Image credit: Charly Lopez / DPPI.
During the tenth hour of the 92nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Sebastien Buemi was leading the race in the Toyota GR010 Hybrid #8 hypercar.
At the start of the ninth hour, the race had just passed midnight and there was a 90-minute safety car period. The race leader, Robert Kubica (#83 Ferrari 499P), immediately made a pit stop, along with many of the hypercars. Frederic Makowiecki (#5 Porsche Penske 963) was in second place behind Kubica.
With the rain intensifying, most cars stopped to switch to rain tires. Kubica, with rain tires, easily overtook Makowiecki, but was later overtaken by Ryo Hirakawa’s Toyota GR010 Hybrid #8.
Kubica received a 30-second stop-and-go penalty for his involvement in an incident with Dries Vanthoor, which caused the safety car period and required repairs to the Mulsanne corner barrier.
As track conditions improved, the use of rain lights was no longer mandatory.
Alex Lynn made an impressive move in his Cadillac V-Series.R #2, overtaking Antonio Fuoco’s Ferrari 499P #50 and taking fourth place before the first Mulsanne chicane.
With the wet conditions improving, both Hirakawa and Makowiecki made pit stops to switch to slick tires.
Sebastien Buemi maintained the lead in the Hypercar category, followed by Andre Lotterer’s Porsche Penske 963 #6, Kamui Kobayashi in the other Toyota #7, Antonio Fuoco (#50), and Earl Bamber (#2).
In the LMP2 category, the Duqueine’s Oreca 07 #30, driven by Jean-Pierre Simmenauer, had mechanical issues and had to retire from the race. This was the second retirement after the Iron Lynx’s Oreca #9.
Many LMP2 drivers faced difficulties with the slippery track conditions. Last year’s winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 category, Fabio Scherer, overtook Malthe Jakobsen’s #37 Cool Racing car for the lead before their pit stops.
Nico Varrone (#183 AF Corse Oreca) was leading the LMP2 category for AF Corse, followed by David Heinemeier Hansson in the #24 Nielsen Racing car, PJ Hyett (#14), and Olly Jarvis (#22).
In the LMGT3 category, just like in the Hypercar category, many GT3 cars stopped at the pits for refueling and rain tire changes.
The BMW WRT team faced challenges, and their situation worsened when Ahmed Al Harthy’s BMW M4 #46 spun on the track and got stuck in the gravel trap after the Dunlop hill.
The #46 car was the second to retire in the LMGT3 category, following Salih Yoluc’s JMW Motorsport Ferrari 296 #66, which had electronic problems.
Gregoire Saucy was leading the LMGT3 class in the McLaren 720S #59, followed by Kelvin van der Linde in the #87 car, Morris Schuring in the Manthey EMA Porsche #91, Takeshi Kimura in the Lexus RC F #87, and Nicolas Pino in the McLaren 720S #95.
