Nasr Leads on Four Hours as First MEC Points Awarded

Felipe Nasr led the way at the four-hour mark of Motul Petit Le Mans as the first batch of Michelin Endurance Cup points were doled out.

The pole-sitting No. 6 Acura ARX-05, currently piloted by Simon Pagenaud, controlled the opening four hours with the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R emerging as its closest challenger.

AXR utilized a short stop strategy to help vault Nasr to the front of the field, and after the pit stops cycled through the Whelen Engineering-sponsored car emerged as the leader.

Tristan Nunez held third overall in the No. 77 Mazda RT24-P that ran down the top two in the third hour with Olivier Pla behind the wheel.

The WeatherTech Championship-leading No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac has not factored at the front and slowed on track briefly in the third hour.

Renger van der Zande’s crew had a spare battery prepared at the most recent pit stop but elected not to make the change.

The Dutchman was fifth in class after four hours, while both he and Ryan Briscoe remain in the MEC championship lead after the first points distribution interval.

Nasr, Pipo Derani and Filipe Albuquerque earned five points for their race lead while Pagenaud, Juan Pablo Montoya and Dane Cameron picked up a four-point score.

Pagenaud managed to keep second by resisting a strong challenge from Nunez, who came away with three points along with his co-drivers Olivier Pla and Oliver Jarvis.

The drivers in the rest of the classified DPi cars each received two MEC points, while the next set of scores will be distributed at the eight-hour point.

The No. 55 Mazda went behind the wall for a second time just before the completion of the fourth hour. The car was sidelined by brake problems in the opening stint.

The same MEC points figures were handed out in the other categories.

BMW Team RLL has had a mixed start to the day with the No. 24 BMW M8 GTE emerging as the top runner in the class, which it currently leads with Augusto Farfus behind the wheel.

The sister No. 25 car, however, spent significant time behind the wall in the early going with an apparent mechanical issue and is now running 32 laps behind the class leader.

The Nos. 911 and 912 Porsche 911 RSR-19s of Matt Campbell and Earl Bamber ran second and third, followed by the two Corvette C8.Rs.

The top five GTLM runners are all still on the same lap.

Meyer Shank Racing’s Mario Farnbacher held the GT Daytona class lead in the No. 86 Acura NSX GT3 Evo with Corey Lewis’ Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo close in tow.

Cooper MacNeil has done the lion’s share of the work in the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 which ran third after four hours.

Pfaff Motorsports’ return to the WeatherTech Championship has not gone to plan with multiple unscheduled pit stops in the last two hours and has consequently lost the lead lap.

Meanwhile PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports continued to show the way in the LMP2 category with Patrick Kelly holding a lead of over one lap on his nearest pursuer Mikkel Jensen.

The race was put behind the safety car for the second time today shortly after the four-hour mark when Rob Hodes spun around in the Inter Europol Competition Oreca 07 Gibson.

Hodes was able to drive away under his own power after slight contact with the tire barrier.

Positions after 4 Hours