The two Japanese cars followed each other in the same second after a good third of the race.
The two Toyotas were neck and neck in the lead at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Saturday shortly after midnight, as the chasing Glickenhaus N.708 lost time after a spin.
After eight hours of racing, the only car to have disputed the lead of the race with the Toyota N.8, which started on pole, is… the other Toyota. The two hypercars alternated in the lead on several occasions, thanks to a better exit from the pits or a passage through the gravel trap.
It’s not a surprise as the Japanese manufacturer has reigned supreme for four years: after the N.8’s treble (2018-2019-2020), the N.7 has finally put an end to its legendary misfortune by winning last year.
For the moment, the two cars are respecting the trifecta stated on Friday by team director Pascal Vasselon: “Good race pace, no strategic errors and no reliability issues.»
Behind, the Glickenhaus N.709 had taken third place, overtaking its sister car, the N.708, because of a corner badly negotiated by Olivier Pla.
If the two Toyotas were held within a handful of seconds, the N.709 of Franck Mailleux is one lap behind. The American team, present on the Sarthe circuit for only the second year, remained however the main competitor of the Japanese manufacturer.
Alpine’s Nightmare
Behind Toyota and Glickenhaus, the Alpine lived a nightmarish race. After being overtaken by the two American hypercars at the start of the race, the French car had to stop at the garage around 7:55 p.m. (5:55 p.m. GMT) to fix a clutch problem.
Leaving again after thirteen minutes of repairs and a change of driver, she had to stop again more briefly around 8:40 p.m. (6:40 p.m. GMT), finished a time in the gravel, and was more than eight laps behind.
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Barring major incidents among the hypercars, the French manufacturer risked losing the lead in the World Endurance Championship standings, which it held before the race.
At the lower level, the Oreca N.38 of the Jota team still led the dance in LMP2, with more than two minutes ahead of the Oreca N.9 of Prema Orlen.
Eight-time world rally champion Sébastien Ogier’s Oreca N.1, which is competing at Le Mans for the first time this year, was tenth in class. Her crew also includes her young compatriot Lilou Wadoux.
Outdated Corvette
In LGMTE Pro, the No.63 Corvette lost its lead due to a rear wheel puncture which then damaged other parts. Went back to the pits shortly after 11:00 p.m., the car had still not left an hour later.
The two Porsches dominated this category, the N.92 ahead of the N.91. In the last category, LGMTE Am, the WeatherTech team was still in front with its Porsche N.73. Left twice in the gravel, the N.93 of the German-Irish actor Michael Fassbender showed for its part a heavy delay.
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A first abandonment is to be noted: the Porsche N.46. There are therefore only 61 cars left in the race, which will run until 4:00 p.m. (2:00 p.m. GMT) on Sunday.
And a record was broken on Saturday: the American Josh Pierson became at 16 years, 3 months and 25 days the youngest driver in the history of the race by taking the wheel of the Oreca N.23 (United Motorsport) for two hours in the late afternoon. Victim of technical problems, his team, very successful during the first tests, was in eleventh place in LMP2.
No luck either for the few female drivers entered, since the Ferrari of the Iron Dames team was 49th after having a puncture in the first laps, while Sofia Floersch had gone into the gravel trap from the start. Starting from the depths of the classification, his Oreca N.47 (Algarve Pro Racing / LMP2), was in 30th place.
