After a lengthy safety car period for heavy rain, the Le Mans 24 Hours is green and frantic once again.
Peugeot’s lead from the previous hour didn’t last long once the race resumed, as a hard-charging Yiefei Ye quickly passed the No. 94 of Gustavo Menezes in the No. 38 Hertz Team JOTA Porsche. Ye took the lead between Mulsanne Corner and the Porsche Curves after running side by side for the entire stretch in what was yet another thrilling sequence.
It was a dream start to the hour for the British team, which in only its second race with the 963 in Hypercar, started 60th, and found itself leading the Le Mans 24 Hours. But Ye would go from hero to zero before the end of Hour 5, when he made an error at the final section of the Porsche Curves and went sideways into the tires at high speed. The impact ripped the rear assembly and engine cover off the car, and damaged the right front with a secondary impact.
🟡 The #38 careers off, causing a FCY @JotaSport #LeMans24 #LeMansCentenary pic.twitter.com/Q3FGDjhUzK
— 24 Hours of Le Mans (@24hoursoflemans) June 10, 2023
Ye then had to dash back to the pits, where the mechanics pushed the car back into the garage for substantial repairs. Ye was understandably distraught as he climbed out.
“We have the front end, rear end, rear wing all damaged and the floor too. The suspension seems OK. We are repairing the bodywork and we will go again. He just lost it in the Porsche Curves,” team principal Dieter Gass related.
Overall it was a disastrous hour for Porsche in Hypercar, as the two factory WEC full-season Penske 963s both hit trouble too. The No. 6 of Dane Cameron suffered a right-rear puncture shortly after the restart while running second, and the No. 5 was handed a drive-through for overtaking a car under the safety car.
It’s all unravelled so fast for the German marque, although the No. 5 Porsche is still third after its penalty, ahead of the No. 75 IMSA-crewed car that’s fourth. The No. 6 is down to 11th and is a lap down after coming in for a replacement tire.
With JOTA’s hopes of victory over, the pair of AF Corse Ferrari 499Ps are back up front. The No. 50 of Miguel Molina leads the No. 51 of Antonio Giovanazzi, who climbed the order after Menezes pitted the No. 94 and Ye had his off. Although it’s still early, of course, it’s been a very quiet and promising opening five hours from the Italian marque.
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In the other classes, the No. 41 WRT ORECA has emerged as the LMP2 leader with Louis Deletraz now aboard. The No. 41 is having a much better run than the sister car, which has dropped to 18th in class after its off in the rain earlier and required a front and rear end change.
It’s a similar story for United Autosports. Its No. 22 is five laps down from the leader after Frederick Lubin’s incident, while the No. 23 is second with Oliver Jarvis putting in a strong stint. The No. 28 JOTA ORECA is third.
GTE Am has had its front-running order changed, as the No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 of Francesco Castellacci has moved to the front, with Martin Rump in the No. 911 Proton Porsche second. The No. 85 Iron Dames car, which led under the safety car, is now down to third.
At the back of the Am field, Corvette Racing remains off the lead lap, the team confirming to RACER that a front damper failure was the cause of the No. 33’s earlier trip to the garage. Initially, the C8.R was two laps down after rejoining but has since recovered a lap since the safety car. Next on the job list is gaining the second lap back. If it can do it on pace, or a safety car hands the team a break, then the No. 33 can get back into contention.
“It was very strange. Everything was going fine. The car was running great and was all good. Out of nowhere, prototypes passed me and after that I had a weird feeling,” explained Nicky Catsburg. “Maybe this was because I had to go off-line and had some pickup, but it wouldn’t disappear. The car was moving around a lot under braking and at all speed. So I told the guys that I think we had an issue. When we got it into the pitlane, it was the damper and we lost two laps. The crew still did an awesome job and couldn’t have done it quicker.
“It’s really tough, though, to come back from this spot. It seems like a disastrous race with the safety cars. But our main competitors in the championship are out of the race, so even with zero points we will still lead the championship. So we need to focus and get as many points as possible. Maybe we can get back on the lead lap. I kind of doubt it, but we will never give up. The car is definitely fast, and everything went well. So I know we have a good car.”