Because the race entered its second half, incessant rainfall meant that the race director stored the protection automobile out for an prolonged interval. Every of the three security vehicles getting used needed to be refuelled, and had been swapped out with recent ones on the beginning/end straight.
The #2 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Collection.R – which was third on the midway level – took a nostril change that meant IndyCar champion Alex Palou tumbled again to ninth.
Apart from that, there have been barely any main modifications in race order throughout the three hours for the reason that conclusion of hour 12.
Chief Brendon Hartley (Toyota #8) complained of cramping in his knee, as he trundled round on the head of the sector on the soaked Circuit de la Sarthe. Kevin Estre ran second within the #6 factory-entered Porsche, a tantalising 1.5s behind the automobile he had been chasing onerous when the rain intensified to the purpose that the race director made his choice to neutralise the occasion.
Hartley handed over the main automobile to Ryo Hirakawa in hour 15, as Estre relayed to Laurens Vanthoor.
Nyck de Vries was operating third within the #7 Toyota however was underneath investigation for rejoining behind the identical security automobile, forward of the #50 Ferrari 499P of Niklas Nielsen. De Vries was introduced again in for an additional cease, to self-rectify the error, however that price him a spot to Nielsen.
Security automobile
Picture by: Marc Fleury
Earlier chief Robert Kubica is as much as fifth within the #83 Ferrari from fellow ex-F1 racer Jenson Button within the #38 Jota Porsche 963.
Alex Lynn is within the best-placed Cadillac, the #2 machine he took over from Palou, forward of Antonio Giovinazzi’s #51 Ferrari, the #3 Cadillac of Sebastien Bourdais and Matt Campbell’s #5 Porsche.
Additional again, Mathieu Jaminet has no working windscreen wiper aboard the #6 Porsche 963, so he’s been driving with restricted visibility.
The very best instance of how moist the circumstances had been was Romain Grosjean’s leaky #19 Lamborghini SC63, which runs in 14th.
In LMP2, the #183 AF Corse Oreca leads the best way in Francois Perrodo’s arms from Cool Racing’s #37 with Lorenzo Fluxa behind the wheel, forward of Jakub Smiechowski’s #34 Inter Europol entry and Stephane Richelmi’s #10 Vector Sport automobile.
Within the LMGT3 class, the #92 Manthey PureRxing Porsche 911 of Aliaksandr Malykhin leads the #91 sister automobile pushed by Yasser Shahin.
Ian James has risen to 3rd in Coronary heart of Racing’s Aston Martin from Iron Dames’ Lamborghini, which has Sarah Bovy on the wheel.
Extra rain is forecast for the approaching hours.
