It was a scene bound to bring back bad memories for the Japanese outfit: a Toyota almost at a standstill on the Mulsanne Straight as the race entered its final couple of hours... Remember 2016 and those final minutes when victory seemed to be in the bag. At the wheel of the TS050 Hybrid n°7, Kamui Kobayashi coaxed his car back to the pit lane at a speed of 80 kph. The Toyota stopped, the mechanics filled her up with fuel, cleaned the windscreen and off she went, as if nothing had happened! So what was up? The driver had simply omitted to stop to refuel on the scheduled lap and was thus forced to slow down to make it back to the pits. Unbelievable! But in the end, this unlikely twist made no difference to the standings with the #8 and #7 Toyota out in front, ahead of the #3 and #1 Rebellion Racing R13-Gibsons.

In LMP2, the #26 G-Drive maintained its lead over the #36 Signatech Alpine Matmut, two laps behind. The Graff-SO24 #39 Oreca 07 is currently third, after clutch issues for the #23 Panis-Barthez Compétition, which has now dropped down to 12th in the class.

The LMGTE Pro is still providing some fantastic entertainment with some spectacular skirmishes. After the fight for third place between the #91 Porsche 911 RSR and the #68 Ford GT, there were similar battles among the rest of the pack. Nick Catsburg (#81 BMW M8 GTE) and Earl Bamber (#34 Porsche 911 RSR) went head-to-head for the 11th place which finally went to the Dutchman. Meanwhile, the #92 and #91 Porsche have a firm grip on the first two places.

In LMGTE Am, the rankings haven’t changed for some time now. The #77 Porsche 911 RSR racing for Dempsey - Proton Racing is way out in front, with the #54 Spirit of Race Ferrari almost 3:30 behind.

The Top 3 in each class at 14:00

LMP1

1. #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing
2. #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing
3. #3 Rebellion Racing

LMP2

1. #26 G-Drive Racing
2. #36 Signatech Alpine Matmut
3. #39 Graff-SO24

LMGTE Pro

1. #92 Porsche GT Team
2. #91 Porsche GT Team
3. #68 Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA

LMGTE Am

1. #77 Dempsey - Proton Racing
2. #54 Spirit of Race
3. #85 Keating Motorsports