24h Le Mans
Grey cloud gave way to sunshine and blue skies as the temperature rose on Sunday morning. The #51 Ferrari 499P continued to press ahead, gradually increasing the lead over the #8 Toyota GR010-Hybrid in second place. The #6 Porsche 963 fell down the standings to leave the two Cadillac Hypercars comfortably anchored in third and fourth. The LMP2 battle between Inter Europol Competition and Team WRT showed no signs of abating while, in LMGTE Am, Corvette Racing and ORT by TF made a move into the podium positions.
The Ferrari AF Corse #51 Ferrari 499P led the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans for much of the morning. The car that started the race on the front row of the grid alongside the polesitting #8 sister car has gradually stretched its lead over the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010-Hybrid to around a minute. However, drama struck after 255 laps. The Ferrari was left standing in its pit box after all the work had been completed. It eventually managed to edge away, but the Toyota was already exiting the pit lane in the lead.
Alessandro Pier Guidi set off in hot pursuit of Sébastien Buemi, closing the gap yard by yard until he was finally in a position to show his extra pace and pass the Swiss ace.
They will not be clearing a space in the Maranello board room for the magnificent Centenary trophy just yet. Neither will Buemi be abandoning all hope of another Le Mans triumph to join Derek Bell, Frank Biele and Emmanuele Pirro on five wins. Brendon Hartley took over driving duties from Buemi after 267 laps while the Ferrari refuelled. With four hours remaining, the gap is next to nothing. Will Ferrari’s greater speed get the better of Toyota’s proven reliability?
Elsewhere in the top class, both Glickenhaus 007s fell victim to spins coming out of Indianapolis. Olivier Pla in the #708 and Franck Mailleux in the #709 clipped the barriers but managed to pit for repairs. As the sun shone, lap times fell in keeping with the rise in track temperature. The #94 Peugeot, which promised an upset before it crashed overnight, had to return to the garage quickly to check the oil temperature. New fastest in-race lap times were set successively by Antonio Fuoco (#50 Ferrari 499P), António Félix da Costa (#38 Porsche 963) and Fuoco again. At midday, the Italian’s benchmark stands at 3:27.434. Da Costa, striving to make up for lost time, down in 12th place in class (21st overall), seemingly pushed too hard entering Indianapolis and clattered the barrier. As midday approached, Jack Aitken beached the #311 Cadillac V-Series.R of Action Express Racing at the Daytona Chicane.
The head-to-head between the #34 and #41 Oreca 07-Gibsons, respectively fielded by Inter Europol Competition and Team WRT, continued apace despite Spaniard Albert Costa making an excursion into the gravel while in the lead. The #30 Duqueine Team entry remains in third place.
A three-way battle developed in LMGTE Am between the #85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 RSR-19, the #56 Project 1-AO “T-Rex” Porsche and the #33 Corvette C8.R. Nicky Catsburg launched an attack for the American outfit before handing over to seasoned GT campaigner Ben Keating to challenge for top spot in class with Rahel Frey and PJ Hyett. ORT by TF driver Charlie Eastwood, at the wheel of the #25 Aston Martin Vantage AMR, joined the party with barely six hours remaining on the clock.
Irish-German actor Michael Fassbender lost the rear of his #911 Porsche 911 RSR-19 in the Porsche Curves, spinning and slamming into the tyre barrier. He managed to pit but the damage incurred will undoubtedly result in Proton Competition’s last remaining hope throwing in the towel.
Just four hours remain before we find out who will be lifting the Centenary trophy and securing the podium positions in every class. It’s all still to play for!
The 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans was THE race of the 90s in terms of manufacturer participations, with BMW, Porsche, Toyota, Audi, Nissan and Mercedes all vying for victory in La Sarthe.
The dice had already been cast for podium places by midday. BMW drivers Yannick Dalmas/Joachim Winkelhock/Pier Luigi Martini outran their rivals to claim the top spot, followed by Toyota’s Ukyo Katayama/ Keiichi Tsuchiya/Toshio Suzuki driver trio and Audi’s Frank Biela/Didier Theys/Emanuele Pirro line-up taking third place.
The 2023 Centenary features a similar raft of carmakers, with Porsche, Cadillac, Peugeot, Ferrari and Toyota in the mix, and Ferrari, Toyota and Cadillac earmarked for the podium.
