24h Le Mans
Shortly after 8:00 am, with the rain abating, the Safety Car was directed back to base after being on track for well over four hours. Racing could resume!
The Safety Car procedure has the effect of bunching up cars on the same lap. In the case of the Hypercars, there were 11 of them after 16 hours! Up front were the #6 Porsche 963, both Toyota GR010-Hybrids, the #50 Ferrari 499P and the AF Corse #83 Ferrari with very little between them. The AF Corse outfit also led the LMP2 field with their Pro/Am line-up of Ben Barnicoat, Nico Varrone and François Perrodo, shadowed by the #37 COOL Racing Oreca 07-Gibson after Malthe Jakobsen overtook the #22 United Autosports Oreca, with the Vector Sport #10 prototype also in the mitwitter.
A large clutch of nine LMGT3s were also on the lead lap with a healthy blend of manufacturers represented, led by two Manthey Porsche 911s.
The LMGT3-leading #92 Porsche 911 of Manthey PureRxcing was pushed into the garage with suspected gearbox problems, while Ryo Hirakawa reported understeer on the #8 Toyota Hypercar.
Just after 9:00 am, the Toyota Gazoo Racing pit crew decided to put slicks on the #7 GR010-Hybrid – the first in the class to gamble on the switch. With very little to choose between so many cars, winning the race will come down to such tyre strategy, race management and a certain amount of good fortune.
While a yellow flag calmed traffic on the Mulsanne Straight after Charlie Eastwood ground to a halt in the TF Sport #81 Corvette, Felipe Nasr ran off and into the tyre barrier at Indianapolis. The Brazilian driver got out of the Porsche Penske Motorsport #4 Porsche 963 and the telehandler was called into action. Meanwhile, the leading Hypercars were all back on slicks as the track dried out.
At 09:35, the Heart of Racing #27 Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 spun out of control and flipped onto its roof by the impact with the tyre wall. Driver Daniel Mancinelli was able to extricate himself, but the accident naturally resulted in a third Safety Car period being enforced.
During the Safety Car procedure, Eastwood was able to get the #81 Corvette moving from the Mulsanne Straight as far as the Porsche Curves where it stopped once again with an apparent gearbox problem. Meanwhile, Nico Müller also ran off and into the barriers at Indianapolis. The Swiss driver could set off again once the #93 Peugeot 9X8 had been helped out of the gravel.
Another Hypercar in trouble was the #3 Cadillac V-Series.R with Scott Dixon at the wheel. After stopping on the Mulsanne Straight, the Kiwi was able to bring the car slowly back to the Cadillac Racing garage but was losing oil.
Racing resumed after almost an hour under Safety Car procedure. By opting to stay out of the pits, Earl Bamber in the #2 Cadillac assumed the race lead, at the head of a train of seven Hypercars in a three-second interval. Patrick Pilet in the Vector Sport #10 Oreca topped the LMP2 class, with Akkodis ASP’s Jack Hawksworth at the wheel of the #87 Lexus fronting the LMGT3 pack.
A fierce battle ensued at the head of the field with Shwartzman, Fuoco and Kobayashi attacking three abreast.
The #311 Cadillac V-Series.R fielded by invitee Whelen Cadillac Racing was out of the leading bunch down in 15th place. In his efforts to make up ground, Luis Felipe Derani came a cropper at Indianapolis. He managed to scramble back to the tarmac, but his machine has suffered extensive damage.
With Bamber pitting the #2 Cadillac, Antonio Fuoco took the race lead in the #50 Ferrari 499P by dent of a superb manoeuvre to overtake Frédéric Makowiecki in the #5 Porsche 963.
The Frenchman subsequently pitted the Porsche 963, before learning he had been hit with a drive-through penalty for a slow zone infringement. The Hertz Team Jota #38 Porsche was hit with the same sanction. Bamber regained the lead for Cadillac Racing with a bunch of rival Hypercars in the pits. Fuoco re-emerged in second place in the #50 Ferrari, while Shwartzman slipped the #83 Ferrari in front of Buemi’s #8 Toyota as the Swiss was descending the pit lane. The American factory team’s hopes were now pinned on the #2 V-Series.R with the announcement of the #3 sister car’s retirement.
The field was slowed to 80 kph for a few minutes as a Full Course Yellow was ordered at 11:45. The United Autosports #59 McLaren, lying in seventh in the LMGT3 class on the lead lap, had come to a standstill between Arnage and the Porsche Curves.
Last year’s winning LMP2 team, Inter Europol Competition, snatched the LMP2 lead from the Vector Sport #10 car as midday approached. There are still six Oreca 07-Gibsons on the same lap.
The #91 Porsche 911 of Manthey EMA continues apace at the head of the LMGT3 field, with the Team WRT #31 Lexus closely behind.
As the clock struck midday, smoke puthered from the brakes of the AF Corse #83 Ferrari 499P. Its challenge for the win has undoubtedly vanished.
