Just over the halfway mark of the race, the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R led the race after pitting on lap 205, five seconds out in front of the #20 BMW M Team WRT Hybrid V8, which pitted on the same lap. The #7 Toyota Racing TR010 Hybrid sat in third, 29 seconds off the lead.
A series of drive-through penalties for a FCY infringement (speeding under the Full Course Yellow) came through 20 minutes into the hour, including the #101 WTR Cadillac and the #8 Toyota in the Hypercar class. The #101 would finish the hour in sixth, the 8 in fourth, both having served their drive-throughs around the 200 lap mark.
The other cars that fell on the wrong side of the FCY infringements were the #2 TF Sport Corvette and the #69 Team WRT BMW, which finished the hour in P13 and P14.
But it was heartbreak for the #38 JOTA Cadillac crew when the car came to a stop in their pit box, engineers tearing off bodywork on the front end to look for the issue.
It would be wheeled back into the Cadillac garage before it was known that there was a power steering issue that would drop them to the back of the field. They rejoined the race seven laps down, a disappointing turn of fate for the car that was right in the fight all evening – and for Le Mans native Bourdais.
The #94 Peugeot 9X8 had a rear bodywork issue, from the looks of it, having issues attaching the rear wing clip, with a problem with the rear engine cover as well. They would rejoin the race in 14th position, two laps down, with Théo Pourchaire in the car.
Bijoy Garg in the #343 Inter Europol Competition ORECA 07-Gibson enjoyed a 16-second gap to Julien Andlauer in the #30 Duqueine car in second in LMP2. Tom Dillmann took over the #43 Inter Europol car in third with two-lap fresher tyres to his leading teammate, but was over a minute behind Garg.
In LMGT3, the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin led with Mattia Drudi driving, 49 seconds ahead of Eduardo Barrichello in the sister #23 Heart of Racing car in second. Jonny Edgar in the #33 TF Sport Corvette sat in third.
