2020 Le Mans 24 Hours Live Updates

By: Jake Boxall-Legge

Summary


	Toyota's #8 car scores the marque's third successive victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours
	Buemi and Nakajima become three-time winners, Hartley a double winner; #7 car of Conway/Lopez/Kobayashi finishes third after turbo problems shortly after half-distance
	The #22 United Autosports ORECA of Di Resta/Hanson/Albuquerque survives late splash and dash to claim LMP2 victory and seal the WEC title
	#97 Aston Martin of Lynn/Martin/Tincknell romps to victory in GTE Pro over the #51 Ferrari
	#90 TF Sport Aston controls GTE Am for first Aston class victory since 2014

Status: Stopped

16:06 Until next time, it's goodbye from us!

16:05 We'll have all the news, opinion and reaction from the race on Autosport.com and in this week's Autosport magazine, out in shops on Thursday.

16:04 Thanks so much to everybody who has followed along with us over the last 24-and-a-bit hours. Let's hopefully do this all again next June, shall we?

15:59 And here's the race report.

Le Mans 24 Hours: Nakajima, Buemi, Hartley secure hat-trick of wins for Toyota

Toyota Gazoo Racing has completed a hat-trick of wins at the 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours as Kazuki Nakajima, Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley piloted the #8 to victory

15:57 The trophy is hoisted by the three drivers and Toyota representative - always an awkward feat getting everybody visible around the massive structure for the traditional podium photograph.

15:57 Indeed, it could have been a Rebellion 2-3 without that moment earlier on for Deletraz at Indianapolis.

15:56 A nice moment for Rebellion there to finish second on its Le Mans swansong. Just one tantalising step away from one of the great Le Mans upsets.

15:53 The LMP1 podium finishers now climb onto the rostrum - a weird spectacle without the usual rush of fans onto the start-finish straight.

15:51 We understand that the problem for the #71 car was gearbox-related. A bitter pill for that team to swallow - and gives the #92 Porsche crew a minor boost in the standings to reduce its deficit to the #95 Aston Martin.

15:49

15:48

15:48 There are scenes of jubilation down at Toyota - the sight of the #8 car beneath the podium is becoming a familiar sight after so many years of hurt. It's a perfect way too to see off the TS050 at Le Mans which, admittedly against limited opposition in recent years, has still delivered the goods.

15:46 If the numbers are indeed correct, this should wrap up the LMP2 title for the #22 United Autosports car - and for Albuquerque and Hanson. Di Resta missed the Fuji round earlier in the season.

15:41 Hartley and Buemi clamber onto the roof of the winning Toyota which tours slowly down the pitlane to take the applause of the assembled teams in the pits.

15:38 Looks like Rigon didn't make it across the line in the #71 Ferrari which was running fourth. In shades of 2016 for Toyota, it has to complete the last lap to be classified so is bumped back to P7 in the GTE-Pro standings.

15:36 And GTE Am victory goes to TF Sport and Charlie Eastwood - a superb victory for the team, which is now the reigning winner of both British GT classes and its class in the biggest sportscar race of them all. Significantly, it's also the first Am class victory for an Aston since 2014.

15:34 Aston Martin coordinate for both its cars to cross the line together as the #97 Vantage of Lynn/Martin/Tincknell deliver a fairly dominant victory - a second class win for Tincknell on his first appearance with AMR.

15:34 Hanson claims victory for the #22 United Autosports team, after that heart-in-mouth finish as the team had to pit.

15:33 It's a third consecutive win for Toyota, a third win for Buemi and Nakajima and a second win for Hartley.

15:32 Kazuki Nakajima brings the #8 Toyota to the line to win the 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours!

15:30 Teams gathering expectantly on the pitwall ready to wave their cars home.

15:29 It's the final lap.

15:28 Lynn stroking it home now in the GTE Pro leading #97 Aston. He's won the Sebring 12 Hour and the Macau GP, but this will surely be the biggest achievement of his career to date.

15:27 Nakajima is told he has two laps remaining.

15:27 Davidson's coming in! Jota blinks and brings in the #38 car, cementing the LMP2 lead for United Autosports.

15:26 Nielsen seems unable to do anything about Campbell in the battle for second in GTE Am, the gap fairly stable at around 3s.

15:24 Hanson skips across the Dunlop chicane, which might have been a bit heavy-handed. Regardless, he keeps the lead - and you can see Albuquerque in the garage barely able to keep cool.

15:23 The fastest GT lap of the race for Alex Lynn on a 3m50.321s. That just shows what pace Aston had up its sleeve in qualifying if it had wanted to use it - half a second faster than Bruni's pole time!

15:22 Hanson leaves the pits. Davidson is in the final corners - but Hanson MIGHT just have it.

15:21 Hanson is being asked to box for a "splash of fuel". It'll be absolutely neck-and-neck when Hanson gets back on track, as he pits.

15:17 After all of that excitement in GTE Am, Eastwood has a 1 minute advantage out front ahead of Campbell, with Nielsen two seconds back in third and Cairoli another 5s back following that contact.

15:16 Davidson is told that it'll be "a battle off the pitlane", which means he might have to stop too. Either way, Hanson's trying to gun it to make sure he gets enough of a buffer.

15:15 Calado now pits from second for a final splash and dash in the #51 Ferrari. Lynn comfortably clear ahead thanks to that last safety car shakeup.

15:14 Hanson, at the head of the LMP2 field, has to come in and stop - and he's being told to push. Davidson is 50s behind, and Hanson needs more than that to be sure of retaining the lead after a splash & dash.

15:13 Contact! Bit of a lunge from Cairoli - clearly fired up by Nielsen gaining an advantage by driving off-track at the second Mulsanne chicane - into the Ford chicane and the two bang doors like a couple of Honda Civic FK2s at Thruxton. Cairoli is sent into a half-spin and loses momentum, allowing Campbell to escape up ahead.

15:13 The #7 Toyota and the #3 Rebellions come in for their final splashes of fuel. That'll see them to the end.

15:12 At the front of the LMP2 field, Davidson is 50s away from Hanson. It's between these two at this point - the Panis car of Vaxiviere is too far behind to factor in the fight for class victory.

15:11 Change for position! Campbell gets ahead of Cairoli into the second Mulsanne chicane but overshoots the corner. Nielsen follows suit but doesn't back out and keeps the pressure on Cairoli into Mulsanne Corner, prompting the #56 car to run wide and drop to fourth.

15:10 The #1 Rebellion comes in for a final fuel stop. It has a lap over the #7 Toyota, so it can make that call relatively risk-free. On the subject of Rebellions, the earlier problem with the #3 WAS the clutch.

15:09 This is a 20 minute sprint to the finish in Am - fantastic racing between the Porsches and the #83 Ferrari through slower GT traffic.