24h Le Mans
Official starter Sir Mark Cavendish waved off the 62 entrants, who set off for the the 94th 24 Hours of Le Mans, third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC), now in full swing with Toyota leading after the first hour...
Following a surprise pit stop on lap eight, the five-time event winners went bold with their opening stint strategy, pitting both the #8 and then the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrids to give themselves clear air and a shot at victory. Sébastien Buemi, in the #8 car, leads the race, with pole-sitter René Rast in the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 within five seconds as we end the opening hour.
Tour de France legend Sir Mark Cavendish had the honour of waving the French tricolour at the start of the most eagerly anticipated race in the modern era, with 62 cars and 62 dreams of victory lining up for the 94th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The race of all races. The great expedition, as 186 drivers – 40 of them rookies taking to the race for the first time – embark on this challenge. The build-up was palpable: a spine-tingling rendition of La Marseillaise, a flypast from fast jets, and a sell-out, passionate crowd willing the competitors on into the adventure. The stage was set. Twice around the clock we go into the most open race in recent memory.
Top-flight Hypercars from major manufacturers such as Ferrari, Toyota, BMW, Alpine, Peugeot, Cadillac, Aston Martin and Genesis, alongside the tightly contested LMP2 prototype category and the LMGT3 class for the latest supercars, ensured the Circuit de la Sarthe was alive once more. At 16:00 local time, the challenge began.
Starting from pole position, the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 didn't make the greatest of getaways, with the #12 Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac pouncing into the first corner.
The opening lap was as frenetic as it gets at Le Mans, with the field jostling for position and the two Ferrari AF Corse cars running side by side through the opening tour.
Down the Mulsanne Straight, the #15 BMW, with René Rast behind the wheel, tucked the Bavarian machine into the slipstream of the leading Cadillac and used it to pass into the second chicane. Unleashed, the BMW looked fast and racy, edging away from the gold machine over the opening handful of laps with clean air and no traffic to contend with.
Team-mate Kevin Magnussen, in the sister car, made a strong start to haul his BMW M Hybrid V8 into third, while Earl Bamber, in the #38 Cadillac that had started tenth, was on the move up to sixth in the opening phase.
By lap six, the Hypercars had caught the back of the LMGT3 field, making the fight through traffic – and the battle for class positions – that little bit trickier.
Ferdinand Habsburg, who had been muscled out of position at the start, produced a brave move around the outside of Magnussen's BMW into Indianapolis Corner. Filipe Albuquerque was next to follow through, with the fast-starting Earl Bamber in hot pursuit. Running on hard tyres, the Kiwi looked set to double-stint the rubber, confident in the pace of the Cadillac chassis beneath him.
Shock resonated around Le Mans as the Sébastien Buemi #8 Toyota pitted after only eight laps, dropping to the back of the Hypercar field. A lap later, Mike Conway brought the #7 into the pits.
Toyota appeared to have a surprise up its sleeve.
Bringing both cars in early and then instructing their drivers to push put the Japanese manufacturer into the lead by the end of the first hour. We'll have to watch this strategy develop over the next few hours. Can they make it stick? Toyota fans will certainly be hoping so.
The man who lit up Hyperpole in the LMP2 battle, Esteban Masson in the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis ORECA, slipped back into the pack at the start of the race amid a fast train of prototype cars.
The #28 IDEC Sport ORECA made the best start, with the #30 Duqueine Team ORECA moving into second.
After the first round of pit stops, the #28 still leads, but the #29 – with Masson on a mission – has climbed back into second place.
Heart of Racing's #27 Aston Martin Vantage led the early charge in LMGT3, bolting away at the start of the race and building an advantage of almost a second per lap over the opening ten laps.
The two Akkodis ASP Lexus entries ran in flying formation as they cycled into second and third in the GT class, with the #78 taking the lead by leapfrogging the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin during the first round of pit stops.
Keep an eye on the #32 Team WRT BMW as well; they are firmly in the mix for victory in this class.
Top 5 after 1 Hour
1.Toyota GR010 Hybrid #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing – Sébastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa
2.BMW M Hybrid V8 #20 BMW M Team WRT – Robin Frijns / Rene Rast / Sheldon van der Linde
3.Alpine A424 #35 Alpine Endurance Team – António Félix Da Costa / Charles Milesi / Ferdinand Habsburg
4. Cadillac V-Series.R #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – Sébastien Bourdais / Earl Bamber / Jack Aitken
5. Toyota GR010 Hybrid #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing – Mike Conway / Kamui Kobayashi / Nyck de Vries
Leaders in LMP2/LMGT3
We will be bringing you reports every four hours. You can follow all the action on our social media channels, the FIA WEC app, or through the television broadcast in your territory.
Bonne chance and good luck to all the crews in this year's race!
In front of packed pit straight grandstands, this year's competitors set off for 24 hours of pedal to the metal racing: 18 Hypercars, 19 LMP2s and 25 LMGT3s are now on the track, all sharing the same goal of crossing the finish line at 16:00 on Sunday.
Just a few minutes ago, the cars took their places on the grid cheered on by thrilled spectators, guests and countless VIPs gathered at the heart of the circuit. The 24 Hours of Le Mans trophy was presented just prior to this year's Grand Marshal Sarah Bovy leading the field on its final formation lap.
The start ceremony capped off race week during which Le Mans fully reclaimed its status as the world capital of motor racing. From Scrutineering in the city centre to the first free practices, public enthusiasm steadily ramped up, building up to this moment everyone had been waiting for.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans also remains focused on future challenges. Following the announcements regarding the integration of hydrogen into the 2030 Hypercar category (made the previous day at the ACO press conference), a prototype demonstration took place today just hours before the start, showcasing the research being done by manufacturers, the ACO and the FIA in this area. Three prototypes took the track: Alpine's gas hydrogen Alpenglow, the gas hydrogen Ligier Bosch JS2 RH2 and the liquid hydrogen Toyota TR LH2. His excellence FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem arrived at Maison Blanche, the base for the test run, to witness the future of zero CO2 emission racing.
In all three categories, the cars also use Excellium Racing 100, a fully renewable fuel developed by TotalEnergies.
After hotly contested qualifying sessions, no definitive hierarchy has been established. Constructors, teams and drivers are now in another realm, one where pure speed is not enough and every decision can impact a one's end result.
The winners of the 94th 24 Hours of Le Mans will claim their trophies tomorrow, Sunday 14 June at 16:00 CET.
