Le Mans 2019 results: Positions and standings as No 8 wins 24 Hours after Toyota changed wrong tyre on No 7
Re-live all the action from the 87th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours at the Circuit de la Sarthe
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Toyota took an expected victory in the 2019 Le Mans 24 Hours, but noe was prepared for the controversial ending that saw the No 7 car lose the win an hour from the finish after the team replaced the wrong wheel during an unscheduled pit stop, leaving the car that had led for nearly 12 consecutive hours limping around the circuit with a punctured tyre.
The No 7 car of Conway/Kobayashi/Lopez lost the lead of the race to the No 8 of Buemi/Alonso/Nakajima at the start of the final hour after it picked up a puncture, only for a faulty sensor telling the team to change the wrong wheel when it pitted from the lead to gift the sister car the win, with the No 11 SMP Racing BR1 of Petrov/Aleshin/Vandoorne finishing in third. A series of safety car periods throughout the night saw the No 26 G-Drive Racing move clear in LMP2 only to suffer a 20-minute delay in the pits to leave the No 36 Signatech Alpine in the lead, while the GTE Pro lead is with the No 51 Ferrari after its nearest rival, the No 63 Corvette, spun out with three hours to go with the No 91 and 93 Porsches in second and third, while the No 85 Ford is clear in GTE Am.
However, both Aston Martins crashed out of the GTE Pro battle inside 20 minutes of each other, with the GTE Am class No 98 already out, while Corvette Racing saw the No 64 become the first official retirement after a heaving crash early on. Re-live the live updates below.
What time does it start?
The 2019 Le Mans 24 Hours starts at 2pm BST (3pm CET) on Saturday 15 June.
When is the finish?
The chequered flag will drop at the end of the first lap after 2pm on Sunday 16 June.
How to watch
The 24 Hours of Le Mans will be shown live on Eurosport, along with a number of other sessions during the week.
Twenty-four-hour race coverage will be shown from the moment the flag drops to the chequered flag on Sunday, along with pre- and post-race analysis.
Viewers can watch the race coverage online by subscribing to the Eurosport Player, which comes with the added bonus of no advert breaks for uninterrupted Le Mans coverage. Viewers can buy a monthly pass for £6.99, sign up for a monthly subscription for £4.99 a month or buy a discounted annual pass for £39.99.
There will also be regular 10-minute catch-up shows screened every two hours until 11pm on Saturday, and again from 8am on Sunday morning.
Hour 1: The No 17 SMP in the hands of Stephane Sarrazin really did get a terrible start, as not only did it lose third to the No 3 Rebellion but also fourth to the sister No 11 car.
Conway is flying out in front, and to put his speed into comparison, at the end of the fourth lap he's already a minute ahead of the 25th-placed Graff LMP2 and two minutes ahead of the fastest GTE cars.
Hour 1: Chevrolet takes the lead in GTE Pro! Antonio Garcia repeats the move he pulled off on the Ford when he attacks Nicki Thiim in the Aston Martin, sweeping around the outside of the Indianapolis kink to take the class lead on the fourth lap.
Hour 1: The No 11 SMP is all over the back of the No 3 Rebellion in the battle for third, with Vitaly Petrov seeing overtaking attempts into the first Mulsanne chicane and into Indianapolis fall short - just as we get reports of rain drops on the back section of the track at Mulsanne corner. The skies have considerably darkened since the start of the race.
Hour 1: It took Mike Conway just five laps to start lapping the GTE Am backmarkers, and now the LMP1 leaders are battling their way through the GTE Pro leaders - the cars who will pay them little attention as they themselves battle for the lead. Think those first 25 minutes were exciting? Now the real drama starts.
Hour 1: Rebellion and SMP pit! Both look to have short-fuelled their lead cars to try and gain an edge on each other, only to pit at the end of the eighth lap - two laps earlier than expected. The ByKolles and LMP2s also dive into the pits.
Hour 1: Porsche are on the move as both the No 92 of Kevin Estre and No 93 of Nick Tandy get past the lead Ford to move up to third and fourth in class. Behind them, the No 64 Corvette, No 68 Ford, No 92 Porsche, No 82 BMW and No 71 Ferrari are in a frantic battle as the LMP2 leaders try to weave their way between them. It hands Oliver Gavin the chance to move ahead of that pack and take sixth place.
Hour 1: The second-placed Toyota of Buemi pits at the end of the ninth lap, but Conway continues having eeked out at least an extra lap from his opening stint. That could well play into the No 7's hands later down the line if they're able to repeat that trick in every stint.
Hour 1: Conway pits on lap 10, with a stop that's 10 seconds longer than the No 8 of Buemi. Once the leader returns to the track the gap is clocked at
Meanwhile, the pit stops in LMP2 has produced a lead change as the No 36 Signatech Alpine has moved ahead of the No 28 TDS Racing by four seconds, with Jean-Eric Vergne moving the N 26 G-Drive into third place. The other main LMP2 championship contenders to Alpine, the No 38 Jackie Chan DC Racing and No 31 DragonSpeed, sit sixth and 10th in class respectively.
Hour 1: The No 30 Duquiene Engineering LMP2 is in trouble, with Nicolas Jamin crawling down the Mulsanne and nearly getting in the way of the SMP car and also the battling No 92 Porsche and No 95 Aston. Kevin Estre makes the most of the distraction to slide down the inside of Nicki Thiim and take second place in GTE Pro for Porsche.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments