Shane van Gisbergen’s maiden appearance in the 24 Hours of Le Mans has ended in a top five class placing.
Sharing a Riley Motorsports Ferrari 488 GTE Evo alongside Brit Sam Bird and Brazil’s Felipe Fraga, van Gisbergen logged 110 laps out of 347 completed as the trio scored fifth in GTE-Pro to be 32nd outright.
In what was the GTE category’s final appearance in the race, it provided plenty of drama as the two factory Corvettes dropped out, the second entry crashed out after a clash with an LMP2 while in contention for a class podium.
In turn the factory Porsche driven by Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Leitz and Frederic Makowiecki took the class victory ahead of two AF Corse Ferraris as the second manufacturer-backed 911 RSR-19 finished ahead of van Gisbergen’s Riley Motorsports 488 GTE Evo.
Results were strong from drivers of the antipodes as Toyota’s Brendon Hartley was part of the Japanese manufacturer’s fifth triumph at La Sarthe in a row. Fellow Kiwi Nick Cassidy finished sixth in GTE AM for AF Corse.
Australian Ryan Briscoe was also on the podium after finishing third for Glickenhaus, James Allen was 15th in LMP2 and Matt Campbell was 16th in GTE Am alongside actor Michael Fassbender.
Next year promises to be an exciting year for the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Ferrari, Cadillac, Acura, Porsche, Lamborghini, Alpine, Peugeot, Vanwall and BMW all committing to Hypercar or LMDh regulations.
Also, GT3 will replace GTE next year as well opening the race up to further manufacturers as a new generation of models enter the fray.