The first rule of Petit Le Mans is make to the night, and all but six cars have done so. Of the cars still going, 17 are on their respective lead laps – a lower number than might be expected, however the entire third quarter was caution-free, the last green flag coming with 5h32m left in the race.
The No. 10 WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06 came on strong in the late afternoon, and Filipe Albuquerque set the car’s best lap of the day as the last vestiges of twilight faded from the sky. Albuquerque led at the three-quarter mark.
The No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 is the closest pursuer, usually within 10s, despite having to serve a drive-through penalty for Nick Tandy making contact with the No. 47 Cetilar Ferrari 296. Mathieu Jaminet was wheeling the No. 6 with two-and-a-half hours to go.
The sister PPM Porsche with Matt Campbell at the wheel had a long pit stop to replace a fuel flow meter, and then fell off the lead lap immediately after another stop when he slid off Turn 3 on fresh, cold tires.
Both the No. 01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R and the No. 40 WTRAndretti Acura made it onto the lead lap, but a puncture for the No. 40 dropped it back a lap again, leaving the No. 01 the third and last car on the lead lap.
The No. 7 Porsche is currently on a different pit stop sequence, going 14-15m longer than the rest of the contenders, which could certainly become a factor at the end.
Hunter McElrea had the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA in the lead of LMP2, which portends well for the team as it looks to take the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. McElrea was followed by Nicklas Nielsen in the No. 88 AF Corse entry and the No. 74 Riley Motorsports ORECA driven by Josh Burdon.