LM24 Hour 5: No.38 Cadillac takes its turn to lead, but Toyota remains in control

Five hours into the Le Mans 24 Hours, Toyota continues to control the race from the front with the No. 8 TR010 of Ryo Hirakawa, who has just got in after an impressive triple stint on Medium Michelin tires from Brendon Hartley.

But the car pitted just before the hour, meaning the No. 38 Cadillac with Sebastien Bourdais aboard rose to the top as the hour expired. Robin Frjins is now second in the No. 20 WRT BMW, running 16 seconds behind the Cadillac and 19 seconds ahead of the No. 8 Toyota, which slotted in third after its seventh trip down pit lane.

Early in the hour, the No. 38 muscled past the No. 20 at the Ford Chicanes with a brave move from Jack Aitken on Sheldon van der Linde, who then went on to build a gap and solidify his position behind the Toyota. 

Further down the running order in the top class, the No. 12 Cadillac is fourth, with the No. 50 the best of the Ferraris in fifth. The No. 15 BMW, delayed No. 51 Ferrari and No. 101 WTR Cadillac are all within 90 seconds of the lead in sixth to eighth. 

At the bottom of the class rankings, three cars are now off the lead lap: the two Peugeots and the No. 009 Aston Martin, which has struggled for pace over the past two hours and begun falling back.

LMP2 is still led by Duqueine’s ORECA of Doriane Pin. But behind, Oliver Gray in the Forestier by Panis ORECA is catching, having taken second from CLX in the previous hour and pulled away.

Seventh in LMP2 and leading Pro/Am is the No. 4 Crowdstrike Racing by APR ORECA, which is over 30 seconds ahead of its nearest challenger, the AO by TF ORECA.

LMGT3 sees Akkodis ASP now running in formation with its pair of Lexus RC F LMGT3s. The No. 87 leads the Ni. 78, with the No. 27 pole-sitting Heart of Racing Aston Martin third.

It was a tough hour for Iron Lynx, as two of its three Mercedes-AMGs hit trouble. The No. 79 suffered a brake caliper issue, and the No. 61 has also taken damage to its left rear, which requires attention. The former is back out but three laps down; the latter is still being worked on.

HOUR 5 STANDINGS