Porsche Third After a Conservative Start

By P. Michael Clark

After the first hour-and-a-half of racing at the 66th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Toyota leads and Porsche sits in third place.

Toyota took a leaping start, thanks to a lighter fuel load, to vault their GT One car 16 seconds into the lead before their first pit stop, taken after only 9 laps. Observers immediately began feeding the rumor mill to the effect that the Toyota was too thirsty to actually be a contender in the race, but the second pit stop came a full 12 laps later, fairly average as pit stop strategies go in the GT1 category.

Toyota driver Martin Brundle had a little scare during a difficult pass with a back marker when he accidently hit the pit rev limiter and immetiately slowed the car. The smoke emitted from the car caused some initial concern, but he was able to rectify the situation. Mercedes, which lead early in the race, already experienced a mechanical falure as Bernt Schneider and his # 35 CLK LM stopped after only 19 laps with a silent engine.

Porsche is sticking to its original race plan and is running a conservative pace, coming into the pits after 12 and 13 laps for their two GT1 cars. The battle expected between Porsche and Mercedes might not occur, as the second Mercedes appears to be slowing its pace. A full 22 laps into the race, Porsche stands in the 3 and 5 positions, splitting the Toyotas and followed by the Mercedes.

In the LMP category, BMW is very fast but also very thirsty, so the Joest/Porsche is expected to take advantage of the situation as they are able to complete a greater amount of laps between pit stops.

Although the Vipers were very fast in GT2 qualifying, the field of 911 Porsches are establishing an early lead and seem to also be more fuel efficient, which will be advantageous in a marathon such as Le Mans.