24h Le Mans
After four hours of racing, there is next to nothing between the #8 Toyota GR010-Hybrid and its #7 sister car. The #63 Corvette Racing C8.R leads from the Porsche duo in LMGTE Pro.
With air temperatures exceeding 25°C on this balmy Saturday afternoon, Toyota Gazoo Racing has enjoyed a comfortable run in the sun during the first four hours of the 90th 24 Hours of Le Mans. The #7 Toyota GR010-Hybrid had led since Mike Conway regained the upper hand on the #8 sister car’s first pit stop. However, with #8 driver Brendon Hartley clocking the fastest lap of the race so far, recording a 3:27.906 mark on lap 56, he closed the gap and eventually overhauled José María López in the #7.
The #708 Glickenhaus 007 LMH trails by over a minute in third place followed by the second Glickenhaus machine (#709) which fell down the standings after it pitted for a sensor change after 29 laps. Driver Richard Westbrook has since battled his way back up, putting the pressure on Matthieu Vaxiviere in the #36 Alpine A480-Gibson.
The French Hypercar had dropped to fifth place when it was pushed into its garage just before the 4-hour mark. More later on that story.
As usual, the LMGTE Pro class is shaping up to be a fantastic battle with Jordan Taylor in the #63 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R building a 31-second lead. He was tailed for a long period by the #64 C8.R, but the pair of factory Porsche 911 RSR-19s have stepped up a gear in the fourth hour to slip into second and third places.
JOTA has seized control in the LMP2 class with the top two spots for the #38 and #28 Orecas. Race incidents have affected a number of the challengers in the class. The DKR Engineering #3 Oreca suffered nose damage after colliding with the barrier. Pierre Ehret , the oldest driver in the field at the age of 65, at the wheel of the LMGTE Am #75 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo for Iron Lynx, turned in on AF Corse’s François Perrodo in the #83 Oreca in the Porsche Curves. Meanwhile the #48 IDEC Sport challenger was hit with a 10-second penalty for a pit stop infringement.
The WeatherTech Racing #79 Porsche 911 RSR-19 leads the LMGTE Am field. Julien Andlauer showed great expertise in overtaking the #99 Porsche 911 RSR-19.
Top Five after 4 hours
LMGTE Pro
#63 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R - Corvette Racing - García/Taylor/Catsburg - 59 laps
LMP2
#38 Oreca 07-Gibson - JOTA - González/da Costa/Stevens - 63 laps
LMGTE Am
#79 Porsche 911 RSR-19 - WeatherTech Racing - MacNeil/Andlauer/Merrill - 58 laps
