Porsche Dethrones Audi to Win Le Mans

A pair of Porsche 919 Hybrid cars finished first and second in the top LM P1 class at this weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France. An Audi R18 entrant took third place.

It is the 17th victory for Porsche at Le Mans, which is now in its 83rd year. But it's the nameplate's first triumph at the fabled endurance event since 1998. Audi won the last five races and 13 of the last 15.

The winning Porsche No. 19 car completed 395 laps, one more than its stablemate. The Audi team finished two laps off the pace. It was followed by another Audi and a third Porsche car. The top Toyota entrant finished in sixth place. Only one of the three Nissan GT-R Nismo hybrid cars was running at the end, finishing 150 laps behind the leader.

The winning team consisted of drivers Nico Hulkenberg, Earl Bamber and Nick Tandy. Hulkenberg is the first Formula One driver to win at Le Mans since 1991. He and Bamber are the first Le Mans rookies to capture the checkered flag since 1998.

Through the first three races of the FIA World Endurance Championship, Porsche leads the LM P1 class with 140 points. It's followed by Audi (124) and Toyota (71).

In the other Le Mans classes, the Chevrolet Corvette team took home the trophy in the GTE Pro division, and KCMG won the LMP2 class with its Nissan-powered car. SMP Racing's Ferrari won the GTE Amateur class after the lead Aston Martin crashed with 45 minutes to go. Actor Patrick Dempsey's team finished second in his 911 RSR.