LIVE RACING & VICTORY - 24H DU MANS

USPA NEWS - The Automobile Club de l´Ouest has attracted as large a crowd as last year despite last-minute changes to logistics due to the inclement weather (82.3mm of rain in ten days - a record in Le Mans for this time of year)...

The Automobile Club de l´Ouest has attracted as large a crowd as last year despite last-minute changes to logistics due to the inclement weather (82.3mm of rain in ten days - a record in Le Mans for this time of year). A total of 263,500 spectators came to watch the 24 Hours of Le Mans, third round in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

- Number of victories for Porsche at the 24 Hours of Le Mans : 18.

- Sum of participations at Le Mans by the crew of the #2: Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb : 32.

- Number of years since Porsche´s first win : 46.

- Number of wins for tyre manufacturer Michelin : 25.

- Number of pit stops that the winners made, including 8 for refuelling rather than tyre changes : 30.

- Distance covered by the #2 Porsche in this year´s race. Romain Dumas did not beat the record he set with his team in 2010 : 5,274 kilometres.

- Number of Le Mans victories that Dumas´ teammates have to their name. They´ve opened the score! This is the Frenchman´s second win : 1.

2016 RESULTS :

- Romain Dumas (France), Neel Jani (Switzerland), Marc Lieb (Germany)
- Porsche Team
- Porsche 919 Hybrid (9R9 MY15)
- Laps : 384
- Class : LMP1
- Position : 1st
- Class Position : 1st

The #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid crew composed of Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This is a record eighteenth win for the German manufacturer.

Neel Jani (at the wheel for the finish) said : 'I was told over the radio that the Toyota had stopped and that I was in with a chance of catching it if I stepped up the pace. As I went past, I saw it wasn´t moving. The last lap was surreal. I felt numb because I couldn´t believe it. When was the last time there was a breakdown in the last lap? I had to do a last minute stop at the end of the race with a tyre problem. We didn´t know whether it was a puncture or not and we chose to play it safe because we didn´t think we could win. From the start we knew the Toyota was going to stop every 14 laps but we couldn´t do the same...'

Neel Jani added : 'Our only hope was to make up the lost time on track. We didn´t manage it during the day but at night we were faster. I kept the pressure on right to the end, almost the same as in the qualifiers, because you never know.'

Marc Lieb said : 'We knew that Toyota could last 14 laps between stops and that we´ve never been able to match that. It was a difficult race because we had to keep pressing at all times. It´s sad because Toyota should have won. I´ve been in their shoes before at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring....'

Marc Lieb added : 'Our car broke a minute from the finish line. We wanted to beat them on track. It was the only way. We were faster during the night but the slow zones didn´t help. I only slept for a few minutes. I´m exhausted.'

Romain Dumas (winner for the second time) said : 'The regulations were changed to slow down the cars and it worked because last year we were on 3:17 and this year we couldn´t better 3:21. The whole LM P1 class was slower. We didn´t beat the distance record [set in 2010, ed.] because of the safety car at the start and the many slow zones.'

Romain Dumas added : 'But, who cares whether you do 300 or 315 laps? The main thing is to win. It hasn´t sunk in yet and we feel sorry for Toyota. But after a while only the result will count. We were offered a victory; we weren´t going to say no.'

Source : 24H Le Mans. 18-19 June 2016

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