Porsche at Hypercar Helm

12-HOURS AFTER THE END OF VALENTINO ROSSI’S RACE, PORSCHE AT HYPERCAR HELM

The weather throughout the opening half of the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans has been erratic. With 12 hours remaining, Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Porsche 963 overtook heavyweight rivals including TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, Ferrari AF Corse, and Cadillac Racing in the Hypercar lead thanks to a safety car intervention.

The weather throughout the opening half of the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans has been erratic. With 12 hours remaining, Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Porsche 963 overtook heavyweight rivals including TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, Ferrari AF Corse, and Cadillac Racing in the Hypercar lead thanks to a safety car intervention.

The top nine hypercars are all on the same lap as Porsche Penske Motorsport, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, and Ferrari AF Corse engage in a three-way fight for the lead after 12 hours of racing!

When the clock struck four in the morning, Porsche Penske Motorsport was leading P1, but TOYOTA GAZOO Racing remained unconcerned. Similar to its performance in the 6 Hours of Imola in April, the Japanese constructor is depending on its extensive knowledge to select the best course of action and outmaneuver competitors. The drivers for the team are likewise operating without a hitch. Sébastien Buemi, Brendan Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa’s #8 GR010 Hybrid is currently second, one spot ahead of Cadillac Racing’s #3 Cadillac V-Series.R.

Over the course of the last four hours, the race has seen its share of twists. For example, AF Corse’s #83 Ferrari 499P was penalized 30 seconds after making contact with the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 of BMW M Team WRT, which forced the latter to retire.

At 03:45, as the rain continued to get heavier, Whelen Cadillac Racing’s #311 Cadillac V-Series began the second neutralization phase.At the “S” in Tertre Rouge, R spun out. The #6 Porsche 963 Hypercar took the lead when the two Toyotas swiftly changed to wet tires and refueled.

Additionally, the LMP2 category has had viewers on the edge of their seats. As the battle for first place between Nielsen Racing’s #24 ORECA 07-Gibson and AF Corse’s #183 heated up, at 02:44 Proton Competition’s #77 Ford Mustang LMGT3 and Nielsen Racing’s #24 led by David Heinemeier Hansson collided at the Tertre Rouge “S”. The Italian squad took the lead from the British team.

The #30 ORECA 07-Gibson raced by John Falb, James Allen, and Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer of the Duqueine Team was unable to pass the Daytona chicane due to an issue with its engine.

VALENTINO ROSSI’S ABILITY TO CHANGE

Ahmad Al Harty’s loss of control of Team WRT’s #46 BMW M4 LMGT3 during the downhill between the Tertre Rouge “S” and the Dunlop chicane caused the race to halt. Maxime Martin and nine-time world champion rider Valentino Rossi rode in the same car as him.

The LMGT3 class produced an incredible race for P1 between Porsche and McLaren. The #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3, raced by Manthey PureRxcing and driven by Aliaksandr Malykhin, Joel Sturm, and Klaus Bachler, is ahead of the #91 Porsche and the #59 McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo of United Autosports. All eight of the category’s top finishers are on the same lap.

3. 8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing – Sébastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa – 171 laps 4. #6 Porsche 963 | Porsche Penske Motorsport – Kévin Estre / André Lotterer / Laurens Vanthoor – 171 laps +7.748 seconds
4. #2 Cadillac Racing – Earl Bamber / Alex Lynn / Alex Palou | Cadillac V-Series.R +2:10.410
5. #51 Ferrari 499P | Ferrari AF Corse – Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado, and Alessandro Pier Guidi +2:13.371
6. José María López, Kamui Kobayashi, and Nyck de Vries in the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +2:22.995

Leaders of LMGT3 and LMP2

AF Corse – François Perrodo / Ben Barnicoat / Nicolas Varrone (LMP2 Pro/Am) – 163 laps LMP2 | #183 ORECA 07-Gibson
LMGT3 | Manthey PureRxcing – Aliaksandr Malykhin / Joel Sturm / Klaus Bachler – 152 laps #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R

Retirements:
Flohr, Castellacci, and Rigon (#54 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 | Vista AF Corse) – Incident #35 Alpine A424 | Alpine Endurance Team – Paul-Loup Chatin / Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen / Charles Milesi – Engine failure
ORECA 07-Gibson | Proton Competition – Jonas Ried / Maceo Capietto / Bent Viscaal #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 | BMW M Team WRT – Dries Vanthoor / Raffaele Marciello / Marco Wittmann – Contact #36 Alpine A424 | Alpine Endurance Team – Nicolas Lapierre / Mick Schumacher / Matthieu Vaxivière – Failed engine
#30 ORECA 07-Gibson | Team WRT – Ahmad Al Harthy / Valentino Rossi / Maxime Martin – Incident #45 ORECA 07-Gibson | Crowdstrike Racing by APR – George Kurtz / Colin Braun / Nicky Catsburg – Team Duqueine Team – John Falb / James Allen / Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer (LMP2 Pro/Am) – Failed engine (Pro/Am LMP2

Antonio Fuoco, #50 Ferrari 499P, won the fastest lap in 03:29.208 on the 46th lap.