24h of Le Mans FIA endurance race - update after 15 hours of competition

eisenwolf777 (50)in #motorsport • 6 years ago (edited)

#BONJOUR! 🙌🚦🏪
Good morning to you #LeMans fans,

Early morning session is #started! Welcome to the #best 24 hours of the #year here at the #Circuit des #24 #Heures in #Le #Mans. The #Sarthe track is near to sunshine time! Get ready for next news and #enjoy #spectacular #challenge...! ⚡⏩

No #magnificent sunrise over Le Mans this #morning as it is cloudy but all the same daybreak is #synonymous with what the #drivers call "happy hour". As it gets lighter over the #track it becomes easier to clock #faster laps.

We're after 6 AM and both Toyotas are still in the lead in overall #standings. #Day has dawned on the 86th 24 Hours of Le Mans. #Everything seems to be going to plan in the #Toyota camp as the two cars are still in the #lead.

Update after 15 hours of race - state after 6:00 on #Sunday

Night-time at the 24 Hours of Le Mans usually ushers in its fair share of unexpected twists, but this year the classification has remained more or less status quo. The few #incidents marring the tranquility of the night have not had any significant impact on the class #rankings.

Four cars are contenders for the LMP1 podium in 24h du Mans. The two #Toyotas have a #comfortable lead, followed by the two #Rebellions. The gap between the two #Japanese #cars did vary during the night but was never #sufficient to say that one had got the upper hand over the other. Apart from a mechanical #failure, it seems unlikely anything could prevent Toyota from a one-two finish. But this race is #unpredictable and the Japanese manufacturer will be taking no #chances. Both Rebellions made rapid stops in this hour but the #1 and #3 are proving reliable and able to sustain a good pace. The #3 of Laurent/Beche/Menezes is currently ahead of the #1.

In LMP2 the top three has not changed for several #hours. The G-Drive Racing #26 Oreca 07-Gibson leads the way ahead of the #23 Ligier JS P217 fielded by Panis-Barthez Compétition which is hot on its heels, in the same lap. In third place, Lapierre, Negrao and Thiriet have put the Signatech Alpine Matmut #36 Alpine A470 a lap ahead of the Idec Sport #48 Oreca 07-Gibson.

Of the four #Porsches, only two remain, but they are leading the LMGTE Pro field. Having shown some fine form, the #81 BMW M8 has fallen behind, with the #68 and #67 Ford GTs stepping up the pace. For the moment then, the LMGTE Pro class is a wrangle between #Porsche and #Ford.

In LMGTE Am, four cars are still in the same lap but with significant gaps between them and the order does not look set to change. In the lead, #Porsche again, in the shape of the Dempsey-Proton Racing #92 Porsche 911 RSR which has led the class pack since the third hour of the race. Two #Ferraris follow, the #85 fielded by Keating Motors and the #54 Spirit of Race. They are keeping the pressure on but do not seem dangerous enough to steal the top spot.