Race of attrition hands Porsche win number 19 at Le Mans!

©WRI2

It was a hat trick for Porsche at Le Mans this weekend as the Stuttgart manufacture collected its third consecutive win in the classic endurance race and its nineteenth triumph overall.

The 85th running of the 24-hour epic delivered a collection of thrilling battles and surprising upsets, but the fittest survived in an astonishing race of attrition.

Porsche’s Timo Bernhard, Earl Bamber and Brendon Hartley pulled out all the stops after a one-hour pitstop the team endured early on.

The Porsche #2 fought its way back into the lead helped by the annihilation of the Toyota fleet, two-thirds of which was out of the race before even reaching the half-way mark.

Bad luck spell annihilates Toyota at Le Mans

Porsche's #1 car initially took command of the race disaster struck in the Japanese manufacture's camp and comfortably raced through the night.

But in the morning the car, driven by André Lotterer, was put out of contention with a suspected engine problem.

The lead was then handed to the Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECA-Gibson of Oliver Jarvis, Ho-Pin Tung and Thomas Laurent, with the surviving Porsche #2 in hot pursuit.

The Porsche eventually caught and properly dispatched the shock LMP2 leader which remained ahead of its class and second overall.

Third place went to the LMP2 Rebellion of Nelson Piquet Jr, Mathias Beche and David Heinemeier Hansson.

The GTE Pro class saw a nail-biting epilogue featuring a momentous scrap between the Chevrolet Corvette of Jordan Taylor and the Aston Martin of Jonathan Adam, with the latter winning the class on the very last lap of the race!

The amateur GTE category was won by Will Stevens, Dries Vanthoor, and Robert Smith in a Ferrari 488.

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.