24 Hours of Le Mans Update: Porsche Leads After 10 Hours
Le Mans, France — As the 24 Hours of Le Mans approaches its first third, the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsports (PPM) 963 has surged to the front, capitalizing on strategic longer stints amidst Ferrari’s challenges, including critical penalties. Kevin Estre piloted the car to a commanding lead after starting from the rear of the grid due to disqualification from the first qualifying session for being underweight.
Estre has completed three hours at the wheel, with the #6 PPM 963 currently leading the race. In second place is the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P of Robert Kubica, followed closely by Brendan Hartley in the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010. The factory Ferrari line-up sees the #50 499P, driven by Antonio Fuoco, positioned fourth, just ahead of Nick Tandy’s #4 PPM 963.
Ferrari’s misfortunes began with the #51 entry, where Antonio Giovinazzi served a five-second penalty during a pit stop for an incident with Jonny Edgar’s #35 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R. While serving this penalty, Giovinazzi faced scrutiny for speeding in the pit lane, leading to an even more severe 20-second stop-and-go penalty. The #51 now languishes in eighth place, behind both the #20 BMW M Team WRT M Hybrid V8 and the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota V-Series.R.
The #311 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R faced significant issues, requiring multiple laps in the pits to replace a steering torque sensor and ECU after problems reported by Frederik Vesti and Jack Aitken. Although the Cadillac has regained speed, it sits five laps down.
In LMP2, the #48 VDS Panis Racing ORECA, driven by Franck Perera, maintains the lead ahead of the #9 Iron Lynx-Proton entry. Tom Dillman in the #43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA is pushing hard to catch up. In the Pro-Am category, the #199 AO by TF remains dominant with Dane Cameron now behind the wheel.
In LMGT3, the #21 Ferrari 296 GT3 leads with Alessio Rovera, while the Team WRT’s #46 BMW M4 GT3, driven by Ahmad Al Harthy, holds second. Riccardo Pera has taken over the #92 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3.R, ensuring a competitive third position as the race continues.
With ten hours complete, the race dynamics are shifting rapidly, showcasing both strategic prowess and the unforgiving nature of endurance racing.
