Porsche take control in LMP1; Ferrari snatch lead from Porsche in LMGTE Pro

The story of Hour 3

• Porsche No.1 driven by Neel Jani takes the lead from sister 919 Hybrid of Brendon Hartley
• Porsche pair pull clear of Toyota TS 050 HYBRID driven by Jose-Maria Lopez. Gap extends to 25-seconds
• Nick Tandy takes over from Jani just before half distance and rejoins in lead
• Hartley vacates cockpit for Earl Bamber who keeps second position as Lopez gives over No.7 Toyota cockpit to Mike Conway
• Recovering No.8 Toyota up in to fourth place in hands of Anthony Davidson
• LMP2 sees Jackie Chan DC Racing earn a large gap over opposition as Ho-Pin Tung adds to gap started by Oliver Jarvis
• Tung enjoys a 50-second gap to second Jackie Chan car of Tristan Gommendy
• Gustavo Menezes in Signatech Alpine takes third from the No.31 Vaillante Rebellion of Julien Canal just before end of third hour
• Porsche versus Ferrari fight in LMGTE Pro as James Calado starts to catch leading 911 RSR of Michael Christensen
• Gap down to 3.5 seconds as half distance approaches
• No.91 Porsche 911 RSR driven by Frederic Makowiecki places third ahead of early leader – No.95 Aston Martin
• Entertaining fight for LMGTE Am lead as Mathias Lauda defends from Matteo Cairoli in Dempsey-Proton Porsche
• Young Italian eventually takes the lead just before end of hour three
• Spirit of Race Ferrari driven by Miguel Molina runs third in class

The story of Hour 4

• Lead swaps once again as Earl Bamber catches and overtakes former Le Mans teammate Nick Tandy in to turn one
• No.7 Toyota drops back and still runs third but now over as minute in arrears to the Porsches
• The second of the Toyota’s which was delayed at the start and needed a fuel pump change runs fourth in hands of Kazuki Nakajima
• Tandy comes back at Bamber but has brief contact with No.67 Ford GT of Harry Tincknell who spins. Tandy continues undamaged but Tincknell loses time in gravel
• No.38 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca-Gibson continues in healthy lead as Thomas Laurent consolidates lead
• But the French rookie has to pit for a rear bodywork section change just before end of fourth hour
• Filipe Albuquerque snatches second position after remarkably opportunistic move to take both Matt Rao (Signatech Alpine) and David Cheng (Jackie Chan DC Racing) in one manoeuvre
• Pipo Derani moves the No.13 Vaillante Rebellion up to third after overtaking Rao’s Alpine
• LMGTE Pro continues to be an absorbing tactical race as No.51 AF Corse Ferrari continues in lead with James Calado stretching lead
• Second is No.92 Porsche of Michael Christensen who is 25-seconds behind the Ferrari 488 GTE
• Porsche run 2-3 as No.91 car runs just behind with Frederic Makowiecki in the cockpit
• LMGTE Am sees cat and mouse battle between Aston Martin and Porsche as Christian Ried and Paul Dalla Lana are separated by just 2-seconds in the German’s favour
• Spirit of Race Ferrari still runs in P3