LM24 Hour 19: No.51 Ferrari extends its lead

Ferrari continues to run 1-2-3 at Le Mans with five hours to go in the 93rd edition.

The gaps have grown between the leading No.51 factory Ferrari 499P, the privately entered yellow No.83 and the No.50 factory car. All three cars have changed drivers this hour: Alessandro Pier Guidi leads, from Ye Yifei and Miguel Molina.

The positions behind them remain the same: Best of the rest is the No.6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 of Kevin Estre in fourth, followed by the No.8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid of Brendon Hartley, the No.12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R of Alex Lynn, and the No.15 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 of Raffaele Marciello.
Tom Gamble in the No.007 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie had a very, very close call with the guardrail along the Mulsanne Straight as he tried to pass GT and LMP2 traffic. He grazed the grass to his right but avoided a major catastrophe.

It's a good opportunity to mention that both Valkyries, while not featuring at the front, are trending towards finishing the race in their first attempt with minimal issues.

Besides that and a brief Full Course Yellow for debris – the second in as many hours – all is as it was before in what is trending to be a Le Mans 24 Hours defined by overwhelmingly professional dominance, but also limited drama.

That includes the lower categories to some degree. The No.92 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 911 LMGT3 R still maintains its steady, commanding rhythm.

Richard Lietz has given way to Riccardo Pera and still leads the race, firmly ahead of the #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 with Alessio Rovera. Mattia Drudi in the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage continues in third, ahead of the #81 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette and the two Akkodis ASP Team Lexus.

LMP2 could break the trend though: The #43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA 07-Gibson still leads with Nick Yelloly now aboard, but Esteban Masson has cut the gap down to within striking distance in the No.48 VDS Panis Racing ORECA, less than five seconds.

It may come down to a race of 'who blinks first' if either of them do.

The No.28 IDEC Sport ORECA and #9 Iron Lynx-Proton ORECA remain entrenched in third and fourth, while the Pro/Am leading No.199 AO by TF is under no threat for Pro/Am honours, and is fifth of all P2s.

HOUR 19 STANDINGS