Toyota holds a slender advantage at Le Mans following the first six hours of running after racing into the lead from the drop of the green flag.
Mike Conway headed the field from the start before Sebastien Buemi seized the lead in the sister-Toyota just prior the one-hour mark, though it would be the #7 car which established itself as the lead car for the Japanese marque throughout the opening six hours.
A problem with the drive to the front axle in the #2 Porsche saw the Brendan Hartley/Earl Bamber/Timo Bernhard entry fall pushed into the garage for repairs where it lost 19 laps, halving Porsche’s challenge at the front of proceedings.
The sister car of Neel Jani, Andre Lotterer and Nick Tandy remained within touching distance of the race lead, though Kazuki Nakajima in the second Toyota was reeling it in approaching the six-hour mark.
The privately entered ByKolles LMP1 entry was an early retirement with engine problems, though contact with the #9 Toyota on the opening lap saw it drop a lap within minutes of the race beginning.
Five hours into the race, a clash between the #28 LMP2 entry saw the Ferrari 488 GTE-Pro car pushed into the barrier, ending the Ferrari’s race as it sustained heavy front end damage.
That incident followed another where the G-Drive Racing Oreca of Roman Rusinov saw the LMP2 pole sitter tag the Proton Competition Porsche 911in the Porsche Curves.
It fired the Porsche into the barrier, heavily damaging it while Rusinov ground to a halt, both retirements after just 80-minutes of racing.
Australian debutante James Allen circulated just outside the top ten after the first six hours in the #40 GRAFF entry, while the #39 Oreca-Nissan shared by James Winslow sat 18th in class.
Aston Martin headed the GTE-Pro class with the Darren Turner #97 Aston Martin Vantage heading the leading Ford – the #69 Ford GT driven by Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon, and Richard Westbrook was sixth in class.
New Zealander Richie Stanaway languished towards the bottom of the GTE-Pro time sheets, the #95 Aston Martin having earlier led the class when co-driver Nicki Thim was at the wheel.
The only other Australian in the race, Nick Foster, ran in 48th place overall and 11th in GTE-Am in the Porsche 911 RSR he shared with Ben Barker and Michael Wainwright.
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