2015 24 Hours of Le Mans
2015 24 Hours of Le Mans | |
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The 83rd 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: 83e 24 Heures du Mans) was an automobile endurance event held from 10 to 14 June 2015 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France. It was the 83rd running of the 24 Hour race organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest as well as the third round of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship. A test day was held two weeks prior to the race on 31 May.
The No. 18 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Neel Jani, Romain Dumas, and Marc Lieb started from pole position after Jani broke the circuit's lap record in qualifying. The race was won by the No. 19 Porsche of Nick Tandy and Le Mans rookies Earl Bamber and Nico Hülkenberg, followed a lap behind by the second Porsche of Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard. Audi's best car, driven by the title defenders Benoît Tréluyer, Marcel Fässler, and André Lotterer, finished third, a further lap behind the two Porsche vehicles. This was the seventeenth overall victory for Porsche, and their first since 1998.
The LMP2 category was won by the KCMG Oreca-Nissan driven by Richard Bradley, Matthew Howson, and Nicolas Lapierre. The trio led all but nine laps of the race but only held a 48-second lead over the Jota Sport Gibson-Nissan at the race's end. Corvette Racing won their first class victory since 2011 despite one of their two cars being withdrawn after an accident in qualifying. Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner, and Jordan Taylor held a five-lap margin in LMGTE Pro over the AF Corse Ferrari in second, after breaking away from the rest of the field in the second half of the race. The LMGTE Am class was led for most of the time by the No. 98 Aston Martin until driver Paul Dalla Lana crashed in the Ford Chicane in the final hour of the race, handing the victory to the SMP Racing Ferrari of Viktor Shaitar, Aleksey Basov, and Andrea Bertolini.
Circuit and regulation changes
Following the introduction of slow zones during the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) revised the system for 2015. The limited speed in the zones was increased from 60 km/h (37 mph) to 80 km/h (50 mph). The number of zones around the circuit had also increased from 19 to 35, with a new lighting system to assist marshals added to each zone.[1] Le Mans Prototype (LMP) teams were also required to carry additional flashing rain lights from Le Mans onward following a collision between two prototype cars in the rain at 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps caused by low visibility.[2]
Modifications were made to the circuit from Mulsanne Corner to the Corvette Curves. The circuit was widened on the road connecting Mulsanne to Indianapolis, and again from Indianapolis to the Porsche Curves, although the kerbs remained in their previous locations. The first corner of the Porsche Curves had a larger run-off area on the outside while SAFER barriers had been installed on the inside wall. The Corvette corner also now featured a gravel run-off.[3][4]
Entries
Automatic invitations
Automatic entry invitations were earned by teams that won their class in the previous running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, or won championships in other Le Mans-based series such as the United SportsCar Championship, the European Le Mans Series, and the Asian Le Mans Series. Some championship runner-ups were also granted automatic invitations in certain series. All current FIA World Endurance Championship full-season entries also automatically earned invitations. As invitations were granted to teams, they were allowed to change their cars from the previous year to the next, but not allowed to change their category. In the European Le Mans Series, the "Le Mans" Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) class champion and runner-up were allowed to choose between the Pro and Am categories, while the GTC class champion was limited solely to an Am entry. The Asian Le Mans Series GTC competitors were also limited to the LMGTE Am class.[5]
The ACO announced its initial list of automatic entries on 15 December 2014.[5]
Reason invited | LMP1 | LMP2 | LMGTE Pro | LMGTE Am |
---|---|---|---|---|
1st in the 24 Hours of Le Mans | Audi Sport Team Joest | Jota Sport | AF Corse | Aston Martin Racing |
1st in the European Le Mans Series | Signatech Alpine | SMP Racing | ||
2nd in the European Le Mans Series | AF Corse | |||
1st in the European Le Mans Series GTC category | SMP Racing | |||
United SportsCar Championship at-large entries | Wayne Taylor Racing | Scuderia Corsa | ||
1st in the Asian Le Mans Series | OAK Racing Team Total | Team AAI | ||
2nd in the Asian Le Mans Series | Team AAI |
Entry list
In conjunction with the announcement of entries for the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship and the European Le Mans Series seasons, the ACO announced the full 56 car entry list for Le Mans, plus seven reserves.[6] In addition to the 35 guaranteed entries from the World Endurance Championship, 13 entries came from the European Le Mans Series, three from the United SportsCar Championship, two from the Asian Le Mans Series, while the rest of the field was filled with one-off entries only competing at Le Mans.[6]
Reserves
Seven reserves were initially nominated by the ACO, limited to the LMP2 and LMGTE Am categories. Algarve Pro Racing withdrew their reserve LMP2 entry, while Riley Motorsports was promoted from the reserve list when the second SARD-Morand entry withdrew from the World Endurance Championship.[7] Five reserves remained on the list: A second KCMG LMP2, a second Ibañez LMP2, a third Proton Porsche, and the Formula Racing Ferrari and Gulf Racing Porsche.[6]
Testing and practice
A pre-Le Mans testing day was held at the circuit on 31 May, involving all 56 entries as well as the KCMG Oreca-Nissan, Ibañez Oreca-Nissan, Gulf Racing Porsche, and Formula Racing Ferrari reserve entries. Two LMP3 class Ginetta vehicles and two additional AF Corse Ferrari cars also participated. The two four-hour sessions were held under mixed weather conditions as rain swept through the area several times. Neel Jani set the fastest time in the early session with a 3:21.945 for the No. 18 Porsche,[8] but Brendon Hartley improved to a 3:21.061 in the sister No. 17 Porsche.[9] Audi's best time was a 3:22.307 for Marco Bonanomi in the No. 9 car, while Toyota could only muster a 3:25.321 lap.[8] Laurens Vanthoor was the fastest LMP2 driver in the No. 34 OAK Ligier-Honda. Darren Turner's No. 97 Aston Martin was quickest in LMGTE Pro while Pedro Lamy helped Aston Martin also lead in LMGTE Am.[9] The session served as the first appearance for the trio of Nissan GT-R LM Nismo amongst its World Endurance Championship competitors, although the cars were not on pace with the LMP1 field.[9]
Four hours of practice were held for the field on Wednesday afternoon, but again suffered from variable wet conditions throughout. The No. 17 Porsche once again led the session although Mark Webber was the fastest driver to set the 3:21.362 lap time. Audi closed to within half a second with Loïc Duval's 3:21.950 lap.[10] The LMP2 category had only a single car manage a lap under 3:40 when Richard Bardley set a 3:39.897 lap, a full second ahead of the No. 34 OAK Ligier-Honda. The KCMG car had earlier caused the session to be red flagged when the car came to a stop at the first Mulsanne Straight chicane. The Murphy Prototypes Oreca-Nissan later caused a second stoppage when Mark Patterson spun in the Porsche Curves and heavily impacted the safety barrier. Patterson was unhurt. The LMGTE Pro category was again led by Aston Martin, Richie Stanaway's No. 99 car setting a 3:55.895 lap, followed by the No. 64 Corvette and the No. 97 Aston Martin. Mathias Lauda kept the No. 98 Aston Martin ahead in LMGTE Am, nearly two seconds ahead of the two Proton Porsche cars.[11]
Qualifying
The first dry session of the week occurred on Wednesday night in the first of three qualifying sessions. The first timed laps of the session immediately saw the qualifying record for the track, in its current configuration, broken. Timo Bernhard's first timed lap of 3:17.767 in the No. 17 Porsche broke the 2008 record by nearly a second, only to be followed by Neel Jani in the No. 18 Porsche with a 3:16.887 lap time. Neither driver improved their times over the rest of the session, giving the No. 18 Porsche provisional pole position, followed in third by the remaining Porsche 919. The Audi trio followed, with Loïc Duval leading the group but nearly three seconds off the pole pace. Toyota's best effort came from Stéphane Sarrazin in the No. 2 car, nearly two seconds adrift of the Audi's lap times. Nissan's lap times improved to a 3:38.468, but were over twenty seconds off the pole position time.[12]
The fastest LMP2 lap time was also set early in the session, with Richard Bradley recording a 3:38.032 time in the KCMG Oreca-Nissan, nearly a full second ahead of the Greaves Motorsport Gibson-Nissan. The Greaves car, driven by rookie Gaëtan Paletou, later caused the session's only stoppage when it collided with the safety barriers at Mulsanne Corner and had to be towed back to the garage. Aston Martin dominated the LMGTE categories in the first qualifying session, with four of their five entries leading the overall positions in the category. Richie Stanaway set the fastest time of 3:54.928 in the No. 99 car, while Pedro Lamy was the fastest Amateur category entry with a 3:55.102 lap to be second fastest among all LMGTE cars. Gianmaria Bruni's AF Corse Ferrari was third amongst LMGTEs before ACO officials disallowed their fastest lap times for going beyond the track limits, demoting the car down the grid.[13][14] The two remaining LMGTE Pro Aston Martin drivers followed the dual class pole sitters, with Corvette the first car from another marque.[15]
Initial weather forecasts predicted rain for the Thursday qualifying sessions, but it failed to materialise. The teams had two full sessions of clear but hot and humid conditions.[16] Nick Tandy's Porsche led the session with a 3:18.862 lap, but remained in third position on the provisional grid. Audi No. 7 was the only other car to put in an improved lap time amongst the top ten cars. TDS Racing was the fastest LMP2 car in the session with a 3:40.441 yet still over two seconds behind the pole time of KCMG. The LMGTE categories also remained much the same, as Aston Martin still occupied the top four qualifying positions. Twice the session was stopped for heavy accidents, first for the No. 55 AF Corse Ferrari of Duncan Cameron who became stuck in a gravel trap for about fifteen minutes.[17] The second stoppage occurred when Jan Magnussen suffered a mechanical failure in his No. 63 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R and hit the barriers twice in the Porsche Curves.[18] Repairs to the barriers forced the cancellation of the remainder of the session, although half an hour was added to the final qualifying session.[17] The Corvette was unable to be repaired and the team was forced to withdraw from the race.[18]
As temperatures cooled in the final qualifying session, over a third of the field improved their fastest laps, but Jani's pole position time was unchallenged. Audi No. 7 led the session with a 3:20.967 lap time, still over four seconds shy of pole position. Nissan improved all three of their cars during the session, closing to within a second of the closest LMP1 competitor. The No. 26 G-Drive Ligier-Nissan closed to within a second of KCMG to take the second grid position in LMP2, while Greaves remained in third. In LMGTE Pro the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari rebounded from the loss of their qualifying times in the first session to lead the final session and come within a tenth of a second of Aston Martin. The sister AF Corse Ferrari also improved to fourth in the category to split the top of the grid in the class amongst the two manufacturers. The lead in LMGTE Am remained with the No. 98 Aston Martin, a second and a half ahead of the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari. SMP Racing improved their time by leading both of the day's qualifying sessions to take second place on the grid, splitting the Aston Martin cars. The No. 67 AAI Porsche suffered a fire during the session which halted qualifying for nearly half an hour.[19]
Porsche's pole position was their sixth consecutive in the FIA World Endurance Championship, extending back to the 2014 6 Hours of Shanghai. It was also the company's first pole position at Le Mans since 1997.[20]
Qualifying results
Provisional pole positions in each class are denoted in bold. The fastest time set by each entry is denoted with a grey background.
Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Qualifying 1[13] | Qualifying 2[21] | Qualifying 3[22] | Gap | Grid[23] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | LMP1 | 18 | Porsche Team | 3:16.887 | 3:20.974 | 3.21.119 | 1 | |
2 | LMP1 | 17 | Porsche Team | 3:17.767 | 3:20.980 | 3:21.065 | +0.880 | 2 |
3 | LMP1 | 19 | Porsche Team | 3:19.297 | 3:18.862 | 3:22.097 | +1.975 | 3 |
4 | LMP1 | 8 | Audi Sport Team Joest | 3:19.866 | 3:21.681 | 3:22.678 | +2.979 | 4 |
5 | LMP1 | 7 | Audi Sport Team Joest | 3:21.839 | 3:20.561 | 3:20.967 | +3.674 | 5 |
6 | LMP1 | 9 | Audi Sport Team Joest | 3:21.081 | 3:22.494 | 3:20.997 | +4.110 | 6 |
7 | LMP1 | 2 | Toyota Racing | 3:23.543 | 3:26.380 | 3:23.738 | +6.656 | 7 |
8 | LMP1 | 1 | Toyota Racing | 3:23.767 | 3:25.233 | 3:24.562 | +6.880 | 8 |
9 | LMP1 | 12 | Rebellion Racing | 3:26.874 | 3:28.745 | 3:28.053 | +9.987 | 9 |
10 | LMP1 | 13 | Rebellion Racing | 3:31.933 | 3:38.044 | 3:28.930 | +12.043 | 10 |
11 | LMP1 | 4 | Team ByKolles | 3:40.368 | 3:36.825 | 3:37.167 | +19.938 | 29[N 1] |
12 | LMP1 | 22 | Nissan Motorsports | 3:41.400 | 3:42.230 | 3:36.995 | +20.108 | 30[N 1] |
13 | LMP1 | 23 | Nissan Motorsports | 3:38.468 | 3:38.954 | 3:37.291 | +20.404 | 31[N 1] |
14 | LMP2 | 47 | KCMG | 3:38.032 | 3:40.624 | 3:39.147 | +21.145 | 11 |
15 | LMP1 | 21 | Nissan Motorsports | 3:51.289 | 3:39.992 | 3:38.691 | +21.804 | 32[N 1] |
16 | LMP2 | 26 | G-Drive Racing | 3:39.867 | 3:47.713 | 3:38.939 | +22.052 | 12 |
17 | LMP2 | 41 | Greaves Motorsport | 3:38.958 | 3:44.123 | 3:41.722 | +22.071 | 13 |
18 | LMP2 | 38 | Jota Sport | 3:39.004 | 3:45.770 | 3:40.920 | +22.117 | 14 |
19 | LMP2 | 36 | Signatech Alpine | 3:40.438 | 3:41.477 | 3:39.699 | +22.812 | 15 |
20 | LMP2 | 46 | Thiriet by TDS Racing | 3:39.923 | 3:40.441 | 3:39.805 | +23.036 | 16 |
21 | LMP2 | 34 | OAK Racing | 3:40.058 | 3:43.853 | 3:40.078 | +23.171 | 17 |
22 | LMP2 | 48 | Murphy Prototypes | 3:44.513 | 3:41.827 | 3:40.690 | +23.803 | 18 |
23 | LMP2 | 28 | G-Drive Racing | 3:40.967 | 3:46.504 | 3:42.053 | +24.080 | 19 |
24 | LMP2 | 43 | Team SARD Morand | 3:42.015 | No Time | 3:41.250 | +24.363 | 20 |
25 | LMP2 | 29 | Pegasus Racing | 3:42.023 | 3:43.824 | 3:43.850 | +25.136 | 21 |
26 | LMP2 | 27 | SMP Racing | 3:42.077 | 3:54.065 | 3:43.729 | +25.190 | 22 |
27 | LMP2 | 42 | Strakka Racing | 3:42.237 | 3:44.704 | 3:43.750 | +25.350 | 23 |
28 | LMP2 | 37 | SMP Racing | 3:42.417 | 3:52.383 | 3:43.549 | +25.530 | 24 |
29 | LMP2 | 30 | Extreme Speed Motorsports | 3:44.675 | 3:42.862 | 3:42.453 | +25.566 | 25 |
30 | LMP2 | 31 | Extreme Speed Motorsports | 3:46.165 | 3:44.631 | 3:46.585 | +27.744 | 26 |
31 | LMP2 | 40 | Krohn Racing | 3:44.899 | 3:44.854 | 3:45.491 | +27.967 | 27 |
32 | LMP2 | 45 | Ibañez Racing | 3:45.450 | No Time | 3:48.220 | +28.463 | 33[N 1] |
33 | LMP2 | 35 | OAK Racing | 3:52.843 | 3:59.244 | 3:53.995 | +35.956 | 28 |
34 | LMGTE Pro | 99 | Aston Martin Racing V8 | 3:54.928 | 3:59.263 | 3:57.041 | +38.041 | 34 |
35 | LMGTE Pro | 51 | AF Corse | 3:59.815 | 3:57.503 | 3:55.025 | +38.138 | 35 |
36 | LMGTE Am | 98 | Aston Martin Racing | 3:55.102 | 4:00.110 | 3:59.081 | +38.215 | 36 |
37 | LMGTE Pro | 97 | Aston Martin Racing | 3:55.466 | 3:57.447 | 3:57.219 | +38.579 | 37 |
38 | LMGTE Pro | 71 | AF Corse | 3:57.216 | 3:58.398 | 3:55.582 | +38.695 | 54[N 2] |
39 | LMGTE Pro | 95 | Aston Martin Racing | 3:55.783 | 3:58.983 | 3:55.848 | +38.896 | 38 |
40 | LMGTE Pro | 63 | Corvette Racing-GM | 3:55.963 | 3:59.754 | No Time | +39.076 | WD |
41 | LMGTE Pro | 91 | Porsche Team Manthey | 3:57.192 | 3:57.843 | 3:56.618 | +39.731 | 39 |
42 | LMGTE Am | 83 | AF Corse | 3:56.723 | 4:03.641 | 3:57.844 | +39.836 | 40 |
43 | LMGTE Am | 72 | SMP Racing | 3:57.271 | 3:58.837 | 3:56.877 | +39.990 | 41 |
44 | LMGTE Pro | 92 | Porsche Team Manthey | 3:57.667 | 3:58.721 | 3:56.922 | +40.035 | 42 |
45 | LMGTE Pro | 64 | Corvette Racing-GM | 3:57.081 | 4:00.025 | 3:58.689 | +40.194 | 43 |
46 | LMGTE Am | 53 | Riley Motorsport-TI Auto | 3:59.054 | 4:01.501 | 3:57.836 | +40.949 | 44 |
47 | LMGTE Am | 77 | Dempsey-Proton Racing | 3:58.822 | 4:08.157 | 3:57.842 | +40.955 | 45 |
48 | LMGTE Am | 88 | Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing | 3:58.259 | 4:02.361 | 3:58.771 | +41.372 | 46 |
49 | LMGTE Am | 55 | AF Corse | 3:59.091 | 4:03.765 | 3:58.433 | +41.546 | 47 |
50 | LMGTE Am | 61 | AF Corse | 4:02.544 | 4:00.311 | 3:58.695 | +41.808 | 48 |
51 | LMGTE Am | 62 | Scuderia Corsa | 3:58.946 | 4:05.332 | 4:03.162 | +42.059 | 49 |
52 | LMGTE Am | 50 | Larbre Compétition | 3:59.522 | 4:02.871 | 3:59.566 | +42.635 | 50 |
53 | LMGTE Am | 66 | JMW Motorsport | 4:00.551 | 4:03.881 | 3:59.612 | +42.725 | 51 |
54 | LMGTE Am | 96 | Aston Martin Racing | 4:01.160 | 4:04.193 | 4:01.146 | +44.259 | 52 |
55 | LMGTE Am | 68 | Team AAI | 4:03.117 | 4:02.789 | 4:01.243 | +44.356 | 55[N 3] |
56 | LMGTE Am | 67 | Team AAI | 4:04.827 | 4:05.137 | 4:01.270 | +44.383 | 53 |
Race
The cars took to the circuit on Saturday morning for a 45-minute warm-up session. The No. 9 Audi driven by Filipe Albuquerque set the fastest time with a lap of 3:19.423. The sister Audi cars were second and third overall. Romain Dumas was fourth fastest. Bernhard was fifth quickest and had the fastest lap before Albuquerque set his time. The fastest LMP2 lap was set by Mitch Evans with a time of 3:39.559. Stefan Mücke, driving the No. 97 Aston Martin, was the quickest driver in the LMGTE Pro category with the No. 88 Proton Porsche driven by Klaus Bachler the fastest of the LMGTE Am drivers. Gianluca Roda damaged the front-right quarter of his No. 50 Larbre Compétition Corvette in a crash at the Porsche Curves.[26]
The conditions on the grid were dry and sunny before the race with an air temperature between 19–22 °C (66–72 °F) and a track temperature which ranged from 23–25 °C (73–77 °F).[27] A record-breaking 263,500 people attended the race.[28] The French tricolour was waved at 15:00 Central European Summer Time (UTC+2) by the executive chairman of the Ford Motor Company Bill Ford to start the race,[29] led by starting pole sitter Neel Jani.[23] Fifty five cars planned to take the start following the withdrawal of the No. 63 Chevrolet Corvette,[18] but the No. 23 Nissan missed the opening laps while undergoing repairs to its clutch. Bernhard overtook Jani on the first lap while the trio of Audi cars were able to pass the No. 19 Porsche by the end of the second lap. The top six cars remained within a few seconds of each other as the group pulled away from the Toyota drivers. The first hour of the race ended with the first retirement as the No. 92 Manthey Porsche began leaking oil and spun at the first chicane of the Mulsanne Straight. Despite resuming driver Patrick Pilet pulled to the side of the track further down the Mulsanne Straight as the engine compartment soon caught fire. The No. 42 Strakka Dome-Nissan and the No. 13 Rebellion were caught off guard by Pilet's oil and collided with one another in the chicane, stranding the Rebellion in the gravel trap while the Dome returned to the pit lane for repairs.[30]
The safety cars were deployed to slow the race as marshals worked for twenty-two minutes to dry the spilled oil along the Mulsanne Straight.[31] As the safety cars were recalled, André Lotterer in the No. 7 Audi used slower traffic to pass both Porsche drivers in front of him and take over the race lead, just as Nico Hülkenberg moved to fourth place by passing the remaining Audi cars.[32] In the LMP2 the safety car had split the field up, leaving the TDS Racing and KCMG Oreca-Nissan cars forty seconds ahead of their class rivals. Richard Bradley for KCMG was able to fight with TDS Racing's Tristan Gommendy on the restart and eventually retake the class lead it had lost at the race start.[32] Lotterer was later forced to give up the race lead as a puncture on one of the No. 7's tyres required an extra pit stop, allowing Brendon Hartley's No. 17 Porsche to the front of the race. Loïc Duval was caught on an approach to a slow zone in Indianapolis by a group of slowed LMGTE cars and took avoiding action in the grass off track. The No. 8 Audi clipped the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari and was thrown back across the track, impacting the barriers head on and ripping the car's front bodywork off. Safety cars were required once again as the barriers needed lengthy repairs, while Duval was able to drive the damaged Audi back to the garage. Repairs took less than five minutes and the car resumed in eighth place.[33]
Several cars suffered issues during the second safety car period. Nicki Thiim brought the No. 95 Aston Martin from the LMGTE Pro lead straight to the team's garage with a leaking power steering system,[34] handing the class lead to its sister No. 99 Aston Martin. The No. 88 Proton Porsche suffered an engine fire in the second Mulsanne Straight chicane, extending the safety car period as it was tended to.[35] KCMG retained their LMP2 class lead ahead of the TDS Racing car while behind the safety car, while the sole Corvette, No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari, and two circulating Aston Martin vehicles were nose to tail in LMGTE Pro, continuing their battle after the safety car period ended. Oliver Gavin's Corvette eventually pulled away from the rest of the LMGTE Pro field.[36] The Riley Viper relinquished its lead in LMGTE Am to the No. 98 Aston Martin and the SMP Ferrari.[37] As the safety car period ended the No. 17 Porsche of Hartley held the race lead, but Albuquerque was in pursuit in the No. 9 Audi, breaking the Le Mans lap record with a time of 3:17.647.[38] The No. 9 Audi was able to mount a better challenge to the leading Porsche, and René Rast was able to take the race lead after pit stops.[27]
During the sixth hour of the race Gary Hirsch lost power in his Greaves Gibson-Nissan through the Esses and came to a halt; the car would later be abandoned after Hirsch was unable to repair a broken battery terminal.[39] The No. 71 Ferrari was forced to the garage to fix starter motor problems, bowing out of its battle with Corvette and Aston Martin in LMGTE Pro.[39] As dusk settled on the circuit, the No. 18 Porsche of Romain Dumas braked too late for Mulsanne Corner and hit a tire barrier. The car was able to return to the pit lane, only requiring new front bodywork, but the car fell to fifth position. Not long after Paul-Loup Chatin crashed his Signatech Alpine at Mulsanne Corner, bringing the safety cars out for the third time of the race.[40] During this slow period Rob Bell pulled the No. 97 Aston Martin off course and retired.[41] When racing resumed, Hülkenberg was able to attack the leaders, first overtaking Webber's Porsche on the opening lap then passing Rast when he made a scheduled pit stop. Webber was later given a one-minute stop and go penalty for passing in a yellow flag zone, dropping him to fourth place.[41] Nissan lost one of their three LMP1 entries when Tsugio Matsuda's No. 21 car stopped at Arnage and was unable to continue.[42] The No. 22 Nissan also suffered a setback when it hit debris out on the racetrack and required a lengthy repair to its front-end.[42]
As the race approached its halfway point, Lotterer gained on the No. 9 Audi and moved into second place, becoming Audi's lead challenger to Porsche.[43] Several LMGTE cars took the opportunity to change brake discs at this point in the morning, including Fernando Rees in the No. 99 Aston Martin. Returning to the track Rees' car failed to stop in time for the first Mulsanne Straight chicane and hit the rear of the TDS Racing Oreca-Nissan. The Oreca, which had held second place in the LMP2 category, was abandoned in the gravel at the chicane while Rees limped the damaged Aston Martin back to the garage for repairs. The No. 26 G-Drive Ligier took over second place in LMP2, although still a lap behind the leading KCMG Oreca while the lead in LMGTE Pro was now left to the No. 64 Corvette and the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari on the same lap.[44] In the early morning the No. 7 Audi's hold on second place was relinquished when the right-rear bodywork of the car came apart on the circuit, requiring a seven-minute stop for repairs and dropping the car down the race order.[45]
Roald Goethe was caught off guard as Hülkenberg lapped his No. 96 Aston Martin in Corvette Corner, causing Goethe to spin and impact a concrete barrier. Goethe was conscious but needed aid in getting out of the Aston Martin requiring the intervention of a fourth safety car period. Oliver Turvey had been the fastest driver in LMP2 at the time, bringing the Jota Gibson-Nissan into third place.[46] The No. 64 Corvette came to the pit lane during the safety car period to change brakes, but was unable to get back out of pit lane in time before the exit was closed, forfeiting the class lead to the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari.[47] When racing resumed Mark Webber was able to attack the No. 9 Audi and take second position.[48] The No. 42 Strakka Dome pulled off the track on the front stretch with gearbox issues, requiring a local slow zone. The No. 7 Audi of Lotterer made contact with Tandy's leading Porsche while both cars were in the slow zone, earning Lotterer a penalty.[49] Viktor Shaitar overran the Indianapolis corner and became stuck in the gravel, losing two laps as it was extracted but remaining in second place in LMGTE Am.[50]
The No. 9 Audi began to fall off the race pace after multiple visits to the garage for repairs to its hybrid system,[51] but the No. 7 Audi kept fighting as Lotterer reset the fastest lap of the race with a 3:17.476 time.[52] KCMG had an anxious moment when Nicolas Lapierre missed the Indianapolis corner, but recovered without losing the class lead.[51] The No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari slowed on course and came to the garage with gearbox issues, handing the LMGTE Pro lead back to Corvette and allowing the No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari to climb to second place after recovering from its earlier issues.[53] Jann Mardenborough's Nissan came to a halt at the Porsche Curves after smoke bellowed out of the front of the car as the gearbox failed, leaving Nissan with a single car left circulating.[54] Light rain began to fall on portions of the circuit in the final hour, but it was not heavy enough to affect the race.[53] Paul Dalla Lana, having led the previous 125 laps in LMGTE Am[55] and within forty five minutes of the race finish, went straight on at the Ford Chicane and crashed heavily into an outside tyre barrier, ending the car's run and promoting the SMP Ferrari to the class lead which it held to the finish. Dalla Lana was unhurt.[56]
Unhindered in the final hours of the race, Nico Hülkenberg took the chequered flag for the No. 19 Porsche, a lap ahead of Hartley's No. 17 Porsche. Audi, in only their third defeat at Le Mans since 2000, were a further lap behind in third place with the No. 7 car. Toyota, unable to match the pace of Audi and Porsche, were twelve laps behind for a seventh-place finish, while debutants Nissan successfully finished the race with one of their cars, although it failed to complete enough laps for classification.[57] Hülkenberg became the first active Formula One driver to win the event since Johnny Herbert and Bertrand Gachot achieved the feat in 1991 and was the first rookie since Laurent Aïello in 1998 to clinch overall victory.[58] It was also Porsche's seventeenth overall victory in the 24 hour race.[58] KCMG, unchallenged since the early hours of the race, were victorious in the LMP2 class, while Jota Sport was able to take second place from G-Drive Racing in the final hours.[56] Corvette Racing held their five lap lead in LMGTE Pro, earning Oliver Gavin his fifth class victory,[59] while AF Corse completed the class podium with the No. 71 ahead of No. 51. Following the loss of the No. 98 Aston Martin in the final hour, actor Patrick Dempsey's team moved into second place behind the winning SMP Ferrari, while Scuderia Corsa, in their first appearance at Le Mans, finished third.[59]
Race result
The minimum number of laps for classification (70% of the overall winning car's race distance) was 276 laps. Class winners are denoted in bold.[60]
Footnotes
- 1 2 3 4 5 The No. 4 ByKolles CLM-AER, the No. 21, No. 22, and No. 23 Nissans, and the No. 45 Ibañez Oreca-Nissan were all demoted to the back of the LMP grid for failing to achieve lap times within 110% of their respective class pole position time.[24]
- ↑ The No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari was demoted to the back of the LMGTE grid for failing to achieve lap times within 120% of the overall pole position time with all three of their drivers.[24]
- ↑ The No. 68 AAI Porsche was demoted to the back of the LMGTE Grid for failing to achieve lap times within 110% of their respective class pole position time with all three drivers.[25]
- ↑ The No. 98 Aston Martin was not classified for failing to complete the final lap of the race.[60]
- ↑ The No. 22 Nissan was not classified for failing to complete 70% of the winner's distance.[60]
- ↑ The No. 4 ByKolles CLM-AER was excluded from the race for not having the correct driver weight ballast. Prior to the exclusion the car was not classified in the race results for failing to complete 70% of the winner's distance.[61]
- ↑ The No. 63 Corvette withdrew prior to the race due to unrepairable damage caused by a crash in the second qualifying session.[18]
References
- ↑ Dagys, John (9 June 2015). "ACO Implements Revised Slow Zone Procedure". Sportscar365. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ↑ Watkins, Gary (2 June 2015). "LMP rain light rule change from Le Mans after Kazuki Nakajima crash". Autosport. Haymarket Press. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ↑ Foubert, Claude (6 October 2014). "Le Mans Circuit Work Underway". Sportscar365. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- ↑ Foubert, Claude (2 March 2015). "Le virage Porsche s'élargit..." [The Porsche Curve widens...] (in French). Endurance-Info.com. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- 1 2 "INVITATION LIST TO TAKE PART IN THE OFFICIAL PRACTICE SESSIONS OF THE 2015 24 HEURES DU MANS" (PDF). Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- 1 2 3 "LIST OF THE COMPETITORS AND CARS INVITED TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHECKINGS & SCRUTINEERING — SUNDAY 7th & MONDAY 8th JUNE 2015" (PDF). Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
- ↑ Dagys, John (16 April 2015). "SARD-Morand Withdraws Entry, Riley Viper Confirmed for 24H Le Mans". Sportscar365. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- 1 2 Watkins, Gary (31 May 2015). "Le Mans 24 Hours test day: Porsche's Jani leads wet first session". Autosport. Haymarket Press. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- 1 2 3 Watkins, Gary (31 May 2015). "Le Mans 24 Hours test day: Brendon Hartley leads Porsche sweep". Autosport. Haymarket Press. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ↑ ten Caat, Marcel (10 June 2015). "Porsche Fastest in Free Practice at Le Mans". Sportscar365. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ↑ "Le Mans 24 Hours: Free Practice Report, Porsche Tops P1". DailySportsCar. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ↑ DiZinno, Tony (10 June 2015). "Jani Smashes Lap Record for Provisional Pole at Le Mans". Sportscar365. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- 1 2 "FIA WEC 83e Edition des 24 Heures du Mans Qualifying Practice 1 Provisional Result" (PDF). Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- ↑ DiZinno, Tony (11 June 2015). "Magnussen's Heavy Crash Ends Second Qualifying Early at Le Mans". Sportscar365. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ↑ "Neel Jani takes provisional Le Mans pole position for Porsche". Autosport. Haymarket Media. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- ↑ "Le Mans 24 Hours: Qualifying 2, Few Improvements In Shortened Session". DailySportsCar. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- 1 2 "Porsche still on top after shortened Le Mans qualifying session". Autosport. Haymarket Press. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 DiZinno, Tony (11 June 2015). "No. 63 Corvette Withdrawn from 24H Le Mans after Accident". Sportscar365. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ↑ "Le Mans 24 Hours: Qualifying 3, No Change At The Top, Porsche Takes Pole". DailySportsCar. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ↑ DiZinno, Tony (11 June 2015). "Porsche on pole position for 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours". Sportscar365. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ↑ "FIA WEC 83e Edition des 24 Heures du Mans Qualifying Practice 2 Provisional Result" (PDF). Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ↑ "FIA WEC 83e Edition des 24 Heures du Mans Qualifying Practice 3 Provisional Result" (PDF). Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- 1 2 "FIA WEC 83e Edition des 24 Heures du Mans Race Provisional Starting Grid" (PDF). Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- 1 2 Watkins, Gary (12 June 2015). "Le Mans 24 Hour grid penalty for Nissan LMP1s". Autosport. Haymarket Press. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ↑ DiZinno, Tony (12 June 2015). "Seven Cars Moved to Rear of LMP, GTE Grids at Le Mans". Sportscar365. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ↑ Smith, Sam (13 June 2015). "Audi 1-2-3 in morning warm-up". motorsport.com. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- 1 2 Straw, Edd; Freeman, Glenn; Watkins, Gary; Mitchell, Scott; Autosport staff; Adam, Mitchell (13 June 2015). "As it happened: The 83rd Le Mans 24 Hours". Autosport. Haymarket Press. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ↑ Hubbard, CJ (14 June 2015). "The story of Le Mans 2015 - in 24 photographs". Car Magazine. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ↑ Dagys, John (31 May 2015). "Bill Ford Named 24H Le Mans Starter". Sportscar365. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ↑ "Le Mans 24 Hours: Hour 1 Report, Early Lead For Porsche". DailySportsCar. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ DiZinno, Tony (13 June 2015). "Lotterer Snatches Lead after Second Hour at Le Mans". Sportscar365. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- 1 2 "Le Mans 24 Hours: Audi takes over from Porsche in race lead". Autosport. Haymarket Press. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ "Le Mans 24 Hours: Hour 3 Report, Audi Crash Brings Safety Car". DailySportsCar. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ "Le Mans 24 Hours: Porsche still leads after long safety car period". Autosport. Haymarket Press. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ DiZinno, Tony (13 June 2015). "Audi Crash, Barrier Repair in Third Hour Puts Race under Safety Car". Sportscar365. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ DiZinno, Tony (13 June 2015). "GTE-Pro Lead Battle Takes Center Stage After Fourth Hour". Sportscar365. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ "Le Mans 24 Hours: Hour 4 Report, Fantastic Top-Four GT Battle". DailySportsCar. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ "Le Mans 24 Hours: Hour 5 Report, New Race Lap Record From Audi". DailySportsCar. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- 1 2 "Le Mans 24 Hours: Hour 7 Report, #9 Audi In Front". DailySportsCar. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ "Le Mans 24 Hours: Safety car closes up Audi/Porsche lead battle". Autosport. Haymarket Press. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- 1 2 "Le Mans 24 Hours: Hour 9 Report, Finely Poised At The Front". DailySportsCar. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- 1 2 ten Caat, Marcel (13 June 2015). "Porsche Leads After 10 Hours, Nissans Hit Trouble". Sportscar365. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ "Le Mans 24 Hours: Hours 10 & 11 Report, Tandy Leads For Porsche". DailySportsCar. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ "Le Mans 24 Hours: Hours 14 & 15 Report: #99 Aston Takes Out TDS". DailySportsCar. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ DiZinno, Tony (14 June 2015). "No. 7 Audi Goes Into Garage with Damaged Engine Cover in Hour 16". Sportscar365. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ "Le Mans 24 Hours: Nico Hulkenberg leads for Porsche amid safety car". Autosport. Haymarket Press. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ DiZinno, Tony (14 June 2015). "Goethe Conscious After Accident Before Hour 18". Sportscar365. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ "Le Mans 24 Hours: Hour 18 & 19 Report, Porsche Still Sitting 1-2 At The Top". DailySportsCar. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ ten Caat, Marcel (14 June 2015). "Porsche 1-2 at Le Mans With Four Hours To Go". Sportscar365. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ "Le Mans 24 Hours: Hour 20 Report, Porsche Consolidating". DailySportsCar. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- 1 2 ten Caat, Marcel (14 June 2015). "Porsche Still Leads Le Mans With Just Two Hours Left". Sportscar365. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ "Le Mans 24 Hours: Hour 21 Report, Close GT Action". DailySportsCar. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- 1 2 "Le Mans 24 Hours: Nico Hulkenberg leads into final hour for Porsche". Autosport. Haymarket Press. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ "Le Mans 24 Hours: Hour 23 Report, Corvette Leads GTE Pro". DailySportsCar. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ "FIA WEC 83e Edition des 24 Heures du Mans Race Leader Sequence" (PDF). Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 14 June 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- 1 2 "Le Mans 24 Hours: Hour 24 Report, 17th LM24 Win for Porsche". DailySportsCar. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ Dagys, John (14 June 2015). "Porsche Claims Historic 1-2 Victory at Le Mans". Sportscar365. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- 1 2 Morley, Gary (14 June 2015). "Le Mans 24 Hours: F1's Hulkenberg leads Porsche 1-2". CNN. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- 1 2 DiZinno, Tony (14 June 2015). "Corvette, SMP Racing Take GTE-Pro, GTE-Am Wins at Le Mans". Sportscar365. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- 1 2 3 "FIA WEC 83e Edition des 24 Heures du Mans Race Final Classification" (PDF). Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 14 June 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ Dagys, John (15 June 2015). "Le Mans Post-Race Notebook". Sportscar365. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
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