The 7 Craziest Stories In Le Mans 24 Hours History

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New WEC tire color codes for Le Mans

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emailBy Stephen Kilbey | June 7, 2023 1:07 PM ET

Michelin and Goodyear’s FIA WEC tires are sporting new identification color markers this week at Le Mans. This will help viewers trackside and from afar identify which compounds are being used by each car throughout each session and race.

On the Michelin Hypercar and GTE Am tires, a white marking on the sidewall is used for the soft compound, while yellow features on the mediums and red is displayed on the hards. The rain tires will sport a light blue identification.

For Goodyear’s LMP2 tires, its slicks are sporting yellow markings, while the wets are blue.

These markers will remain in effect for the remainder of the FIA WEC season.

 

2023 LM24, Hour 1: Toyota Seizes The Lead!

Jack Aitken's crash during a damp first lap brings out Safety Car - IDEC Sport and AF Corse #54 lead their classes at the top of the hour!

10 June 2023, 4:20 PM
The two Ferrari 499P Hypercars led the first corner of the Centenary Edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but at the end of the first hour, it’s the Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 HYBRIDs that run first and second overall and in the Hypercar class.

Four-time winner Sebastien Buemi in the #8 Toyota overtook young Dane Nicklas Nielsen in the pole-winning #50 Ferrari on the run to Indianapolis before a first-lap Safety Car intervention for multiple incidents.



Buemi has sprinted off to a healthy 4.5 second lead, despite the high-strung Swiss’ worries about a brake system issue after light contact with the #75 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963 at the first lap.

Meanwhile Mike Conway in the #7 Toyota spent the time after the Safety Car restart fending off the Ferraris of Nielsen and James Calado, aboard the #51.

At the top of the hour, Calado has taken second place from Conway with the medium compound tyres up to temperature. Nielsen had overtaken Conway on track but pitted rather early to take fuel, doing just ten laps in his opening stint.

Calado and Conway are followed closely by the three factory Penske Porsches led by Nasr in the #75 , and they’re ahead of the #2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R of Earl Bamber.

Similarly in LMP2, Frenchman Paul-Loup Chatin has broken out to a 2.7 second lead in his class, aboard the French team IDEC Sport’s French-constructed #48 Oreca-07 Gibson, sponsored by French heritage manufacturer Delage.

Behind the class polesitter Chatin in his blue #48, Robert Kubica is now second aboard Team WRT’s red and black #41 Oreca, followed by Pietro Fittipaldi in the gold Jota #28. Daniil Kvyat was running with the leaders, but he brought the #63 Prema Racing Oreca into the pits after dropping down the order on the restart.



Under cloudy skies, a crowd of over 300,000 fans gathered at Circuit de la Sarthe in France for the 91st running of the Grand Prix d’Endurance.

The sea of humanity in the grandstands, in every campground, and on the grid for the pit walk was beyond what even hardened veterans of this race had experienced.

Le Mans grand champion Tom Kristensen presented the winner’s trophy in a replica of the famous 1923 Chenard-Walcker Type U3 that won the first race, awaiting its rightful holder. Then, when the field of 62 cars completed their formation lap, basketball legend and two-time Olympic gold medalist LeBron James waved the French tricolore – and the great race a century in the making had begun!



No sooner did it begin, however, than it effectively ended for Action Express Racing. Rain showers down Les Hunaudieres led to a slippery track for everyone to deal with – especially on slick tyres and Jack Aitken couldn’t get any traction out of the Mulsanne Chicane. His red #311 Cadillac V-Series.R crashed into the armco barrier, nearly knocking his front-left wheel off along with all of his front bodywork. The Safety Car was deployed for the first time.

Gentleman driver Mark Kvamme also had trouble getting to grips with the damp tarmac and spun off behind Aitken. The #32 Inter Europol Competition Oreca 07-Gibson had to be hoisted out of the gravel.

The new Safety Car procedure was demonstrated immediately, sorting out the three classes evenly for the ensuing restart. Including the time spent repairing the damaged section of guardrail, the Safety Car intervention took 35 minutes before racing resumed. Action has been hot and heavy ever since, and now the sun has burst through the clouds!
In GTE, the order is wholly shuffled, as a lot of teams, including the pole-sitting #33 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, pitted under the safety car.

The #54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo of Davide Rigon stayed out and inherited the lead, while the #57 Kessel Racing and #83 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferraris ensured it was a 1-2-3 for the Italian marque in the category.

 

LM24, Hour 1: Toyota leads after early safety car

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emailBy Stephen Kilbey | June 10, 2023 11:19 AM ET

After the first hour of the centenary running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, Toyota’s No. 8 GR010 HYBRID leads after a safety car-disrupted opening 60 minutes.

Sebastien Buemi took the start and snatched the lead off the pole-sitting No. 50 Ferrari around the outside into Indianapolis before the safety car came out for an incident on Mulsanne on lap 1.

The incident in question saw the partially wet Mulsanne Straight catch out Action Express Racing’s Jack Aitken, who on the exit to the first chicane lost the rear and went head-on into the barriers on driver’s left in the No. 33 Action Express Cadillac V-Series.R.


Thankfully he was able to limp back to the pits, but there was a field of debris on the circuit as a result and barrier damage. That, plus Mark Kvamme having an off into the gravel in the No. 32 Inter Europol ORECA, forced the safety car out allowing trackside support to repair the guardrails. The safety car lasted almost 40 minutes, causing a restart with just over 40 minutes of the race complete.

It was a hugely disappointing start to Action Express’ Le Mans debut, the car still in the pits with its front end being worked on by the end of the hour.

More Le Mans/WEC!

The athletes of Garage 56

“These things happen and we’re regrouping. Unfortunately, heavy suspension damage to the left front, bodywork also had to be replaced and some things under the car were knocked loose,” related Chris Mitchum, No. 311 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R director of operations. “We’re putting the car together and making it like new, making sure the car is safe. We’re doing an alignment check to make sure the rack is OK and then we’re going to put Jack (Aitken) back and in go figure out how we can help our teammates.”
Hard early setback for the Action Express Racing Cadillac. Nikolaz Godet/Motorsport Images



Up front it was a nervy hour for Toyota’s No. 8 GR010 HYBRID. After taking the lead on the run down to Indianapolis around the outside of the No. 50 Ferrari, Buemi reported a problem with the car’s braking system. The issue, he said, was with the energy assistance from the battery, which was not working, forcing him to brake mechanically.

He was able to hold onto the top spot into the second hour before coming in for the first round of pit stops, and appeared to be able to keep up a strong pace, holding a 5-second advantage when the second hour began.

Second overall is currently the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari 499P of James Calado, who fell to fourth when the No. 7 Toyota got past both Ferraris after the restart and held second. But by the end of the hour, the No. 50 had pitted earlier than the other front runners, and Calado found a way past Mike Conway, who ended the hour third in the No. 7 Toyota.

Completing the top five, in the lengthy Hypercar train were the No. 75 and No. 6 Penske Porsches.

Elsewhere in the class, It was a tough start for the No. 708 Glickenhaus 007 LMH at the back of the Hypercar pack, the car starting a lap down after a gearbox leak. It was being worked on while the grid was forming and started from pit lane.

There was a massive stroke of fortune for Hertz Team JOTA, though. Its 963 had to start 60 after not setting a time in qualifying due to mechanical issues. The lengthy safety car meant it could joint the back end of the Hypercar field, meaning Antonio Felix da Costa didn’t need to slalom his way through the entire LMP2 and GTE field before catching the back of the Hypercar train.

The team also opted to pit under the safety car, which means it should cycle to the top when the first round of stops takes place in Hour 2.

In LMP2, Paul Loup Chatin held the lead from pole in the IDEC Sport ORECA, with the order shuffled considerably below as many LMP2 runners used the safety car as a chance to take a splash. Daniil Kvyat in the No. 63 PREMA ORECA is second with Robert Kubica in the No. 41 WRT, third. The JOTA No. 28 ORECA that started second, slipped to fourth in the melee on lap 1.

In GTE, the order is wholly shuffled, as a lot of teams, including the pole-sitting 33 Corvette, pitted under safety car. The No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari of Davide Rigon stayed out and inherited the lead, while the No. 57 Kessel and No. 83 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferraris ensured it was a 1-2-3 for the Italian marque in the category.

The Garage 56 Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR started the race behind the LMP2s and ahead of the GTE Am runners after a late decision by the organizers. It is 36th overall with Mike Rockenfeller driving.
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HOUR 1 STANDINGS

 

LM24, Hour 2: Cadillac ahead of the chaos

Jimmie Johnson Hands Over the Wheel to Jenson Button for the Nascar G56 I 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans

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When a stock car races at Le Mans, driver changes are slightly different.

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emailBy Stephen Kilbey | June 10, 2023 12:19 PM ET

The frantic, incident-packed start to the centenary Le Mans 24 Hours continued in the second hour of the race, which is currently being led by the No. 2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R of Earl Bamber.

Hypercar has been exhilarating but complicated thus far, with so many variations in pit strategy and slow zones causing constant changes to the running order.

At the end of the hour, with so much about the true running order still unclear, the Cadillac led with the No. 5 Porsche 963 of Michael Christesen second, 2.9s behind.

The No. 75 IMSA-crewed Porsche is currently third with the No. 8 Toyota that led at the start of the hour down to fourth having completed a second stop.

The No. 38 JOTA is up to fifth. It’s been a remarkable run for the Hertz-liveried 963 from 60th on the grid, the team has completed three stops and using the safety car in hour 1 and slow zones to move Antonio Felix da Costa up the order strategically.

LMP2 has seen a complete order change up front, too, with the pit cycle being so drawn out. Currently, the No. 41 WRT ORECA of Robert Kubica finds itself out front, 7.6 seconds ahead of the No. 36 Alpine. The JOTA No. 28 07 Gibson is third.
GTE Am was hugely entertaining in Hour 2. With the pit cycle being extended by safety car gamblers, the lead changed multiple times, culminating in a nose-to-tail battle for the lead between three Porsches towards the end of hour 2.

It’s been a great start for Porsche’s customers. After zero 911 RSRs made it into Hyperpole, Porsche now sit 1-2-3-4, with Matteo Cairoli in the “Rexy” Project 1 AO RSR having fought his way past Ben Barker’s GR racing Porsche, Alessio Picariello’s Iron Lynx Porsche and Rachel Frey in the No. 85 Iron Dames example during his stint.

Into Hour 3, Cairoli leads, with Ben Barker in the GR Racing 911 second and Frey’s No. 85 third. The No. 911 Porsche is fourth with Richard Lietz at the wheel.

During the hour there was drama for so many cars. First was Nielsen Racing’s ORECA having a huge off at Dunlop halfway through the hour. Rodrigo Sales lost the rear and went head-on into the tires on driver’s right, ripping the right front off the car.

While that was being repaired there was another big off, this time for Ricky Taylor in the Tower Motorsports ORECA, who veered left at high speed, damaging the front and rear of the No. 13 07 Gibson.

In GTE Am, Corvette Racing, in for its second stop, had to have its No. 33 pushed C8.R pushed into the garage for minor front-end repairs which cost the team two laps early. It was a hugely frustrating early development for the popular team in its final Le Mans with the C8.R. It will now shift its focus to fighting to get back onto the lead lap.

Alex Riberas a few minutes later was then spotted in the No. 98 Northwest AMR Aston Martin running slowly down Mulsanne with its hood unclipped. He had to pit immediately for work in the garage to the car’s front end. Riberas has since rejoined 18th in class and a lap down

With the end of the hour approaching, there was a three-way incident at the Dunlop Chicane. The No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari of Ulysse De Pauw, GMB Aston Martin of Gustav Birch and No. 3 Cadillac of Sebastien Bourdais had a coming together into the slow zone, Bourdais getting rear-ended, with both GTE cars ending up on either side of the circuit severely damaged.

Bourdais was the only driver to continue, who limped back to the pits with rear-end damage from the contact. It wasn’t clear who hit the Frenchman, though Renger van der Zande reported on the circuit radio commentary that he believed it was De Pauw.

It was better news though for Action Express Racing. Its No. 311 was successfully repaired and sent out in Hour 2. Jack Aitken was re-installed after his lap 1 incident, rejoining the race 16 laps down.

2023 LM24, Hour 2: Heaven & Hell At Cadillac

Bamber leads, Bourdais hit in multi-car crash; Sales and Ricky Taylor involved in heavy LMP2 shunts.

10 June 2023, 5:29 PM
Two hours of racing are complete in the Centenary Edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and pit strategy is shaking up the early running order – while fans watching in person and around the world on their televisions, phones and computers have been treated to incredible battles, overtakes, and pursuits in the Hypercar class!

What’s not been as pleasant to the eyes are three big crashes which have brought out extended Slow Zone interventions.

The #2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R of Earl Bamber leads by 4.2 from the #5 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963 of Michael Christensen, which is the good news for the Chip Ganassi Racing-run Cadillac Racing squad. The bad news is that the gold #3 Cadillac has gone to the garage after being hit from behind to spark a multi-car crash underneath the Dunlop Bridge.

Just minutes ago, Bourdais – who was running as high as second overall – was slammed from behind by Ulysse de Pauw in the GTE-Am class #21 AF Corse Ferrari, who couldn’t react in time to Bourdais slowing in front of him. Gustav Birch in the #55 GMB Motorsport Aston Martin was also involved, he too couldn’t react quick enough.



After spending the last 72 hours reviving the car after a fire in Hyperpole Qualifying, Bourdais brought his battered #3 Cadillac back to the garage for repairs, a devastating blow for the Le Mans native and his co-drivers Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon. Amazingly, he remained on the lead lap after some quick repair work.

De Pauw was able to get out of his #21 Ferrari, which had its front end ripped off, and Birch was also able to walk away unhurt from his #55 Aston Martin.

Christensen leads his Porsche team-mate Felipe Nasr in the #75 Porsche, but the top three at the top of the hour in Hypercar are due a pit stop. Behind them, the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 HYBRID of Sebastien Buemi is fourth and has made one more pit stop than those ahead of him.

The #311 Action Express Racing Cadillac is back in the race, 16 laps down, after Jack Aitken’s opening-lap crash at the first Mulsanne Chicane.

There’s also been high drama and a bit of carnage in LMP2.

One hour and 28 minutes into the race, Rodrigo Sales lost control of his #14 Nielsen Racing Oreca 07-Gibson, with Earl Bamber’s #2 Cadillac closing in behind him on the approach to the Dunlop Chicane. Sales crashed into the barrier on the right side, the impact sheared the entire front-right quarter off.

Sales was able to walk away from a crash that any punter would attribute simply to a gentleman driver like himself stepping over the limit

But just seven minutes later there was another LMP2 crash, this time involving a decorated pro: Ricky Taylor came out of Tertre Rouge and then spun and crashed along the left-side barrier at Antares.

Taylor got out and walked away from the wrecked #13 Tower Motorsports Oreca, which had already been rebuilt after co-driver Steven Thomas’ perplexing crash in practice on Wednesday.

Robert Kubica has cycled to the lead in the #41 Team WRT Oreca, leading by over seven seconds from the #36 Alpine Elf Team Oreca of Charles Milesi.

Milesi gained significant time after the first round of pit stops and was even leading his class earlier this hour. Pietro Fittipaldi runs third in the Jota #28, still within striking distance of the lead and trying to catch Milesi in front of him.

Paul-Loup Chatin, who led early on, has dropped to eighth after pit stops in the IDEC Sport #48 Oreca.
At the top of the second hour, Matteo Cairolli still leads GTE-AM in the distinctive green liveried Project 1- AO Porsche 911 RSR-19, the car due an imminent fuel stop.

Ben Barker is turning on his typical form, running second for GR-Racing, the #86 dual-liveried Porsche trailed by Rahel Frey’s #85 Iron Dames 911-RSR-19. Richard Lietz’s #911 Proton Competition entry runs fourth on the road, a dominant Porsche 1,2,3,4 at this early stage of the race.

The #98 Northwest AMR Aston Martin was reversed into its garage with loose front-end bodywork, no impact damage as such, but the bonnet clearly out of position.

The most significant pit caller though was the #33 Corvette C8.R, Ben Keating taking over the car from Nicky Catsburg and returning to the fray, collecting track limits caution as the Bronze Hyperpole winner began a long campaign of recovering three laps lost.

An incident in GTE-Am may have significant consequences for the Hypercar category, however. Coming through the Slow Zone at Dunlop Esses, Ulysse De Pauw’s #21 AF Corse Ferrari thumped Gustav Birch’s GMB Motorsport Aston Martin, the incident also tagging the back of the #3 Cadillac V Series. R. Evidently, the Belgian had got on the power too eagerly.

 

Running 53rd overall due to a handover to Jenson Button, the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 had moved up and down the overall running order, mixing it with the quicker LM GTE-Am cars 3:52.097 the best lap for Mike Rockenfeller. 26 laps run without issue, the drivers were cycling single stints and staying out of trouble as yellow zones gave the field plenty to think about.

LM24, Hour 3: Rain adds to early-hour chaos

Nikolaz Godet/Motorsport Images
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emailBy Stephen Kilbey | June 10, 2023 1:29 PM ET

We’ve now had three hours of chaotic racing at Le Mans. Hour 3 was incident-packed and featured multiple, multi-car battles for top positions in Hypercar. But they were all for nothing, as to make things even more frenetic, the hour ended with a deluge between Indianapolis and the Porsche Curves, bringing out a safety car.

While the sun was out in pit lane, the rain came down hard on the second half of the lap and caused multiple cars to spin and slide off track on slick tires. The cars caught out included the No. 3 Cadillac of Scott Dixon, the Walkenhorst Ferrari, the No. 709 Glickenhaus 007, the No. 31 WRT ORECA, and the GR Racing Porsche that was leading GTE at the time with Ricardo Pera aboard.

Pera came off worst of the cars in trouble, hitting the barriers hard at the rear after multiple rotations, damaging the Porsche. Dixon meanwhile, was more lucky, only kissing a guardrail while spinning in front of the Porsche.

Of the winners from the change in conditions, Gustavo Menezes was flying in the wet on slicks in the No. 94 Peugeot, climbing as high as second. It was a heart-warming memorable moment for the struggling Peugeot Sport program when the company’s top brass was seen by TV cameras cheering the American on as he put the French make into the top three. The No. 2 Cadillac also pitted for wets just before the safety car, giving the team an advantage.

“Tough start to the race. We led off and were about P5 or P6. It was difficult with the track as green from the rain earlier, but second and third stint we know our Cadillac is really strong in those stints,” related No. 2 Cadillac driver Earl Bamber. “So, as we started to get there, we started to move forward and led the first-ever laps for Cadillac at Le Mans. Proud of that. I came in just ahead of the rain showers, so it’s going to be dicey for a few boys out there. We’ll keep charging on.”

The safety car’s appearance was due to the number of cars spotted aquaplaning. This caused almost the entire field to pit straight away, meaning the entire order, again, was turned on its head.

At the turn of the hour, the No. 50 AF Corse was shown as leading with Antonio Fuoco at the wheel, with the No. 51 Ferrari of Antonio Giovanazzi in second. The No. 94 Peugeot was shown third, though Gustavo Menezes pitted as the fourth hour began.

The No. 7 Toyota was fourth, with the No. 38 JOTA Porsche fifth. This will all change, however, with more stops to come under safety car conditions.
In LMP2, JOTA’s No. 28 ORECA ended up leading LMP2, with the No. 35 and No. 36 Alpine ORECAs second and third.

In GTE, following the GR Racing incident, the No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari was leading with Davide Rigon behind the wheel, with the No. 85 Iron Dames Porsche second and the “Rexy” Project 1 Porsche third.

The Hendrick Garage 56 Camaro is also still running fine, currently 44th overall, the team taking it easy in the opening hours to survive the changes in conditions.

Prior to the rain, 20 minutes into the hour there was another significant incident in the GTE AM class, which has been somewhat of a race of attrition in the opening hours. An out-of-control Claudio Schiavoni in the Iron Lynx Porsche hit the No. 16 Proton Competition Porsche hard at Tetre Rouge. The Italian ran wide onto the grass and ended up spearing the No. 16 911 RSR, (narrowly avoiding the No. 77 Dempsey Proton Porsche) destroying the front-left corner of Ryan Hardwick’s car, the American left with nowhere to go. Both cars have been retired.

Shortly after, Frederick Lubin on the exit of Tetre Rouge lost the rear of the No. 22 United Autosports ORECA and whacked the No. 77 Dempsey Proton Porsche of Mikkel Pedersen, heavily damaging its right-front corner. Both cars continued, and are still being repaired, the United 07 needing extensive suspension work.

The 6 Hours of Spa-winning No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari also crashed in the rain before the safety car with Lilou Wadoux at the wheel. Wadoux went backwards at high speed into the barriers at the Porsche Curves, and hasn’t made it back to the pits. If the car is out of the race, it will be the fifth retirement in GTE AM.

With the safety car still out as we head into Hour 4, we are left wondering, what next in this rollercoaster edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours? This race has yet to find any sort of rhythm.

HOUR 3 STANDINGS
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2023 LM24, Hour 3: The Rain Has Come!

Ferrari AF Corse back up to the top after three hours - torrential rain has wreacked havoc in the Porsche Curves!

10 June 2023, 6:17 PM
Four different Hypercar manufacturers – first Ferrari, then Toyota, then Cadillac, and then Porsche – have taken turns leading overall in the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans after three hours – just what many had hoped for in anticipation of this much-hyped event.

But there were a couple more incidents to report, and also, the rain has arrived with a vengeance, making it a brutal trek through the Porsche Curves on slicks!

Just in the last few minutes, the #3 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R of Scott Dixon and the #709 Glickenhaus Racing SCG 007 of Esteban Gutierrez have spun in the torrential rain, the #31 Team WRT Oreca-07 Gibson of Ferdinand Habsburg aquaplaned out of control and into the Porsche Curves exit road, and the #35 Alpine Elf Team Oreca of Julien Canal spun exiting Arnage Corner.

Even Jan Magnussen with all his Le Mans experience couldn’t keep the #32 Inter Europol Competition Oreca out of trouble when the heavens opened, that car is now back in the garage.
Antonio Fuoco is now aboard the #50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P and leads the race by just under ten seconds. He unleashed his speed and bravery by passing Laurens Vanthoor down Les Hunaudieres and dipping his right-side wheels into the brutally rough shoulder to do it!Fuoco was also able to keep his composure in the wet and now runs ahead of the sister #51 Ferrari of Antonio Giovinazzi – two Ferrari Driver Academy alumni, heading a Ferrari 1-2.



And now, enter Peugeot. The #94 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 has been singing in the rain with its all-wheel drive system, and Gustavo Menezes has been giving it his all behind the wheel to turn the tide of what has been best described as a “character-building” Le Mans debut for the flawed 9X8.

The #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid of Mike Conway runs fourth. And keep an eye on the #38 Hertz Team JOTA Porsche 963, which had gone from 60th on the grid to as high as second overall in the hands of Antonio Felix da Costa – and now Yifei Ye has taken over and runs solidly in the Hypercar top five.

Julien Canal leads LMP2 aboard the #36 Alpine Elf Team Oreca by two seconds, with Gabriel Aubry running second aboard the #10 Vector Sport Oreca.United Autosports’ #23 Oreca is third with young Josh Pierson driving it – but the #22 has had a major incident before the rain really came down.

 

Frederick Lubin lost control out of Tertre Rouge and into Antares, and when he spun, he slammed into the right side of an unsuspecting Mikkel Pedersen in the #77 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR-19.

So far, the Tower Motorsports #13 and Nielsen Racing #14 have retired after the crashes of Ricky Taylor and Rodrigo Sales, respectively. The United Autosports #22, Inter Europol Competition #32, and the DKR Engineering #43 have had extended stays in the garage.

Maxime Martin had an incident with the #708 Glickenhaus 007 of Ryan Briscoe, where Martin was hit approaching a slow zone – this necessitated suspension repairs aboard the Belgian-flagged #43, which had trouble getting started on the formation lap at the very start.
The lead in GTE-Am went into freefall as localised monsoon conditions in the Porsche Curves led the #86 GR Racing’s lead to an abrupt halt. The only car in the 3:52’s, GR’s advantage was building well, 47 seconds the advantage of his Porsche over the #85 Iron Dames Porsche of Rahel Frey.

On approach to the entry of the Porsche Curves, standing water claimed several victims, including Riccardo Pera in the GR Porsche, pirouetting several times before finding the barrier to driver’s right with the rear of the 911 RSR-19.



The car made it to the pits, leaving the field to pit for wets under a safety car and the #54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE EVO driven by Davide Rigon at the top of the class. Iron Dames are placed second, Sarah Bovy now aboard, and third is currently held by P.J. Hyett, first time aboard the distinctive Dino-liveried #56 Porsche.

The hour saw plenty of drama. Claudio Schiavoni, having just taken over the top three #60 Iron Lynx Porsche, took too much kerb to drivers’ left on the run to Tertre Rouge. The yellow Porsche skewed across the track, collecting the #16 Wright Motorsport run Proton Porsche entry that was rising through the top ten, driven by Ryan Hardwick and in its own fight for position with another Proton Porsche. Both cars were retired with significant damage.

Indeed, Proton’s Porsches seem to have a target painted on their liveries. The next casualty was the #77 Dempsey Proton Racing car, on the receiving end of a skewing LMP2 prototype, again on the run to Tertre Rouge.

The #22 United Autosports LMP2 car was out of shape as it moved to pass the slower GTE car, pitching hard across the track to make heavy contact with Mikkel Pedersen, who limped the heavily damaged Porsche back towards the pits.

Jenson Button’s pace in the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 Innovative Car was carving the F1 Champion’s way up through the GTE-Am field, tackling wet conditions for the car for the first time this week. The constant stop/go nature of the race so far is in no way helping the car’s expected performance between the LMP2 and GTE pace. Currently 44th overall, the ZL1 is splitting the GTE-Am field.

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LM24, Hour 4: Peugeot holds station up front

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emailBy Stephen Kilbey | June 10, 2023 2:13 PM ET

The fourth hour of the Le Mans 24 Hours saw things settle down, but only because the safety car period called for rain and incidents in Hour 3 lasted the entire hour.

The biggest headline of the hour was the No. 94 Peugeot 9X8 holding the lead under safety car conditions after the most recent Hypercar pit stops early in the hour. Californian ace Gustavo Menezes’s efforts climbing the order on slick tires in the rain paid off, the French marque is an unlikely early leader in this race.

While the No. 94 was enjoying life at the front, it was not a good hour for the sister car. After changing to slicks under safety car, Jean-Eric Vergne in the No. 93 had a spin at Mulsanne Corner while tip-toeing and came to a stop in the gravel. The Frenchman ended up beached and required outside assistance to rejoin as Hour 5 approached. He is now two laps down and 14th in Hypercar after losing so much time being extracted by a manitou.

By the end of the hour, the No. 94 Peugeot retained the lead with Menezes still driving. The No. 6 Penske Porsche of Kevin Estre was up to second, with the No. 7 Toyota of Jose Maria Lopez third. The No. 8 Toyota and No. 75 Porsche made up the top five.
In LMP2, it’s an Alpine 1-2 as we head into Hour 5. The No. 35 of Memo Rojas leads the No. 36 of Julien Canal. The No. 23 United Autosports ORECA of Oliver Jarvis is third.

GTE Am has the No. 85 Iron Dames Porsche now at the front. The “Rexy” Project 1 Porsche is second and continues to be an early contender. The No. 911 Proton Competition Porsche, with Martin Rump now aboard in place of Richard Lietz who took the start, is third. The Pescarolo-liveried TF Sport Aston Martin is fourth with the bright orange ORT by TF Vantage fifth.

The Hendrick Motorsports Camaro is 44th overall, behind the 10th-place GTE Am team. Jenson Button is now in the car for his first stint in the race.

Crucially, the rain has now stopped, the track is drying and the expectation is that we will go green again very soon.

HOUR 4 STANDINGS
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2023 LM24, Hour 4: Yes, Peugeot Has Its Moment Up Front!

Menezes leads in the #94 9X8; Alpine Elf Team leads LMP2, Iron Dames to the top in GTE Am!

10 June 2023, 7:15 PM
Much of this fourth hour of the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been run behind the Safety Car due to barrier repairs, necessitated by multiple incidents in the Porsche Curves at the bottom of the third hour.

But it gave us a wonderful moment – the fifth different manufacturer to lead the race, Peugeot TotalEnergies!

Pit cycles under this extended Safety Car intervention put the #94 Peugeot 9X8 of Gustavo Menezes out front. If nothing else, the French manufacturer can claim it has led an extended period of the first Le Mans for the 9X8, no matter the circumstances behind it.

As the field prepares to get back to racing in the next hour, the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 of Kevin Estre is second in Hypercar, and the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 HYBRID of Jose Maria Lopez is third.

Of course, the Safety Car intervention has gone on long enough for the rain to stop, with many cars taking the chance to go back to slick tyres. Unfortunately, Jean-Eric Vergne went onto slicks and spun into the gravel at Mulsanne Corner on his out-lap.

All 16 cars are still running with 12 on the lead lap.

At the top of the hour in LMP2, the Signatech-run Alpine Elf Team Oreca 07-Gibsons are running first and second.

Memo Rojas leads in the #36, ahead of Julien Canal in the #35. Both Silver-graded drivers are getting their time behind the wheel in.

Oliver Jarvis runs third in the United Autosports #23 Oreca, while the #37 COOL Racing Oreca leads LMP2 Pro-Am (12th in class outright) and now has Malthe Jakobsen at the wheel.

All of this can change once we get back to green-flag racing!

Team WRT have changed the front and rear of the #31 Oreca that went off in the Porsche Curves escape road. DKR Engineering’s #43 Oreca is back out after Maxime Martin was hit by Ryan Briscoe in the #708 Glickenhaus Racing SCG 007.

However, the #32 Inter Europol Competition Oreca is still in the garage after Jan Magnussen went off in the torrential rain and crashed.
The race being neutralised for the hour has handed control of GTE-Am back to Porsche. Sarah Bovy now leads the race for Iron Dames, ten seconds ahead of the Project 1-AO Porsche, the #911 Proton Competition entry of Martin Rump making it a Porsche 1-2-3.

This performance is in contrast to the German marque’s performance in qualifying, where no Porsches even made it through to Hyperpole.

Davide Rigon’s pit stop and handover to Francesco Castellacci dropped the Silver #54 AF Corse Ferrari from the lead, but the experienced Italian was resigned to the challenges of this tough race so far.

“It wasn’t a very good start for us, we’re happy with the car but cannot keep up with the Porsches,” Rigon said. “The different conditions around the track are making things very difficult. We are keeping wets on at the moment because there is still so much water out there.”

Behind the leading Porsches TF Sport’s Aston Martin’s were beginning to show, Arnold Robin’s #72 Pescarolo tribute liveried Vantage two seconds off the #911 Porsche in fourth.

Michael Dinan had the wheel of the #25 Orange ORT by TF Aston Martin, the car having climbed back up the order since an extended pit call at the start of the race to adjust the car’s settings.

Jenson Button was circulating steadily under the safety car, the #24 Garage 56 entry sitting 44th overall, still trailing the top 10 GTE-Am runners, but poised with intent.

We can also confirm that Lilou Wadoux is okay after she slid off at the Porsche Curves escape road and crashed. The impact that her #83 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari took cut the medical light on and brought ambulances onto the scene.

 

LM24, Hour by hour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y160BCjZ34

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2023 LM24, Hour 5: Ecstacy, Then Agony, For JOTA!

Yifei Ye drives to the lead, only to crash at Porsche Curves; Ferrari AF Corse 499Ps back up front

10 June 2023, 8:17 PM
At 8:18 PM, a long Safety Car necessitated by barrier repairs and medical cars reporting to the scene of a multi-car crash at the Porsche Curves escape road was lifted and the 24 Hours of Le Mans was back to green flag racing.

And the restart gave us yet another new leader at the top of the hour: The #38 Hertz Team JOTA, which started this race 60th out of 62 cars, rocketed to the lead!

Yifei Ye had to restart from sixth, cut through four other cars, then had to wrestle with the #94 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 of Gustavo Menezes on the first lap after the Safety Car was withdrawn. But after swapping the lead three times, the Chinese driver and his gold Porsche took the lead through Indianapolis and drove off from the field.

But just minutes ago, it all went wrong – with a 15-second lead, Ye got it all wrong exiting the Porsche Curves, spun off, and crashed rear-first into the tyre barriers! He struggled to bring the car back to the pits without crashing again, where it has gone to the garage for repairs.

Dane Cameron passed both Ferrari AF Corse 499Ps with a brilliant three-wide manoeuvre down Les Hunaudieres on the restart, it would eventually bring him to second place.

But his #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 was given a drive-through penalty for overtaking under the Safety Car intervention. And to top it all off, the #6 Porsche picked up a rear-right puncture during Andre Lotterer’s stint – it’s almost all gone wrong for the Porsche fleet.

Ye’s crash and the debris that it spilled brought out a Full Course Yellow (FCY) to end this hour.

Hypercar is now back to a Ferrari 1-2, with Antonio Giovinazzi leading in the #51, ahead of Miguel Molina in the #50.

Cameron served his drive-through penalty and is still running third in the #5 Penske Porsche, and Nick Tandy is now fourth in the #75.

The #94 Peugeot has settled back into fifth with Loic Duval now aboard, once Menezes finally came in for a full-service stop and driver change – followed by the two Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 HYBRIDs, the #8 of Brendon Hartley and the #7 of Jose Maria Lopez.

In LMP2, the #41 Team WRT Oreca-07 Gibson leads its class with Louis Deletraz holding off the #23 United Autosports Oreca of Oliver Jarvis.

JOTA still has one more challenger for victory – in LMP2. The #28 Oreca, now piloted by Oliver Rasmussen, is in third place after a pit stop.

AF Corse’s #80 Oreca leads LMP2 Pro-Am and is seventh of all in LMP2. Francois Perrodo is doing his drive time very early, which sets up nicely for Ben Barnicoat and Norman Nato to do most of the heavy lifting to the chequered flag.
Under the FCY, AF Corse’s #54 Ferrari was leading GTE-Am again, the silver car’s fuel strategy cycling the car up and down the class. Francesco Castellacci’s lead had been ten seconds before the FCY, but the #911 Proton Competition Porsche closed the gap to four seconds at the green flag, Martin Rump enjoying solid and extended seat time. Sarah Bovy’s #85 Iron Dames Porsche was third, closing in on the #911 car.

As the race approaches quarter-distance, damage assessment in the GTE-Am class seems appropriate. The rate of attrition in GTE-Am is unusually high at this stage of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with five retirements.

A further casualty of the wet weather carnage was Lilou Wadoux in the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari. Any chance of a repeat of the form that landed the French woman driver a historic victory at Spa dissipated as the Ferrari was one of the early casualties of the standing water in the braking zone for the right-hander at the entry to the Porsche Curves.

The #83 car had a high-speed loss of grip, with a resulting heavy backward impact. A WEC spokesperson confirmed, as mentioned in our previous hourly report, that Wadoux was not injured although the crash necessitated the intervention of medical vehicles.

Wadoux is currently undergoing precautionary checks at the circuit medical centre.

Further to the retirements of the #16 Proton Competition Porsche, the #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche that was heavily clouted by the United Autosports prototype re-joined the race having lost seven laps under the safety car.

Similarly, Nicolas Varrone was now aboard the #33 Corvette, the dominant form of the C8.R currently in the restraint of a five-lap deficit due to a front damper failure.

Jenson Button presses on in the Garage 56 #24 Chevrolet, out on his own on track, a minute behind the ninth-placed car in GTE-Am, 50 seconds ahead of the recovering Floyd Vanwall Hypercar, and gaining ground with every consistent stint.

 

LM24, Hour 6

2023 LM24, Hour 6: Too Close To Call Into Darkness

Toyota, Ferrari, Porsche, and Cadillac all with viable contenders on mixed strategies

10 June 2023, 9:22 PM
At the end of the first quarter, it is far too close to predict a winner of the Centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

So far after six hours, we’ve seen sunny skies and torrential downpours, and all matter of weather conditions in between them. Five manufacturers have taken a turn leading the Hypercar class and overall – and that includes a privateer-entered car which briefly led this race.

But of them all, Ferrari AF Corse and the two Ferrari 499Ps have been the most reliable presence at the front.

After six hours, the Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 HYBRIDs are running first and second overall, with Brendon Hartley first in the #8, and Jose Maria Lopez second in the #7, just 2.4 seconds behind. Nick Tandy in the #75 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 is close behind in third, holding down the fort for Porsche after a slew of misfortunes hit the two full-time WEC cars #5 and #6.

The #5 Porsche slowed down with a sensor issue, then had to serve a drive-through penalty for passing under a safety car, and the #6 has been set back with punctures.



But they are somewhat off-sequence compared to the “true leaders”, the two Ferraris. Alessandro Pier Guidi is ahead of Nicklas Nielsen in the #51 and #50 respectively. The #50 was running ahead of the #51 before a coordinated change of positions when Giovinazzi was aboard the #51 and Molina was in the #50.

Behind them are the #94 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 of Loic Duval, and the #2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R of Alex Lynn, again salvaging dignity for a beleaguered manufacturer. Both these cars are on the same pit sequence as the two Ferraris.

Since our last update, Hertz Team JOTA’s mechanics have the #38 Porsche 963 back on track after a 20-minute repair job – a fantastic bit of work. It still leaves them four laps down, but it could have been much worse after Yifei Ye crashed out of the lead.

Glickenhaus Racing’s race is beginning to come undone a bit: Ryan Briscoe and the #708 SCG 007 was given a five-minute penalty stop for his clash with the #43 DKR Engineering Oreca LMP2, and the #709 SCG007 of Nathanael Berthon had a mechanical issue and began to slow out on track. They’re still well ahead of the #4 Floyd Vanwall Racing Team Vandervell 680, though.

So far there are still only two retirements in LMP2, the Nielsen Racing #14, and the Tower Motorsports #13, both crashed out on their own in the second hour.

It’s too early to call a winner here either but at the top of the hour, we have another surprise player in the mix: The #34 Inter Europol Competition Oreca 07-Gibson was leading with Kuba Smiechowski, the driver/manager, aboard.

The JOTA #28 of Oliver Rasmussen and the United Autosport #23 of Oliver Jarvis are also in the mix for at least a podium as it stands, and so too are the Panis Racing #65 and the Team WRT #41.
The leading positions in GTE-Am were just starting to settle into a rhythm.

Giacomo Petrobelli was leading in the #66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari, which was having an untroubled run. Thomas Neubauer had completed the majority of the Ferrari’s running, making the best of the team’s strategy during the cautions. But Petrobelli now had the Iron Dames Porsche closing in fast from second place.

The Iron Dames Porsche had used up a decent chunk of the crew’s Bronze time, Sarah Bovy delivering an impressive performance in tough conditions, Michelle Gatting now aboard and taking up the hunt. Passing the #911 car, the Danish driver was considerably quicker, soon reeling in Thomas Flohr’s #54 Ferrari to take second place, Flohr in the car for the first time.

Martin Rump’s solid stints in the #911 had taken the car into the class lead, but now it was down to Michael Fassbender to deliver incident-free running to keep the Porsche in touch as it dropped back to fifth behind the #56 Project 1 – AO Porsche, which had Gunnar Jeanette at the wheel for the first time.

Michael Dinan spun at the first chicane, the rear of his #25 Aston Martin gently contacting the tyre wall to drivers’ right. The American driver rejoined having lost eighth place to the #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari (which had recently kissed the tyre wall in a similar low grip excursion).

The #72 TF Sport “Pescarolo homage” Aston Martin also lost its line in the Porsche Curves, Arnold Robin backing the car into the tyre wall having nearly collected the #51 Ferrari 499P Hypercar.

The sun has already set over Circuit de la Sarthe. The most treacherous chapters of the race are yet to be written. And with what little daylight is left, we can see the rain clouds circling in again…

 

LM24, Hour 7

2023 LM24, Hour 7: Rain, Pavement & Tarmac Become Black Terror

Ferrari AF Corse leads outright, Inter Europol out front in LMP2, Rexy on the prowl in GTE-Am

10 June 2023, 10:26 PM
The skies have opened once again after sunset in the 24 Hours of Le Mans – creating terrible conditions for the drivers to negotiate.

Within minutes of the rain falling hard, the Hypercar class front runners dove to the pits to change to wet-weather tyres. Even then, with the minimal visibility of night driving already made worse with the rain and spray, these drivers are trying to be as careful as possible not to throw it away now.

What that has done is brought all of the Hypercar and LMP2 front runners back on the same pit sequence.

And it means that Alessandro Pier Guidi now has a commanding lead in the #50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P. At the top of the hour he has a lead of over one minute and is running a brilliant stint in these tough conditions.

The Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 is thriving in the wet conditions, and Loic Duval is running a commendable second overall in the #94 Peugeot, with a 30-second buffer to the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 HYBRID – which has “Coach Kamui” Kobayashi aboard for his first stint.

However, the #50 Ferrari has had its first real strife of the race. When it came into the pits near the top of the hour, it lost 30 seconds in the pits when it wouldn’t fire up. That bruise only spread when Nicklas Nielsen ran wide at Karting Corner, avoiding the barriers but losing even more valuable track position. Nielsen is now fourth overall.

Richard Westbrook also had a spin in the #2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R but was able to continue right away and is now fifth. Ryo Hirakawa is aboard the #8 Toyota, now sixth, last of the lead-lap runners.

The #75 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 had been having a relatively trouble-free race compared to its peers from the Penske camp, until it shut down in the hands of Mathieu Jaminet at the inside of Tertre Rouge. Jaminet has spent several minutes trying to get the car back online and back to the pits.

Fabio Scherer leads the LMP2 class aboard the #34 Inter Europol Competition Oreca 07-Gibson. The Polish Bakers’ ace car is well and truly in the fight for the biggest win of their lives.

Tom Blomqvist is catching him rapidly, the United Autosports #23 Oreca has cut the deficit down to under ten seconds and may be poised to make a move as of publication.

Robert Kubica is back aboard the Team WRT #41 in a comfortable third.

And with Pro driver Ben Barnicoat now driving, the #80 AF Corse Oreca from the LMP2 Pro-Am sub-category is running fourth in its class, just ahead of Olli Caldwell in the Alpine Elf Team #35.

Once the rain started, the trouble began immediately for several LMP2 runners. Oliver Rasmussen had to come back to the garage after spinning and hitting the barrier, with damage on the right front of the #28 JOTA Oreca – not as bad as what the “Mighty ’38” Porsche suffered earlier, but enough to take them out of immediate reach of the lead – he’s now sixth in class.

Filip Ugran went off in the Prema Racing #9 Oreca, and was then hit by an out-of-control Salih Yoluc in the #923 Racing Team Turkey car. Both cars continued but the Prema #9 only got far enough to go back to the garage for repairs.

Independently, Frederick Lubin also slid off course in the United Autosports #22, but continued.
‘Rexy’ leads GTE-Am at Le Mans! Matteo Cairoli’s experience with the #56 Project 1 – AO Porsche 911 RSR-19 came to the fore as the Italian pro driver overhauled a big gap to the #85 Iron Dames Porsche, his lap times several seconds better, a gap of 12 seconds drawing out now to the second placed Iron Dames Porsche.

AF Corse are hanging on for third in the wet conditions, Davide Rigon’s Le Mans experience clearly making the difference as slippery conditions prevail.

The rain that introduced the hour claimed the GTE-Am leader. Rookie Giacomo Petrobelli lost the #66 JMW Ferrari at Indianapolis, hard into the gravel with rear bodywork damage. The car was recovered, but significant suspension and body repairs were obviously required – another victim of this year’s race, the like of which this writer has not seen in this class.

That put the #85 Iron Dames in front, the all-female Porsche crew using the car’s handling they had enthused about to best effect.
Matteo Cairolli had climbed back into the #56 Porsche, ‘Rexy’s’ handlers putting in a very solid drive so far.

A 21-lap stint for Gunnar Jeanette had pegged the car onto the pace, but a 19 seconds gap to the leading #85 car seemed better suited to Cairolli, who immediately began to carve chunks out of the pink Porsche’s lead in worsening night-time conditions.

Similarly, Richard Lietz took the #911 Proton Competition Porsche back from Michael Fassbender, the actor-turned-racer following suit to limit the risk of a hard-earned fourth place.

Hendrick Motorsports were slowly progressing through the GTE-Am runners, the #24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 a second behind the eight-in-class D’Station Racing Aston Martin. Jimmie Johnson had taken over from Jenson Button, the American legend’s laps eight seconds a lap shy of the more nimble GTEs around them.

But so far so good, the car has avoided any real drama and sounds and looks fabulous in the darkness.

 

LM24, Hour 8

2023 LM24, Hour 8: #51 Ferrari Goes Off, Peugeot #94 Leads Again

#75 Penske Porsche 963 retires; Drama in LMP2 as Blomqvist crashes from the lead

10 June 2023, 11:24 PM
There’s been a major break in the action, eight hours into the Centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans – as the leading #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P has gone off just before the top of the hour!

Alessandro Pier Guidi had just come off a monster stint as the rain had dissipated and the track had dried out. But just after a pit stop, he spun through the first Mulsanne Chicane and found himself beached in the gravel long enough to concede the lead!

This has moved the #94 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 of Nico Muller, who has continued an exceptional race driven by his team-mates Gustavo Menezes and Loic Duval, up to the lead, followed by the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 HYBRID of Kamui Kobayashi, 30 seconds back.

Nicklas Nielsen gambled on a switch to slicks and is now third in the #50 Ferrari, which ensures at least one Ferrari in podium position after Pier Guidi’s off-course excursion.

Our first premier class retirement of the 24 Hours of Le Mans has come after eight hours of racing.

The #75 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 was last seen running slowly after shutting off at Tertre Rouge. Mathieu Jaminet brought the car back into the pits where it was diagnosed with a terminal fuel pressure problem, according to Porsche communications.

It’s the first retirement in the Hypercar era at Le Mans after two years without any retirements, albeit with a much smaller field.

Esteban Guerrieri also went for a spin in the #4 Vanwall Vandervell 680. Guerrieri was able to return after being fetched from the gravel in the Forest Esses, but Floyd Vanwall Racing Team’s entry is still eight laps down.

For now, the rain has lifted after a big shower in the previous hour, and the #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P is still leading outright after a monster stint from the two-time GTE World Champion, Alessandro Pier Guidi.

Dominant driving in wet and dry conditions got him to a 72-second lead before he pitted towards the top of the hour.

There was also, big drama in LMP2 involving the #23 United Autosports Oreca 07-Gibson which had just taken the lead in the class.

Tom Blomqvist reported a loss of brakes when he crashed, the car sustained damage to the front and rear, and while Blomqvist was able to drive back to pit lane for repairs, he had to be taken to the medical centre for checks after the crash tripped the medical light in his car.

Blomqvist was okay, and the car was able to be repaired after 20 minutes for Josh Pierson to get aboard. But with United Autosports’ two cars now buried down the LMP2 order, their chances of winning have been virtually eliminated.

This puts Inter Europol Competition’s #34 car back up front, with Fabio Scherer leading Robert Kubica in the Team WRT #41 by 15 seconds.

Ben Barnicoat runs third in class in the AF Corse #80, which also gives his team the lead in LMP2 Pro-Am by about 30 seconds from the #45 Algarve Pro Racing car of James Allen (seventh outright in LMP2).

Both the Prema Racing #9 and Racing Team Turkey #923 have returned to the race after extensive repairs following the crash between Filip Ugran and Salih Yoluc, but both are nine laps down from the overall lead.
Matteo Cairoli’s lead is building well. He’s four seconds a lap quicker than Michelle Gatting’s Iron Dames Porsche, the #56 Project 1-AO entry forged ahead in the darkness to establish a gap of 1 minute 27 seconds at the top of the hour.

Davide Rigon’s AF Corse Ferrari was trying hard to stay in touch with the leaders, the #54 488 GTE EVO posting 3:59’s as conditions started to improve, the gap to the Iron Dames Porsche 1 minute 11 seconds.

The GTE-Am class is becoming one of high attrition.

Notable improvements are the #25 ORT by TF Aston Martin and the GR Racing Porsche, both cars now back in the top ten in class after their earlier difficulties.

The #33 Corvette was also making up lost laps. But having been caught out by a stewards’ safety car pit exit error, the car was still 2 laps adrift of the class leader, but at this rate of incident and attrition, anything seems possible.

Tomonobo Fuji’s #777 D’Station Racing Aston Martin had been brought to its garage having made it back into the top ten in class.

And the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is still running strong.