour. The grey #64 Corvette suffered two more visits to the garage for repairs to the gearbox, clutch and alternator. Sims set the GTE Pro record race lap and finished sixth in class with his teammates Milner and Tandy.
The #79 entry from WeatherTech Racing was unable to rejoin the race after an accident early on Sunday morning.
HubAuto Racing’s #72 Porsche 911 RSR, which had taken up the race from pole position, retired with a technical defect shortly after sunrise.
LMGTE AM class
As in previous FIA WEC races, the reigning champions Nicklas Nielsen, François Perrodo claimed AF Corse’s first win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans LMGTE Am class together with Alessio Rovera, despite a drive-through penalty. 
TF Sport #33 Aston Martin Vantage GTE finished second in the GTE-Am category with Fraga, Dylan Pereira and Ben Keating.
TF Sport was not as successful as last year’s Le Mans class victory with Jonny Adam, Charlie Eastwood and Salih Yoluc having to recover from the main incidents occurred after six and a half hours, when Fraga ran straight on at the first Mulsanne chicane following a tire blowout and nosed into the tire barriers, resulting in rear-end damage to the car and a change of tires and the rear diffuser.
Iron Lynx completed the Ferrari success in LMGTE AM class with their 488 GTE
#80 with Rino Mastronardi, Matteo Cressoni and Callum Ilott completed the podium in P3.
#60 crew Evo Paolo Ruberti, Raffaele Giammaria and Claudio Schiavoni, with a fourth position.
#85 ninth place to the last Iron Lynx Ferrari, crewed by the “Iron Dames” Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting and Sarah Bovy.
The second AF Corse entry, the #54 car driven by Giancarlo Fisichella (twelfth participation), Thomas Flohr and Francesco Castellacci, suffered a faulty axle shaft.
#77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR with Porsche Works driver Matt Campbell, team owner Christian Ried and Jaxon Evans, finished in fifth place.
#88 sister car, which had started from pole position in this class, achieved P13. #18 Absolut Racing in seventh
#69 Herberth Motorsport in the tenth position.
#86 GR Racing lost a lot of ground due to lengthy repairs after an accident and finished the race 14th.
All three of the TF Sport-run Vantages finished in the top-eight of the most competitive GTE Am class: #33 taking P2, #777 was 6th and #95 8th.
