24H Le Mans 6 hour report: Toyota heads the field
After the clock ticked towards the end of the first quarter of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Toyota continued to maintain its strong lead at the head of the field.
After the clock ticked towards the end of the first quarter of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Toyota continued to maintain its strong lead at the head of the field. The Japanese manufacturer has held the position since Formula 1 Chairman Chase Carey waved the 60-strong field away at 15h00 this afternoon.
There has been non-stop action in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with incidents and accidents up and down the field of 60 cars plus eight slow zone periods, with the key points as follows:
- No.7 Toyota TS050 of Stéphane Sarrazin has a 26s lead over the No.1 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Lotterer, with Nakajima’s No.8 Toyota just four seconds further back. The leading Toyota has managed to maintain such a distance for much of the first six hours.
- The No.2 Porsche lost 65 minutes in the pits following loss of front axle drive at the 3.5 hour mark, after holding a steady 4th place since the start.
- ByKolles Racing unfortunately had the shortest race – a collision with a cone on the first lap causing damage to the ENSO CLM Nismo which ultimately ended the team’s race very prematurely.
- LMP2 has seen a great battle between Vaillante Rebellion – which currently holds a strong 1-2 lead in the category – Jackie Chan DC Racing, Manor and Signatech Alpine. The No.31 ORECA 07 Nissan of Senna-Prost-Canal has a lead over its sister car of 65 seconds, and the two have a lap over the JOTA-managed Jackie Chan DC Racing car.
- A number of the LMP2 cars have had spins off track, contact with tyre barriers and other cars, but the most notable incident involved the No.26 G-Drive Racing car of Roman Rusinov who had heavy contact with the No.88 Proton Racing LMGTE Am Porsche, ending the race for both cars.
- Aston Martin Racing has had the upper hand in LMGTE Pro since the start, with the No.97 Vantage of Turner-Adam-Serra currently a minute ahead of the two Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK entries. The No.95 Dane Train was leading for some hours but suffered a puncture on the wrong side of the track and lost a lap while repairs were made.
- The two Porsche GTs have been in the mix, although not able to keep up with the Astons at the current time.
- The LMGTE Am lead is also in the hands of Aston Martin Racing’s No.98 of Dalla Lana-Lamy-Lauda, two ELMS Ferraris between the Vantage and the No.77 Dempsey Proton Porsche 911 RSR.
Classifications for the first six hours can be found HERE
#LeMans24 Hour 6 Result
