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Toyota 1-2 After 14 Hours at Le Mans

Porsche loses lead after slow puncture for No. 2 car…

Photo: Toyota Gazoo Racing

Photo: Toyota Gazoo Racing

Toyota is running 1-2 after 14 hours in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, after Marc Lieb in the No. 2 Porsche 919 Hybrid was forced into an extra stop due to a slow puncture.

Lieb had moved into the lead halfway the 14th hour after another round of pit stops, returning to the track with an 8.645-second advantage over Kamui Kobayashi in the No. 6 Toyota TS050 Hybrid.

A slow zone as a result of the No. 13 Rebellion R-One AER coming to a stop on the Mulsanne Straight meant Lieb was unable to pull away and shortly after the slow zone ended the Porsche driver hit gravel on the track.

It caused a slow puncture on the Porsche and Lieb was forced to return to the pit just 19 minutes after he had left it. Kobayashi and team-mate Anthony Davidson passed the Porsche and Lieb returned one minute behind the leader.

While the No. 13 Rebellion was still stopped out on the track, the team’s second car spun at Mulsanne corner, before Nelson Piquet Jr returned it to the pits with clutch issues.

In LMP2 the No. 36 Signatech-Alpine A460 continues to lead, but Ryo Hirakawa’s No. 46 Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca 05 Nissan is still within striking distance.

The No. 26 G-Drive Racing Oreca 05 Nissan is in third place, despite a stop-go penalty.

GTE-Pro is still a battle between the Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE and the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GTs, with the teams swapping the lead during pit stops.

After 14 hours, the No. 82 Risi Ferrari leads the No. 68 Ford GT by 75 seconds

In GTE-Am the No. 62 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia has moved into the lead, at the expense of the No. 88 Abu Dhabi Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR. AF Corse’s No. 83 Ferrari 458 Italia is currently third in class.

Marcel ten Caat (@marceltencaat) is a contributor to Sportscar365 and other publications including Autosport.nl.

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