The lead battle is still hot at the Le Mans 24 Hours with 4 hours remaining. The No. 51 Ferrari 499P still leads but the gap is down to just 1.1 seconds after being 19 for most of the hour. The gap came down because Toyota opted to pit the No. 8 a lap early during a slow zone period, to gain time.
It worked and Brendon Hartley is right behind James Calado, who is now back aboard the leading 499P. Will the Kiwi find enough pace in his GR010 to make a pass for the lead?
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The slow zone in question was called for an off at the end of the Porsche Curves for Michael Fassbender. The movie star, in heartbreaking fashion, ended up losing the rear end and slapping the tyres on the driver’s left hard.
Fassbender made it back to the pits, but the damage to the right-rear corner was too heavy for the car to continue. It was the 11th GTE Am retirement and was a truly gutting moment for the entire Proton crew, which was on course for a top-10 finish. It’s been a really challenging race for Christian Ried’s team, with four cars crashing out.
Up front in GTE Am, Iron Dames leads but the gap to the ORT by TF Aston Martin is just 4.9 seconds. It’s Sarah Bovy vs Michael Dinan, with both drivers trading fast times. The Corvette, with Nico Varrone in for what will likely be his final stint, is a further 30 seconds down the road.
LMP2 is still a two-horse race between the No. 34 Inter Europol ORECA and the No. 41 WRT ORECA, with the Polish outfit firmly in control with a lead of 49 seconds. So far, it’s been an incredible performance from the plucky team owned by a Polish bakery. Fabio Scherer, nursing an injured foot after being run over by the Corvette, is back in the car now with the end in sight.