Porsche won the GTE Pro class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Works drivers Gianmaria Bruni from Italy, Richard Lietz from Austria and Frédéric Makowiecki from France crossed the finish line in first place at the end of an intense and exciting race over 350 laps.

The trio at the wheel of the Porsche 911 RSR with start number 91 thus set a new distance record for GTE cars: 4,769 kilometres. The sister car with Kévin Estre (France), Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) at the wheel finished the 90th edition of the endurance classic in fourth place. In the GTE-Am category, the Porsche customer team WeatherTech Racing finished on the podium.

"The Porsche GT Team has continued our great tradition at today's 24 Hours of Le Mans. This success makes me very proud," says Michael Steiner, Member of the Executive Board for Research and Development at Porsche AG. "My big thanks go to the team, the drivers and all those who have put their expertise and passion into the balance at our development center in Weissach in order to achieve this 109th class victory for Porsche."

"Victory in the last factory outing with the 911 RSR at Le Mans – that's an indescribable feeling," says Thomas Laudenbach, Head of Porsche Motorsport. "When our #92 car had a puncture lying in the lead, we thought it could all be over. But Corvette's competitors were also unlucky. At that very moment we were on the spot with the number 91 – because nobody gave up with us: the drivers didn't and the team didn't either. We have been rewarded for the hard and consistent work that has also taken place in the background. It just feels good!"

The 24 Hours of Le Mans had started on Saturday in sunshine, summer temperatures and in front of a large backdrop. On the asphalt, which was up to 40 degrees Celsius warm at the beginning, the two Porsche 911 RSR initially secured positions three and four and kept themselves within striking distance of the front runners. The great hours struck with the beginning of the sunset. The two 378 kW (515 hp) racing cars were able to use the maximum grip of the tyres over long distances in cooler temperatures and drive forward.

The successful crew of car number 91 experienced a setback in the evening: Makowiecki had to take a drive-through penalty due to leaving the track. Subsequently, the winning car came over the distance without further incidents and benefited on the way to the class triumph, among other things, from the bad luck of the competition. At the finish, the 911 RSR, which competed in the factory for the last time at Le Mans, had crossed the finish line with a lead of 42.684 seconds.

Meanwhile, the starting number 92 was very unlucky. Kévin Estre, Michael Christensen and Laurens Vanthoor had taken the lead in the race with strong performances at night. The trio from France, Denmark and Belgium – class winners at Le Mans in 2018 – gained a lead of more than two minutes at sunrise. But then came the setback: Shortly before 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, the right front tire on the 911 RSR burst and destroyed large parts of the front of the vehicle. Due to the slow drive back to the pits and the subsequent 10-minute repair, the team lost three laps. In the end, car number 92 crossed the finish line in fourth place.

"We experienced a classic endurance race. The one who goes through the fewest incidents is at the top of the podium in the end: that was our number 91 today," sums up Alexander Stehlig, Head of Factory Motorsport FIA WEC. "I am very happy for the winning crew, who often lacked the necessary luck in the past. The team in the 92 was unlucky with a puncture through no fault of its own, but never gave up. Fourth place brings us many important points in the championship. I'm also thrilled that we've finally won at Le Mans with the current version of our car, the RSR-19."

In the GTE-Am class, five Porsche 911 RSR presented themselves as possible candidates for victory. In the end, however, only one team managed to survive the tough competition over 24 hours without major incidents. The #79 WeatherTech Racing car with Julien Andlauer from France and the two Americans Cooper MacNeil and Thomas Merrill completed an almost flawless 343 laps and finished in second place. The number 86 of GR Racing reached fourth place. Hardpoint's team lost all chances of a podium finish 75 minutes before the end. The Indonesian Andrew Haryanto slipped into the gravel bed at this time in fourth place and subsequently lost four laps. The starting number 99 was ultimately ranked eleventh.

Dempsey-Proton Racing lacked the necessary competitive luck in front of the eyes of US actor and team co-owner Patrick Dempsey. The number 88 came in fifth, the sister car with the starting number 77 fell out of the top 5 about two hours before the end due to a broken wishbone and finished the race in 14th place. The number 93, in which Hollywood star Michael Fassbender celebrated his Le Mans premiere, reached the finish line in 16th place. The Lower Saxony team of Project 1 had the biggest bad luck: The experienced customer team had to park both cars prematurely.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans, the third race of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season, is all about double World Championship points. Porsche was able to extend its leading position in the manufacturers' standings thanks to its success in France. The new Le Mans class winners Bruni and Lietz have taken the lead in the drivers' standings. The fourth round of the season will take place on 10 July at the Italian Formula 1 circuit in Monza.

Drivers' comments after the race
Gianmaria Bruni (Porsche 911 RSR #91): "For me, it's a dream come true. I've won three times at Le Mans with Ferrari. After my change, a victory with Porsche was at the top of my wish list. Twice I narrowly missed this goal in second place – today it's finally time. The era of the GTE Pro class comes to an end for Porsche with a victory at Le Mans. It couldn't be better."

Richard Lietz (Porsche 911 RSR #91): "Le Mans chose its winners – and this time it was our turn. We were on the spot when other cars ran into problems. I think we made the fewest mistakes over 24 hours and therefore deserved to win. I took part in the first victory of a factory RSR at Le Mans in 2013 and also today at the last appearance of the GTE Pro class at Le Mans. It's a beautiful story."

Frédéric Makowiecki (Porsche 911 RSR #91): "Finally! For nine years I tried again and again, now I'm at the top of the podium. I was second several times, often sat in the fastest car, but it never worked. Today everything was different. We may not have been the ones to shine with top lap times, but we made the fewest mistakes over the distance. This success is infinitely good."

Kévin Estre (Porsche 911 RSR #92): "We were at the front of the leading group for a long time. But then we had to make a longer stop to change the brake. That threw us a bit backwards. Afterwards we pushed, were fast on the road – but this time it just wasn't supposed to be, because a small puncture unfortunately had big consequences. The repair took so long that we were out of the race for victory. But it's still a nice day for Porsche. Congratulations to our teammates from the 91: They did a good job. It's great that the Porsche 911 RSR won the last race of the GTE Pro class at Le Mans."

Michael Christensen (Porsche 911 RSR #92): "That was certainly not the race I had hoped for. It wasn't my day. I made a few mistakes, one of which had a massive impact. If you catch a brake plate by locking a wheel, it usually won't cause the tire to burst afterwards. Today, unfortunately, it does. As a result, the team had to do some more elaborate work. That is unfortunate. We were very good in the race, the 911 RSR worked perfectly. Even after that, the car ran great, but unfortunately we simply lost too much time due to the repair."

Laurens Vanthoor (Porsche 911 RSR #92): "We were really fast with our starting number 92, even dominant at times. Unfortunately, a puncture has burst all dreams. In the end, we finished fourth. This gives good points for Porsche and my two colleagues, who will contest the entire FIA WEC season. Congratulations to the crew of the number 91: The class victory is deserved."

Cooper MacNeil (Porsche 911 RSR #79): "The race was eventful, exhausting and anything but easy. We couldn't get more than second place in the tough competition. Our 911 RSR ran like clockwork and our Team from WeatherTech Racing did a great job. Thanks for the great support, especially to Porsche. Whoever finishes second always looks to the first step of the podium. Nevertheless, I am satisfied with my third podium finish at Le Mans."

Results Race
GTE-Pro class
1. Bruni/Lietz/Makowiecki (I/A/F), Porsche 911 RSR #91, 350 laps
2. Calado/Pier Guidi/Serra (GB/I/BR), Ferrari 488 GTE #51, 350 laps
3. Fuoco/Molina/Rigon (I/E/I), Ferrari 488 GTE #52, 349 laps
4. Christensen/Estre/Vanthoor (DK/F/B), Porsche 911 RSR #92, 348 laps
5. Fraga/Bird/Van Gisbergen (BR/GB/NZ), Ferrari 488 GTE #74, 347 laps

GTE-Am class
1st Keating/Chaves/Sörensen (USA/P/DK), Aston Martin #33, 343 laps
2nd MacNeil/Andlauer/Merrill (USA/F/USA), Porsche 911 RSR #79, 343 laps
3rd Dalla Lana/Pittard/Thiim (CDN/GB/DK), Aston Martin #98, 342 laps
4th Wainwright/Barker/Pera (GB/GB/I), Porsche 911 RSR #86, 340 laps
5th Poordad/Heylen/Root (USA/B/USA), Porsche 911 RSR #88, 340 laps
11th Haryanto/Picariello/Rump (RI/B/EST), Porsche 911 RSR #99, 338 laps
14th Ried/Priaulx/Tincknell (D/GB/GB), Porsche 911 RSR #77, 336 laps
16th Campbell/Fassbender/Robichon (AUS/IRL/CDN), Porsche 911 RSR #93, 329 laps
DNF. Iribe/Barnicoat/Millroy (USA/GB/GB), Porsche 911 RSR #56, 241 laps
DNF. Leutwiler/Cairoli/Pedersen (CH/I/DK), Porsche 911 RSR #46, 77 laps