A power problem for the race-leading Toyota Hybrid has handed Porsche the advantage at the Le Mans 24 Hours after 10 hours of running.
Toyota had dominated the event, leading every lap since the drop of the green flag, before Kamui Kobayashi failed to return to racing speed following the first safety car of the race.
To that point, the #7 entry held a more than a two-minute advantage over the leading Porsche, with the #9 Toyota a lap back in third place.
A spin from Olivier Pla drew the safety car for the first time when the Ford GT deposited gravel across the circuit at Indianapolis after nine and a half hours of racing.
When the flag went green Kobayashi, who’d just exited the Ford Chicane to begin a new lap, failed to accelerate to racing speed and quickly found himself tumbling down the order.
The Japanese driver then trundled around the Le Sarthe circuit at 50kph, stopping a number of times as he wrestled with the ailing car before finally having to admit defeat at the Porsche Curves.
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It leaves just two healthy LMP1 cars in the French classic, with the privately entered ByKolles entry having suffered engine problems inside the first hour of the race.
Porsche suffered a front-axle drive problem on the #2 car, losing 19-laps in the garage while the team affected repairs.
A similar problem beset the second Toyota, which lost nearly two hours as the team repaired that car, dropping it 29 laps down the order.
The race moved in Porsche’s favour even further when the #9 Toyota suffered a puncture at the first turn, the car catching fire as Nicholas Lapierre tried to limp the car back to the garage.
The #1 Porsche now holds a commanding lead over the Lapierre Toyota while Earl Bamber in the #2 Porsche moves into an effective third position.
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