Strategy games take hold at the 94th 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 94th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans has kicked off under brilliant, warm conditions, and the opening four hours have been nothing short of a tactical masterclass. At the sharp end of the 18-car Hypercar field, BMW, Cadillac, Alpine, and Toyota are locked in a relentless fight. It was actually the #8 Toyota that held the lead at the four-hour mark, but only after a chaotic dance of pit strategies that saw the lead swing between the top manufacturers.
Toyota clearly had the upper hand on tyre wear in the afternoon heat, with Sébastien Buemi setting the fastest lap of the race so far at 3m26.580s on lap 20. The #8 car looked particularly strong during Brendon Hartley’s triple stint on medium Michelins, though the sister #7 Toyota suffered a painful blow when Nyck de Vries picked up a slow puncture, dropping the car to 16th. Meanwhile, Ferrari endured a difficult start, with both the #50 and #51 cars picking up penalties or damage following physical contact with LMP2 machinery.
In the competitive LMGT3 class, the #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus has been a revelation thanks to Jack Hawksworth’s pace, though the #91 Manthey DK Engineering Porsche managed to snatch the lead as the fifth hour arrived. It is fascinating to watch the strategy play out; as the sun begins to set, the real question is whether the Toyota advantage on the Michelin rubber will hold when the track temperature drops.
