Both the overall race-leading Toyota and the leading Porsche in GTE-Pro have struck drama with just over eight hours to go in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The front-running #92 Porsche 911 RSR in GTE-Pro suffered a major tyre blowout, while the #7 Toyota stopped on track in the hands of Jose Maria Lopez.
Michael Christensen had a comfortable lead at the wheel of the #92 Porsche on Sunday morning at Circuit de la Sarthe having looked a strong contender through the night.
It all come unstuck in dramatic fashion when Christensen ran deep at Mulsanne Corner with a lock-up and rejoined the tarmac after bouncing through the gravel.
Unknown to Christensen, he had picked up a right-front puncture which let go a few seconds later as he accelerated towards Indianapolis corner.
The Danish driver limped the car with significant damage back to the garage as the Porsche GT Team got to work.
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Laurens Vanthoor rejoined the race two laps down in the #92 having swapped driving duties with Christensen during the repairs.
Corvette Racing has re-taken the GTE-Pro lead as a result of the Porsche incident, with the #64 of Alexander Sims out front from the #51 AF Corse Ferrari of Daniel Serra.
Shane van Gisbergen runs fifth in GTE-Pro aboard the Riley Motorsports Ferrari having benefited from the #92 Porsche’s crash.
Only a few minutes after that incident, overall leader Lopez in the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid ground to a halt exiting Arnage.
Lopez’s car was stationary for around 60 seconds until he was able to get moving back to the pits.
The Argentine driver returned to the circuit a lap down in second as Brendon Hartley assumed the overall lead in the #8 Toyota.
Glickenhaus Racing runs third outright with its #709 of Richard Westbrook.
At the end of 16 hours of racing, LMP2 is still led by the #38 JOTA entry of Will Stevens ahead of Prema Orlen Team and the sister JOTA car in second and third respectively.
Australian James Allen leads the LMP2 Pro-Am sub-class for Algarve Pro Racing.
Jean-Baptiste Lahaye spun the #35 Ultimate LMP2 car and smacked the inside wall in the Porsche Curves with around 11 hours to go.
While the car only needed a front nose replacement the incident saw a lengthy slow zone to repair the barriers where it hit the wall.
TF Sport’s #33 Aston Martin has gone to the front of GTE-Am, while the second-placed #79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche suffered a spin at Porsche Curves in the hands of Thomas Merrill.
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