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By Stephen Kilbey - Jun 14, 2025, 11:16 AM EDT

Le Mans 24, Hour 1: Penske Porsche makes early move

With an hour of racing in the books at Le Mans, it’s Porsche that’s out front.

Julien Andlauer in the No. 5 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 stormed past the two Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.Rs from third on the grid to take the lead on the opening lap.

His first move was on Earl Bamber at the Dunlop Bridge, then he breezed past Will Stevens in the pole-sitting No. 12 car on the run down to the first Mulsanne chicane.

Into the second hour, the Frenchman’s lead is 5.3s, after stretching to over 7s before the first round of pit stops.

Stevens remains second, with Bamber behind. Outside the top three, the No. 50 Ferrari of Nicklas Nielsen is fourth, ahead of the No. 6 Porsche, which has also enjoyed a strong start thanks to Kevin Estre and is fifth.

Also in the top 10 at this early stage are the No. 311 Whelen Cadillac, No. 20 BMW, No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari, No. 15 BMW after losing ground from P4 on the grid and the No. 8 Toyota.

It was a relatively calm, clean opening hour, though there were two significant incidents as Hour 2 approached.
The No. 22 United Autosports ORECA of David Heinemeier Hansson collided with the Ziggo Sport Tempesta Ferrari at the Dunlop Bridge. Both cars continued.

Then, with 57 minutes on the clock, Paul Di Resta in the No. 93 Peugeot 9X8 had an off at the Porsche Curves. The Scotsman ended up running through the gravel at speed after getting it all wrong, trying to lap the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari.


Di Resta was unable to keep the car out of the barriers, ripping much of the rear bodywork off after contact. He dived straight in for repairs, and the team, remarkably, were able to replace the front and rear bodywork and send him on his way in just 93s, meaning the No. 93 is still on the lead lap.

The No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA with Tom Dillmann at the wheel leads LMP2. The order has shuffled significantly since the first stops, with many teams opting to install their Bronze drivers, including the pole-sitting TDS ORECA, which has dropped to eighth after Mathias Beche made way for Rodrigo Sales.

IDEC Sport’s No. 28 ORECA is second, with the No. 16 RLR M Sport 07 of Patrick Pilet third overall in LMP2 and P1 in Pro/Am.
It’s a similar story in LMGT3. Mattia Drudi retained the lead early for Heart of Racing, but that car has since dropped to seventh after Ian James was put in the car during the No. 27’s first visit to the pit lane.

Jack Hawksworth, from eighth on the grid, finds himself leading in the No. 78 AKKODIS ASP Lexus. The No. 46 WRT BMW is second with Kelvin van der Linde on a charge. The No. 10 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin is third.

HOUR 1 STANDINGS

 

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By Stephen Kilbey - Jun 14, 2025, 12:18 PM EDT

LM 24 Hour 2: Porsche leads Ferrari

Julien Andlauer’s early charge continued in the second hour of the race. The No. 5 Porsche Penske 963 is currently 5.1 seconds clear of the field, the Frenchman keeping the field at arm's length at this early stage.

Behind him, it’s all change. Nicklas Nielsen was the big mover of the hour. The No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari is up to second after the Dane’s efforts to fight to the front past Will Stevens and Kevin Estre.

The No. 50’s laptimes have been strong early courtesy of Nielsen’s efforts. But to this point, he hasn’t found a way to consistently better the pace of Andlauer.

Kevin Estre has made it two Porsche 963s in the top two in the No. 6, and is lapping just ahead of a train of Cadillacs.

Hertz Team JOTA’s front-row lockout seems like a distant memory already, as Jack Aitken is now leading the GM charge in the No. 311 V-Series.R from Action Express. Will Stevens is down to fifth in the No. 12 pole-sitting Caddy, running in formation ahead of Earl Bamber in the sister car.
The best of the Toyotas is next in seventh, with Sebastien Buemi seventh and looking to make up ground.

It’s been a quiet race so far for BMW Team WRT, but there are signs that things could change. Rene Rast is eighth and just 21 seconds off the leader aboard the No. 20, and Dries Vanthoor in the No. 15, down in 11th, set the fastest lap of the race on lap 29, a 3:27.936.

LMP2 is still being headed by Inter Europol and Tom Dillmann. Behind it is Giorgio Roda in the No. 11 Proton example that sits second and leads Pro/Am. RLR M Sport’s strong start to the race has continued, with Patrick Pilet completing the top three.

LMGT3 is currently led by BMW Team WRT’s No. 46 BMW of Ahmad Al Harthy. With the entire field of Bronze-rated drivers currently in there there has been plenty of shuffling in the pack.

During the hour, the Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin shone. The Swiss team found itself leading for much of the stint as Valentin Hasse Clot – a Gold – ran to the lead and pulled away before the team swapped him out for Derek Deboer, who now finds himself 10th after the car became the first to pit for a third time.
The top three in the class were completed by Arnold Robin in the No. 78 AKKODIS ASP Lexus and the No. 77 Proton Ford Mustang of Bernardo Sousa as the second hour ended.

There was one key incident in the hour. The No. 21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari ended up looping round at Indianapolis after Francois Heriau ran side-by-side with Iron Dames' Celia Martin and lost the rear. There was no contact.

 

LM 24 Hour 3

 

Julien Delfosse/DPPI

By Stephen Kilbey - Jun 14, 2025, 2:14 PM EDT

LM24 Hour 4: Ferrari surge continues

Antonio Fuoco is pulling away at La Sarthe. The No. 50 Ferrari AF Corse driver now finds himself 18 seconds clear of the No. 6 Porsche of Laurens Vanthoor with four hours complete.

The gap has been slowly growing lap by lap since the Italian took the lead, but it’s significantly larger than it may have been had Vanthoor not been caught out by a slow zone.

The fighting action has been frantic between the three Ferraris, which have crept up the timing screens since the start, and the No. 6 Porsche, which is currently the only car flying the flag for Roger Penske in the top five.

Robert Kubica is third in the No. 83 499P and all over Vanthoor’s rear bumper, though his mirrors are full of the front end of Antonio Giovinazzi’s No. 50 car.


Further back, the No. 20 BMW is up to fifth with Robin Frijns now in. The Whelen Cadillac continues to lead the General Motors attack in sixth.

Elsewhere, the No. 5 Penske Porsche was handed a drive-through penalty for a slow zone infraction, which has dropped the car out of the top 10 and to 14th.
In LMP2, it’s as you were out front with Inter Europol’s Kuba Schmiechowski still holding a healthy lead over the No. 29 ORECA from TDS and the No. 48 07 from VDS Panis.

GT3 sees Vista AF Corse now leads with Alessio Rovera (pictured, top), who managed to get past the No. 46 WRT BMW and pull a gap of 14s. The No. 92 Porsche is third.

We now have a first retirement, following the first major incident of the race. Gianmarco Levorato ended up destroying the rear end of the No. 88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang at Tertre Rouge.

The Italian lost a wheel and the rear at turn-in, sending him spinning into the barriers and out of the race. There did not appear to be any contact from the car directly behind at first glance. Ford Performance confirmed to RACER that Levorato is out of the car, and we await further updates on his condition.

That incident created a slow zone, which led to further drama when the No. 25 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA ended up rear-ending the RLR M Sport ORECA going into the section of track affected by the yellow. The contact damaged the front end of the No. 25 and forced Matthias Kaiser in for a nose change before he was penalized for the incident.

 

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By R.J. O'Connell - Jun 14, 2025, 3:26 PM EDT

LM24 Hour 5: Ferrari 1-2-3

Ferrari 499Ps run 1-2-3 after five hours of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, after the No. 51 factory Ferrari AF Corse car of Antonio Giovinazzi and the No. 83 quasi-privateer car of Robert Kubica each fought their way past the No. 6 Penske Porsche 963 of Laurens Vanthoor.

It's still Ferrari 1-2-3 at the front but after driver changes, the leading No. 50 is now driven by Miguel Molina, the No. 51 now in the hands of Alessandro Pier Guidi, and the No. 83 controlled by Ye Yifei, all in for their first stints. The No. 83 did have a reported brake issue, and also had to take five extra seconds on a pit stop for cutting the second Mulsanne Chicane.

Matt Campbell is now in the No. 6 Porsche and in middle of a battle for fourth, behind the No. 20 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 of Raffaele Marciello, and ahead of the No. 8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 HYBRID of Ryo Hirakawa.

Then it's the No. 15 WRT BMW, the No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R, No. 4 Penske Porsche 963, and the No. 311 Whelen Cadillac rounding out the top 10.One car of note outside the overall top 10 is the No. 94 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8, which has been running 13 laps per stint consistently, trying to maximize its economy in an attempt to get any advantage.

At the top of the hour it's the No. 48 VDS Panis Racing ORECA 07-Gibson that leads LMP2 with Oliver Gray aboard, some distance ahead of Reshad de Gerus' No. 9 Iron Lynx-Proton ORECA in second.

The No. 43 Inter Europol Competition car had been cruising with Nick Yelloly in for his first stint but he's since pitted and dropped to third after a long pit stop. Jakub Smiechowski had reported a gear selection issue during his stint.

In LMGT3, Valentino Rossi continues to lead firmly in the No. 46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3 EVO. Francois Heriau is back in the second-place No. 21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3, trying to clear more of his Bronze driver time.

Riccardo Pera is now aboard the No. 92 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 911 LMGT3 R, running third.

 

Fabrizio Boldoni/DPPI

By R.J. O'Connell - Jun 14, 2025, 4:10 PM EDT

LM24 Hour 6: WRT BMW, Ferrari AF Corse extend leads

There are 18 hours left in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and through the first quarter of the 93rd edition, the No. 50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P leads overall and has completed 99 laps. Miguel Molina leads a Ferrari 1-2-3 at the front by about three seconds over the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari of Ye Yifei.

Ye just inherited the position from the No. 51 factory Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi that came in for a pit stop right at the top of the hour. The No. 83 and No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 are a bit further into their stints, and Porsche's Matt Campbell is now third on the road ahead of Pier Guidi.

But make no mistake, this race is currently in a Ferrari stronghold up front.

The No. 20 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 of Sheldon van der Linde rounds out the top five, ahead of the No. 8 Toyota GR010 HYBRID of Ryo Hirakawa, the No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R of Norman Nato, and the No. 4 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 of Loic Duval – which is still doing its long-run strategy – in eighth.

 

Fabrizio Boldoni/DPPI

By R.J. O'Connell - Jun 14, 2025, 5:13 PM EDT

LM24 Hour 7: Ferrari lead turns yellow

With 17 hours left at Le Mans, the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P has taken the lead over the two full factory Ferrari Hypercars. Philip Hanson has returned to the cockpit after Ye Yifei erased the deficit to the two factory cars and took the lead during pit stops about 50 minutes ago.

The No. 50 now runs second with Nicklas Nielsen at the wheel, followed by the No. 51 of James Calado.

Kevin Estre has just gotten in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 and is about to rejoin the race in fourth place, ahead of the No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R of Norman Nato in fifth.

Rene Rast in the No. 20 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 overtook Sebastien Buemi for sixth place; Buemi is now seventh in the No. 8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 HYBRID, while the No. 36 Alpine Hypercar Team A424 has breached the top 10 for the first time, behind the No. 15 WRT BMW and No. 4 Penske Porsche.



In LMP2, the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA 07-Gibson is leading and trying to regain what it lost in the pits a few hours ago. Jakub Smiechowski is currently ahead of the No. 48 VDS Panis Racing car, the No. 9 Iron Lynx-Proton car, and the leading Pro/Am cars, the No. 11 Proton Competition and No. 199 AO by TF ORECAs, fourth and fifth across the board.

It's still as-it-was in LMGT3 as well: The No. 46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3 EVO of Kelvin van der Linde is still building the gap to the No. 92 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche in second. The rest of the top five features the No. 21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari, No. 81 TF Sport Corvette, and No. 78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus.

The No. 60 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 and No. 95 United Autosports McLaren LMGT3 EVO have officially joined the list of retirements from the race; the No. 60 Mercedes-AMG was pushed back to the garage for good after a catastrophic engine failure, while the No. 95 McLaren's rear axle failure along the Mulsanne Straight proved terminal.

While battling for 14th place on the road, Paul-Loup Chatin in the No. 35 Alpine A424 spun the No. 94 Peugeot 9X8 of Loic Duval down at Mulsanne Corner.

While not as catastrophic, a presumptive pre-race favorite, the No. 33 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, lost two laps in the garage when a stubborn wheel nut wouldn't come off during a tire change.
Nine cars were under investigation for a yellow flag infringement during the yellow flag for the stranded McLaren, including the No. 38 JOTA Cadillac which already served a drive-through penalty - and, crucially, the No. 50 Ferrari.

Meanwhile, Ford Performance and Proton Competition issued a statement on driver Giammarco Levorato after the No. 88 Ford Mustang LMGT3 crashed earlier:

"An investigation by Ford Performance and Proton determined that the incident was caused by a loose wheel nut, leading to a wheel detachment. Driver Giammarco Levorato returned to the paddock under his own power and was confirmed to be unharmed."

 

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By Stephen Kilbey - Jun 14, 2025, 6:02 PM EDT

LM24 Hour 8: Midnight lull sees Ferrari lead swap

Sunday morning has arrived, and the night hours are in full swing at Le Mans.

The eighth hour of the race was relatively subdued – the only notable moments were a series of penalties handed out by race control, most of which were for yellow flag infringements.

Most significant was for the No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari, which dropped from second and 6.5s off the leading No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari, to fifth, behind the No. 51 Ferrari, No. 6 Porsche and No. 20 BMW, 35s off the lead.

It has set up a chase for Nicklas Nielsen, who is pushing hard to climb back into the top three. However, up ahead, Kevin Estre appears to have found pace in the No. 6 Porsche.

With the track cooler and the window for soft tires open, Penske can sniff a chance to get back in the fight. After sitting 36s off the leader early in the hour, by the end, he managed to reduce the margin to 12s after Phil Hanson climbed aboard the No. 83.
In response to Estre’s heave, Ferrari opted to instruct Hanson and James Calado in the second-place No. 51 to switch places, presumably to allow the No. 51 to build a lead.

As the hour expired, the two cars were close, but hadn't switched, though further radio chatter made it clear that a lead change is expected early in the next hour.Elsewhere, there was further woe for the No. 35 Alpine, which was handed a penalty for causing a collision with the No. 94 Peugeot. This dropped the car to 18th in class and off the lead lap.

The other classes were pretty static, with the No. 48 VDS Panis ORECA holding a minute lead on the recovering No. 43 Inter Europol example and a 90s gap on the No. 28 IDEC Sport ORECA.

In LMGT3, the gap out front is comfortable, too, with Ahmad Al Harthy now back in the No. 46 WRT BMW. The Omani is lapping 54s ahead of the Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche, driven valiantly by Ryan Hardwick since the night hours began, as the team closes in on completing his drive time early.

Richard Lietz is now aboard with the task of catching the BMW, but it’s a long way back.

The No. 21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari and the two Lexus RC F LMGT3s are also lapping quickly in positions third through fifth.
United Autosports, meanwhile, put out a statement clarifying the reason behind the No. 95 McLaren GT3 Evo's retirement from the race. The car suffered a drivetrain issue, which driver Darren Leung, along with team members, over the radio, attempted to fix. The failure, though, "impacted the fuel delivery," leaving him "unable to engage forward drive."

United's hopes of a GT3 victory are now very slim and rest solely on the No. 59 car, which is 17th in class and off the lead lap.

Attention, therefore, shifts to LMP2 for the team, where the No. 22 sits fifth in class, albeit more than 2.5m off the leading VDS Panis car.

 

LM24 Hour 9

 

LM24 Hour 10: Porsche takes the lead
Colin McMaster/LAT Images

By Richard S. James - Jun 14, 2025, 7:53 PM EDT

LM24 Hour 10: Porsche takes the lead

Between Porsche Penske Motorsports pushing longer stints and Ferrari hurting itself with penalties, the No. 6 PPM 963 leads the 24 Hours of Le Mans after 10 hours. Kevin Estre is enjoying the unobstructed view at the front having been in the car for three hours. It's been a redemption run so far for the No. 6, which was disqualified from the first qualifying session for being underweight and started at the rear of the Hypercar field.

The top of the order now looks quite different from the timing screens of the last few hours. Unable to go the 13 laps that the Porsche is doing, the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P of Robert Kubica runs second, followed by Brendan Hartley in the No. 8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010.

Ferrari's No. 50 499P is the best of the Italian factory contingent, now in fourth with Antonio Fuoco at the wheel, ahead of the No. 4 PPM 963 of Nick Tandy.



The big problem for Ferrari came for the No. 51 when Antonio Giovinazzi was handed a 5s penalty served during a pit stop. The penalty was for an incident with the No. 35 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R driven by Jonny Edgar. As he was serving that penalty, Giovinazzi was being investigated for speeding in pit lane, and eventually handed a more severe 20s stop-and-go penalty. The No. 51 now sits in eighth, behind the No. 20 BMW M Team WRT M Hybrid V8 and the No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota V-Series.R

Cadillac's No. 311 Whelen V-Series.R spent several laps in the pits replacing a steering torque sensor and ECU after Frederik Vesti reported an issue that continued for Jack Aitken. The Caddy, which for much of the last few hours had been the best-running V-Series.R, is back up to speed, but five laps down. That's been the biggest problem for any of the Hypercars, and all continue to run.

The No. 48 VDS Panis Racing ORECA of Franck Perera continues to head LMP2, ahead of the No. 9 Iron Lynx-Proton of Maceo Capietto. Tom Dillman is now in the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA to chase the Iron Lynx-Proton car. The No. 199 AO by TF entry still heads Pro-Am, now with Dane Cameron having taken over from PJ Hyett.
Vista AF Corse was at the head of LMGT3 as the hour ticked over, Alessio Rovera piloting the No. 21 Ferrari 296 GT3, but Team WRT continues to look strong in second with Ahmad Al Harthy driving the No. 46 BMW M4 GT3. Riccardo Pera has taken over the No. 92 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3.R from Richard Lietz, and is in third ahead of the two Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RCF GT3s.