24h of Le Mans FIA endurance race - update after 21 hours of competition
Hope you are doing well ⚡
Welcome to the #best 24 hours of the #year here at the #Circuit des #24 #Heures in #Le #Mans. The #Sarthe track is in the afternoon now! Get ready for last news and #enjoy #spectacular #challenge...! ⚡⏩
Still two Toyotas on lead... it's get boring, but OK
At one point, Mike Conway in the #7 Toyota TS050 #Hybrid moved to the front when Sébastien #Buemi pitted in the #8. He #handed the #wheel over to Fernando Alonso, who remains on #track now. He is #racing against José María López, as was the case 3overnight when things went in the Spaniard’s favour. There are currently separated by a #gap of just over two minutes, with #Alonso in the #lead.
Fernando #Alonso is #controlling the race on the back of smart teamwork throughout the night. With #Sébastien #Buemi, #Kazuki #Nakajima and #Fernando #Alonso all racking up fast laps, the #8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid now has a lead of 1:20.
The #7 crew were unable to make up the gap in the 20th hour of the #race. A slow zone from #Tertre Rouge to the middle of the Mulsanne Straight dampened the drivers’ ardour while repairs were made to a loose #drain cover. Now the #circuit is #green again, the battles have recommenced. The two hybrid cars are generally lapping around the 3:20 mark.
In LMP2, Jean-Eric Vergne is putting in a tremendous performance as his #Russian team continues to reign supreme. Running fifteen laps behind the leading #Toyota, the G-Drive Racing Oreca 07–Gibson has dominated the race since the flag. The LMP2 class saw Paul Di Resta collide with the crash barriers in the #Porsche Curves, forcing the #22 Ligier JS P217–Gibson out of the race.
In LMGTE Pro, the Porsche #PinkPig has spent the #night out in front. The #92 Porsche 911 RSR is enjoying an incident-free race and has built up a comfortable lead. Behind the German frontrunner, it’s anyone’s guess who will #finish on the #podium. Sébastien Bourdais took the wheel of the #68 Ford GT at 10:30 while the three-time World Touring Car Champion (#WTCC) Andy #Priaulx moved into the hotseat in the #67 Ford GT. They are having a fantastic spat with the #91 Porsche 911 RSR in the hands of Frédéric #Makowiecki. Just before the 11:00 mark, Priaulx called on all his experience to overtake Makowiecki at Indianapolis. He skilfully #forced his #rival into the dirtiest part of the track to slip through the gap. Racing connoisseurs will have admired the move.
The #64 Corvette C7.R has had to retire in this class due to an engine overheating issue. The team is focusing all its efforts on the #63 lying in 5th place.
The #77 Porsche 911 RSR fielded by Dempsey-Proton #Racing has regularly led the LMGTE Am class since 15:00 yesterday. The #race is far from over, however, as #Keating Motorsports' #85 Ferrari is just 30 seconds in arrears.
Highlights:
9:41 The Toyota TS050 Hybrid #8 has #completed over 300 laps but Sébastien Buemi’s Lap 5 time of 3:17.658 still #stands as the #fastest #lap in the race. #Fernando #Alonso has just taken over #driving duties.
9:54 Larbre Compétition's Romano Ricci has ended up in the #gravel# trap. The #50 Ligier JSP217-Gibson #driver came a cropper at the #Porsche #Curves.
10:05 Paul di Resta in the #22 Ligier JSP217-Gibson of #United #Autosports has also fallen foul of the #Porsche Curves.
Unfortunately for the #British driver, the #damage #seems far more #serious than for Ricci earlier.
10:18 It’s with great disappointment that the No. 64 Corvette C7.R has been retired due to an engine overheating condition. Over 19 years of competing at Le Mans, we have experienced both the highs and lows of this demanding race. All of our focus now turns to the No. 63 #Corvette.
10:21 The #23 Ligier fielded by #Panis Barthez Compétition - lying second in LMP2 - has come into the #pits for an unscheduled stop. It has gone into the garage. More #details to follow, but it would appear it might be there for some time as Timothé Buret has got out of the cockpit.
10:28 Aston martin did not give up... 3/4 hour in the pits but more importantly JonnyAdam is back out in #97
Great #work from the team to get the car back in this race
10:29 Laurens Vanthoor takes over #driving #duties from his #Danish teammate Michael Christensen in the #class-leading #92 Porsche 911 RSR.
10:40 The #23 Panis-Barthez Compétition Ligier is indeed still in the pits.
The #23 is in trouble, Pierre Thiriet got back the second position! #AlpineRacing #LEMANS24 Signatech is near the leading
10:59 Fantastic #battle going on in LMGTE Pro between Fred #Makowiecki in the #91 Porsche 911 RSR and a pair of #Ford #GTs. Andy Priaulx in the #67 car has snatched second place from the #Frenchman, but the #Porsche driver is not giving up easily. Sébastien #Bourdais in the #68 Ford GT (4th) has a front-seat view of the spat as he is hot on their #heels.
11:13 leader's situation
11:26 A splendid @brawl for #second place in LMGTE Pro with Frédéric #Makowiecki in the #91 @PorscheRaces up against Andy Priaulx in #67 FordPerformance
Link here: https://twitter.com/24hoursoflemans/status/1008278702520782848
And the battle goes on, this time between the #68 FordPerformance @CGRsportscar driven by Sébastien Bourdais from BourdaisOnTrack and the #91 Porsche Races, still with Fred Makowiecki at the wheel. #LEMANS24 #WEC
Link: https://twitter.com/24hoursoflemans/status/1008281762856828928
Fastest laps GTPro and GTAm:
Standings:
This chart shows the positions of all the LMP1 entrants, hour by hour:
#Stay tuned...less than 3 hours to go... ⏩Next #headlines will come #shortly ⚡ #
Jack