Porsche Outlasts Toyota at Le Mans

Veteran German driver Timo Bernhard piloted his Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 race car into the lead with about one hour to go at this weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans, then held on to give Porsche its third straight victory at the famous endurance race.

Bernhard finished about one minute ahead of the Jackie Chan DC Racing team's Oreca car. Two other Oreca cars, which compete in the second-tier LMP2 class, finished third and fourth for the Vaillante Rebellion and Jackie Chan teams, respectively.

A pair of Toyota TS050 cars from Toyota Gazoo Racing started in the front row, with pole sitter Kamui Kobayashi’s car leading much of the early part of the race. But just before the halfway point, a transmission failure forced the Toyota racer to withdraw. Minutes later another Toyota car dropped out after suffering a punctured rear tire that sparked a fire. The lone remaining Toyota was at the rear of the pack after sustaining an early accident.

The top Porsche car seized the lead and quickly distanced itself from the rest of the field. But with four hours remaining in the race the car began losing oil pressure and never recovered.

This allowed 19-year-old Frenchman Thomas Laurent to cruise ahead in the Jacki Chan Oreca, marking the first time an LMP2 car has led at Le Mans. Laurent briefly stretched the lead to two laps before giving way to teammate Tung Ho-Pin with a 10-second advantage and about an hour left in the race.

Meanwhile, Bernhard replaced teammate Brendon Hartley at the wheel of the Porsche 919 and soon passed Tung. Bernhard and Hartley were joined by Earl Bamber as drivers for the winning team. Bernhard also took the checkered flag as part of the winning Audi team at the 2010 Le Mans.

Porsche won last year’s race in dramatic fashion by overtaking a Toyota car that broke down on the final lap.