24 Heures du Mans – Race H+16: Hard blow for the Iron Dames, Ferrari takes a step towards victory
The Iron Dames were sent into the gravel by a competitor. Shortly afterwards, there was a scare on Porsche #85. At the head of the race, Ferrari resumed its domination.
The end of the night caused some damage. WRT saw its second GT3 retire. After an electrical problem on the #46, the #31 was taken out of the race after hitting a rabbit. The #101 Cadillac threw in the towel; this marks the first retirement in the Hypercar category. The #54 from Vista AF Corse joined the list. The #18 from IDEC Sport will not see the end of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. They withdrew shortly before 7 a.m.
Then, at a great pace, the Iron Dames were sent into the gravel at the second chicane of the Hunaudières by a Lexus from Akkodis. They lost precious positions. A full course yellow was implemented to clear the #85 Porsche and get it back on track. The #87 Lexus was penalized with a drive-through.
The #85 @IronDames_ Porsche was in trouble at the Michelin chicane, as Rahel Frey was hit by the #87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus. The car was stuck in the gravel.
Thanks to the marshals’ assistance 🧡, the car is back in action! pic.twitter.com/UMmYKvrbmw
— 24 Hours of Le Mans (@24hoursoflemans) June 15, 2025
A few minutes after this incident, the Iron Dames’ Porsche had to stop shortly after the Mulsanne corner. After a short break, Rahel Frey managed to return to her garage. After about twenty minutes in the pit, the Porsche was able to set off again. A problem was detected with the engine.
At the front of the race, Ferrari monopolized the podium. The #51 was leading the pack ahead of the #83 and #50. Porsche was losing momentum while Cadillac and Toyota were regaining strength.
