24h Le Mans
The V8-powered #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA machine was the alarm call Le Mans woke up to this morning, the bright gold Hypercar was in full flight as it tightened its stranglehold on the 94th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with BMW and Toyota trying to give chase.
Good morning from Le Mans. The sun has come up and we are well over the halfway mark – but there are still eight hours left on the clock. Plenty of mileage remains and plenty of time for drama to unfold. Here's what happened during the early hours of this morning.
Overnight, the big news was heartbreak for Sébastien Bourdais and the #38 Cadillac. While fighting for the lead, the golden Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac had to be pushed into the garage with mechanical woes. Fifteen minutes later, and out of contention, the #38 rejoined the race with a mountain to climb to get back into the fight at the front of the Hypercar leaderboard. Will Bourdais ever catch a break at Le Mans?
The sister #12 has enjoyed much better fortune. Cycling through its strategy overnight, the American machine is in prime position for victory after superlative drives from Norman Nato, Will Stevens and Louis Delétraz. Brendon Hartley will be rueing his mistake earlier in the night, when an overshoot haemorrhaged time and allowed the Cadillac to close up and slip by during the pit-stop cycle.
The #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 is the closest challenger to the Cadillac as the Bavarian marque searches for its first outright Le Mans victory in more than 25 years. Pit-stop strategy could yet come into play, with the German squad sitting just 20 seconds behind the leader. All it takes is one slip-up and it's game on in the fight for victory.
With the #15 sadly out of contention following drama as the sun set yesterday, the sister car is doing everything it can to aid the greater cause, trying different fuel loads and tyre options – a real-world test bed to simulate various scenarios before applying them to the car leading the charge.
The #101 WTR Cadillac has gone quietly about its business and, following the demise of the #38 Hertz Team JOTA entry, has inherited fourth place. However, it remains some way back from the battle for a podium finish as things stand.
The #35 Alpine, which looked to be slipping backwards as night fell, held on to a top-five position and overnight was the only car able to manage the medium tyre effectively, helping propel it into the top five. However, a chasing duo is looming large in the mirrors of the A424.
The #7 Toyota continued its charge through the field overnight and, as dawn broke, had climbed into the top six. It enjoyed several battles with the #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P behind, and both cars are closing rapidly on the Alpine ahead.
The 2025 winners, AF Corse, are now up to eighth after a strong night's work, ahead of the #17 Genesis. The Korean outfit would dearly love a top-10 finish, as would the Aston Martin Thor Team, which is aiming to get the Valkyrie into the top 10. They currently sit 10th and 12th, respectively.
The #19 Genesis Magma Racing entry stopped on track twice: first between Mulsanne and Indianapolis, then again at Tertre Rouge two hours later. The power unit cut out just moments after restarting. The car eventually managed to fire back into life and rejoin the fray in 14th place.
It's advantage Duqueine in LMP2. The French outfit has been the class of the field throughout the hours of darkness, but it has been closely shadowed by the #43 Inter Europol Competition team. The #34 Inter Europol Competition entry currently occupies the final podium position, with the #9 Proton Competition and #26 entries the next nearest challengers.
With just over nine hours left on the clock, Dane Cameron aboard the #99 AO by TF misjudged his braking point on the run down to Mulsanne Corner, wedging Rocky into the barriers and bringing out a slow zone.
Moments later, the #3 DKR Engineering ORECA overcooked the middle section of the Daytona chicane, with John Farano suffering an early-morning spin. The Canadian was fortunate as a squabbling pack of four LMGT3 cars narrowly avoided him.
Even the best can face the drama - Kévin Estre losing his #14 TDS Racing ORECA into the barriers at Indianapolis just as we went to hit publish!
TF Sport has enjoyed a brilliant night's work to bring the #33 Corvette into the lead of the LMGT3 category. The #27 Aston Martin, which started on pole position, has been unable to match the American car's pace but looks secure in second.
However, with eight hours remaining, it will also need to keep an eye on its mirrors, as the hard-charging Akkodis ASP Team Lexus has rediscovered its pace now that the sun is up.
Eight hours remain. Anything can still happen. Seven Hypercars are still on the lead lap.
Top 5 after 16 Hours
1. Cadillac V-Series.R #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – Louis Delétraz / Will Stevens / Norman Nato – 257 laps
2. Toyota GR010 Hybrid #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing – Sébastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa – + 47.603
3. BMW M Hybrid V8 #20 BMW M Team WRT – Robin Frijns / Rene Rast / Sheldon van der Linde – + 49.910
4. Toyota GR010 Hybrid #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing – Mike Conway / Kamui Kobayashi / Nyck de Vries – +4:20.229
5. Ferrari 499P #51 Ferrari-AF Corse – Alessandro Pier Guidi / James Calado / Antonio Giovinazzi – + 4:32.573
Leaders in LMP2 and LMGT3 :
Fastest Lap
Retirements after 16 Hours
