Toyota collides with Ferrari in dramatic end to Le Mans practice

In the dying moments of the two-hour hit-out, Ryo Hirakawa made contact with the #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 shortly after the Porsche curves.

The incident began when an LMP2 car passed Casper Stevenson and Hirakawa tried to follow the other prototype through.

Hirakawa side-swiped Stevenson, causing the GR010 to spin through the gravel.

The Japanese driver was fortunate not to collide with the outside barrier, escaping only with damage to the right rear.

“He was following another car through,” said ex-Formula 1 driver Anthony Davidson on commentary.

“That’s often so dangerous, especially in the dark. You’re following another car through, you’re putting a lot of trust in [them].

“The LMP2 goes through on the left and you follow it through and then the GT cars hasn’t seen you and ‘Okay, the lights that were behind me, that car has gone, now I’ll turn back into my normal racing line’ and that was that.

Late collision between the #8 Toyota and the #57 Ferrari at the end of Free Practice 2. 😱

The two cars made contact at the end of the session.#LeMans24 #WEC pic.twitter.com/8w1R10udem

— 24 Hours of Le Mans (@24hoursoflemans) June 11, 2025

“It’s that classic case of thinking ‘I’m just going to follow this car through,” he added.

“It just goes to show that’s why this race is so tough. Because even in a practice session on the way into the pits, you can see two very well accomplished drivers, a previous winner of this race in fact, making a mistake like that.

“It’s a high-risk move to make, especially in a practice session, to follow a car through on the inside of that kind of corner – but it can be done and should be able to be done.”

Hirakawa was able to return his Hypercar to the pits under his own power while the Stevenson-driven LMGT3 lay stationary on track.

The incident was reviewed by stewards who deemed no one to be wholly at fault.

“After reviewing the video evidence and hearing from both drivers and Team Managers, the Stewards determined that at the entry of T31, Car 57 left sufficient room for an LMP2 car to pass, and then returned to the racing line, unaware that Car 8w as following closely on that line,” the stewards summary read.

“As Car 57 moved to the left, contact occurred between the two cars. Based on the statements of both drivers, the incident appears to have resulted from a misunderstanding of the situation.

“The Stewards concluded that neither driver was predominantly at fault for the collision and therefore decided to take no further action.”

The session was an otherwise uneventful affair, save for one red flag when one of the Aston Martin Valkyries suffered a tyre delamination that left debris on track.

The #83 AF Corse Ferrari ended the session on top but had its time scratched for a pit lane speeding violation.

Robert Kubica had the quickest time, a 3:25.101s, before it was stripped from him. That put Sebastien Buemi’s time, a 3:26.156s, to the top of the timesheets.

The #8 GR010 wound up nearly half a second clear of the #12 Hertz Team Jota Cadillac of Will Stevens, Norman Nato, and Alex Lynn.

Hyperpole for the 24 Hours of Le Mans gets underway at 4am AEST on Friday for LMP2 and LMGT3. The first leg of Hyperpole for Hypercar starts at 5:05am AEST.

Results: 24 Hours of Le Mans Free Practice 2