Triumph at Le Mans an enduring milestone for Hardwick

While much of the attention towards Manthey 1st Phorm's LMGT3 class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans centered around Richard Lietz's sixth career GT class win at the event, Le Mans cemented Ryan Hardwick's place among the best Bronze drivers in endurance racing today.

Hardwick, Lietz, and Riccardo Pera were in full control of the GT class at Le Mans, combining to lead 184 out of the 341 laps that the No. 92 Porsche 911 LMGT3 R completed, including the final nine hours and 15 minutes of the race, uninterrupted.

"To me, this is the hardest race in the world to win," Hardwick told RACER after his first career Le Mans class win. "With all due respect to Indianapolis 500 winners and Daytona 500 winners, this race, it requires so many people, so much time; there's so many opportunities to make mistakes.

"And man, I just can't even believe it. Still, it hasn't truly sank in."

Tennessee native Hardwick's three workhorse stints from the start of the race on Saturday until just before official sunrise on Sunday morning were pivotal for the victory. His six hours were done quickly and with no major mistakes, setting the table for Pera and Lietz to run rapidly at the front for the last 10 hours.

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"I didn't wanna get out! I mean, it was so much fun to drive, and obviously, I saw that my pace was good."

Per sports car racing analytics site "The B Pillar," Hardwick's average pace was the quickest of all LMGT3 Bronze drivers, and quicker than two Silver-graded drivers who completed a significant number of laps during the race.

L to R: LMGT3 winners Riccardo Pera, Richard Lietz and Ryan Hardwick all played key roles in Manthey 1st Phorm's Le Mans win, and whetted the American's appetite for more. James Moy Photography/Getty Images

Hardwick's now won his class at Le Mans, the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Sebring 12 Hours, giving him a GT Triple Crown. And now, the former jet ski racing world champion and Yamaha factory rider wants to win a world title on tarmac. With the victory, Hardwick and his Manthey co-drivers moved into the lead in the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGT3 standings with four races remaining.

"There's one major goal left – it's to be world champion, right? So our full focus is on the championship. We're now in the lead, so that's definitely the next goal," Hardwick said.