LM24 6 Hour Report: Toyota in control and Ferrari 1-2 in LMGTE Pro
After 6 hours of racing, the 2020 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans had settled into a steady rhythm until the first Safety Car of the race was brought out at 20h14, closing up the field and offering opportunities for revised strategies.
Changes could still be ahead as night falls and the potential for rain showers remains.
LMP1
• LMP1 category now led by the No. 8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid, driver Kazuki Nakajima capitalising on a safety car late in the fifth hour to move ahead of the No. 7 sister car
• Pole-sitting No. 7 sister car second with Jose Maria Lopez at the wheel
• No. 8 car lost time in the early hours with a puncture and later a brake duct cooling problem
• Third and fourth place occupied by Rebellion Racing’s No. 1 and No. 3 Rebellion R13 Gibson cars – the Swiss team not matching the pace of the Hybrid powered Toyotas
• ByKolles Racing fifth out of the LMP1 entries, the squad hampered by an alternator problem in the race’s third hour and returning to the track eight laps down
Night has fallen quite fast in September and we see a huge @Porsche safety car train! .........#LeMans24 #WEC pic.twitter.com/xqwXhZaFWK
— WEC (@FIAWEC) September 19, 2020
LMGTE Pro
• Reigning GTE Pro Le Mans champions, AF Corse Ferrari, hold first and second places in class after a race-long battle with the two Aston Martin Racing entries
• No.71 Ferrari 488 GTE EVO of Davide Rigon has a 1s lead over the No. 51 sister car of James Calado, the Briton having made a strong start to take the lead from the pole-sitting No.91 Porsche
• Aston Martin’s No.97 leads No.95, with both cars having challenged for the lead through the race
• The Porsche GT Team entries have struggled so far to maintain the same pace at its WEC rivals. No.91 of Gianmaria Bruni is currently fifth in class, behind the Risi Competizione Ferrari
• No.92 Porsche 911 RSR-19 lost 11 laps in the pits due to a power steering issue but is now back on track.
LMP2
• The No. 37 Jackie Chan DC Racing heads the highly-competitive LMP2 field after Will Stevens and Ho-Pin Tung both made excellent progress during their stints before handing over to Gabriel Aubry in the race’s fifth hour
• No. 26 G-Drive Racing and No. 32 United Autosports entries second and third respectively
• Second out of the eight LMP2 WEC entrants is the No. 38 JOTA entry now with Anthony Davidson at the wheel of the ORECA 07 Gibson equipped with Goodyear tyres
• No. 33 High Class Racing was second after the opening stages, later dropping to 23rd in class with gearbox issues
• No. 29 Racing Team Nederland back of the field after losing time with an over-heating engine and sits 20th
• No. 36 Signatech Alpine Elf entry, which was forced to make an early pit stop due to loss of water pressure, is climbing back up the leaderboard and is currently placed 14th
Safety car out as #52 @AFCorse crashed into the wall at Porsche Curves. #LeMans24 #WEC pic.twitter.com/5nQKYN6rMY
— WEC (@FIAWEC) September 19, 2020
LMGTE Am
• Aston Martin Racing has had a perfect first quarter of the 24-hour race, with the No. 98 factory car currently in the lead of the class
• Just 1.4s behind is the No.90 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage – both cars having had a trouble free race so far
• In the mix until a drive through penalty for a Slow Zone infringement was the No.56 Team Project 1 Porsche 911
• Ferraris hold third, fourth and fifth in the class, with the best of the WEC runners in this group being the No.83 AF Corse entry of Francois Perrodo.
• The only Safety Car period of the race came just before the end of the first quarter when the No.52 AF Corse Ferrari of Alexander West impacted the wall at the Porsche Curves. Since the field has been following the SC, night has fallen and there will be all to play for when the race goes green again
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