The first couple of hours of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 93rd edition were relatively calm compared to other editions, yet intense in terms of race craft. Text: Luca W. © Images: DPPI ©
Porsche shows early strength
The opening phase was dominated by the Porsche Penske Motorsport Hypercars, with Kevin Estre and Julien Andlauer making headlines.
Starting from the back of the Hypercar grid in the #6 Porsche 963, Estre gained 7 places on the first lap alone, ending it in 14th. Meanwhile, his teammate Julien Andlauer (#5) took full advantage of traffic and sector pace, notably overtaking both Cadillacs after the Hunaudières sector to seize the lead.
The Cadillacs responded with an early undercut, trimming the gap to under 2 seconds. But Andlauer quickly re-established control at the front, while the sister cars (#6 Estre and #4 Nasr) mirrored his pit strategy soon after.
LMP2 and LMGT3 clash
Traffic management and multi-class racing delivered some tense moments. The #22 United Autosports LMP2 car made contact with the #193 Ferrari 296 GT3 in the Dunlop Chicane, though both were able to continue without major damage. The #33 Corvette had a bold attempt to pass the #150 Ferrari, which had already been involved in another incident earlier when Paul Di Resta locked up and understeered into it during an overtake attempt in the Porsche Curves.
Despite rear-end damage, the #22 United Autosports team managed to replace the full rear bodywork in under a minute—a remarkable turnaround that kept the car in contention.
Race is not over: it is 24 hours long.
As pit stops cycled through, Ferrari capitalized. Nicklas Nielsen, in the #50 Ferrari 499P, showcased impressive straight-line speed to overtake Estre’s #6 Porsche and slot into second place. Dries Vanthoor, in the #15 BMW, clocked the fastest lap of the race so far with a 3:27.936, hinting that the German manufacturer could be a dark horse in the coming hours. Meanwhile, the #36 Alpine of Frédéric Makowiecki faces a 20 seconds stop and go penalty for over speeding the pitlane.
Here are the standings for each category after 2 hours of racing:
Hypercar standings after 2 hours
LMP2 standings after 2 hours
LMGT3 standings after 2 hours
