24 h Le Mans 2015 : 83e édition : the yearbook of the greatest endurance race in the world

24 h Le Mans

In more ways than one the 83rd Le Mans 24 Hours left its mark on the legend of the race. First of all, Porsche scored its 17^th victory in an event in which it already held the record for the number of outright wins. And secondly, a new outright lap record, all circuits combined, was set by the no.7 Audi. Porsche's success was achieved with a 919 Hybrid in which a grand prix driver making his Le Mans debut led the victorious trio. Then in Grand Touring, Corvette added another win to its tally in the LM GTE Pro category : it was the first for the C7.R, which followed in the footsteps of its glorious predecessors, the C5-R and the C6.R. In the other categories, Oreca finally added its name to the roll call of LM P2 winners thanks to the KCMG team from Hong Kong, in other words the People's Republic of China for which it was also a premier. In LM GTE Am a Russian team was on the topmost step of the podium, another first, in front of Patrick Dempsey's Porsche. The American has helped the Le Mans 24 Hours to acquire another dimension among an international audience who, up till now, didn't perhaps pay all that much attention to the Sarthe classic. Finally, this year's event is the best possible launch pad for the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours in which Audi and Toyota, beaten this year, will have but a single aim, revenge, while Corvette will have to cope with the return of a prestigious rival - Ford !