Going into the 10th hour of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Toyota are at the front, the #8 Toyota Gazoo GR110 Hybrid of Sebastian Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa leading the race after a penalty for the leading #83 Ferrari of Robert Kubica.

24 HOURS OF LE MANS : HYPERPOLE | PRACTISE & QUALIFYING GALLERY | 4 HOUR REPORT | 10 HOUR REPORT

HYPERCAR

As night enveloped the circuit, a deluge transformed the race. Robert Kubica, in the #83 AF Corse Ferrari, masterfully navigated the treacherous conditions to lead the pack.

While the #50 and #51 Ferraris boldly remained on slicks, with Giovinazzi in the #51 even doubling down with a fresh set, Kubica’s choice of intermediate tyres proved prescient. He deftly extended his lead, lapping the cautious Giovinazzi along the way.

The race’s rhythm was briefly interrupted by a full course yellow to retrieve the stricken #60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini. Despite this, Kubica continued to dominate until a gearbox alarm raised concerns within his team.

The slick-clad competitors, continued to flirt with disaster, narrowly avoiding collisions and gravel traps alike including Sebastian Bourdais who was fortunate not to collect the barrier or get beached in the gravel at Indianapolis.

As conditions improved, Kubica switched to slicks after seven laps on intermediates. However, drama unfolded when Dries Vanthoor’s #15 BMW collided with a wall at Mulsanne after contact with Kubica’s Ferrari, prompting the race’s first safety car after over six hours of racing.

The lengthy safety car period due to barrier repairs spanned nearly 90 minutes, during which time rain returned, catching out many on cold slicks. As the lap concluded, most dove into the pits for wets, while a few intrepid drivers persisted on track.

Fred Makowiecki in the #5 Penske Porsche now led but struggled to overtake even LMGT3 cars on his soft slicks. Meanwhile, those on wets rapidly closed in. Porshce had decided to stick with the strategy and by the start of the tenth hour the Frenchman had dropped to eleventh place.

Kubica reclaimed his position at the front from Makowiecki and began to reestablish his dominance. Yet, fate dealt a harsh blow as he received a 30-second stop-and-go penalty for his earlier clash with Vanthoor. A slow zone between Tetre Rouge and the first chicane tempered the damage but Kubica still returned to the track in sixth place, giving up the lead to Ryo Hirakawa in the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota.

LMGT3

In the fiercely competitive LMGT3 class, the #92 Manthey PureRxcing team lead the charge with Joel Sturm at the wheel, closely followed by Ahmed Al Harthy in the #.46 Team WRT BMW.

The #87 Akkodis ASP Lexus, which had a moment of glory leading in the second hour with Jack Hawksworth commanding the cockpit, now holds third place in this new category for the WEC season.

The Iron Dames Lamborghini, running fourth, encountered a setback after an unfortunate spin at Porsche Curves in the sixth hour.

A collision involving Sarah Bovy and Mathieu Jaminet in the #4 Porsche Penske 963 Hypercar resulted in a drive-through penalty for Jaminet, marking a tense moment in the race.

The top ten of LMGT3 is a showcase of diversity and skill, with the #88 Proton Ford Mustang in fifth, followed by the #59 United Autosports McLaren in sixth, and the #91 Manthey EMA Porsche in seventh. The #27 Heart of Racing Aston claims eighth, while the #155 Spirit of Race Ferrari and #95 United Autosports McLaren round out ninth and tenth respectively.

Misfortune struck the pole-sitting #90 Inception Racing McLaren, which fell out of contention due to technical issues seeing it pitting under steam and fluid distress. The team’s swift response minimized their downtime.

The #77 Proton Ford Mustang faced its own challenges, spending numerous laps in the pits addressing a broken steering rack.

Claudio Schiavone’s crash on the Mulsanne Straight brought a moment of concern, but the resilience of the Iron Lynx Lamborghini team shone through as they repaired the #60 Lamborghini  and rejoined the race, albeit several laps behind.

Disaster also struck the #46 Team WRT BMW M GT3 of Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin and Ahmed Al Harthy when Al Harthy lost control of the BMW at the Dunlop bridge and slid into the barrier resulting in extensive damage to the front of the car.

LMP2

The #22 United Autosports entry, helmed by Le Mans newcomer Bijoy Garg, leads the way, with David Heinemeier Hansson in hot pursuit aboard the Nielsen Racing Oreca-Gibson car.

The Vector Sports team had been at the forefront from hours 4 to 8, but the safety car period brought a dramatic reshuffle. Patrick Pilet found himself in fourth place in the Vector after the safety car pass around.

Holding third is the #37 Cool Racing entry, which managed to recover from a spin in the pitlane with Lorenzo Fluxa driving. Strong stints from Malthe Jakobsen, Ritomo Miyata, and Fluxa have positioned them well just behind the Vector Oreca-Gibson.

The top six of LMP2 is completed by Louis Deletraz in the AO by TF Sport car in fifth place, followed by Francois Perrodo’s AF Corse entry.

However, not all tales are of triumph. The #9 Proton Competition LMP2 car, shared by Bengt Viscaal, Maceo Capietto, and Jonas Ried, saw its race end in the seventh hour as it retired off-track. There was further drama for the #30 Duqueine Team who saw their car pull up before the first chicane with smoke and flames billowing from the back of the car.

 
 

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