Corvette prevailed in a multi-marque battle for LMGT3 class glory in this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans (13-14 June), as TF Sport saw off a sustained challenge from Akkodis ASP Team (Lexus) and Heart of Racing Team (Aston Martin) to register the American manufacturer’s tenth triumph in the event.
Having begun just 17th on the 25-strong grid with its #33 entry, the British outfit – much like Hypercar winner Toyota – elected to take a gamble, by putting its Bronze-rated driver, Ben Keating, in the car for much of the early part of the race. Despite the event marking his first FIA WEC appearance of the year after recovering from an elbow injury, the Texan excelled to keep the Corvette in contention against higher-graded rivals in other cars.
After completing his mandatory minimum drive time, Keating made way for team-mates Nicky Catsburg and Jonny Edgar, who subsequently rose to the head of the order and remained there to the end.
“It’s really special,” acknowledged Keating, who is now a three-time winner of the prestigious event. “We developed a plan for how we were going to execute, and we executed well. We had the perfect race, with no penalties and no mistakes, which is what it takes to do well at Le Mans. Jonny was unbelievable with his five stints at the end – that was maybe the drive of the race. I think this will be career-defining for Jonny Edgar.”
Second place went the way of the #78 Akkodis Lexus, with regular duo Hadrien David and Tom van Rompuy joined by ‘super-sub’ Jack Hawksworth, who set the pace early on. A fast and flawless performance by all three drivers – with the Frenchman and Brit setting the fastest two LMGT3 laps of the race – deservedly earned them the #78’s best finish in FIA WEC competition to-date.
Heart of Racing Team’s #23 Aston Martin piloted by ‘Dudu’ Barrichello, Jonny Adam and Gray Newell completed the podium-finishers in third, although the US-registered outfit saw the sister Vantage – the pole-winning #27 car – forced out by gearbox problems while in a top three position.
Inter Europol Competition maintained its stellar recent record in the LMP2 category, overcoming challenges from Forestier Racing by Panis and Duqueine Team to win for the third time in four years as the Polish outfit celebrated a commanding one-two finish.
The #43 Oreca-Gibson of Tom Dillmann, Nick Yelloly and Jakub Smiechowski took the flag ahead of the sister #343 entry of Nico Müller, Reshad de Gerus and Bijoy Garg. Forestier Racing by Panis rounded out the rostrum, while long-time leader Duqueine Team’s Doriane Pin, Julien Andlauer and Richard Verschoor retired due to brake issues with less than four hours left to run – the only crew in the category that failed to finish.
The 2026 FIA WEC campaign will continue in four weeks’ time with the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo on 10-12 July.
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