No. 10 Cadillac emerges with Petit Le Mans lead at halfway after weather stoppage

The 29th Motul Petit Le Mans fell into a state of disarray in hour four thanks to a heavy downpour of rain and a 27-minute red flag for lightning strikes near Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, and Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 10 V-Series.R now leads after five hours of racing.

The lightning hold was preceded by a downpour of severe rain that washed over Road Atlanta just after the race got going again following a mechanical issue for the No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini.

Several cars rushed to pit lane to change to wet tires, including the No. 60 Acura, which came in just before a yellow for debris: Max van der Snel in the No. 37 Intersport Racing ORECA LMP2 hit an advertising board, and for the second time today, a sign board on course neutralized the race.

The race only went green again for a few seconds before the No. 2 and No. 22 United Autosports USA LMP2s of Hunter McElrea and Rasmus Lindh collided on the way into pit lane. Both were stranded in the soaking wet grass.

In that brief time, though, Braun launched to the front of the field past Kevin Magnussen, whose No. 25 WRT BMW took the initial green flag. Then, at 3:48 p.m. ET (local time), Race Control threw the red flag due to lightning in proximity of the circuit – which was lifted at 4:15 p.m. once the weather improved.

The race resumed at 4:32 p.m. with five hours and 38 minutes left in the race, but the carnage did not lift.

Renger van der Zande pulled off a brilliant double overtake at turn 10 to grab second, only for him to miss the same corner and collide with teammate Braun, pushing both cars through the gravel runoff at turn 10. The No. 60 of Braun came into the pits, while the No. 93 of van der Zande was given a drive-through penalty.

Before it was due to serve the drive-through, the No. 93 came in for a routine stop and driver change; only seconds after Álex Palou got in the car, the five-time IndyCar Series champion was struck in the esses by the No. 25 WRT BMW of Kevin Magnussen. The impact at the top of the esses then sent Magnussen into the tire barrier at turn three. Magnussen walked away gingerly after the collision, while the No. 93 MSR Acura sustained rear bodywork damage.

And then just as the race was about to restart a few minutes ago, the right front wheel of the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 flung off the car.

Ricky Taylor in the No. 10 WTR Cadillac took the green flag with five hours and seven minutes to go, and continues to lead ahead of the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R in second, the No. 24 BMW M Team WRT Hybrid V8 in third, and the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 in fourth.

The race has since been neutralized by another yellow following a three-car GTD incident between the No. 16 Myers Riley Motorsports (Felipe Fraga) and No. 66 Gradient Racing (Jake Walker) Ford Mustang GT3 Evos, which also collected the No. 912 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche (Morris Schuring). The No. 66 Ford was then stranded on course, causing the ninth yellow of the race.

LMP2 is now led by the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA 07-Gibson, recovered from its earlier drive-through, No. 99 AO Racing and No. 43 Inter Europol Competition cars.

Jack Hawksworth is aboard the GTD Pro-leading No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3, followed by the No. 033 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R, and the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3.R.

And in GTD, the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari leads a 1-2 ahead of the No. 70 Inception Racing 296, with the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo in third.