Here is a round-up of the highlights in each class after 18 hours of racing:

 

LMP:

• The Rebellion Williams Esport #1 Oreca 07 LMP that leads the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual is currently being driven by Nikodem Wisniewski  Hot on the chase is the #13 car, another Rebellion Williams Esport prototype. There is a 38-second gap between them. However, the #1 was slapped with a drive-through penalty (which means going through the pit lane without stopping) for having exceeded track limits or speeding in the pit lane (a parameter set automatically by rFactor2).
• The Swiss team also had a bit of a fright just before the 8th hour when the #2 car went into a spin at the Link-up corner and was hit by #3. The #2 prototype, driven by Gustavo Menezes, lost a wheel but made it back to his garage for repairs.
• Endurance racing spirit is all about pulling together. Nicolas Lapierre, driver of the Cool Racing #42 Oreca 07 LMP, ran out of fuel in the pit lane. Unable to make it to his garage, he was pushed along by Signatech Alpine Elf simracer Nicolas Longuet so could eventually refuel. The #42 car is currently 22nd overall while the #36 is 28th.
• The fastest race lap in the LMP class so far was clocked by the Team Redline #20 Oreca with 3:25.336 during the 159th lap.
• The cars having made the fewest pit stops are the Rebellion Williams Esport #13 and the 2 Seas Motorsport #33. They have both refuelled 27 times, compared to 29 for the race leader.
• Paul-Loup Chatin, driver of the #17 Oreca 07 LMP for Idec Sport Racing told us: “There’s plenty to take away from this virtual race for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in September. We’ll be asking ourselves a few questions about the applications used in esport, and which could be valuable for us.” He shares the car, which currently stands 11th, with Richard Bradley, Franco Colapinto and simracer Michi Hoyer.

GTE:

• The #93 Porsche 911 RSR is still in charge in this class.
• Then there is the R8G Esports Team #80 Corvette C7.R, in front of the #92 Porsche.
• At the moment, the fastest race lap in the GTE class has been recorded by the Porsche Esports Team #93 Porsche 911 at 3:48.203.
• The #95 Aston Martin Vantage is in fourth place and the #88 Porsche 911 RSR is fifth, both two laps behind the leader.
• The #54 Strong Together Ferrari, the official car of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, is in tenth place. Its crew includes former Formula One drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Felipe Massa.
   

Top 5 in the LMP class:

1. #1 Oreca – Rebellion Williams Esport
2. #13 Oreca – Rebellion Williams Esport +38.7 seconds
3. #4 Oreca – ByKolles Burst Esport +53.3 seconds
4. #33 Oreca – 2 Seas Motorsport +3:05
5. #24 Oreca – Veloce Esports 1 +1 lap

Top 5 in the GTE class:

1. #93 Porsche 911 RSR - Porsche GT Team
2. #80 Corvette C7.R – R8G Esports Team +3.41
3. #92 Porsche 911 RSR +1 lap
4. #95 Aston Martin Vantage GTE – Aston Martin Racing +51 seconds
5. #88 Porsche 911 RSR – Dempsey Proton Racing + 2 laps

 

Keep up with the live timing HERE.
 

And don’t miss a minute of the track action… keep up with the Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans HERE.