Racing on the back-burner
Race Control announced the introduction of the safety cars at 3:45 am as the steady rain turned into a deluge. The go-slow continued through the night and through daybreak, suspending any meaningful competition. Race leadership swapped hands between the Porsche Penske Motorsport #6 Porsche 963 and the Toyota Gazoo Racing #8 and #7 Toyota GR010-Hybrids as they entered and left the pits while the team bosses and mechanics gazed desperately at the control screens, pleading for the sign of a restart.
In the meantime, Lamborghini Iron Lynx’s Romain Grosjean in the #16 Lamborghini SC63 occupied himself with a plumbing job in his cockpit.
As the clock ticked towards 8:00 am, the safety car procedure was winding down with the race due to restart in the 17th hour.
Status Quo in LMP2
During the neutralisation period, the AF Corse #183 Oreca 07-Gibson led the LMP2 field around the sodden track, ahead of the COOL Racing #37 and the Inter Europol Competition #34.
Porsche one-two in LMGT3
The leader of the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGT3 Teams, Manthey PureRxcing, holds top spot with its #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 behind the safety cars, ahead of the Manthey EMA #91 Porsche, followed by the #27Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 of Heart of Racing Team. Sadly, Team WRT’s #46 BMW M4 LMGT3, whose line-up included MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, is out of the race. An earlier accident by teammate Ahmad Al Harty resulted in the car’s retirement.
Top Five after 16 hours
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#8 Toyota GR010-Hybrid | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa | 196 laps
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#6 Porsche 963 | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor | +1.053
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#50 Ferrari 499P | Ferrari AF Corse | Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen | +2.300
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#7 Toyota GR010-Hybrid | Toyota Gazoo Racing | López/Kobayashi/de Vries | +3.895
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#83 Ferrari 499P | AF Corse | Kubica/Shwartzmann/Ye | +13.780
Other class leaders
Retirements
- #54 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 | Vista AF Corse | Flohr/ Castellacci/Rigon – Accident damage
- #35 Alpine A424 | Alpine Endurance Team | Chatin/Habsburg-Lothringen/Milesi – Engine failure
- #9 Oreca 07-Gibson | Proton Competition | Ried/Capietto/Viscaal – TBC
- #36 Alpine A424 | Alpine Endurance Team | Lapierre/Schumacher/Vaxiviere – Engine failure
- #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 | BMW M Team WRT | Vanthoor/Marciello/Wittmann – Accident damage
- #30 Oreca 07-Gibson | Duqueine Team | Falb/Allen/Simmenauer (LMP2 Pro/Am) – Engine failure
- #46 BMW M4 LMGT3 | Team WRT | Al Harthy/Rossi/Martin – Accident damage
- #45 Oreca 07-Gibson | Crowdstrike Racing by APR | Kurtz/Braun/Catsburg (LMP2 Pro/Am) – TBC
Fastest lap
Antonio Fuoco, #50 Ferrari 499P – 3:29.208 (lap 46)