Le Mans 24 Hours post-race data debrief

Ferrari may have claimed the glory in the 93rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but the stopwatch revealed a more complex tale — one of relentless pursuit, strategic mastery, and mechanical endurance. Read on for a dive into the data behind the race as we try and find a few extra details of the story of the 2025 24 hours of Le Mans.

The Headlines

Overall victory went the way of the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P of Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson who completed 387 laps in a total time of 24 hours 2 minutes, 53.332 seconds. This was a total distance of 5272.54 kilometres. They finished 14.084 seconds ahead of the #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 of Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Matt Campbell who in turn were a further 14.403 seconds ahead of the third placed #51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi. Only the top 4 cars finished on the lead lap with the next for cars finishing 1 lap down.

In LMP2 the winning car, the #43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca 07 – Gibson of Jacub Smechowski, Tom Dillmann and Nick Yelloly completed 367 laps, which rather annoyingly came to a distance of 4999.94 kilometres. The LMGT3 winner, the #92 Manthey 1ST Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R of Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera and Richard Lietz completed 341 laps and a distance of 4645.70 kilometres.

Fastest laps: No monopoly on speed

No fewer than 15 fastest laps were set by 11 different drivers, showcasing the competitive depth of this year’s field. The #50 Ferrari 499P may have been disqualified, but not before Nicklas Nielsen lit up the timing screens three times within a single 21-minute stretch during hour 14. Teammates Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina also contributed to the #50’s charge, while race winner Robert Kubica managed just one fastest lap for the #83 Ferrari, coming deep into the race at 16 hours and 41 minutes.

But it was Sebastian Bourdais in the #38 Cadillac JOTA who set the outright fastest lap of the race: a blistering 3:26.063 at 238.1 km/h, just after hour 19. The fastest lap of the weekend, however, belonged to Jack Aitken in the #311 Cadillac during Hyperpole: 3:22.742 at a staggering 242.0 km/h.

Category heroes: LMP2 and LMGT3 standouts

In LMGT3, the #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 of Mattia Drudi posted the fastest time of the week with a lap of 3:52.789 in Hyperpole. This illustrates the difference in setups and fuel load from qualifying to the race as in the list of fastest laps over the week, the fastest racing lap came in 18th place by the #10 Racing Spirit of Le Mans Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 of Eduardo Barrichello. He set a time of 3:55.871, which gave a gap of 3.082 seconds to the fastest overall time. This is in contrast to the fastest lap of the race which was also set by Drudi with a time of 3:55.456 seconds, nearly 2.5 seconds slower than his lap in Hyperpole.

Hyperpole for LMP2 saw the fastest overall lap by race winners Inter Europol Competition and Nick Yellowly posting a time of 3:34.657. This was 1.725 seconds faster than the best LMP2 race lap which was 14th overall and set by the #16 RLR M Sport Oreca 97 driven by Patrick Pilet. He set a time of 3:36.382 and a speed of 226.7 km/h.

Race narratives: recovery, strategy, and heartbreak

Starting at the back of the Hypercar grid having been disqualified from Hyperpole, the Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 came close to winning the race with a strong drive through the field. Starting in 21st place, the car was up to 14th on the following lap before breaking into the top 3 on lap 27. From this point the car never dropped out of the top 5.

Equally, the overall winner, #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, had a similar run through the field having started from 13th with Phil Hanson taking the first stint and laying the foundations. The chart below shows the positions of the top 3 at the start of every hour.

Some of the key moments that defined the top 3 include:

#6 Porsche’s recovery from 21st to the top 10 by Hour 3 is based on its strong race pace and overtaking ability, as it reached 2nd by the end.
#83 and #51 Ferraris fluctuated due to pit stops, penalties, and pit to car radio messages suggested some team orders may have been in play for the #83.
The safety car at Hour 9 reset gaps, benefiting #83 and #51 Ferraris.
#51 Ferrari’s issues in the final hours dropped it from the lead to 3rd.

In LMP 2

Hour 1: #43 Inter Europol Competition led LMP2, followed by #29 TDS Racing and #28 IDEC Sport. #48 VDS Panis Racing was in the fifth place whilst #199 AO by TF had dropped out of the top 5.
Hour 14: #48 VDS Panis Racing led, with Inter Europol Competition in 2nd and #28 IDEC Sport in 3rd.
Hour 15–17: #43 Inter Europol Competition regained the lead, #48 VDS Panis Racing in 2nd, #28 IDEC Sport in 3rd. #199 AO by TF climbed to the top 3 after IDEC Sport’s issues (lost wheel).
Final Hour: #43 Inter Europol Competition received a drive-through penalty for pitlane speeding but maintained the lead after #48 VDS Panis Racing suffered mechanical issues (slow lap). #199 AO by TF secured 3rd, one lap down.
Inter Europol Competition’s early lead (Hour 1) and consistent pace kept it in the top 2 for most of the race.
Inter Europol Competition’s lead at Hour 14 and late-race issues suggest it was competitive but lost pace in the final hour.
AO by TF’s strong qualifying and steady climb to 3rd reflect its recovery after early challenges.

LMGT3

Hour 1: #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin led LMGT3, followed by #46 WRT BMW and #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari. #92 Manthey Porsche and #81 TF Sport Corvette were likely in the top 10.
Hour 15–17: #92 Manthey Porsche led LMGT3, maintaining a strong position. #21 and #81 climbed into the top 5.
Hour 18: #92 was in 3rd but took the lead by the end.
Final Hour: #92 Manthey Porsche won by 30 seconds over #21. #81 TF Sport Corvette secured 3rd, benefiting from consistent pace.
#92’s climb to the lead by Hour 15 reflects its strong pace and strategic pit stops.
Vista AF Corse’s early top-5 position and consistent run kept it in contention for the podium.
TF Sport Corvette’s steady progress to 3rd suggests reliability over outright speed.
Positions are interpolated based on limited updates, assuming gradual climbs.

Aston Martin

The 24 hours of Le Mans isn’t just about winning, for nearly every competitor finishing is the single most important aspect. Teams making their debut in the race will often suffer a true baptism of fire and this year all eyes were on the Aston Martin THOR Team with the #007 and #009 Valkyries. Having joined the FIA World Endurance Championship this year, Le Mans would be a real test, but the team was up to the challenge and both cars made it to the end of the race with relatively few dramas. Some observations about their performance include:

The Aston Martin Valkyries were slower than some LMP2 cars and focused on reliability in their Le Mans debut. No specific incidents (e.g., penalties or retirements) were reported for either car.
Hour 1–3: Both cars remained in the lower half of the Hypercar field (15th–20th), given their starting positions and pace challenges.
Hour 9 (Safety Car, 3:12 at night, Sunday): The safety car likely helped them gain positions by compressing the field, but they stayed outside the top 10.
Mid-Race (Hours 12–18): Gradual progress as other cars faced issues, with #009 slightly ahead due to its better starting position.
Final Hours: Both cars finished reliably, with #009 reaching 13th and #007 reaching 15th, likely benefiting from retirements or issues for others.

Pitstop Battleground

Endurance races are often won and lost in the pit lane and with multiple cars entering the final hours on the same lap, a solid pit stop strategy is more vital than ever.

The first key point is total pit time and the #83 Ferrari spent a total of 45 minutes 10.234 seconds of the race between pit in and pit out. The second-placed #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport was significantly quicker than the race winner, clocking in a total of 42 minutes and 6.870 seconds. The #51 Ferrari had the worst pit stop time losing nearly two minutes to the winner with a time of 47 minutes and 20.311 seconds.

It should also be noted that Alessandro Pier Guidi’s dramatic spin at the pit entry occurred prior to the timing point so the time he lost as he recovered from the gravel trap, would not have been recorded in the overall pit stop time. The #51’s slowest pit stop occurred at 5:48 on Sunday morning with a time of 1:40.620 which contrasted well with their average stop time of 1 minute 35 seconds. The #6 Porsche’s slowest pit stop occurred at 3:13 at night when they spent 1 minute 50.702 seconds in the pitlane. Their average time was also 1 minute 35 seconds. All of these paled in comparison with the #83’s slowest time which clocked in at a massive 3 minutes 51.728 seconds at 3:14 in the morning. This boosted their average pit stop time to 1 minute 41 seconds.

In LMP2 the winning #43 Inter Europol Competition team spent a total of 53 minutes and 58.265 seconds in the pits which included a 3 minute 41.517 second stop at 3:21 Sunday morning and also a drive-through penalty 27 minutes before the end which cost them 32.211 seconds.

Second-placed #48 VDS Panis Racing spent 48 minutes and 4.633 seconds in the pitlane with their longest stop being at 12:46 on Sunday with a stop 1 minute 39.218 seconds long which suggests they had a reliable run without too much need for repairs. It’s also interesting to note that none of the drivers went over and above with regard to stints. 33 stints were completed and no driver completed more than 3 consecutive stints.

The #199 AO by TF team completed 36 stints in a time of 50 minutes 51.409 seconds with their longest stop being 1:49.719.

Looking at the LMGT3 pit strategy we find that that the #92 Manthey Porsche completed 34 stops and spent a total time of 47 minutes 49.146 seconds in the pit lane. Their longest stop was 3 minutes and 21.741 seconds long at 3:14 in the morning and only two sub-1-minute stops: one of 32 seconds in length and the second 58 seconds in the final 20 minutes of the race. Runner-up #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari also completed 34 stops but was slightly quicker, spending 46 minutes 11.009 seconds on pitlane. Their longest stop was just 2 minutes 12.026 seconds at 3:19 Sunday morning, plus just two sub-1-minute stops, both in the 50-second range.

The third-placed #81 TF Sport Corvette also completed 34 pits stops and spent a total of 45 minutes 12.597 seconds in the pits, with their longest stop being just 1 minute 49.769 seconds at 3:13 nighttime.

One fact that becomes clearer as we look at the times is that all of the longest stops happened at around the same time, around 3:13 in the morning. This was the time of the only safety car period and it seems many teams took the opportunity to complete extended stops for extra checks and maintenance whilst losing a minimum amount of track time whilst the field followed the safety car around the track.

Teams versus the clock

The sector times show the difficulty of multiclass racing with not one car matching the time of its three best sectors, regardless of when they were completed, known as the ideal time. The closest came the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, which produced the best ideal lap of 3:25.812 but could only manage a best lap of 3:26.063, .251 seconds slower. The #83 AF Corse Ferrari produced the second fastest best lap, but could only manage the fourth best ideal lap just .453 seconds slower.

In LMP2, the race winner managed the third quickest ideal lap of 3:36.274 which was .174 of a second slower than their best lap. The best time in that class was set by the #16 RLR MSport, with an ideal time of 3:36.130 compared to an actual best time of 3:36.382, a difference of .252 seconds. These results also highlight the importance of reliability and consistency in endurance racing, as the #16 RLR MSport car finished the race in 29th and twelfth in class.

LMGT3 winners Manthey 1st Phorm produced the best ideal lap of 3:55.170 but were significantly off that time in their best lap, registering a time of 3:55.937, .767 seconds slower. The #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin had the next best ideal time of 3:55.224 and a best lap that was just .232 seconds slower.

With no car able to match their ideal time, we need to look at who came the closest. In Hypercar, that was the #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport that was .201 seconds slower than its ideal time. In LMP2 it was a closer battle, with the #29 TDS Racing getting within .104 of their ideal time while the #45 Algarve Pro Racing car was fractionally slower at .108 seconds.

In LMGT3, it was the #78 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3 that came within .143 seconds of their ideal time, with the #31 The Bend Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 just behind at .155 seconds. We already mentioned that the LMGT3 winners were over ¾ of a second off their ideal time, their teammates in the #90 Manthey Porsche were just .208 seconds short of their ideal time, although they were still beaten by the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3 which just got ahead of them with a time .203 seconds closer to their ideal time.

Drivers versus the clock

Looking at the individual driver sectors, and it seems that no one really dominated, although the best run was from Sebastian Bourdais in the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA. The hometown hero posted the second-fastest time in sector 1 and went quickest of all in sector 3. However, Bourdais wasn’t able to log a best time through sector 2, which was posted instead by co-driver Earl Bamber, although it was still only the thirteenth best sector 2 time. Nonetheless, it was still sufficient for the #38 Cadillac to take the fastest overall time on combined sectors whereas the race winner, the #83 Ferrari, posted only the fourth fastest lap yet showed some solid sector times from its drivers. Robert Kubica set the third-fastest time in sector 3, although he was still nearly half a second slower than Bourdais.

In sector 2, Kubica logged the fifth-best time whilst Yifei Ye took the sixth-best time in sector 1.

The fastest overall time through sector 1 was set by Miguel Molina in the #50 Ferrari 499P and Dries Vanthoor set the fastest overall time in sector 2 driving the #15 BMW M Team WRT Hybrid V8.

Driver Stints

Much was made after the race of the length of stint that Robert Kubica completed and it was certainly a remarkable effort from the Polish driver as the chart below illustrates.

The LMP2 winner also showed some interesting stint times, with Tom Dillmann doing the most consecutive stints, but Nick Yellowly completing the most time behind the wheel, 14 stints compared to Dillmann’s 12.

The #92 Manthey Porsche showed Ryan Hardwick shouldering much of the work in the first half of the race, allowing Lietz and Pera to tag team with fewer consecuetive stints to the end of the race in the second half.

Finally, it should also be noted that while there were numerous slow zones and full course yellows throughout the race, there was just one full safety car intervention, possibly a consequence of the race not experiencing any rain interruptions that are so common. This may also have helped the number of finishers in the race with just 12 retirements, plus one car not being classified, the #59 United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo which stopped out on track late in the race. Sadly there was also one disqualification, the front-running #50 Ferrari that failed scrutineering due to a mechanical issue that resulted in too much flex in its rear wing.