Former Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica took victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours with a privately entered Ferrari.
The number 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, also driven by China's Yifei Ye and Britain's Phil Hanson, took the checkered flag 14.084 seconds ahead of the number six Porsche 963 driven by France's Kevin Estre.
Robert Kubica, once considered one of the world's best F1 drivers as part of a group of young drivers which included Lewis Hamilton, won the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix for BMW-Sauber.
But three years later, as an established F1 driver for Renault, Kubica suffered life-changing injuries in a rallying crash which seriously compromised his right wrist.
The No. 51 Ferrari 499P driven by Antonio Giovinazzi secured third place, while the sister car No. 50 driven by Antonio Fuoco finished in fourth.
Both factory Ferraris, who had been competing for the victory until the final hour, were nursing problems in the final stages.
It is the third consecutive victory at Le Mans for the 499P, which won in the top class. for the first time in 50 years in 2023 - the 100th anniversary of the famous race.
Kubica, 40, who drove a long final stint, said over team radio: "It's been a long 24 hours but an enjoyable one - thank you very much, thank you to everyone."
Winning Le Mans is special," he added later to 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 teammates, AF Corse, and Ferrari winning three times in a row. We could not have had a better scenario.
The sold-out race, which sees around 300,000 fans gather in north-west France, was a soporific event in 2025, with fewer incidents and accidents between the 62 cars which began the race than usual.
The Cadillacs of Hertz Team Jota, who secured a front-row lockout in qualifying, finished fifth and eighth - the latter with the 38 car including 2009 Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button as one of the drivers.
V12 roars back to life at Le Mans
Sports cars have seen a big resurgence in popularity since the introduction of the 'hypercar' class in 2021, with many top car manufacturers returning to the grid to benefit from more open designs, controlled by the 'balance of performance' rule.
Ferrari, Peugeot, Alpine, Cadillac, Porsche, Aston Martin, and BMW have all returned in recent years, joining Toyota.
Hyundai will join the hypercar class next year - under the Genesis brand - with hypercars from Ford and McLaren arriving in 2027.
In a largely uneventful race, one of the most exciting prospects was the return of Aston Martin in the top hypercar class, with the 007 and 009 Valkyrie.
The V12 6.5 liter engines have wowed fans with their aggressive, high-pitched engine note and bodywork design reminiscent of sports cars in their 1970s heyday.
The low finishing position was largely expected by the team, who were happy to see both cars complete the 24 hours of racing.
Aston Martin's drivers included highly rated British drivers Harry Tincknell, Tom Gamble, and Ross Gunn.
Between the sound of the Valkyrie and the Cadillac V Series' muscle-car grunt, the hypercar class is proving popular beyond the famous event at Le Mans, with more tickets being sold at the other seven events as part of the World Endurance Championship season.
In the LMP2 class prototype category, Inter Europol's car number 43 secured the win. Earlier in the race, Britain's Jamie Chadwick, who won in the W Series, retired the Idec Sport car number 18.
The LMGT3 class was won by the Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3, with Richard Leitz of Austria crossing the line.
The next round of the World Endurance Championship is the Six Hours of São Paulo on July 13.
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