As darkness blankets the Circuit de la Sarthe, more drama and incidents littered the 89th 24 Hours of Le Mans heading into the eighth hour.
Nightfall often reveals the cruelty of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This year’s race is no different; in wet/dry conditions, the fabled circuit is challenging and testing all the drivers and teams.
The headline on this 11 pm update is that the two Toyota cars are first and second. The #8 car piloted by Jose Maria Lopez holds a healthy lead over the sister #7 car driven by Kaz Nakajima.
After an eventful first day, the Glickenhaus Hypercar is in third place. Pipo Derani is only 23 seconds behind the second Toyota; his pace is solid despite all the dramas.
The other Glickenhaus car is toiling in 11th overall as Richard Westbrook is strapped in right now.
In the last hour, drama hit the Alpine car as Matthieu Vaxiviere braked on a damp patch while he passed backmarkers on the Mulsanne Straight.
Vaxiviere went skittling into the gravel trap, and it took the Alpine car out of immediate contention. Lapierre is now recovering in fifth overall.
In LMP2, Team WRT is enjoying a fairytale maiden tilt at the famous race. Ferdinand Habsburg and Robert Kubica are currently fourth and sixth overall.
The LMP2 class this evening has been crammed with action and chaos; the bottom line is that Alex Brundle, Sean Gelael, Paul DiResta, and Will Stevens are all lapping quickly. The order could well change between now and over the night.
AF Corse is waging an attritional battle with the returning Corvette racing in the GTE Pro class. James Calado currently holds the advantage over Antonio Garcia.
These two cars have raced each other all day long; the night promises more of the same. To underline Jota’s struggles, Antonio Felix Da Costa in the LMP2 car is trailing these two.
AF Corse is also leading the GTE AM class as Alessio Rovera is rapidly racing just nine laps into his stint. Elsewhere, there was a nasty accident for Richard Mille Racing’s Sophia Floersch.
It was a huge shame to see the all-female crew retire from the race; luckily, Floersch is ok.
Overall Position | Category | Team |
1 (115 Laps) | Hypercar |
#7 Toyota GAZOO Racing
|
2 | Hypercar |
#8 Toyota GAZOO Racing
|
3 | Hypercar |
#708 Glickenhaus Racing
|
4 | LMP2 | #31 Team WRT |
5 | Hypercar |
#36 Alpine Elf Matmut
|
6 | LMP2 | #41 Team WRT |
7 | LMP2 |
#22 United Autosports
|
8 | LMP2 |
#65 Panis Racing
|
9 | LMP2 | #28 JOTA |
10 | LMP2 |
#34 Inter Europol Competition (Pro/Am)
|
11 | Hypercar |
#709 Glickenhaus Racing
|
12 | LMP2 |
#70 Realteam Racing (Pro/Am)
|
13 | LMP2 | #48 IDEC Sport |
14 | LMP2 |
#23 United Autosports
|
15 | LMP2 |
#21 DragonSpeed USA (Pro/Am)
|
16 | LMP2 |
#29 Racing Team Nederland (Pro/Am)
|
17 | LMP2 |
#20 High Class Racing (Pro/Am)
|
18 | LMP2 |
#82 Risi Competizione
|
19 | LMP2 |
#30 Duqueine Team
|
20 | LMP2 |
#39 SO24-DIROB by Graff (Pro/Am)
|
21 | LMP2 |
#26 G-Drive Racing
|
22 | LMP2 |
#25 G-Drive Racing (Pro/Am)
|
23 | GTE-Pro | #51 AF Corse |
24 | GTE-Pro |
#63 Corvette Racing
|
25 | LMP2 | #38 JOTA |
26 | GTE-Pro | #52 AF Corse |
27 | GTE-Pro |
#91 Porsche GT Team
|
28 | LMP2 |
#49 High Class Racing
|
29 | GTE-Pro |
#92 Porsche GT Team
|
30 | GTE-Pro |
#79 WeatherTech Racing
|
31 | LMP2 |
#24 PR1 Motorsports Mathiasen (Pro/Am)
|
32 | GTE-Am | #83 AF Corse |
33 | GTE-Am | #80 Iron Lynx |
34 | GTE-Am | #33 TF Sport |
35 | LMP2 |
#74 Racing Team India Eurasia (Pro/Am)
|
36 | GTE-Am |
#57 Kessel Racing
|
37 | GTE-Am | #54 AF Corse |
38 | GTE-Pro |
#64 Corvette Racing
|
39 | GTE-Pro |
#72 Hub Auto Racing
|
40 | GTE-Am |
#777 D’station Racing
|
41 | GTE-Am |
#66 JMW Motorsport
|
42 | GTE-Am |
#77 Dempsey-Proton Racing
|
43 | GTE-Am |
#71 Inception Racing
|
44 | GTE-Am | #60 Iron Lynx |
45 | Innovative Car |
#84 Association SRT41
|
46 | GTE-Am | #95 TF Sport |
47 | GTE-Am |
#388 Rinaldi Racing
|
48 | GTE-Am | #85 Iron Lynx |
49 | GTE-Am |
#88 Dempsey-Proton Racing
|
50 | LMP2 |
#44 ARC Bratislava (Pro/Am)
|
51 | GTE-Am |
#69 Herberth Motorsport
|
52 | GTE-Am |
#55 Spirit of Race
|
53 | GTE-Am |
#46 Team Project 1
|
54 | GTE-Am |
#18 Absolute Racing
|
55 | GTE-Am | #86 GR Racing |
56 (DNF) | GTE-Am |
#47 Cetilar Racing
|
57 (DNF) | GTE-Am |
#56 Team Project 1
|
58 (DNF) | LMP2 |
#32 United Autosports
|
59 | GTE-Am |
#99 Proton Competition
|
60 (DNF) | GTE-Am |
#98 Aston Martin Racing
|
61 (DNF) | LMP2 |
#1 Richard Mille Racing
|