Kubica leads under safety car after 8 hours at Le Mans

Robert Kubica continued to lead the 24 Hours of Le Mans after eight hours of running despite triggering an incident in his #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P that has prompted a prolonged Safety Car period.

Kubica collected BMW’s Dries Vanthoor in the seventh hour of the race, leading to the first Safety Car period of the race that lasted through the end of the eighth hour of running.

The caution period followed strategic action as cars contended with mixed conditions.

With rain once again intervening on the turn of the sixth hour, teams were split on what strategy to go for.

The Ferrari squad elected to stay out on slick tyres and both Nicklas Nielsen in the #50 and Antonio Giovinazzi in the #51 499P routinely debated the decision over team radio.

Meanwhile, the majority of the Hypercar field opted for wet weather tyres. 

The Ferrari’s lost time hand over fist, but the Italian marque persevered as the rain subsided.

Sebastien Bourdais in the #3 Cadillac was the first of the runners to ditch wet tyres back for slicks, but he locked up into Indy on his out-lap and had a brief dalliance in the gravel.

Next up to pit for slicks was second-placed Frederic Makowiecki in the #5 Porsche with race leader Kubica in the #83 AF Corse Ferrari and Ryo Hirakawa in the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid.

Six and a half hours into the race the Hypercar field returned to slicks with the track drying quickly. 

Kubica retained the lead, but Nielsen’s gamble in the #50 499P paid off with him rising into second place ahead of Porsche’s Makowiecki.

Hirakawa found himself in fourth at this point with Cadillac’s Alex Palou rounding out the top five in the #2 V-Series.R.

Dries Vanthoor came unstuck in the #15 WRT BMW M Hybrid V8, collected by the race leader Kubica down the Mulsanne straight.

The #83 Ferrari moved to lap Vanthoor and an LMGT3 competitor in one manoeuvre but sent the BMW into the barriers and the Belgian was a passenger as he came to a halt with a crumpled front end.

The incident prompted the first Safety Car period of the 92nd Running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Luckily Vanthoor was able to walk away from the incident but it was game over for the #15 car.

The Safety Car, after six hours and 40 minutes now meant the playing field would be levelled and the cars bunched back up.

Amid the caution period, there was a disaster for the #70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo.

The car which sat on pole in LMGT3 was rushed into the pit garage, smoke billowing from the radiators prompting a flurry of repairs.

Nielsen elected to pit from second place under the Safety Car as did a handful of the LMGT3 runners.

This relegated the #50 Ferrari to fourth and LMGT3 pack, led by the #46 WRT BMW M4 LMGT3 of Maxime Martin had Joel Sturm in second at the wheel of the #92 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3, ahead of Ian James in the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin AMR LMGT3.

LMP2 leader Stephane Richelmi pit under the Safety Car as well in the #10 Vector Sport Oreca 07 – Gibson, concerning track position to the #37 Cool Racing entry of Malthe Jakobsen, along with Bijoy Garg in the #22 United Autosports car and Kyffin Simpson in the #24 Nielsen Racing effort.

After seven hours of running, Kubica led from Makoweicki, Hirakawa, Nielsen and Vanthoor.

Further pitstops across LMP2 and LMGT3 changed the order at the top of each class.

Jakobsen led LMP2 with 17 hours of the race remaining ahead of Garg, Richelmi, David Heinemeirer Hansson (who took over driving duties from Simpson in the #24 entry) and Louis Deletrz in ‘Spike the Dragon,’ aka the #14 AO by TF entry.

Sturm took the lead of LMGT3 with Ahmad Al Harthy taking to the wheel of the #46 BMW, with Jack Hawksworth third in the #87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3.

Michelle Gatting was fourth in the #85 Iron Dames Lamborghini Hurucan LMGT3 Evo2 and Larry ten Voorde was fifth in the #66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari 296 LMGT3.

The prolonged Safety Car Period also saw the odd intervention of a Dog trundling down the Mulsanne straight, prompting further caution before the canine was removed safely from the circuit.

Al Harthy pitted for a second time under the Safety Car to take on fuel, maintaining second in class but falling into a different Safety Car queue (with three circulating the Circuit de la Sarthe).

The loss was minimal as the #46 car will benefit from the field merger and push its final stop further on into the race.

With nearly seven hours and 40 minutes gone, Jakobsen and Richelmi elected to pit from second and third respectively in LMP2.

This elevated Garg and Heinemeirer Hansson in first and second respectively.

Shortly after the stops at the head of the LMP2 field, the cars started to merge under one Safety Car as the field neared green flag running.

As all cars started to bunch up, very light rain was reported over the circuit, potentially prompting a further turn in events.

The next stage in the Safety Car process was the pass around, allowing lapped cars to return to the lead lap.

With temperatures cooling and the restart drawing in, the rain continued, making conditions treacherous given the field was all running on slick tyres.

At the end of the eighth hour with green flag running imminent, Kubica remained in the lead ahead of Makoweicki, Hirakawa, Nielsen and Vanthoor.

Alex Lynn sat in sixth in the #2 Cadillac V-Series.R, with Antonio Giovinazzi in seventh in the #51 Ferrari 499P and Norman Nato eighth in the #12 JOTA Porsche 963.

In LMP2, Garg led Heinemeirer Hansson, Jakobsen and Patrick Pilet (who’d taken over driving duties of the #10 Vector Sport car from Richelmi), with Deletraz completing the top five after eight hours of racing.

Sturm led the way in LMGT3 ahead of Al Harthy, Hawksworth, Gatting and #88 Proton Competition driver Dennis Olsen in his Ford Mustang LMGT3 monster.