Porsche triumph again in Le Mans 24 Hours

18 June 2017 07:09

Porsche claimed a third successive win in the Le Mans 24 Hours after another incident-packed race which saw Toyota once again fail to challenge.

The Japanese team had been expected to play a key role in the race and offer a significant threat to the eventual winners, but a series of retirements and racing incidents saw them fall short.

Porsche looked to be cruising towards victory in the absence of Toyota, only for Andre Lotterer to grind to a halt and retire with a suspected oil pressure problem, with less than four hours to go.

The retirement of Porche's number one team gave Timo Bernhard's number two team the chance to mount an impressive fightback, having been 19 laps off the lead on Saturday following a technical problem.

And Bernhard, and his New Zealand co-drivers Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber, capitalised on the retirement and launched an assault on new leaders Jackie Chan DC racing, before eventually overtaking with an hour to go to claim a third successive win for the German constructor and a record 19th in total.

DC Racing held on to claim second place, while Vaillante Rebellion rounded off the top three.

Source: PA