The first rule of Petit Le Mans is make to the night, and all but six cars have done so. Of the cars still going, 17 are on their respective lead laps – a lower number than might be expected, however the entire third quarter was caution-free, the last green flag coming with 5h32m left in the race.
The No. 10 WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06 came on strong in the late afternoon, and Filipe Albuquerque set the car’s best lap of the day as the last vestiges of twilight faded from the sky. Albuquerque led at the three-quarter mark.
The No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 is the closest pursuer, usually within 10s, despite having to serve a drive-through penalty for Nick Tandy making contact with the No. 47 Cetilar Ferrari 296. Mathieu Jaminet was wheeling the No. 6 with two-and-a-half hours to go.
The sister PPM Porsche with Matt Campbell at the wheel had a long pit stop to replace a fuel flow meter, and then fell off the lead lap immediately after another stop when he slid off Turn 3 on fresh, cold tires.
Both the No. 01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R and the No. 40 WTRAndretti Acura made it onto the lead lap, but a puncture for the No. 40 dropped it back a lap again, leaving the No. 01 the third and last car on the lead lap.
The No. 7 Porsche is currently on a different pit stop sequence, going 14-15m longer than the rest of the contenders, which could certainly become a factor at the end.
Hunter McElrea had the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA in the lead of LMP2, which portends well for the team as it looks to take the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. McElrea was followed by Nicklas Nielsen in the No. 88 AF Corse entry and the No. 74 Riley Motorsports ORECA driven by Josh Burdon.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1406]
The No. 52 Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports team of Nick Boulle, Tom Dillmann and Jakub Smiechowski is fourth, enough to claim the championship.
After an early brake problem, the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R was leading GTD PRO, but was due for a pit stop being off sequence from most of the field. Jordan Pepper was wheeling the No. 19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 in second, and that car is looking like a strong contender for the win. Daniel Serra was third in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3.
In the GTD PRO championship picture, AO Racing is still in position to take the title unless Ross Gunn can haul himself up from the fourth place he was running with 2.5h to go and into second.
Winward Racing is in the middle of the GTD pack, but that will be more than enough to clinch the title. Defending PLM winners Forte Racing led the class with Loris Spinelli at the wheel of the No. 78 Lamborghini. Mikael Grenier, who was not feeling well earlier but came back refreshed after a visit to medical, was in pursuit in the No. 32 Korthoff Preston Motorsports Mercedes AMG, followed by Parker Thompson in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3.
The only retirement during the third quarter was the No. 22 United Autosports ORECA LMP2 car, leaving the team packing up early after a miserable day.