The 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans is under Safety Car for the second time as it crosses three-quarters distance, with the #20 BMW M Team WRT Hybrid V8 of Robin Frijns now out front.
At the start of the 18th hour, a significant accident for the #91 Manthey DK Engineering Porsche of Ayhancan Güven triggered the second Safety Car of the race. The Turkish driver, who was fourth in LMGT3 at the time, ran wide out of the Daytona Chicane, and caught air after hitting the tyre barrier.
“Steering went in the middle of the car, and I hit the wall,” Güven reported over the team radio.
Louis Delétraz, in the race-leading #12 JOTA Cadillac, pitted just before Güven’s accident, thereby handing the lead to Frijns.
Delétraz’s co-driver Norman Nato is in second, with the #7 Toyota in third and best of those to have pitted under the Safety Car.
The #8 Toyota, which underwent a brake drum mounting change at the end of the previous hour, #83 AF Corse Ferrari, #51 Ferrari and #35 Alpine complete the lead lap runners, with the #101 WTR Cadillac is the first car off the lead lap.
Under the Safety Car, the #50 Ferrari ran into further trouble, with Miguel Molina stopping at Tertre Rouge. The Spaniard attempted to power cycle the car, but was unsuccessful in fixing its issue, and the 2024-winning entry was pushed before the barrier and into retirement.
The #36 Alpine, meanwhile, has been pushed into the garage from ninth overall, with a battery and front anti-roll bar issue which needed addressing. It lost one lap to repairs, as well as one position to the #007 Aston Martin.
In LMP2, the #30 Duqueine Team ORECA is still in the lead, with the Julien Andlauer having recently replaced Doriane Pin behind the wheel. The pair of Inter Europol Competition ORECAs, as well as the #26 Vector Sport and #29 Forestier Racing by Panis entries, are also still on the lead lap.
The #4 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA, which is currently being piloted by Laurin Heinrich, has a one-lap advantage in LMP2 Pro/Am, whilst eight cars remain on the lead lap in LMGT3.
The #33 TF Sport Corvette leads the way, ahead of the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin, #32 WRT BMW, #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin, pair of Akkodis ASP Lexus’, #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari and #34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette.
At the end of the hour, the pass around has been concluded, meaning a restart is imminent.
