Porsche wins 24 Hours Le Mans in dramatic fashion

LE MANS, France -- With Brad Pitt giving the official race start at the 24 Hours Le Mans endurance race, it fittingly ended with a Hollywood finish as Porsche defended its title in dramatic fashion after Toyota relinquished the lead minutes from the end Sunday.

With Japanese driver Kazuki Nakajima behind the wheel of the No. 5 TS050 Hybrid, Toyota was poised to clinch its first Le Mans victory only to lose power and halt on the pit straight with five minutes left -- allowing Swiss driver Neel Jani to overtake in his Porsche No. 2.

Nakajima crossed the line second, but his final lap of nearly 12 minutes was too slow to be classified, meaning that Toyota's No. 6 car -- driven by Frenchman Stephane Sarrazin -- took second place.

Audi moved up to third, maintaining its record of a podium every year since making its debut in 1999.

Frenchman Romain Dumas and Germany's Marc Lieb were the other winning drivers for No. 2 Porsche, while ex-Formula One driver Sebastien Buemi of Switzerland and British driver Anthony Davidson were the others to taste bitter defeat for No. 5 Toyota.

It will feel particularly bad for Nakajima. Heading into the final hour, he was comfortably ahead of Jani and was leading by 1 minute, 24 seconds inside the final 10 minutes.

With five hours left, Toyota No. 5 -- driven by Buemi -- led Mike Conway's Toyota No. 6, with Dumas in third.

Conway handed the wheel to Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi -- another former F1 driver -- and he spun into the gravel at Corvette Corner. Kobayashi got back on track, but following his near-miss he drifted behind in third and Porsche No. 2 moved into second.

By midday, and with three hours remaining, Toyota No. 5 -- with Davidson replacing Buemi -- had a slender lead over Porsche No. 2, now driven by Jani, who had secured pole position for the race.

Last year, with German Formula One driver Nico Hulkenberg behind the wheel, Porsche won to end Audi's five-race winning run and clinch a record 17th victory. British driver Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber of New Zealand were the other drivers to win last year, but in a reversal of fortune, both pulled out during the night.

Driving in the GT category, Tandy's Porsche No. 91 had an engine problem while Bamber's No. 92 was undone by a connection problem between the suspension and the chassis. Hulkenberg was racing in F1 later Sunday at the inaugural European Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Pitt had given the official start midafternoon Saturday at the Circuit de la Sarthe track. Standing in the middle of the track, he held a French flag as the race began in pouring rain with the 60 cars starting behind the safety car.

Despite bad weather, 263,500 spectators attended the race weekend.