The morning sun brings a spectacular shift in momentum at the Circuit de la Sarthe. As the race enters its final 6-hour sprint, the strategic gamesmanship gives way to pure, unadulterated pace. The tracking order at the front of the field has inverted completely from the night stints, setting up a unique manufacturer shootout for the 94th edition of the endurance classic. Image: 24h-lemans ©
Hypercar: #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 Storms Into the Overall Lead
At hour 18, the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 commands the race lead. Utilizing a strong morning triple-stint and maximizing tire performance as track temperatures begin to rise, the leading BMW breaks free from the chasing pack, building small cushion over the #12 Cadillac.
Toyota remains a clear and present danger in 3rd position, splitting its focus as the sister #7 TR010 Hybrid keeps a tight grip on 4th place. The leading trio has managed to distance themselves slightly from the recovering #51 Ferrari 499P, while the remaining #12 Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac tries to follow the leader after seeing its sister car retire entirely from the race, following an earlier steering failure.
Meanwhile, the midnight hours proved deeply detrimental to the factory Ferrari AF Corse camp. The #50 Ferrari 499P lost 30 minutes in the pit box diagnosing a complex combination of a faulty fire extinguisher anomaly. Operational issues worsened during a subsequent Slow Zone, where the satellite #83 Hypercar received a drive-through penalty for a speeding infraction.
Newcomers Genesis endure an equally turbulent learning curve. Mathieu Jaminet initially guided the #19 Genesis prototype to a stunning 5th place at the restart. However, the car lost power completely (“dead stick”) in the Mulsanne straight around 4’o’clock. Although Paul-Loup Chatin performed an onboard electronic reset to resume running, the car suffered an identical system blackout at the Esses around 6:00 CEST.
Following an intensive 7-minute garage diagnostic check, the entry rejoined four laps down in 15th position, while the sister #17 Genesis retired from the race for a suspension failure.
LMP2: Duqueine Team in the lead
The tactical split that defined the middle phase of the race begins to crystallize. The #30 Duqueine Team Oreca 07 remains the class benchmark, with Doriane Pin handling the traffic expertly, preserving a healthy cushion at the front of the field.
The French outfit continues to absorb pressure from the #343 Inter Europol Competition entry driven by Nico Müller, which sits on an identical pit window strategy. The sister #43 Inter Europol car continues to circulate on an offset fuel cycle, temporarily leading the race during the #30 car’s pit service intervals but trailing on net race time.
LMGT3: TF Sport Corvette comes back
While the Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F entries dictated the pace through the early part of the night, the #33 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R builds an clear advantage. By hour 18, the Corvette controls the LMGT3 classification with a commanding lead of over 3 minutes, leaving the chasing #78 ASP Akkodis Lexus and the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage to fight for the remaining podium positions.