The 94th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race saw Cadillac take the lead into the final quarter on June 14. Louis Deletraz was at the wheel of the number 12 Jota-run Cadillac, shared with Will Stevens and Norman Nato, holding first place after 18 hours of racing [1, 2]. BMW’s number 20 car, driven by Sheldon Van der Linde, Rene Rast, and Robin Frijns, trailed just over one minute behind in second place [1, 2].
Toyota occupied third and fourth position with their number seven and eight cars, driven respectively by Kamui Kobayashi and Ryo Hirakawa [1, 2]. Ferrari’s number 51 car took fifth place, continuing the manufacturer’s strong record at Le Mans after three consecutive wins, including last year’s victory by the AF Corse team [1, 2]. The 2023 winning car, the number 83 Ferrari lineup of Robert Kubica, Yifei Yi, and Phil Hanson, was running seventh [1, 2].
The race began on June 13 with 62 cars and 186 drivers. It was flag-started by Tour de France sprinter Mark Cavendish [1, 2]. Toyota led early on after surprise pit stops in the first hour [1, 2].
Cadillac briefly held a one-two position at the 14-hour mark when their number 38 car suffered a power steering problem. The car, driven by Sebastien Bourdais, Earl Bamber, and Jack Aitken, made two pit stops before retiring from the race [1, 2]. This left Cadillac’s number 12 car as the leading contender.
In the LMP2 category, the number 30 Duqueine team led with driver Doriane Pin, one of two female drivers this year [1, 2]. The number 15 BMW car, which started on pole with Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello, and Dries Vanthoor, was running 16th after the majority of the race [1, 2].
With six hours left in the race, the battle between Cadillac and BMW remains tight as teams prepare for the final stretch of the 24-hour endurance event [1, 2].