The hour after dawn Le Mans is often referred to as “Happy Hour,” but while some found things to smile about, others assuredly were not giddy.
Count Rahel Frey among the latter, after her Iron Dames Porsche 911 GT3R got dumped by the #87 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3 driven by Clemens Schmid in the second Mulsanne Chicane. The Porsche got stuck in the gravel, bringing out a Full Course Yellow while it was retrieved. The car was seemingly unharmed, but it would later roll to a stop just past Mulsanne Corner before departing again.
Schmid probably wasn’t happy either, as he received a drive-through penalty for the incident.
James Calado, however, was likely quite pleased to take the lead in the #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P just after the caution ended. Attacking the AF Corse 499P driven by Phil Hanson as they headed toward Indianapolis, he cleared the sister car before the left-hander to assume the point.
The #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid of Sébastien Buemi is keeping it from being a Ferrari sweep at the top, separating the #50 Ferrari of Nicklas Nielsen from the #83. Kevin Estre was back at the wheel of the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 and had the car in fifth.
The real meaning of “Happy Hour,” though, is that the temperatures are still cool, but the sun is up, creating nice conditions for setting fast lap times. Several drivers answered that call, with Norman Nato ending up with the best lap of the race so far, a 3:27.043 in the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota V-Series.R.
As has been the story for much of the race, the LMP2 leaderboard has a familiar ring to it, with VDS Panis Racing again on top, Esteban Masson at the wheel of the #48. Nick Yelloly is second in the #43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA, followed by Jonas Ried in the #9 Iron Lynx-Proton ORECA.
AO by TF maintains the lead among the Pro-Am cars, but their chance of a great result overall slipped when PJ Hyett was handed a drive-through penalty for a slow zone procedure violation.
LMGT3 has developed into a three-way fight between Porsche, Ferrari and Corvette. Richard Lietz leads in the #92 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3R and was pulling away from Bronze driver Francois Hériau in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296. TF Sport was third with the #81 Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Tom van Rompuy.
The #31 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3 has joined the list of confirmed retirements due to damage sustained from striking a rabbit on track. Also retired is the #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3, which was in the garage due to a mechanical issue yet to be disclosed.
Image Courtesy of DPPI
