Former Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica took victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours with a privately entered Ferrari.
The number 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, also driven by China’s Yifei Ye and Britain’s Phil Hanson, took the chequered flag 14.084 seconds ahead of the number six Porsche 963 of France Kevin Estre.
Pole Kubica, once considered one of the world’s best F1 drivers as part of a group of young drivers which included Lewis Hamilton, won the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix for BMW-Sauber.
But three years later, as an established F1 driver for Renault, Kubica suffered life-changing injuries in a rallying crash which seriously compromised his right wrist.
The works number 51 Ferrari 499P driven by Antonio Giovinazzi took third place, with the sister 50 car driven by Antonio Fuoco fourth.
Both factory Ferraris, who had been competing for the victory until the final hour, were nursing problems in the final stages.
It is the third victory in a row at Le Mans for the 499P, which won in the top class for the first time in 50 years in 2023 – the 100th anniversary of the famous race.
Kubica, 40, who drove a long final stint, said over team radio: “It’s been a long 24 hours but an enjoyable one – grazie mille, grazie a tutti.”
“Winning Le Mans is special,” he added later to TNT Sports. “It’s been a demanding week – we made everything possible. We kept our heads down when we had to push, and when not we took care of the tyres.
“I’m happy for myself, my team-mates, AF Corse and Ferrari winning three times in row. A better scenario, we could not have.”
The sell-out race, which sees around 300,000 fans gather in north-west France, was a soporific event in 2025, with fewer incidents and accidents between the 62 cars which began the race than usual.
The Cadillacs of Hertz Team Jota, who achieved a front-row lockout in qualifying, finished fifth and eighth – the latter 38 car including 2009 Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button as one of the drivers.
www.bbc.com
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