Who from Ferrari, Toyota, Porsche or Cadillac will win the 92nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans? While there is almost no doubt that the winner will be one of these four manufacturers, it is a very clever person who can make a prediction four hours from the finish on Sunday.
Shortly after 1:30 p.m. on the famous Sarthe track, the #50 Ferrari led a pack of nine Hypercars on the same lap, including six in less than 40 seconds. It was followed by the No. 8 Toyota less than five seconds behind, then the other official Ferrari, the No. 51 which won last year at Le Mans. The Porsche N.6 was sixth.
The last Ferrari, the N.83, apparently suffered a mechanical problem during a pit stop around 12:00 p.m. Smoke was escaping from the prototype, stuck in the garage and forced to abandon due to a problem with its hybrid system. It’s a big blow for former Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica and his teammates, in the Top 5 at the time of the damage – after leading the first hours of the race on Saturday.
Brakes on fire, battery out of order: the #83 Ferrari 499P says goodbye to victory
Proof, however, that in the elite, the competition – which was announced to be open – is still keeping all its promises a few hours from the finish: four of the nine manufacturers entered in the premier Hypercars category occupied the Top 10 at 1:30 p.m., playing at free of pit stops and overtaking.
Since the start of the morning, the cars have twice found themselves behind the safety car, which makes the gaps between the cars null and void – and de facto launches a new race. This explains the small gaps between the fastest prototypes entered.
Race ranking at 1:45 p.m.
1. Antonio Fuoco – Miguel Molina – Nicklas Nielsen (ITA-ESP-DAN/Ferrari 499P N.50)
2. Sébastien Buemi – Brendon Hartley – Ryo Hirakawa (SUI-NZL-JPN/Toyota GR010 N.8)
3. Alessandro Pier Guidi – James Calado – Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA-GB-ITA/Ferrari 499P N.51)
4. Earl Bamber – Alex Lynn – Alex Palou (NZL-GB-ESP/Cadillac V-Series.R N.2)
5. Jose Maria Lopez – Kamui Kobayashi – Nyck de Vries (ARG-JPN-PB/Toyota GR010 N.7)
6. Kévin Estre – André Lotterer – Laurens Vanthoor (FRA-ALL-BEL/Porsche 963 N.6)
