GTE Am was a war of attrition, won by Corvette Racing and its polesitting No. 33 C8.R. Ben Keating, Nico Varrone and Nicky Catsburg were by far the best trio in the field on pace, but it was not a simple victory. A damper failure in hour two forced the car into the garage for attention, costing it two laps.
The rest of the race saw a spirited fightback through the hotly-contested 21-car class, with all three drivers fast and fault-free, climbing back onto the lead lap and into the class lead with a combination of pace and safety car cycles.
“I thought we were out of it,” Catsburg said after the race. “We were joking that we should go home early. But we didn’t give in and somehow we were back in the game by morning. I can’t believe it.”
It was a historic ninth class win for Corvette in the final GTE race at La Sarthe. The GTE platform will be missed by many, after so many memorable contests, but this race was at least a worthy tribute to the category that has been the backbone of ACO-rules GT racing since the start of the FIA WEC era. There were too many incidents for anyone’s liking, but in general, the racing was fast and furious, and the result was impossible to predict until the final few hours when Corvette was so far ahead they didn’t lose the lead when cycling through pit stops.
By the flag, Corvette finished a lap ahead, Catsburg and Varonne proving to be mercurial late in the race when the task was to build a lead after getting back on the lead lap.
Varonne’s performance must be noted here. The young Argentinian, at his first Le Mans with the team, brushed off his free practice incident in fine style. Towards the end of the race, with the win on the line, he set the fastest lap of the week in GTE Am — faster than anyone managed in qualifying. The result of his final stint was a welcome party from the Corvette mechanics in the garage after he climbed out to hand the C8.R to Catsburg.
Coming home second in class was the No. 25 ORT by TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage of Charlie Eastwood, Ahmad Al Harthy and Michael Dinan, which was in the running throughout and solidified second in the final hours when Charlie Eastwood was installed and tasked with catching and passing the Iron Dames Porsche that dropped to fourth after a lengthy stop at the end.
No win for Tom Ferrier’s team on this occasion, but it was a really impressive outcome for a crew made up of two rookies in Dinan and Al Harthy, along with Eastwood, who had been absent from the grid since 2020. Eastwood at times was the class of the field, and played a major part in securing this fine result, the first podium for an Omani-flagged team.
GR Racing’s finishing position was equally pleasing. The British-flagged team, which has been loyal to the WEC since its inaugural season, recovered from an early off (while leading) in the Porsche Curves during rain showers to complete the podium. Riccardo Pera came home just 5s ahead of the all-female crewed Iron Dames Porsche after a nervy finish, which saw the bright pink 911 RSR drop out of podium contention after a delay at its final stop.
The No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari ended up completing the top five, fading in the closing stages after spending much of the race in the running for a podium.
Further down the order in GTE Am it was a story of accidents and misfortune, with only nine of the 21 cars in the category finishing. The heavy rain on Saturday caused many incidents, the changing conditions catching out so many drivers. There were some major incidents too, including the No. 21 AF Corse’s big off into the No. 3 Cadillac at Dunlop that caused the GMB Aston Martin to go off in avoidance. The No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari also had a major moment in the rain, Lilou Wadoux exiting the race at high speed at the Porsche Curves, aquaplaning backwards in the first deluge.
It was a disastrous race for the newly-signed Ford GT3 team Proton Competition. All four of its 911 RSRs had heavy crashes and retired. It will have to regroup fast before Monza, where the team will make its Hypercar debut with a customer Porsche 963.
The Garage 56 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 spent most of the race mixing it with the GTE Am cars, and looked set to finish ahead of all the GT cars and behind the LMP2 field, before a gearbox issue forced the car into the pits for a complete change. Completing 285 laps and staying out of trouble even when the weather was changing rapidly was a huge achievement for the John Doonan-led team.
The car was a star of this show, wowing crowds and standing out all week. The attention and coverage the entry generated was a real feat considering the magnitude of the centenary and the attention paid to the top class.