24h Le Mans
Ferrari and Toyota battle at dawn The 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans has emerged from darkness to a cloudy but, thankfully, dry morning. Since the mid-race round-up, Toyota has swapped the lead with Ferrari, with Cadillac waiting to pounce should the leading pair be held up. The LMP2 battle, essentially between Inter Europol Competition and Team WRT continues apace, while in LMGTE Am, it is still anyone’s race.
The remaining Toyota GR010-Hybrid, the #8 car, took back control of the race during the night-time hours. The Japanese manufacturer’s Hypercar was first to pass the 200-lap mark after 15 hours of racing with Ryō Hirakawa in the hot seat. Just a handful of seconds separated the Toyota and the #51 Ferrari 499P at that particular landmark, with Alessandro Pier Guidi making up time on each 13.6-km loop. The pair pitted at the same time after 207 laps. The Toyota mechanics changed the hood on their machine while Pier Guidi gave way to James Calado who emerged from his pit box just ahead of his Japanese rival.
The #2 Cadillac V-Series.R was the only other Hypercar on the same lap at that point. The Porsche 963s fielded by Porsche Penske Motorsport are down in fourth and ninth places. Both Peugeot 9X8s are still running but any hopes entertained of creating an upset have evaporated overnight. They lie respectively two and eight laps behind the leading pair. The Glickenhaus entries are also still in the race, in seventh and eighth places. The #4 Vanwall went off at Porsche Curves as dawn broke, apparently due to engine failure.
In LMP2, the Oreca 07-Gibsons of Inter Europol Competition (#34) and Team WRT (#41) continue to fight for class honours, with the #30 Duqueine Racing, #48 IDEC Sport and #65 Panis Racing Orecas all battling to get back on the same lap. This class has lost two candidates through accidents since the mid-race round-up: the #47 Cool Racing Oreca firstly came a cropper, and a suspension problem resulted in Ben Barnicoat losing control of the #80 AF Corse machine in the Porsche Curves.
The LMGTE-Am class is still far too close to call with eight hours of racing still on the clock. Seven cars are on the same lap with the #57 Kessel Racing and #54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE EVOs and the #85 Iron Dames and #56 Project1-AO Porsche 911 RSR-19s disputing the lead. There have been two further retirees in this class since mid-race: the #77 D’Station Racing Aston Martin Vantage that had a new chassis following a heavy crash in Wednesday’s free practice suffered battery failure and was unable to restart, and the #88 Proton Competition Porsche went off at Indianapolis.
The #24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 NASCAR Cup car is currently fulfilling its objectives. The Garage 56 entry is enjoying a great tussle with the premier LMGTE Am racers, lying just behind the class leader.
#6 Porsche 963 | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Kévin Estre/André Lotterer/Laurens Vanthoor | +1.103
Innovative Car: Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 #24 Hendrick Motorsports – Jimmie Johnson/Mike Rockenfeller/Jenson Button – 198 laps (29th overall)
Eight has long been Toyota’s lucky number at Le Mans. In 2018, the #8 was in the lead, heading for the Japanese make’s first win - a quest that spanned three decades – for Fernando Alonso, Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima. Four of Toyota’s five victories have been with the #8, and with Buemi part of the crew. He has shared the car with Alonso and Nakajima, then Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa, his teammates this year.
