Latest news with #PhilipHanson
News.com.au
4 hours ago
- Automotive
- News.com.au
Ferrari wins 2025 Le Mans 24 Hour with Robert Kubica
A fairytale drive by Robert Kubica secured Ferrari's third Le Mans win in as many years. Kubica, a Polish driver whose F1 career was cut short by a tragic accident, held off a fast-charging Porsche to take a famous victory. He lifted the winner's trophy with his left hand – because his right arm has little strength after it was partially severed in a 2011 crash. Kubica had a Ferrari F1 driver's contract in his pocket – metaphorically, at least – when he crashed out of a rally in Andorra. A roadside barrier sliced through his car, destroying the racer's right arm. British television host Jeremy Clarkson told viewers of The Grand Tour that Kubica 'broke every single bone on the right side of his body, had a 17 hour operation to put his arm back on again, and then 17 more operations after that, and his arm still doesn't work properly'. Kubica made it back to F1 but never got his chance with Ferrari. Until the brand signed him to drive its third car at Le Mans. This year, Kubica and co-drivers Philip Hanson and Ye Yifei beat the odds to win the world's most prestigious race in front of more than 300,000 spectators. After winning Le Mans, Kubica told reporters he was 'very lucky' to be able to drive after his near-fatal crash that left his right arm in a withered state. I know Le Mans is a three-driver race, but seeing Kubica take the ðŸ�� after this crash barrier went thru his arm in a rally crash and shattered his F1 title dreams, it’s an incredible story. A stunning driving talent and a really nice guy who truly loves the sport ðŸ'� — Jarvis (@JarvoB) June 15, 2025 'It took me quite a few years, not only to recover physically but also mentally,' he said. 'What happened happened and I have to accept it. One of the worst periods of my life was when my mind wouldn't accept the fact that my arm was failing.' They’ll have to make a movie about Robert Kubica one day. A trailblazer for Poland who took his country to the top of F1, nearly lost his life in a rally crash but kept racing and is now a Le Mans winner. Fairytale stuff #LeMans24 — Ed Spencer (@EdSpencer99) June 15, 2025 Motorsport outlets such as The Race described Kubica's crash and subsequent Le Mans victory as 'one of the most remarkable stories in motorsport history'. Fans posted on X that he was 'the ultimate hero', that Hollywood needs to 'make a movie' about Kubica's life story, and that they watched the final minutes of Le Mans through teary eyes. Have to say, I had tears in my eyes watching the finish of Le Mans. Robert Kubica deserved this win! Congrats to him and the team! — That Was Fast (@thatwasfastyt) June 15, 2025 Kubica was chased to the line by the Porsche of Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Australia's own Matt Campbell. Campbell passed two Ferraris late in the race to secure second place, handing over to co-driver Kevin Estre who closed the gap to Kubica, but could not get close enough to pass. Campbell told that 'we ran a perfect race today, with no mistakes, so we've got to be proud of what we achieved'. 'We gave it everything,' he said. Le Mans is exploding in popularity for manufacturers looking to take on endurance racing. Ford, McLaren and Genesis have announced plans to join the race in the next couple of years,a dding to a grid that already includes Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, Cadillac, Aston Martin, Peugeot and Alpine. Australian fans cheered on young racer Cameron McLeod in support races in the lead-up to the race. McLeod won Ford's Mustang Challenge races from pole position, taking the chequered flag ahead of Ford competitors from around the globe.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Robert Kubica seals emotional Le Mans 24 Hours victory for Ferrari
Poland's Robert Kubica sealed a deserved place in motor racing history as he took victory – alongside China's Ye Yifei and Britain's Philip Hanson – at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Hard fought with a relentless determination that has matched his refusal to be cowed after a life-threatening accident, his victory also secured an impressive third consecutive win for Ferrari at the 93rd edition of the vingt-quatre. The victory after 387 laps for the No 83 privateer Ferrari 499P, run by the Scuderia's works partner AF Corse, was the first overall win at Le Mans for drivers from Poland and China and will make Ye a household name in his home country, while for the 25-year-old Hanson it is a career high point in only his second run in the top, hypercar, category. Advertisement Related: Chadwick encouraged by female participation in motorsport before Le Mans debut However, it was surely of greatest import to Kubica for whom it was an understandably emotional moment. The victory was a triumph for a driver who has fought tirelessly to continue his career after he was seriously injured in a crash at the Andora Rally in 2011, leading to the partial amputation of his forearm. It all but ended his burgeoning F1 career, when he was set to join Ferrari the following year. However, he demonstrated immense fortitude, not least in returning to racing only a year later and now sealing a win in the greatest sportscar race of them all, putting in an exhausting five stints for more than three hours in the final phase of the race. Vindication for a driver Lewis Hamilton rated as one of the most talented he had raced. It was clear that tired as he was, nothing could have stopped Kubica from closing out the race himself. 'We deserve it. Happy for Ferrari. Three years in a row with three different crews, it is amazing,' he said. 'I was not supposed to do five stints at the end of the race. It is three hours and something in the car but fortunately I was able to control everything with a cool head, no mistakes and managed to bring it home.' Advertisement Moreover it was achieved in an enormously competitive field at the Circuit de la Sarthe. The hypercar class at Le Mans is in absolutely rude health, with eight major manufacturers now competing and three more, including Ford and McLaren, likely to join by 2027. The intensity of the competition at the race was immense with the cars running at sprint race pace solidly, with only one safety car deployed and nothing in it at the sharp end. At the close the No 83 took the flag by just 14 seconds from the second-placed No 6 Porsche of Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Matt Campbell, with the Ferrari No 51 of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi in third and the No 50 Ferrari of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen fourth, all within 30 seconds of the lead after a full 24 hours. Ferrari would doubtless have preferred one of their works cars to have taken the honours and that had looked the most likely result for some time but, regardless, it was a prancing horse that won, their car once more a formidable competitor. In race pace it was indomitable, consistently leading and holding down the top three slots for long periods for their third win since they returned to the top flight at Le Mans in 2023 after a 50-year hiatus. A remarkable achievement for the Scuderia who had previously last won at La Sarthe in their heyday when they took six victories in a row between 1960 and 1965. Being Ferrari, there was of course drama too. Kubica and his colleagues had been aggrieved when Ferrari issued team orders in favour of the works cars in the mid-period of the race and doubtless felt some sense of justice when the race fell in their favour and they seized their chance. Advertisement With just under four hours remaining Pier Guidi had looked comfortable leading the three Ferraris, albeit with little to choose between them, when in a tiny but enormously costly misjudgement, he overcooked it into the chicane leading into the pit lane, clipped the kerb, spun and was left in the gravel. He was able to resume but the lead was gone and the No83 car took to the front. Yet the fight continued to the flag at unforgiving pace, the three Ferrari's hunted down by the No 6 Porsche which as the race entered the final two hours was able to move up to second place. Indeed the Porsche squad had thrown everything at the Ferraris. Having started at the very back of the hypercar field after being disqualified from qualifying for being underweight, a fired-up Estre launched an absolutely mammoth assault from the moment Roger Federer waved the tricolour to start the race on Saturday afternoon. He was decisive and committed and in a field of 21 cars, featuring works entries from Toyota, Alpine, Peugeot, Cadillac, BMW and Aston Martin, had moved up to third by the end of the second hour and was in the mix from then on. Indeed the No6 did hold the lead at times as the race ebbed and flowed against Ferrari, who ultimately just had the edge. Advertisement The Porsche duly pushed to the last, the final moments impossibly tense as the minutes inexorably counted down but appropriately it was Kubica behind the wheel to see his team home with familiarly steely resolve. In the LMP2 class the Inter Europol Competition Oreca of Tom Dillmann, Jakub Smiechowski and Nick Yelloly took the flag. The LMGT3 category was won by the Manthey Porsche of Richard Lietz, Riccardo Pera and Ryan Hardwick.
France 24
16 hours ago
- Automotive
- France 24
Kubica steers Ferrari to third consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans
In a thrilling 93rd edition of the race, which saw the top four separated by just over 20 seconds going into the final 15 minutes, Kubica and his co-drivers Philip Hanson and Ye Yifei (#83) finished just 14.084sec ahead of a Porsche (#6) driven by Kevin Estre, Matt Campbell and Laurens Vanthoor. All three drivers of #83 are first-time winners with Kubica, whose F1 career was effectively terminated by a harrowing rally crash in Andorra in 2011, becoming the first Polish winner and Ye the first from China. "It's been a long 24 hours but an enjoyable one. Grazie mille, grazie a tutti," said the 40-year-old Kubica over the team radio. The two factory Ferraris driven by driven by Antonio Giovinazzi (#51) and Antonio Fuoco (#50), who were tipped to win the race, crossed the line for third and fourth, thwarted in their bid for a clean sweep of the podium, something they had achieved twice before in 1961 and 1965. "Winning Le Mans is special," Kubica told TNT Sports. "It's been a demanding week. We made everything possible. We kept our heads down when we had to push, and when not we took care of the tyres. "I'm happy for myself, my team-mates, AF Corse and Ferrari winning three times in row. A better scenario, we could not have." It was certainly a good day for Ferrari but there will undoubtedly be some at headquarters in Maranello who might take issue with Kubica. As the winning car was not entered directly by the manufacturer, but by the AF Corse team, Ferrari will not take the points for victory in the World Endurance Championship. Cadillac locked out the front row of the grid but #12 of Will Stephens, who had taken pole, had to settle for fifth with the second car (#38), featuring former Formula One world champion Jensen Button, coming home in eighth. Kubica's #83 started back in 13th place but immediately made inroads through the field as Estre marched his #6 Porsche brilliantly up to join the front runners from 21st on the grid. The two factory Ferraris then asserted themselves and the 2023 winners in #51 appeared to be in control until Alessandro Pier Guidi spun the race-leading car while entering the pit lane inside the final quarter of the race. That cost them valuable time and their hopes of winning were ended when they had a power loss in the final hour.
The Guardian
16 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Guardian
Robert Kubica seals emotional Le Mans 24 Hours victory for Ferrari
Poland's Robert Kubica sealed a deserved place in motor racing history as he took victory – alongside China's Ye Yifei and Britain's Philip Hanson – at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Hard fought with a relentless determination that has matched his refusal to be cowed after a life-threatening accident, his victory also secured an impressive third consecutive win for Ferrari at the 93rd edition of the vingt-quatre. The victory after 387 laps for the No 83 privateer Ferrari 499P, run by the Scuderia's works partner AF Corse, was the first overall win at Le Mans for drivers from Poland and China and will make Ye a household name in his home country, while for the 25-year-old Hanson it is a career high point in only his second run in the top, hypercar, category. However, it was surely of greatest import to Kubica for whom it was an understandably emotional moment. The victor was a triumph for a driver who has fought tirelessly to continue his career after he was seriously injured in a crash at the Andora Rally in 2011, leading to the partial amputation of his forearm. It all but ended his burgeoning F1 career, when he was set to join Ferrari the following year. However, he demonstrated immense fortitude, not least in returning to racing only a year later and now sealing a win in the greatest sportscar race of them all, putting in an exhausting five stints for more than three hours in the final phase of the race. Vindication for a driver Lewis Hamilton rated as one of the most talented he had raced. It was clear that tired as he was, nothing could have stopped Kubica from closing out the race himself. 'We deserve it. Happy for Ferrari. Three years in a row with three different crews, it is amazing,' he said. 'I was not supposed to do five stints at the end of the race. It is three hours and something in the car but fortunately I was able to control everything with a cool head, no mistakes and managed to bring it home.' Moreover it was achieved in an enormously competitive field at the Circuit de la Sarthe. The hypercar class at Le Mans is in absolutely rude health, with eight major manufacturers now competing and three more, including Ford and McLaren, likely to join by 2027. The intensity of the competition at the race was immense with the cars running at sprint race pace solidly, with only one safety car deployed and nothing in it at the sharp end. At the close the No 83 took the flag by just 14 seconds from the second-placed No 6 Porsche of Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Matt Campbell, with the Ferrari No 51 of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi in third and the No 50 Ferrari of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen fourth, all within 30 seconds of the lead after a full 24 hours. Ferrari would doubtless have preferred one of their works cars to have taken the honours and that had looked the most likely result for some time but, regardless, it was a prancing horse that won, their car once more a formidable competitor. In race pace it was indomitable, consistently leading and holding down the top three slots for long periods for their third win since they returned to the top flight at Le Mans in 2023 after a 50-year hiatus. A remarkable achievement for the Scuderia who had previously last won at La Sarthe in their heyday when they took six victories in a row between 1960 and 1965. Being Ferrari, there was of course drama too. Kubica and his colleagues had been aggrieved when Ferrari issued team orders in favour of the works cars in the mid-period of the race and doubtless felt some sense of justice when the race fell in their favour and they seized their chance. With just under four hours remaining Pier Guidi had looked comfortable leading the three Ferraris, albeit with little to choose between them, when in a tiny but enormously costly misjudgement, he overcooked it into the chicane leading into the pit lane, clipped the kerb, spun and was left in the gravel. He was able to resume but the lead was gone and the No83 car took to the front. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion Yet the fight continued to the flag at unforgiving pace, the three Ferrari's hunted down by the No 6 Porsche which as the race entered the final two hours was able to move up to second place. Indeed the Porsche squad had thrown everything at the Ferraris. Having started at the very back of the hypercar field after being disqualified from qualifying for being underweight, a fired-up Estre launched an absolutely mammoth assault from the moment Roger Federer waved the tricolour to start the race on Saturday afternoon. He was decisive and committed and in a field of 21 cars, featuring works entries from Toyota, Alpine, Peugeot, Cadillac, BMW and Aston Martin, had moved up to third by the end of the second hour and was in the mix from then on. Indeed the No6 did hold the lead at times as the race ebbed and flowed against Ferrari, who ultimately just had the edge. The Porsche duly pushed to the last, the final moments impossibly tense as the minutes inexorably counted down but appropriately it was Kubica behind the wheel to see his team home with familiarly steely resolve. In the LMP2 class the Inter Europol Competition Oreca of Tom Dillmann, Jakub Smiechowski and Nick Yelloly took the flag. The LMGT3 category was won by the Manthey Porsche of Richard Lietz, Riccardo Pera and Ryan Hardwick.
