24 Hours of Le Mans 2022 - Brendon Hartley, Sebastien Buemi, Ryo Hirakawa bring Toyota Gazoo glory at Le Mans
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Updated 12/06/2022 at 17:00 GMT
After a dramatic start to the 90th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a crash within seconds of the famous race getting underway, the action continued throughout with the Toyota Gazoo Racing #8 team of Brendon Hartley, Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa the eventual winners. Here is how all the drama played out with our rolling report. Stream Le Mans 2022 live and on-demand on discovery+
'Victory for Toyota' - Watch Hartley, Buemi, Hirakawa bring Toyota Gazoo glory at Le Mans
The Toyota Gazoo Racing #8 team of Brendon Hartley, Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa were the overall victors in an action-packed 24 Hours of Le Mans.
After the sister car #7 came into issues during the twilight hours, Hartley was able to take the top spot and keep his hands on it all the way to the finish line.
In the post-race celebrations, Buemi expressed his delight: "It means a lot to me [the race win] Since 2016, I never believe it [winning the race] till I cross the line. It’s such a wonderful moment when you cross the line.”
The #7 of Mike Conway, Jose Maria Lopez and Kamui Kobayashi weren’t able to copy their winning heroics of 2021, crossing the line 2m01s behind.
Third place in the Hypercar category was won by the Glickenhaus #709 car, with Ryan Briscoe, Franck Mailleux and Richard Westbrook all sharing the wheel, but they completed five less laps than the Toyota's.
JOTA reigned supreme in the LMP2 class. The #38 car kept themselves on top for most of the 24 hours. The first stints from Antonio Felix da Costa, William Stevens and Roberto Gonzalez set the benchmark for all the other LMP2 cars.
An early battle from the Prema Orlen #9 kept the JOTA #38 on its toes, but ultimately, it couldn’t keep up and settled for second, with Robert Kubica, Louis Deletraz and Lorenzo Colombo the drivers.
Da Costa was nothing but full of praise for his team: "I have to give a lot of credit to my team and my team-mates, especially Will [Stevens], restless, setting up the car the way he believed it to be. He’s honestly an endurance and pro type expert.”
JOTA completed the top three with the #28 car in third. Oliver Rasmussen, Ed Jones and Jonathan Aberdein were the three sharing the spoils.
In the GTE Pro class, the Porsche GT #91, driven by Frederic Makowiecki, Gianmaria Bruni and Richard Lietz was the victor. The AF Corse #51 of James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Daniel Serra came in second with the AF Corse #52 of Miguel Molina, Davide Rigon and Antonio Fuoco completing the podium in third.
The TF Sport #33 car took the GTE Am lead overnight and ran away with it. A great drive from Marco Sorensen, Ben Keating and Henrique Chaves.
The Weathertech Racing #79 car of Julien Andlauer, Cooper MacNeil and Thomas Merrill came in second with the Northwest AMR #98 of Nicki Thiim, David Pittard and Paul Dalla Lana in third.
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Watch Le Mans champions Hartley, Buemi, Hirakawa celebrate Toyota Gazoo win
Overnight action
Toyota Gazoo Racing #7 saw themselves lose the race lead overnight as the car came into issues. Jose Maria Lopez had a 15-second lead over the #8 Toyota but that was all thrown away when the #7 came stopped at Arnage.
Brendon Hartley was able to take advantage and slip pass to take the lead. Lopez was forced to lap the car and the issues meant the #7 ended up being a lap down on #8 by the time the car re-joined.
The JOTA #38 car continues to be the most consistent on track, with it still being on top of LMP2 as the morning rolled in. The car’s nearest competitor, the Prema Orlen #9 in second was a lap down, giving the JOTA plenty of breathing space.
Corvette saw not one, but both of their cars retire in the GTE Pro. Corvette #63 was forced to retire due to an ongoing issue with the car. However, Corvette #64 had its race ruined while competing for first in class.
Porsche also had their own drama. The Porsche GT #92 was leading the way when Michael Christensen suffered a tyre blow out, which damaged the car in the process. After pitting, the #92 was left bottom of the GTE Pro class.
Alexander Sims was battling James Calado in the AF Corse #51 when he was clipped by the passing Francois Perrodo in the LMP2 AF Corse #83, sending his Corvette into the barriers and leaving the team with no choice but to retire the car. Heartbreak for Corvette, who looked on target to win.
TF Sport #33 became the new leader of the GTE Am category.
Other retirements included the Team Project #46, Spirit of Race #71 and Inception Racing #59. D'Station #777 hasn’t officially retired but it’s been in the pits for a while, having only completed 112 laps.
Michael Fassbender crashed not once but twice in his Proton Competition #93, making three crashes over the course of the weekend.
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Toyotas take control ahead of night
As the night rolled in, it was the Toyota Gazoo Racing #8 car on top, with Ryo Hirakawa having completed his first stint and handed the reins back to Sebastian Buemi. The #7 Toyota was leading but after a driver change, the #8 got the undercut to take the lead.
The Alpine Elf Team #36 had a nightmare of a stint. During a pit stop, the car wouldn’t start, forcing the team to sort out the issue in the garage and taking up time they would have wished they could have had on the track.
By the time Alpine got to go racing again, the car was seven laps down on the leaders.
Topping LMP2 was still the JOTA #38 car. Will Stevens picked up after Antonio Felix de Costa’s first fantastic stint and continued on with a fine performance. At one point, he was nearly two minutes ahead of second place.
LMP2 was the stand-out class, with battles going on all along the grid. But, as the darkness came, the grid started to separate.
Corvette Racing #63 continued to be on top in the GTE Pro class, but not without competition from the sister car #64. Weathertech #79 also continued to be the car on top in the GTE Am class.
Hollywood star Michael Fassbender got his first laps in with the Proton Competition #93 in the GTE Am class. He was able to compete without a hitch before he was swapped out.
Pierre Ehret got himself in a spot of bother, spinning off at Porsche Curves. Luckily, he was able to avoid the wall and save the car.
Nicolas Leutwiler beached his GTE Am Team Project 1 #46, with his car needing to be recovered.
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Early stages
Jose Maria Lopez was leading the way in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A first stint was completed by Mike Conway, but the Toyota Gazoo Racing #7 was in prime position.
Despite starting on pole, the Toyota Gazoo Racing #8, which kicked off its race with Sebastian Buemi at the wheel, have found their fellow team members ahead of them and in control of the Hypercar category.
The start of Le Mans didn't come without drama. The United Autosport Oreca #22 was clipped by the WRT #31, sending the #22 car into the gravel. The WRT #31, which was being driven by Rene Rast, later got a one-minute stop-go penalty for its part in the situation.
In the LMP2 class, the JOTA #38 has been well in control up front thanks to a fantastic driver from Antonio Felix de Costa. The Prema Orlen #9 car has been its nearest competitor but was left sitting in third, behind the Team Penske #5.
Corvette racing #63 was in the front seat in GTE Pro with Weathertech Racing #79 leading the way in GTE Am.
All 62 cars were still competing.
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HOW CAN I WATCH 24 HOURS OF LE MANS?
You can watch the 24 Hours of Le Mans across Eurosport, the Eurosport app and discovery+.
Enjoy the action ad-free on the Eurosport app and via eurosport.co.uk. Download the Eurosport app now for iOS and Android. You can sign up for discovery+ for just £6.99 per month or £59.99 annually.
We will also have rolling coverage on the eurosport.co.uk website and our social channels.
Live coverage started on Wednesday afternoon with practice sessions and qualifying for Hyperpole. There was more live action on Thursday evening followed by continuous coverage of the main race, which started at 2pm BST on Saturday, June 11.
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