Kobayashi Out Front at 24H Le Mans on Sixth Hour

Photo: Vision Sport Agency

Kamui Kobayashi has taken over the lead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a quarter of the race completed, in the No. 6 Toyota Gazoo Racing TS050 Hybrid.

Mark Webber had been in the lead for just over four hours in his Porsche 919 Hybrid, but lost the lead to Kobayashi in the seventh round of pit stops. Kobayashi is yet to pit, which could end a triple stint from the Japanese driver.

Anthony Davidson and Neel Jani complete the top four, while the two Audi R18s have had less luck. The No. 7 car is climbing back up the field after troubles early in the race, but the No. 8 is in fifth position after a delayed stop to replace a door.

Ryo Hirakawa heads the LMP2 field in the No. 46 Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca 05 Nissan, ahead of the No. 36 Signatech Alpine A460 Nissan of Stephane Richelmi.

The No. 31 Tequila Patron ESM Ligier JS P2 Nissan suffered from a puncture and had two offs, losing a few laps to the class leaders in the process.

Tracy Krohn spun the No. 40 Krohn Racing Ligier Nissan at the first chicane, while the No. 28 Pegasus Racing Morgan Nissan spun into the barrier and took some damage to its nose.

Also of note was a drive-through penalty for the pole-sitting No. 26 Ligier Nissan of G-Drive Racing, for refuelling with the engine on.

Ford Chip Ganassi Racing and Risi Competizione share the top four spots in GTE-Pro, all very close on track.

Matteo Mallucelli in the Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE leads GTE-Pro, in front of Sebastien Bourdais’ No. 68 Ford GT.

Khaled Al Qubaisi is the GTE-Am leader in the No. 88 Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR, with Christian Reid second for KCMG.

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.