James Calado of the #51 Ferrari 499P held the lead at the FIA World Endurance Championship’s 24 Hours of Le Mans after eight hours of racing.
The clock struck midnight at the Circuit de la Sarthe as Ferrari continued their form, albeit with Porsche Penske still in the play with the night-time’s cooler temperatures, albeit showcasing the renowned night-time challenge at Le Mans.
Hanson turned up the pace, just as the #51 AF Corse Ferrari team instructed driver James Calado to close to swap places. He outbraked himself into the Mulsanne, enabling Calado to take the lead, only narrowly, though by one second.
Hanson formerly led the way in the privateer-entered Hypercar, having matched Kevin Estre’s #6 Porsche Penske 963 with a balance of race pace and fuel-saving, contrary to the #51 and #50 Ferraris, to maximise the stint lengths.
Key penalties have enabled this situation, such as a drive-through for Nicklas Nielsen’s #50 Ferrari for a yellow flag infringement.
At the eighth hour, Hanson led ahead of Calado and Estre, followed by Rene Rast’s #20 WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 and the #50 Ferrari of Nielsen in fifth.
When the sixth racing hour arrived, Matt Campbell (#6 Porsche Penske) ran a slightly longer stint than the Ferraris around them.
Yifei Ye led the charge, but only by a second on Miguel Molina’s #50 Ferrari, who was a further second on Alessandro Pier Guidi’s #51 Ferrari – whilst Campbell was 17 seconds back amid his fuel saving.
Loic Duval (#94 Peugeot 9X8) was unfortunately tapped behind by Paul-Loup Chatin’s #35 Alpine A424, who locked up into the Mulsanne Corner, resulting in the contact, a spin and a drive-through penalty.
VDS Panis Racing lead LMP2, WRT controls LMGT3
In the LMP2 category, the #48 VDS Panis Racing Oreca ran in the lead in the hands of Esteban Masson ahead of the #43 Inter Eurpol Competition Oreca machine of Jakub Smiechowski.
Job van Uitert’s #28 IDEC Sport Oreca ran in third position ahead of Jonas Reid of the #9 Iron Lynx-Proton Oreca, with reigning Hypercar Drivers’ champion and Genesis Hypercar development driver Andre Lotterer in fifth for the #18 IDEC Sport Oreca team.
Ahmed Al Harthy led a controlled command in the LMGT3 category for the #46 WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo team ahead of Richard Lietz’s #92 Manthey Porsche 911 LMGT3.R and Simon Mann’s #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3.
Both Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F LMGT3s ran in fourth and fifth, with Arnold Robin’s #78 machine ahead of Clemens Schmid’s #87.
Elsewhere in LMGT3, the #60 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 retired due to a broken alternator belt that damaged an oil line, whilst the #33 TF Sport Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R halted with a stubborn wheel nut during a pit stop – removed promptly once brought into the garage and out again.
United Autosports also confirmed a mechanical drive issue, causing #95 McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo driver Darren Leung to retire, as well as the #88 Proton Ford Mustang’s wheel nut failure, which caused the wheel to drop off before hitting the tyre barriers at Tertre Rouge, totalling three retirements.
READ MORE – Ferrari in charge at Le Mans with 18 hours to go
