Le Mans 24 Hours Live Commentary and Updates
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours.
The eagerly-anticipated centenary edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours is the first in which cars built to the new-for-2023 LMDh ruleset have been eligible to compete.
Toyota is seeking a sixth consecutive victory at the world's most famous endurance race, while Ferrari on its first factory effort in the top class in half a century and fellow returnee Porsche are gunning for their 10th and 20th victories respectively.
A field of 62 cars, including the Garage 56 NASCAR entry and 21 GTE Am machines on the category's Le Mans swansong, will take the start at the Circuit de la Sarthe at 4pm local time and race through the night.
Join us here for live updates throughout the race.
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Pit stop
Remarkably after its rear end contact with the barriers Pera brings the leading GTE Am car back - Dixon's #3 Caddy also gets back to the pits, as did Habsburg.
The lead Ferrari has opted to stay out under this safety car but Menezes pits from second in the Peugeot, promoting Giovinazzi in the second Ferrari to P2.
Pit stop
The #38, #7 and #5 Porsches also head into the pits at this point.
All of the LMP2 leaders have pitted bar Fittipaldi, who stays out under this safety car.
Conservative strategy from Peugeot there as a pitstop interrupts Menezes' run given the bright sunshine on the pitstraight. The lower hybrid activation speed of the Peugeot in comparison with the Ferrari (and the Toyota) was paying dividends.
After their earlier contact, Schiavone and Hardwick are both now listed as retirements.
There's a proper traffic jam there at pit exit, so likely we'll see some shuffling in the order among the GTE Am and LMP2 cars that got halted by the red light.
Still showing as in the pits is Pera after that hefty rearward whack to the GR Porsche. Rigon has pitted and stayed aboard the #54 Ferrari he's driven since the start. He now assumes the GTE Am lead from Bronze-rated Bovy, now in for Frey in the Iron Dames Porsche, with Hyett and Yokomizo (after his visit to the gravel) in third and fourth respectively.
Pit stop
Now the two Ferraris decide to pit from the lead under this safety car, opting to do an extra lap compared to the Peugeot.
Wadoux is showing as stopped on the timing screens. That's not surprising after she floated the #83 Ferrari at unabated speed into the barriers on the approach to the Porsche Curves. The #100 Walkenhorst Ferrari that Haryanto beached in the gravel did make it back to the pits though.
Right, that was a breathless opening three hours for this centenary edition of Le Mans! Now it's time for Autosport's first driver change and it's time to hand over to birthday boy Haydn Cobb and Richard Asher.
Thanks for a mega opening stint James and Stephen, what a moment to handover as well! The pitstops and safety car are seeing the order chopping and changing, so once things shake out let's see what's what.
There's a few handshakes going on in the Peugeot garage because Menezes in the #94 has inherited the lead amid the pitstops. It's been a tough Le Mans for the home team so far but that is something to smile about.
Pietro Fittipaldi currently leads in LMP2, followed by a pair of Alpines as the field settles in behind the safety car - this weather disruption and these tyre changes could be a strategy reset and a chance for the race to settle into a pattern...but don't bet on it!
The pits are fairly quiet for the time being in GTE Am as well. Davide Rigon leads for AF Corse, with Sarah Bovy slotting in behind - she has just taken over the Iron Dames Porsche from Rahel Frey.
So the #94 Peugeot leads from the #38 Jota Porsche as the pair of Ferraris are cycled back to third and fourth. Given the general carnage of the opening three hours, this race is anyone's bet right now.
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"It is pretty wild out there, when the rain came down it was aquaplaning all the way. One car went off in front of me," Conway reports, after just hopping out of his Toyota having handed over to Lopez.
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The #22 United Autosports LMP2 car, which was involved in an incident with the #77 Porsche GTE Am car a little before the three-hour mark, is back out and running. 26 minutes were lost to the repair job, and Philip Hanson has jumped in for his first stint.
Breaking news
Need to quick round-up of what's been happening? Look no further: https://www.autosport.com/le-mans/news/le-mans-24h-h3-/10481259/
Pietro Fittipaldi remained out during the last flurry of stops when the rain came, hence a large lead in LMP2. But the drop-back procedure should soon be initiated.
The pack is still following the safety car at present, so no change to the order at the front. The contrast of track conditions is captured on the Mulsanne straight, as just into the braking zone the track goes from fully dry to fully wet. That'll be scary at racing speed.
For all those tuning in from Liechtenstein - and fans of sportscar trivia! - Matthias Kaiser has taken over the Vector Sport LMP2 from Gabriel Aubry. You'll know he's only the second driver from the little principality to race at Le Mans. All being well, he will take the restart in fifth place behind Pietro Fittipaldi, Memo Rojas, Julien Canal and the #23 United Autosports car of Oliver Jarvis.
Among the current front-runners in GTE Am, only the leading #54 AF Corse Ferrari still has its starting driver at the wheel. That's Italian Davide Rigon.
Speaking to TV, Duval says he thinks Peugeot doesn't have the pure pace in the dry, but they come to the fore in the wet, while operationally he feels they've been able to make gains during the safety car periods. Chaos is Peugeot's friend, it seems.
The track marshals are sweeping the circuit trying to clear the standing water at the first chicane on the Mulsanne straight as we continue still behind the safety car.
Pit stop
The #93 Peugeot and #5 Porsche both pit to switch for slick tyres as track conditions are improving all the time. Given the race is still under the safety car, it seems a sensible call to not lose much time.
Rigon is finally out of the #54 Ferrari, handing over to former British Formula 3 racer Francesco Castellacci. They've retained grooved tyres and Iron Dames move up into the GTE Am lead.
Fittipaldi has given up the LMP2 lead with a pitstop behind the safety car...and switched to slicks in anticipation of a dryish (or dry enough) restart at some point...that leaves an Alpine 1-2 in the class for the moment.
Pit stop
The pitlane is full of Hypercars - as the #38 Jota, #50 Ferrari, #51 Ferrari and #2 Cadillac all come in together for fuel and dry tyres.
Oh dear - the #93 Peugeot that had just pitted has spun and got beached in the gravel at Mulsanne corner. Vergne is at the wheel and it appears the car lets go on him spinning on new, cold tyres.
The track marshals have got a tractor to Vergne to free him from the gravel trap. A very minor off but it looks set to lose the #93 Peugeot a full lap under the safety car.
The #94 Peugeot still leads having stayed out behind the safety car, so next is #6 Porsche with both Toyotas tucked up behind it. This safety car period has lasted an hour now.
All quiet in the LMP2 and GTE Am classes (and pitlanes) as this hour-old safety car period goes on.
The pass around behind the safety car has begun, so it means most of the Hypercar runners who were a lap down will get it back now.
While it has been a bad day out for the #83 Richard Mille AF Corse GTE Am Ferrari, we can report that Lilou Wadoux is out of the car and uninjured after her crash. The car ended up at the roundabout beyond the Porsche Curves and is officially listed as stopped.
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Given the amount of delays, the records for most laps and longest distance covered can be tucked away for another year.
The pass around order is finally complete, and the running order is now being constructed by the race director.
Further to the Wadoux incident, we've heard Ferdinand Habsburg's Team WRT LMP2 entry has a broken toe link from the square-on rear impact. But at least this car is still going, albeit 19th in class.
By: Autosport Staff
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