By Carlo Platella
The night at Le Mans revolutionizes the ranking, despite the pouring rain forcing the race direction to send the safety car on track for four hours. Ferrari #83 serves 30 seconds of Stop&Go giving up the lead, now held by the #8 Toyota ahead of the #6 Porsche. A twist among the GT3s, where the Porsche #92 leads after the retirement of the BMW #46 of Valentino Rossi’s crew.
Flood in the night
The classification situation after sunset saw the Ferrari #83 in the lead, ahead of the official 499P #50. However, the leading car of the race driven by Robert Kubica collided with the BMW #15 of Dries Vanthoor during a lapping, sending it into the wall. Repairs to the guard rail require the entry of the Safety Car for 90 minutes, at the end of which the race direction assigns a 30-second Stop&Go to the Ferrari #83, holding Robert Kubica responsible for the accident.
Porsche #5 thus inherits the lead of the race, but in the following hours the ranking changes continuously following a violent downpour that hits the circuit. Just before 4am the weather conditions worsened to the point of forcing the entry of the Safety Car, which was still on the track at 8am. The ranking evolves following the continuous topping up of fuel, with the Porsche #6, which moved up during the night, and the two Toyotas alternating in the lead. Overall, a heated fight is expected at the restart between the Porsche #6, the two Toyotas, the three Ferraris and the Cadillacs #2 and #3, all at full speed and separated by a few seconds. The weather situation appears to be improving, but rain is expected again by midday.
GT3 and Lmp2
At sunset the BMW #46 of Maxime Martin, Ahmad Al Harty and Valentino Rossi was leading the race, but shortly after midnight Al Harty lost control at the exit of the first chicane, hitting the wall and forcing the car upon withdrawal. At dawn the ranking reads like this a momentary Porsche one-two, with #92 preceding #91. Third is the Aston Martin #27 of the Heart of Racing, ahead of the Lamborghini #85 of the Iron Dames, still at full speed. AF Corse smiles in Lmp2, where the #183 crew of Perrodo, Barnicoat and Varrone is leading. Second is Cool Racing #37, ahead of United Autosport #22.
