Word came Monday of a shakeup in the final results for the 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 class. The No. 26 G-Drive Racing Oreca 07-Gibson, co-driven by Jean-Eric Vergne, Andrea Pizzitola and Roman Rusinov, led nearly the entire race, and for all three drivers, it marked what would have been their first victory in the race. However, officials disqualified the car after modifications to their fueling rig.
That elevated the No. 36 Signatech Alpine A470 Gibson of Nicholas Lapierre, Andre Negrao and Pierre Thiriet to the victory. Here’s a little information on the new winners.
Nicolas Lapierre now has three victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, all in LMP2 (also won in 2015 and 2016). Lapierre joined a short list of drivers who have won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring in class in the same season. The Frenchman was part of the 2018 overall victory at Sebring with Pipo Derani and Johannes van Overbeek; Lapierre also won the race overall in 2011.
Pierre Thiriet earned his first career victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and his third career podium in the race; he also finished second in 2012 and 2014.
With Lapierre and Thiriet winning, it marks the fourth consecutive year that at least one of the LMP2 class winners was French-born. Thomas Laurent co-won the 2017 race. The statistic had already been extended with Vergne and Pizzitola’s initial result. A French-born driver has also been part of a win in at least one class in nine consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans races, dating back to the 2009 event.
Andrea Negrao celebrated his 26th birthday with his first career victory and second straight podium at Le Mans; he finished third in his rookie campaign in 2017, also co-driving with Lapierre. Negrao gave Brazil a class victory in its second consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans; Daniel Serra was triumphant in the LMGTE-Pro class last year, with Darren Turner and Jonathan Adam.
To view the full results from the official 24 Hours of Le Mans website, click here.
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