LM24, Hour 20

2023 LM24, Hour 20: Ferrari Back To Work

Michael Fassbender's bid for GTE Am victory ends with shunt

11 June 2023, 11:12 AM
There’s no change to report at the head of the field, with four hours left in the 91st annual 24 Hours of Le Mans – the Centenary Edition.

In the last hour, Alessandro Pier Guidi drove the #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P to the lead after some drama trying to get the car started on its last pit stop.

After the most recent pit stops, Pier Guidi went gone back to work and had built a ten-second lead over the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid.

The #8 Toyota has changed hands from Sebastien Buemi to Brendon Hartley, and just recently, has pitted for fuel earlier than expected. It takes the top two off the same pit stop schedule. After the #51 Ferrari pitted, the gap is less than four seconds, and James Calado is now behind the wheel.

Earl Bamber is still third overall in the #2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R, still towards the tail end of the lead lap. The #3 Cadillac of Renger van der Zande is fourth, one lap off the lead and one lap ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne in the #93 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8.

The #6 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963 has gone to the garage for a third time in recent hours, this time to change a faulty hybrid system.

At the very top of the hour, the #311 Action Express Racing Cadillac of Jack Aitken – who began the race with a spectacular wreck at the first Mulsanne Chicane – spun into the gravel at the same spot.

Inter Europol Competition and the #34 Oreca 07-Gibson still leads LMP2. Fabio Scherer is digging deep after a foot injury sustained during the week.

But keep an eye on the notice board – the #34’s Race Director has just been summoned to Race Control for a potential improper pit stop procedure.

Louis Deletraz is running second still in the #41 Team WRT Oreca and Neel Jani is taking over the #30 Team Duqueine Oreca, in third, while Paul-Loup Chatin is doing likewise in the IDEC Sport #48.

James Allen runs 13th in LMP2 overall and his #45 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca continues to lead LMP2 Pro-Am.
Ben Keating handed over his first-placed #33 Corvette C8.R to Nicolas Varrone, dropping Corvette Racing car to third.

This left Sarah Bovy leading in the Iron Dames Porsche, albeit with a reduced margin: Michael Dinan was closing in on Bovy, just two seconds away. Bovy responded though, digging deep, the striking #85 pink Porsche looking well planted on the improving track surface.

The Belgian Iron Dame would extend the gap to over five seconds, a further 30 seconds the gap from the Aston Martin to Varrone’s charging Corvette.

Running in fourth, Project 1-AO’s ‘Rexy’ Porsche 911 RSR-19 is being dropped by the leading battle. Gunnar Jeannette is now aboard and managing a gap of two minutes to the Corvette, but still in touch with the race with four hours racing left.

GR Racing rounds off the top five with Riccardo Pera having been back at the helm of the #86 Porsche, another decent recovery for the car from the Italian’s costly off-road excursion on Saturday evening.

With four hours and 24 minutes to go, Michael Fassbender spun his #911 Proton Competition Porsche out at Karting Corner and slammed rear-right first into the tyre barriers. Fassbender drove the car back to the pits but was frustrated with his unforced error, and now all four Proton Competition Porsches have retired from the race.

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LM24 Hour 20: Toyota slashes Ferrari lead

Nikolaz Godet/Motorsport Images
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emailBy Stephen Kilbey | June 11, 2023 6:30 AM ET

The lead battle is still hot at the Le Mans 24 Hours with 4 hours remaining. The No. 51 Ferrari 499P still leads but the gap is down to just 1.1 seconds after being 19 for most of the hour. The gap came down because Toyota opted to pit the No. 8 a lap early during a slow zone period, to gain time.

It worked and Brendon Hartley is right behind James Calado, who is now back aboard the leading 499P. Will the Kiwi find enough pace in his GR010 to make a pass for the lead?The slow zone in question was called for an off at the end of the Porsche Curves for Michael Fassbender. The movie star, in heartbreaking fashion, ended up losing the rear end and slapping the tyres on the driver’s left hard.

Fassbender made it back to the pits, but the damage to the right-rear corner was too heavy for the car to continue. It was the 11th GTE Am retirement and was a truly gutting moment for the entire Proton crew, which was on course for a top-10 finish. It’s been a really challenging race for Christian Ried’s team, with four cars crashing out.

Up front in GTE Am, Iron Dames leads but the gap to the ORT by TF Aston Martin is just 4.9 seconds. It’s Sarah Bovy vs Michael Dinan, with both drivers trading fast times. The Corvette, with Nico Varrone in for what will likely be his final stint, is a further 30 seconds down the road.

LMP2 is still a two-horse race between the No. 34 Inter Europol ORECA and the No. 41 WRT ORECA, with the Polish outfit firmly in control with a lead of 49 seconds. So far, it’s been an incredible performance from the plucky team owned by a Polish bakery. Fabio Scherer, nursing an injured foot after being run over by the Corvette, is back in the car now with the end in sight.

HOUR 20 RUNNING ORDER