The Audi Sport Team Joest trio of Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler each won their third 24 Hours of Le Mans title, leading home an Audi 1-2 at the end of a race where fortunes of teams twisted and turned.
The final hour of the race was – given what had gone before – surprisingly uneventful, the pair of Audis each completing their final stops without issue with Treluyer and Tom Kristensen the men charged with the responsibility of bringing their cars home at the end of the race.
Following the demise of both of the Porsche 919 Hybrids in the closing hours – though Marc Lieb trundled back out onto the track to participate in the ceremonial finish – Anthony Davidson crossed the line to take third for Toyota Racing with Nicolas Prost finishing fourth in the #12 Rebellion R-One.
The closest battle at the end of the race was between Jota Sport and Thiriet by TDS Racing in LMP2. Oliver Turvey was able to build a lead through the final hour but the rivals started the final lap with just 30 seconds between them. However, the chance of any race to the flag were quashed when Ludovic Badey in the Thiriet Ligier-Nissan was caught behind the pack led across the line by Lieb and the pair of Audis. That allowed Turvey – a man drafted in at the last moment to join the team in the wake of Loic Duval’s Wednesday accident and the subsequent call-up of Marc Gene to the #1 car – to cruise round a final lap to take the victory and book a trip to the podium with co-drivers Simon Dolan and Harry Tincknell.
The Signatech Alpine squad, anchored by Nelson Panciatici completed the class podium.
Gianmaria Bruni brought the #51 AF Corse Ferrari home for teammates Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander to take the LMGTE Pro lead a lap ahead of the #63 Corvette Racing with new father Antonio Garcia bringing the car home. The #92 Porsche Team Manthey entry completed the podium.
LMGTE Am was the site of almost certainly the most popular and emotional win of the race.
A year from the tragic events that unfolded in the opening laps of the 2013 event the all Danish Young Driver backed Aston Martin Racing team of Kristian Poulsen, Nicki Thiim and David Heinemeier Hansson won the class two laps ahead of Proton Competition’s #88 Porsche.
The Aston team were the only team to deliver late drama, the car briefly pulled into the garage only to emerge minutes later after giving only a portion of their advantage in class.
AF Corse’s #61 Ferrari team completed the class podium.
2014 24 Hours of Le Mans final class standings
LMP1
1 – #2 Audi Sport Team Joest – Fassler/Lotterer/Treluyer
2 – #1 Audi Sport Team Joest – di Grassi/Duval/Kristensen
3 – #8 Toyota Racing – Buemi/Davidson/Lapierre
LMP2
1 – #38 Jota Sport – Dolan/Tincknell/Turvey
2 – #46 Thiriet by TDS Racing – Badey/Gommendy/Thiriet
3 – #36 Signatech Alpine – Chatin/Panciatici/Webb
LMGTE Pro
1 – #51 AF Corse – Bruni/Fisichella/Vilander
2 – #73 Corvette Racing – Garcia/Magnussen/Taylor
3 – #92 Porsche Team Manthey – Holzer/Lietz/Makowiecki
LMGTE Am
1 – #95 Aston Martin Racing – Heinemeier Hansson/Poulsen/Thiim
2 – #88 Proton Competition – Al Qubaisi/Bachler/Ried
3 – #61 AF Corse – Cioci/Perez Companc/Venturi
