RNW Staff

A bright smile and a sense of satisfaction told the story of a happy Nobuya Yamanaka after the double-header at the famous Le Mans Circuit in France this weekend (13-15 June 2019).

Phil Hanson claimed an excellent fourth LMP2 class placing in the Le Mans 24 Hours which finished today (16 Jun) – the British teenager’s ninth overall finish lowering the record he set on his debut in the world-famous sportscar endurance race two years ago. The Ascot-based 19-year-old, the youngest driver in the 183-driver, 61-car field again this year, had become the youngest overall finisher by placing 11th in 2017.

Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Fernando Alonso, in the #8 TS050 HYBRID, defended their Le Mans crown and secured the drivers’ World Championship in the process, winning by 16.9secs from team-mates Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López in the #7.

The Porsche works drivers Michael Christensen and Kévin Estre have won the drivers’ world crown in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The successful duo from Denmark and France, who shared driving duties in the No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR at the season finale at Le Mans with Belgian Laurens Vanthoor, scored enough points at the 24-hour race in France to clinch the title. Porsche had already claimed the manufacturers’ title prior to the endurance classic. The Project 1 customer squad won the drivers’ and team championship titles in the GTE-Am class of the FIA WEC.

United Autosports recorded a hard-earned but well deserved fourth LMP2 class placing courtesy of Filipe Albuquerque, Paul Di Resta and Phil Hanson in the 87th running of the  world-famous Le Mans 24 Hour sportscar endurance race in France today (16 Jun) – claiming Ligier’s best finish for a third consecutive year. The Anglo-American team, contesting the legendary annual event for the third time having finished fourth (2017) and third (2018), had both of its Ligier JS P217s inside the top-seven at the halfway mark of this year’s twice-around-the-clock marathon.

Larbre Competition successfully completed the 2019 Le Mans 24 Hours and rose through the field following a steady qualifying to finish 17th overall on board the Ligier JS P217.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans race, the final round of the World Endurance Championship Super Season has finished in France. The crew of the Russian SMP Racing team of Mikhail Aleshin, Vitaly Petrov and Stoffel Vandoorne driving the BR1 prototype of the Russian company BR Engineering took third place in the overall standings and finished best of the Non-Hybrid cars.

The Porsche Carrera Cup GB, the fastest single marque GT racing championship in the UK, delivered a pair of dramatic races at Croft in mixed weather conditions. With his victory in Round Five and points finish in Round Six, 18-year-old Porsche GB 2018 / 2019 Junior Dan Harper (JTR) leaves North Yorkshire retaining his lead of the driver’s championship. The Croft weekend also witnessed a category victory for title hopeful Lewis Plato (Motorbase Performance) and two Pro category podium finishes for former Porsche GB Scholar and 2014 Carrera Cup GB champion Josh Webster (Team Parker Racing).

Aston Martin Racing has concluded a gruelling 14-month 2018/19 FIA World Endurance Championship with the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans, and once again the Vantage GTE has proven its strength, reliability and credibility as one of the leading GTE competitors in the world.

Ferrari has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the 36th time. The win was taken by the AF Corse 488 GTE, no. 51, driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Daniel Serra.

Corvette Racing’s hopes for a magical victory in its 20th straight appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans didn’t come to pass, but the effort of the program was never stronger than what the team displayed Saturday and Sunday in the world’s biggest endurance race.

BMW Team MTEK has concluded the ‘Super Season’ in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with the 24-hour race at Le Mans (FRA). The two BMW M8 GTEs finished in eleventh and 14th positions in the LM GTE Pro class.

WeatherTech Racing drivers Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.), Toni Vilander (Kankaanpää, Finland), and Rob Smith (Essex, UK) crossed the finish line in fourth at the 24 Hours of Le Mans today.

RLR MSport put up a good fight on its return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but ultimately succumbed to a mechanical failure with less than four hours of the French endurance classic remaining (15-16 June).

During the night of the 2019 Le Mans 24 Hours, Larbre Competition has been unfortunate but its Ligier JS P217 is still running in 20th overall.

Porsche maintains a steady course for the podium at the world’s toughest endurance race after two thirds of the race distance. After flawless stints during the night, the Porsche 911 RSR (#91) driven by Gianmaria Bruni (Italy), Richard Lietz (Austria) and Frédéric Makowiecki (France) at times even held the lead. The ca. 510 hp No. 93 Porsche 911 manned by Earl Bamber (New Zealand), Patrick Pilet (France) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain) are also within striking distance of the frontrunners. The youngest Porsche crew, Sven Müller (Germany) and the two Porsche Young Professionals Mathieu Jaminet (France) and Dennis Olsen (Norway), are running two laps behind in the No. 94 car.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing continues to lead the 87th Le Mans 24 Hours, with both cars battling for victory at the halfway stage of the 2018-2019 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season finale.

RLR MSport recovered lost ground and threatened to break into the top ten during the night in the 2019 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans at Circuit de la Sarthe (15-16 June).

WeatherTech Racing drivers Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.), Toni Vilander (Kankaanpää, Finland), and Rob Smith (Essex, UK) are running the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France.

ABM Grand Prix’s Mariano Pires will start this weekend’s first GT4 South European Series race from Overall and Pro-Am Cup pole position after dominating a Q1 at Jarama this afternoon. Team Virage’s Nicholas Silva posted the best lap time in Q2, while Tockwith Motorsport’s Marmaduke Hall and Edward Moore took the GTC honours as Team Virage’s CO Jones and Peter Peters were the fastest in the AM Cup.