LeMans Hour 21: A fright for Toyota

Kobayashi spun the No. 6 Toyota but maintained 3rd on the lead lap
Kobayashi spun the No. 6 Toyota but maintained 3rd on the lead lap

The #5 Toyota for Toyota Gazoo Racing, driven by Anthony Davidson, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima, has maintained its lead but the #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid is relentless in its pursuit.

Toyota or Porsche? Who will come out on top? It's still difficult to say at this stage but Romain Dumas, driver of the #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid, gives his analysis: "The gap with Toyota is narrow and it's going to stay that way. It's great for the sport but of course we hope it swings in our favor. We've still got a few cards up our sleeve. Don't forget that we are playing two against one though."

Toyota Gazoo Racing had a bit of a fright at 11:17, when the #6 car driven by Kamui Kobayashi spun into the gravel at Corvette Curve. The Japanese driver was able to return to the track and resume his race, and maintains the third spot overall.

The #36 Alpine driven by Stephane Richelmi continues to lead the LM P2 class but the #26 Oreca-Nissan for G-Drive Racing is still lying in wait. The #44 Oreca-Nissan fielded by Manor crashed into the barrier at Bridge Corner and has since retired from the race.

In LM GTE Pro, the main event was a spin at Corvette Curve for the #82 Ferrari driven by Toni Vilander for Risi Competizione . The #68 Ford GT, class leader, took the opportunity to push further ahead.

No changes over in GTE Am where the #62 Ferrari is still in front.

LM P1
1. Toyota Gazoo Racing (#5 Toyota TS050 Hybrid) Sebastien Buemi – Anthony Davidson – Kazuki Nakajima
2. Porsche Team (#2 Porsche 919 Hybrid) Romain Dumas – Marc Lieb – Neel Jani
3. Toyota Gazoo Racing (#6 Toyota TS050 Hybrid) Mike Conway – Stephane Sarrazin – Kamui Kobayashi

LM P2
1. Signatech Alpine (#36 Alpine A460-Nissan) Gustavo Menezes – Nicolas Lapierre – Stephane Richelmi
2. G-Drive Racing (#26 Oreca 05-Nissan) Roman Rusinov – Will Stevens – Rene Rast
3. SMP Racing (#37 BR Engineering BR01-Nissan) Vitaly Petrov – Viktor Shaitar – Kirill Ladygin

LM GTE Pro
1. Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA (#68 Ford GT) Joey Hand – Dirk Muller – Sebastien Bourdais
2. Risi Competizione (#82 Ferrari 488 GTE) Giancarlo Fisichella – Toni Vilander – Matteo Malucelli
3. Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA (#69 Ford GT) Ryan Briscoe – Richard Westbrook – Scott Dixon

LM GTE Am
1. Scuderia Corsa (#62 Ferrari 458 Italia GT2) Bill Sweedler – Townsend Bell – Jeff Segal
2. Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing (#88 Porsche 911 RSR) Khaled Al Qubaisi – Patrick Long – David Heinemeier Hansson
3. AF Corse (#83 Ferrari 458 Italia GT2) Francois Perrodo – Emmanuel Collard – Rui Aguas

Hour 21 Standings

Pos No. – Team Drivers Car Class Laps Behind Gap
1 5 Toyota Gazoo Racing DAVIDSON / BUEMI / NAKAJIMA Toyota TS050 – Hybrid LMP1 H 334 0.000s 0.000s
2 2 Porsche Team DUMAS / JANI / LIEB Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 H 334 1:00.659 1:00.659
3 6 Toyota Gazoo Racing SARRAZIN / CONWAY / KOBAYASHI Toyota TS050 – Hybrid LMP1 H 334 1:54.868 54.209
4 8 Audi Sport Team Joest DI GRASSI / DUVAL / JARVIS Audi R18 LMP1 H 321 13 Laps 13 Laps
5 7 Audi Sport Team Joest FÄSSLER / LOTTERER / TRÉLUYER Audi R18 LMP1 H 318 16 Laps 3 Laps
6 36 Signatech Alpine MENEZES / LAPIERRE / RICHELMI Alpine A460 – Nissan LMP2 311 23 Laps 7 Laps
7 26 G-Drive Racing RUSINOV / STEVENS / RAST Oreca 05 – Nissan LMP2 310 24 Laps 1 Laps
8 37 SMP Racing PETROV / SHAITAR / LADYGIN BR01 – Nissan LMP2 307 27 Laps 3 Laps
9 42 Strakka Racing LEVENTIS / WATTS / KANE Gibson 015S – Nissan LMP2 306 28 Laps 1 Laps
10 33 Eurasia Motorsport PU / GOMMENDY / DE BRUIJN Oreca 05 – Nissan LMP2 303 31 Laps 3 Laps
11 41 Greaves Motorsport ROJAS / CANAL / BERTHON Ligier JS P2 – Nissan LMP2 302 32 Laps 1 Laps
12 23 Panis Barthez Competition BARTHEZ / CHATIN / BURET Ligier JS P2 – Nissan LMP2 301 33 Laps 1 Laps
13 27 SMP Racing MINASSIAN / MEDIANI / ALESHIN BR01 – Nissan LMP2 301 33 Laps 12.571
14 49 Michael Shank Racing PEW / NEGRI JR / VANTHOOR Ligier JS P2 – Honda LMP2 299 35 Laps 2 Laps
15 43 RGR Sport by Morand GONZALEZ / SENNA / ALBUQUERQUE Ligier JS P2 – Nissan LMP2 298 36 Laps 1 Laps
16 30 Extreme Speed Motorsports SHARP / BROWN / VAN OVERBEEK Ligier JS P2 – Nissan LMP2 297 37 Laps 1 Laps
17 1 Porsche Team BERNHARD / WEBBER / HARTLEY Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 H 296 38 Laps 1 Laps
18 68 Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA HAND / MÃœLLER / BOURDAIS Ford GT LMGTE Pro 296 38 Laps 46.835
19 82 Risi Competizione FISICHELLA / VILANDER / MALUCELLI Ferrari 488 GTE LMGTE Pro 296 38 Laps 37.454
20 25 Algarve Pro Racing MUNEMANN / HOY / PIZZITOLA Ligier JS P2 – Nissan LMP2 296 38 Laps 14.697
21 69 Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA BRISCOE / WESTBROOK / DIXON Ford GT LMGTE Pro 296 38 Laps 39.228
22 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK PLA / MÃœCKE / JOHNSON Ford GT LMGTE Pro 294 40 Laps 2 Laps
23 95 Aston Martin Racing THIIM / SORENSEN / TURNER Aston Martin Vantage LMGTE Pro 294 40 Laps 2:34.621
24 97 Aston Martin Racing STANAWAY / REES / ADAM Aston Martin Vantage LMGTE Pro 293 41 Laps 1 Laps
25 40 Krohn Racing KROHN / JÃ-NSSON / BARBOSA Ligier JS P2 – Nissan LMP2 293 41 Laps 1:56.451
26 63 Corvette Racing – GM MAGNUSSEN / GARCIA / TAYLOR Chevrolet Corvette C7.R LMGTE Pro 292 42 Laps 1 Laps
27 62 Scuderia Corsa SWEEDLER / BELL / SEGAL Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am 288 46 Laps 4 Laps
28 83 AF Corse PERRODO / COLLARD / AGUAS Ferrari F458 Italia LMGTE Am 287 47 Laps 1 Laps
29 88 Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing AL QUBAISI / HEINEMEIER HANSSON / LONG Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE Am 287 47 Laps 4.049
30 61 Clearwater Racing MOK / SAWA / BELL Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am 286 48 Laps 1 Laps
31 22 SO24 ! By Lombard Racing CAPILLAIRE / MARIS / COLEMAN Ligier JS P2 – Judd LMP2 286 48 Laps 6.895
32 77 Dempsey – Proton Racing LIETZ / CHRISTENSEN / ENG Porsche 911 RSR (2016) LMGTE Pro 285 49 Laps 1 Laps
33 12 Rebellion Racing PROST / HEIDFELD / PIQUET JR Rebellion R-One – AER LMP1 285 49 Laps 1:28.571
34 86 Gulf Racing WAINWRIGHT / CARROLL / BARKER Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE Am 284 50 Laps 1 Laps
35 48 Murphy Prototypes KEATING / BLEEKEMOLEN / GOOSSENS Oreca 03R – Nissan LMP2 283 51 Laps 1 Laps
36 31 Extreme Speed Motorsports DALZIEL / DERANI / CUMMING Ligier JS P2 – Nissan LMP2 283 51 Laps 1:14.950
37 60 Formula Racing LAURSEN / MAC / NIELSEN Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am 281 53 Laps 2 Laps
38 98 Aston Martin Racing DALLA LANA / LAMY / LAUDA Aston Martin V8 Vantage LMGTE Am 281 53 Laps 3:59.192
39 99 Aston Martin Racing HOWARD / GRIFFIN / HIRSCH Aston Martin V8 Vantage LMGTE Am 276 58 Laps 5 Laps
40 55 AF Corse CAMERON / GRIFFIN / SCOTT Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am 274 60 Laps 2 Laps
41 50 Larbre Competition YAMAGISHI / RAGUES / BELLOC Chevrolet Corvette C7-Z06 LMGTE Am 274 60 Laps 21:32.730
42 84 SRT41 By OAK Racing SAUSSET / TINSEAU / BOUVET Morgan LMP2 – Nissan CDNT 271 63 Laps 3 Laps
43 28 Pegasus Racing TAITTINGER / STRIEBIG / ROUSSEL Morgan – Nissan LMP2 271 63 Laps 1:31.076
44 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK FRANCHITTI / PRIAULX / TINCKNELL Ford GT LMGTE Pro 268 66 Laps 3 Laps
45 57 Team AAI O'CONNEL / BRYANT / PATTERSON Chevrolet Corvette C7-Z06 LMGTE Am 264 70 Laps 4 Laps
46 78 KCMG RIED / HENZLER / CAMATHIAS Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE Am 258 76 Laps 6 Laps
47 34 Race Performance LEUTWILER / NAKANO / WINSLOW Oreca 03R – Judd LMP2 254 80 Laps 4 Laps
48 38 G-Drive Racing DOLAN / DENNIS / VAN DER GARDE Gibson 015S – Nissan LMP2 222 112 Laps 32 Laps
49 13 Rebellion Racin TUSCHER / IMPERATORI / KRAIHAMER Rebellion R-One – AER LMP1 200 134 Laps 22 Laps
DNF 44 Manor GRAVES / RAO / MERHI Oreca 05 – Nissan LMP2 283
DNF 46 Thiriet By Tds Racing THIRIET / BECHE / HIRAKAWA Oreca 05 – Nissan LMP2 241
DNF 35 Baxi DC Racing Alpine CHENG / TUNG / PANCIATICI Alpine A460 – Nissan LMP2 234
DNF 64 Corvette Racing – GM GAVIN / MILNER / TAYLOR Chevrolet Corvette C7.R LMGTE Pro 219
DNF 4 Bykolles Racing Team TRUMMER / WEBB / KAFFER CLM P1/01 – AER LMP1 206
DNF 51 AF Corse BRUNI / CALADO / PIER GUIDI Ferrari 488 GTE LMGTE Pro 179
DNF 71 AF Corse RIGON / BIRD / BERTOLINI Ferrari 488 GTE LMGTE Pro 143
DNF 92 Porsche Motorsport MAKOWIECKI / BAMBER / BERGMEISTER Porsche 911 RSR (2016) LMGTE Pro 140
DNF 91 Porsche Motorsport PILET / ESTRE / TANDY Porsche 911 RSR (2016) LMGTE Pro 135
DNF 47 KCMG MATSUDA / HOWSON / BRADLEY Oreca 05 – Nissan LMP2 116
DNF 89 Proton Competition MACNEIL / KEEN / MILLER Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE Am 50

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