NO.7 TOYOTA RE-TAKES LE MANS LEAD; CORVETTE/PORSCHE BATTLE IN LMGTE PRO
Toyota runs 1-2 with dusk falling at Le Mans as quarter distance is reached in a hot and sunny opening to the 90th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
No.7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid leads the No.8 sister car but the pair have been switching positions on several occasions.
Corvette Racing builds an advantage in the LMGTE Pro category with No.63 Chevrolet Corvette enjoying a 35-second lead over sister No.64 entry.
LMP2 also sees another large advantage with the No.38 JOTA Oreca-Gibson heading stablemates in the No.28 car.
LMGTE Am sees WeatherTech Porsche in control with Northwest AMR leading the charge to try and reduce a large gap.
Hypercar
No.7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid Hypercar leads by eight seconds from stablemates in No.8 car after six hours of racing at the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans
José-María López took over from Mike Conway in the third hour and was able to hold lead to Brendon Hartley in No.8 car but a small off-track moment at second Mulsanne Chicane by Lopez helps Hartley re-take lead
Hartley hands over to Ryo Hirakawa who initially maintained the lead to countryman Kamui Kobayashi
But Kobayashi emerges from pits ahead and is then able to stretch a small gap out to eight seconds as the six-hour mark arrives
Glickenhaus Racing runs third and fourth as No.708 stays within touch of Toyotas with Pipo Derani setting the fastest second sector of the race
No.709 Glickenhaus Racing 007LMH car loses some time in the third hour for a sensor change and runs a lap down on the top three
Alpine ELF Team suffers several long pit stops and drops out of contention when a clutch issue costs the team eight laps
Alpine misery is compounded by an off-track excursion at Maison Blanche by Andre Negrao but Brazilian returns unscathed
LMGTE Pro
Ferocious battle brewing in LMGTE Pro between Corvette Racing and Porsche GT Team as lead ebbs and flows through the first quarter of the race
No.64 Chevrolet Corvette leads with Jordan Taylor and then Nicky Catsburg at the wheel through hours two to six. They enjoy a 38-second lead over sister Corvette
Antonio Garcia gets back in No.63 just before the quarter distance
No.63 engages in a thrilling battle with No.92 Porsche 911 RSR in fifth and sixth hours
Closely matched cars driven by Alexander Sims and Laurens Vanthoor swap places twice but the Corvette emerges in front but by only a second
Sims hands over to Nick Tandy just before the six-hour mark is reached
Porsche third and fourth as the No.92 911 RSR-19 pressures the second-placed Corvette
No.92 car places third, while No.91 loses momentum after getting a drive-through penalty for track limit violations
AF Corse still races fifth and sixth with No.52 heading No.51 by six seconds, Miguel Molina and James Calado at the wheel at quarter distance
Ferrari on the lead lap but 75 seconds adrift of leader
Riley Motorsports seventh as Shane van Gisbergen enjoys his first stints at La Sarthe
LMP2
No.38 JOTA establishes a large lead in LMP2 as No.38 entry driven by Antonio Felix da Costa, then Will Stevens takes control of the class
Stevens triple stint sees him open a gap and also capitalise on a slow zone period to get a 90-second advantage
Roberto Gonzalez enjoys first action behind the wheel and is able to consolidate lead as second placed Team Penske entry loses positions to replace bodywork
Penske fights back to second place as Felipe Nasr takes over for his second stint behind the wheel just before the six-hour mark but then falls back to fourth at scheduled stops
That gives Prema Orlen Team the opportunity to be promoted into the second position with Louis Deletraz in the cockpit at quarter distance
But after the last round of pit stops, it becomes a JOTA 1-2 as No.28 car driven by Dane, Oliver Rasmussen, heads the Italian entry
Cool Racing runs fifth ahead of Panis Racing entry
United Autosports USA continues fightback after early woes as No.23 car places 13th in class, while No.23 is 16th as Filipe Albuquerque is one of the quickest cars on track
Trouble for Vector Sport Oreca-Gibson in the fifth hour as Ryan Cullen goes off at Indianapolis but is able to return to the fold
Duqueine entry of Richard Bradley, Memo Rojas and Reshad de Gerus spends over an hour in the pits with a technical problem but at quarter distance is still running meaning all 62 cars are still on track
LMGTE Am
WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 RSR takes control of 23-car LMGTE Am entry as Julien Andlauer opens up a healthy lead before handing over to Cooper MacNeil
The US-entered car is 70-seconds ahead of the No.98 Northwest AMR entry driven by Nicki Thiim
No.77 Dempsey Proton Porsche fights back to third after a difficult start due to tyre issues
Harry Tincknell takes over his second stint at the wheel and starts to close on second-placed Aston Martin
Aston Martin is second and fourth as TF Sport with Marco Sorenson at the wheel look to challenge for podium contention
Hardpoint Motorsport slips to fifth place, while the highest Ferrari is sixth positioned No.61 AF Corse car with Vincent Abril aboard
