Under dark skies, the centenary Le Mans 24 Hours got underway today led by Ferrari, in front of an enthusiastic record crowd heaving with anticipation of the Race of the Century and drama arrived very early!
[This report will be updated during the course of the race on a need-to basis. Please refresh the page for the latest version. The race report will follow when the race ends on Sunday. Enjoy Le Mans!]
Fittingly the sport’s greatest marque – Ferrari – led the field around Circuit de la Sarthe on the formation lap, blasting down the main straight as Le Bron James waved the Tri-Color to set off the 91st edition of the world’s greatest endurance race.
Conditions meant drama from Turn 1 on, Porsche tapping Toyota as they hustled for position into the first slew of corners up towards the bridge, as the #50 Ferrari led with Nicklas Nielsen at the wheel for the start of the race after Antonio Fuoco’s pole-winning efforts on Thursday.
But halfway around the first lap Ryo Hirakawa led from the Ferrari. Meanwhile, across the field, there were incidents as they snaked through the wet sections and soon debris was spewing all over the place.
What ensued was an intriguing game of cat and mouse, which when Saturday turned to Sunday at midnight, the race was being led by, Peugeot but a dozen minutes later they pitted, and Ferrari assumed the lead in an endurance race run like sprint amid a slew of confusing yellow and safety car periods.
Nevertheless, it is indeed proving to be one for the ages. Below are the headlines after eight hours into the race
Hypercar: Top ten are potential winners as the race enters Sunday
Ferrari AF Corse had taken lead of the 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours in the fifth hour as the track dries out following earlier heavy rainfall. No.50 and No.51 499Ps take turns in the lead before a second significant shower hits the track at just after 22:00.
Alessandro Pier Guidi completes his second stint at the wheel and is able to open up a solid gap to ensure No.51 Ferrari 499P leading by a minute. But drama struck on the stroke of midnight as Pier Guidi spins in to gravel at first Mulsanne Chicane while trying to avoid an accident ahead of him.
This allowed Nico Muller into the lead in the No.94 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 Hypercar. Earlier Loic Duval took over from Gustavo Menezes and he consolidated the position over the No.7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid Hypercar.
Jose-Maria Lopez had survived a nasty moment coming into the pitlane when he almost hits several cars on entry. Kamui Kobayashi then took over the cockpit. But Kobayashi is involved in an accident with two LMP2 cars and the No.66 JMW Ferrari on approach to Tertre Rouge. No.7 Toyota is left stranded on track and tumbles down the order.
The No.50 Ferrari 499P, racing on a different overall strategy and switches early to slicks at the start of the eighth hour. Nicklas Nielsen runs in second place. No.2 Cadillac Racing V Series.R. runs in third place with Earl Bamber back for a second stint at the wheel.
No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid Hypercar was in fifth position ahead of the recovering No.3 Cadillac V Series.R. Hertz Team Jota, who had led the race in the fourth hour see their chances of a top result compromised with an accident for Yifei Ye at the Porsche Curves.
Crashes aplenty marred the early stages of the race
The Chinese ace impacts the wall but the team does a herculean job to make repairs and car only loses 20 minutes in the pits. Gold Porsche 963 runs 13th as midnight strikes. No.5 Porsche Penske loses time with a sensor problem which briefly stops Dane Cameron on the track before the issue is cleared by the team in the pits. The recovery drive is underway and the car place seventh at midnight.
Sister No.6 Porsche 963 Hypercar suffers a puncture with Kevin Estre at the wheel and they place eighth.
No.93 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 is ninth despite Jean-Eric Vergne losing time with spin in to gravel at Mulsanne Corner under safety car.
Terminal problems for the No.75 Porsche Penske with Mathieu Jaminet aboard as he is forced to stop at Tertre Rouge with a fuel pressure issue and drops to rear of Hypercar class as the French ace struggles to get the car back to the pits. The car is retired just after 23:00.
The Glickenhaus pair of 007LMH cars encounter drama as the No.709 is forced to pit with a loose wheel as Nathanael Berthon takes over car which slips to 12th in Hypercar. No.709 also gets a 60-second stop/go penalty for a tyre pressure infraction.
No.708 car places 11th after serving a 5-minute stop-and-go penalty for causing a collision just ahead of sister Glickenhaus.
LMP2: It’s all about smart strategy amid the incidents
The battle for top honours in the LMP2 class was turned on its head as nighttime descends on La Sarthe as No.34 Inter Europol Competition Oreca-Gibson takes over in the lead as Albert Costa, Fabio Scherer and Jakub Smiechowski come out on top in a complex strategy game at the front of the field.
United Autosports close in on the leaders however as Tom Blomqvist makes inroads on Polish-run Oreca-Gibson. Blomqvist takes the lead but almost immediately goes off and damages the car after a suspected brake issue. Josh Pierson takes over but the car slides down to 17th in class, handing the lead back to the Inter Europol Competition car.
No.41 Team WRT entry recovers from rear-end damage in the first rain shower to briefly lead LMP2 class. Robert Kubica gets a second stint at the wheel to place second.
‘Zebra’ liveried AF Corse was in place fourth behind the No.35 Alpine ELF Team entry which survives a gravel excursion at Mulsanne Corner in the seventh hour. AF Corse also highest placed Pro/Am line-up in the field.
Drama at Indianapolis in the seventh hour as the Racing for Turkey car driven by Salih Yoluc and No.9 Prema collide during a heavy shower. Prema entry comes off the worst and loses several laps as repairs are carried out.
Front-running Jota Oreca-Gibson loses time after Oliver Rasmussen crashes at Tertre Rouge as rain arrives. The team gets the car back out and Pietro Fittipaldi runs sixth.
More woes for the No.22 United Autosports entry as Frederick Lubin goes off at Indianapolis during rain shower. But the car continues in 19th place in the LMP2 class.
LMGTE AM: As close as it gets and anyone’s guess the winner
After a heavy rain shower over Le Mans, the No.54 AF Corse Ferrari emerges back in the lead with David Rigon completing an epic triple stint. But Rigon then hands over to teammate Francesco Castellacci giving the lead over to the Iron Dames Porsche.
Sarah Bovy takes over from Rahel Frey to take over in the lead as the race endures a long second Safety Car period to complete the new pass-around system. But it’s the No.56 Project 1 AO Racing ‘Rexy’ Porsche 911 RSR-19 that has the lead at midnight as tight battle between the three continues.
Iron Dames settle into second ahead of the AF Corse Ferrari now with Rigon back aboard. No.57 Kessel Racing Ferrari is fourth with Scott Huffaker aboard, while the No.911 with film star Michael Fassbender among its driver squad places fifth. No.72 TF Sport Aston Martin retires after Arnold Robin crashes.
It was a chaotic opening lap with early casualties
The big victim was Jack Aitken who destroyed the front end of the Cadillac when he lost control on the slippery stuff, he recovered to make his way back with a car requiring substantial repairs. Heartbreak for Caddy and Le Maans 2023 had hardly started.
A lengthy safety car ensued, to clear up the first lap mess which also included a beached car, already it was clear this was going to be a ‘sprint’ endurance race packed with incidents, and only half a lap was run in anger at that point!
When they were unleashed after five laps, it was soon a Toyota 1-2 at the front #8 with Sebastien Buemi in fine fettle, stalked by the #7 with Mike Conway in the cockpit, followed by the Ferrari duo, and the Penske run #75 Porsche in fourth, chased by the #2 Cadillac ahead of a couple of Porsches and two Peugeots making up the top 10.
The ACO produced a stunning Le Mans pre-race show
Shortly before the traditional grid ceremony, a stellar collection of racing cars that have marked the history of the race took to the track for two laps of honour. Among them, the Lorraine-Dietrich B3-6, the very first Porsche entered for Le Mans (a 1951 356 SL Coupé), the 1972 Matra MS670, the 1980 Rondeau M379 and the amazing sounding 1991 Mazda 787B.
The traditional flypast from the Patrouille de France signalled that the start was imminent to roars of the packed stands heaving with enthusiasm. This year’s Grand Marshal Tom Kristensen led the field to the Tricolore flag.
The FIAWEC media site captured the intensity of the moment: “Cars in all three classes – Hypercar, LMP2, and LMGTE Am – which run on the 100% renewable fuel specially developed by TotalEnergies, gracefully approached the start line for the rolling start.
“All 300,000 trackside spectators held their breath as the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans, 4th round of the FIA WEC, field was released. One hundred years after it was by founded by Emile Coquille, Georges Durand and Charles Faroux, the world’s greatest endurance race is underway again.”
Report in progress…
First lap, first crash for @CadillacVSeries ?#LeMans24 #LeMansCentenary pic.twitter.com/g941Av4Hsg
— 24 Hours of Le Mans (@24hoursoflemans) June 10, 2023
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2023 Le Mans Spotter Guide
The Spotter Guide for the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans has been issued in time for the first free practice and qualifying sessions scheduled tomorrow (Wednesday 7 June). Archimède is the agency behind the artwork that will help you identify the 62 cars on the grid over the coming days.
The field is split into four classes with 16 hypercars, 24 LMP2 prototypes, 21 LMGTE Am challengers and one Innovative Car.
