He’s taught us all a lesson in life, said Romain Dumas, member of the winning crew in the #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid.

Sausset, whose lower legs and arms were amputated to save him from a life-threatening disease and his teammates Christophe Tinseau and Jean-Bernard Bouvet received a special award at the podium ceremony. After tumultuous applause from the crowd, the entrepreneur from Blois in the centre of France gave a post-race press conference: “I feel great now because there was lots of pressure on us. Our ultimate goal was to finish the race. We didn’t have any targets in terms of classification. Thanks to my experienced teammates Christophe Tinseau and Jean-Bernard Bouvet, we finished. And now we want to savour our success."

Sausset completed eight stints: as many as his teammates and as many as any other able-bodied driver. "At Silverstone I was uncomfortable but here the stints went really well. We did 11 laps at a time. I didn’t feel overtired. We kept to the plan that we had set ourselves. I was to do eight stints. And we had to make sure my arm could stand up to it."

This was Jean-Bernard Bouvet’s ninth time at Le Mans and surely one of the most emotionally charged. "We always say every race is different, but this one was a thousand times more moving. I have to thank Frédéric for including me in the project."

Aside from a clutch issue, the Morgan-Nissan was reliable and the crew drove an impeccable race. Christophe Tinseau: “We didn’t draw attention to ourselves for the wrong reasons. We made no mistakes, no spins. The only hitch, which we had anticipated, was the clutch problem. We’re using a centrifugal clutch that has never been tested in the 24 Hours of Le Mans before. We knew there was a risk and the mechanics were prepared for it. If it hadn’t been for the hour spent on repairs, we would have had the added bonus of finishing higher up the table. That would have been the cherry on the cake. But the main thing was to finish the race and for Fréd to be in the driving seat as much as the other drivers."

So, what now? Frédéric Sausset has the last word:"The people involved in SRT41 have become a close-knit family. We’re not going to want to go our separate ways. Personally, I feel at home in motorsport. I’ve met some incredible people. As I’ve said before, I forget my handicap when I’m racing and I’m not about to give up that joy. We’ll be back for more. We have several options. Once we’ve examined them more closely we’ll be in a position to say what comes next."

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES DU MANS, 24 HEURES DU MANS, SATURDAY 18 JUNE, RACE. Quadruple amputee Frédéric Sausset made history at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

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