JOTA Cadillac Back in Front at Mid-Distance

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA was back into the lead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans as the race reached half-distance but both the No. 12 entry and the second-placed BMW were due an imminent pitstop.

The No. 8 Toyota TR010 Hybrid had regained the lead in the eighth hour after a fortunately timed safety car but Brendon Hartley was unable to maintain that advantage for long.

Hartley went straight on at Mulsanne Corner in the tenth hour and had to go around part of the roundabout just off the track before rejoining just ahead of the No. 12 Cadillac V-Series.R of Will Stevens.

The Toyota resisted a couple of laps of intense pressure but then lost out at the next round of stops to both JOTA Cadillacs, the No. 38 machine of Earl Bamber pitting early to successfully use the undercut to move ahead.

Once Jack Aitken climbed back aboard the No. 38 Cadillac, he began to pull clear as Louis Deletraz now at the wheel of the sister No. 12 car came under pressure from a resurgent Hartley.

The New Zealander made the move during the 11th hour at Indianapolis to briefly reclaim second spot, until the next round of pit stops when Deletraz emerged ahead of Ryo Hirakawa, who had climbed aboard the Toyota.

But, with both the No. 38 Cadillac and Toyota stopping just before the end of the 12th hour, it was the No. 12 machine of Deletraz that headed Sheldon van der Linde in the No. 20 WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 — which led in the early stages — at half-distance.

The second of the Toyotas, the No. 7 machine of Kamui Kobayashi was beginning to regain ground lost with a slow puncture earlier in the race and was up to fifth with a slightly off-kilter strategy, while the No. 51 Ferrari 499P in sixth was another car due an imminent pit visit.

The third of the Cadillacs, the No. 101 Wayne Taylor Racing example of Jordan Taylor, had climbed as high as fifth but was seventh as the 12th hour concluded, while the pick of the Alpine A424s, the No. 35 entry of Victor Martins, was eighth.

However, one car that had been part of this group was the No. 19 Genesis GMR-001 of Paul-Loup Chatin that had been enjoying an impressive Le Mans debut, until it caused one of two full-course yellows in the 12th hour when it stopped on track before eventually getting going again after a successful reset.

It continued to be the No. 30 Duqueine Team Oreca 07 Gibson that alternated with the No. 343 Inter Europol car at the head of the LMP2 ranks.

As the clock struck mid-distance it was the Duqueine entry of Doriane Pin that was ahead, Bijoy Garg having just climbed aboard the No. 343 Oreca, with the lead duo being over a minute clear of the rest of the opposition.

Third place was held by the second Inter Europol entry, the No. 43 of Tom Dillmann that triumphed last year, while the No. 26 Vector Sport car of Vladislav Lomko maintained fourth.

The No. 25 Algarve Pro Racing car that had never been a major factor in the race was the cause of the other FCY in the 12th hour when Enzo Trulli went straight on at Mulsanne Corner and got beached in the gravel.

Things were far closer in LMGT3 with the top-eight cars all firmly in contention, having adopted different strategies in terms of using their FIA Bronze-graded drivers.

It was the No. 33 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R that led as the clock struck mid-distance, with Nicky Catsburg at the wheel but Bronze Ben Keating having already completed his minimum drive time.

The sister No. 34 car that started last after being disqualified from qualifying had vaulted into the lead during the night with Charlie Eastwood at the wheel but slipped back to 11th once Salih Yoluc took over.

Instead it was the No. 74 Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo of Dennis Marschall that was second at the end of 12 hours, 24 seconds behind Catsburg, while the No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of Mattia Drudi, which had regularly headed the class, was third.

Another Corvette, the No.2  JMR/TF Sport entry had risen to fourth but was due a pit stop, while the second Heart of Racing Aston Martin completed the top-five.