Michael Shank Racing clinched their first victory in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Laguna Seca this weekend.

WTSCC

Ferrari have played their hand - the cards are now on the table with three cars in the top four positions. The prancing horse have the factory #50 and #51 Ferrari 499Ps and #83 AF Corse run car all fighting for the win, with the #6 Porsche and #8 Toyota keeping within 35 seconds and in the mix going into the second day.

<p>What a busy first four hours, if you are only joining us at hour eight&hellip; where have you been! You can catch-up on the first phase of the race - before we get stuck into the transition into the darkness as the sun went down at Le Mans.</p>

<h2>Hypercar</h2>

<p>Moments after the four hour mark - we were treated to an elbows-out, wheel-to-wheel battle royale between Ferrari and Porsche. The #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport car was handed from K&eacute;vin Estre to Laurens Vanthoor who had to fight hard from a chasing brace of prancing horses in the form the #50 Ferrari AF Corse and the satellite #83 AF Corse car.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Both managed to muscle their way past the Porsche, but Robert Kubica at the wheel of the yellow #83 cut too much on the inside of the final kink curb before Mulsanne corner and picked up a five-second time penalty for his track limit excursion. Despite this error, the Ferraris have been faultless and have turned the screw and are now one, two and three and galloping away in true prancing horse style.&nbsp;</p>

<p>An incredible stint from Kubica put the #83 Ferrari right in the mix and from 13th on the grid the car which was always at the sharp end of each session this week. With Kubica at the wheel - the #83 went from third, into second and then the lead as the sun began to set at Le Mans - carrying the 1st on the number board as it lit up the nighttime surroundings.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The two factory cars had a fight on their hands, the #83 in the hands of Yiefi Ye and then Phillip Hanson could go further than the scarlet red cars and at midnight had a buffer of less than two seconds over the works #51, lurking in the shadows. The #50 Ferrari had to serve a drive-through penalty - dropping them to fourth with a menacing stealth #8 Toyota managed the tyres superbly in the cool night time conditions to climb up to fifth. The gap at midnight was a mere 37 seconds blanketing the top five cars.</p>

<p>As for Porsche, continuing to spearhead the attack - the #6 was now in the hands of Australian Matt Campbell who was clinging onto the coattails of the Italian exports, whilst trying to go a few laps longer to differ the strategy, but still keep in touch. His objective was to try and keep hand over to K&eacute;vin Estre with less than 40 seconds going into the second day. It was 15. Game on!</p>

<p>The biggest disappointment for the American and British fans was the fall of the Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA cars. From the front row - the V-Series R V8 monsters just couldn&rsquo;t turn the tyres on out of the box like Porsche and in particular Ferrari in the daylight and couldn&rsquo;t get the same operating window either - dropping them into a fight for a top six rather than win. The gold #12 and red #311 led the Cadillac hopes with its impressive barks from the engines sounding spectacular as it echoed around the Circuit de la Sarthe.</p>

<p>The #94 Peugeot who has been on a different strategy to the rest of the pack was dicing with the #35 Alpine just outside the top ten. The Peugeot 9X8, perhaps a little heavier on their different fuel strategy, braked a little earlier than the Alpine was perhaps expecting and the Alpine itself missed its braking point - running into the back of the Peugeot, causing them both to spin out at the Mulsanne corner. Both thankfully were able to dust themselves off and rejoin. The #35 A424 got a drive-through penalty as the punishment.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A fact for you - at the stroke of midnight - 15 of the 21 Hypercars are still on the lead lap.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>LMP2</h2>

<p>In the LMP2 prototype class the lead battle was brewing nicely - the #48 VDS Panis Racing ORECA was in second in the first four hours but slowly but surely the French team caught, clawed their way past the #43 Inter Europol Competition car which was looking so dominant in the early stages. Iron Lynx - Proton with the #9 car have staying in third, while IDEC Sport #28 is hunting a top three in fourth -both lying in wait for trouble to strike the cars in front. Spike - the dragon inspired ORECA from AO by TF lead the Pro/Am tussle bt have fallen back in the race for the outright LMP2 win in fifth.</p>

<h2>LMGT3</h2>

<p>To the delight of crowd - Valentino Rossi&rsquo;s #46 Team WRT BMW M4 lead the GT battle by ?? seconds. A stellar shift all three drivers including Ahmad Al Harthy who handed to the car to &lsquo;The Doctor&rsquo; to get to work early in the evening. An impressive stint helped them move into the margin, which lead driver Kelvin van der Linde duly took forward and the Bavarian marque holds a near one minute advantage. The #92 Manthey 1ST Phorm Porsche&nbsp; team have had a solid first day on track and climbed the order ahead of the #78 Lexus from Akkodis ASP - which looked so dominant at the start of the race.&nbsp;</p>

<p>We sadly lost another two LMGT3 cars ahead of the eight-hour milestone. The #60 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG has suspected engine woes while transmission drama stopped the #95 in its tracks on the Mulsanne straight. With a Full Course Yellow (FCY) to move the strikened McLaren, driver Darren Leung tried as he may to resolve the issue - but had to call it a day with 80 laps on the board.</p>

<p>Three cars almost joined them - the #33 TF Sport Corvette, #10 Racing Spirit of Lemans Aston Martin and #63 Iron Lynx Mercedes spent time in their respective garages - but despite going three laps down on the LMGT3 leaders - the cars rolled out of the garages and into the night.&nbsp;</p>

<h4><u>Hour 8: Top 5 Classification :</u></h4>

<p>1.&nbsp;#83 AF Corse &ndash; Robert Kubica / Yifei Ye / Philip Hanson 134 Laps<br />
2. Ferrari 499P #51 Ferrari-AF Corse &ndash; Alessandro Pier Guidi / James Calado / Antonio Giovinazzi +1.957<br />
3. Porsche 963 #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport &ndash; K&eacute;vin Estre / Laurens Vanthoor / Matt Campbell +15.274<br />
4. Ferrari 499P #50 Ferrari-AF Corse &ndash; Antonio Fuoco / Nicklas Nielsen / Miguel Molina +34.635<br />
5. Toyota GR010 Hybrid #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing &ndash; S&eacute;bastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa + 36.901<br />
&nbsp;</p>

<h4><u>Hour 8: Leaders in the LMP2 and LMGT3 categories:</u></h4>

<ul>
	<li>LMP2: Oreca 07-Gibson #48 Panis Racing &ndash; Oliver Gray / Esteban Masson / Franck Perera</li>
	<li>LMGT3: BMW M4 LMGT3 #46 Team WRT &ndash; Ahmad Al Harthy / Valentino Rossi / Kelvin Van Der Linde</li>
</ul>

<h4><u>Retirements&nbsp;</u></h4>

<ul>
	<li>Lap 46 - Ford Mustang LMGT3 #88 Proton Competition &ndash; Stefano Gattuso / Giammarco Levorato / Dennis Olsen - Crash</li>
	<li>Lap 57 - Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 #60 Iron Lynx &ndash; Andrew Gilbert / Fran Rueda / Lorcan Hanafin - Engine</li>
	<li>Lap 80 - McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo #95 United Autosports &ndash; Darren Leung / Sean Gelael / Marino Sato - Transmission</li>
</ul>

8-hour round-up: Ferrari into the lead, with Porsche and Toyota on a charge at 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.

<p>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.</p>

<h2>Hypercar</h2>

<p>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.</p>

<p>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&rsquo;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, K&eacute;vin Estre was already up to seventh - a masterclass from the Porsche stalwart.</p>

<p>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&rsquo;s progress in his V12 Valkyrie.</p>

<p>The Cadillac&rsquo;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.</p>

<p>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&nbsp; is roaring again - but at the bottom of the order.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>K&eacute;vin 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.</p>

<p>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 S&eacute;bastien Buemi - making inroads at a rapid rate. Never discount the Japanese team here at Le Mans.</p>

<p>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&rsquo;s watch this space.</p>

<p>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.&nbsp;</p>

<p>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&nbsp; #51 Ferrari and AF Corse run&nbsp; #83 499P breathing down the neck of the Porsche. The brace of prancing horses dispatched the #311 Cadillac and&nbsp; #5 Porsche.</p>

<p>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!&nbsp;</p>

<h2>LMP2</h2>

<p>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.<br />
<br />
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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<h2>LMGT3</h2>

<p>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&rsquo;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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<h4><u>Hour 4: Top 5 Classification:</u></h4>

<p>1. Ferrari 499P #50 Ferrari-AF Corse &ndash; Antonio Fuoco / Nicklas Nielsen / Miguel Molina - 65 Laps<br />
2. Porsche 963 #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport &ndash; K&eacute;vin Estre / Laurens Vanthoor / Matt Campbell +18.914<br />
3. #83 AF Corse &ndash; Robert Kubica / Yifei Ye / Philip Hanson +19.601<br />
4.Ferrari 499P #51 Ferrari-AF Corse &ndash; Alessandro Pier Guidi / James Calado / Antonio Giovinazzi +20.344<br />
5. BMW M Hybrid V8 #20 BMW M Team WRT &ndash; Rene Rast / Robin Frijns / Sheldon van der Linde + 39.308</p>

<h4><u>Hour 4: Leaders in LMP2 and LMGT3</u></h4>

<ul>
	<li>LMP2 - Oreca 07-Gibson #43 Inter Europol Competition &ndash; Jakub Smiechowski / Tom Dillmann / Nick Yelloly</li>
	<li>LMGT3 - Ferrari 296 LMGT3 #21 Vista AF Corse &ndash; Fran&ccedil;ois Heriau / Simon Mann / Alessio Rovera</li>
</ul>

<h4><u>Retirements</u></h4>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p>Lap 46 - Ford Mustang LMGT3 #88 Proton Competition &ndash; Stefano Gattuso / Giammarco Levorato / Dennis Olsen - Crash</p>
	</li>
</ul>

4-hour round-up: Ferrari battle Porsche for the lead at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans

20-time Tennis grand slam event winner, Roger Federer had the honour of waving the French tricolour at the start of the race, with 62 cars starting the 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA front row heading the field into the race.

<p>The race of all races. A rousing rendition of La Marseillaise, a flypast from fast jets and a sell-out, passionate crowd willing the competitors on the first lap - the challenge has begun. Twice around the clock we go.</p>

<h2>Hypercar</h2>

<p>The big winner on the opening lap was the #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport car with Julien Andlauer going from third into the lead - slipstreaming and passing the #12 Cadillac into the first chicane on the Mulsanne. The #5 pulling out a 2.2 second margin on the opening lap from a chasing brace from Cadillac. Another car on the move is the #50 Ferrari AF Corse in the hands of Dane Nicklas Nielsen who has moved from seventh into fifth.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>LMP2</h2>

<p>The man who lit up Hyperpole in the LMP2 battle - Mathias Beche in the #29 TDS Racing ORECA is already storming out front with a three-second gap over the #199 AO by TF machine who have leapfrogged the Inter Europol Competition #43 now in third.</p>

<h2>LMGT3</h2>

<p>Heart of Racing with their #27 Aston Martin Vantage lead the charge in LMGT3 from the #46 Team WRT BMW and Silver Arrow #61 Mercedes-AMG keeping tabs in third.</p>

<p>We will be bringing you reports every four hours.You can follow all the action on our social media channels - the FIA WEC TV app or through the television broadcast in your territory.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Bonne chance and good luck to all the crews in the race this year!</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

The Race has Begun - Roger Federer waves off the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans

Ahead of the start of the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans at 16:00 tomorrow, these stats illustrate the stunning performance level of the field. Of the 186 drivers competing, 19 hail from F1, From rookies to veterans, each figure is a hint of things to come this weekend.

<h2>186</h2>

<p>...drivers of 34 different nationalities entered in the 93rd&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans, fourth round of the 2025&nbsp;FIA WEC. The&nbsp;most represented are the U.K. and France with&nbsp;31 each.</p>

<h2>62</h2>

<p>...cars taking the start this year with 21 Hypercars, 17 LMP2s and&nbsp;24 LMGT3.</p>

<h2>36</h2>

<p>...rookies taking the start in their first 24 Hours. The only newcomer in the&nbsp;Hypercar category is&nbsp;Pascal Wehrlein driving Porsche Penske Motorsport&#39;s #4&nbsp;Porsche 963. There are nine rookies in&nbsp;LMP2 and&nbsp;26 in LMGT3.</p>

<h2>18 Years,&nbsp;10 Months and 11 Days</h2>

<p>...is the age of newcomer, Dutch driver Lin Hodenius, the youngest competitor this year. He is set to take the wheel of Iron Lynx&#39;s #61 Mercedes-AMG LMGT3.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>65 Years,&nbsp;2 Months and&nbsp;25 Days</h2>

<p>...is the age of Thomas Flohr, driver of Vista AF Corse&#39;s #54&nbsp;Ferrari 296 LMGT3, and oldest competitor this year. The Swiss driver has eight&nbsp;participations in the race to his credit, all with&nbsp;Ferrari.</p>

<h2>5</h2>

<p>...women taking the start in the 93rd 24 Hours:</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong><a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/jamie-chadwick-intends-to-work-her-way-up-to-hypercar-59730" target="_blank">Jamie&nbsp;Chadwick</a></strong> &ndash; IDEC SPORT Racing&#39;s #18 ORECA&nbsp;07-Gibson</li>
	<li>C&eacute;lia Martin &ndash; Iron Dames&#39; #85 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Rahel Frey &ndash; Iron Dames&#39; #85 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Sarah Bovy &ndash; Iron Dames&#39; #85 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Lilou Wadoux &ndash; Richard Mille AF Corse&#39;s #150 Ferrari 296 LMGT3&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<h2>18</h2>

<p>...marks the most participations of any driver competing this year, credited to Richard Lietz at the wheel of Manthey 1st Phorm&#39;s #92&nbsp;Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3. Note the driver with the oldest&nbsp;participation is local hero&nbsp;S&eacute;bastien Bourdais in Hertz Team JOTA&#39;s #38 Cadillac V-Series.R. He took his rookie start in the 24 Hours&nbsp;back in&nbsp;1999.</p>

<h2>4</h2>

<p>...is the highest number of overall wins by a driver taking the start in the 2025 24 Hours&nbsp;year goes to&nbsp;S&eacute;bastien Buemi at the wheel of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing&#39;s #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid. The Swiss driver reached the top step on the podium in 2018, 2019, 2020 and&nbsp;2022.</p>

<h2>19</h2>

<p>...is the number of former Formula&nbsp;1 drivers competiting in the 93rd running of Le Mans:&nbsp;Felipe&nbsp;Nasr, Pascal Wehrlein, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries, S&eacute;bastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Will Stevens, Kevin Magnussen, Andr&eacute; Lotterer, Jenson Button, Robert Kubica, Pietro Fittipaldi, Mick Schumacher, S&eacute;bastien Bourdais, Antonio Giovinazzi, Paul di Resta, Jean-Eric Vergne, Stoffel Vandoorne and&nbsp;Jack Aitken.</p>

<h2>3</h2>

<p>...is the number of drivers in Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA&#39;s #38&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-cadillac-v-series-r-under-the-microscope-ready-to-roar-for-america-at-le-mans-59659" target="_blank">Cadillac V-Series.R</a></strong>,<strong>&nbsp;</strong>namely&nbsp;Earl Bamber, S&eacute;bastien Bourdais and&nbsp;Jenson Button, who are left-handed!</p>

<p>Watch the&nbsp;<a href="http://fiawec.tv/page/679a56921229db49627128a6"><strong>FIA WEC live</strong></a>&nbsp;or on demand on the official&nbsp;FIA WEC TV app, your all-access pass to the FIA World Endurance&nbsp;Championship including the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans. Don&#39;t miss a second of the action! For more info, go to the app.</p>

2025 24 Hours of Le Mans – Key figures to know before the start today

<p style="text-align: justify;">
	For the Ligier JS P2 it is a third success, Extreme Speed Motorsports having won the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring with the car.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	It is also a third for Honda Performance Development, the competition division of Honda. John Pew and Ozz Negri were at the wheel. Both drivers will be making their Le Mans 24 Hours d&eacute;but on 18 June.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
	<img class="imgVideo" id="4676" src="/wpphpFichiers/video/5727b7e1e5511-hqdefault.jpg" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	C&eacute;cile Bonardel / ACO &mdash; Translated from French by Emma Paulay</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Video: YouTube - Honda Racing/HPD<br />
	&nbsp;</p>


24H LE MANS

IMSA - Michael Shank Racing win at Laguna Seca with the Ligier HPD (video)

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8-hour round-up: Ferrari into the lead, with Porsche and Toyota on a charge at Le Mans

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The Race has Begun - Roger Federer waves off the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans

2025 24 Hours of Le Mans – Key figures to know before the start today

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