Le Mans 2025: Porsche Fights for Glory in Final Hours

Le Mans, France – The 24 Hours of Le Mans 2025 continues to deliver intense competition as the race enters its final third. Porsche's factory teams are locked in fierce battles for overall victory and class leads, with the number 6 Porsche 963 showing strong contention in the Hypercar category and the Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R leading the LMGT3 class.

Porsche's Hypercar Challenge

The number 6 Porsche 963, driven by Kévin Estre, Matt Campbell, and Laurens Vanthoor, has consistently been at the forefront of the Hypercar class. Despite fluctuating leads due to varying pit stop strategies, the team has completed numerous laps in the lead. However, the competition remains incredibly tight, particularly from Ferrari.

• The number 6 Porsche 963 has frequently led the race.

• Sister cars faced penalties but remain on the lead lap.

• Five different manufacturers were in the leading group at the start of Sunday.

Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh, noted the challenge posed by Ferrari, stating, "We had to take a few penalties. That shouldn't happen to us from now on." Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport, added that while cooler temperatures initially favored Porsche, Ferrari has been exceptionally strong since sunrise.

LMGT3 Class Dominance

In the LMGT3 class, the Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R, piloted by Richard Lietz, Riccardo Pera, and Ryan Hardwick, has maintained a flawless performance, leading the GT3 category at sunrise. The sister Manthey car is also in the top five. The Iron Dames team, after a promising start, dropped back due to an incident.

Driver Insights

Drivers shared their experiences from the demanding night and early morning hours:

• Matt Campbell (Porsche 963 #6): "With the cooler temperatures on Sunday morning, there are once again noticeable shifts in the performance of the different cars. Some brands are making significant progress once again. Our number 6 has always been at the front since the second hour of the race. I hope that will continue to be the case. Everything is now at stake in this race.”

• Julien Andlauer (Porsche 963 #5): "It didn't go as planned. First, a penalty set us back quite a long way. After that, we were able to catch up again. But the pace at the front is extremely high.

• Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #4): "At some point, the front of our car was damaged. This led to considerable vibrations and a significantly lower top speed on the straights. All in all, it was not a good morning for us. But: our car is still running, we are still in contention. We'll continue to give it everything we've got.”

• Sarah Bovy (Porsche 911 GT3 R #85): "Unfortunately, our car got stuck in a gravel trap early in the morning. We lost a lot of time. We probably won't be able to achieve a top result now. But of course we're not giving up and will continue to give our all."

Racing For Charity Initiative

As part of the "Racing for Charity" initiative, Porsche is donating 500 euros per lap completed by its three works Porsche 963s to two children's aid organizations: Interplast Germany e.V. and Kinderherzen retten e.V. The cars have already completed over 750 laps on the 13.626-kilometer Circuit des 24 Heures.

Remaining Race Coverage

The 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will conclude on Sunday, June 15, at 4 p.m. local time (CEST). Fans can follow the race on free TV channels like Nitro and Eurosport in Germany, or via paid live streams and live timing through the official apps of the FIA WEC and Le Mans organizer ACO.