Hour 18: Porsche Back In Front.

By Joe Hansen

It was deja-vu all over again. Through the wee hours of the early morning, both Porsche GT1s are running flawlessly, way out in front come the break of day. Then, within a matter of minutes, both incur problems that force them into their garages. Time ticks by, and the third-place Toyota reels in the front-runners lap by lap. Before either Porsche can return to the circuit, the lead has changed hands.

Of course, if there's one thing you can say for sure about racing, it's that nothing is for sure. An unpredictable turn of events lurks around every corner.

And sure enough, just as Toyota GT One began to methodically take control of the race, it unexpectedly headed into the pits...and then the garage. Details are still sketchy, but it appears that Toyota car #29 ran into the same kind of trouble that retired the other Toyota GT1 entries - gearbox problems.

Allan McNish, in the midst of pulling a triple stint, wasted no time in making up for lost time and has reclaimed the lead as of 8:30 am local time, 18.5 hours into the 24 Hours of Le Mans. While the Toyota managed to get back onto the track, McNish is putting distance between the two cars...almost 50 seconds and growing at this point. The Porsches will soon be coming into the pits, however, so things will undoubtedly change again.

The other three GT1s rounding out the top five are all within a lap and a half of each other. Nissan is currently third, followed by Porsche #25 and Nissan #30.

Given the latest turn of events, each team must re-evaluate their strategies and begin "running the numbers" to calculate their pit stops, change-overs, etc. Of course, it's also the time when the 24 Hours of Le Mans begins to resemble a sprint to the finish, where courage and aggressive driving are equally important.