LM24 Hour 8: Toyota reclaims the lead as the safety car makes its first appearance

We’ve reached a third of the distance and remarkably, after almost eight hours of running, the safety car was called for the first time at Le Mans. The reason? A clash at the Forest Esses between the No. 88 Proton Ford of Giammarco Levorato and the No. 54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari of Francesco Castellacci. 

The two collided as the 296 moved around the outside of the Mustang, sending Castellacci spinning into the gravel, where he became stranded with broken rear-left suspension. Race control promptly decided to neutralize the race to recover the Ferrari and clean the parts of the circuit that were covered in gravel. 

Under the safety car, pit stops are allowed, and after a flurry of stops in Hypercar, the No. 8 Toyota emerged from the pit lane in the lead, with Sebastien Buemi aboard. Rene Rast in the No. 20 BMW was second, with the No. 12 and No. 38 Cadillacs third and fourth. The No. 50 Ferrari completed the top five. The restart looks set to take place early in the ninth hour.

Prior to the safety car, tire strategy was in the spotlight as the three Cadillacs in the race became the first cars to switch to softs. All eyes are on the V-Series.Rs to see if that’s the compound to have as temperatures drop. Will anyone else take the plunge?

Fourteen cars are on the lead lap, including both Genesis GMR-001s on their debut, running 10th and 11th after a fault-free run so far. Both cars have comfortably raced for longer than ever before without issues.

In LMP2, Duqueine Team’s ORECA continues to lead, despite Julien Andlauer having a scary moment at Mulsanne Corner, veering off the circuit and into the gravel, spreading muck across the track upon rejoining. The No. 343 Inter Europol example is second, with British team Vector Sport now up to third.

Just five cars remain on the lead lap in the class now. The No. 43 Inter Europol 07 is fourth, with the No. 9 Proton car fifth. Crucially, the Pro/Am leading car, now the No. 14 TDS Racing example, is a lap down in ninth. Forestier by Panis’ car, which ran in the top three for most of the opening hours, is now also a lap down following Louis Rousset’s spin.

After Lexus dominance for a number of hours, the timing of the safety car brought a big shuffle in LMGT3. The No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin is up front, with pole-sitter Mattia Drudi strapped in. The No. 74 Kessel Racing Ferrari, which earned its invitation through success in SRO’s GT World Challenge Europe Bronze Cup, is running well as the best-placed 296 in second. The No. 21 Vista AF Ferrari is third. 

Outside the top five, the No. 77 Proton Mustang has risen to fourth, while the best of the Lexus RC F LMGT3s - the No. 87 - is down to fifth and No. 78 is sixth after longer stops.

The No. 91 Manthey DK Engineering Porsche, a front-runner for much of the race so far, survived a scare under the Safety Car, with Timur Boguslavskiy picking up a left-rear puncture. Thankfully for the German outfit, it has remained on the lead lap, meaning the potential loss has been kept to a minimum. It has dropped outside of the top five, to seventh.

RESULTS TO FOLLOW