Since its inception, Corvette Racing’s mantra has been “Never give up!” This motto kept the American team motivated after the No. 63 Corvette C7.R was so badly damaged in a qualifying accident before the 24 Hours of Le Mans that it had to be withdrawn, leaving the squad with a single bullet to fight the Ferraris, Porsches, and Aston Martins in the fiercely competitive GTE Pro category.

In the end, Corvette Racing overcame adversity and rallied to win its eighth Le Mans class title since 2001. The Chevrolet factory team swept all three international endurance races in 2015, also winning the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner, and Jordan Taylor drove the No. 64 Corvette C7.R to a five-lap victory over the No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia of James Calado, Davide Rigon, and Olivier Beretta, a former Le Mans winner with Corvette and Viper. The No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia driven by Gianmaria Bruni, Giancarlo Fisichella, and Toni Vilander finished third – but there is more to the story.

The No. 64 Corvette and the No. 51 Ferrari raced wheel-to-wheel, trading the class lead until the Ferrari faltered in the 22nd hour with an apparent drivetrain problem. An extended pit stop dropped the Ferrari to third and gave the Corvette an unassailable advantage.

A similar reversal of fortune decided the outcome in the GTE Am class. The pole-winning No. 98 Aston Martin of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy, and Mathias Lauda dominated the category for 23 hours. Then with less than 50 minutes to go, Dalla Lana went off in the Ford chicane, destroying the front end of the hapless Aston Martin.

The No. 99’s misfortune promoted the No. 72 SMP Racing Ferrari 458 Italia to first in class. Russian drivers Aleksey Basov and Viktor Shaytor joined Italian Andrea Bertolini in the victory celebration.

The scrap for second in the GTE Am class pitted two teams with strong American ties. The No. 77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR of Patrick Dempsey, Patrick Long, and Marco Seefried prevailed by one lap over the No 62 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 of Townsend Bell, Jeffrey Segal, and Bill Sweedler after a race-long dogfight. A late-race penalty for speeding in the pit lane cost the No. 62 Ferrari team dearly.

Rain had been predicted for race day, but it held off until the final minutes of the 24-hour test of speed and endurance. When it was over, Corvette Racing was singin’ in the rain.