Ferrari scored its first outright Le Mans 24 Hours victory in 58 years as Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi beat Toyota in the centenary edition of the race.
On the Italian manufacturer's return to top-flight competition at the Circuit de la Sarthe with the new 499P Le Mans Hypercar, the #51 crew delivered Ferrari its first outright Le Mans win since Masten Gregory and Jochen Rindt took top honours in 1965.
Pier Guidi took the chequered flag one minute and 21 seconds ahead of the #8 Toyota GR010 HYBRID of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa.
Taking the final spot on the overall podium was the #2 Cadillac V-Series.R shared by Alex Lynn, Earl Bamber and Richard Westbrook, a lap behind the winning Ferrari.
In a race of heavy attrition, the fight for the lead boiled down to a straight fight between the #51 Ferrari and the #8 Toyota, although it was the 499P that appeared to have the advantage on sheer pace for much of the second half of the race.
After suffering an off in the hands of Pier Guidi at the first Mulsanne chicane in the evening hours, the #51 Ferrari was back into the lead and almost a minute clear of the Toyota, but the gap was virtually eradicated when Pier Guidi had to perform a power cycle at a pitstop in the 19th hour.
That brought the Toyota back into contention, with the two leaders circulating just seconds apart at this point of the race, but the Ferrari had already started to assert its advantage when an off for Hirakawa in the penultimate hour defused the battle.
Hirakawa lost it under braking at Arnage, hitting the barriers, but was able to get the damaged #8 car to the pits and was sent on his way without losing a lap.
Source: Autosport