Le Mans 24 Hours Live Commentary and Updates
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours
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BMW is unsure what is wrong with the #15 but a suspected hybrid cooling issue has left it stuck. An engine issue is suspected for the #20.
Gray has almost dropped it on the way into the pits for VDS Panis and the #48 may find itself in hot water for cutting across the white lines there. The #43 continued and will pit shortly to realign the gap at the top of LMP2.
The #51 is sitting pretty apparently as Giovinazzi is told the #50 needs more fuel than him and the #6 needs another tyre change before the chequered flag. There's eight seconds to the #50 and a further 20 to the #6 - the Porsche within 18 seconds of the race lead.
Trouble for the #20 BMW as it's wheeled into the garage, with not a lot of work going on around the car. The #15 is also in the garage and falling out of the top 10.
Calado out and Giovinazzi in for the #51 team as it hits pitlane. Now tyres are going on the car and they are back in the game. Can the Italian chase the #6 Porsche?
The #59 McLaren that was last of the runners still circulating is back in the garage and having a diagnosis by mechanics. At this stage of the race any issues could be terminal.
In LMGT3, the #92 Manthey Porsche still has a lead well over a minute as we enter the final two hours.
But just 10 seconds separates second and third in class - the #21 and #81.
Dillmann has stabalised the gap to Gray in the battle for LMP2 supremacy - the gap back out to six seconds from four.
More woe for the #38 Cadillac, which is under investigation again - this time for a technical infringement. From bad to worse for that crew but the sister #12 car is comfortable in the top five.
Kubica is in and will stay in for the next stint as the #50 and #6 follow into the pits.
Tyres are being fitted to the race leading machine, we know the #6 won't so should jump the #50, which also changes tyres.
It is clear that the fresh tyres are working beautifully for the #6 PPM, with the gap closing right up to the #50 as the top three prepare to box at the end of the lap.
The LMP2 lead gap is just four seconds now! Gray is on some mission to close into the #43 Inter Europol machine.
No move into Daytona but the Michelin Chicane may present a new opportunity and yes! The #6 flies past on fresher tyres and into third... for now.
Huge traffic for both drivers through the Ford Chicane and across the line but they both clear it all before the Dunlop Chicane. This is shaping up for Campbell out of Tertre Rouge.
Meanwhile, it's game on in Hypercar with Campbell using his fresher tyres to pull within a second of Calado for third. The Porsche probably has two laps before the next stop though...
The #27 Aston is out of sequence so now ahead of the #21 Ferrari but should be soon stopping.
Some silly antics heading to pitlane as the #21 is almost taken out by the #63 Iron Lynx Mercedes, which tries to make an overtake bizarrely. Grove is under investigation for dangerous driving.
That could have been worse for what is net-second in LMGT3.
The gap between the two lead LMP2 cars is down to just nine seconds with Gray on a charge for the #48 VDS Panis car. Both the top classes are teed up for a thrilling final two hours.
The gap is now at 32 seconds between first and second, with the #51 10 seconds further back.
Porsche is coming back to the Ferraris though, which will concern the #51 crew.
Back to green we go!
Race direction have declared a FCY - unsure for why at the moment but likely another quick debris clean-up.
Kubica has just been asked if he could run to the end of the race, to which the answer is: "No way."
So will it be Ye or Hanson to try and clinch victory?
Dillmann has kept Gray at a comfortable buffer since the driver changes at the last LMP2 stops: The gap between #43 and #48 remains at around 17 seconds. Another round of pit visits is coming up soon though.
Almost a disaster for Campbell in the #6 as the United Autosports McLaren gets in the way on entry to Mulsanne and the Porsche has to take evasive action off-track. Now the gap to Ferrari's #51 is 9.2s.
Kubica is told that all three Ferraris are on triple stints on their tyres, which is good information as the Pole stretches the lead again. It's 18.5s.
#51 Ferrari in the pits. Let's see what service it gets: fuel and an oil refill! That will cost some time - indeed the #83 goes back into the lead, 17 seconds ahead of the #50.
The #51 rejoins ahead of the #6 Porsche but without having taken new tyres. The gap between the top four is now around 44 seconds, rather than 14 seconds pre-stops.
The Inter Europol #43 remains at the head of the LMP2 field as the #48 attempts to draw the lead back in. That's a much closer battle than for the lead in LMGT3, where the #92 is a country mile ahead of its rivals.
A wheel gun issue did hold the #6 up during that latest pitstop, but all is not lost. Calado has one more lap before pitting in the #50 but he has a lot of traffic to negotiate in doing so.
So 14 seconds now splits the #83 and #50, we will wait to see where the #51 shuffles out when it pits. The overcut has worked with lower fuel across the opening 21 hours so it could be a huge advantage.
Here we go, let's see what happens here as the three mentioned pit. Precision is key from the crews here. Fuel only for the #83, so too for the #50 and a driver swap as Matt Campbell takes over the #6. A good 20 seconds slower for the full service at Porsche.
Lap 340 and the #83, #50 and #6 should all be stopping at the end of the lap. The #51 has at least two more laps to run before pitting.
Kubica has a lot of LMP2 traffic to encounter as he starts a new lap which will only see that gap close even further.
But now we are into the hottest part of the race and more akin to conditions that saw Porsche bolt into an early lead around 21 hours ago. Will that be a factor in the final three hours?
Thanks James! It may be the run to the flag but there are plenty of twists in the tale to come I am sure.
This Hypercar battle is enthralling and the gap between #83 and #50 is now under 12 seconds. But what can that Porsche #6 do?
It has been a privilege to bring you all the updates from Le Mans 2025. I'll step away for one last time as Ewan Gale steps up to the plate. It's all yours for the run to the flag.
Another lap where Nielsen is quicker than Kubica. The gap now stands at 12.3s. Things are really hotting up in the battle for victory. Vanthoor for the time being remains tucked behind Calado in fourth spot.
Yelloly has now vacated the #43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA, which continues to lead in LMP2. Tom Dillmann clambers back aboard the green and yellow machine, which his Polish team hopes will repeat its superb 2023 victory that third driver Kuba Smiechowski scored that year with Albert Costa and Fabio Scherer. Dillmann is 15s clear of Oliver Gray, the British rookie who appears to be preferred to Franck Perera when Esteban Masson is taking a rest.
Nielsen, now in clear air, is indeed chipping away at Kubica and has the gap down to under 14s. Can he keep shaving time out of the Pole's lead?
So, a quick stock take. The #51 Ferrari has two laps more energy than the two Ferraris ahead. Both of the red cars have won Le Mans before, the yellow customer #83 has not. Kubica, don't forget, has come agonisingly close to winning here on several occasions in the past - denied on the last lap in 2021, second in 2022 and 2023. Could this be his year? This is bubbling up nicely with three hours to go.
Change for second! Nielsen goes ahead of Calado with a committed move to the inside at the right-hand kink before Indianapolis. Now, what can he do about Kubica's lead?
By: Autosport staff
