Bernhard column: How Porsche pulled off Le Mans comeback

On Saturday evening, three and a half hours into the race, when our car lost its front axle drive, it looked like it was game over.

But a little under 21 hours later, I lifted the Le Mans winners' trophy for the second time in my career on the podium in front of a never-ending sea of fans, after a rollercoaster of a race.

Everyone who’s been at Le Mans before, whether as part of a team or as a fan, knows that there is nothing quite like it.

It’s a week-long celebration of motorsport to which over a quarter of a million fans come from different corners all over the world. The race is brutal and demands a great deal from man and machine.

However, there is also something magical about Le Mans, especially if you’re in the car at night or when the sun rises over the Dunlop arch.

The build-up to the race

The week kicked off with scrutineering in the centre of Le Mans, where thousands of fans came to watch the official proceedings with the cars and the team and driver presentations.

After the official commitments early in the week, we finally got down to business on Wednesday with the free practice sessions and then straight into the three qualifying sessions, which all went well for us.

We were able to optimise the car set-up in different track temperatures and gain important data with regards to the tyre choice for the race.

Qualifying at Le Mans is always a bit of a lottery. It’s quite a challenge with 60 cars on track. In the end I didn’t have a free lap, but our car balance was really good and we were in good shape to start the race from the second row.

After the drivers' parade on Friday, I had an early night to get as much rest as possible before the very long day ahead.

Disaster strikes early on

The grid at Le Mans is always packed – last-minute interviews, handshakes and well wishes. When finally the door closed behind me, I could get down to business and fully focus on the job!

We had a pretty uneventful start and remained in fourth until I handed over the car to Earl [Bamber] after 38 laps.

At 6.30pm, he had to come to the pits for an unplanned stop as our 919 Hybrid had lost its front axle drive. Our mechanics did a mega job in swiftly deciding what needed to be done and after an hour and five minutes the car was ready again.

Brendon joined the race 19 laps down and in 56th place overall. It was crucial that all three of us as well as the pit crew kept up the motivation.

In such a situation you have to blank out negative emotions and fully focus on the job to the get the maximum out of it.

The recovery

When two of the three Toyota’s retired after midnight, our sister car took over the lead. At that point we had moved up into 17th overall and we were able to further improve throughout the night.

When I got back into the car at 5.13am, we were already in 13th. I was able to make good progress through the traffic and handed over the car to Earl in 10th overall and second in the LMP1 class at 8am.

The race took a dramatic turn when our sister car had to retire from the race just after 11am. At that point we were the highest placed LMP1 car and suddenly our race had a different outlook.

I took over the car just after midday for the long last stint. At that point we were a lap down on the leading LMP2, the #38 DC Racing Oreca, and 20 laps before the end I was able to pass him.

The final bit was brutal. It was all in our hands but considering everything that had happened, nothing was certain. We did another pitstop for fuel seven laps before the end, and at 3pm, we achieved what had seemed unachievable.

I’ve always dreamt of becoming an overall winner with Porsche at Le Mans. I can hardly describe how I was feeling. It was the first time I cried on a cool-down lap.

I am so grateful to Porsche, the team and of course my brilliant teammates Brendon [Hartley] and Earl. It was an incredible moment which I will never forget.

Le Mans is the biggest and hardest endurance race in the world. When you crack it, you get handsomely rewarded for all your hard work.