24h Le Mans
The #50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P has battled its way to the front, with a chasing sister #51 Ferrari 499P and #83 AF Corse also making waves up the order. One of the stars of the opening part of the race was Kévin Estre who went from last in his #6 Porsche 963 into second overall.
20-time Tennis Grand Slam event winner Roger Federer waved the 62 cars into the start of the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans - the 93rd edition of the great race. The platinum era of sports car racing lived up to its billing, with the eight Hypercar manufacturers creating a spectacular sight to behold with 21 Hypercars leading 17 LMP2 and 24 LMGT3 cars - all charging into turn one.
In the first hour, the opening six laps were nothing short of frantic as the Hypercars fought for every spot in the pecking order with a clear track in front of them. Those battles got more fraught when the leading cars came across traffic for the first time on lap seven.
After passing the Cadillac front-row, the #5 Porsche 963 escaped down the road with the #4 sister Porsche Penske Motorsport car giving the two of Cadillac’s the hurry up behind. The third Porsche Penske Motorsport - the #6 effort started at the back of the Hypercar field after an exclusion in qualifying, but with only 30 minutes elapsed on the clock, Kévin Estre was already up to seventh - a masterclass from the Porsche stalwart.
The #007 Aston Martins mission was already compromised on the opening handful of laps as it became the first car into the pits following a puncture slowing down Harry Tincknell’s progress in his V12 Valkyrie.
The Cadillac’s were the first to pit from the front pack, with both of the golden machines coming in on lap 11 with the #5 Porsche mirroring the call to the pits a lap later.
On the fringe of the opening hour, Paul di Resta came in hot into the Porsche Curves and had nowhere to go with a LMGT3 Ferrari moving off the racing line - the rapid reactions of the Scot avoided a collision, but the #93 Peugeot 9X8 had nowhere else to go except the gravel. The car slid into the tyre barrier - ripping off the engine cover and panels in spectacular fashion. Limping back to the pits - the Peugeot mechanics got to work. The #93 is roaring again - but at the bottom of the order.
Into hour two, last years winners - the #50 Ferrari AF Corse team slipped past the #38 Cadillac to position themselves as a contender once more with Nicklas Nielsen overtaking Earl Bamber on the Mulsanne. The great Dane was on the move - slowly reeling in the #12 Cadillac ahead, lap after lap until both came into the pits. It was a case of me and my shadow as they both exited in the order they arrived. Nielsen did have a faster race car underneath him, with the scarlet red machine getting the heat into the tyres quicker - enabling a simple and clinical pass for position.
Kévin Estre continued his mission and passed the #38 Cadillac in the second hour. After the second round of stops - the Frenchman had to get his elbows out at high-speed on cold tyres to defend his second position from a charging Nielsen who had an extra lap of heat in his tyres - and used his extra traction off the first chicane to make a pass into the second. The #50 Ferrari was on the warpath and the car to watch.
Having kept a fairly low, unassuming profile and making gains on track and in the pit stops was the British driver Jack Aitken. The #311 Whelan prepared Cadillac rose from eighth at the start into fourth, carrying the torch for Detroit, USA - leapfrogging the pair of Hertz Team JOTA cars. Looming large in the Cadillac mirrors was the the #8 Toyota GR010 - Hybrid in the hands of Sébastien Buemi - making inroads at a rapid rate. Never discount the Japanese team here at Le Mans.
Despite the #93 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 in the wars - the sister #94 machine became the fourth different brand to lead the race in the third hour - with the French machine pushing the stint window another two, and in some cases three laps longer than its rivals. Not gaining much on the leaderboard after their pit stops they have led the race twice - they could be doing something clever - thinking about the long game over the course of the 24 hours. Let’s watch this space.
Halfway into hour three the march from the #50 Ferrari 499P was evident, as the grunt and traction from the Ferrari AF Corse car out of Mulsanne corner lined-up Antonio Fuoco for a pass on the #6 Porsche - now in the hands of Mathieu Jaminet. The classic Ferrari versus Porsche battle is tantalising as always with the two going wheel-to-wheel in the kinks running into Indianapolis - with the Ferrari making its mark, moving into the lead, with the chasing Porsches in hot pursuit.
Also on the move the #51 factory Ferrari 499P and the satellite AF Corse #83 Ferrari 499P. The Porsches were being surrounded. At the end of the four hours. The #50 Ferrari is breaking away from the #6 Porsche, with a chasing works #51 Ferrari and AF Corse run #83 499P breathing down the neck of the Porsche. The brace of prancing horses dispatched the #311 Cadillac and #5 Porsche.
Spectators were treated on the four-hour mark a tantalising three-way battle between the #6 Porsche. #51 Ferrari AF Corse and #83 AF Corse Ferrari!
The LMP2 class for the sports prototypes were the first class to dive into the pits. The early leaders were the #29 TDS machine, having started on pole, but the French team dropped down the order in the cycle of pit stops and on track and this provided an opportunity for another team to step forward.
Up stepped the #42 Inter Europol Competition outfit. The Polish team moved ahead with effective pit stops and a superb opening stint from Tom Dillman who pressed home the advantage on lap 12 before handing over to fellow crew member Jakub Smiechowski who held the lead into the four hour mark. Spike the #199 ORECA from AO by TF was on the coat-tails early on, but as a Pro/Am outfit - they dropped back when the Bronze driver PJ Hyett took over - but have climbed again now lead driver Dane Cameron is pedalling the #199. The team to look out for are the #48 VDS Panis team and #9 Proton Competition - who are hunting down the yellow and green ORECA outfront.
Elsewhere, United Autosports were the first in the wars - trying to pass the #193 Ziggo Sport Ferrari LMGT3 car, the gap was closing on the entry to the corner and the end result was always going to end in tears as the pair collided and pirouetted at the Dunlop Chicane in a cloud of smoke. A nervous rejoin into oncoming traffic - but both managed to get going again but both down the order in their respective classes.
Jack Hawksorth and his Akkodis ASP Team were the heroes in the opening four hours in the GT category. The British driver was the big mover in the big Lexus, carving his way through the field from eighth into the lead and flexing his form further by stretchin out a healthy lead for his Bronze driver Arnold Robin to step into. Showing their mid-week Free Practice form wasn’t a flash in the pan, Robin against his fellow Bronze drivers continued to push home their performance. They were being watched by #46 Team WRT drivers Ahmad Al Harthy and Valentino Rossi in the BMW M4 who are second and the #21 Vista AF Corse crew who lead when the clock hit four hours during the cycle of pit stops.
Into the fourth hour, Giamarco Levorato in the #88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang dropped the American machine into the Tetre Rouge barriers bringing out a Slow Zone to allow the marshals to recover the car. Sadly for Levorato and Proton Competition - they would sadly be the first retirement from the 2025 race.
1. Ferrari 499P #50 Ferrari-AF Corse – Antonio Fuoco / Nicklas Nielsen / Miguel Molina - 65 Laps
2. Porsche 963 #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport – Kévin Estre / Laurens Vanthoor / Matt Campbell +18.914
3. #83 AF Corse – Robert Kubica / Yifei Ye / Philip Hanson +19.601
4.Ferrari 499P #51 Ferrari-AF Corse – Alessandro Pier Guidi / James Calado / Antonio Giovinazzi +20.344
5. BMW M Hybrid V8 #20 BMW M Team WRT – Rene Rast / Robin Frijns / Sheldon van der Linde + 39.308
Lap 46 - Ford Mustang LMGT3 #88 Proton Competition – Stefano Gattuso / Giammarco Levorato / Dennis Olsen - Crash
