In line with a very animated start to the race, the night of the 24 Hours of Le Mans was also turbulent, with in particular the retirement of the Toyota n°7 following an accident involving Kamui Kobayashi around midnight, but also that of Peugeot n°94 after the exit of Gustavo Menezes at 3 am, then the French prototype had led the race for a few hours and could aim for the podium.
These various incidents allowed the Toyota n°8 to take control, with Ryo Hirakawa at the wheel. But the Japanese is chased by the No. 51 Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi, ten seconds behind, who also lost time in a track exit just before midnight. Earl Bamber’s #2 Cadillac is also on the same lap, but two minutes away.
The first Porsche, the n°6 of Laurens Vanthoor, was 4th by one lap, and the first 9X8, the n°93 (Jean-Éric Vergne), 6th by two laps.
The night was also marked by mechanical problems for Ferrari n°50 (ERS cooling system) and Porsche n°5 (coolant leak) which caused them to lose more than 20 minutes in the pits.