{"id":735781,"date":"2026-06-14T10:16:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T10:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/735781\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T10:16:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T10:16:12","slug":"the-headlines-after-16-hours-at-le-mans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/735781\/","title":{"rendered":"The Headlines after 16 Hours at Le Mans"},"content":{"rendered":"

HypercarAs night gradually made way for daybreak at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA retained control in the headlining Hypercar category with Will Stevens in the #12 V-Series.R running at the front of the fieldTwo-thirds of the way through the race, the Briton holds an advantage of 48 seconds over the pursuing #8 TOYOTA RACING entry, now in the hands of Brendon HartleyStevens\u2019 team-mate Norman Nato in the leading Cadillac posted a new fastest lap of 3m26.305s just past 06:00am, before Toyota\u2019s S\u00e9bastien Buemi lowered it again to 3m25.968s an hour-and-a-half later during his third stint inside the cockpit of the #8 TR010 HybridThat car, however, lost time after picking up a drive-through penalty for a Full Course Yellow infringement not long after 04:00amBMW M Team WRT remains in the hunt for victory with its #20 M Hybrid V8 in third place, now with Sheldon van der Linde back in the car; the South African is just three-and-a-half seconds behind the #8 Toyota and 51 seconds adrift of the leadAll three of the leading trio are now in-sync with regards to strategy, setting the scene for a pulsating final eight hoursThere has been drama, however, for the other two Cadillacs in the 18-strong Hypercar field, with the #38 losing seven laps due to a power steering issue while hometown hero S\u00e9bastien Bourdais was behind the wheel at 04:10am; the car rejoined the fray following repairs, but returned to the garage and retired just under four hours later after Earl Bamber locked up and went straight on at Mulsanne CornerThe #101 WTR Cadillac, meanwhile, has slipped down the field after incurring no fewer than three drive-through penalties during the night \u2013 two for Full Course Yellow indiscretions and the third for a slow zone infringementThe #7 Toyota sits fourth, with Nyck de Vries on fresh tyres indulging in a lively duel with defending world champion Antonio Giovinazzi as day broke in north-western France, as the #51 Ferrari 499P follows in fifthThe current top six is completed by the #35 Alpine Endurance Team A424 in the hands of Ant\u00f3nio F\u00e9lix da Costa, followed by the sister #36 entry, which has climbed the order up to seventh as Les Bleus continue to push hardi on home soilThe delayed #101 Cadillac runs eighth, ahead of last year\u2019s Le Mans winner, Yifei Ye in the #83 AF Corse Ferrari \u2013 another Hypercar to fall foul of a drive-through penalty for a slow zone infringement \u2013 and the best-placed Aston Martin Valkyrie, the #009 Ross-Gunn piloted entryGenesis is just outside the top ten with its #17 GMR-001 Hypercar, but the sister #19 Korean prototype has encountered further issues, with Dani Juncadella stopping briefly at Tertre Rouge just past 05:00am, prior to losing a further 70 seconds in the pits with electrical gremlinsLMGT3Following a quiet start to the race, the #33 TF Sport Corvette has firmly seized control in LMGT3With Bronze-rated driver Ben Keating completing some of his mandatory drive time under safety car conditions earlier in the night, team-mates Jonny Edgar and Nicky Catsburg have been able to press on and establish an advantage of more than two minutes over the chasing pack 16 hours in\u2018Super-sub\u2019 Jack Hawksworth runs second in the #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus, but the sister #87 RC F \u2013 which held sway earlier in the race \u2013 dropped down the order after Clemens Schmid was handed a drive-through penalty for contact with Takeshi Kimura in the #57 Kessel racing Ferrari 296 that forced the latter off the trackZacharie Robichon is third in-class in the pole-sitting Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage, which also picked up a drive-through penalty, for a slow zone infringement \u2013 as did the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari, which is next up in fourthThe top five with eight hours remaining is completed by the #23 Aston Martin, with the #21 VISTa AF Corse Ferrari sixth and #91 Manthey DK Engineering Porsche seventhThere were dramas for the #69 Team WRT BMW \u2013 another recipient of a drive-through penalty for a Full Course Yellow infringement \u2013 and the #62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG, which went off at the final corner at 06:15am, prompting a slow zoneLMP2\u00a0Duqueine Team remains in charge in LMP2, with the #30 Oreca-Gibson just over a minute clear of the pursuing pair of Inter Europol Competition prototypesThe Polish squad \u2013 the class-winner at La Sarthe in two of the last three years \u2013 sits second and third, with its #343 entry 15 seconds ahead of the sister #43 carThe Hyperpole-winning #29 Forestier Racing by Panis car held fastest lap for a while courtesy of Esteban Masson, but the Frenchman later took a brief trip through the gravel trap at the Porsche Curves while navigating LMGT3 trafficFormer world champion K\u00e9vin Estre prompted a slow zone just before 08:00 when he went off at Indianapolis after clipping the inside kerb in the #14 TDS Racing entry, dropping that car out of second place in the LMP2 Pro\/Am battle<\/p>\n

All of FIA WEC. All of endurance racing\u2019s greatest battles. Watch live and on demand with FIAWEC+ \u2013 the official streaming platform of the FIA World Endurance Championship, wherever you are, whenever you want, including the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. Stream FIA WEC live<\/a> with FIAWEC+.<\/p>\n

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