Tung sets fastest LMP2 race lap in LM H16

Hour 16 of the 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours began under the Safety Car, with Timo Bernhard now running in the top 10 overall in the No. 2 Porsche. The race went back to green just over 10 minutes into the hour.

As racing resumed again, the No. 98 Aston Martin that had led GTE Am for much of the early running and was already in survival mode was hit with a 10-second added pit stop penalty for an infringement at an earlier stop.

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In GTE Pro, Richard Lietz pitted the No. 91 Porsche from the head of the field about 20 minutes into the hour, having completed 211 laps. This saw the No. 95 Aston cycle back into the lead of the class, while further down the order, battle was joined between Davide Rigon (No. 71 Ferrari) and Andy Priaulx (No. 67 Ford) as full daylight broke out over the circuit.

Up ahead, there was also little to choose between Patrick Pilet, who'd just exited the pits in fourth at the wheel of the No. 91 Posche having taken over from Lietz, and Jan Magnussen in the third-place No 63 Corvette.

LMP2, meanwhile, saw a new fastest race lap of 3m28.632s during this hour, courtesy of Ho-Pin Tung in the No. 38 DC Racing ORECA. Elsewhere in the class, James Allen in the No. 40 Graff Racing LMP2 ORECA came to grief on the outside of Indianapolis corner halfway through the hour. Recovery vehicles assisted him in rejoining the track and all slow zones were cleared once again.

Getting into the second half of the hour, Tracy Krohn had his second off the race so far in the No. 83 DH Racing Ferrari, this time at Indianapolis corner. Again, assistance from recovery vehicles was sufficient to get the car back on track and on its way.

Back on track, the latest GTE Pro battle to boil over was between Pilet in the No. 91 Porsche and James Calado in the No. 51 Ferrari for second in the class, with 15 minutes or so left in the hour. Pilet emerged in front, 16 seconds behind class leader Marco Sorensen in the No. 95 Aston Martin.

As the hour drew to a close, there was more trouble for the Gulf-sponsored Tockwith Ligier, which endured a nine-minute pit stop to correct a faulty wheel sensor.