Layout of the Circuit de la SartheThe overall-winning Porsche LMP Team No. 2 Porsche 919 Hybrid on display at the 2017 International Motor Show Germany
Following the 2016 race, when the lead car failed to complete the final lap and was eventually not classified in the final results, the standards for car classification were changed by the ACO. Instead of the mandatory six minutes for the race's final lap, penalties were assessed on a graduated scale for any lap exceeding six minutes. Failure to complete the race's final lap in under fifteen minutes no longer led to a car being classified.[6]
The event's slow-zone system was also revised, with nine dedicated slow zones around the circuit. Previously, individual marshal posts were used to mark the beginning and end of slow zones. The dedicated zones were located so the beginning of 80km/h (50mph) is in a slow section of the circuit; previous slow zones could begin in areas of the track where cars were required to slow down from high speeds, causing accidents.[7]
The circuit was modified from the Porsche Curves to the Ford Chicane. The run-off area where the last right-hand turn goes into the left-hand corner, which begins the Corvette corner, was widened, with the barrier at the Porsche Curves moved further back. The angle of the wall at the left-hand entry to the short straight before the Ford Chicane was also altered.[8] The Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) category was revamped with the introduction of a single specification engine from Gibson, with increased power output compared to 2016 LMP2 cars.[9] Cockpit and chassis designs mimicked the Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) regulations for safety.[10] The four approved chassis manufacturers were Dallara, Ligier, Oreca and Riley.[11]
Entries
Automatic invitations
Teams which won their class in the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans or won championships in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS), Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) and GT3 Le Mans Cup (GT3 LMC) earned automatic invitations. The 2016 ELMSLe Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) championship runner-up received an automatic invitation. The ACO gave two participants selected from the IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA) automatic entries, regardless of performance or category. When teams received invitations, they were allowed to change cars (but not their category) from the previous year. The LMGTE-class invitations from the ELMS and ALMS allowed a choice between the Pro and Am categories. ELMS' Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) champion was required to field an entry in LMP2, and the 2016–17 ALMS LMP3 champion could choose between LMP2 or LMGTE Am. The 2016 GT3 LMC champions were limited to the LMGTE Am category.[12] The ACO issued its initial list of automatic entries on 23 January 2017.[12]
Automatic entries for the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans[12]
In conjunction with announcing entries for the 2017 FIA WEC and the ELMS seasons, the ACO announced the full 60-car entry list for Le Mans and two reserves. In addition to the 28 guaranteed WEC entries, 13 entries came from the ELMS, six from IMSA and eleven from the ALMS; the rest of the field was filled with one-off entries only competing at Le Mans.[13] The ACO initially named two cars to the reserve list; RLR MSport later withdrew their LMP2 Ligier, and a fourth entry (from Proton Competition) was not promoted to the race.[14]Audi Sport Team Joest's withdrawal from LMP1 reduced the class to six entries for the race.[15]
Garage 56
The Garage 56 concept, which began in 2012 to test new technology at Le Mans, was to be continued by the ACO.[16]Welter Racing intended to enter a three-cylinder 1.2L (0.26impgal; 0.32USgal) prototype vehicle powered by biomethane fuel, stored in cryogenic tanks which could withstand very low temperatures, to concentrate and maximise fuel volume.[16][17] Due to funding issues, the car was not entered in the race.[16]
Pre-race balance of performance changes
The ACO and the FIA altered the balance of performance (BoP) in the two LMGTE categories in an attempt to eliminate sandbagging.[18] To reduce performance, the Ford GT received a 20kg (44lb) minimum weight increase and reduced turbocharger boost across all RPM levels. The Aston Martin Vantage was made 10kg (22lb) heavier with an air restrictor elongated by 0.4mm (0.016in), and the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R had 1L (0.22impgal; 0.26USgal) less fuel capacity and its air restrictor lengthened by 0.7mm (0.028in). Porsche's 911 RSR received a minimum weight increase of 10kg (22lb), and its air restrictor was lengthened by 0.1mm (0.0039in). The LMGTE Am-class Porsche 911 RSR's ballast was increased by 10kg (22lb); the Ferrari 488 GTE and Aston Martin Vantage's ballasts were decreased by 10kg (22lb) and 5kg (11lb), respectively. All three cars had minor power and restrictor adjustments.[19]
Testing
On 4 June, the circuit held two mandatory four-hour sessions as part of a pre-Le Mans testing day.[20] The morning session, held on a dirty track with lap times improving throughout,[21] was led by pre-race favourite Toyota;[15] Nakajima's No. 8 car lapped at 3 minutes 20.778 seconds. The second Toyota of Kamui Kobayashi was almost seven-tenths of a second slower, and José María López's No. 9 car was third.[21] Porsche were more than two seconds slower than Toyota, and completed the LMP1 field with Bernhard fourth and Lotterer fifth.[22]Oreca 07s led LMP2 with 13 cars leading the time sheets, led by André Negrão's No. 36 SignatechAlpine–the sole driver to lap below 3 minutes 30 seconds with a 3-minutes 29.809-second lap, ahead of Rebellion and Graff.[21] Corvette led LMGTE Pro with Jan Magnussen's lap of 3 minutes 55.726 seconds, followed by Patrick Pilet's No. 91 Porsche and the second Corvette of Oliver Gavin. Matteo Cairoli's No. 77 Porsche led LMGTE Am from Andrea Bertolini's DH Racing Ferrari.[22]
Toyota led the second session with Kobayashi's 3-minute 18.132-second lap, followed by Buemi and López. Porsche remained slower than Toyota, with their best lap coming from Bamber's No. 2 car, followed by Jani's No. 1 entry.[23]Nelson Panciatici's No. 35 Signatech Alpine lapped faster in LMP2 than Jean-Éric Vergne's No. 24 Manor and Alex Brundle's No. 37 Jackie Chan DC Racing entry to lead the sole LMP1 privateer (Dominik Kraihamer's No. 4 ByKolles RacingENSO CLM P1/01).[24] Gavin missed 91 minutes due to a mid-session engine change but set the day's best LMGTE Pro lap (3 minutes 54.701 seconds) towards the end of the test, beating Frédéric Makowiecki's No. 92 Porsche. Aston Martin led LMGTE Am with Pedro Lamy's 3-minute 58.250-second lap from Fernando Rees' Larbre Compétition Corvette.[24]Erik Maris' No. 33 Eurasia Motorsport Ligier JS P217 stopped the session by becoming stranded in the gravel trap in the Dunlop Curves. Paul-Loup Chatin's No. 17 IDEC Sport Ligier and Jan Lammers's Racing Team Nederland Dallara collided at the second Mulsanne Chicane, but both continued without major damage.[24] The session ended less than fifteen minutes early when Roberto González's No. 25 Manor laid oil on the track and stopped.[24][25]
Post-testing balance of performance changes
After testing, the FIA re-adjusted the BoP. The LMGTE Pro-category Corvettes had their performance lowered with an air-restrictor reduction. The Aston Martins, Ferraris, Fords, and Porsches received fuel-capacity increases to equalise refuelling times and stint lengths. The LMGTE Am-class Aston Martin and Ferraris increased their fuel capacity, with the Ferraris receiving turbocharger boost pressure increases.[26]
Practice
Practice was held on 14 June,[27] with all 60 cars on the circuit for four hours in hot and sunny weather.[28] Toyota led from the start once again, with Nicolas Lapierre setting the early pace and leading for most of the session until Bamber went faster.[29] Kobayashi improved until Jani's lap of 3 minutes 20.362 seconds with five minutes remaining led the session.[30]Alex Lynn's No. 26 G-Drive Racing car led LMP2 with less than forty minutes left, with a 3-minute 30.363-second lap from Nelson Piquet Jr.'s No. 13 Rebellion. Bruno Senna's sister No. 31 Rebellion was third.[29] LMGTE Pro was led by Aston Martins and Corvettes from the start until Bird's No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari lapped fastest at 3 minutes 54.832 seconds. Darren Turner's No. 97 Aston Martin, and James Calado's second AF Corse car were second and third, respectively.[28] Over three DH Racing Ferraris, Lamy's No. 98 Aston Martin was the fastest LMGTE Am car.[29] After Christian Philippon's Larbre Compétition Corvette left the Porsche Curves off the track and hit the tyre barrier, the safety cars were needed for 75 minutes.[28] Stephane Lemeret's No. 88 Proton Porsche scraped a barrier through the Porsche Curves, but continued to the pit lane for repairs. Roberto Lacorte slid the Cetilar Villorba Corse Dallara into the Mulsanne corner gravel trap and abandoned the car.[28][31]
Qualifying
Beginning late Wednesday night in clear conditions, the first of three qualifying sessions to set the race's starting order by the fastest lap times set by each team's quickest driver commenced.[27] Due to a significant practice incident in the first Road to Le Mans race, the start was delayed by 20 minutes for barrier repairs at the Porsche Curves.[32] Slow zones and yellow flags limited the amount of quick running,[33] and the rapidly-cooling track meant that the best chance to set the fastest lap times was missed.[34] The session's first timed laps saw Porsche lead early on with a benchmark effort from Jani, followed by Bernhard's 3-minute 19.710-second lap. Fifteen minutes later, Kobayashi had no slower traffic impeding him and took provisional pole position with a 3-minute 18.793-second lap.[32] Nakajima was six-tenths of a second behind in second, and Bernhard was a provisional third.[33] Lapierre was the slowest of the three Toyotas in fourth, and Jani was fifth. Kraihamer completed the LMP1 field with a lap that was ten seconds slower than Kobayashi's time but clear of the LMP2 field.[34]
Matthieu Vaxivière put TDS Racing's Oreca on provisional pole in LMP2 with a 3-minute 29.333-second lap set late in the session.[34] He was half-a-second clear of Senna, who held the class pole until Vaxivière's lap. Vitaly Petrov's No. 25 Manor was third-fastest, with teammate Vergne fourth.[33] Eric Trouillet, in the No. 39 Graff Oreca, caused the session's first yellow flag when he struck the barriers leaving the second Mulsanne Chicane. The No. 27 SMP Racing Dallara caused further disruption when it hit the barriers and had a quickly-extinguished fire.[34] Aston Martin led the LMGTE categories, with Nicki Thiim's No. 95 car quickest at 3 minutes, 52.117 seconds;[34]Mathias Lauda was the fastest Amateur-class entry with a 3-minute 55.134-second lap.[32]Risi Competizione's No. 82 Ferrari 488 was eleventh amongst the LMGTEs before ACO officials disallowed their fastest laps for violating parc fermé regulations by handling the tyres after the session.[35][36]
Thursday's first qualifying session began with a stoppage for a crash. Maris spun and crashed his No. 33 car against the outside barriers leaving the first Mulsanne Chicane 17 minutes in. He was unhurt, but was transported to the medical centre for a precautionary check-up; this meant that the organisers rescheduled the second qualifying to end at 21:30 Central European Summer Time (CEST) (UTC+02:00).[37] When it restarted, Kobayashi exited the pit lane early; aided by tailwinds on the Mulsanne Straight and headwinds through the Porsche Curves, he reset the track lap record to 3 minutes 14.791 seconds.[N 1][39] The No. 8 Toyota stopped leaving the second Mulsanne Chicane with an engine oil-supply problem which required an engine change. The Toyota returned to the track, but fell to fourth as Buemi could not lap faster.[39][40] Jani and Bernhard in the two Porsches lapped quicker and moved to second and third.[39]Yuji Kunimoto also improved the No. 9 Toyota's best lap, but fell to fifth.[40]
Petrov's Manor set a new LMP2 class lap record of 3 minutes 25.549 seconds, more than a second faster than rookie Thomas Laurent in DC's No. 38 entry and Vergne's second Manor; Petrov demoted the ByKolles car to seventh overall.[40] The LMGTE categories had some changes, with Aston Martin remaining the Pro leader; Jonathan Adam bettered Thiim's first session lap, with Calado improving to second.[39] Euan Hankey became the provisional LMGTE Am pole-sitter before Will Stevens went faster to take the class pole. Timothé Buret lost control of the No. 23 Panis Barthez Competition Ligier on the grass and was stranded in a gravel trap going into Tertre Rouge corner after striking the barrier with half-an-hour left in qualifying.[40]
As temperatures cooled for the final session, more than half the field improved their fastest laps[41] but Kobayashi's time was not bested. He took Toyota's third pole position at Le Mans and their first since 2014.[42] Nakajima lapped more than two seconds faster, putting the No. 8 Toyota alongside the sister No. 7 car. Porsche failed to improve from the second session, finishing third and fourth.[41] Hartley slowed and stopped the No. 2 Porsche at Indianapolis corner due to a rising oil temperature.[41] He abandoned the car after failing to return to the pit lane on hybrid power.[43] Lapierre improved early on to go fifth.[41]Oliver Webb used clear air to return the ByKolles car to sixth overall.[44] Lynn reset the LMP2 lap record early on by 11.3 seconds over the 2016 time, demoting the No. 25 Manor Oreca to second. Ho-Pin Tung's No. 38 DC car took third, battling with Senna for the position. The Oreca chassis, as well as the variant Alpine chassis, secured the first nine positions in LMP2; the Dallara of SMP Racing was the fastest of the other chassis, in tenth place.[32][43]
Aston Martin led LMGTE Pro, with Richie Stanaway setting a new class record before Turner improved with a 3-minute 50.837-second lap for Aston Martin's first class pole since 2015.[45] Calado separated the two cars in the closing minutes, and Bird came within 0.048 seconds of Stanaway. All five of LMGTE Pro's manufacturers were within a second of Turner's lap, with the fastest Ford in fifth courtesy of Ryan Briscoe, Antonio García sixth for Corvette, and Porsche seventh through Michael Christensen.[44] The LMGTE Am lead changed with Rees earning Larbre Compétition's first class pole in ten years with a 3-minute 52.843-second lap, almost four-tenths of a second clear of Lamy's No. 98 Aston Martin and Townsend Bell's No. 62 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari.[45][41]
Post-qualifying
After qualifying, the FIA imposed an 8-kilogram (18lb) BoP ballast decrease on the LMGTE Am-category Porsches after they were 9km/h (5.6mph) slower on the straight; Porsche had requested a longer air restrictor for better performance.[46]
Qualifying results
Provisional pole positions in each class are denoted in bold. The fastest time set by each entry is denoted with a gray background.
A 45-minute warm-up session was held on Saturday morning.[27] Nakajima's No. 8 Toyota set the fastest lap at 3 minutes 18.308 seconds; Kobayashi's sister Toyota was three-tenths of a second slower in second. The best-placed Porsche was Tandy's No. 1 car in third, having led for most of the session. Kunimoto and Hartley were fourth and fifth, respectively. Lynn set the fastest LMP2 lap at 3 minutes 27.096 seconds. Briscoe's No. 69 Ford led in LMGTE Pro, with Bertolini's No. 83 DH Racing Ferrari fastest in LMGTE Am by over a second.[49][50]Paul Lafargueoversteered the No. 17 IDEC car in the Porsche Curves, made contact with the barriers before stopping in the gravel trap and returned to the pit lane for repairs.[50]
Race
Start to evening
The No. 7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid led most of the first ten hours before retiring with clutch trouble.
The weather was hot, with an air temperature of 19 to 32°C (66 to 90°F); the track temperature ranged from 27 to 38°C (81 to 100°F).[51]Formula One Group's chair and chief executive Chase Carey waved the French tricolour to begin the race before 258,500 spectators with a rolling start at 15:00 local time.[52][53][54]Mike Conway maintained the No. 7 Toyota's pole-position advantage for most of the first hour, before Buemi overtook him on the outside into Indianapolis turn for the lead after Conway made a braking error at the Dunlop Esses.[55] The first retirement occurred during the opening hour when Webb's No. 4 ByKolles car hit the wall at Tetre Rouge corner after suffering a front-left puncture, damaging both its front bodywork and engine.[2][55] Thiim put the No. 95 Aston Martin in the LMGTE Pro lead at the end of the hour after Alessandro Pier Guidi moved the No. 95 AF Corse Ferrari to the category lead for the first two laps before dropping to third in class.[55]
Rees briefly passed Hand's No. 68 LMGTE Pro-class Ford, and Rees led the LMGTE Am field until Bell's No. 62 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari took the lead due to a faster pit stop.[55][56] As the class pole-sitter No. 26 G-Drive Oreca of Roman Rusinov dropped to 14th at the start, the LMP2 lead became a multi-team battle between the No. 38 DC car and the Nos. 13 and 31 Rebellion Racing teams between pit stop cycles.[2][57] Rusinov caught Khaled Al Qubaisi's No. 88 Proton Porsche and lapped him in the middle of the Porsche Curves before both drivers crashed into the SAFER barrier at high speed.[58][59] Although both cars could be driven to the pit lane, they had severe damage and were retired.[60] The accident triggered the race's first localised slow-zone procedure to enable repairs to the barrier.[61] On the Mulsanne Straight, Conway retook the overall lead in the No. 7 Toyota when his teammate (Buemi, in the sister No. 8 car) went wide at Mulsanne turn.[58][59]
Laurent's No. 38 DC car was gaining on the two LMP2-leading Rebellion cars when its rear snapped out and he crashed lightly against the barrier at Indianapolis corner. Laurent entered the pit lane for new front bodywork, but the car lost two and a half minutes and fell to sixth place.[2][62] After Marco Sørensen relieved Thiim in the No. 95 Aston Martin, he was slowed by a left-rear puncture from debris at Tertre Rouge corner. Sørensen relinquished the LMGTE Pro lead to Daniel Serra's sister No. 97 Aston Martin, with the No. 67 Ford in second.[2][63] After three-and-a-half hours, Bamber's No. 2 Porsche was forced to the garage for 65 minutes–and 18 laps–to fix a failed front-axle hybrid harvesting motor which required multiple components (including the motor generator unit).[2][64] Tandy's No. 1 Porsche overtook Davidson's No. 8 Toyota for second overall after a pit-stop cycle, challenging the No. 7 Toyota for the lead.[63]
Vaxivière unsettled the front of his TDS Racing Oreca while braking for the first Mulsanne chicane. He moved left towards Pierre Kaffer's unseen No. 82 Risi Ferrari, which he was lapping in traffic. In the ensuing collision, Kaffer hit the Armco barrier at high speed, forcing the No. 82 car stopped in the run-off area to retire.[65][66] Kaffer was unhurt, but a lengthy slow zone was imposed by race officials to allow for barrier repairs; Vaxivière received a seven-minute stop-and-go penalty for the accident.[67] Following several incidents that left gravel on the circuit, the slow zone was extended past the Dunlop chicane to the Tetre Rouge turn.[68] The slowdown brought the leading cars together[69] and Senna extend the No. 31 LMP2 Rebellion Oreca car's lead to over 90 seconds over his teammate, Piquet, in the second-place No. 13 entry.[67] Tung's recovering No. 38 DC car was third in class, passing Pierre Ragues' No. 35 Signatech Alpine.[67] Although Kunimoto had to make an unscheduled pit stop to repair a loose right-side door, the No. 9 Toyota remained fourth.[65][67]
Night to dawn
The No. 1 Porsche 919 Hybrid took the race lead until a loss of oil pressure in the engine forced its retirement.
Midway through the seventh hour, Nakajima's No. 8 Toyota passed Lotterer's No. 1 Porsche for second place overall because it was lapping faster as night fell. Nakajima immediately began to pull clear of Lotterer and gain on Sarrazin's race-leading No. 7 Toyota.[70][71] The No. 98 Aston Martin relinquished its lead in the LMGTE Am category to the No. 84 JMW Ferrari of Stevens when Lamy had a front-right puncture from debris. This removed the bodywork from the car's front-right corner, and Lamy dropped to the rear of the category when he made an unscheduled 18-minute pit stop for repairs.[2][72] Senna's No. 31 Rebellion car received a drive-through penalty for passing another car in a slow zone. He dropped from the lead of LMP2 to third, and his teammate Piquet, driving the No. 13 Rebellion entry, became the new class leader.[73]
Buemi was battling Jani's No. 1 Porsche when the No. 8 Toyota began to leak oil, but telemetry indicated no issues. Due to a battery-damaging axle hybrid motor failure emitting smoke from the front-right wheel arch, he lost 29 laps and nearly two hours while components were changed in the garage.[2][64][72] The left rear of Tommy Milner's No. 64 Corvette was damaged in a spin towards the barrier at the exit of the Porsche Curves due to an incorrectly fitted left rear wheel nut when Milner, struggling to control the car, spun into the pit lane entry gravel.[2][72] The car was beached on a kerb and extricated by a recovery vehicle, but Tincknell's No. 67 Ford took second in the LMGTE Pro.[72][73] Piquet's No. 13 Rebellion car lost the lead in LMP2 to Senna's sister No. 31 car when it spent a minute in the pit lane to repair a failed left rear tail light.[74][75]Olivier Pla got the No. 66 Ford stuck in the left-hand turn gravel run-off area after the Indianapolis corner early in the tenth hour; the car was recovered, leaving gravel on the racing line. The incident led to the race's first safety car's a half-hour for debris removal.[76][77]
During the slow period, Jani spun the No. 1 Porsche at the pit-lane entry but did not lose position.[2] When Kobayashi brought the race-leading No. 7 Toyota to the pit-lane exit, Algarve Pro Racing driver Vincent Capillaire ran up to the car and gave Kobayashi the thumbs-up signal. Kobayashi interpreted this as a marshal's signal to exit the lane, but further confusion was created when Toyota radioed Kobayashi to stop the car because he had passed a red light.[78][79] When racing resumed, Kobayashi had worn out the clutch enough to break it and slowed; the clutch, not designed for starting, was stressed by the engine's power and torque. Kobayashi lost drive in the engine and attempted to return to the pit lane on hybrid power, but got as far as the pit lane entry straight before retiring the No. 7 car because of a low battery charge.[2][64] The No. 7 Toyota's retirement promoted Tandy's No. 1 Porsche to the race lead, Lapierre's No. 9 Toyota to second and Rebellion's No. 31 LMP2-class-leading entry to third overall.[79]
Soon after, in the Dunlop Chicane, Simon Trummer's No. 25 Manor Oreca and Lapierre's No. 9 Toyota's left and right rear corners collided.[64] Trummer retired the No. 25 car in the gravel with major damage, but was unhurt; Lapierre continued with a left-rear puncture which caused the bodywork to fail.[80] Lapierre drove too fast, and rubber chunks from the disintegrating tyre's rim damaged the gearbox hydraulics and an oil line.[2][64] As a result, the car briefly caught fire, and Lapierre drove on hybrid power before being asked by his team to stop near the pit-lane entry and abandon the car on the side of the circuit. As debris from the two stricken cars was removed from the track, safety cars were required for another 32 minutes. The No. 9 Toyota's retirement moved the Nos. 31 and 13 Rebellion cars to second and third overall.[80][81] When racing resumed, Tandy slowed the race-leading No. 1 Porsche because he had a nine-lap lead over the LMP2 order.[2] Hankey's No. 90 TF Sport Aston Martin fended off Marvin Dienst's No. 77 Dempsey-Proton Porsche for third in LMGTE Am, with second to fourth in class covered by ten seconds.[82][83]
After the race's halfway point, Nicolas Prost's No. 31 Rebellion Oreca car entered the garage for an inspection due to a reported gearbox problem. The inspection took five minutes, and the car dropped to fourth in LMP2 (giving Tung's No. 38 DC car the category lead).[84][85] Christensen lost control of the No. 92 Porsche on the Ford Chicane kerb, heavily damaging the car's rear on the tyre barrier before stopping in the gravel and retired behind the barrier.[77][86][87] The safety cars were deployed for the third and final time (for 24 minutes) to allow for barrier repairs and the extrication of the stricken car after Emmanuel Collard crashed the No. 28 TDS Oreca into the tyre wall exiting the Porsche Curves at high speed.[77][88][89][90] Collard sustained bruising and exited the car unaided; he was transported to the medical centre and then Le Mans Hospital for checks.[2][89] AF Corse's cars were caught out by the safety car's timing and entered the pit lane, moving the No. 63 Corvette to fourth in LMGTE Pro.[91]
Morning
The race-winning No. 2 Porsche 919 Hybrid
After green-flag racing resumed in the early morning, a slow zone was imposed when James Allen beached the No. 40 Graff entry in the gravel trap on the left-hand Indianapolis turn after contact with the barrier and was pushed back onto the circuit.[77][90] The slow zone lowered the gap between Sørensen's LMGTE Pro-leading No. 95 Aston Martin and Pilet's second-placed No. 92 Porsche to less than 20 seconds.[92] Because the manufacturers used different tyre brands, the Aston Martin and Porsche LMGTE Pro teams had different pit-stop strategies: the Aston Martins could do two stints on their tyres, while the Porsches could do three.[93] Tung used the slow zone to return the No. 38 DC car to the LMP2 lead when Piquet's No. 13 Rebellion entry lost a minute in it.[92] Calado's No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari had to drop out of the LMGTE Pro lead battle when Calado and Rob Bell's No. 90 TF Aston Martin collided at the second Mulsanne chicane; they went to the garage to repair front bodywork damage and a rear diffuser replacement, respectively.[93][94]
The No. 95 Aston Martin relinquished the LMGTE Pro lead to Jordan Taylor's No. 63 Corvette, which cycled to Makowiecki's No. 92 Porsche on pit-stop rotation when driver Stanaway, on cold tyres after a scheduled pit stop, damaged the car's left front corner against the tyre wall at the Mulsanne hairpin. Stanaway entered the pit lane for quick repairs and Thiim relieved him.[95][96] The No. 31 Rebellion car stopped in the garage for more than an hour to replace gearbox internals,[2][77] which promoted Panciatici's No. 35 Signatech Alpine to third in LMP2.[97]Will Owen, driving United Autosports' No. 32 car, was fourth in LMP2 when he spun twice (at Indianapolis corner and the Porsche Curves) and David Cheng's No. 37 DC entry passed him. Dries Vanthoor lost control of JMW's Ferrari at the pit-lane entry, but retained the LMGTE Am lead.[98] Hartley recovered the No. 2 Porsche to fifth overall by the 20th hour, and the LMGTE Pro lead battle was between three cars: the No. 97 Aston Martin, the No. 63 Corvette and the No. 91 Porsche.[99]
Jackie Chan DC Racing's No. 38 Oreca 07 took the race lead from the No. 1 Porsche 919 Hybrid, following its retirement.
Lotterer's No. 1 Porsche slowed at the Dunlop Curves after 20 hours and 10 minutes when the engine lost oil pressure. Lotterer attempted to return to the pit lane on hybrid power, but was advised to stop and abandon the car on the Mulsanne Straight when Porsche believed the problem could not be fixed and did not want a slow zone or safety car to slow Hartley.[2][100] Laurent's LMP2-category-leading No. 38 DC Oreca car moved to the race lead after the No. 1 Porsche retired, making him the first LMP2 overall leader in race history. Mathias Beche (second overall) received a stop-and-go while adjusting the brake duct and rear of the No. 13 Rebellion vehicle, and he fell behind Hartley's recovering No. 2 Porsche.[77][101] Laurent lost a minute in the pit lane when the No. 38 DC car's rear bodywork was changed to repair faulty rear brake lights before Bernhard unlapped the Oreca entry to return the No. 2 Porsche to the lead lap, as he was lapping significantly faster on average than the LMP2 car.[102]
Piquet's No. 13 Rebellion car battled Negrão's No. 35 Signatech Alpine for third overall in slower traffic before Piquet's pace unsettled his vehicle through the Porsche Curves and allowed Negrão to pull clear. The Rebellion entry received a ten-second time penalty for Piquet's collision with the No. 49 ARC Bratislava Ligier, and it fell back from the Alpine.[103] Makowiecki's No. 91 Porsche exited the LMGTE Pro race after suffering a left-front puncture and making an unscheduled pit stop.[104] Bernhard closed up on Tung's No. 38 DC Oreca car and overtook it on the inside on the right-hand kink into Indianapolis turn for the race lead with just over one hour remaining.[103] Negrão lost the No. 35 Signatech Alpine's hold on third overall to Piquet's No. 13 Rebellion car in the final hour when he slowly got the Alpine stuck in the gravel at Arnage corner while attempting to rejoin the circuit.[77][105] Adam's No. 97 Aston Martin tried to pass Taylor's No. 63 Corvette for the LMGTE Pro lead, but ran wide and hit the Corvette. He tried again after Taylor drove across the gravel trap at the second Mulsanne Straight chicane and took the category lead on the start-finish straight with two laps remaining, which he maintained to the finish.[2][105]
Finish
The No. 2 Porsche team led for the remainder of the race, winning after 367 laps,[2] earning Bamber and Bernhard their second Le Mans victories, Hartley his first and Porsche its 19th. Toyota was able to repair the No. 8 car sufficiently to finish eighth overall and the final LMP1 finisher, nine laps behind the winning Porsche.[106] The No. 38 DC Oreca entry led the final 141 laps of LMP2 to win the category and finish second overall, a lap down.[57] Rebellion's No. 13 car finished provisionally second and third overall, with DC's No. 37 car completing the class podium.[2] Aston Martin secured their first LMGTE Pro Le Mans victory, with Turner taking his third category win and Adam and Serra their first.[107] Tincknell's No. 67 Ford took second in class with a last-lap pass of Taylor's No. 63 Corvette, which had bodywork damage and a slow front-left puncture.[2] JMW, unchallenged since the race's eighth hour, won the LMGTE Am class with the No. 84 Ferrari leading the last 234 laps.[2][57] The Spirit of Race and Scuderia Corsa Ferraris completed the category podium, two laps behind in second and third.[2]
Post-race
The top three teams in each of the four classes appeared on the podium to collect their trophies, and spoke to the media at a later press conference. Bamber called Porsche's victory "'incredibly nerve-wracking. A great fightback from us, and one of those fairytale Le Mans stories I think'".[108] Hartley added, "'You can't write these stories. It's Le Mans. It's always unpredictable. Sometimes at the beginning of the race you don't believe that such a story exists. But it did'".[108]Oliver Jarvis said, "'We can't be disappointed winning LMP2 and finishing second, but there was a moment when I saw the #1 Porsche at the side of the track and thought we could actually win! It would have been incredible'".[2] Tung called the LMP2 victory "'extremely important. Not just to win here at Le Mans, it's so special, but also for the World Endurance Championship, it's a very important race'".[109] Jota Sport team director Sam Hignett said an LMP2 car winning overall might have been "'legendary'" with "'a little bit more luck'", but the team was delighted to achieve its objectives.[109] Actor Jackie Chan equated his team's class victory to his winning an Academy Award.[110] FIA president Jean Todt said that LMP2 cars driven by unknown drivers leading the race and finishing on the overall podium were "'great for racing'".[111]
After the race, third-place-overall finisher No. 13 Rebellion Oreca was disqualified by race officials after it was found that the team had modified its rear bodywork by cutting a hole to allow them to access a faulty starter motor; it was declared an unnecessary modification of approved bodywork. The disqualification moved the second Jackie Chan DC Racing car to third place overall, and second in class.[112] Rebellion Racing issued a statement admitting an "'error of judgement'".[113] Rusinov was assessed a three-minute penalty at the following 6 Hours of Nürburgring, with three additional stop-and-go penalties suspended for the following three FIA WEC events, for his second-hour collision with Al-Qubaisi's Porsche.[114] Rusinov called the penalty a "'very harsh decision'", saying that he had apologised to Al-Quabisi and his team; Al-Quabisi told Rusinov that he would have allowed him past at the next corner.[115]
Toyota president Akio Toyoda suggested that hybrid technology may not yet have been developed enough to cope with the event's demands.[116] Oreca president Hugues de Chaunac echoed Toyoda, suggesting that the state of LMP1 hybrid cars were too convoluted. Porsche team principal Andreas Seidl felt that the hybrid failures were a consequence of faster racing, and Porsche had not experienced such problems.[117] Jarvis said that ACO rule changes attempting to slow the LMP1 hybrid cars were ineffective and impaired reliability.[118] Capillaire apologised to Toyota (which was accepted) for indirectly causing the No. 7 car's retirement, saying that he ran across the pit lane to encourage Kobayashi.[119] Kaffer accepted an apology from Vaxivière for the incident which took the Risi Ferrari out of the race, and for which Vaxivière was strongly criticised.[120]Prodrive chairman David Richards praised the "'extraordinary'" team effort of his Aston Martin team to win LMGTE Pro; Adam called his pursuit of Taylor "'the stint of my life'", saying that his team's reaction to his race-winning overtake of Taylor "'was quite emotional'".[121]
Bamber, Bernhard, and Hartley took the Drivers' Championship lead with 83 points; Buemi, Davidson, and Nakajima fell to second with 66, and Jarvis, Laurent, and Tung moved from sixth to third.[5] Porsche overtook Toyota to lead the Manufacturers' Championship by 28.5 points.[5] Derani, Priaulx, and Tincknell remained the GT World Endurance Drivers' Championship leaders, with Adam, Serra, and Turner second. Ford took the GT World Endurance Manufacturers' Championship lead from Ferrari with six races left in the season.[5]
Race results
The minimum number of laps for classification (70 per cent of the overall winning car's race distance) was 257 laps. Class winners are in bold.[2][122]
Note: Only the top five positions are included for the Drivers' Championship standings.
Footnotes
↑ Kobayashi's time was nearly two seconds faster than the qualifying lap record set in 2015 on the current 13.629-kilometre (8.469mi) version of the Circuit de la Sarthe and averaged 251.882km/h (156.512mph) to beat Hans-Joachim Stuck's 1985 qualifying run.[38]
↑ The No. 82 Risi Ferrari had its lap times from the Qualifying 1 session deleted for the team breaking parc fermé regulations by handling the tires after the session.[36]
↑ The No. 13 Rebellion Oreca was disqualified from the race after the team was found to have intentionally modified the bodywork on the car to permit starting it more easily.[112]
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↑ "Toyota startet in Le Mans von der Pole"[Fabulous time for the Japanese: Toyota starts from pole at Le Mans]. n-tv (in German). 16 June 2017. Archived from the original on 20 July 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
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