The Le Mans 24 Hours has finally settled into somewhat of a rhythm after the 11th hour.
Up front, Sebastien Buemi in the No. 8 Toyota has turned the wick up and found a way to pull away from Andre Lotterer’s No. 6 Porsche during the hour.
The Swiss driver extended the gap from 8s to over 20s before pitting the car for a 15th time for full service.
Heading into the 12th hour, the gap is currently 16s, with Lotterer now closer with a quicker stop, taking no tires.
Third in the running is the No. 7 Toyota which lost time due to getting held into a slow zone. Kamui Kobayashi has been pushing hard but is 1m 41s off the lead now, slowly falling back.
Cadillac’s No. 2 and the No. 50 Ferrari complete the top five.
In LMP2, drama struck one of the front runners 45 minutes in.
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Just as Nielsen Racing had established itself as a contender for the class win, David Heinemeier Hansson made a clumsy error while trying to lap a slower car. The Dane, who was running second in class at the time, dived up the inside of the heavily delayed No. 77 Proton Competition Mustang at the Esses, hitting Zach Robichon into a spin, sending them both into the gravel.
The time it took to recover the ORECA saw it drop to ninth and off the lead lap. The team’s chances of glory are all but over now.
Nielsen’s misfortune promoted the No. 22 United ORECA to second, with Oliver Jarvis now 90s back from the leading No. 183 AF Corse example.
If the No. 22 drivers find a way to keep it clean, they are in strong position, as the car ahead is entered in Pro/Am and therefore needs to be driven by Bronze-rated Francois Perrodo in later in the race.
The No. 10 Vector Sport ORECA is third.
LMGT3’s running order still sees both Manthey-run Porsches occupying space in the top three through most of each hour, but the No. 91 Manthey EMA Porsche pitting late on saw it drop to fourth.
By the turn of the hour, the No. 59 United Autosports McLaren LMGT3 EVO had cycled through to the lead, holding a 7s advantage over the No. 92 Pure Rxcing Porsche, which is 6s back with Alex Malykhin in and edging closer to completing his six-hour drive time.
The next hour looks to be bringing yet more rain showers.
HOUR 11 STANDINGS TO COME