2020 24 Hours of Le Mans - The Live Blog

From Road & Track

Hour 19:12: The #97 Aston Martin has built its lead in GTE-Pro up to a full minute. What had previously been the most exciting battle for position on the track finally has some level of separation.

Hour 18:52: The #72 Ferrari, the Hub Auto Racing entry in GTE-Am, is the latest pro-am entry to find itself stalled in the gravel outside of the Dunlop Curves. One more slow zone in that part of the track later, that car has been recovered.

Hour 18:38: The #34 Inter Europol LMP2 car has joined many, many cars in being stuck in the gravel in the Dunlop Curves over the past few hours. This seems to be an early morning tradition for the pro-am classes in this race. This recovery will require yet another Slow Zone.

Hour 18:25: After the #1's issues, Toyota #8 now leads this race overall by five laps. The #1 Rebellion trails the #3 Rebellion by about a minute, while the #7 Toyota is one lap behind those two, six laps behind the race leader.

The battle for third in LMP2 is back on, and the #26 now leads the #31. The gap is still one second, because these two simply will not get away from one another.

Hour 18:23: After a bodywork change, the #1 Rebellion Racing entry will return to the track. That car will return to the race in third, having lost second to its fellow Rebellion entry.

Hour 18:22: The #89 Team Project 1 Porsche and the #60 Iron Lynx Ferrari, both GTE-Am entries, are both struggling on track. the Porsche is circling around the track with a destroyed right-front fender, while the Ferrari is stalled in the Dunlop Chicane.

Replays show that the damage to the #89 is the result of a massive flat tire, while the #60 spun without contact. A Slow Zone has been called to clean debris off the Porsche Curves, where the damage to the #89 occurred.

Hour 18:21: The #1 Rebellion Racing entry, running second overall, is headed behind the wall. That car has a two lap lead on its teammate and five laps on the #7 Toyota, while it trails the #8 Toyota by two laps.

Hour 18:00: The #31 Panis Racing entry, apparently uninterested in entertaining us, has stopped from third in LMP2, breaking up that battle.

Hour 17:58: Once again, the #26 is on the rear bumper of the #31. With the gap for the GTE-Pro lead up to 30 seconds, this is the most interesting thing happening on track.

Hour 17:56: Folks, the #31 and #26 LMP2 entries are again within four seconds of one another after recent stops. The #31 again leads the pair.

Hour 17:29: Peugeot Sport put up a lion sculpture to promote their 2022 return to Le Mans, and it has spent most of the race judging those who make mistakes in the Dunlop Curves. Here's yet another example of the Peugeot lion looking down on its peers:

Hour 17:22: The #29 LMP2 entry is spun and stuck in the gravel in the Dunlop Curves. Recovery will require a local yellow, if not a Slow Zone.

In the two major battles on track over the past few hours, the #97 Aston Martin leads the battle for the GTE-Pro lead by six seconds, while the #26 LMP2 car holds third in that class by a decent margin after the #31 underwent a tire change.

Hour 17:10: Disjointed stops briefly break up the battle for third in LMP2. Those cars are over four minutes behind second in LMP2, but the unreliability the class has seen throughout the night means that third could become a class lead at any point in the next few hours.

Hour 17:02: The battle for third in LMP2 is still raging, and much, much more contentious than any other battle on track has been in the overnight hours. The #26 has nearly created contact in every braking zone and even tried to make a move on the outside at the end of the Mulsanne, but the #31 retains the position for now. This battle is far from over.

Meanwhile, dawn is cracking at the Circuit de la Sarthe, and the circuit is well lit for television cameras for the first time in nearly twelve hours. The unusually long night is at its end.

Hour 16:48: The #26 G-Drive Racing LMP2 entry, a previous leader that has fallen off the pace after some electrical issues, is now in position to move past the #31 Panis Racing entry for what has become the final podium spot in that class. The Panis car leads by a few car lengths, and both are more than a lap behind the leaders in LMP2.

Hour 16:45: The first hints of sunlight are beginning to appear on the horizon. A long, long night at Le Mans is coming to an end.

Hour 16:34: The #88 Dempsey Proton Porsche, the car that famously was listed as a retiree thirty minutes into the race before quickly getting back on track without any issue at all, is stuck just outside one of the Ford chicanes after spinning out. This could require a Slow Zone for recovery, and will at least involve a local yellow.

Hour 16:23: The #98 Aston Martin, the former leader in GTE-Am, is now six laps down after lengthy repairs. The #32 United Autosports LMP2 car, which was leading in class when it went into the garage, is still undergoing repairs and now nine full laps behind the leaders in that class.

Hour 16:17: Driver Harry Tincknell has moved the #97 Aston Martin into the GTE-Pro lead.

Hour 16:15: The #97 Aston Martin has again caught the #51 Ferrari on track in what is by far the best battle on the circuit. That battle is for the GTE-Pro lead and, with eight hours remaining, holding that position on track is starting to inch toward meaning something.

Hour 15:58: The #98 is currently on more significant jack stands and undergoing more significant repairs. That does not look like a routine brake pad change.

Aston Martin #90 inherits the sole GTE-Am lead after exchanging that position with the #98 throughout the night.

United Autosport #32 is still in the garage. The issue is suspected to be an oil leak, per the team:

Hour 15:54: The #32 remains in the garage. That car has undergone some repairs on the corners and has switched to an entirely new front bodywork component.

The #98 Aston Martin, one of the top three cars in GTE-Am, is in the garage for a brake pad change and will fall down the order until the other cars in that class make those same changes.

Hour 15:50: The #32 United Autosports entry, which was running second in LMP2, is in the garage. That car was not reporting any issues before its stop, but was rolled into the garage right after its stop.

The #75 Iron Lynx Ferrari, a car that previously ran competitively in GTE-Am but has long since come into the garage many times, is also being rolled into its garage after arriving on the pit lane with steam billowing out of the engine compartment.

Hour 15:10: The #22 United Autosports entry, the LMP2 leader, has a ton of oil on the windscreen. Driver Filipe Albuquerque will have to deal with it throughout his stint. Not ideal in a race largely taking place at night.

Hour 15:08: Oh, you thought sunrise was coming up soon? Folks, it's September, and September still means different lengths of night in France, no matter how many 24 Hours of Le Mans you have seen! This year is different!!!!!

Anyway, sunrise is about three hours away.

Hour 14:38: Yet again, the #97 Aston Martin leads the #51 Ferrari in GTE-Pro by a second and a half on track. Yet again, that is the best and only battle for the lead on track.

Hour 14:36: Rain, as you may note, is still not here. Early projections had it coming as soon as ten hours ago. It might come eventually, right? Maybe?

Hour 14:06: The current state of this race is that it is 4:37 AM local time and every class is down to a few select contenders already. The #90 and #98 Aston Martins, #32 and #22 United Autosport LMP2 cars, and #51 Ferrari and #97 Aston Martin are the clear class of GTE-Am, LMP2, and GTE-Pro as they run, respectively, and none of those drivers have any reason to take any significant risks before sunrise.

Hour 13:56: The #62 Red River Sport Ferrari, a GTE-Am entry, is stopped just past the first Mulsanne chicane, with tire barriers strewn out behind it. A small bit of inductive reasoning would tell the educated viewer that this car hit those tires. at a moderate speed. A Slow Zone has been called for barrier repairs.

Hour 13:39: The #63 WeatherTech Racing Ferrari, the one recovered during the previous Slow Zone period, has massive bodywork damage from a major right-rear puncture. That will inevitably lead to further damage for that car, and it could also lead to debris scattered throughout the circuit.

Hour 13:23: The #29 Racing Team Nederland LMP2 car and #63 WeatherTech Racing Ferrari are both in the gravel near the tail end of the Dunlop curves, bringing out a Slow Zone for the double recovery. The actual incident was fairly minor, considering the speed at which the cars lost control. The Ferrari was unaware of the LMP2 car beneath it and turned in aggressively, sending both cars spinning toward a wall neither hit hard.

Hour 13:18: Replays seem to show smoke coming from the back of Toyota #8. That car, the overall leader, seems to be having no problems with overall pace, and the team has not bothered to bring it in early.

Hour 13:14: Over the past half hour, Eurosport broadcast has been, largely, the booth Remembering Some Cars and trying to justify one commentator's belief that the Jaguar V12 is, somehow, a bulletproof engine.

A few GTE-Am and LMP2 cars have gone off track and returned without any sort of issue. Other than that, nothing notable has happened on track for some time.

Hour 12:50: The #97 Aston Martin is again applying pressure for the GTE-Pro lead, a second and a half behind the #51 Ferrari. This time, Alex Lynn is driving the Aston Martin, while James Calado drives the Ferrari. This battle seems to heat up every few hours, and will become more significant as the night goes on and the sun rises.

Hour 12:40: The #7 Toyota returns to the track. That turbo change took 29 minutes, and the former overall leader will return to the track seven laps behind the #8 Toyota.

The car will need to make up five laps on the #1 Rebellion to get Toyota back into position for a 1-2 finish overall. Given its two-and-a-half lap advantage over the first twelve hours, this will require a fairly significant push from that team.

Hour 12:25: Toyota has confirmed that a right-side turbocharger is being changed on the #7 Toyota. #7 will likely fall to fourth after this repair is complete, but will be well within striking distance of the two Rebellions if the car remains healthy and the race remains green for the next 11 hours.

Hour 12:24: Eurosport's Toby Moody reports that the Toyota team has also brought in a new turbocharger. Their camera angle is unclear, but it appears to show fairly major changes being made in the engine bay.

Hour 12:20: The #88 Dempsey Proton Porsche, the GTE-Am entry that has been struggling since the first hour, is very, very stuck in the gravel outside the Dunlop Curves. This will bring out a Slow Zone, which will help the #7 Toyota with the time it is losing in the garage.

Hour 12:19: The #7 Toyota falls to third. The Eurosport broadcast reports that this is an issue with the headers, which are being replaced.

The stop is now over ten minutes and the car will soon be in danger of falling to fourth, three laps behind the now-leading #8.

Hour 12:16: Toyota #7 remains in the garage. Toyota #8 takes the overall lead.

Hour 12:12: The overall leader, the #7 Toyota, is going into the garage. The engine cover is coming off. The team does not seem too concerned, and the stop largely seems preventative. This car has a lead of over a lap on its teammate, so a relatively short repair could allow it to retain the lead.

The #8 is a lap ahead of the #8 Rebellion, so a Toyota will still lead the race when the car leaves the garage.

Hour 12:08: The two United Autosport cars are running within a second of each other on track. That battle is for the LMP2 lead, but those teammates will be unlikely to push each other hard with so much time left in the race and so much to lose.

Hour 12:00: Halfway through the race, most classes have already been hit hard by attrition. These are the cars that remain on the lead lap in each class:

LMP1: Toyota #8
LMP2: United Autosport #32, United Autosport #22, JOTA #38
GTE-Pro: AF Corse Ferrari #51, Aston Martin Racing #97, Aston Martin Racing #95
GTE-Am: Aston Martin Racing #98, TF Sport Aston Martin #90, AF Corse Ferrari #83, Team Project 1 Ferrari #56, Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche #77

The #55 and #52 Ferraris, #4 ByKolles LMP1 entry, and #16, #30, and #11 LMP2 cars are all official retirees. The #88 Porsche, previously reported as an early retiree, seems to still be circulating without any major issues.

So far, the story of the race has been consistent attrition in an already-lean field. Just two cars remain within three minutes of the lead in GTE-Pro, while just three remain on the lead lap of LMP2, a 24-car class, outright. None of the three competitive classes are decided, but each is already running fairly lean with half of the race remaining.

Hour 11:28: The battle for the GTE-Am lead has gotten interesting yet again as the #90 Aston Martin has moved past the #83 Ferrari and caught the #98 Aston Martin. Those cars share a manufacturer, but the #90 is the one Aston Martin in the field not being fielded by Aston Martin Racing. Driver Charlie Eastwood, who appears as a misleading "C. Eastwood" on timing and scoring, is an Aston Martin employee, however, and may not be all that willing to risk angering his employer to move into the class lead with 13 hours to go.

The #75 Ferrari has spun off track again and gotten stuck in the gravel, leading to a Slow Zone in the Porsche Curves.

Hour 11:18: Another 15 percent of the broadcast is struggles for the MR Racing Ferrari, which seems to have another mechanical issue. That car runs 18th in GTE-Am and, presumably, is not short for "Mister Racing."

Hour 11:16: A solid 30 percent of this race broadcast is replays of LMP2 cars many laps down with electrical issues going through a power cycle. That so few LMP2 cars remain in contention for a class win is not unrelated.

Hour 11:08: After misfortune for the #71 Ferrari, just three cars remain on the lead lap in GTE-Pro. This is also the case in LMP2, while the #7 Toyota continues to lead overall by over a lap. At the very least, the race is becoming easier to follow.

Hour 11:01: The ACO have announced a mid-race disqualification for the #37 of Jackie Chan DC Racing. Apparently, a driver called a member of his team while stopped on track, and that team member showed up to where the stopped car was and supplied a component that got it back running. A strange end for what was once a promising entry.

Hour 10:57: Better lighting in the pit lane reveals that the issue for the #71 was in fact a shredded right-rear tire. That car will go into the garage to check for further damage. Aston Martin #95 will be promoted to third in GTE-Pro, three minutes behind the leaders in class.

Hour 10:53: The #71 AF Corse Ferrari, running third in GTE-Pro, has stopped on track. Driver Sam Bird appears to be dealing with a puncture or another right-side corner problem in the Dunlop Curves, meaning he will have to limp the car across the vast majority of the 8-mile Circuit de la Sarthe. That car will lose significant time, and could be in more trouble if driving with that damage creates more of an issue.

Hour 10:48: The #51 AF Corse Ferrari has stretched its lead out to 11 seconds in GTE-Pro, while the #83 AF Corse Ferrari has moved to second in GTE-Am and now trails the leading #98 Aston Martin by three seconds.

Hour 10:30: A driver change in the #97 Aston Mart has erased that car's sizable lead, and the #51 AF Corse Ferrari is back into the GTE-Pro lead by three seconds. Those cars retain a lead of about 90 seconds on the #71 AF Corse Ferrari.

A Slow Zone has been called between the two Mulsanne chicanes for the stopped #89 Team Project 1 (Yes, both a team and a project) Porsche, a GTE-Am entry stuck in a gravel trap.

Hour 10:14: The #33 High Class Racing LMP2 car, running a distant 21st in class after a series of difficulties throughout the day, is the latest car to stop and cycle power on the exit of Mulsanne. This is a common sight throughout the night as cars deal with various electrical issues with the most powerful tool available to them on the race track: Turning it all off and then turning it back on again.

The most compelling battle on track is for 9th in LMP2, a race nearly two laps behind the LMP2 leaders. Cooling battles at the front of LMP2, GTE-Pro, and GTE-Am have not left much else to watch in the top five of any of the four classes.

Hour 9:58: The #70 Ferrari, the MR Racing entry that previously been involved with a small fire in the pit lane, is stuck in the gravel after the Dunlop Chicane. The driver impressively saved the car from a high-speed collision, but came to a stop in the worst possible place and will have to be fished out. A Slow Zone has been called at and around the Start/Finish line for the car's recovery.

Hour 9:35: Expected rains seem further away by the minute. A local radar shown on the Eurosport broadcast shows no significant rain in the area, but this does not mean the threat will not re-emerge later in the race.

Hour 9:28: The #97 Aston Martin now enjoys a 15 second cushion on the #51 Ferrari for the lead in GTE-Pro. An impressive stint from Maxime Martin in what look like fairly evenly matched cars.

Hour 9:15: The #26 G-Drive Racing entry is finally in the garage. It seems the many attempts to cycle power did not solve that car's issues. It returns to the track a few minutes later.

The #32 and #22 of United Autosport now have a comfortable lead in LMP2, with the #38 of Jota Racing nearly a minute behind in third. The race's largest class has suffered significantly from early attrition.

Hour 9:10: The #70 Ferrari, a GTE-Am entry, has a small fuel spill in the pit lane, leading to a small fire. The fire is out, and the car continues.

An LMP2 car is stopping and re-starting at the exit of Mulsanne, leading to a local yellow. This author assumes this is the #26 of G-Drive Racing, but the Eurosport feed is showing this footage in a small box while playing a video about Michael Fassbender entering a Porsche Carrera Cup race, so this is difficult to confirm.

Hour 9:07: The #26 G-Drive Racing LMP2 car, which has run in the top four for most of the race has stopped in Indianapolis with its headlights off before re-starting and re-joining. That car will fall to fifth in class, and may fall further if electrical issues persist.

Hour 8:55: It would seem that most of the battles on track right now are between AF Corse and Aston Martin Racing. In addition to their fight for the GTE-Pro lead, the #98 GTE-Am Aston Martin leads the #83 GTE-Am Ferrari by just a few car lengths in the battle for second in that class.

Hour 8:52: The #63 Ferrari of WeatherTech Racing goes into the garage from seventh in class. That car took a brief detour off track just one lap ago.

Hour 8:50: And that has changed again, with the #97 Aston Martin clearing the #51 Ferrari. Those two are a minute and a half(!) ahead of the #71 Ferrari, which is in turn 90 seconds ahead of the #95 Aston Martin.

Hour 8:45: The #51 Ferrari again leads GTE-Pro, ahead of Aston Martin #97 and Ferrari #71. If nothing else changes, those would be the only three contenders in that class.

Hour 8:37: Aston Martin #90 moved past Aston Martin #98 during the last set of stops, taking the GTE-Am lead.

Hour 8:33: Your eyes don't deceive you, nothing notable has happened on track for about 40 minutes. Expected rain within an hour of an hour ago has not yet arrived, the tight battles in LMP2 and GTE-Pro remain in about the same place, and Toyota #7 still leads the race overall by a healthy margin.

Aston Martin #98 still leads in GTE-Am, ahead of Aston Martin #90.

Hour 7:52: The #32 United Autosports LMP2 entry is back into the lead of that class, still ahead of the #26 G-Drive Racing car by a short margin. The #38 of JOTA and #22 of Action Express Racing are all within reach of the lead in class.

In GTE-Pro, the #97 Aston Martin still leads the #71 and #51 AF Corse Ferraris by a thin margin. Those three were a safety car ahead of the #95 Aston Martin, which is scored in fourth.

Hour 7:51: Back to green.

Hour 7:45, Safety Car #3: The safety car is out following the completion of repairs in the first Mulsanne chicane. Since no other cars appear to be wrecked or stopped on track, Eurosport's commentators speculate that the safety car is out to remove the considerable number of safety vehicles that had been stopped in that chicane for guardrail repairs.

Hour 7:42: The #75 Iron Lynx, the leader in GTE-Am, has gone into the garage during its regular pit stop after completing a driver change. That team opened what would be the front storage compartment of the road car and saw something they didn't like with a flashlight before wheeling it into the pit lane. The #75 had led by two full minutes, but the #98 of Aston Martin Racing is likely to eventually take the lead in that class.

Hour 7:38: Porsche's GTE-Pro team reports to Eurosport that they expect rain "In the next hour," making a wet track a looming threat rather than an imminent one. The track is still officially declared wet, though, so lights will continue to blink.

Hour 7:32: The track has been declared wet, but cars are not wet and cameras aren't showing any rain. So far, this is just a normal race, but with flashing lights on the back of cars. That may chance quickly, but it has not changed yet.

Hour 7:26: Rain has arrived at Le Mans, or at least it will soon. Stewards have officially declared a wet track after rain was reported in the Porsche Curves.

Hour 7:25: The #37 LMP2 remains in the garage and appears to be undergoing repairs both behind and in front of the driver.

Hour 7:13: The LMP2 race, now between the #26 of G-Drive Racing and the #32 of United Autosports, is again the most interesting thing happening on track. Jean-Eric Vergne leads in the #26, while Martin Brundle is less than a second behind in the #32.

Hour 7:10: The Jackie Chan DC Racing car has finally made its way to the garage. It runs 18th in class, three laps behind the LMP2 leaders.

Hour 7:08: The #8 Toyota is back to second overall after making quick work of the #1 Rebellion. That car remains a full lap behind the overall leader, the #7 Toyota.

Hour 7:02: Back to green. A Slow Zone will remain at the beginning of the Mulsanne for some time as guardrail repairs continue.

Hour 6:56, Safety Car #2: A timing and scoring update has moved the #37 LMP2 car to 13th in class, over a lap down. This seemingly confirms that the car was stopped on track for some time, but not why or if the problem is actually fixed. This, I remind you, is a motor race taking place in the 2020s. The future is here, folks! We have a vague idea of where cars may be running!

Hour 6:50, Safety Car #2: The #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing car, the car that has led most of the race in LMP2, may be stopped on the side of the road in LMP2. The #16 G-Drive Racing car, another expected contender in LMP2, is certainly stopped on the side of the road.

Reports of the #37 stopping may have been in error. Who knows! Eurosport's coverage certainly doesn't, and they don't seem particularly concerned with figuring out, either. Timing and scoring lists that car as running 11th, but cameras have not shown that car in some time.

Toyota #8 returns to the track. That car will fall to third, splitting the two Rebellion entries.

Hour 6:48, Safety Car #2: The #8 Toyota is in the garage, repairing a brake duct issue on the right-front corner of the car. That car has struggled with cooling throughout the day, but it hasn't been a major issue yet. With a full lap of advantage on the #1 Rebellion for second overall, Toyota may be able to take advantage of this safety car period to make a repair without losing a position.

Hour 6:43, Safety Car #2: The ByKolles car is now spewing debris on its way down the track. This will extend the safety car.

Hour 6:39, Safety Car #2: Further replays show the #4 ByKolles car spinning at speed after the entire rear wing seemed to break off in the middle of a high speed corner, sending the car flying into the wall. Outside of the missing wing, the car is surprisingly undamaged.

Hour 6:34, Safety Car #2: Replays show that the #30 Duqueine LMP2 car spun on entry into the first Mulsanne chicane before making hard contact with the guardrail. Television lighting can't adequately show it, but that car is undoubtedly very damaged.

Hour 6:33, Safety Car #2: The #4 ByKolles LMP1 entry has crashed in the Dunlop Curves, bringing out the race's second safety car.

This, of course, is all happening in a small panel on the side of the screen, because the Eurosport coverage is catching up with Michael Fassbender. Did you know that Michael Fassbender has apparently driven a race car at some point?

The #30 Duqueine LMP2 entry is also parked on the side of the track. Why? Who knows! Michael Fassbender had to tell a story about the time he drove a racing car.

That car was running seventh in LMP2.

Hour 6:27: Jean-Eric Vergne has pushed the #26 G-Drive Racing LMP2 entry into the class lead, passing the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing car that had led for the majority of the race.

Hour 6:23: Ferrari #55, the Spirit of Race GTE-Am entry that spun after a catastrophic tire blowout destroyed the car's left-rear corner, has retired from the race.

Hour 6:17: Back to green. The top three in GTE-Pro, top two in LMP2, top two in GTE-Am, and top two in LMP1 were all behind their own safety cars, so those battles are all within a few seconds. The nature of the three car safety car system means that anyone behind those groups will now find themselves more than a minute behind their class leader. These safety car splits will become more significant later, so watch out for them.

Hour 6:00, Safety Car #1: The first safety car of the race comes at around hour 6. Here are the cars still on the lead lap in each class:

LMP1 - 7, 8
LMP2 - 37, 26, 32, 22, 30, 38, 31
GTE-Pro - 71, 51, 97
GTE-Am - 98, 90, 75

Only LMP2 #11 is retired, officially.

Hour 5:45, Safety Car #1: The #52 Ferrari, another AF Corse GTE-Am entry, is stopped, backwards, on the racing line after crashing hard in the Porsche Curves. These are the fastest corners on the track, and the impact was hard enough to destroy multiple suspension components. A safety car has been called, the first of the race.

The safety car system at Le Mans has undergone a few updates in the past few years, but it retains the controversial three car system that has long been known to split the field.

Hour 5:27: Notably, the #37 LMP2 entry of Jackie Chan DC Racing is now so far ahead in that class that it leads the #26 G-Drive Racing car, the only car on an alternate strategy that leaves it stopping six laps later than the #37, on track. The outright LMP2 leader will now be the LMP2 leader on-track for the foreseeable future.

Hour 5:20: Porsche #88, the GTE-Am car previously announced to have been retired, is back on track! This has come to your author's attention because the #88 is stuck in the gravel outside of Arnage.

That car is last among running cars on track. The new first retirement, apparently, is the #11 Eurointernational entry in LMP2. Probably. Maybe they'll be out on track in a few hours, too!

Hour 5:18: Porsche #92 is in the garage, or at least was in the garage at one point. Timing and scoring and world feed footage don't make this entirely clear, and even the Eurosport commentary team seems unaware. That car was running seventh in GTE-Pro, but has fallen off the pace entirely.

Eurosport reports that the issue on the #92 is a power steering failure.

Hour 5:15: A slow zone is called for the carcass of a flat tire on the Mulsanne, presumably from the #55 Ferrari.

Hour 5:12: Ferrari #55, a Spirit of Race entry in GTE-Am, spins at high speed in the Ford Chicanes. That car isn't damaged at all, but seemed to have blown a tire before the spin. It was running top ten in but should fall further down the order.

Hour 4:58: As the sun begins to set, headlights begin to turn on. Projected rain at sunset has not arrived, but is still expected later in the evening or early in the morning.

The race being run in September will lead to a significantly longer night than in most Le Mans events. An early sunset is the first part of this, and a late sunrise will follow.

Hour 4:46: The #35 Eurasia Motorsport LMP2 car is off at Arnage and stuck in the gravel, causing a Slow Zone in that corner. The car will need to be recovered.

Hour 4:35: After many, many changes of position, the order in GTE-Pro is Ferrari #71, Aston Martin #97, Ferrari #51. All three of those cars are within a second on track and they should change position a few more times.

Hour 4:14: The #51 Ferrari is past the #97 Aston Martin for second in GTE-Pro after a hard, lap-long battle with the Aston. Those cars have had comparable pace all race long, and that position could change hands a few more times in the coming laps.

Hour 4:07: Two cars, the #16 LMP2 car and #57 GTE-Am Porsche, have moderate damage after an impact between Indianapolis and Arnage. Both were running in the top ten in their respective classes.

Hour 3:45: The #71 AF Corse Ferrari has cycled back into the GTE-Pro lead after the most recent round of stops; That car leads the #96 Aston Martin by 5 seconds.

Hour 3:26: A change in position on track as the #32 United Autosports entry gets past the #38 JOTA entry for a net second in LMP2.

Hour 3:24: The #39 SO24-Has by Graf car, running third in LMP2, has spun in the Porsche Curves, but it is not stuck and is able to return to the track without issue. That car has fallen to eighth in class.

Hour 3:10: A Slow Zone has been called on the start-finish line after contact between two LMP2 cars left significant debris on the track surface.

Hour 3:02: Will Stevens and Jackie Chan DC Racing have again cycled to the LMP2 lead, and their on-track lead is nearly 30 seconds.

The closest battle for a lead on track is in GTE-Am, where the #56 Team Project 1 Porsche leads the #90 TF Sport Aston Martin by five seconds.

Hour 2:35: The bottom four in GTE-Pro, including both pole-sitting Porsche entries, are now nearly a minute behind the top four in class. Aston Martin and AF Corse have firmly established themselves at the top of that field.

Hour 2:20: You're not missing anything; Nothing has really happened for about half an hour. The #7 Toyota still leads overall, the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing LMP2 car will still be leading that class once stops file through and the #97 Aston Martin still leads GTE-Pro in a tight race with the #71 Ferrari.

Notably, the #37 is well, well behind the rest of the LMP2 field on when it actually stops; The car is the net leader, but spends most of its time on track mired back in the field. The #39 SO24-Has by Graf (Yes, that's the full name) entry leads the group on the other fuel strategy.

Hour 1:52: LMP2 #37, the Jackie Chan DC Racing entry, has filed back into the class lead, as expected. Driver Will Stevens leads by five seconds.

GTE-Am Ferrari #54, one of the AF Corse entries, pops into the garage from fifth in class. A worrying sign for an expected contender in that class.

Hour 1:46: The #97 Aston Martin Vantage and #71 AF Corse Ferrari exchange the GTE-Pro lead yet again, with the Aston Martin again coming out in front.

The Aston Martins and Ferraris continue to pace the class, while the pole-sitting Porsches remain consistently slower. Those cars will be patiently awaiting expected rains, traditionally strong conditions for 911-based racing cars even as the cars have become mid-engined.

Hour 1:39: The #22 United Autosports LMP2 entry, currently driven by Filipe Albuquerque, has fallen to a net third from the race lead after a struggle throughout this stint, and is about to be overtaken by the #33 High Class Racing entry, likely to drop the car to a net fourth. The #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing car made its third stop well before the rest of the class, but it should cycle back into the class lead once the other LMP2 entries make their stops.

Hour 1:37: Notably, Toyota #8 has made an additional stop and is still ahead of the #1 Rebellion car. This means that the Toyotas are already a full stop ahead, less than 1/12th of the way through the race.

Hour 1:21: Toyota #8 is clear of Toyota #7 for the overall lead. The #7 had been the net leader for the first hour and twenty minutes of the race, but struggles since its last stop have opened the door for the #8 to move into the overall lead.

Both remain about a minute ahead of the #1 Rebellion entry. Expect them to gain about that much time on the Rebellion every hour or two. If that continues over the course of the race, that leaves the Rebellions firmly close enough to the Toyotas to keep them honest, but not nearly close enough to take advantage of their top-end pace and actually compete on-track for a race win.

Changing conditions, whether weather or track temperature, could cause that to change.

Hour 1:18: The #97 of Aston Martin Racing now leads in GTE-Pro, ahead of the #71 AF Corse Ferrari. Their teammates follow, and that group of four has about fifteen seconds of gap on the other four entries, two Ferraris and two Porsches, who all run in a gaggle in their battle for fifth.

Hour 1:10: The #3 Rebellion is making a quick bodywork change during its second stop. This is likely planned as part of a setup change, rather than an issue the car has encountered mid-race.

Hour 1:00: After one hour, Toyotas #8 and #7 still have a clear lap-by-lap pace advantage on the Rebellions. However, Rebellion #1 actually has the fastest lap of the race to date, at 3:19.2. The fastest Toyota has hit 3:19.3, while the #3 Rebellion has hit just 3:22.3 on its fastest run.

Both cars trail Toyota #7 by over a minute; Toyota #8 runs in fourth after making its second stop ahead of schedule.

Hour 0:59: Porsche #88, the GTE-Am entry from Dempsey-Proton, is the first retirement of the race. Their run ends less than an hour into 24.

Hour 0:42: A sizable Slow Zone has been called, from the Start-Finish line to the end of the Dunlop Curves, to grab the #35.

Hour 0:41: The #35 Eurasia Motorsport LMP2 car has spun in the Dunlop Curves, bringing out a local yellow. The car slid to a stop in the deep gravel, but avoided any contact with a wall.

Hour 0:33: The LMP1 leaders have made their first stops, most on lap nine. Toyota #7 was able to make it to lap 10. This stint was short for most teams, largely due to parade laps, so expect each team's next stop to be 10 or 11 laps away.

Hour 0:20: Two GTE-Am cars, Ferrari #61 and Porsche #88, have hit the wall hard in the permanent section of the track, near the pit lane. The two wrecked just behind one of the Toyotas, but avoided any contact with competitors from other classes. The wreck was a result of the #61 locking up under braking, causing the #88 to drive off the course to avoid the spinning car. Unfortunately for the Dempsey-Proton team running that car, the Porsche took the most damage of the two entries.

The stewards call a local yellow, not a safety car or a slow zone.

Hour 0:15: Porsche #91, the GTE-Pro polesitter, is down to sixth in class. Aston Martins #95 and #97 now run second and third, behind the leading #51 Ferrari of AF Corse. A worrying early stint for Porsche, who run sixth and seventh in an eight-car class.

Hour 0:14: Rebellion's race pace is nothing short of impressive. Toyota #7 has a three second lead on Rebellion #1, but that car has been able to both hold off Toyota #8 and stay within striking distance of the overall leader. Toyota has other advantages, but, if this holds up over the next few early hours, Rebellion might be doing more than just keeping Toyota honest.

Hour 0:03: The #22 United Autosports LMP2 car retains its class lead, but the drama in LMP2 is the #36 Signatech Alpine entry, a prohibitive favorite in the class, which has already gone to the garage with a mechanical issue, just six minutes into the race. This is, needless to say, a worrying development for that team, which qualified tenth in class.

Toyota #8 has still been unable to pass Rebellion #1. Does that car have more pace than advertised?

Hour 0:01: The race is underway.

Toyota #7 jumps out to an early lead into the Dunlop Curves, while Toyota #8 can't immediately clear the #1 Rebellion, which actually was able to qualify second overall. Given their expected difference in race pace, that holding for more than a few laps would be a major surprise.

Porsche #91, pole sitter in GTE-Pro, loses class lead to the #91 Ferrari into the first chicane of the Mulsanne.

Hour 0:00 - Better days are ahead at the Circuit de la Sarthe, but they are not here yet.

Next year, the race will debut the Le Mans Hypercar class, joining current LMP1 cars grandfathered in to create a larger battle for the overall win. In 2022, Peugeot will join the grid, providing Toyota with its only guaranteed factory competition since Porsche left the sport after the 2017 race. Later that season, Hypercars will be joined by IMSA's new LMDh category, completing a top-level prototype convergence that will, finally, return both European and American prototype racing to a shared set of regulations, and allow IMSA teams to compete for an overall win at Le Mans.

All of this paints a picture of a bright future, one that will make every upcoming race more interesting than the next. All of that, however, is next. Now, the 24 hour classic is being run with its least competitive professional field in many, many years. Toyota faces some competition from the Rebellion Racing team that has given them trouble throughout the FIA World Endurance Championship season, but a lack of the success ballast that has kept Rebellion in that series means the Toyotas should still easily overwhelm the Rebellions on race pace. The LMP1 battle will come down to whether or not Toyota can finish the race at their full pace.

In GTE-Pro, the loss of Porsche's American program, BMW's European program, and Ford's two-car programs from both regions has cut the field by eight cars, while Corvette Racing's inability to make their way to France and back for the event has removed two more. Just eight cars are left in the category, two each from Porsche and Aston Martin Racing in competition with four Ferraris. While the field may be thin and unimpressive by its usual standards, it will nonetheless be expected to provide yet another fantastic, competitive race.

The losses in LMP1 and GTE-Pro have led to greatly expanded fields in LMP2 and GTE-Am, with the LMP2 field being particularly exciting. Due in no small part to issues in other classes, that category has seen a massive influx of driving talent, creating a 24-car field full of cars that will be anchored by a driver that would have, in other years, been a part of a factory LMP1 program gunning for an overall win. GTE-Am's 22 entries aren't quite as exciting, but there sure are many of them.

The race begins at around 8:30 a.m. ET. This live blog will count upward, from hour 0 to hour 24, and will keep you up to date on all four classes.

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