Sole driver-constructor to win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Jean Rondeau built fast and reliable cars, as evidenced by the record of one of the cars present at the 2014 Le Mans Classic, seen at the 24 Hours from 1978 to 1988!

The pressure is still on at the halfway mark of the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans given dramatic twists in the Hypercar class, a strategic battle over tyres, milestone moments for Genesis and razor-thin margins in LMGT3. Glory is still very much up for grabs in this thrilling 94th running of the race.

With 12 hours in the rearview at&nbsp;the&nbsp;94th 24 Hours of Le Mans, third round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC), under the cover of night the favourites have faltered, the underdogs have seized their chance&nbsp;and the newcomers have proven&nbsp;they belong&nbsp;on the world&rsquo;s greatest endurance stage. At the halfway mark, Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA leads, but the slightest error could still alter the fate of this fiercely contested race.

<h2>A battle between&nbsp;titans after nightfall</h2>

Nighttime at this race often acts as the ultimate barometer. It reveals strengths and&nbsp;exposes weaknesses. Shortly after midnight, the race was neutralised for 45 minutes following an off-track incidentat the Forest&nbsp;Esses by the #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo, which was subsequently forced to retire.

When the green flag appeared&nbsp;again at 00:23, the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid (Toyota&nbsp;Racing) led&nbsp;the field ahead of the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 (BMW M Team WRT) and the #12 Cadillac V-Series.R (Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA). Behind this running order, a life-sized game of chess was&nbsp;already underway: the three Cadillacs have opted for soft tires, while Toyota stayed with medium compound.

The action&nbsp;ratcheted&nbsp;up another notch at the 01:33 mark. A slight error by Brendon Hartley at the Mulsanne Corner forced&nbsp;the New Zealander to take the side&nbsp;road. Instantly, the Toyota&rsquo;s lead disappeared&nbsp;and the #12 Cadillac closed&nbsp;the gap to just four-tenths of a second.&nbsp;

A few minutes later, BMW in turn opted for&nbsp;soft-tyres on the&nbsp;#20. This decision had been prepared in advance using the sister #15 car as a test subject. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, every technical choice involves a calculated risk, and sometimes a simple decision made in the pits can carry as much weight as an on-track overtake.

<h2>Ferrari hit, Genesis struggling</h2>

At 00:25, the #50 Ferrari 499P (Ferrari-AF Corse) &mdash; still on the lead lap at the time &mdash; suffered a problem with its fire extinguisher system. Mechanics spent a considerable amount of time working beneath the driver&#39;s seat.

The Italian Hypercar finally returned to the track at 00:53&nbsp;after a 28-minute stoppage. Rejoining the race in 23rd place and eight laps down, its hopes of victory were severely compromised. In an event where every second counts, half an hour can sometimes feel like an eternity.

AF Corse&#39;s #83 Ferrari 499P remains&nbsp;in the game. Robert Kubica: We have a good pace, but we&#39;re losing too much time in the straights due to a lack of acceleration. There&#39;s nothing we can do. We need to focus on what we can control, and with a little bit of luck, we can take advantege of mistakes made by others.

Genesis Magma Racing&#39;s performance&nbsp;is another highlight of the race&#39;s first half. In their rookie appearance in&nbsp;the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the #17 and #19 GMR-001 Hypercars have demonstrated remarkable reliability. Lap after lap, the Korean team is gaining valuable experience and showing promising potential for the future

At 3:25, the #19&nbsp;driven by Paul-Loup Chatin&nbsp;came to a halt between Arnage and Indianapolis. The French driver managed to restart the car after receiving radio instructions from his team, but a good 10 minutes were sacrified. It was a frustrating setback, yet one that offered valuable lessons for a team discovering the unique demands of Le Mans.

<h2>Everything still up for grabs in LMP2 and LMGT3</h2>

In LMP2, the #30 ORECA&nbsp;07-Gibson (Duqueine Team) and the #43 (Inter Europol Competition) took turns in the lead depending on pit stops and strategy.&nbsp;In a category where all teams race with the same chassis, engine&nbsp;and tyres, the difference is all in the details: driver talent, engineering precision&nbsp;and the wisdom&nbsp;of the decisions made under pressure.

At 3:16, the #25 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA left the&nbsp;track at Arnage. The circuit&rsquo;s slowest corner remains one of its most treacherous,&nbsp;further proof that at Le Mans, speed is nothing without control.

In LMGT3, TF Sport&rsquo;s #33 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R set&nbsp;the pace. Ben Keating, Jonny Edgar, and Nicky Catsburg held the lead ahead of the Heart of Racing team&rsquo;s #27 Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 and the two Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3s.

However, the pecking order remained vulnerablee. The top 15&nbsp;in the class were still on the same lap, a rare closeness that promises a particularly lively second half of the race. At this stage, no one can say for certain which car will cross the finish line first.

<h2>The night always special at the 24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans</h2>

At the halfway point, the gaps remain surprisingly narrow.&nbsp;During the night, drivers are forced to maintain the same level of concentration as in broad daylight, even as fatigue begins to set in. Every braking maneuver and every overtaking move becomes a balancing act.

That is also what makes the 24 Hours of Le Mans so fascinating. The night does not reward only the fastest,&nbsp;it tests human endurance, car reliability&nbsp;and the teams&#39; ability to remain clear-headed no matter the conditions.

Top 5 overall after&nbsp;12 hours of racing:

1. #12 Cadillac V-Series.R of&nbsp;Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA &ndash; Louis Del&eacute;traz / Will Stevens / Norman Nato - 192 laps 
2. #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 of BMW M Team WRT &ndash; Robin Frijns / Rene Rast / Sheldon van der Linde +15.360s 
3. #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid of&nbsp;Toyota Racing &ndash; S&eacute;bastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa +20.725s 
4. #38 Cadillac V-Series.R of Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA &ndash; S&eacute;bastien Bourdais / Earl Bamber / Jack Aitken +1:10.191 
5. #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid of&nbsp;Toyota Racing &ndash; Mike Conway / Kamui Kobayashi / Nyck de Vries +2:06.396

Leaders in the other categories:

<ul>
	<li>LMP2: #30 ORECA&nbsp;07-Gibson of&nbsp;Duqueine Team &ndash; Doriane Pin / Julien Andlauer / Richard Verschoor</li>
	<li>LMGT3: #33 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R of&nbsp;TF Sport &ndash; Ben Keating / Jonny Edgar / Nicky Catsburg</li>
</ul>

Best lap:&nbsp;Earl Bamber (#38 Cadillac V-Series.R of&nbsp;Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA) - 3:26.370 (123rd lap)

Retirements:

<ul>
	<li>#54 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo of Vista AF Corse &ndash; Thomas Flohr / Francesco Castellacci / Davide Rigon, 00:15, incident</li>
	<li>#61 Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 of Iron Lynx (Martin Berry / Rui Andrade / Maxime Martin), 21:43, right rear&nbsp;suspension failure</li>
	<li>#13 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R of&nbsp;Thirteen Autosport &ndash; Orey Fidani / Lars Kern / Matthew Bell, 21:43, mechanical troubles</li>
</ul>

12- hour round-up: Cadillac takes the lead; Ferrari 499P hit

Toyota, BMW and Cadillac are sitting at the top table with their cards close to their chests. Toyota and BMW have one car in the fight; Cadillac has two. Will that play dividends for the American marque? Welcome to the night at Le Mans.

At midnight, eight hours into the race, the top-four were separated by just 45 seconds before the first Safety Car of the race was deployed. Shuffling the pack&hellip; it&rsquo;s game on.

What a busy second four hours it has been. If you&#39;re only joining us at hour eight... where have you been? <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/4-hour-round-up-toyota-head-to-the-front-as-battle-for-the-lead-intensifies-at-le-mans-60802">You can catch up on the opening phase of the race.</a> We are now under total darkness as the sun goes down at Le Mans.

<h2>Cadillac ups the pace to take the fight to BMW and Toyota</h2>

At hour four, we left the battle with Toyota electing to pursue an early pit-stop strategy &ndash; a masterstroke from the Japanese manufacturer.

Using years of experience, the #8 Toyota, driven by S&eacute;bastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa, had climbed from 15th on the grid into the lead. The move created concern among its rivals, as the red-and-white machine remained a constant presence at the front through each round of pit-stop cycles.

BMW had to respond and, by the end of the first eight hours of the race, was matching Toyota&#39;s pit-stop windows. In the seventh hour, the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 and the Toyota GR010 Hybrid ran nose to tail, separated by just half a second in the fight for the lead at 23:00 local time.

Toyota had the edge out of the slower corners, while the BMW stretched its legs through the faster sections. It became a cat-and-mouse chase before both cars dived into the pits. Although Toyota came in second, it emerged ahead of the BMW after electing to take on less fuel, as both teams kept a wary eye on the threat from Michigan - approaching on two fronts.

The #38 Cadillac, shared by Earl Bamber, Jack Aitken and S&eacute;bastien Bourdais, is the car everyone has their eyes on. It showed impressive one-lap speed in qualifying and has been equally effective over longer stints.

Twelve months ago, the Hertz Team JOTA Cadillacs struggled to bring their tyres into the optimum operating window. This year, the team switched to the softer compound earlier, and it paid dividends. On lap 123, Earl Bamber set the fastest lap of the race so far as he looked to build a gap over the Toyota behind him.

The #38 focused on the Toyota, while the #12 Cadillac V-Series.R, with Will Stevens at the wheel, was shadowing and keeping pressure on the #20 BMW.

When the Safety Car was deployed at the end of the eighth hour, it was scramble, scramble, scramble as every team used the opportunity to pit.

French fans will be pleased to see the #36 Alpine fighting for a top-five finish, although even in Jules Gounon&#39;s hands it has been unable to close the gap to the four cars ahead.

Elsewhere, drama struck the pole-sitters as darkness fell. Damage was bestowed upon the #20 BMW, after contact with an LMP2 car. WHat followed was a spectacular exit of the tyre rubber off the rim forcing the car into a painful crawl down the Mulsanne Straight and around the agonisingly long 13.626km Circuit de la Sarthe.

Haemorrhaging time, the BMW dropped to the back of the Hypercar field and it wasn&rsquo;t too long before the Bavarian machine returned to the pits once again, this time it was lifted onto its dollies and pushed into the garage as the team worked to rectify the damage and any resulting issues.

Ferrari is beginning to chip away at the deficit but will need something special to happen and will be reliant on trouble hitting those ahead. The #50 remains sixth, while the #51 continues its recovery despite serving an earlier drive-through penalty following contact with an LMP2 car.

Last year&#39;s winners, the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, had struggled throughout the week, but a spirited drive has lifted them into ninth, ahead of the two new Genesis Hypercars.

Persistence is the word that best describes the #7 Toyota. It has not enjoyed the same fortune as the #8, but patience is beginning to pay off as it circulates inside the top 10.

British fans will be delighted by Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA&#39;s fortunes but disappointed by the Aston Martin Valkyries, which sit 12th and 15th. The American run team will have some head scratching to try and get one of the cars into the top ten tomorrow.

<h2>Duqueine determined in LMP2</h2>

Duqueine Team held the advantage as the sun set, fending off the immediate threat from Forestier Racing by Panis as well as the dual Inter Europol Competition assault, with the Polish outfit attempting to extend its stints.

The #343 entry remains the nearest challenger, while the #26 Vector Sport machine has moved into podium contention ahead of the #37 CLX Motorsport car. The Panis-supported team rounds out the top five.

&nbsp;

<h2>Heart of Racing back on the Pulse</h2>

The race&#39;s first Safety Car was deployed a little over seven and a half hours into the event when the #54 Ferrari ran side-by-side with one of the Ford Mustangs.

Running on the dirtier outside line, the Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo made contact with the American machine before spinning into the gravel in the Esses approaching Tertre Rouge, where it became stranded and awaited recovery.

Meanwhile, Heart of Racing &ndash; the team that started from pole before being shuffled down the order &ndash; fought back impressively during the second four-hour period to return the Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 to the class lead.

Kessel Racing is carrying Ferrari&#39;s hopes in second place with the #74 entry, ahead of the #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari in third. Emerging from seemingly nowhere, the #77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3 has charged through the GT field and looks a genuine podium contender heading into the second half of the race.

&nbsp;

Top 5 after 8 Hours (During Safety Car):

<ol>
	<li>Toyota GR010 Hybrid #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing &ndash; S&eacute;bastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa&nbsp;&ndash; 129 laps</li>
	<li>BMW M Hybrid V8 #20 BMW M Team WRT &ndash; Robin Frijns / Rene Rast / Sheldon van der Linde, -2:17.750&nbsp;;</li>
	<li>Cadillac V-Series.R #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA &ndash; Louis Del&eacute;traz / Will Stevens / Norman Nato - 2:19.797&nbsp;;</li>
	<li>Cadillac V-Series.R #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA &ndash; S&eacute;bastien Bourdais / Earl Bamber / Jack Aitken - 2:22.089&nbsp;;</li>
	<li>Ferrari 499P #50 Ferrari-AF Corse &ndash; Antonio Fuoco / Nicklas Nielsen / Miguel Molina - 4:04.001.</li>
</ol>

Category Leaders:

<ul>
	<li>LMP2&nbsp;:&nbsp;Oreca 07-Gibson #30 Duqueine Team &ndash; Doriane Pin / Julien Andlauer / Richard Verschoor&nbsp;&ndash; 123 laps</li>
	<li>LMGT3&nbsp;:&nbsp;Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 #27 Heart Of Racing &ndash; Ian James / Zacharie Robichon / Mattia Drudi&nbsp;&ndash; 113 laps</li>
</ul>

Fastest Lap: Earl Bamber (Cadillac V-Series.R #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA) - 3:26.370 on lap 123

Retirements

<ul>
	<li>Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R #13 Thirteen Autosport &ndash; Orey Fidani / Lars Kern / Matthew Bell&nbsp;: Mechanical</li>
	<li>Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 #61 Iron Lynx (Martin Berry / Rui Andrade / Maxime Martin)&nbsp;: Suspension&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

8-hour round-up: Four-car fight going into the night at Le Mans

A four-way battle for the lead is finely poised at the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans, as BMW, Cadillac and Toyota go toe-to-toe as all lead throughout the opening four hours of the race.

Tour de France cycling legend Sir Mark Cavendish started the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans &ndash; the 94th edition of the great race &ndash; to great fanfare. The platinum era of sports car racing was living up to its billing, with the eight Hypercar manufacturers creating a spectacular sight to behold: 18 Hypercars leading 19 LMP2 and 25 LMGT3 cars, all charging into Turn One.

Sixty-two teams. Sixty-two dreams. Here is what happened from hours two to four.

Missed the opening hour? <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/2026-24-hours-of-le-mans-the-94th-running-is-underway-60800">We have you covered.</a> 
&nbsp;

<h2>Toyota lock horns with BMW and Cadillac</h2>

In the first hour, the opening six laps were nothing short of frantic as the Hypercars fought for every position in the pecking order with a clear track ahead of them. Those battles became even more intense when the leading cars encountered traffic for the first time on lap seven.

As the hour progressed, five cars emerged at the front. The #8 Toyota Racing car elected to run a completely different strategy from the rest of the leading pack. Pitting on lap eight, while those around them were going three to four laps longer, raised eyebrows. However, in clear air, with S&eacute;bastien Buemi at the wheel, the Swiss driver was able to put his head down and produce rapid lap times. He worked his way through the field and leapt from 15th into the lead while his rivals contended with traffic from the slower classes.

With every stop, the #8 Toyota gradually extended its advantage, from a handful of seconds to 19, then 27, and counting. The Japanese powerhouse was banking on uninterrupted running and, so far, a clean race.

The #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 had to respond. The Bavarian team were matching Toyota blow for blow, trying to stay within touching distance. On the stroke of the three-hour mark, a Full Course Yellow was deployed &ndash; disaster for the pack chasing the Toyota, as the #8 car had already completed its stop. Diving into the pits for an emergency splash of fuel put the #20 BMW and #12 Cadillac on the back foot, as both had to return a lap later for a full pit stop, compromising the strategies of the chasing pack.

The gold Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA cars ran line astern as they leapfrogged the struggling Alpine, the Anglo-American outfit showing it had the pace. The #38 appeared to be the quicker car at this stage with Jack Aitken at the wheel. The #12, driven by Louis Del&eacute;traz, offered little resistance as it allowed its sister car through in pursuit of the BMW ahead.

Aitken was on a mission. He had reduced the deficit from 10 seconds to five over the previous hour before appearing on the gearbox of the German M Hybrid V8.

The lead changed at the three-and-a-half-hour mark. Approaching the second chicane, Aitken swooped past Sheldon van der Linde&#39;s BMW in the gold Cadillac. However, the Michigan-built V8 monster was running lighter fuel loads, with the BMW believed to have around 20 per cent more energy than the Cadillac. This battle is going to become very interesting as the race heads into the night &ndash; and it is the one to watch. Cadillac and BMW may be on similar strategies, but Toyota is giving both LMDh cars plenty to think about.

The #35 Alpine, which looked promising in the opening hour, was beginning to struggle. It had the one-lap pace, but in the summer heat and with heavy fuel loads, it could not maintain the same speed. With Charles Milesi at the controls, fifth place was where the French team found itself, waiting to pounce should the four cars ahead falter. However, it also needs to keep an eye on its mirrors, with the fast-approaching #50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P closing in.

The #51 Ferrari 499P was in the wars after underestimating an overtake on the inside of the #9 Proton Competition LMP2 entry. The Ferrari was deemed not to have left sufficient room for the ORECA, with both cars colliding and running off the circuit in the Esses before Tertre Rouge, sending track bollards flying. A drive-through penalty was subsequently handed to the Scuderia.

Elsewhere, Genesis had a car in the top 10 in ninth, while the #83 AF Corse Ferrari continued to struggle at Le Mans this year, battling the pair of Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyries on the wrong side of the top 10 in 12th, 13th and 14th. The other Toyota on the opposite side of the garage was also struggling, yo-yoing in and out of the top 10.

<h2>all to play for in LMP2</h2>

The LMP2 prototypes, aside from the leading Toyota, were the first class to dive into the pits. The early leaders were the #18 IDEC Sport machine, with the French team converting pole position into an early advantage.

The #30 Duqueine Team and #29 Forestier Racing by Panis enjoyed a ding-dong battle throughout the opening four hours, while the pair of Inter Europol Competition cars were able to go longer between pit stops, making them a thorn in the side of the top three.

Keep an eye on the #37 CLX Motorsport entry as well, quietly going about its business in fourth place.

&nbsp;

<h2>Lexus, BMW, Porsche and Aston Martin battle in LMGT3</h2>

Jack Hawksworth and Akkodis ASP Team were the stars of the opening four hours in the GT category. The British driver was the big mover in the Lexus, carving his way through the field and into the lead. He underlined his impressive form by building a healthy advantage before handing over to Bronze-rated driver Tom Van Rompuy.

Demonstrating that their strong free practice pace was no flash in the pan, Van Rompuy continued to push against his fellow Bronze drivers before being overtaken by the more experienced Jos&eacute; Mar&iacute;a L&oacute;pez in the sister Lexus. Grabbing the advantage as four hours lapsed, the #91 Manthey Porsche heads to the front, while the pole-sitting #27 Aston Martin, which had slipped down the order, is now back&nbsp;in a&nbsp;battle for the podium.

The #13 Autosport Corvette is in the garage, undergoing repairs. However, all of the other 61 cars remain on track, circulating without major issues. Aside from one brief Full Course Yellow to clear debris and displaced bollards, the race has run remarkably cleanly so far.

&nbsp;

Top 5 with 20 Hours to go:

1. Toyota GR010 Hybrid #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing &ndash; S&eacute;bastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa&nbsp;&ndash; 66 laps 
2. BMW M Hybrid V8 #20 BMW M Team WRT &ndash; Robin Frijns / Rene Rast / Sheldon van der Linde &ndash; + 29:616 
3. Cadillac V-Series.R #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA &ndash; S&eacute;bastien Bourdais / Earl Bamber / Jack Aitken &ndash; +31:694 
4. Cadillac V-Series.R #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA &ndash; Louis Del&eacute;traz / Will Stevens / Norman Nato &ndash; +58:607 
5. Alpine A424 #35 Alpine Endurance Team &ndash; Ant&oacute;nio F&eacute;lix Da Costa / Charles Milesi / Ferdinand Habsburg &ndash; +1:24.549

Category Leaders:

<ul>
	<li>LMP2&nbsp;:&nbsp;Oreca 07-Gibson #30 Duqueine Team &ndash; Doriane Pin / Julien Andlauer / Richard Verschoor&nbsp;&ndash; 63 laps</li>
	<li>LMGT3&nbsp;:&nbsp;Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 #91 Manthey DK Engineering &ndash; James Cottingham / Timur Boguslavskiy / Ayhancan G&uuml;ven&nbsp;&ndash; 58 laps</li>
</ul>

4-hour round-up: Toyota head to the front as battle for the lead intensifies at Le Mans

Official starter Sir Mark Cavendish waved off the 62 entrants, who set off for the the 94th 24 Hours of Le Mans, third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC), now in full swing with Toyota leading after the first hour...

<h2>1 Hour Update: Toyota lead the 94th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.</h2>

Following a surprise pit stop on lap eight, the five-time event winners went bold with their opening stint strategy, pitting both the #8&nbsp;and then the #7&nbsp;Toyota GR010 Hybrids to give themselves clear air and a shot at victory. S&eacute;bastien Buemi, in the #8 car, leads the race, with pole-sitter Ren&eacute; Rast in the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 within five seconds as we end the opening hour.

Tour de France legend Sir Mark Cavendish had the honour of waving the French tricolour at the start of the most eagerly anticipated race in the modern era, with 62 cars and 62 dreams of victory lining up for the 94th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The race of all races. The great expedition, as 186 drivers &ndash; 40 of them rookies taking to the race for the first time &ndash; embark on this challenge. The build-up was palpable: a spine-tingling rendition of La Marseillaise, a flypast from fast jets, and a sell-out, passionate crowd willing the competitors on into the adventure. The stage was set. Twice around the clock we go into the most open race in recent memory.

Top-flight Hypercars from major manufacturers such as Ferrari, Toyota, BMW, Alpine, Peugeot, Cadillac, Aston Martin and Genesis, alongside the tightly contested LMP2 prototype category and the LMGT3 class for the latest supercars, ensured the Circuit de la Sarthe was alive once more. At 16:00 local time, the challenge began.

<h2>Hypercar</h2>

Starting from pole position, the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 didn&#39;t make the greatest of getaways, with the #12 Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac pouncing into the first corner.

The opening lap was as frenetic as it gets at Le Mans, with the field jostling for position and the two Ferrari AF Corse cars running side by side through the opening tour.

Down the Mulsanne Straight, the #15 BMW, with Ren&eacute; Rast behind the wheel, tucked the Bavarian machine into the slipstream of the leading Cadillac and used it to pass into the second chicane. Unleashed, the BMW looked fast and racy, edging away from the gold machine over the opening handful of laps with clean air and no traffic to contend with.

Team-mate Kevin Magnussen, in the sister car, made a strong start to haul his BMW M Hybrid V8 into third, while Earl Bamber, in the #38 Cadillac that had started tenth, was on the move up to sixth in the opening phase.

By lap six, the Hypercars had caught the back of the LMGT3 field, making the fight through traffic &ndash; and the battle for class positions &ndash; that little bit trickier.

Ferdinand Habsburg, who had been muscled out of position at the start, produced a brave move around the outside of Magnussen&#39;s BMW into Indianapolis Corner. Filipe Albuquerque was next to follow through, with the fast-starting Earl Bamber in hot pursuit. Running on hard tyres, the Kiwi looked set to double-stint the rubber, confident in the pace of the Cadillac chassis beneath him.

Shock resonated around Le Mans as the&nbsp;S&eacute;bastien Buemi&nbsp;#8&nbsp;Toyota pitted after only eight laps, dropping to the back of the Hypercar field. A lap later, Mike Conway brought the #7&nbsp;into the pits.

Toyota appeared to have a surprise up its sleeve.

Bringing both cars in early and then instructing their drivers to push put the Japanese manufacturer into the lead by the end of the first hour. We&#39;ll have to watch this strategy develop over the next few hours. Can they make it stick? Toyota fans will certainly be hoping so.

&nbsp;

<h2>LMP2</h2>

The man who lit up Hyperpole in the LMP2 battle, Esteban Masson in the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis ORECA, slipped back into the pack at the start of the race amid a fast train of prototype cars.

The #28 IDEC Sport ORECA made the best start, with the #30 Duqueine Team ORECA moving into second.

After the first round of pit stops, the #28 still leads, but the #29 &ndash; with Masson on a mission &ndash; has climbed back into second place.

<h2>LMGT3</h2>

Heart of Racing&#39;s #27 Aston Martin Vantage led the early charge in LMGT3, bolting away at the start of the race and building an advantage of almost a second per lap over the opening ten laps.

The two Akkodis ASP Lexus entries ran in flying formation as they cycled into second and third in the GT class, with the #78 taking the lead by leapfrogging the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin during the first round of pit stops.

Keep an eye on the #32 Team WRT BMW as well; they are firmly in the mix for victory in this class.

Top 5 after 1 Hour

1.Toyota GR010 Hybrid #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing &ndash; S&eacute;bastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa 
2.BMW M Hybrid V8 #20 BMW M Team WRT &ndash; Robin Frijns / Rene Rast / Sheldon van der Linde 
3.Alpine A424 #35 Alpine Endurance Team &ndash; Ant&oacute;nio F&eacute;lix Da Costa / Charles Milesi / Ferdinand Habsburg 
4. Cadillac V-Series.R #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA &ndash; S&eacute;bastien Bourdais / Earl Bamber / Jack Aitken 
5. Toyota GR010 Hybrid #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing &ndash; Mike Conway / Kamui Kobayashi / Nyck de Vries

Leaders in LMP2/LMGT3

<ul>
	<li>Oreca 07-Gibson #28 IDEC Sport &ndash; Paul Lafargue / Valerio Rinicella / Job Van Uitert</li>
	<li>Lexus RC F LMGT3 #78 Akkodis ASP Team &ndash; Tom Van Rompuy / Hadrien David / Jack Hawksworth</li>
</ul>

We will be bringing you reports every four hours. You can follow all the action on our social media channels, the FIA WEC app, or through the television broadcast in your territory.

Bonne chance and good luck to all the crews in this year&#39;s race!

&nbsp;

<h2>THE OPENER...</h2>

 
In front of packed pit straight grandstands, this year&#39;s&nbsp;competitors set off for&nbsp;24 hours of pedal to the metal racing: 18&nbsp;Hypercars, 19&nbsp;LMP2s&nbsp;and 25&nbsp;LMGT3s are now on the track, all sharing the same goal of&nbsp;crossing the finish line at 16:00 on Sunday.

Just a few minutes&nbsp;ago, the cars took their places on the grid cheered on by thrilled&nbsp;spectators, guests&nbsp;and countless&nbsp;VIPs gathered at the heart of the circuit. The 24 Hours of Le Mans trophy was presented just prior to&nbsp;this year&#39;s Grand Marshal Sarah Bovy&nbsp;leading&nbsp;the field on its final formation lap.

The&nbsp;start ceremony capped off race&nbsp;week during which Le Mans fully reclaimed its status as the world capital of motor racing. From Scrutineering in the city centre&nbsp;to the first free practices, public enthusiasm steadily ramped up, building up to this moment everyone had been waiting for.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans also remains focused on future&nbsp;challenges. Following the announcements regarding the integration of hydrogen into the 2030 Hypercar category (made the previous day at the ACO press conference), a prototype demonstration took place today&nbsp;just hours before the start, showcasing the research being done&nbsp;by manufacturers, the ACO&nbsp;and the FIA ​​in this area. Three&nbsp;prototypes took the track: Alpine&#39;s&nbsp;gas hydrogen Alpenglow, the&nbsp;gas hydrogen Ligier Bosch JS2 RH2 and the liquid&nbsp;hydrogen&nbsp;Toyota TR LH2. His excellence FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem arrived at Maison Blanche, the base for the test run, to witness the future of zero CO2 emission racing.

In all three categories, the cars also use Excellium Racing 100, a fully renewable fuel developed by TotalEnergies.

After hotly contested qualifying sessions, no definitive hierarchy has been established. Constructors, teams and drivers are now in another realm, one where pure speed is not enough and every decision can impact a one&#39;s end result.

The&nbsp;winners of the 94th 24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans will claim their trophies&nbsp;tomorrow, Sunday&nbsp;14 June at 16:00 CET.

24 Hours of Le Mans – Ten participations for a Rondeau

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2026 24 Hours of Le Mans – The 94th running is underway!

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