Bruce Booth reports from Le Mans 2015

THE clouds thickened and rain threatened towards the end of the twice around the clock endurance classic but it certainly didn't dampen the spirits of the No.19 Porsche Team 919 Hybrid with its black, white and grey livery, driven beautifully by New Zealander Earl Bamber, German Niko Hulkenberg and Bedford-born Nick Tandy, who took victory at the Le Mans 24 hour race 2015 in style.

It was the first Le Mans win for all three drivers, and while the Englishman made his debut at the track in 2011, Bamber and Hulkenberg were both rookies.

The No.17 bright red sister car, with Mark Webber, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley, were hard on their tail in second place.

Defending race winners Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer were third in the No.7 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro.

Porsche's victory in the 85 running of the classic endurance race was win number 17 for the German marque - a performance unmatched by any other manufacturer in the history of the event.

After a dominating performance, the No.47 KCMG Oreca with Frenchman Nicolas Lapierre and British drivers Matthew Howson and Richard Bradley took the win in the LM P2 class, making it the first ever win for a Hong Kong team at the legendary Le Mans race.

Last year's winners, the No.38 Jota Sport Gibson 015S Nissan, with New Zealander Mitch Evans and British pair Simon Dolan and Oliver Turvey, were second.

G-Drive Racing's No.26 Ligier JS P2 Nissan was third with drivers Roman Rusinov, Julien Canal and London-born Sam Bird.

Topping the LM GTE Pro class was the No.64 Corvette Racing C7.R American muscle machine driven by Brit Oliver Gavin and Americans Tommy Milner and Jordan Taylor.

Ferraris took the next two places thanks to the No.71 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia finished in the capable hands of Davide Rigon, British driver James Calado who was paired with Olivier Beretta and Davide Rigon.

Third was the No.51 sister car driven by Giammaria Bruni, Toni Vilander and Giancarlo Fisichella.

It never fails, but there's always some sort of drama in the final hour at Le Mans and this year it was the turn of the No.98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage which had led the LM GTE Am class for the majority of the race.

On the out lap following his final pit stop, Paul Dalla Lana crashed heavily into the wall at the Ford Chicane, ending the team's day just 45 minutes before the flag.

This opened the door for the No.72 SMP Racing Ferrari 458 Italia of Victor Shaytar, Andrea Bertolini and Aleksei Basov to take the win.

They were followed home by a firm favorite in the No.77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR driven by Patrick Long, Marco Seefried and former Grey's Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey who finally gets the Le Mans podium he has so desperately desired at his third attempt.

The all-American team No.62 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia driven by Jeff Segal, Townsend Bell and Bill Sweedler finished third.

This year, a record 263,500 spectators made their annual pilgrimage to the famous Sarthe circuit, up 200 over last year.

Final classifications for Le Mans 2015

1. 19 Porsche Team HULKENBERG / BAMBER / TANDY Porsche 919 Hybrid

2. 17 Porsche Team BERNHARD / WEBBER / HARTLEY Porsche 919 Hybrid

3. 7 Audi Sport Team Joest FÄSSLER / LOTTERER / TRÉLUYER Audi R18 e-tron quattro

4. 8 Audi Sport Team Joest DI GRASSI / DUVAL / JARVIS Audi R18 e-tron quattro

5. 18 Porsche Team DUMAS / JANI / LIEB Porsche 919 Hybrid

6. 2 Toyota Racing WURZ / SARRAZIN / CONWAY Toyota TS 040 - Hybrid

7. 9 Audi Sport Team Joest ALBUQUERQUE / BONANOMI / RAST Audi R18 e-tron quattro

8. 1 Toyota Racing DAVIDSON / BUEMI / NAKAJIMA Toyota TS 040 - Hybrid

9. 47 KCMG HOWSON / BRADLEY / LAPIERRE Oreca 05 - Nissan

10. 38 JOTA Sport DOLAN / EVANS / TURVEY Gibson 015S - Nissan

11. 26 G-Drive Racing RUSINOV / CANAL / BIRD Ligier JS P2 - Nissan

12. 28 G-Drive Racing YACAMAN / DERANI / GONZALEZ Ligier JS P2 - Nissan

13. 48 Murphy Prototypes CHANDHOK / PATTERSON / BERTHON Oreca 03R - Nissan

14. 27 SMP Racing MEDIANI / MARKOZOV / MINASSIAN BR01 - Nissan

15. 31 Extreme Speed Motorsports BROWN / VAN OVERBEEK / FOGARTY Ligier JS P2

16. 45 Ibanez Racing IBANEZ / PERRET / BELLAROSA Oreca 03R - Nissan

17. 64 Corvette Racing - GM GAVIN / MILNER / TAYLOR Chevrolet Corvette C7R LMGTE

18. 13 Rebellion Racing IMPERATORI / KRAIHAMER / ABT Rebellion R-One - AER

19. 29 Pegasus Racing ROUSSEL / TUNG / CHENG Morgan - Nissan

20. 72 SMP Racing SHAYTAR / BERTOLINI / BASOV Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am

21. 71 AF Corse RIGON / CALADO / BERETTA Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Pro

22. 77 Dempsey - Proton Racing DEMPSEY / LONG / SEEFRIED Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE Am

23. 12 Rebellion Racing PROST / HEIDFELD / BECHE Rebellion R-One - AER

24. 62 Scuderia Corsa SWEEDLER / BELL / SEGAL Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am

25. 51 AF Corse BRUNI / VILANDER / FISICHELLA Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Pro

26. 83 AF Corse PERRODO / COLLARD / AGUAS Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE

27. 95 Aston Martin Racing SORENSEN / THIIM / NYGAARD Aston Martin Vantage V8 LMGTE

28. 30 Extreme Speed Motorsports SHARP / DALZIEL / HEINEMEIER HANSSON Ligier JS P2

29. 35 Oak Racing NICOLET / MERLIN / MARIS Ligier JS P2 - Nissan LMP2

30. 91 Porsche Team Manthey LIETZ / CHRISTENSEN / BERGMEISTER Porsche 911 RSR

31. 61 AF Corse MANN / GIAMMARIA / CRESSONI Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am

32. 40 Krohn Racing KROHN / JÖNSSON / BARBOSA Ligier JS P2 - Judd LMP2

33. 37 SMP Racing ALESHIN / LADYGIN / LADYGIN BR01 - Nissan LMP2

34. 99 Aston Martin Racing V8 REES / MACDOWALL / STANAWAY Aston Martin Vantage V8

35. 68 Team AAI CHEN / VANNELET / PARISY Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE Am

36. 66 JMW Motorsport AL FAISAL / GIERMAZIAK / AVENATTI Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am

37. 67 Team AAI CHEN / KAPADIA / MAASSEN Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (997) LMGTE Am

Not classified

98 Aston Martin Racing DALLA LANA / LAMY / LAUDA Aston Martin Vantage V8 LMGTE

4 Team Bykolles TRUMMER / KAFFER / MONTEIRO CLM P1/01 - AER LMP1

22 Nissan Motorsports TINCKNELL / KRUMM / BUNCOMBE Nissan GT-R LM Nismo LMP1

Retired

34 Oak Racing CUMMING / VANTHOOR / ESTRE Ligier JS P2 -

53 Riley Motorsports-TI Auto BLEEKEMOLEN / KEATING / MILLER Srt VIPER GTS-R LMGTE Am

42 Strakka Racing LEVENTIS / WATTS / KANE Dome S103 - Nissan LMP2

55 AF Corse CAMERON / GRIFFIN / MORTIMER Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am

23 Nissan Motorsports PLA / MARDENBOROUGH / CHILTON Nissan GT-R LM Nismo LMP1

46 Thiriet By Tds Racing THIRIET / BADEY / GOMMENDY Oreca 05 - Nissan LMP2

96 Aston Martin Racing GOETHE / HALL / CASTELLACCI Aston Martin Vantage V8 LMGTE Am

43 Team Sard Morand RAGUES / WEBB / AMBERG Morgan Evo - SARD LMP2

21 Nissan Motorsports MATSUDA / SHULZHITSKIY / ORDOÑEZ Nissan GT-R LM Nismo LMP1

36 Signatech Alpine PANCIATICI / CHATIN / CAPILLAIRE Alpine A450b - Nissan LMP2

97 Aston Martin Racing TURNER / MÜCKE / BELL Aston Martin Vantage V8 LMGTE Pro

50 Larbre Competition RODA / RUBERTI / POULSEN Chevrolet Corvette C7R LMGTE Am

41 Greaves Motorsport HIRSCH / PALETOU / LANCASTER Gibson 015S - Nissan LMP2

88 Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing RIED / AL QUBAISI / BACHLER Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE Am

92 Porsche Team Manthey PILET / MAKOWIECKI / HENZLER Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE Pro