After being one of the dominant forces on the GT scene for the better part of the last five years, AF Corse broke through to score its first Le Mans class victory in GTE-Pro.

The Italian squad’s No. 51 Ferrari F458 Italia of Giancarlo Fisichella, Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander cruised to a three-lap victory over the No. 59 Luxury Racing Ferrari of Jaime Melo, Fred Makowiecki and Dominik Farnbacher, which came home in second.

AF Corse dominated the GTE-Pro ranks after Corvette Racing and Aston Martin Racing both hit trouble. (Photo: John Dagys)

It marked an incredible come-from-behind win for the team, which had to build a brand-new Prancing Horse following an accident by Fisichella in Wednesday’s practice.

"It didn't start very well on Wednesday when I crashed the car," Fisichella said. "Fortunately we changed the chassis. The mechanics did a fantastic job. They built a completely new car in less than 10 hours. I have to thank you very much to them... because I think without them, we couldn't win this race."

It marked former F1 star Fisichella's first victory at Le Mans, along with Finn Vilander, while Bruni earned his second class win following his triumph with Risi Competizione in 2008.

Aston Martin Racing completed the podium in third in its return to the GT ranks. The British squad’s No. 97 Aston Martin Vantage V8 of Darren Turner, Stefan Mucke and Adrian Fernandez enjoyed a relatively trouble-free run until the closing stages when it began leaking fluids on track but still managed to take the checkers.

The closest down-to-the-wire battle was seen in GTE-Am. While IMSA Performance Matmut's Porsche may have had the pace, a late driver change to gentleman driver Anthony Pons and subsequent puncture took the European Le Mans Series champions out of contention.

It handed the win to the No. 50 Larbre Competition Corvette C6.R of Pedro Lamy, Patrick Bornhauser and local Julien Canal, who earned his third consecutive class victory at La Sarthe.

"It's always a possibility to win when I race with [team owner] Jack Leconte," the ex-Peugeot factory driver said. "I won so much in the past with the team and being back racing with them, it's normal that I'm winning again. It's strange to say, but that's the reality."

Following its GT1 class victory in 2010 and last year's triumph in its debut with Corvette, it was also Larbre's third consecutive win at Le Mans.

Pons and co-drivers Nicolas Armindo and Raymond Narac salvaged a second place finish, ahead of the No. 57 Krohn Racing Ferrari F458 Italia of Tracy Krohn, Nic Jonsson and Michele Rugolo in third. It resulted in both full-season FIA WEC American teams on the podium in the double-points round.

ALMS Regulars Have Mixed Fortunes

The contingent of teams representing the American Le Mans Series endured a brutal race, as each of the five entries hit trouble over the course of the around-the-clock marathon.

Corvette Racing led the GTE-Pro ranks early, but a loose wheel for the No. 74 Corvette C6.R of Richard Westbrook in the 10th hour set off a series of dominoes, which included two overnight accidents and multiple trips to the garage.

Pratt & Miller’s sister factory Corvette required a lengthy stop to replace the steering rack during the night, which put Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Le Mans debutant Jordan Taylor out of the hunt for the class win.

The GTE-Am class pole-sitting No. 79 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche of Patrick Pilet and Spencer Pumpelly led the opening five hours but a crash by team principal Seth Neiman cost the trio more than 10 laps. The trio, though rebounded to finish fourth in class.

The Lizard’s GTE-Pro contender suffered misfortune virtually from the green flag, with an accident by Patrick Long, caused by spewed up gravel on-track, ending in retirement around midnight.

Following the misfortunes from Corvette and Flying Lizard, Level 5 Motorsports was flying the flag for the ALMS, running inside the top-six in LMP2, until team owner Scott Tucker ran out of fuel and was stranded on track and was also forced to retire with seven hours to go.

RESULTS: 80th Le Mans 24 Hours

John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at