Le Mans Hour 8: Ferrari runs 1-2 at the 1/3 mark
Ferrari continues to lead after eight hours of the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, its stranglehold on the top three has been broken after a drive-through penalty issued to the #50 499P, currently piloted by Nicklas Nielsen. The penalty was issued for a yellow flag infringement during the caution.
The #83 AF Corse 499P of Phil Hanson, after an apparent switch to an all-out-pace strategy, led the #51 Ferrari AF Corse of James Calado for most of the hour, but Hanson was being told to cede the position to Calado as the hour ended in order to accommodate pit strategy.
The #311 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R and the #93 Peugeot 9X8, as well as the LMGT3 #81TF Sport Corvette also all received drive-throughs for yellow flag infringement. The #35 Alpine Endurance Team A424 has also received a drive-though after the contact between Paul-Loup Chatin and Loic Duval’s #94 Peugeot 9X8, the stewards determining that Chatin bore responsibility for the incident.
Kevin Estre’s #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 is third, ahead of the #50 Ferrari, with the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 in fifth, Sebastien Buemi currently in the cockpit. Five manufacturers currently make up the top 10, BMW and Cadillac joining Ferrari, Porsche and Toyota.
Related Article: Le Mans Hour 1: Porsche leads from Cadillac
The biggest disappointment for the American and British fans was the fall of the Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA cars. From the front row – the V-Series R V8 monsters just couldn’t turn the tires on out of the box like Porsche and in particular Ferrari in the daylight and couldn’t get the same operating window either – dropping them into a fight for a top six rather than win. The gold #12 and red #311 led the Cadillac hopes with its impressive barks from the engines sounding spectacular as it echoed around the Circuit de la Sarthe.
The #94 Peugeot who has been on a different strategy to the rest of the pack was dicing with the #35 Alpine just outside the top ten. The Peugeot 9X8, perhaps a little heavier on their different fuel strategy, braked a little earlier than the Alpine was perhaps expecting and the Alpine itself missed its braking point – running into the back of the Peugeot, causing them both to spin out at the Mulsanne corner. Both thankfully were able to dust themselves off and rejoin. The #35 A424 got a drive-through penalty as the punishment.
LEMANS LMP2
In the LMP2 prototype class the lead battle was brewing nicely – the #48 VDS Panis Racing ORECA was in second in the first four hours but slowly but surely the French team caught, clawed their way past the #43 Inter Europol Competition car which was looking so dominant in the early stages. Iron Lynx – Proton with the #9 car have staying in third, while IDEC Sport #28 is hunting a top three in fourth -both lying in wait for trouble to strike the cars in front. Spike – the dragon inspired ORECA from AO by TF lead the Pro/Am tussle but have fallen back in the race for the outright LMP2 win in fifth.
LE MANS LMGT3
To the delight of crowd – Valentino Rossi’s #46 Team WRT BMW M4 lead the GT battle. A stellar shift all three drivers including Ahmad Al Harthy who handed to the car to ‘The Doctor’ to get to work early in the evening.
An impressive stint helped them move into the margin, which lead driver Kelvin van der Linde duly took forward and the Bavarian marque holds a near one minute advantage. The #92 Manthey 1ST Phorm Porsche team have had a solid first day on track and climbed the order ahead of the #78 Lexus from Akkodis ASP – which looked so dominant at the start of the race.
2025 24 Hours of Le Mans Hour 8 Standings