24 Heures du Mans – H+20: Ferrari can dream of a hat-trick if the team doesn’t sabotage itself
The three Ferraris were on another planet. But the numerous errors on the track keep the rivals fairly close.
A rain of penalties. Shortly after 8 a.m., the race stewards penalized numerous cars with a drive-through for failing to comply with yellow flag procedures. Involved were AF Corse #9, Proton #11, AWA Racing #13, RLR M Sport #16, Heart of Racing #27, TF Sport #33, Ferrari #51, Kessel Racing #57, Proton #77, Ferrari #83, Manthey #90 and 92, as well as AF Corse #183.
The Cadillac #311 experienced a technical problem in the Dunlop curve. The hypercar was stopped at the side of the track. Its withdrawal was confirmed shortly afterward. The two hypercars that had to retire at that point belonged to the American firm.
Shortly before 9 a.m., Jules Gounon planted his Alpine #36 in the gravel trap at Mulsanne. A full course yellow was necessary to bring the hypercar back on track.
Just after 11 a.m., fatigue took over several drivers. Mistakes were more frequent. The Akkodis #78 violently hit in the Porsche curves. Significant damage was noted on the Lexus, which returned to its pit. It eventually retired. A few minutes later, it was the leading Ferrari #51 that made a mistake while trying to enter the pits. It spun around.
The pace at the front of the race was still very brisk: with four hours to go, the 390-lap mark was not out of the question.
Ryo Hirakawa had quite a scare. The Japanese driver at the wheel of the #8 Toyota went too wide in the Dunlop curve due to a poorly secured wheel. He had to complete an entire lap at a slow pace and lost a phenomenal amount of time.
