TOP TEN AT LE MANS!
The list of drivers that have finished the iconic 24 hours of Le Mans inside the top ten more than once is a short one but in mid-June Ben Tuck added his name to that list in just his second visit to La Sarthe, where he joined his Proton Competition and Ford Performance team-mates to celebrate crossing the finish line of the biggest motor race in the world in ninth place, this time as a regular competitor in the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship.
Following on from his stunning 2024 Le Mans debut, Ben Tuck once again joined Proton Competition and Ford Performance for 2025, this time in the #77 Mustang LMGT3 as part of a regular crew with Bronze rated Bernardo Sousa and Ford factory driver Ben Barker.
It was with optimistic spirits that the team arrived at the legendary Circuit de La Sarthe. Testing revealed that the pace of the car was around mid-pack and that the very hot weather may be harming their full potential. However, with characteristic determination Bernado Sousa took on qualifying, targeting 12th or better to allow the crew to progress through to Hyperpole. In a tense and busy session, Sousa pushed hard but tantalisingly fell short of the magic 12th spot by 0.027 seconds but guaranteed them 13th position for the start of the big race.
In stark contrast to last year’s event, the race started in sweltering conditions with Ben Barker at the wheel. Initially making strong progress, Barker worked his way up to second position before handing over to Sousa, who migrated between second and sixth place as their competitors pitstop strategies interleaved. Ben took the first of the triple stints from early evening, returning after two hours in fifth place, for Sousa to take the car into the balmy summer evening.
The team, drivers and car were working exceptionally well, lapping consistently with little sign of problems, drama or concern and the team collectively dug in for the long hot night. Tuck was back in the car in the early hours of the morning, taking over from 13th place, and set about a gruelling stint finishing in the early dawn sunshine in ninth place. From then on, the team and the crew calmly and precisely ticked off the laps, never spending a moment longer than necessary in the pits, whilst the strength of their Ford Mustang carried them ever closer to the coveted finish line.
By the time Ben had brought the car back to the pits to finish his driving duties early on Sunday afternoon, the crew of the #77 car were still running in a solid ninth place, the mighty Mustang still roaring as if it was the first lap, despite suffering some contact during the morning. It was then up to Ben Barker to take the chequered flag after another 90 minutes for a superbly well-earned result.
The trio have been building potential in the first half of the season, with Tuck taking a third place grid slot in Hyperpole and going on to lead the race at the previous round at Spa-Francorchamps.
Le Mans is the world’s biggest and most prestigious motor-race, and it grows every year in scale. So, the challenge of Le Mans is not just about race pace and performance, it’s also about stamina and focus across the hectic two-week petrol fuelled festival, whilst all the time representing the team and the brand at dozens of off-track events in a whirlwind of media, marketing and outreach obligations. The sheer magnitude of the event is always in sharp focus, from the autograph sessions to the press conferences, interviews, official photographs, drivers parade, and of course the elaborate starting ceremony.
Although not quite the stunning fourth place finish of 2024, the result represented a solid and well executed race in difficult circumstances and Ben Tuck was rightly proud:
“Obviously everyone wants to win, but we saw how difficult the race was going to be after the other’s qualifying times. But we concentrated on making as few mistakes as possible and getting the best from the team and the car. It’s still incredible to race here at Le Mans and every finish is a result, so to come away with a Top 10 after a nearly faultless race, shows that we maximised all we could from the car. I’m really proud of the team, again thank you to everyone at Ford Performance, Multimatic and Proton Competition, the car was just bullet proof this weekend”.
Ben next races in the FIA World Endurance Championship at Round 5 in Sao Paulo, Brazil on 13th July 2025.
