MSR Acura shows the way early at Petit Le Mans

Just past the first quarter of the 29th Motul Petit Le Mans, the No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06 leads after three hours of racing.

The 10-hour IMSA endurance classic began on a wet track after heavy rain showers in the morning. All of the GTP front-runners started on wet-weather tires, but the track quickly dried enough for slicks. The No. 24 BMW M Team WRT Hybrid V8 took the lead from the No. 60 MSR Acura after those early pit stops and led until about the 90-minute mark of the race.

It was then that a collision between the No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette and an advertising board left debris on the road. Both Meyer Shank Racing Acuras pitted in response, coming to the pit lane just as a full course yellow was called. Having just made full-service stops, the two Acuras topped off their energy tanks and cycled to the lead where they’ve remained ever since. Renger van der Zande has taken over from starting driver Nick Yelloly in the leading No. 93 ARX-06.

The No. 60 Acura runs second overall, followed by the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R in third.

Jack Aitken started the race in the No. 31 Cadillac, officially clinching his first IMSA GTP drivers’ championship, as well as the teams’ and manufacturers’ championships for Cadillac Whelen (Action Express Racing) and Cadillac itself.

BMW M Team WRT’s cars run fourth and fifth, led by the No. 25 M Hybrid V8.

LMP2 has been led since the opening lap by the No. 52 Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen ORECA 07-Gibson. Misha Goikhberg dashed to the lead from the second row and after completing his obligatory two hours and 30 minutes of driving, recently handed the controls over to Parker Thompson.

United Autosports USA’s No. 22 ORECA runs second, followed by the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA in third. AO Racing is fourth after an eventful first three hours, which started with PJ Hyett scrambling to the pits on the first lap to swap out a malfunctioning steering wheel.

Meanwhile the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR car has been relegated to eighth in class after George Kurtz received a drive-through penalty for colliding with the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus, and breaking its right-rear suspension.

John Farano (No. 8 Tower Motorsports) brought out the first yellow after going off and hitting the tire barrier at Turn 1; the second yellow came after Phil Fayer (No. 2 United Autosports USA) got stranded in the gravel at Turn 10.

A handful of cars have taken turns leading GTD Pro – both Corvette Racing Z06 GT3.Rs, and the AO Racing No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R among them. The No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 currently leads, followed by the No. 68 Car Blanche Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, and the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario GT3, which has also led a significant portion of the race.

And in GTD, the No. 023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo leads on an alternate strategy, but the leading car on the primary strategy is the No. 28 RS1 Porsche – boosted by a strong opening stint from Zachary Vanier in just his second race. The Canadian drove the Porsche to the lead during the third hour. The No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari runs third in class.

But the GTD championship battle ended after only one hour of racing, after both the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW and No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin suffered from serious mechanical issues early on.

Even before the start of the race, the No. 27 Aston Martin was pulled off the grid and behind the wall due to an electrical issue complication that arose after an engine change earlier in the weekend. It took an hour and 40 minutes for Zacharie Robichon to turn the car’s first lap in the race, already more than 60 laps down – but the car has since been in and out of pit lane. This knocked the No. 27 and driver Eduardo Barrichello out of contention for the crown.

And after just 30 minutes of racing, a broken water hose on the No. 96 BMW forced driver Francis Selldorff to bring the car back to the pits as soon as he’d taken over from starting driver Robby Foley. The water leak proved terminal, as Turner Motorsport, Foley, and Patrick Gallagher’s bids to win the GTD championship are now over.

Winward Racing and drivers Russell Ward and Philip Ellis have clinched their third consecutive sets of GTD drivers’ and teams’ championships. The No. 57 Winward Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO currently runs sixth in class with Indy Dontje at the wheel.

The race is currently under a fourth Full Course Yellow after the No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 slowed to a stop on the back straightaway, a crushing way to potentially end the Huracán GT3’s final IMSA race.