Into the 22nd hour we go, and in every class this race continues to deliver the goods. The Ferrari vs Toyota battle in Hypercar is ongoing, with the leading No. 51 499P of James Calado edging away from Brendon Hartley in the No. 8 GR010 during the hour.
The gap is now 13 seconds, in part because Hartley had to deal with the No. 50 sister Ferrari of Miguel Molina, multiple laps down, putting the pressure on from behind. Brendon Hartley was asked by the team on the pit wall if he is physically capable of doing a quad stint. Without hesitation, the answer was “yes!”
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LMP2 meanwhile, has seen drama hit the leading No. 34 Inter Europol ORECA. The team was handed a drive-through for overtaking under yellow, which brought the lead gap down from over 50 seconds to 21 by the end of the hour. Can Robert Kubica in the No. 41 WRT ORECA respond and find a way to catch and pass the No. 34?
GTE Am is now Corvette’s race to lose. Since regaining the two laps lost early in the race, the driving has been outstanding all day so far. Nico Varonne in particular has played a huge role in getting Corvette back in the race. The young Argentinan in the hour set a blistering 3m40.439 as part of a string of fast laps as part of his attempt to create a lead gap larger than the length of a pit stop How fast is that? It was the fastest GTE lap of the event, including Qualifying and Hyperpole. A staggering lap from the Corvette newcomer, a perfect response to his incident in practice.
Behind Varrone, Sarah Bovy is second and losing seconds each lap to the C8.R in the Iron Dames Porsche. Ahmad Al Harthy, another Bronze, is also losing time in the ORT by TF Vantage to Varrone. It’s nevertheless been a superb performance from Bovy and Al Harthy so far, keeping their teams in the running while so many of the other teams in the class faulted.
There were multiple mechanical woes for cars in the hour. Both Peugeots spent time in the garage, the No. 93 for a nose change and to fix a lack of hydraulic pressure. The sister car meanwhile, ended up in its garage for a steering rack change.
The Garage 56 NASCAR Cup Camaro has also spent much of the last hour in its pit box, the Hendrick team replacing the car’s gearbox. After 20 hours of racing, it was the first notable mechanical issue for the car.