Photo: VCG

Ye Yifei made history on Sunday night in France by becoming the first Chinese driver to win the overall title at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as he and teammates Robert Kubica and Phil Hanson took the checkered flag in the No.83 Ferrari by AF Corse. The trio completed 387 laps, narrowly edging out the No.6 Porsche Penske by 14.084 seconds.

The 93rd edition of the endurance classic began at 10 pm on Saturday and concluded 24 hours later, testing the limits of drivers and machines. Starting from 13th on the grid, the No.83 crew steadily climbed the order, overcoming time penalties and early setbacks. As night fell over the Circuit de la Sarthe, Ye twice took the wheel, helping the team rise to the front of the field.

"I lost my words," said Ye, who first arrived in Le Mans at the age of 14 on an exchange program to try to become a professional driver.

"It's going to take me some time to realize everything that's happened today. Right now I feel like I'm dreaming. Maybe in two seconds I'll wake up and none of this will exist.

Ye's triumph comes nearly four years after heartbreak in 2021, when he, Kubica, and Louis Deletraz were leading the LMP2 class on the final lap before a mechanical failure sidelined their car. Sunday's victory marks a full-circle moment.

"We finally completed the last lap!" Ye said. "To finish the journey that Robert and I started in 2021 is unbelievable. Winning with Ferrari is a dream come true."

The result also extends Ferrari's dominance at Le Mans, with the Italian marque securing its third consecutive overall win since its return to top-level endurance racing in 2023.

For Ye, the win symbolizes more than just personal glory, it represents the arrival of Chinese talent at the pinnacle of global motorsport. Eight years ago, China celebrated its best Le Mans finish when Ho-Pin Tung helped Jackie Chan DC Racing take second overall. Ye has now gone one better, fulfilling the long-standing ambition of Chinese racers to conquer the prestigious endurance race, per sports commentator Mao Weian from Titan Sports.

The 24-year-old's journey began on the European single-seater circuit, where he trained under the guidance of Cheng Congfu and Neel Jani. Though he failed to break through in Formula 3, Ye pivoted to sports cars and made his World Endurance Championship (WEC) Hypercar debut with JOTA in 2023. His standout performances earned him a factory Ferrari drive in 2024.

This season, he and Kubica welcomed Hanson as a new teammate. After a podium in Qatar and a strong start to the WEC campaign, the trio saved their best for Le Mans. 

"Interestingly, Ye Yifei and Zhou Guanyu once both joined the Renault Sport Academy, the predecessor of today's Alpine Academy in 2019. But in China, people are more familiar with Zhou and with Formula 1, while Le Mans remains relatively unknown," Wang Dazhao, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times. "Yet Le Mans pushes a racer's endurance and teamwork to the limit, no less than F1 pushes a driver's speed. Ye deserves much more attention."

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is an endurance race for prototype and grand touring cars held every summer in the small town of Le Mans, located about 200 kilometers southwest of Paris. First held in 1923, it is the oldest active endurance race in the world.