Unpredictable weather marked the first half of the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans. With 12 hours remaining, a timely safety car intervention catapulted Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Porsche 963 into the Hypercar lead, ahead of giants like TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, Ferrari AF Corse, and Cadillac Racing.
With 12 hours in the rearview, Porsche Penske Motorsport, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, and Ferrari AF Corse are locked in a thrilling three-way battle for the lead at Le Mans, with the top nine Hypercars all on the same lap!
Porsche Penske Motorsport held the lead at 4:00 AM, but TOYOTA GAZOO Racing remains undeterred, leveraging their experience to craft the perfect strategy. The #8 GR010 Hybrid, driven by Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa, sits in second place, followed by Cadillac Racing’s #3 Cadillac V-Series.R.
The race has seen plenty of drama. AF Corse’s #83 Ferrari 499P received a 30-second penalty for contact with BMW M Team WRT’s #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, causing the BMW to retire. A heavy rain-induced neutralization at 3:45 AM led to Whelen Cadillac Racing’s #311 Cadillac V-Series.R spinning out, and the two Toyotas quickly pitted for wet tires, handing the lead to the #6 Porsche 963 Hypercar.
In LMP2, the battle for the lead saw Nielsen Racing’s #24 ORECA 07-Gibson surrender the top spot to AF Corse’s #183 after a collision with Proton Competition’s #77 Ford Mustang LMGT3. Meanwhile, Duqueine Team’s #30 ORECA 07-Gibson suffered an engine failure near the Daytona chicane.
Valentino Rossi’s hopes were dashed in the LMGT3 class when Team WRT’s #46 BMW M4 LMGT3 crashed, ending their race. The LMGT3 category continues to thrill, with Manthey PureRxcing’s #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 leading ahead of the #91 Porsche and United Autosports’ #59 McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo, with the top eight cars on the same lap.
At mid-race, the top five are:
- #6 Porsche 963 | Porsche Penske Motorsport – Kévin Estre / André Lotterer / Laurens Vanthoor – 171 laps
- #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing – Sébastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa +7.748s
- #2 Cadillac V-Series.R | Cadillac Racing – Earl Bamber / Alex Lynn / Alex Palou +2:10.410
- #51 Ferrari 499P | Ferrari AF Corse – Alessandro Pier Guidi / James Calado / Antonio Giovinazzi +2:13.371
- #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing – José María López / Kamui Kobayashi / Nyck de Vries +2:22.995
LMP2 is led by AF Corse’s #183 ORECA 07-Gibson, while Manthey PureRxcing’s #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 tops the LMGT3 category. Notable retirements include Vista AF Corse’s #54 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 and both Alpine A424 cars from Alpine Endurance Team, among others. Antonio Fuoco set the fastest lap in the #50 Ferrari 499P with a time of 03:29.208 on the 46th lap.
