13th-Jun-23, 08:59 AM
It was a brilliant race - I watched all but about 3 hours of the Eurosport coverage. The drama was utterly relentless and made a perfect 100th anniversary celebration.
Of course, all eyes were on the top class - with Toyota, Ferrari, Cadillac, Porsche and Peugeot all looking like they had a decent shout of victory at various stages of the race. The best race laps also seem to confirm the success of BoP, even with numerous cars carrying damage and/or mechanical issues into the track's sweet spot on Sunday lunchtime...
Ferrari #50 (LMH) - 3:27.218 (lap 307)
Toyota #8 (LMH) - 3:27.549 (lap 308)
Ferrari #51 (LMH) - 3:27.890 (lap 264)
Cadillac #311 (LMDh) - 3:27.963 (lap 289)
Cadillac #2 (LMDh) - 3:27.967 (lap 263)
Porsche #5 (LMDh) - 3:27.987 (lap 320)
Porsche #38 (LMDh) - 3.28.075 (lap 228)
Porsche #6 (LMDh) - 3:28.294 (lap 307)
Cadillac #3 (LMDh) - 3:28.298 (lap 12)
Peugeot #94 (LMH) - 3:28.446 (lap 275)
Peugeot #93 (LMH) - 3:28.798 (lap 290)
Glickenhaus #708 (LMH) - 3:29.577 (lap 294)
Porsche #75 (LMDh) - 3:29.916 (lap 12)
Glickenhaus #709 (LMH) - 3:29.936 (lap 261)
Toyota #7 (LMH) - 3:29.993 (lap 12)
Vanwall #4 (LMH) - 3:32.636 (lap 125)
The new safety car procedure has a proven track record in IMSA of delivering the drama, intrigue and redemption we saw at La Sarthe over the weekend. Although the bunching-up and wave-around changes the goalposts a little, I think the chance of redemption works well in a 24-hour race - Alessandro Pier Guidi was forced off into the gravel by a spinning GT car during the night, but finished as a Le Mans race winner after he and his team worked hard to recover the lost time. The Corvette's recovery was even more dramatic after they lost two laps with early mechanical troubles. It meant the Iron Dames missed out on a history-making GT podium, the outright pace of the three teams ahead of them proving decisive under the new system.
The LMP2 victory for Inter Europol was glorious - the bigger-budget teams protesting every possible infringement over the final few hours. But race control was not swayed and the Polish bakers beat all the fancied LMP2 contenders - many of whom will be moving up a class to give us yet more Hypercar entries next season.
Finally, congrats to SC Glickenhaus - whose overall budget was less than some other teams spent on catering... according to Jim Glickenhaus! The sixth and seventh place finishes for their two cars show what's possible in a highly-competitive Hyperclass class with limited resources. Despite their share of off-track excursions and mechanical issues, the #708 car finished seven laps behind the winners, beating both Peugeots, all four Porsches and the Kolles Vanwall.
As soon as the race finished, I was wishing away the days until next year...
Of course, all eyes were on the top class - with Toyota, Ferrari, Cadillac, Porsche and Peugeot all looking like they had a decent shout of victory at various stages of the race. The best race laps also seem to confirm the success of BoP, even with numerous cars carrying damage and/or mechanical issues into the track's sweet spot on Sunday lunchtime...
Ferrari #50 (LMH) - 3:27.218 (lap 307)
Toyota #8 (LMH) - 3:27.549 (lap 308)
Ferrari #51 (LMH) - 3:27.890 (lap 264)
Cadillac #311 (LMDh) - 3:27.963 (lap 289)
Cadillac #2 (LMDh) - 3:27.967 (lap 263)
Porsche #5 (LMDh) - 3:27.987 (lap 320)
Porsche #38 (LMDh) - 3.28.075 (lap 228)
Porsche #6 (LMDh) - 3:28.294 (lap 307)
Cadillac #3 (LMDh) - 3:28.298 (lap 12)
Peugeot #94 (LMH) - 3:28.446 (lap 275)
Peugeot #93 (LMH) - 3:28.798 (lap 290)
Glickenhaus #708 (LMH) - 3:29.577 (lap 294)
Porsche #75 (LMDh) - 3:29.916 (lap 12)
Glickenhaus #709 (LMH) - 3:29.936 (lap 261)
Toyota #7 (LMH) - 3:29.993 (lap 12)
Vanwall #4 (LMH) - 3:32.636 (lap 125)
The new safety car procedure has a proven track record in IMSA of delivering the drama, intrigue and redemption we saw at La Sarthe over the weekend. Although the bunching-up and wave-around changes the goalposts a little, I think the chance of redemption works well in a 24-hour race - Alessandro Pier Guidi was forced off into the gravel by a spinning GT car during the night, but finished as a Le Mans race winner after he and his team worked hard to recover the lost time. The Corvette's recovery was even more dramatic after they lost two laps with early mechanical troubles. It meant the Iron Dames missed out on a history-making GT podium, the outright pace of the three teams ahead of them proving decisive under the new system.
The LMP2 victory for Inter Europol was glorious - the bigger-budget teams protesting every possible infringement over the final few hours. But race control was not swayed and the Polish bakers beat all the fancied LMP2 contenders - many of whom will be moving up a class to give us yet more Hypercar entries next season.
Finally, congrats to SC Glickenhaus - whose overall budget was less than some other teams spent on catering... according to Jim Glickenhaus! The sixth and seventh place finishes for their two cars show what's possible in a highly-competitive Hyperclass class with limited resources. Despite their share of off-track excursions and mechanical issues, the #708 car finished seven laps behind the winners, beating both Peugeots, all four Porsches and the Kolles Vanwall.
As soon as the race finished, I was wishing away the days until next year...
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