Porsche prevails in the rain: Lone Star Le Mans 2025 delivers drama, strategy and shifting momentum
Imagery courtesy of FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) via X
The race began under heavy rain with the first hour run entirely behind the safety car. A 42 minute red flag followed due to race control confusion and aquaplaning incidents, including multiple cars sliding off at the esses. In total, there were six safety car periods leaving two hours and 47 minutes of green flag racing.
The #83 AF Corse Ferrari started on pole and led early but was shuffled back due to a slow pit stop as well as a penalty for a stop infringement. The #51 factory Ferrari took over the lead mid-race but was later compromised by contact and a puncture during a late restart. Both cars dropped down the order with the #51 recovering to P5 and the #83 finishing P7 though the latter clinched the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams.
On the penultimate restart. Kevin Estre in the #6 Porsche 963 made a decisive mover on Alessandro Pier Guidi at turn one, resulting in contact and a puncture for the Ferrari. Estre pulled away in the final hour surviving one more safety car and securing Porsche’s first win of the season alongside team mates Matt Campbell and Laurens Vanthoor. The #50 Ferrari salvaged second, while Peugeot’s #94 and #93 entries delivered a surprise 3-4 finish marking their strongest collective result to date.
Estre, Vanthoor and Campbell delivered a clinical final stint in the #6 Porsche 963 overtaking Ferrari’s Pier Guidi plus surviving late race chaos to secure Porsche Penske Motorsport’s first WEC win of the season. The victory came after a season of near misses and marked a turning point in Porsche’s Hypercar campaign. Starting deep in the pack after a wet tyre gamble backfired in qualifying, the #12 Cadillac carved through the field. It briefly rain podium contention before a late driver change dropped it to P8 just behind its sister car in P6.
Sotffel Vandoorne in the #94 Peugeot 9XB snatched second from Ferrari’s Miguel Molina during the final pit cycle, only to be repassed with six laps to go. Peugeot still celebrated a historic 3-4 finish, their best result since joining WEC. Balance of performance tweaks and relentless rain created a level playing field, allowing Peugeot and Cadillac to challenge Ferrari’s dominance. The race featured six safety cars, a red flag and just two hours 47 minutes of green flag running testing every team’s wet weather strategy.
The newly introduced hard compound from Goodyear, designed for high load circuits and extreme climates faced its most demanding test yet in torrential rain. Feedback was mixed with some LMGT3 team praised its durability while others struggled with grip and warm up phases in the cooler, soaked conditions. Under WEC’s driver compensation ballast system, both Lexus and Aston Martin carried extra weight due to crew averages below the reference threshold. This impacted stint pace and tyre degradation, especially in the early phases when track conditions were at their worst.
Peugoet’s #94 crew executed a bold undercut during the final pit cycle, briefly jumping Ferrari’s #50 for second place. Though Molina reclaimed the spot for Ferrari in the closing laps, Peugeot celebrated a 3-4 finish their strongest yet in Hypercar. With six safety cars and a red flag, the race became a chess match of tyre calls, pit timing and adaptability. Teams that anticipated drying lines or timed their stops around caution periods gained massive track position underscoring how wet weather mastery can flip the competitive order.
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