Norman Nato led the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA with four hours remaining, as fewer than 10 seconds separated the leading four Hypercars.
The #12 Cadillac V-Series.R headed the #8 and #7 Toyota TR010 Hybrids, while the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 remained firmly involved despite Robin Frijns losing the lead with a mistake at pit entry. A Safety Car period at three-quarter distance had already erased the gaps between the leading contenders and brought the recovering #7 Toyota into the fight for outright victory.
Meanwhile, the interruption also transformed the two support categories. TF Sport lost its sizeable LMGT3 advantage, while Duqueine Team saw its LMP2 lead disappear as both Inter Europol Competition cars closed in.
Safety Car brings four Hypercars together
BMW, Cadillac and Toyota had exchanged the lead throughout the race as their fuel, tyre and pit-stop strategies repeatedly shifted the order. However, the Safety Car at three-quarter distance brought the #7 Toyota into the leading contest and created a four-car fight involving the #20 BMW, #12 Cadillac and both factory Toyotas.
Before the interruption, Louis Delétraz appeared to hold control for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA. Nevertheless, the Stewards handed the #12 Cadillac a drive-through penalty for a slow-zone infringement, which dropped the gold-liveried car to third and left it 14 seconds behind Brendon Hartley’s #8 Toyota and Sheldon van der Linde’s #20 BMW.
The penalty briefly appeared to hand the advantage back to Toyota and BMW. However, the Safety Car later reduced the gaps and allowed Cadillac to recover the time it had lost, setting up a direct contest between the four leading cars.
BMW loses ground in the pits before regaining the lead of the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans
BMW had already surrendered track position to Toyota shortly after 06:00 when the #20 crew encountered a delay while working on the front-left wheel. Van der Linde returned to the circuit behind Hartley and struggled to exploit the grip from his fresh tyres while running closely behind the Toyota.
The order changed again during the 18th hour when the two cars stopped together. BMW elected not to change tyres, while Toyota fitted fresh rubber to the #8. The shorter stop allowed van der Linde to leapfrog Hartley and establish an advantage of approximately 20 seconds.
However, that lead disappeared when race control deployed the Safety Car at 10:00. Ayhancan Güven had hit the barriers at Mulsanne in the #91 Manthey DK Engineering Porsche, forcing officials to neutralise the race and erase BMW’s hard-earned gap.
Cadillac benefits from neutralisation
The Safety Car also helped the #12 Cadillac after Hertz Team JOTA had earlier made an emergency pit stop. When racing resumed just over an hour later, Frijns led Nato, with the BMW and Cadillac running nose-to-tail at the front.
Nato immediately applied pressure to the BMW but soon had to pay attention to the two Toyotas behind. Kamui Kobayashi and Ryō Hirakawa closed rapidly and both lowered the race’s fastest lap during their pursuit, underlining Toyota’s pace as the race entered its final quarter.
The #7 Toyota’s arrival in the lead group completed a significant recovery after Nyck de Vries had suffered a slow puncture during the fourth hour. Toyota had gradually brought the car back through the order, and the Safety Car finally gave it direct contact with the leaders.
Frijns drops BMW from first to fourth
Frijns held the lead until he entered the pits with approximately four-and-a-half hours remaining. However, the Dutchman locked his brakes at pit entry and slid across the gravel, losing valuable time before reaching the BMW garage.
The delay dropped the #20 car from first to fourth and promoted Nato into the lead as the race entered its 21st hour. Hirakawa followed in the #8 Toyota, while Kobayashi held third in the sister #7 entry. Frijns remained close behind, ensuring BMW stayed inside the victory fight despite the mistake.
With fewer than 10 seconds covering all four contenders, none of the manufacturers held a decisive advantage. Cadillac led on track, Toyota possessed two cars in the battle and BMW remained close enough to capitalise on any error or strategic change.
Ferrari heads the chasing group in the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans
James Calado ran fifth in the #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P, although the reigning Manufacturers’ World Championship-winning entry sat some distance behind the leading quartet. Ferrari had recovered from Alessandro Pier Guidi’s earlier drive-through penalty, but the car lacked the track position to join the immediate fight at the front.
Robert Kubica followed in sixth aboard the privately entered #83 AF Corse Ferrari, which won the previous edition of the race. That car had also lost time through a slow-zone penalty but remained inside the leading six.
The #35 Alpine A424 held seventh, while the #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie occupied eighth. The heavily penalised #101 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac ran ninth after receiving a fourth drive-through penalty, this time for breaching Full Course Yellow speed requirements. The #36 Alpine completed the Hypercar top 10.
Genesis records first retirement of debut campaign
Genesis Magma Racing suffered its first retirement since entering the FIA WEC when Mathys Jaubert stopped the #17 GMR-001 at approximately 08:30 with suspension damage.
The car had run just outside the points-paying positions before the failure ended its Le Mans debut. Genesis had shown encouraging pace during the first half of the race, although both cars also encountered technical difficulties as the event progressed.
The #19 entry remained in the race after earlier electrical issues and brief stoppages, but the retirement of the #17 marked a disappointing end to one half of Genesis’s first Le Mans programme.
Safety Car erases Corvette’s LMGT3 advantage
TF Sport had built a commanding LMGT3 lead with the #33 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R shared by Ben Keating, Jonny Edgar and Nicky Catsburg. Before the Safety Car, the Corvette led by one minute and 40 seconds and appeared to hold firm control of the class.
However, the neutralisation erased that cushion and brought Aston Martin and Lexus back into contention. Catsburg retained the lead after the restart, but Eduardo ‘Dudu’ Barrichello closed to just over three seconds in the #23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3.
Jack Hawksworth also remained within reach in the #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3. Consequently, the class leader suddenly faced immediate pressure from two different manufacturers after enjoying a substantial advantage before the interruption.
Aston Martin and Lexus remain closely matched
A second Aston Martin-Lexus battle developed directly behind the leading trio. Zacharie Robichon held fourth in the pole-sitting #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin, while Clemens Schmid closed in the sister #87 Lexus.
Alessio Rovera kept the #21 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 in contention in sixth. Therefore, Corvette, Aston Martin, Lexus and Ferrari all retained realistic podium opportunities as the race moved into its final four hours.
The Safety Car had completely changed the character of the class. TF Sport could no longer rely on its earlier gap and now had to defend the lead against several cars running on closely matched strategies.
Proton and Manthey suffer late setbacks
Both Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3 entries encountered mechanical trouble. A broken gearbox forced the #77 Mustang into retirement, while the sister #88 car lost time after suffering a broken toe-link.
Manthey’s recent run of Le Mans LMGT3 success also appeared set to end. Güven’s heavy impact at Mulsanne forced the #91 Manthey DK Engineering Porsche 911 GT3 R into retirement, while the sister #92 Manthey car remained five laps behind after earlier technical problems.
Those setbacks removed two established contenders from the battle and further strengthened the chances of Corvette, Aston Martin, Lexus and Ferrari.
Duqueine loses its LMP2 cushion in the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans
Duqueine Team had controlled most of the LMP2 contest with the #30 Oreca-Gibson shared by Doriane Pin, Julien Andlauer and Richard Verschoor. However, the Safety Car wiped out the team’s advantage and brought both Inter Europol Competition cars back into the fight.
Andlauer attempted to rebuild the lead after the restart, but Reshad de Gerus and Nick Yelloly remained close in the Polish team’s two entries. Inter Europol had already demonstrated strong long-run pace and now gained a direct opportunity to challenge Duqueine during the closing stages.
With four hours remaining, just over four seconds covered the leading three LMP2 cars. The class therefore entered its decisive phase with Duqueine under sustained pressure from both Inter Europol entries.
Four-way Hypercar contest enters final phase of the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans
Nato led the race as the 21st hour began, but Hirakawa, Kobayashi and Frijns remained directly behind. The Safety Car had erased BMW’s earlier advantage, revived Cadillac after its penalty and brought the #7 Toyota into the battle for victory.
At the same time, the interruption transformed LMGT3 and LMP2 by removing the sizeable margins held by TF Sport and Duqueine Team. All three classes consequently entered the final four hours with close fights at the front and little room for error.
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