Triumph for Kubica as Ferrari wins the 24 Hours of Le Mans for third year in a row

LE MANS, France (AP) — Robert Kubica's long road back from a crash which nearly ended his career culminated in victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Sunday as Ferrari won for the third year running.

Only a late surge from Porsche Penske Motorsport denied the Italian manufacturer a podium sweep.

The No. 83 Ferrari 499P crew of Robert Kubica, Ye Yifei and Philip Hanson took the win as Ferrari won for the 12th time in the 93rd edition of the storied race, which began 102 years ago. Their bright-yellow car, privately entered by the AF Corse team, got the better of Porsche and the two official factory-entered Ferraris.

Kubica took the checkered flag after a marathon spell at the wheel Sunday afternoon to make sure of the win.

“It has been a long 24 hours,” Kubica said to his team over the radio and thanked them in Italian. “Enjoy.”

The Penske-operated No. 6 Porsche 963 of Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Matt Campbell surged late in the race to finish second ahead of the two other Ferraris, 14 seconds behind the winner.

For Kubica and Ye, it was redemption after their car — then with Robert Shwartzman as third driver — was a strong contender to win last year's race before a crash, a penalty and finally a race-ending mechanical failure.

It’s a career highlight for 40-year-old Polish driver Kubica, whose promising Formula 1 career was interrupted in 2011 when a crash while competing in a rally left him with severe injuries.

Kubica's right arm and hand were partially severed and he had multiple fractures. After surgery and physical therapy, Kubica joined the World Rally Championship in 2013 and eventually made it back to F1 with Williams in 2019, something that even he had once considered almost impossible. He last raced in F1 in 2021.

Kubica is the first driver from Poland to win Le Mans outright, and Ye is the first from China to achieve that feat.

“It’s a great story that we finally put a perfect ending with Robert,” Ye told broadcasters. “It looks easier from the outside than it is in the car. It’s just unbelievable.”

Ferrari was off the pace in qualifying, with the two factory cars 7th and 11th on the grid and the eventual winner 13th. But once tennis great Roger Federer waved the starting flag Saturday, Ferrari’s pace over long race runs soon became clear.

After a close fight with Toyota in last year’s race, this time Ferrari often seemed in near-total control. Early Sunday morning, it was on target for the first top-class podium sweep by one manufacturer since 2012.

Ferrari didn’t have it all its own way in the final hours, though.

Alessandro Pier Guidi spun in the No. 51 car on his way into the pits, losing the lead, while the resurgent No. 6 Porsche piled on the pressure.

Le Mans is as much a test of drivers’ resilience as it is the cars’ reliability. Both held up well in an unusually calm race that avoided much of the usual nighttime drama with few significant crashes and just one safety-car period.

Polish team Inter Europol Competition won the LMP2 class and Manthey won the GT3 class in a Porsche 911.

This story has been corrected. It was the 93rd edition of the race and 102 years since it began, not the 102nd edition of the race.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Robert Kubica of Poland in his AF Corse car a Ferrari 499P crosses the finish line to win the 24-hour Le Mans endurance race, Sunday June 15, 2025 in Le Mans, western France. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez)

Robert Kubica of Poland in his AF Corse car a Ferrari 499P celebrates after crossing the finish line to win the 24-hour Le Mans endurance race, Sunday June 15, 2025 in Le Mans, western France. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez)

Pit crew members work on the No.51 a Ferrari 499P with Alessandro Pier Guidi of Italy, James Calado of Great Britain and Antonio Giovinazzi of Italy, races during the 24-hour Le Mans endurance race, Sunday, June 15, 2025 in Le Mans, western France. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez)

Porsche Penske Motorsport car (No. 6) a Porsche 963 with Kevin Estre of France, Laurens Vanthoor of Belgium and Matt Campbell of Australia races during the 24-hour Le Mans endurance race, Saturday June 14, 2025 in Le Mans, western France. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez)

AF Corse car (starting no. 83) a Ferrari 499P with Robert Kubica of Poland, Yifei Ye of China and Phil Hanson of Great Britain races during the 24-hour Le Mans endurance race, Sunday June 15, 2025 in Le Mans, western France. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez)

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia's protesting university students on Sunday collected signatures throughout the country for their request for an early parliamentary election that they hope would oust the autocratic government of President Aleksandar Vucic from office.

Braving freezing weather, the students set up nearly 500 stands in dozens of cities, towns and villages in the Balkan country for residents to sign the election demand, which isn't a formal petition. Students have said that Sunday’s action was meant to put further pressure on Vucic and as a test of support.

Young protesters have been at the forefront of a nationwide movement against Vucic's populist rule in Serbia. More than a year of street protests first started in November 2024 after a train station disaster that killed 16 people.

The concrete canopy collapse in the northern city of Novi Sad was widely blamed on alleged rampant corruption and disregard of construction and safety rules during renovation work at the station. No one has been held responsible for the tragedy.

Vucic has refused to schedule an immediate early vote, but has suggested that it could be held sometime next year. Both parliamentary and presidential elections are otherwise due in 2027.

“We have stands that serve to connect with the citizens," said Igor Dojnov, a student manning one of the points in central Belgrade.

Youth-led protests during the past year have shaken Vucic more than ever during his 13-year-long tenure. Serbia's populist prime minister resigned in January, and Vucic later launched a crackdown on protesters that also drew international criticism.

While street protests have subsided, discontent with Vucic's government is believed to be widespread.

Milca Cankovic Kadijevic, a resident of Belgrade, said that she supported the students, because “I have a desire to live decently — me, my children and my grandchildren."

Vucic has formally promised to take Serbia into the European Union, but he has maintained close links with Russia and China, while facing accusations of clamping down on democratic freedoms and allowing corruption and organized crime to flourish.

He has denied this, and accused the protesters of attempting to orchestrate a “color revolution” under unspecified orders from the West. The term “color revolution” has been used to describe a series of mass protests at the beginning of the 21st century that sometimes led to the toppling of governments in the former Soviet Union states, the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East and Asia.

Serbia's protesting university students collect signatures for their request for an early parliamentary election, in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbia's protesting university students collect signatures for their request for an early parliamentary election, in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

People stand in silence to commemorate the 16 victims, killed after a railway concrete canopy fell in Nov. 2024 while Serbia's protesting university students collect signatures throughout the country for their request for an early parliamentary election, in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbia's protesting university students collect signatures for their request for an early parliamentary election, in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbia's protesting university students collect signatures for their request for an early parliamentary election, in Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)