Toyota is moving ever closer to greatness, clinching a fifth victory at the prestigious endurance race. Five in a row. Just like Audi a few years back, Toyota is making history at the 2022 Le Mans 24h. Text: Luca W. © Images: Thomas Z., ACO, 24h of Le Mans ©
- The Le Mans 24h always start with the traditionnal drivers’ parade
- Hypercar category: Toyota’s second 1-2 finish
- 2022 Le Mans 24h LMP2 category: WRT unlucky, JOTA wins
- LM GTE-Pro category: Corvette gutted, battle between Porsche and Ferrari
- LM GTE-Am category: Aston Martin repeats, but with another team
- 2022 Le Mans 24h wallpapers
- 2022 Le Mans 24h results: overall
The Le Mans 24h always start with the traditionnal drivers’ parade
There aren’t many races where fans get the opportunity to be that close to drivers outside the circuit. For almost 4 hours, drivers progress in the city center of Le Mans, signing autographs and throwing gifts to the 245,000 people being part in the same journey. Fans get almost the same feelings as the teams’ crew: they’re passionate. The air is full of dedication and excitment.
This atmosphere simply feels supernatural, and there is no other place, no other event that delivers this type of emotion. It’s the reason why the 2022 Le Mans 24h is a celebration of the 90th edition, and why next year’s will be the centenary. Because we can’t see our calendar without that big red circle on this date. Because car makers need competition to develop new technologies and have a fight.
Hypercar category: Toyota’s second 1-2 finish
The 2022 Le Mans 24h winning belt was undisputed in the hypercar category: the competition was everything but a UFC close-fight. Nothing could stop the Japanese cars to seal the 1-2 finish. On track side, they seemed bossy, authoritarian with only one objective: make the others look stupid.
And they did: their cornering speed is insane, and their setup was simply perfect for the Sarthe track. Exempted from major reliability issues and pacy, they were never worried of other competitors. The only competition was internal, during the night, between Kobayashi #7 and Hirakawa #8 for the lead.
Some driving mistakes and a hybrid system issue slowed the #7 down, paving the way for the Toyota #8, for its fourth victory. Glickenhaus’ #709 secures a podium whilst the only Alpine running was suffocating behind LMP2 cars (due to an “unbalanced” BoP), after having clutch issues and having kissed the marbles.
The 3 competitors (Toyota, Glickenhaus and Alpine) will be joined by Peugeot and Ferrari in the LMH category next year, also competing against LMDh cars.
2022 Le Mans 24h LMP2 category: WRT unlucky, JOTA wins
The pole-sitting Belgian team should forget this race. The hyperpole winner, the WRT #31, had a penalty just after the start. Consequence: a strategy shift, and obviously a gap just a few minutes after race start. The first hours were difficult for the team, and car #31 was forced to retire in the morning after a crash.
Previous year’s second, the #38 JOTA, flies over debates to get the win, even though the #9 Prema Orlen Team car was in its exhaust most of the time.
LM GTE-Pro category: Corvette gutted, battle between Porsche and Ferrari
The GTE-Pro category always comes with surprises, feasting us with round 2 between Porsche and Ferrari.
For the first 18 hours, it wasn’t supposed to happen. Until the dominating #64 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R got bumped by a LMP2 car and finished its 18 hours-long race in the barriers. The sister being retired for mechanical issues, the 2022 Le Mans 24h were over for the American team. A true heartbreaking situation, showing that this race gives absolutely nothing until the very end (2016 was also a good example).
As a consequence, this spectacular crash introduced a spectacular fight between the new leader, Ferrari, and the new chaser, Porsche. The #91 911 RSR was faster than the Ferrari, but not enough to make the move. The outcome was decided in the pits, where Porsche made a full pit-stop (fuel, tires, and driver) whilst AF Corse (Ferrari) just refueled.
Big decision, big consequences: 2 laps later, the #51 Ferrari 488 GTE has a puncture and is forced to pit. The #91 Porsche 911 RSR takes the lead, until the end of the race. The Porsche 911 RSR has not won this race since 2018. It did at the 2022 Le Mans 24h, in a swan song background.
2022 is the last year for the LM GTE-Pro category in the World Endurance Championship, which will leave space for a new GT3-based category in 2024. Meanwhile, the GTE-Am will continue the beautiful GTE adventure until 2023.
LM GTE-Am category: Aston Martin repeats, but with another team
Second victory for TF Sport: the British team pushed its Aston Martin Vantage AMR to the checkered flag without any major issue until the very end of the race. Competing with fast-paced Porsche 911, the British crew had to be very cautious, preventing accidents or driving mistakes. This is the first victory for Marco Sorensen, the Aston Martin pro driver.
The GTE-Am category will be the only GT cars delegate. However, new cars and new carmakers are coming next year in the hypercar category, which will be, we are sure, a big step for the centenary of the 24h of Le Mans.
2022 Le Mans 24h wallpapers
2022 Le Mans 24h results: overall
Source: 24h-lemans.com – 2022 Le Mans 24h official website
| Pos | # | Category | Team | Drivers | Car | Laps | Gap | Best | Pits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Hypercar H | TOYOTA GAZOO RACING | BUEMI Sébastien, HARTLEY Brendon, HIRAKAWA Ryo |  | 380 | – | 3:27.906 | 31 |
| 2 | 7 | Hypercar H | TOYOTA GAZOO RACING | CONWAY Mike, KOBAYASHI Kamui, LOPEZ Jose Maria |  | 380 | 2:01.222 | 3:27.749 | 32 |
| 3 | 709 | Hypercar | GLICKENHAUS RACING | BRISCOE Ryan, WESTBROOK Richard, MAILLEUX Franck |  | 375 | 5 laps | 3:28.227 | 31 |
| 4 | 708 | Hypercar | GLICKENHAUS RACING | PLA Olivier, DUMAS Romain, DERANI Luis Felipe |  | 370 | 10 laps | 3:27.765 | 33 |
| 5 | 38 | LM P2 | JOTA | GONZALEZ Roberto, DA COSTA Antonio Felix, STEVENS William |  | 369 | 11 laps | 3:31.721 | 41 |
| 6 | 9 | LM P2 | PREMA ORLEN TEAM | KUBICA Robert, DELETRAZ Louis, COLOMBO Lorenzo |  | 369 | 11 laps | 3:32.335 | 42 |
| 7 | 28 | LM P2 | JOTA | RASMUSSEN Oliver, JONES Edward, ABERDEIN Jonathan |  | 368 | 12 laps | 3:32.750 | 42 |
| 8 | 13 | LM P2 | TDS RACING X VAILLANTE | DE VRIES Nyck, BECHE Mathias, VAN DER HELM Tijmen |  | 368 | 12 laps | 3:31.728 | 42 |
| 9 | 5 | LM P2 | TEAM PENSKE | CAMERON Dane, COLLARD Emmanuel, NASR Felipe |  | 368 | 12 laps | 3:31.910 | 41 |
| 10 | 23 | LM P2 | UNITED AUTOSPORTS USA | LYNN Alexander, JARVIS Oliver, PIERSON Joshua |  | 368 | 12 laps | 3:32.436 | 49 |
| 11 | 37 | LM P2 | COOL RACING | YE Yifei, TAYLOR Ricky, KRUETTEN Niklas |  | 367 | 13 laps | 3:31.421 | 44 |
| 12 | 48 | LM P2 | IDEC SPORT | LAFARGUE Paul, CHATIN Paul Loup, PILET Patrick |  | 366 | 14 laps | 3:31.601 | 43 |
| 13 | 1 | LM P2 | RICHARD MILLE RACING | WADOUX Lilou, OGIER Sébastien, MILESI Charles |  | 366 | 14 laps | 3:33.513 | 42 |
| 14 | 22 | LM P2 | UNITED AUTOSPORTS USA | HANSON Philip, ALBUQUERQUE Filipe, OWEN Will |  | 366 | 14 laps | 3:32.628 | 43 |
| 15 | 32 | LM P2 | TEAM WRT | INEICHEN Rolf, BORTOLOTTI Mirko, VANTHOOR Dries |  | 366 | 14 laps | 3:30.946 | 43 |
| 16 | 65 | LM P2 | PANIS RACING | CANAL Julien, JAMIN Nicolas, VAN UITERT Job |  | 366 | 14 laps | 3:31.097 | 43 |
| 17 | 34 | LM P2 | INTER EUROPOL COMPETITION | SMIECHOWSKI Jakub, BRUNDLE Alex, GUTIERREZ Esteban |  | 365 | 15 laps | 3:33.663 | 41 |
| 18 | 43 | LM P2 | INTER EUROPOL COMPETITION | HEINEMEIER-HANSSON David, SCHERER Fabio, FITTIPALDI Pietro |  | 364 | 16 laps | 3:33.137 | 43 |
| 19 | 45 | LM P2 P/A | ALGARVE PRO RACING | THOMAS Steven, ALLEN James, BINDER René |  | 363 | 17 laps | 3:32.629 | 42 |
| 20 | 24 | LM P2 P/A | NIELSEN RACING | SALES Rodrigo, BELL Matthew, HANLEY Ben |  | 362 | 18 laps | 3:33.562 | 44 |
| 21 | 41 | LM P2 | REALTEAM BY WRT | ANDRADE Rui, HABSBURG Ferdinand, NATO Norman |  | 362 | 18 laps | 3:30.918 | 43 |
| 22 | 3 | LM P2 P/A | DKR ENGINEERING | HORR Laurents, GLORIEUX Jean, COUGNAUD Alexandre |  | 362 | 18 laps | 3:33.601 | 41 |
| 23 | 36 | Hypercar | ALPINE ELF TEAM | NEGRÃO André, LAPIERRE Nicolas, VAXIVIERE Matthieu |  | 362 | 18 laps | 3:30.030 | 34 |
| 24 | 83 | LM P2 P/A | AF CORSE | PERRODO François, NIELSEN Nicklas, ROVERA Alessio |  | 361 | 19 laps | 3:32.949 | 43 |
| 25 | 47 | LM P2 P/A | ALGARVE PRO RACING | FLOERSCH Sophia, FALB John, AITKEN Jack |  | 361 | 19 laps | 3:31.652 | 42 |
| 26 | 44 | LM P2 P/A | ARC BRATISLAVA | KONOPKA Miroslav, VISCAAL Bent, VAUTIER Tristan |  | 360 | 20 laps | 3:32.229 | 44 |
| 27 | 10 | LM P2 | VECTOR SPORT | MÜLLER Nico, CULLEN Ryan, BOURDAIS Sébastien |  | 357 | 23 laps | 3:31.115 | 42 |
| 28 | 91 | LM GTE Pro | PORSCHE GT TEAM | BRUNI Gianmaria, LIETZ Richard, MAKOWIECKI Frédéric |  | 350 | 30 laps | 3:49.060 | 24 |
| 29 | 51 | LM GTE Pro | AF CORSE | PIER GUIDI Alessandro, CALADO James, SERRA Daniel |  | 350 | 30 laps | 3:49.109 | 26 |
| 30 | 52 | LM GTE Pro | AF CORSE | MOLINA Miguel, FUOCO Antonio, RIGON Davide |  | 349 | 31 laps | 3:49.196 | 24 |
| 31 | 92 | LM GTE Pro | PORSCHE GT TEAM | CHRISTENSEN Michael, ESTRE Kevin, VANTHOOR Laurens |  | 348 | 32 laps | 3:48.356 | 23 |
| 32 | 74 | LM GTE Pro | RILEY MOTORSPORTS | FRAGA Felipe, BIRD Sam, VAN GISBERGEN Shane |  | 347 | 33 laps | 3:49.391 | 26 |
| 33 | 39 | LM P2 P/A | GRAFF RACING | TROUILLET Eric, PAGE Sébastien, DROUX David |  | 344 | 36 laps | 3:33.267 | 40 |
| 34 | 33 | LM GTE Am | TF SPORT | KEATING Ben, CHAVES Henrique, SØRENSEN Marco |  | 343 | 37 laps | 3:53.266 | 24 |
| 35 | 79 | LM GTE Am | WEATHERTECH RACING | MACNEIL Cooper, ANDLAUER Julien, MERRILL Thomas |  | 343 | 37 laps | 3:50.445 | 24 |
| 36 | 98 | LM GTE Am | NORTHWEST AMR | DALLA LANA Paul, PITTARD David, THIIM Nicki |  | 342 | 38 laps | 3:52.908 | 25 |
| 37 | 86 | LM GTE Am | GR RACING | WAINWRIGHT Michael, PERA Riccardo, BARKER Benjamin |  | 340 | 40 laps | 3:50.848 | 26 |
| 38 | 88 | LM GTE Am | DEMPSEY – PROTON RACING | POORDAD Fred, ROOT Maxwell, HEYLEN Jan |  | 340 | 40 laps | 3:51.067 | 25 |
| 39 | 54 | LM GTE Am | AF CORSE | FLOHR Thomas, CASTELLACCI Francesco, CASSIDY Nick |  | 340 | 40 laps | 3:52.722 | 25 |
| 40 | 85 | LM GTE Am | IRON DAMES | FREY Rahel, GATTING Michelle, BOVY Sarah |  | 339 | 41 laps | 3:54.044 | 28 |
| 41 | 21 | LM GTE Am | AF CORSE | MANN Simon, ULRICH Christoph, VILANDER Toni |  | 339 | 41 laps | 3:53.254 | 25 |
| 42 | 61 | LM GTE Am | AF CORSE | PRETTE Louis, GRUNEWALD Conrad, ABRIL Vincent |  | 339 | 41 laps | 3:52.742 | 28 |
| 43 | 55 | LM GTE Am | SPIRIT OF RACE | CAMERON Duncan, GRIFFIN Matthew, PEREL David |  | 339 | 41 laps | 3:53.722 | 26 |
| 44 | 99 | LM GTE Am | HARDPOINT MOTORSPORT | HARYANTO Andrew, PICARIELLO Alessio, RUMP Martin |  | 338 | 42 laps | 3:51.332 | 24 |
| 45 | 57 | LM GTE Am | KESSEL RACING | KIMURA Takeshi, SCHANDORFF Frederik, JENSEN Mikkel |  | 336 | 44 laps | 3:53.398 | 26 |
| 46 | 80 | LM GTE Am | IRON LYNX | CRESSONI Matteo, FISICHELLA Giancarlo, HEISTAND Richard |  | 336 | 44 laps | 3:53.640 | 28 |
| 47 | 77 | LM GTE Am | DEMPSEY – PROTON RACING | RIED Christian, PRIAULX Sebastian, TINCKNELL Harry |  | 336 | 44 laps | 3:51.438 | 25 |
| 48 | 35 | LM P2 P/A | ULTIMATE | LAHAYE Jean-Baptiste, LAHAYE Matthieu, HERIAU François |  | 335 | 45 laps | 3:35.842 | 40 |
| 49 | 27 | LM P2 P/A | CD SPORT | CRESP Christophe, JENSEN Michael, PALETTE Steven |  | 333 | 47 laps | 3:36.478 | 41 |
| 50 | 66 | LM GTE Am | JMW MOTORSPORT | VAN DER ZANDE Renger, KVAMME Mark, HART Jason |  | 331 | 49 laps | 3:55.041 | 25 |
| 51 | 93 | LM GTE Am | PROTON COMPETITION | FASSBENDER Michael, CAMPBELL Matt, ROBICHON Zacharie |  | 329 | 51 laps | 3:51.745 | 27 |
| 52 | 30 | LM P2 | DUQUEINE TEAM | BRADLEY Richard, ROJAS Guillermo, DE GERUS Reshad |  | 326 | 54 laps | 3:32.436 | 41 |
| 53 | 75 | LM GTE Am | IRON LYNX | EHRET Pierre, HOOK Christian, VARRONE Nicolas |  | 324 | 56 laps | 3:54.093 | 28 |
| 54 | 60 | LM GTE Am | IRON LYNX | SCHIAVONI Claudio, BALZAN Alessandro, GIAMMARIA Raffaele |  | 289 | 91 laps | 3:53.765 | 22 |
| 55 | 31 | LM P2 | WRT | GELAEL Sean, FRIJNS Robin, RAST René |  | 285 | 95 laps | 3:32.136 | 35 |
| 56 | 64 | LM GTE Pro | CORVETTE RACING | MILNER Tommy, TANDY Nick, SIMS Alexander |  | 260 | 120 laps | 3:48.771 | 18 |
| 57 | 56 | LM GTE Am | TEAM PROJECT 1 | IRIBE Brendan, MILLROY Oliver, BARNICOAT Ben |  | 241 | 139 laps | 3:52.046 | 17 |
| 58 | 63 | LM GTE Pro | CORVETTE RACING | GARCIA Antonio, TAYLOR Jordan, CATSBURG Nicky |  | 214 | 166 laps | 3:49.696 | 16 |
| 59 | 59 | LM GTE Am | INCEPTION RACING | WEST Alexander, LEDOGAR Côme, KLEIN Marvin |  | 190 | 190 laps | 3:54.379 | 14 |
| 60 | 71 | LM GTE Am | SPIRIT OF RACE | DEZOTEUX Franck, RAGUES Pierre, AUBRY Gabriel |  | 127 | 253 laps | 3:54.374 | 11 |
| 61 | 777 | LM GTE Am | D’STATION RACING | HOSHINO Satoshi, FUJII Tomonobu, FAGG Charles |  | 112 | 268 laps | 3:53.977 | 9 |
| 62 | 46 | LM GTE Am | TEAM PROJECT 1 | CAIROLI Matteo, PEDERSEN Mikkel, LEUTWILER Nicolas |  | 77 | 303 laps | 3:51.318 | 10 |
