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Hour 24: Bentley takes dominant victory

The number 7 Bentley, co-driven by Tom Kristensen, Guy Smith and Rinaldo Capello has come home to take a dominant victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours. It marked the British marque's first win at the Circuit de la Sarthe since 1930, although Kristensen also made history, becoming the first driver to win the event four straight years

Smith took it easy at the wheel of the Bentley in the final 60 minutes of the race, able to relax with a secure three-lap cushion back to the sister car of David Brabham, Mark Blundell and Johnny Herbert.

If the final hour of the event was relaxing for the front-runners, the battle for fifth behind the two privateer Audis certainly wasn't. Gunnar Jeannette's Panoz and Jean Marc Gounon's Courage-Judd fought wildly in the closing laps, with side-by-side action more befitting a sprint race than the final moments of a 24 hour enduro, with the Panoz eventually emerging victorious.

The faultless Veloqx Prodriver Ferrari came home to take a massive victory in the GTS class, ahead of the works Chevrolet Corvette duo.

The plucky Noel del Bello Reynard-Lehmann claimed the LMP675 honours, by virtue of not breaking down when all its rivals did. In the GT class, the Alex Job Racing Porsche held on to claim victory.

Kristensen/Capello/Smith Bentley 377 laps
Brabham/Herbert/Blundell Bentley 375 laps
Pirro/Lehto/Johansson Audi 372 laps
Ara/Magnussen/Werner Audi 370 laps
Beretta/Jeannette/Papis Panoz 360 laps
Lammers/Bosch/Wallace Dome-Judd 360 laps
Cochet/Gounon/Gregoire Courage-Judd 360 laps
Boullion/Lagorce/Sarrazin Courage-Peugeot 356 laps
Helary/Ayari/Minassian Courage-Peugeot 352 laps
Kox/Enge/Davies Ferrari 550* 336 laps

* GTS class

Kox/Enge/Davies Ferrari 550 336 laps
Gavin/Pilgrim/Collins Corvette 326 laps
Fellows/O Connell/Freon Corvette 326 laps

Andre/Maury-Laribiere/Pillon Reynard-Lehmann 319 laps
Nielsen/Shimoda/Elgaard DBA-Zytek 288 laps
Terada/Porta/Pickering WR 235 laps

Luhr/Maassen/Collard Porsche 320 laps
Hindery/Baron/Lieb Porsche 314 laps
Neugarten/Smith/Khan Porsche 305 laps

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