Just past the first quarter of the 29th Motul Petit Le Mans, the #93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06 leads after three hours of racing.
The #24 BMW M Team Hybrid V8 led the first hour and continued to lead until Salih Yoluç ran off course at Turn 1, collected an advertising board, and eventually dropped it on the track. Acura Meyer Shank Racing brought its cars in at the perfect time, down pit road before Race Control called a Full Course Yellow.
Having just made full-service stops, the two Acuras topped off their energy tanks and cycled to the lead where they’ve remained ever since. Renger van der Zande has taken over from starting driver Nick Yelloly in the leading #93 ARX-06.
The #60 Acura runs second overall, followed by the #31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R in third. BMW M Team WRT’s cars run fourth and fifth, led by the #25 M Hybrid V8, with the two Porsche Penske Motorsport 963s in sixth and seventh.
LMP2 has been led since the opening lap by the #52 Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen ORECA 07-Gibson. Misha Goikhberg has just handed the car over to Parker Thompson after a blistering opening stint.
United Autosports USA’s #22 ORECA runs second, followed by the #11 TDS Racing ORECA in third. AO Racing is fourth after an eventful first three hours, which included a wild off-track excursion in the Esses and some dicey moments in traffic.
Meanwhile, the #04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR car has been relegated to eighth in class after George Kurtz received a drive-through penalty for colliding with the #12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus, and breaking its right-rear suspension. The #12 Lexus is now out of contention in GTD, trailing by over 10 laps.
The second yellow of the race came after Phil Fayer (#2 United Autosports USA) got stranded in the gravel at Turn 10, this was then followed by the third yellow for the debris.
A handful of cars have taken turns leading GTD Pro – both Corvette Racing Z06 GT3.Rs, and the AO Racing #77 Porsche 911 GT3 R among them.
The #14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 (Ben Barnicoat) currently leads, followed by the #68 Car Blanche Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, and the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario GT3, which has also led a significant portion of the race on an alternate strategy.
And in GTD, the #023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo (Onofrio Triarsi Jnr) leads on an alternate strategy, but the leading car on the primary strategy is the #28 RS1 Porsche – boosted by a strong opening stint from Zachary Vanier in just his second race. The Canadian drove the Porsche to the lead during the third hour. The #21 AF Corse Ferrari runs third in class.
The race is currently under a fourth Full Course Yellow after the #45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 slowed to a stop on the back straightaway, a crushing way to potentially end the Huracán GT3’s final IMSA race.
Image courtesy of Jack Webster
