Jacky Ickx, six-time Le Mans winner, and this race is even far more impressive with 23 Hypercars and nine brands. The weather is nothing to be optimistic about, but it is going to be a fabulous race. Kevin Estre's pole lap was the cherry on the cake, but it doesn't mean anything. Finish when the checkered flag drops. The major difficulty will be which tire to use. Watch the radar. Everything Jacky Ickx said earlier has been spot on. He's right. Robert Kubica continues to lead the motor race behind the safety car. Nine Hypercar manufacturers, with a good number between each, almost 20. Rodrigo Sales, in the #65 Panis Racing Oreca LMP2 is chasing safety car A to get caught up. Norman Nato tells his team that the track is wet everywhere at Hertz Team Jota. Will Stevens is going to get back into the #12 Porsche 963.
We have had an hour and 35 minutes combined so far between safety car and Full Course Yellow. James Cottingham is used to race GT3 cars and historic cars like AC Cobra's for instance. Jack Hawksworth is third in the GT3 class in one of the two Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3's. GT3 cars have the traction control and the antilock brakes. Safety Car in this lap and so we are ready for the restart. Safety Car lights out. The leading car is now the #92 Joel Sturm Manthey Pure Racing Porsche 911 GT3R. All the Hypercars and LMP2 cars are behind it. The overall leader is the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, the yellow one.
Safety Cars breed Safety Cars and we have seen a lead change and another yellow flag as we tried going back to green. That didn't work. Never mind. That was a local yellow. Everyone is going to be tiptoeing as the Hypercars are going for wets. Ryo Hirakawa in the #8 Toyota and now, the #5 Porsche, the #4 Porsche, and the #311 Cadillac that did not pit. Two of the Penske Porsche's and the Action Express Cadillac. Safety Car procedure under review, more than ten car lengths between the cars. Pit lane is a madhouse! In the wet, on the curbs, on slick tires, the #92 Pure Racing Porsche spins off leading GT3 and now Jack Hawksworth is the new GT3 leader in the #87 Akkodis ASP Lexus.
Fred Makowiecki is only on half throttle towards Indianapolis, or actually Arnage and Porsche Curves. If there is no rain, he is going to just stay out. The rain has stopped in some places while continuing in others. Porsche #5 on slick tires staying on track. The rooster tails from the GT3 cars mean wet tires are the way to go. Robert Kubica hard on the brakes, will have to be very careful trying to find traction. On a permanent circuit there is more rubber on top and on a street course the water seeps into the tarmac, into the asphalt.
Action Express is still on slick tires. The same for the #5 Porsche and now the #83 Ferrari I believe is on wets. Robert Kubica charging after Fred Makowiecki. Robert Kubica passes Fred Makowiecki for the overall lead I think. #5 continues on the road and he is really twitching around. I also think it is beginning to dry out. I don't think there will be more rain for a wee while. OK. The #87 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3 of Jack Hawksworth has hit the pit lane and so, Richard Lietz in the #91 Manthey EMA Porsche leads GT3 with the #85 Iron Dames Lamborghini in second in class. Makowiecki has been passed as well by Ryo Hirakawa in the #8 Toyota.
Pipo Derani is slower. Now, Robert Kubica will need to serve a 30 second stop and go drive through penalty for the contact with the #15 BMW which is now out. They must serve the penalty in three to four laps and if they take it now they will drop to seventh place. Kubica has gained 36 seconds though on Laurens Vanthoor in the #6 Penske Porsche. Ryo Hirakawa and the #8 Toyota will go into the lead because of all this shuffling. This will become a genuine lead for Toyota at the present time. Inception Racing with Fredrik Schandorff, he is lapping at 4:28, quickest in GT3 despite the radiator and brake change earlier.
Robert Kubica has indeed been given this penalty. With that, Porsche could be promoted, the Penske cars. #6 moves ahead of #5. Ryo Hirakawa in the #8 Toyota will be the new leader. Some of the Hypercars staying on slicks made a huge mistake. They could stay in the frame if the weather dries out, but I don't know. Everything is extremely unpredictable. Ben Barnicoat picking up the pace in LMP2. The #311 Whelen Action Express Cadillac has lost the edge, still on slicks and has dropped down the order in Hypercar. Cars #23, #65, and #78 have drive through penalties for breaking safety car procedure protocols. So, the United Autosport LMP2, the Panis Racing LMP2, and the #78 Akkodis ASP Lexus.
The #30 Duqueine Oreca LMP2 is on fire! Jean Baptiste Simmenauer runs to safety. Usually the LMP2's are so reliable. It is an airbox fire and a blown motor. Game over for the #30 car. Kubica needs to pit now to take his penalty. Maybe he will come in at the end of this lap. Right now, it is the #37 Cool Racing Oreca leading LMP2. Lorenzo Fluxa, Malthe Jakobsen, and Ritomo Miyata. The #30 is still smoldering. All the LMP2 cars run the Gibson GK428 V8 motor, 4.2 liters and about 550 horsepower. Kubica in the lane for the 30 second penalty stop.
Yifei Ye has to be upset because they started well and had an incident with a lapped car earlier. Halfway through the ninth hour. It is hard to make the proper calls every single time. Happy Birthday to Yifei Ye. Robert Kubica has copped the penalty, and he is now sixth. The #30 is still smoldering. Toyota now lead with Ryo Hirakawa in the #8 car. He won Le Mans in 2022 and was WEC champion with Toyota last year. Toyota are always lurking. They hae shown pace. The track is greasy now and that will not benefit the cars on slick tires and are going to be running far slower lap times.
Fred Makowiecki in Porsche 963 #5 has dropped to ninth place. The tire conditions have plateaued. The wet tires are advantageous and there can be temperature and water found to keep them alive so the tread blocks don't melt. Peugeot #93 and #94 are 13th and 15th in the running order. The #31 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 has pitted. Manthey Pure Racing are leading the GT3 class with Klaus Bachler, the Austrian, at the wheel with Dennis Olsen in the #88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang second and third, the #91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3R of the Austrian, Richard Lietz.
The #30 car is being moved out of the way and still smoldering. Oliver Gavin has to be happy he is not driving. It is very tricky conditions. Work hard with the pit crew and so on. Can you survive on the slick tire? Get the tires switched on. You will be giving up loads of time to the competition. How long will it be wet? This is a massive gamble. So much of the race here at Le Mans is about luck and survival in the nighttime hours.
Alex Lynn currently in fifth place. We are just starting to see a dry line appear on the road. Ryo Hirakawa leads with Toyota's first and third. Nyck de Vries third in Toyota #7 with Laurens Vanthoor in the #6 Porsche 963 from Porsche Penske Motorsports, the meat in the sandwich, the pole sitting car. People seem to be minding their P's and Q's in the wet. Richard Lietz has dropped back staying on slicks in the GT3 class. The #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 has spun off and Ahmad Al Harthy is stuck in the gravel trap. One side of the cr looks fine but onboard, he spins after cutting across the chicane, loses it on the paint and crunches the barrier on the left front.
Al Harthy panics. "I lost it! I lost the car!" The radiator is destroyed! He was on slick tires. He is the Bronze driver. Makowiecki in Porsche 963 #5 into the pit lane. If he is stuck in the grave, that is troubling. A local yellow to rescue Al Harthy's BMW M4 GT3. The #311 Whelen Cadillac has taken slick soft tires, the Action Express Cadillac. A water leak in the #46 BMW M4 GT3 and he just slid off the road in difficult conditions. The car is going to surely be a retirement.
Al Harthy, it could be game over for he, Valentino Rossi, and Maxime Martin. Game over. Will Stevens under investigation by the stewards in the #12 Jota Sport Porsche 963. Alex Lynn is pushing hard behind a Ferrari GT3 car having passed the #50 Ferrari 499P with Antonio Fuoco at the wheel of it. Felipe Nssr is under investigation for slow zone procedures in the #4 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963. Romain Grosjean says that things are going well for Lamborghini. Thei strategy seems to be working and the car is working in the wet. He would prefer a dry track.
This race is going to keep us guessing the whole time. Play it safe and play it smart like I said earlier. The Lamborghini's are 15th and 16th in Hypercar. The #2 Cadillac is now back up to fourth spot in the overall. Track limits warning out of Karting for the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, one of the defending champions from last year. We have not seen track limits issues during all the rainfall. The soft tires are far slower, ten seconds off the pace of what everyone else is doing. We need to see what Porsche #5 is doing. Stevens, Nasr, and Derani, all pinged for safety car procedure, accelerating past slower traffic too soon.
Ryo Hirakawa says the track is getting better. Fred Makowiecki just did a 4:12 and the slick tires are finally beginning to work. Calado chasing Kubica in the battle of the Ferrari's. Kubica is back in the pack currently. Calado is actually quicker. Rhe front runners on wets are quicker than those drivers in the Hypercar class who still have slick tires in the wet. A few more laps, look forward if it is going to stay dry. The wet tires are the safer option as the #14 LMP2, "Spike" the dragon, from AO by TF is off the road. Louis Deletraz at the controls, the Swiss driver, who was one of the winning drivers for the Wayne Taylor with Andretti Global Acura team in the IMSA championshop at the 12 Hours of Sebring back in March.
#4, #12, and #23 penalized. We are going to hear next from David Addison, Graham Goodwin, and Peter Dumbreck for the insomniac coverage. Three more laps on the stint for Will Stevens as we come to the end of hour nine. Stevens says it is extremely difficult to see the dry line on a greasy, wet surface here at Le Mans. The tire tread blocks are moving around, and you do not feel the load on the tires and they are doing nothing but sliding around because of how greasy it is. Ryo Hirakawa leading Laurens Vanthoor in the overall and a big spin for the #93 Peugeot 9X8. Klaus Bachler getting the tires changed in the lead of GT3 for Manthey Pure Racing. He is down and away.
Toyota leads Hypercar, Nielsen Racing leads LMP2 and the sister Manthey EMA #91 Porsche takes the GT3 lead. We're now at a point where every car is going to stop whether they are scheduled or not.
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