Category: Le Mans/WEC

We’ve now had three hours of chaotic racing at Le Mans. Hour 3 was incident-packed and featured multiple, multi-car battles for top positions in Hypercar. But they were all for nothing, as to make things even more frenetic, the hour ended with a deluge between Indianapolis and the Porsche Curves, bringing out a safety car.

While the sun was out in pit lane, the rain came down hard on the second half of the lap and caused multiple cars to spin and slide off track on slick tires. The cars caught out included the No. 3 Cadillac of Scott Dixon, the Walkenhorst Ferrari, the No. 709 Glickenhaus 007, the No. 31 WRT ORECA, and the GR Racing Porsche that was leading GTE at the time with Ricardo Pera aboard.

Chaos on track as rain appears 🌧️#WEC #LeMans24 #LeMansCentenary pic.twitter.com/c8OyTGBGfN

— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) June 10, 2023

Pera came off worst of the cars in trouble, hitting the barriers hard at the rear after multiple rotations, damaging the Porsche. Dixon meanwhile, was more lucky, only kissing a guardrail while spinning in front of the Porsche.

Of the winners from the change in conditions, Gustavo Menezes was flying in the wet on slicks in the No. 94 Peugeot, climbing as high as second. It was a heart-warming memorable moment for the struggling Peugeot Sport program when the company’s top brass was seen by TV cameras cheering the American on as he put the French make into the top three. The No. 2 Cadillac also pitted for wets just before the safety car, giving the team an advantage.

🦁 Peugeot takes the lead! 🥇@peugeotsport #LeMans24 #LeMansCentenary pic.twitter.com/SC8EP5PQlC

— 24 Hours of Le Mans (@24hoursoflemans) June 10, 2023

“Tough start to the race. We led off and were about P5 or P6. It was difficult with the track as green from the rain earlier, but second and third stint we know our Cadillac is really strong in those stints,” related No. 2 Cadillac driver Earl Bamber. “So, as we started to get there, we started to move forward and led the first-ever laps for Cadillac at Le Mans. Proud of that. I came in just ahead of the rain showers, so it’s going to be dicey for a few boys out there. We’ll keep charging on.”

The safety car’s appearance was due to the number of cars spotted aquaplaning. This caused almost the entire field to pit straight away, meaning the entire order, again, was turned on its head.

At the turn of the hour, the No. 50 AF Corse was shown as leading with Antonio Fuoco at the wheel, with the No. 51 Ferrari of Antonio Giovanazzi in second. The No. 94 Peugeot was shown third, though Gustavo Menezes pitted as the fourth hour began.

The No. 7 Toyota was fourth, with the No. 38 JOTA Porsche fifth. This will all change, however, with more stops to come under safety car conditions.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1416]

In LMP2, JOTA’s No. 28 ORECA ended up leading LMP2, with the No. 35 and No. 36 Alpine ORECAs second and third.

In GTE, following the GR Racing incident, the No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari was leading with Davide Rigon behind the wheel, with the No. 85 Iron Dames Porsche second and the “Rexy” Project 1 Porsche third.

The Hendrick Garage 56 Camaro is also still running fine, currently 44th overall, the team taking it easy in the opening hours to survive the changes in conditions.

Prior to the rain, 20 minutes into the hour there was another significant incident in the GTE AM class, which has been somewhat of a race of attrition in the opening hours. An out-of-control Claudio Schiavoni in the Iron Lynx Porsche hit the No. 16 Proton Competition Porsche hard at Tetre Rouge. The Italian ran wide onto the grass and ended up spearing the No. 16 911 RSR, (narrowly avoiding the No. 77 Dempsey Proton Porsche) destroying the front-left corner of Ryan Hardwick’s car, the American left with nowhere to go. Both cars have been retired.

Shortly after, Frederick Lubin on the exit of Tetre Rouge lost the rear of the No. 22 United Autosports ORECA and whacked the No. 77 Dempsey Proton Porsche of Mikkel Pedersen, heavily damaging its right-front corner. Both cars continued, and are still being repaired, the United 07 needing extensive suspension work.

Big collision between the #22 United Autosports & #77 Dempsey – Proton Racing.#WEC #LeMans24 #LeMansCentenary pic.twitter.com/qFxgYTwWmG

— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) June 10, 2023

The 6 Hours of Spa-winning No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari also crashed in the rain before the safety car with Lilou Wadoux at the wheel. Wadoux went backwards at high speed into the barriers at the Porsche Curves, and hasn’t made it back to the pits. If the car is out of the race, it will be the fifth retirement in GTE AM.

With the safety car still out as we head into Hour 4, we are left wondering, what next in this rollercoaster edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours? This race has yet to find any sort of rhythm.

HOUR 3 STANDINGS

After the first hour of the centenary running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, Toyota’s No. 8 GR010 HYBRID leads after a safety car-disrupted opening 60 minutes.

Sebastien Buemi took the start and snatched the lead off the pole-sitting No. 50 Ferrari around the outside into Indianapolis before the safety car came out for an incident on Mulsanne on lap 1.

The incident in question saw the partially wet Mulsanne Straight catch out Action Express Racing’s Jack Aitken, who on the exit to the first chicane lost the rear and went head-on into the barriers on driver’s left in the No. 33 Action Express Cadillac V-Series.R.

Drama on the first lap for the #311 Action Express Racing as Jack Aitken hits the barrier.#WEC #LeMans24 #LeMansCentenary pic.twitter.com/FDQ8VhP2Ri

— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) June 10, 2023

Thankfully he was able to limp back to the pits, but there was a field of debris on the circuit as a result and barrier damage. That, plus Mark Kvamme having an off into the gravel in the No. 32 Inter Europol ORECA, forced the safety car out allowing trackside support to repair the guardrails. The safety car lasted almost 40 minutes, causing a restart with just over 40 minutes of the race complete.

It was a hugely disappointing start to Action Express’ Le Mans debut, the car still in the pits with its front end being worked on by the end of the hour.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1416]

“These things happen and we’re regrouping. Unfortunately, heavy suspension damage to the left front, bodywork also had to be replaced and some things under the car were knocked loose,” related Chris Mitchum, No. 311 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R director of operations. “We’re putting the car together and making it like new, making sure the car is safe. We’re doing an alignment check to make sure the rack is OK and then we’re going to put Jack (Aitken) back and in go figure out how we can help our teammates.”

4pm, Le Mans: It’s time for a century of dreams to become reality. @ROLEX#WEC #LeMans24 #LeMansCentenary #Rolex pic.twitter.com/wEqZTIuRya

— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) June 10, 2023

Up front it was a nervy hour for Toyota’s No. 8 GR010 HYBRID. After taking the lead on the run down to Indianapolis around the outside of the No. 50 Ferrari, Buemi reported a problem with the car’s braking system. The issue, he said, was with the energy assistance from the battery, which was not working, forcing him to brake mechanically.

He was able to hold onto the top spot into the second hour before coming in for the first round of pit stops, and appeared to be able to keep up a strong pace, holding a 5-second advantage when the second hour began.

Second overall is currently the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari 499P of James Calado, who fell to fourth when the No. 7 Toyota got past both Ferraris after the restart and held second. But by the end of the hour, the No. 50 had pitted earlier than the other front runners, and Calado found a way past Mike Conway, who ended the hour third in the No. 7 Toyota.

Completing the top five, in the lengthy Hypercar train were the No. 75 and No. 6 Penske Porsches.

Elsewhere in the class, It was a tough start for the No. 708 Glickenhaus 007 LMH at the back of the Hypercar pack, the car starting a lap down after a gearbox leak. It was being worked on while the grid was forming and started from pit lane.

There was a massive stroke of fortune for Hertz Team JOTA, though. Its 963 had to start 60 after not setting a time in qualifying due to mechanical issues. The lengthy safety car meant it could joint the back end of the Hypercar field, meaning Antonio Felix da Costa didn’t need to slalom his way through the entire LMP2 and GTE field before catching the back of the Hypercar train.

The team also opted to pit under the safety car, which means it should cycle to the top when the first round of stops takes place in Hour 2.

In LMP2, Paul Loup Chatin held the lead from pole in the IDEC Sport ORECA, with the order shuffled considerably below as many LMP2 runners used the safety car as a chance to take a splash. Daniil Kvyat in the No. 63 PREMA ORECA is second with Robert Kubica in the No. 41 WRT, third. The JOTA No. 28 ORECA that started second, slipped to fourth in the melee on lap 1.

In GTE, the order is wholly shuffled, as a lot of teams, including the pole-sitting 33 Corvette, pitted under safety car. The No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari of Davide Rigon stayed out and inherited the lead, while the No. 57 Kessel and No. 83 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferraris ensured it was a 1-2-3 for the Italian marque in the category.

The Garage 56 Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR started the race behind the LMP2s and ahead of the GTE Am runners after a late decision by the organizers. It is 36th overall with Mike Rockenfeller driving.

HOUR 1 STANDINGS