What has not happened in the last three hours? Accidents, rain, even lightning. Oh and more accidents. Let’s recap the last three hours of Petit Le Mans.
Hour 3
Hour 3 started with a collision. George Kurtz in the #04 Oreca collided with the GTD Vasser Sullivan Lexus with Frankie Montecalvo at the wheel. The collision caused right rear suspension damage to the #12 Lexus, losing 11 laps in the pits for repairs. Kurtz would receive a drive-thru penalty.
Comparatively, most of the third hour was relatively quiet filled with pit stops. At the end of the hour, Danny Formal in the #45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini was slow exiting Turn 7. Another yellow was called for safety concerns due to how slow Formal was coming back to the pits. The Lamborghini went immediately to the paddock and would not return, done for the day.
Hour 4
Fifteen minutes into Hour 4 the skies opened and began pouring on the track. Once the rain began, some teams wasted no time switching to wets. Others chose to wait to see how the weather would react. For those waiting, they would be caught out. Max van der Snel continues the wild day for Intersport Racing, taking the #37 Oreca off-road at Turn 7. Nonetheless, the ensuing short yellow would not change the indecisiveness of strategy.
The race returned to green under mixed conditions, albeit short lived. Coming to the green, the United Autosport Orecas of Hunter McElrea and Rasmus Lindh collided going under the bridge as McElrea was heading for the pits. Both prototypes would get stuck in the wet grass, certainly bringing the yellow out again. Before the yellow, Colin Braun on wets would make quick work of Kevin Magnussen on slicks to take the lead
At approximately 3:48pm, a lightning strike was detected within 10 miles of the track. Race control immediately made the decision to red flag the race. Full course yellow returned after a silence of 27 minutes.
MEC Update
During the Red Flag, the first Michelin Endurance Cup points of the day were awarded. With four hours complete, the points award goes as follows:
GTP
- #60 Meyer Shank Acura – 5 pts
- #7 Penske Porsche – 4 pts
- #24 Team WRT BMW – 3 pts
LMP2
- #52 Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen – 5 pts
- #99 AO Racing – 4 pts
- #04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR – 3 pts
GTD PRO
- #4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 5 pts
- #65 Multimatic Motorsports Ford – 4 pts
- #033 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari – 3 pts
GTD
- #34 Conquest Racing Ferrari – 5 pts
- #80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes – 4 pts
- #120 Wright Motorsport Porsche – 3 pts
Hour 5
After fifty-one minutes of red and yellow flag running, the race returned to green as the field was determining – once again – if slicks or wets were better. Dan Harper in the championship contending Paul Miller BMW collided with Nikita Johnson in the RLL McLaren. The contact damaged the right rear suspension. Johnson dog-walked the #59 back to the pits where repairs would cost the car eight laps.
A head-scratching moment followed as Meyer Shank teammates Renger van der Zande and Colin Braun collided at Turn 10 battling for the lead. Van der Zande forced Braun off track into the grass. While Van der Zande redressed the position on his own with Braun, race control still handed the #93 with a drive-thru penalty for incident responsibility. The penalty was given as Van der Zande came to the pits for routine service and handed over to Alex Palou.
Then as Palou exited the pits, Kevin Magnussen launched over the Acura at the crest of the hill. Magnussen crashed hard into the barriers at Turn 3, causing the yellow and ending the race for the #25 BMW with heavy damage. Magnussen was checked and released from the care center.
Under the yellow, the #11 Oreca for TDS Racing with Matias Beche at the wheel lost the right front tire at Turn 5. When Beche returned to the pits, the car was sent to the paddock and subsequently retired shortly after.
Coming to the restart after the Magnussen accident, Morris Schuring in the #912 Porsche collided with Jake Walker in the #66 Gradient Mustang. Walker ricochet into the right front of Felipe Fraga in the #16 Myers Riley Mustang, causing suspension damage. Walker would make it around a lap but came to a stop at pit exit and getting stuck in the grass to cause another yellow flag.
Meanwhile, race control officially confirmed the retirement for the Heart of Racing Aston Martin in GTD.
Leaders
Ricky Taylor leads at halfway for Wayne Taylor Racing and Cadillac. In LMP2, Alex Quinn leads after a herculean effort from Toby Sowery staying on slicks during the mixed conditions. Vasser Sullivan leads GTD PRO with Kyle Kirkwood at the controls. Finally, Lone Star Racing and Luca Stolz control the GTD class.
Headline Photo: The #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac – Photo Courtesy: Cadillac Racing
PETIT LE MANS 2026 COVERAGE || PROTOTYPE PREVIEW | GT PREVIEW | PRACTICE 1 | PRACTICE 2 | PRACTICE 3 | THURSDAY NOTEBOOK | QUALIFYING | FRIDAY NOTEBOOK | HOURS 1-2 | HOURS 3-5 | HOURS 6-8 | POST-RACE | SATURDAY NOTEBOOK | CONNOR DE PHILIPPI | WINWARD RACING | PETIT LIVERIES | DOONAN | PFAFF | HAWKSWORTH | VOSSE | WADOUX | BOURDAIS | FORD
