Interim Report 2, FIA World Endurance Championship WEC, Round 4, Le Mans (France)

Eight hours before the finish in Le Mans, four Porsche 963s are still on the same lap as the leader. With the number 6 hybrid prototype fielded by Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and André Lotterer, the Porsche Penske Motorsport works team is the direct pursuer of the leading Toyota. In the LMGT3 category, the two Porsche 911 GT3 R were able to defend a one-two lead for a long time. Shortly after eight o'clock in the morning, a four-hour safety car period came to an end due to heavy rain.

The night in Le Mans was first characterized by changeable weather, then by heavy rain and long periods of caution. The choice between dry and wet tyres was of decisive importance. The crew of the No. 6 Porsche 963 was right in the end: the works car fought its way forward from 13th place. Shortly after midnight, Kévin Estre moved up to second place on a wet track. The Frenchman shares the hybrid prototype with André Lotterer from Germany and the Belgian Laurens Vanthoor. With the number 38 of Hertz Team Jota, the best customer Porsche 963 was in sixth position at the time. It will be driven by former Formula 1 champion Jenson Button, his British compatriot Philip Hanson and the Dane Oliver Rasmussen.

Just in time for half-time at 4:00 a.m., heavy rainfall set in and made it necessary to deploy the three safety cars. They led the field for the next four hours until 8:15 a.m. local time. The number 5 Porsche Penske Motorsport race car driven by Frédéric Makowiecki from France, Michael Christensen from Denmark and Matt Campbell from Australia benefited from this: it moved back into the same lap of the leading Toyota. The same was true for the second Jota car with the number 12 of the British Will Stevens and Callum Ilott as well as the Frenchman Norman Nato.

"We're in second place with our No. 6 car and all the Porsche 963s are still in the race, which is good," says Urs Kuratle, Vice President Factory Motorsport LMDh. "The long time behind the safety car, on the other hand, doesn't necessarily have a positive effect on the cars and is exhausting for the drivers. However, it is now expected to stay dry until the end of the race. This will allow us to return to normal racing."

In the LMGT3 class, the two Porsche 911 GT3 R defended a one-two lead through the night. First place went to the nine-eleven of the Manthey PureRxcing customer team driven by Klaus Bachler from Austria, Joel Sturm from Germany and Alex Malykhin from Great Britain. After a good two-thirds of the race distance, however, the car had to go into the garage to repair an electronic defect. As a result, the sister car of Manthey EMA with the Austrian Richard Lietz, the Dutchman Morris Schuring and the Australian Yasser Shahin took the class lead.

The race on TV and stream
The free TV channel Nitro from the RTL media group and the sports channel Eurosport will broadcast the 92nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Germany. A paid live stream and live timing are offered by the official apps of the FIA WEC and the Le Mans organizer ACO.

André Lotterer (Porsche 963 #6): "When I was in the car at the beginning of the race, we switched from slicks to rain tyres – and back again immediately afterwards. As a result, we lost a few positions. In the first half of the night, however, things moved forward again. We're currently in second place and it's looking good for us. After a very long safety car period, we now have to see who can drive at what pace at the front in still very slippery conditions. It remains very exciting and close!"

Frédéric Makowiecki (Porsche 963 #5): "When it started raining again during the night, we stayed on slicks. As a result, we lost about two-thirds of a round. But that's the way it is now. We have to see what comes out for us in the end."

Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 963 #4): "For our number 4 car, this race doesn't come together. When the rain started, we made the right decision and switched to rain tyres. The race control made the right decision to send out the safety car: the conditions were simply too bad. It's still raining – and our windshield wiper doesn't work."

Alex Malykhin (Porsche 911 GT3 R #92): "We're in a good position in the race and our strategy is paying off. But there are a few technical problems with the car that have now become bigger."

Interim standings after 16 of 24 hours
Hypercar class:
1. Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa (CH/NZ/J), Toyota #8, 198 laps
2. Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor (F/D/B), Porsche 963 #6, -2.329 seconds
3. Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen (I/E/DK), Ferrari #50, -4.972 seconds
6. Hanson/Button/Rasmussen (UK/UK/DK), Porsche 963 #38, -15.204 seconds
10. Campbell/Christensen/Makowiecki (AUS/DK/F), Porsche 963 #5, -22.834 seconds
11. Ilott/Stevens/Nato (UK/UK/F), Porsche 963 #12, -28.017 seconds
17. Tandy/Nasr/Jaminet (UK/BR/F), Porsche 963 #4, -2 laps
18. Andlauer/Jani/Tincknell (F/CH/UK), Porsche 963 #99, -5 laps

LMGT3 class:
1. Bachler/Malykhin/Sturm (A/UK/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #92, 179 laps
2. Lietz/Shahin/Schuring (A/AUS/NL), Porsche 911 GT3 R #91, -2.731 seconds
3. Hamaguchi/Pino/Sato, (J/RCH/J), McLaren #95, -17.393 seconds

All results under fiawec.alkamelsystems.com.