The balance of power in the three-way battle for the win at Le Mans has shifted in a big way. After leading much of the overnight stretch and at one point holding a gap of nearly a minute on the field, the No. 12 Jota Cadillac V-Series.R has fallen to third. Combined with major issues for the sister No. 38 car just after halfway, it means that no Cadillac remains in the top two.
The No. 12 had been gradually losing time to the No. 8 Toyota TR010 and No. 20 BMW M Hybrid V8 since the sun rose, but it still held a narrow lead when the team was penalized for a slow zone procedure infraction at the end of hour 17. This moved the car behind the leading BMW and Toyota, although the three are slightly off-cycle of one another on tires and have rotated positions in the top three throughout the race.
View Price on AmazonThe No. 20 BMW leads the group at the moment, thanks in part to a long stop with extra time to repair something on one of the front corners of the No. 7. Toyota driver Brendon Hartley holds the fastest lap of the race and the leading group in that car with a time of 3:25.4, more than half a second up on both the BMW and Cadillac's best marks. The only other car to run a lap in the 3:25s is the No. 15 BMW, a car that has fallen off the pace after suffering multiple issues in the race.
Duqueine Team's Doriane Pin remains in control in LMP2, the position that No. 30 team has held throughout the vast majority of the race. An emergency service under full course yellow has derailed the team slightly, but the sole Duqueine entry is still up over ten seconds on the second-placed car of 2025 LMP2 winners Inter Europol Competition.
In GT3, TF Sport's No. 33 Corvette Z06.R is up handily with a gap of almost two pit stops worth of time over the No. 79 Lexus RC-F GT3 and No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 fighting for second. A Porsche from Manthey Racing, the No. 91 911 GT3 R, is the fourth and final car on the lead lap in that class.
Six hours remain in the fight to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Toyota is fighting for its first Le Mans win with factory competition, BMW is angling for its first win since the 90s, and Cadillac is hoping to become the first American manufacturer of any sort to win the race overall in 57 years.
Source: roadandtrack.com
