LM24 Hour 18: Tension building among lead Ferraris | RACER
There were tense moments over the last hour at Le Mans along the greater AF Corse trust. Robert Kubica in the yellow No.83 Ferrari 499P wanted to get past his factory stablemate Antonio Giovinazzi in the red No.51 Ferrari, even appealing for the team to swap the cars on track.But...
There were tense moments over the last hour at Le Mans along the greater AF Corse trust. Robert Kubica in the yellow No.83 Ferrari 499P wanted to get past his factory stablemate Antonio Giovinazzi in the red No.51 Ferrari, even appealing for the team to swap the cars on track.
But as we head into the fourth quarter of the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans, the No.51 Ferrari is still out in front, six hours away from a Ferrari hat-trick. And after the last round of pit stops, Kubica lost a bit of time due to traffic on his out lap, but is still second.The No.51 Ferrari has completed 288 laps in 18 hours, and Giovinazzi has a seven-second advantage overall. And the No.50 Ferrari is third in the hands of Antonio Fuoco, completing the top three lockout that has returned since sunrise.
Four manufacturers occupy the next four spots - the No.6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, the No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 HYBRID, the No.15 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8, and the No.12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R.
And in total 10 cars are still on the lead lap overall, completed by the No.7 Toyota GR010, No.5 Penske Porsche, and No.38 JOTA Cadillac.
52 out of 62 starters are still running, including 19 of the 21 Hypercar runners - with the #101 WTR and #311 Whelen Cadillacs as the only retirements so far from the top class.
Inter Europol Competition is six hours away from its second LMP2 win in three years. The #43 ORECA 07-Gibson has fought back from a big pit lane miscue to retake control of the race, and Nick Yelloly continues to lead over the #48 VDS Panis Racing ORECA of Oliver Gray in second.
The No.199 AO by TF 'Spike' ORECA is third in LMP2 outright, and first in LMP2 Pro/Am by at least a lap or more. Then it's the No.9 Iron Lynx-Proton ORECA, and the No.28 IDEC Sport ORECA, in fourth and fifth.
Richard Lietz is six hours away from his sixth career Le Mans GT class win, and back-to-back LMGT3 class wins in the #92 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 911 LMGT3 R. The baby blue Porsche has controlled the action since the No.46 Team WRT BMW retired from the race.
Lietz leads by more than a minute over the No.21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296, comfortably second ahead of the No.81 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette in third.
Jack Hawksworth and Mattia Drudi are currently in a tight battle for fourth in the GT ranks, and just minutes ago, Drudi in the No.27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin made a great move to get past Hawksworth in the No.78 ASP Lexus.
HOUR 18 STANDINGS