Ferrari and Toyota found themselves slugging it out for the lead as the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans hit its halfway mark in the dead of night.
CLICK HERE for earlier report, at the completion of Hour 6
James Calado’s Ferrari 499P held a narrow lead at 04:00, just 3.5s ahead of Sébastien Buemi’s Toyota GR010 Hybrid, in a race that continues to offer endless drama.
Both Ferrari and Toyota found their challenges weakened as Saturday turned into Sunday, the Japanese marque losing one of its two entries entirely.
Meanwhile, Peugeot maintained its unexpected challenge for victory – but only until the 12th hour, when a driver error cost it any realistic hope in the race’s second half.
Cadillac remains a threat to both Ferrari and Toyota, the #2 V-Series.R which was taken over by Richard Westbrook just before the halfway mark lying just over a minute off the lead in third.
Porsche too is still in contention thanks to the #6 963 driven by Andre Lotterer, the car having risen up the order in Kevin Estre’s hands to ensure a spread of manufacturers in the top four places.
Heavy rain returned to Le Mans with a deluge in the seventh hour that triggered further carnage, particularly in LMP2.
But, among the casualties was one of the Hypercar front-runners. The #75 Penske-run Porsche, which had led briefly at the end of the sixth hour, stopped out on the circuit with what turned out to be terminal fuel pressure problems with Mathieu Jaminet at the wheel.
At this stage, as the rain stopped but the track remained damp, Alessandro Pier Guidi in the #51 Ferrari 499P appeared to take the race by the scruff and established himself in the lead. But in the final minutes of the eighth hour there was double drama.
First, Pier Guidi found himself caught out by an LMP2 and GTE going off at the first chicane on the Mulsanne. The Ferrari spun in sympathy, Pier Guidi quickly recovering to continue.
The incident caused another slow zone, and then a knock-on that led to the demise of another front-runner bang on midnight.
Kamui Kobayashi in the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid backed off as he approached Tertre Rouge in deference to the slow zone, but was clobbered first by the #66 JMW Ferrari and then the #35 Alpine ORECA.
Kobayashi managed to trundle the Toyota on to the Mulsanne, but the heavily damaged car died on him and would go no further. He jumped out as one of the race favourites was forced into retirement.
Removing the cars and debris enforced the third Safety Car of the race, which once again stretched on thanks to the convoluted new pass-around system to reorder the field.
Racing did not resume again until 01:17, with Nico Müller having assumed the lead in the #94 Peugeot 9X8 to the delight of the partisan home crowd.
Now bunched together, the leaders raced hard into the darkness in the 10th hour as Sébastien Bourdais unlapped himself in the yellow #3 Cadillac.
Up front, Buemi returned to the lead in the #8 Toyota, although Müller kept up a decent pace with the two Ferraris running third and fourth and Lynn in the blue #2 Caddy holding fifth.
A Full Course Yellow broke up the action once again when ex-Formula 1 driver Daniil Kvyat crashed his Prema LMP2 heavily at the Porsche Curves.
Once that was cleared and after a 12th round of pit stops, Müller once again jumped to the front into the 11th hour, from Buemi and Calado, who had taken over the #51 Ferrari, with Lynn fourth just 12 seconds off the lead.
There was still very little in it – although now there was a blow for Ferrari: the #50 499P was pushed into the garage, dropping six laps off the lead and out of contention.
The lead changed again as Buemi tracked down and passed Müller, with Calado also demoting the Peugeot. At the end of the 11th hour, the Swiss was a little over three seconds ahead of the British driver, from Müller and Lynn, while the fifth placed #6 Porsche had moved back into the frame in Estre’s hands.
Into the 12th hour Gustavo Menezes took over the #94 Peugeot from Müller – and crashed heavily at the first chicane on the Mulsanne, causing severe front-end damage.
The American nursed the car back to the pits, but the loss of time for repairs has likely cost Peugeot a surprise bid for the top step.
As the Peugeot challenge apparently folded, Calado chased after Buemi, closing right up on the Toyota in a tense battle until they both stopped on the same lap.
Buemi took on fresh Michelins, Calado did not – and the Ferrari emerged ahead. That left the race beautifully poised as it raged into its second half.
In the closely fought LMP2 class, the Duqueine Team entry driven by Neel Jani had moved into the lead, while the Project 1 – AO Porsche 911 headed GTE Am in the hands of PJ Hyett.
And the ‘Garage 56’ NASCAR Chevrolet continues to rumble round as Jenson Button, Jimmie Johnson and Mike Rockenfeller revel in its incongruity, running in 35th overall.
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