Racing on the back-burner

Race Control announced the introduction of the safety cars at 3:45 am as the steady rain turned into a deluge. The go-slow continued through the night and through daybreak, suspending any meaningful competition. Race leadership swapped hands between the Porsche Penske Motorsport #6 Porsche 963 and the Toyota Gazoo Racing #8 and #7 Toyota GR010-Hybrids as they entered and left the pits while the team bosses and mechanics gazed desperately at the control screens, pleading for the sign of a restart.

In the meantime, Lamborghini Iron Lynx’s Romain Grosjean in the #16 Lamborghini SC63 occupied himself with a plumbing job in his cockpit.

As the clock ticked towards 8:00 am, the safety car procedure was winding down with the race due to restart in the 17th hour.

Status Quo in LMP2

During the neutralisation period, the AF Corse #183 Oreca 07-Gibson led the LMP2 field around the sodden track, ahead of the COOL Racing #37 and the Inter Europol Competition #34.

Porsche one-two in LMGT3

The leader of the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGT3 Teams, Manthey PureRxcing, holds top spot with its #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 behind the safety cars, ahead of the Manthey EMA #91 Porsche, followed by the #27Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 of Heart of Racing Team. Sadly, Team WRT’s #46 BMW M4 LMGT3, whose line-up included MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, is out of the race. An earlier accident by teammate Ahmad Al Harty resulted in the car’s retirement.

Top Five after 16 hours

1. #8 Toyota GR010-Hybrid | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa | 196 laps

2. #6 Porsche 963 | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor | +1.053

3. #50 Ferrari 499P | Ferrari AF Corse | Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen | +2.300

4. #7 Toyota GR010-Hybrid | Toyota Gazoo Racing | López/Kobayashi/de Vries | +3.895

5. #83 Ferrari 499P | AF Corse | Kubica/Shwartzmann/Ye | +13.780

Other class leaders

• LMP2 – #183 Oreca 07-Gibson | AF Corse | Perrodo/Barnicoat/Varrone (LMP2 Pro/Am) | 187 laps

• LMGT3 – #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 | Manthey PureRxcing | Malykhin/Sturm/Bachler | 177 laps

​Retirements

• #54 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 | Vista AF Corse | Flohr/ Castellacci/Rigon – Accident damage
• #35 Alpine A424 | Alpine Endurance Team | Chatin/Habsburg-Lothringen/Milesi – Engine failure
• #9 Oreca 07-Gibson | Proton Competition | Ried/Capietto/Viscaal – TBC
• #36 Alpine A424 | Alpine Endurance Team | Lapierre/Schumacher/Vaxiviere – Engine failure
• #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 | BMW M Team WRT | Vanthoor/Marciello/Wittmann – Accident damage
• #30 Oreca 07-Gibson | Duqueine Team | Falb/Allen/Simmenauer (LMP2 Pro/Am) – Engine failure
• #46 BMW M4 LMGT3 | Team WRT | Al Harthy/Rossi/Martin – Accident damage
• #45 Oreca 07-Gibson | Crowdstrike Racing by APR | Kurtz/Braun/Catsburg (LMP2 Pro/Am) – TBC

Fastest lap

Antonio Fuoco, #50 Ferrari 499P – 3:29.208 (lap 46)