Less than three weeks after their victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Audi R18 e-tron quattro, Marcel F

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

Robert Kubica puts the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P on top spot in the final warm-up session before the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans which starts this afternoon.

<p>Thunderstorms, heavy rain and even hailstones fell on Le Mans and the surrounding areas last night - bringing the temperature down slightly - giving a slightly cooler feel to the Saturday morning proceedings. The 15 minute warm-up - the last chance to shakedown the cars, bed in brakes, scrub tyres, radio check and make sure everything is all set for the start of the race at 16:00 local time. The final dress rehearsal for the 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans was here.</p>

<h2>Hypercar</h2>

<p>The #83 AF Corse Ferrari set the pace in the brief session - with Robert Kubica managing to clock a 03:26.908 and four laps in the process. Always in the hunt - many are tipping the striking yellow machine to be a dark horse.</p>

<p>The #50 factory Ferrari 499 in the hands of Antonio Fuoco was just 0.123 behind in second while the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 - Hybrid sporting its retro nineties inspired livery took third - one of its most competitive showings of the week.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Aston Martin Thor Racing with the #009 Valkyrie sealed fourth as the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA rounded out the top five. Pole Sitters - the #12 Cadillac from Hertz Team JOTA were just behind - keeping pace in sixth.</p>

<p>The #311 Cadillac made an excursion into polystyrene branding at the bottom of the hill after the Dunlop Bridge - a brief Full Course Yellow (FCY) with 11 minutes on the clock remaining was quickly resolved and the only incident of note during the Warm-up.</p>

<h2>LMP2</h2>

<p>It was as IDEC Sport one, two in LMP2 with the #28 just ahead of the #18 car. LMP2 prototype pole sitters, the #19 TDS Racing car was third ahead of the #16 RLR M Sport ORECA and #16 RLR M Sport car.</p>

<h2>LMGT3</h2>

<p>Kessel Racing with their#57 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 strutted their stuff at Circuit de la Sarthe to seal top spot in the GT class ahead of Vista AF Corse in the #54 Ferrari 296 LMGT3. It was to be TF Sport with their #81 Corvette in third ahead of the Akkodis ASP Team who have been at the sharp end most sessions put their #78 Lexus in fourth with the #46 Team WRT BMW in fifth.</p>

<h4><u>Warm Up: Top 5 Classification:</u></h4>

<p>1. Ferrari 499P #83 AF Corse &ndash; Robert Kubica / Yifei Ye / Philip Hanson - 03:26.908<br />
2. Ferrari 499P #50 Ferrari-AF Corse &ndash; Antonio Fuoco / Nicklas Nielsen / Miguel Molina - 03:27.031<br />
3. Toyota GR010 Hybrid #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing &ndash; Mike Conway / Kamui Kobayashi / Nyck de Vries - 03:29.294<br />
4. Aston Martin Valkyrie #009 Aston Martin THOR Team &ndash; Alex Riberas / Marco S&oslash;rensen / Roman De Angelis - 03:29.343<br />
5. Cadillac V-Series.R #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA &ndash; Earl Bamber / S&eacute;bastien Bourdais / Jenson Button - 03:30.607</p>

<h4><u>Warm Up: Fastest times in the LMP2 and LMGT3 categories:</u></h4>

<ul>
	<li>LMP: Oreca 07-Gibson #28 IDEC Sport &ndash; Paul Lafargue / Job Van Uitert / Sebastian Alvarez - 03:38.589</li>
	<li>LMGT3: Ferrari 296 LMGT3 #57 Kessel Racing &ndash; Takeshi Kimura / Daniel Serra / Casper Stevenson - 03:57.681</li>
</ul>

<p>Next up on track - we begin the countdown to the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans. Whatever you are doing and wherever you are - be sure to join us for the start of the race at 16:00 local time.</p>

Kubica sets the warm-up pace in the AF Corse Ferrari as race countdown begins

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Kubica sets the warm-up pace in the AF Corse Ferrari as race countdown begins

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