Duqueine Team Firmly in Control of the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans After One-Third Distance
At the end of the first eight hours of racing, the drivers are now competing under night-time conditions. Sharp from the start, Duqueine Team’s #30 ORECA 07 leads the LMP2 category ahead of Inter Europol Competition’s #343 ORECA 07 and Vector Sport’s #26 ORECA 07.
LMP2
The 94th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans got underway at 4:00 p.m. As the leader of the LMP2 field, Job van Uitert and IDEC Sport’s #28 ORECA 07 retained their advantage. Starting sixth on the grid, Julien Andlauer delivered an excellent opening lap to move Duqueine Team’s #30 ORECA 07 into second place.
That same car now leads the race after eight hours. Shared by Julien Andlauer, Richard Verschoor and Doriane Pin, the Var-based team’s prototype has completed a remarkably flawless opening third of the race, both on track and in the pits, establishing a comfortable lead before the deployment of the safety car.
Bijoy Garg, Reshad de Gérus and Nico Müller have also made an excellent start to their race. Inter Europol Competition’s #343 ORECA 07 currently holds second place overall. Vector Sport’s #26 ORECA 07, driven by Ryan Cullen, Vladislav Lomko and Pietro Fittipaldi, has moved into third position.
Inter Europol Competition’s sister car, the #43 ORECA 07 (Jakub Smiechowski, Tom Dillmann and Nicholas Yelloly), sits fourth, just ahead of Proton Competition’s #9 ORECA 07 (Jonas Ried, Harry King and Kakunoshin Ohta). After setting the fastest lap in Hyperpole 2, Esteban Masson and Forestier Racing by Panis’ #29 ORECA 07 are running seventh.
In LMP2 Pro-Am, AO by TF leads the category. The team’s #99 ORECA 07, driven by PJ Hyett, James Allen and Dane Cameron, heads the class. Tobias Lütke, Mathias Beche, Kevin Estre and TDS Racing’s #14 ORECA 07 remain close behind. CrowdStrike Racing by APR’s #4 ORECA 07 (George Kurtz, Laurin Heinrich and Alexander Quinn) completes the top three.
Hypercar
Genesis Magma Racing can be pleased with its Le Mans debut. Both GMR-001 Hypercars are well positioned after the first third of the race. The #19 crew of Mathieu Jaminet, Paul-Loup Chatin and Daniel Juncadella holds tenth place, while the sister #17 car, driven by Mathys Jaubert, André Lotterer and Luis Felipe Derani, follows closely in eleventh.
Alpine Endurance Team has lost some ground. The French squad’s two Hypercars currently occupy thirteenth and fourteenth positions respectively. The #36 car of Jules Gounon, Victor Martins and Frédéric Makowiecki is ahead of the #35 shared by Charles Milesi, António Félix da Costa and Ferdinand Habsburg.
The Le Mans night promises to be long and challenging for all teams. The French manufacturer will be hoping to capitalize on the conditions and work its way back toward the leading group by sunrise.
LMGT3
Two Ferrari 296 GT3s assembled at ORECA’s Signes (Var) facility are currently running inside the top three. Kessel Racing’s #74 Ferrari (Dustin Blattner, Lorenzo Patrese and Dennis Marschall) is second, while Vista AF Corse’s #21 Ferrari (François Hériau, Simon Mann and Alessio Roverra) sits third.
Unfortunately, Vista AF Corse’s #54 Ferrari, driven by Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci and Davide Rigon, was forced to retire after being hit by another competitor and sent into the gravel.