83 KUBICA Robert (pol), SHWARTZMAN Robert (isr), YE Yifei (chn), AF Corse, Ferrari 499P #83, Hypercar, FIA WEC, action during the Free Practice 2 of the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans, 4th round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship, on the Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, on June 12, 2024 in Le Mans, France – Photo Julien Delfosse / DPPI
Robert Kubica maintains his lead at Le Mans for AF Corse Ferrari, six and a half hours into this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, rain showers have recently caused teams to switch to wet tires. Fortunately, the rain has ceased, and the track is now drying.
The Polish driver, competing in the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, has a comfortable lead of over 50 seconds ahead of Fred Makowiecki in the #5 Porsche 963.
Ryo Hirakawa holds the third position in the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid, trailing Makowiecki by an additional six seconds.
Nicklas Nielsen sits in fourth place in the #50 Ferrari 499P, one and a half minutes behind the leader. He has just made a pit stop but opted not to switch to slick tires, as Ferrari has adopted different strategies.
All three cars have made pit stops to switch to wet tires as the rain began to fall as predicted at 10 pm.
Kubica, along with his teammates Robert Shwartzman and Yifei Ye in the #83 Ferrari, has been leading the race for several hours. They have been engaged in a fierce battle with the two factory Ferraris, the #8 Toyota, and the #5 Porsche.
The #6 Porsche faced a setback earlier in the race due to an unnecessary switch to wet tires. However, Laurens Vanthoor has taken over the wheel and managed to make a comeback over the past few hours.
While the intense competition continues at the front, both Alpine cars have encountered reliability issues. The #35 Alpine A424 stopped on the track at Arnage, with Ferdinand Habsburg swiftly exiting the car as smoke emanated from the exhaust.
The other Alpine, #36 Alpine, had to make a pit stop due to engine problems and is now positioned at the back of the field, trailing by 33 laps.
In the LMP2 category, Stephane Richelmi leads the race in the #10 Vector Sport Oreca 07-Gibson. He has held this position unchallenged for the past few hours. Currently, he enjoys a 50-second advantage over Bijoy Garg in the #22 United Autosports Oreca 07-Gibson, while Malthe Jakobsen in the #37 COOL Racing Oreca 07-Gibson trails by an additional 20 seconds.
Joel Sturm is leading the #92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 911 GT3R, with a 54-second lead over Maxime Martin in the #46 WRT BMW M4 GT3. However, Sturm has just made a pit stop and relinquished the lead, while Martin is due for a stop.
Daniel Serra in the #86 GR Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 holds the third position, trailing second place by approximately 45 seconds.