Ferrari 499Ps run 1-2-3 after five hours of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, after the #51 factory Ferrari AF Corse car of Antonio Giovinazzi and the #83 quasi-privateer car of Robert Kubica each fought their way past the #6 Penske Porsche 963 of Laurens Vanthoor.
After driver changes, the leading #50 is now driven by Miguel Molina, the #51 now in the hands of Alessandro Pier Guidi, and the #83 controlled by Ye Yifei, all in for their first stints. The #83 did have a reported brake issue and also had to take five extra seconds on a pit stop for cutting the second Mulsanne Chicane.
Matt Campbell is now in the #6 Porsche and in middle of a battle for fourth, behind the #20 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 of Raffaele Marciello, and ahead of the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 HYBRID of Ryo Hirakawa.
Then it’s the #15 WRT BMW, the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R, #4 Penske Porsche 963, and the #311 Whelen Cadillac rounding out the top ten.
One car of note outside the overall top ten is the #94 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8, which has been running 13 laps per stint consistently, trying to maximise its economy in an attempt to get any advantage.
At the top of the hour it’s the #48 VDS Panis Racing ORECA 07-Gibson that leads with Oliver Gray aboard, some distance ahead of Reshad de Gerus’ #9 Iron Lynx-Proton ORECA in second.
The #43 Inter Europol Competition car had been cruising with Nick Yelloly in for his first stint – he’s since pitted and dropped to third after a long pit stop. Jakub Smiechowski had reported a gear selection issue during his stint.
In LMGT3, Valentino Rossi continues to lead firmly in the #46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3 EVO. Francois Heriau is back in the second-place #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3, trying to clear more of his Bronze driver time.
Riccardo Pera is now aboard the #92 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 911 LMGT3 R, running third.
