24 Hours of Le Mans – H+18: Ferrari on its way to History
The race no longer has anything (for now), of the madness that we have seen since the beginning. Ferrari No. 51 has created a considerable gap with Toyota No. 8 and is soaring towards what would be a historic success in Le Mans.
At 8 am, the Peugeot N°93 caught up with Kévin Estre’s Porsche Penske N°6. The 9X8 then took advantage of the Frenchman’s pit stop to secure a nearly miraculous Top 5, considering the delay it had accumulated.
On the LMP2 side, Inter Europol was leading the race with the Oreca No. 34, followed by Robert Kubica on the WRT No. 41. The Alpine No. 36, on the other hand, was chasing the Top 5: Charles Milesi was 25 seconds behind the Idec Sport No. 48, which had taken pole position. Alpine has returned to the leading pack.
In LMGTE-Am, the Corvette N°33 continued its extraordinary comeback: the only American car in the GT field climbed up to 3rd place before its pit stop. It was only one lap behind the leading Kessel Racing (Ferrari).
The fight for victory in the Hypercar class was still very uncertain, but also for the podium: Sébastien Bourdais took the wheel of the Cadillac No. 3 to complete a strong stint, trying to secure a podium finish (right under the nose of the sister car, No. 2).
And then, in the GTE category, Kessel Racing was caught up by the Iron Dames: Rahel Frey, at 8:21 am, was right behind the bright yellow Ferrari. The Swiss driver took the lead at the Daytona chicane and claimed first place. Quite crazy!
The fight also resumed in LMP2, when Inter Europol and WRT were once again on the track. Robert Kubica, in car No. 41, joined the Polish team and attempted a suicide attack at the chicane! The rest of the battle would then unfold in the Hunaudières.
Charles Milesi, on the Alpine, found himself caught up in the battle between the two leading cars, as they were about to lap him. The Frenchman continued his push towards the Top 5 at a strong pace. Robert Kubica eventually found a way past Jakub Smiechowski.
Complicated for Porsche
Kevin Estre’s #6 963 saw its slim hopes go up in smoke when he was called back to the pit. The French driver had already suffered an off-track incident at the entrance of the S Porsches a few hours earlier while following an LMP2 car.
Then, it was the turn of the Glickenhaus No. 708 to go off the track, at the same place as its sister car. The punishment was the same: a pit stop before resuming, and the Ferrari No. 50 was able to overtake again.
The Peugeot No. 93’s mission was to solidify its 5th place, while its pursuer, Olivier Pla, crashed his Glickenhaus No. 709 at the exit of Indianapolis, just before 9 o’clock. It was unfortunate for the American team, who was having a very clean race until then.
A new slow zone has been decreed in this sector, but it was not going to have a significant impact on the race. The leading Ferrari, car number 51 driven by James Calado, maintained a comfortable lead of approximately 18 seconds over the Toyota car number 8, before giving way to Antonio Giovinazzi. The Glickenhaus was able to return to the garage, while car number 709 secured a magnificent provisional 6th place.
At 9:12 am, the FCY was deployed to allow the marshals to clean the track from the numerous gravels that were scattered, particularly after the Inter Europol’s excursion at the Mulsanne corner exit.
Ferrari in control
Peugeot could have made a splash, but Ferrari is currently the first major manufacturer capable of dethroning Toyota from its exclusive domain of Le Mans since 2018.
