2022 24 Hours of Le Mans Race Report | #8 Toyota dominates to lead a 1-2

The 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans has wrapped up with the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and rookie Ryo Hirakawa taking a dominant victory with the sister #7 Toyota team following them to secure a 1-2 for the Japanese manufacturer.

Hypercar

It was a story of dominance from the Toyota outfit who started on the front-two rows and ended up securing a 1-2 finish. The #8 team showed their stength over their sister team, and more-or-less lead the race from start-to-finish, with the #7 crew only managing to gain the lead on a few occasions.

Following the Toyota crew was the #709 and #708 Glickenhaus duo who finished 3rd and 4th. Despite the American team's strong finish, they didn't have the pace to challenge the dominance of the Toyota and were stuck in a middle-ground where they fell behind the Toyotas, but superior pace over the Alpine behind.

Rounding up the Hypercar class was the #36 Alpine team who just didn't have the pace to make an impact on the race. Hampered by a BOP change before the race, and numerous reliability woes, the French outfit ended up finishing behind most of the LMP2 class, a far cry from the podium they secured last year.

HYPERCAR PODIUM -

1ST - #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing - Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa

2ND - #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing - Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez

3RD - #709 Glickenhaus Racing - Ryan Briscoe, Franck Mailleux, Richard Westbrook

LMP2

The LMP2 class was highlighted by three cars who were swapping the lead throughout the race; the #28 and #38 JOTA teams, and the newcomer #9 Pema Orlen team.

In the end, it was the #38 helmed by Antonio Felix da Costa, Will Stevens, and Roberto Gonzalez who crossed the line first and brougt home the glory, leading the #9 Prema who finished 2nd, and the #28 sister car who finished 3rd.

LMP2 PODIUM -

1ST - #38 Jota - Antonio Felix da Costa, Roberto Gonzalez, Will Stevens

2ND - #9 Prema Orlen Team - Lorenzo Colombo, Luis Deletraz, Robert Kubica

3RD - #28 Jota - Jonathan Aberdein, Ed Jones, Oliver Rasmussen

GTE Pro

The class with the most manufacturer involvement showed the most drama out of any of the classes of the race. The beginning of the running saw a mighty showing from the Corvette outfit, with both the #63 and #64 leading the rest of the field for the first few hours heading into the night. However a suspension failure for the leading #63 Corvette at night, and then contact from an LMP2 for the #64 saw both of the American teams retire early.

The lead was then picked up from the #91 Porsche team of Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Lietz, and Frederic Makoweicki who brought their car home to win, leading the #51 and #52 AF Corse Ferraris in 2nd and 3rd.

GTE PRO PODIUM -

1ST - #91 Porsche GT Team - Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Lietz, Frederic Makoweicki

2ND - #51 AF Corse - James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi

3RD - Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Davide Rigon

GTE Am

The Amatuer division of the GTE field saw the #33 TF Sport Aston Martin of Ben Keating, Henrique Chaves, and Marco Sorensen, one of only two Aston Martins in the field.

Behind them it was the #79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche that finished second after leading early in the race, and the second Aston Martin of the #98 Northwest AMR team made it an Aston double-podium.

GTE AM PODIUM -

1ST - #33 TF Sport - Henrique Chaves, Ben Keating, Marco Sorensen

2ND - #79 WeatherTech Racing - Julien Andlauer, Cooper Macneil, Thomas Merrill

3RD - #98 Northwest AMR - Paul Dalla Lana, David Pittard Nicki Thiim