2024 24 Hours of Le Mans leaderboard after 6 hours: fatigue is kicking in

After 6 hours into the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans race, the night falling and the relatively calm first 3 hours, both machines and drivers start to feel the fatigue. Here is the summary of the last 3 hours of the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans. Text: Luca W. © Images: 24h-lemans

From 19:00 to 20:00

20 minutes into the new hour, the reigning LMP2 car, #34 Oreca 07 from Inter Europol, loses a wheel and is forced to return to the pits for repairs. Less than 3 minutes later, the marshals’ attention remains on LMP2 due to contact between #22 United Autosports and #33 DKR Engineering, where the latter collides with the former. Both cars manage to restart, but the incident triggers a Full Course Yellow.

A great surprise emerges in LMGT3, where the #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3, driven by nine-time MotoGP Champion Valentino Rossi, is in the lead.

From 20:00 to 21:00

As night begins to fall, both machines and drivers start to feel the fatigue. An unexpected steering failure occurs on the #77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3, necessitating repairs in the pits. A few minutes later, the #19 Lamborghini SC63 spins at Tertre Rouge, followed by the #3 Cadillac that touches the barriers at the same spot.

….or mowing the lawn in a @Cadillac #LeMans24 pic.twitter.com/KIhKLM1tBx
— 24 Hours of Le Mans (@24hoursoflemans) June 15, 2024

Approximately 5 minutes later, disaster strikes for the #35 Alpine hypercar, which stops at Arnage with smoke and fire emanating from the car.

The #35 Alpine is OUT of the race in a cloud of smoke. 😩

Watch live on https://t.co/IPZa0nvsLu.#WEC #LeMans24 pic.twitter.com/1X0pWUmCjU
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) June 15, 2024

From 21:00 to 22:00

Spectators don’t have to wait long for action in the 5th hour, as the #4 Porsche Team Penske Porsche 963 collides with the #85 Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan, causing Sarah Bovy spin and damages on the Porsche’s front right side. Mathieu Jaminet in the #4 Porsche 963 receives a drive-through penalty for causing the collision. The penalty is served almost immediately, but the Porsche must return to the pits to repair damages from the collision with the pink Lamborghini.

Meanwhile, concern grows within the Alpine team as Nicolas Lapierre’s #36 Alpine A424 is called to the pits for an apparent engine reliability issue. A few minutes later, retirement is confirmed for the #36 Alpine, marking a disastrous moment for the Dieppe carmaker, with no contender left on the track after 6 hours in the race.

2024 24 Hours of Le Mans #36 Alpine A424

2024 24 Hours of Le Mans leaderboard after 6 hours

POS	#	CLASS	TEAM	CAR	LAPS	GAPS	PITS
1	83	Hypercar H	AF CORSE	Ferrari 499P	95	–	8
2	5	Hypercar H	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT	Porsche 963	95	49.217	8
3	50	Hypercar H	FERRARI AF CORSE	Ferrari 499P	95	56.110	8
4	8	Hypercar H	TOYOTA GAZOO RACING	Toyota GR010 – Hybrid	95	56.492	10
5	51	Hypercar H	FERRARI AF CORSE	Ferrari 499P	95	2:12.285	9
6	6	Hypercar H	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT	Porsche 963	95	2:36.187	10
7	12	Hypercar H	HERTZ TEAM JOTA	Porsche 963	95	2:48.192	9
8	2	Hypercar H	CADILLAC RACING	Cadillac V-Series.R	95	2:52.591	10
9	7	Hypercar H	TOYOTA GAZOO RACING	Toyota GR010 – Hybrid	95	3:33.755	11
10	311	Hypercar H	WHELEN CADILLAC RACING	Cadillac V-Series.R	95	3:35.122	10
11	38	Hypercar H	HERTZ TEAM JOTA	Porsche 963	95	4:59.300	11
12	15	Hypercar H	BMW M TEAM WRT	BMW M HYBRID V8	94	5:10.493	9
13	3	Hypercar H	CADILLAC RACING	Cadillac V-Series.R	94	5:26.703	10
14	19	Hypercar H	LAMBORGHINI IRON LYNX	Lamborghini SC63	94	15.524	7
15	63	Hypercar H	LAMBORGHINI IRON LYNX	Lamborghini SC63	94	1:18.097	8
16	4	Hypercar H	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT	Porsche 963	94	2:43.311	13
17	93	Hypercar H	PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES	Peugeot 9X8	94	3:07.138	11
18	94	Hypercar H	PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES	Peugeot 9X8	94	3:47.735	11
19	11	Hypercar H	ISOTTA FRASCHINI	Isotta Fraschini Tipo6-C	92	3 laps	11
20	99	Hypercar H	PROTON COMPETITION	Porsche 963	91	4 laps	10
21	37	LM P2	COOL RACING	Oreca 07 – Gibson	90	5:27.942	9
22	10	LM P2	VECTOR SPORT	Oreca 07 – Gibson	90	5 laps	8
23	22	LM P2	UNITED AUTOSPORTS	Oreca 07 – Gibson	90	1:37.118	11
24	24	LM P2	NIELSEN RACING	Oreca 07 – Gibson	90	4:59.937	10
25	183	LM P2 P/A	AF CORSE	Oreca 07 – Gibson	89	6 laps	10
26	28	LM P2	IDEC SPORT	Oreca 07 – Gibson	89	22.421	10
27	34	LM P2	INTER EUROPOL COMPETITION	Oreca 07 – Gibson	89	37.127	10
28	30	LM P2 P/A	DUQUEINE TEAM	Oreca 07 – Gibson	89	1:29.687	11
29	14	LM P2 P/A	AO BY TF	Oreca 07 – Gibson	89	1:46.550	9
30	65	LM P2 P/A	PANIS RACING	Oreca 07 – Gibson	88	7 laps	11
31	33	LM P2 P/A	DKR ENGINEERING	Oreca 07 – Gibson	88	2:23.241	10
32	25	LM P2	ALGARVE PRO RACING	Oreca 07 – Gibson	88	2:34.444	10
33	20	Hypercar H	BMW M TEAM WRT	BMW M HYBRID V8	87	8 laps	9
34	45	LM P2 P/A	CROWDSTRIKE RACING BY APR	Oreca 07 – Gibson	87	1:14.416	10
35	9	LM P2	PROTON COMPETITION	Oreca 07 – Gibson	86	9 laps	10
36	92	LMGT3	MANTHEY PURERXCING	Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3	84	11 laps	9
37	46	LMGT3	TEAM WRT	BMW M4 LMGT3	84	1:30.781	8
38	47	LM P2 P/A	COOL RACING	Oreca 07 – Gibson	84	2:22.855	10
39	91	LMGT3	MANTHEY EMA	Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3	84	2:41.533	9
40	66	LMGT3	JMW MOTORSPORT	Ferrari 296 LMGT3	83	5:14.183	9
41	59	LMGT3	UNITED AUTOSPORTS	McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo	83	5:20.235	8
42	70	LMGT3	INCEPTION RACING	McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo	83	5:50.655	9
43	87	LMGT3	AKKODIS ASP TEAM	Lexus RC F LMGT3	83	12 laps	7
44	27	LMGT3	HEART OF RACING TEAM	Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3	83	10.482	8
45	85	LMGT3	IRON DAMES	Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 Evo2	83	11.092	8
46	86	LMGT3	GR RACING	Ferrari 296 LMGT3	83	11.991	8
47	55	LMGT3	VISTA AF CORSE	Ferrari 296 LMGT3	83	13.342	8
48	95	LMGT3	UNITED AUTOSPORTS	McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo	83	17.566	9
49	31	LMGT3	TEAM WRT	BMW M4 LMGT3	83	25.106	9
50	155	LMGT3	SPIRIT OF RACE	Ferrari 296 LMGT3	83	40.678	9
51	88	LMGT3	PROTON COMPETITION	Ford Mustang LMGT3	83	42.976	9
52	81	LMGT3	TF SPORT	Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R	83	1:32.780	8
53	78	LMGT3	AKKODIS ASP TEAM	Lexus RC F LMGT3	83	2:02.966	8
54	60	LMGT3	IRON LYNX	Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 Evo2	83	3:23.701	8
55	44	LMGT3	PROTON COMPETITION	Ford Mustang LMGT3	83	3:28.335	8
56	82	LMGT3	TF SPORT	Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R	83	4:33.121	9
57	777	LMGT3	D’STATION RACING	Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3	82	5:08.948	9
58	23	LM P2 P/A	UNITED AUTOSPORTS USA	Oreca 07 – Gibson	66	29 laps	8
59	77	LMGT3	PROTON COMPETITION	Ford Mustang LMGT3	55	40 laps	6
60	36	Hypercar H	ALPINE ENDURANCE TEAM	Alpine A424	88	7 laps	10
61	35	Hypercar H	ALPINE ENDURANCE TEAM	Alpine A424	75	20 laps	8
62	54	LMGT3	VISTA AF CORSE	Ferrari 296 LMGT3	30	65 laps	3