Porsche Takes Over Lead Following Audi Drama

Photo: John Dagys

Porsche has taken over the lead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans following drama for the No. 1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro in the 21st hour.

Race leader Tom Kristensen, seeking a record 10th overall win, ground to a halt on track with less than four hours to go. The Dane continued, made a scheduled fuel-only stop before pitting just a few laps later for a turbo change.

The stop, which cost the No. 1 Audi more than 17 minutes, handed the lead back to the No. 20 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Timo Bernhard, who now holds a 1:30 lead over the No. 2 Audi of Andre Lotterer.

It was the second turbo failure for Audi this race following the same issue for the No. 2 entry, which cost them 23 minutes in the 16th hour.

Lucas di Grassi, back in the No. 1 Audi, now runs four laps behind in third.

Three hours and 20 minutes remain in the race.

The No. 35 OAK Racing Ligier JS P2 Nissan continues to lead LMP2 while AF Corse and Aston Martin Racing are out front in GTE-Pro and GTE-Am , respectively.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John