Ferrari has just delivered a masterclass at the 92nd running of Le Mans.
The #50 Ferrari 499P, driven by Nickas Nielsen, Antonio Fuoco, and Miguel Molina, took the chequered flag, leaving a 14-second margin over the #7 Toyota GR010 HYBRID.
Ferrari came out of the gates blazing, with all three 499Ps, including the AF Corse-entered customer entry, charging to the front in the opening hour.
The #50 factory car and the #83 customer entry made a bold decision to stay out when rain hit briefly on Saturday evening, catapulting them ahead as others scrambled to switch back to slicks.
Drama struck in the penultimate hour when the right-side door of the #50 Ferrari began flapping wildly, prompting race control to show a black-and-orange flag.
Nielsen was forced to pit just six laps into his stint but managed to maintain the lead over the #7 Toyota. A stroke of luck, Lopez spun at the Dunlop Curve, eliminating Toyota's final chance at victory.
As night fell at La Sarthe, the race was neutralised after Dries Vanthoor's #15 BMW crashed at Mulsanne. Two hours and several barrier replacements later, the action resumed.
Rain and fog added to the challenge, with Toyota, Porsche, and Ferrari all taking turns at the front.
The break of dawn saw the race go green again. The #50 Ferrari surged ahead in the 18th hour before the final rain shower, with Fuoco overtaking both the #83 Ferrari and the #5 Porsche of Frederic Makowiecki to claim the top spot.
The battle for the podium was intense, with Pier Guidi in the #51 Ferrari fending off serious pressure from Laurens Vanthoor in the #6 Porsche 963.
Despite a five-second penalty for colliding with Brendon Hartley's #8 Toyota, Pier Guidi managed to secure third place for the #51 Ferrari, shared with James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi.
Porsche, despite being the pre-race favourites, had to settle for fourth, with Vanthoor finishing just 1.1 seconds behind Pier Guidi.
Cadillac emerged as a surprise contender on Sunday afternoon, with a well-timed pit stop putting the #2 V-Series.R in the lead.
However, rain in the final hours levelled the playing field, and Alex Palou eventually brought the #2 Cadillac home in seventh place.
Hypercar Class
Lamborghini made a solid, if unremarkable, debut in the Hypercar class with its Iron Lynx-run factory squad. The #63 Lamborghini finished 10th, while the sister #19 car ended up in 13th.
Peugeot endured a troubled outing with their new 9X8 2024, struggling for pace and facing multiple penalties.
LMP2 and LMGT3 Classes
In the LMP2 class, the #22 United Autosports ORECA claimed victory, while Porsche scored yet another WEC win in the LMGT3 class with the #91 Manthey EMA 911 GT3 R taking top honours.
It was a battle to the end, with late-race rain and incidents shaking up the order.
All photo credits goes to their respective owners