Lopez Closes Gap to Estre Leading Up to Halfway

Photo: Juergen Tap/Porsche

The No. 6 Penske Porsche 963 of Kevin Estre was in the lead of the 6 Hours of Fuji just prior to the halfway mark, with a closing Toyota GR010 Hybrid of Jose Maria Lopez.

Estre held a two-second advantage over Lopez’s No. 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing entry, having reduced the gap by more than ten seconds as the Frenchman battled a reported upshifting issue in his Porsche.

He pitted the Porsche just three minutes prior to halfway for energy replenishment and left-side tires, putting Lopez out front with three hours to go.

The No. 8 Toyota of Ryo Hirahawa ran second, ahead of the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari 499P of Antonio Giovinazzi and Estre’s previously-leading Porsche, already having made its stop in fourth.

United Autosports held command of LMP2 with the No. 22 Oreca 07 Gibson of Frederick Lubin ahead of teammate Oliver Jarvis in the No. 23 entry for the majority of the running.

GTE-Am was led by the No. 85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 RSR-19 of Michelle Gatting, ahead of Daniel Mancinelli’s No. 98 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GTE.

It came after the class pole-sitting No. 33 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R dropped down the running order due to a 30-second stop-and-hold penalty for contact between Ben Keating and the No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE of Thomas Flohr, which also required a right-side door replacement due to a broken leader light system.

Champion-elect Nico Varrone ran 11th in class at the halfway mark.

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