24 Hours of Le Mans – H+20: Toyota vs Ferrari, the battle of titans
Ferrari briefly lost the lead of the race after a technical issue in the pit stops. Alessandro Pier Guidi, on a blistering pace, regained his position a few laps later.
The Indianapolis turn claimed a new victim shortly after 10 o’clock. Antonio Felix Da Costa smashed the front of his Porsche Jota number 38. A pit stop is required. A slow zone was also deployed, with officials having to clean the track and remove the debris.
Ferrari number 51 has entered the pits for a pit stop. It stayed for a long time. Very long. Too long in its spot. The Toyota, which was one minute behind, didn’t ask for that much. The #8 has easily taken the lead again.
Wheel against wheel
The red Hypercar would be experiencing electronic issues. It struggled to restart in the pits and the radio didn’t work in the following laps. Kevin Estre’s Porsche suffered from new reliability problems as his team brought the #6 car back into the garage.
Alessandro Pier Guidi and Sébastien Buémi did not want to give in. The two men were fighting for first place. At the entrance of the Porsche S curves, car #8 was hindered by an LMP2. The Ferrari managed to catch up. The two Hypercars were side by side: the Italian did not let go and took back the lead on the straight of Hunaudières.
A new Porsche in the wall
In the lead of the race, the Ferrari continued to maintain a very solid pace, widening the gap more and more with the Toyota. In the LMP2 category, the battle was taking place from a distance between Inter Europol and Team WRT. The final victory will be decided – barring any issues – between the Iron Dames, ORT by TF, and the Corvette.
At 11:36, Michael Fassbender lost control of the Porsche #911 at the exit of the karting S-turn. The impact against the wall and tires was violent. The actor went through the pit lane to repair the damages. A new slow zone was declared to clean the track.
Just before noon, James Calado took over from Alessandro Pier Guidi.
