With eight hours to go and with fog thickening on track, the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid driven by Mike Conway had a routine pit stop for fuel. The gap between the two leading Toyotas grew to 38 seconds as Kazuki Nakajima reported concerns with the #8 gearbox.
His teammate Sebastien Buemi reported: “From time to time, we have problems getting a gear in but it’s not too concerning. We are actively looking at the data”. Four laps behind the two leading cars, Nicolas Lapierre in the #36 Alpine Elf Matmut A480 Matmut was third, followed right behind by Olivier Pla in the #708 Glickenhaus.
“We have the same pace as the Glickenhaus” said Lapierre after his stint. “Our objective is to clinch third position. It’s very important to us. Toyota was faster, undoubtedly. That said, there are still several hours to go and anything can happen at the front of the race”.
Meanwhile in LMP2, Team WRT kept its two Oreca 07s in the lead with the #31 driven by Robin Frijns leading Robert Kubica in the #41. One lap behind, the fight was still intense for third position with Tom Blomqvist in the #28 Jota Oreca 07 Gibson overtaking Will Stevens in the #65 Panis Racing Oreca 07 Gibson.
Further down in the ranks the #34 Inter Europol Competition driven by Renger Van Der Zende was fifth, two laps behind the leading Team WRT Oreca.
With nine hours to go, Olivier Pla in the #708 Glickenhaus overtook André Negrao in the the #36 Alpine Elf Matmut A480 Matmut on the Mulsanne straight. The Frenchman was consistently faster than the Brazilian before coming in for fuel. Negrao claimed back third position as Pla pitted moments later.
At the top of the field, Sebastien Buemi in the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid stopped in the pits very early in his stint, on his 8th lap. Moments later, he was slowing down abnormally on the track after the Swiss reported strong vibrations to his pit. The #8 carried on nonetheless, but fell off the lead lap as a result. The team says it is ‘working around’ its issues with vibrations and the fuel system which are costing it time and forcing it to pit more frequently.
AF on course for double GTE class win
AF Corse still has a firm grip on the class, Pier Guidi pressing on at over a minute’s advantage from Jordan Taylor’s #63 Corvette, the pair trading lap times as the gap yo-yo’d with the leading pair’s different pit schedules. Porsche’s factory effort maintained third and fourth, #92 ahead of #91.
Dries Vanthoor missed the entry to the left hander at the Dunlop Chicane, going straight on at speed and pulling up on driver’s right before the famous bridge. The Hub Auto Racing car was lifted away, with Vanthoor still in the car suggesting some form of transmission problem for the GTE-Pro pole-sitter: for the Asian team Saturday felt like a long time ago. The car was a confirmed retirement with a gearbox related electrical issue.
Corvette Racing’s #64 car was back in its garage without much urgency around it. Its earlier clutch problems having dropped the car well into the second timing screen, an alternator issue was now its distraction.
The #52 Ferrari which had dropped out of contention in fifth suffered a front right puncture, Sam Bird nursing the car back from Mulsanne Corner, a flailing tyre carcass biting chunks out of the Ferrari’s bodywork and leaving a trail of debris. The car was wheeled back into its garage as the eighteenth hour closed.
“It’s a bit strange, we had a similar problem in practice,” said Sam Bird. “The wheel just locked solid going into the hairpin – when it’s not your day, it’s not your day. This will not be a quick fix, but we’ll pick ourselves up and go again.”
In Am, AF Corse’s #83 Ferrari 488 GTE EVO maintained a firm grip of the class as the fog cleared and the first clear, dry daylight conditions of the race emerged. Nicklas Nielsen was circulating the chrome liveried Ferrari in the 3:58’s, a minute-and-a half clear of the pursuing #33 TF Sport Aston Martin. The #80 Iron Lynx Ferrari was equally solid in third, this top three well spread on track. AF Corse’s second bullet sat fourth, Giancarlo Fisichella trying to close the gap.
Drivers were reporting colder conditions and having to manage grip, but given the more difficult preceding conditions many of the ‘Am’ drivers still had a chunk of their seat time to take, which could potentially leave one of its fastest at an advantage: Ben Keating: “I’m feeling very good. Le Mans is one of those tracks where you can do a triple. I did the first of mine on Felipe’s old tyres and I must say it’s really nice to put on a fresh set! It was foggy and I didn’t really get that ‘happy hour’ feeling. I haven’t had to deal with too much of the drama having back-loaded my stints, but I’ve learned a bit from watching the other guys and how they’ve dealt with the conditions.”
