Le Mans – Hartley: “We weren’t even thinking about the podium anymore”

La Porsche #2 won the 85th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans after performing a recovery run for most of the event. After losing almost an hour in the pits due to the breakdown of the hybrid engine, the 919 Hybrid of Bernhard-Hartley-Bamber took advantage of the misfortunes of the competition to regain the lead of the race with one hour to go by overtaking the No. 07 Oreca 38 of Jackie Chan DC Racing of Laurent-Tung-Jarvis.

“We no longer thought about victory or even the podium, admitted Brendon Hartley who signs his first victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The calculations showed that we could finish ahead of the LMP2s but it was going to be very close. We even thought it could have come down to the last lap. We therefore remain constantly on the attack. I had mixed feelings seeing the sister car broken down. It was a disappointment for the team but we found our chances of victory. It was a cruel race and very tough fights. »

Earl Bamber was the one who had to come to the pits following the mechanical failure that occurred in the early hours of the #2 Porsche.

“The car was running very well and I suddenly had vibrations when braking after the slow zone. We then realized that something had broken on the front axle. We had to disconnect the hybrid system and try to return to the pits. I thought we were going to have to give up.", admitted Earl Bamber who won his second success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans after that of 2015 already acquired with Porsche.

“The team did a fantastic job repairing the car in 45 minutes, added Earl Bamber. This was essential as the victory was decided by only a few minutes. We were subsequently looking to get back into the top five in order to score points in the Manufacturers' Championship and found ourselves fighting for victory again at the end when the sister car retired. »

“The night was punctuated by safety cars and slow zones. At that time we were looking to reach the finish without looking at the gaps, simply trying to go as quickly as possible”, said Earl Bamber.

Timo Bernhard, who also scored his second success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans after that won with Audi in 2010, did not attend the press conference due to an anti-doping test.

Discover the analysis of the 85th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2119 of AUTOweekly, available from Monday evening from 22 p.m. in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.