Porsche complete Le Mans hat-trick

After losing to Porsche on the final lap a year ago, Toyota encountered further mishap at the Circuit de la Sarthe.

The #8 vehicle had front motor problems - the LMP1-H cars are four-wheel drive with the front axles used to harvest energy and supplement power from downsized internal combustion engines - just ten laps into the race, which put the auto out of contention for the race win. With two Toyota TS050 Hybrids already out of the race, it looked as though an LMP2 vehicle was bound to win the famed race through the French countryside. The No. 2 Porsche had issues with one of their hybrid motors, forcing a long stay in the garage.

It is Porsche's 19th outright win at the Circuit de la Sarthe. The #13 Rebellion Oreca joins the #38 on the overall podium, while the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing auto completes the LMP2 podium in fourth overall.

Kiwis Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber win the 24 Hour Le Mans race with Porsche team-mate Timo Bernhard. A prototype in the LMP1 class, the auto uses carbon fibre and aluminum construction.

A safety auto period caused by gravel on the track after a spin by Ford's Olivier Pla was just ending when Kobayashi's Toyota slowed going over the startline.

Kobayashi said, "I can not move, I can not move". As Toyota's hopes shifted to the No. 9 auto it, too, suffered a failure that forced it to retire prematurely.

But as soon as disappointment subsided in the Japanese camp, as its focused on its second-placed vehicle, #9 driven by Nicolas Lapierre suffered a puncture and was sent across the gravel trap at the Dunlop Curve! Unfortunately, they had to come into the pits to fix some lights at the rear of the auto that weren't working. "I'm speechless. It's a insane race", said Lotterer after being sidelined by an oil pressure issue. The #8 was able to salvage a finish nine laps down, but by hour 12, Toyota's race was all but over. This means that Earl Bamber is now a two-time Le Mans victor, while Bernhard and Bamber's team-mate Brendon Hartley has won his first Le Mans.

Toyota’s Le Mans fortunes died in the dark

That left a group of LMP2 cars in with a chance of winning the overall title, despite being in a lower engine classification.

In fact, an LMP2 vehicle - the No.38 Jackie Chan DC Racing (yep, that's actually what the team is called) - narrowly missed out on finishing first outright but still claimed P2 ahead of the No.13 Rebellion LMP2.

While Nelson Piquet Junior, son of the Formula One legend of the same name drove for almost 12 hours to help his Vaillante Rebellion team come third in the final rankings.

Re-entering so far back from the front of the race, the No 2 Porsche looked to be well and truly out of contention for victory.

With three unpredictable classes producing three wild results, GTE-Am provided some stability throughout the 24 hours. On the final stint, the Corvette, with Jordan Taylor driving, had Jonathan Adam's Aston Martin on his rear bump for lap after lap.

Aston Martin clinched a dramatic victory in the GTE Pro division, with the #97 machine of Jonathan Adam, Daniel Serra and Darren Turner snatching the lead on the final lap.