Latest news with #LeMans24
Bloomberg
21-06-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
Hot Pursuit: 24 Hours of Le Mans
Hot Pursuit is taking you to the racetrack at the 24 Hours of Le Mans--one of the toughest automotive endurance contests of all time. From the midnight pit stops to the sunrise battles, Matt Miller and Hannah Elliott take you into drivers seat with CEOs, racing legends and the brands competing for the Le Mans edge.
BBC News
17-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Le Mans win proves injury doubters wrong
By any normal yardstick, the Le Mans 24 Hours is one of the most difficult and demanding races in concentration levels alone are virtually impossible to uphold, on public roads at more than 200mph, much of it in the dead of night - a blend of headlights and engine drones creating an almost tortuous assault on the Robert Kubica won the race at the age of 40, with a severely damaged right arm - the legacy of a horrific rally crash 14 years ago which nearly took his life and put paid to a glittering career as a Formula 1 driver who could have won world at Le Mans is vindication for a man whose unsuccessful return to F1 a few years ago was called into question. His talent, though, never was."I don't think my limitations are limiting behind the wheel. I think if someone had doubts in the past I showed those doubts should not be in place," says Kubica defiantly."I'm driving and I'm happy. I remember when I was rejoining F1, there was a lot of rumours and I understand: You see my hand. It's normal to ask questions... if I'm capable, if it's safe."And there was some very extreme quotes of some people which hurt me because I'm the first one who would never like to be back just for marketing or a being a PR muppet." Unfancied, but part of Le Mans 24 history now Victory at the Circuit de la Sarthe on Sunday was exhausting for Kubica, still "dampened" through fatigue after "only getting two hours' sleep" across a race in which he spent more than three and a half hours in the car across five stints, consuming 12-13,000 calories just to stay a result, Ferrari's 499P is a Le Mans icon, having won the race three times in a row - the previous two years by the works cars. Kubica's win was in the privately entered AF Corse - yellow livered as a nod to the early days of Ferrari's time in Modena before Enzo Ferrari moved operations to the now-famous Maranello near Ferrari and the AF Corse team are closely linked, but victory ahead of the red cars is nevertheless more so given the unconventional crew of Kubica, Chinese youngster Ye Yifei and Britain's Phil Hanson. All unfancied at the start, all part of history now."Robert is great to have as a team-mate - he is a great driver, but we also call him the 'technical director' as well because he has so much knowledge," says Ye, who became the first Chinese winner of Le Mans on Sunday. 'Driving the best medicine' Since winning the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix for the big budget BMW-Sauber F1 team, Kubica had proven his worth as cool-headed decision maker in the cockpit, during an era when Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel came to a season of keeping up his high standards in a Renault not befitting of them, Kubica took part in the Ronde di Andora rally, and everything crashed into a barrier and was trapped for more than an hour after severely injuring the right-hand side of his body, and eventually having his right arm partially amputated."I have serious limitations in my right arm but I don't remember how I was driving before; this is how I am now - it's probably one of the biggest successes of my life: at one period of my recovery driving was my best medicine."I can see someone watching my hand, which is normal; but in the end when driving I'm fully in myself. Honestly, I have bigger limitations [elsewhere] in daily life than the race cars."But it was in driving racing cars where so much doubt was cast over Kubica when he returned to F1 full-time in 2019. Many wanted him back behind the wheel, despite the fact he would have to drive the car differently because of the lack of space in an F1's car's cockpit. In an uncompetitive Williams, Kubica was beaten regularly by his up-and-coming team-mate George Russell."People pointing the finger, saying maybe it wasn't safe, and having doubts. They are not doing it anymore," says Kubica defiantly."I asked myself three years ago… I was thinking I should stop. But I'm the most lucky person around the world. I have a holiday all year because I'm doing something I like; for me racing is everything."Everything I do in daily life is to prepare for the race track. I don't know what [else] I would do - [stopping] is a big decision, and a scary one."The passion is still there; the fire is still there. My main engine pushing me is my passion."
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Kubica wins 'mental battle' to triumph at Le Mans
Robert Kubica takes his Ferrari across the line to win the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours (Fred TANNEAU) Former Formula One driver Robert Kubica has long since tackled the demons of a near-fatal accident 14 years ago but Sunday's victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans is arguably his greatest achievement yet. The 40-year-old Pole roared to victory in his bright yellow "privateer" Ferrari to give the Italian marque a third consecutive win in the most famous endurance race in the world. Advertisement In a thrilling 93rd edition of the race, which saw the top four separated by just over 20 seconds going into the final 15 minutes, Kubica and his AF Corse co-drivers Philip Hanson and Ye Yifei (#83) finished just 14.084sec ahead of a Porsche (#6) driven by Kevin Estre, Matt Campbell and Laurens Vanthoor. In so doing they knocked the two factory Ferraris, who started the race as favourites, into third and fourth. "It's been a long 24 hours but an enjoyable one. Grazie mille, grazie a tutti," said Kubica over the team radio as he took the chequered flag. Kubica was one of Formula One's brightest prospects when he won the 2008 Canada Grand Prix but a harrowing accident in a rally in Andorra in 2011 almost cost him his life. Advertisement Trapped upside down in his car before being freed and whisked to hospital, Kubica suffered several serious injuries and underwent a partial amputation of his right forearm. "What happened was very unfortunate, but I was very lucky," he said after Sunday's victory. "It took me quite a few years, not only to recover physically but also mentally. "What happened happened and I have to accept it. One of the worst periods of my life was when my mind wouldn't accept the fact that my arm was failing." He returned to racing cars, however, winning the WRC2 championship and taking part in sports car races. In 2017 he moved back into Formula One, testing for Renault before racing for Williams in 2019. Advertisement - 'Greatest achievement' - But Sunday's win which made him the first Pole ever to win Le Mans tops any of his other achievements behind the wheel. "It was quite difficult to live with, but I'm happy to have achieved my personal goals," he said. "The best thing I've achieved in my life - it's nothing to do with racing - it's more the battle I won with my mind." Both of Kubica's co-drivers were also first-time winners with Ye the first Chinese driver to triumph. "I'm at a loss for words," said Ye who arrived in Le Mans at the age of 14 on an exchange programme to try and become a professional driver. Advertisement "It's going to take me some time to realise everything that's happened today. Right now I feel like I'm dreaming. Maybe in two seconds I'll wake up and none of this will exist. "In China, the car industry has come a long way. When my father was my age, there were no cars on the roads, and we're talking about the 1990s. Becoming a professional driver was impossible." With three of the top four, it was certainly a good day for Ferrari but there will undoubtedly be some at headquarters in Maranello who might not be so happy. As the winning car was not entered directly by the manufacturer, but by the AF Corse team, Ferrari will not take the points for victory in the World Endurance Championship. Advertisement Cadillac locked out the front row of the grid but #12 of Will Stephens, who had taken pole, had to settle for fifth with the second car (#38), featuring former Formula One world champion Jensen Button, coming home in eighth. hdy-cpb/ll/bsp/mw
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Robert Kubica seals emotional Le Mans 24 Hours victory for Ferrari
Poland's Robert Kubica sealed a deserved place in motor racing history as he took victory – alongside China's Ye Yifei and Britain's Philip Hanson – at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Hard fought with a relentless determination that has matched his refusal to be cowed after a life-threatening accident, his victory also secured an impressive third consecutive win for Ferrari at the 93rd edition of the vingt-quatre. The victory after 387 laps for the No 83 privateer Ferrari 499P, run by the Scuderia's works partner AF Corse, was the first overall win at Le Mans for drivers from Poland and China and will make Ye a household name in his home country, while for the 25-year-old Hanson it is a career high point in only his second run in the top, hypercar, category. Advertisement Related: Chadwick encouraged by female participation in motorsport before Le Mans debut However, it was surely of greatest import to Kubica for whom it was an understandably emotional moment. The victory was a triumph for a driver who has fought tirelessly to continue his career after he was seriously injured in a crash at the Andora Rally in 2011, leading to the partial amputation of his forearm. It all but ended his burgeoning F1 career, when he was set to join Ferrari the following year. However, he demonstrated immense fortitude, not least in returning to racing only a year later and now sealing a win in the greatest sportscar race of them all, putting in an exhausting five stints for more than three hours in the final phase of the race. Vindication for a driver Lewis Hamilton rated as one of the most talented he had raced. It was clear that tired as he was, nothing could have stopped Kubica from closing out the race himself. 'We deserve it. Happy for Ferrari. Three years in a row with three different crews, it is amazing,' he said. 'I was not supposed to do five stints at the end of the race. It is three hours and something in the car but fortunately I was able to control everything with a cool head, no mistakes and managed to bring it home.' Advertisement Moreover it was achieved in an enormously competitive field at the Circuit de la Sarthe. The hypercar class at Le Mans is in absolutely rude health, with eight major manufacturers now competing and three more, including Ford and McLaren, likely to join by 2027. The intensity of the competition at the race was immense with the cars running at sprint race pace solidly, with only one safety car deployed and nothing in it at the sharp end. At the close the No 83 took the flag by just 14 seconds from the second-placed No 6 Porsche of Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Matt Campbell, with the Ferrari No 51 of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi in third and the No 50 Ferrari of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen fourth, all within 30 seconds of the lead after a full 24 hours. Ferrari would doubtless have preferred one of their works cars to have taken the honours and that had looked the most likely result for some time but, regardless, it was a prancing horse that won, their car once more a formidable competitor. In race pace it was indomitable, consistently leading and holding down the top three slots for long periods for their third win since they returned to the top flight at Le Mans in 2023 after a 50-year hiatus. A remarkable achievement for the Scuderia who had previously last won at La Sarthe in their heyday when they took six victories in a row between 1960 and 1965. Being Ferrari, there was of course drama too. Kubica and his colleagues had been aggrieved when Ferrari issued team orders in favour of the works cars in the mid-period of the race and doubtless felt some sense of justice when the race fell in their favour and they seized their chance. Advertisement With just under four hours remaining Pier Guidi had looked comfortable leading the three Ferraris, albeit with little to choose between them, when in a tiny but enormously costly misjudgement, he overcooked it into the chicane leading into the pit lane, clipped the kerb, spun and was left in the gravel. He was able to resume but the lead was gone and the No83 car took to the front. Yet the fight continued to the flag at unforgiving pace, the three Ferrari's hunted down by the No 6 Porsche which as the race entered the final two hours was able to move up to second place. Indeed the Porsche squad had thrown everything at the Ferraris. Having started at the very back of the hypercar field after being disqualified from qualifying for being underweight, a fired-up Estre launched an absolutely mammoth assault from the moment Roger Federer waved the tricolour to start the race on Saturday afternoon. He was decisive and committed and in a field of 21 cars, featuring works entries from Toyota, Alpine, Peugeot, Cadillac, BMW and Aston Martin, had moved up to third by the end of the second hour and was in the mix from then on. Indeed the No6 did hold the lead at times as the race ebbed and flowed against Ferrari, who ultimately just had the edge. Advertisement The Porsche duly pushed to the last, the final moments impossibly tense as the minutes inexorably counted down but appropriately it was Kubica behind the wheel to see his team home with familiarly steely resolve. In the LMP2 class the Inter Europol Competition Oreca of Tom Dillmann, Jakub Smiechowski and Nick Yelloly took the flag. The LMGT3 category was won by the Manthey Porsche of Richard Lietz, Riccardo Pera and Ryan Hardwick.
The Guardian
15-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Guardian
Robert Kubica seals emotional Le Mans 24 Hours victory for Ferrari
Poland's Robert Kubica sealed a deserved place in motor racing history as he took victory – alongside China's Ye Yifei and Britain's Philip Hanson – at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Hard fought with a relentless determination that has matched his refusal to be cowed after a life-threatening accident, his victory also secured an impressive third consecutive win for Ferrari at the 93rd edition of the vingt-quatre. The victory after 387 laps for the No 83 privateer Ferrari 499P, run by the Scuderia's works partner AF Corse, was the first overall win at Le Mans for drivers from Poland and China and will make Ye a household name in his home country, while for the 25-year-old Hanson it is a career high point in only his second run in the top, hypercar, category. However, it was surely of greatest import to Kubica for whom it was an understandably emotional moment. The victor was a triumph for a driver who has fought tirelessly to continue his career after he was seriously injured in a crash at the Andora Rally in 2011, leading to the partial amputation of his forearm. It all but ended his burgeoning F1 career, when he was set to join Ferrari the following year. However, he demonstrated immense fortitude, not least in returning to racing only a year later and now sealing a win in the greatest sportscar race of them all, putting in an exhausting five stints for more than three hours in the final phase of the race. Vindication for a driver Lewis Hamilton rated as one of the most talented he had raced. It was clear that tired as he was, nothing could have stopped Kubica from closing out the race himself. 'We deserve it. Happy for Ferrari. Three years in a row with three different crews, it is amazing,' he said. 'I was not supposed to do five stints at the end of the race. It is three hours and something in the car but fortunately I was able to control everything with a cool head, no mistakes and managed to bring it home.' Moreover it was achieved in an enormously competitive field at the Circuit de la Sarthe. The hypercar class at Le Mans is in absolutely rude health, with eight major manufacturers now competing and three more, including Ford and McLaren, likely to join by 2027. The intensity of the competition at the race was immense with the cars running at sprint race pace solidly, with only one safety car deployed and nothing in it at the sharp end. At the close the No 83 took the flag by just 14 seconds from the second-placed No 6 Porsche of Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Matt Campbell, with the Ferrari No 51 of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi in third and the No 50 Ferrari of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen fourth, all within 30 seconds of the lead after a full 24 hours. Ferrari would doubtless have preferred one of their works cars to have taken the honours and that had looked the most likely result for some time but, regardless, it was a prancing horse that won, their car once more a formidable competitor. In race pace it was indomitable, consistently leading and holding down the top three slots for long periods for their third win since they returned to the top flight at Le Mans in 2023 after a 50-year hiatus. A remarkable achievement for the Scuderia who had previously last won at La Sarthe in their heyday when they took six victories in a row between 1960 and 1965. Being Ferrari, there was of course drama too. Kubica and his colleagues had been aggrieved when Ferrari issued team orders in favour of the works cars in the mid-period of the race and doubtless felt some sense of justice when the race fell in their favour and they seized their chance. With just under four hours remaining Pier Guidi had looked comfortable leading the three Ferraris, albeit with little to choose between them, when in a tiny but enormously costly misjudgement, he overcooked it into the chicane leading into the pit lane, clipped the kerb, spun and was left in the gravel. He was able to resume but the lead was gone and the No83 car took to the front. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion Yet the fight continued to the flag at unforgiving pace, the three Ferrari's hunted down by the No 6 Porsche which as the race entered the final two hours was able to move up to second place. Indeed the Porsche squad had thrown everything at the Ferraris. Having started at the very back of the hypercar field after being disqualified from qualifying for being underweight, a fired-up Estre launched an absolutely mammoth assault from the moment Roger Federer waved the tricolour to start the race on Saturday afternoon. He was decisive and committed and in a field of 21 cars, featuring works entries from Toyota, Alpine, Peugeot, Cadillac, BMW and Aston Martin, had moved up to third by the end of the second hour and was in the mix from then on. Indeed the No6 did hold the lead at times as the race ebbed and flowed against Ferrari, who ultimately just had the edge. The Porsche duly pushed to the last, the final moments impossibly tense as the minutes inexorably counted down but appropriately it was Kubica behind the wheel to see his team home with familiarly steely resolve. In the LMP2 class the Inter Europol Competition Oreca of Tom Dillmann, Jakub Smiechowski and Nick Yelloly took the flag. The LMGT3 category was won by the Manthey Porsche of Richard Lietz, Riccardo Pera and Ryan Hardwick.
