After one hour of racing, the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid driven by Mike Conway is leading the race, some 55 seconds ahead of Antonio Felix Da Costa in the #38 JOTA Oreca 07-Gibson and 56 seconds ahead of the #8 Toyota driven by Sébastien Buemi.
The 61 cars were released after three formation laps under safety car. As soon as the cars arrived at the Dunlop chicane, Sébastien Buemi in the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid and Richard Westbrook in the #708 Glickenhaus Racing 007 LMH touched. The #8 spun out and landed in the gravel trap, while the #708 suffered front body work damage. Race control determined that the #708 was responsible for this incident, resulting in a ten second stop-and-go penalty.
The #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid driven by Mike Conway drove ahead of the #36 Alpine Elf Matmut Gibson driven by Nicolas Lapierre, yet the latter soon spun at Indianapolis and lost several positions. In the meantime, the #8 stopped on the Mulsanne Straight for a moment, returned to the track – only to go off track again, this time at Arnage. Cars in the lead then stopped for dry compound tires.
Meanwhile in LMP2, after one hour of racing, the #38 Jota Oreca 07-Gibson driven by Antonio Felix Da Costa leads the class, some twenty four seconds ahead of the #26 G-Drive Aurus Oreca 07 and thirty six seconds ahead Nyck de Vries in the #29 Racing Team Nederland Oreca 07-Gibson.
There was a lot of drama in this class as well. Before the race even started, the #20 High Class Racing Oreca 07 Gibson driven by Dennis Andersen was left on its jacks while the other cars started their first formation lap. The #20 was eventually able to start the race from the back of the grid.
Once the green light was illuminated, one of the candidates for victory, the #48 IDEC Sport Oreca 07-Gibson driven by Patrick Pilet, went off track at the first chicane in the Hunaudières and lost significant time in the gravel trap.
The race somewhat settled in and the three cars who had dominated the practice sessions, that is, the #38 Jota Oreca 07 Gibson, the #26 G-Drive Racing Aurus 01-Gibson, the #65 Panis Racing Oreca 07-Gibson and the #41 Team WRT Oreca 07 Gibson – regained the lead.
At the end of a frantic opening hour, Corvette Racing leads GTE Pro at Le Mans
Tommy Milner resumed the lead the #64 Corvette C8.R held briefly before the tyre stops, with conditions beginning to improve. The #64 Corvette took a bump from one of the AF Corse Ferraris as it left the echelon grid, but soon found itself in the lead of the GTE-Pro as more experienced Le Mans entries found difficulty.
It was a Corvette 1-2 at the end of the first racing lap, Milner leading Garcia, Molina and Calado’s Ferraris were tucked in tight, a second covered the top four. Maxime Martin had spun the pole sitting HubAuto Porsche, now bringing up the rear of the Pro field. Molina overtook Garcia, followed by Calado as the AF Corse 488 GTE Evos started to find grip as the track started to show signs of drying, and had soon made it a Ferrari 1-2 before the change for slicks.
Porsche struggled at the start, but were fighting back. Kevin Estre spun the rebuilt #92 car at Mulsanne Corner, both Porsches generally out of early contention and clawing back through the Am runners. The WeatherTech Porsche was running fourth, Laurens Vanthoor having had his turn at the front in the melee, but was now third, splitting the Ferrari pair, Calado having fallen to fourth having spun at the Forest Esses.
Nicklas Nielsen currently leads GTE Am for AF Corse in the #83 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo.
At the start, the second placed The GR Racing Porsche was the biggest casualty of GTE Am in the conditions, Ben Barker dropping to ninth in class as the race went green. Julian Andlauer had led the field from pole position until a drying line dropped the car’s pace. Antonio Fuoco had the best feel for the conditions in the Cetilar Ferrari though, and had gained pace, up from fourth to assume the lead. With ten laps run Andlauer followed the Italian into the pits, ten cars of the remaining Am field ahead of the struggling Pro entries.
Felipe Fraga lost the #33 TF Sport Aston Martin early on at the second chicane, without damage but losing places in the tightly bunched Am field, now running sixth.
#71 took its turn at the front. Jeroen Bleekemolen held on in the #388 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari, bravely leading until the tyres cried enough, but slick pit work by the AF Corse crew had put Nielsen’s #83 Ferrari in front, a lead it now holds over the #88 Dempsey-Proton Porsche by 14 seconds.
