Well, here it is. For the 93rd time, the immortal Circuit De La Sarthe will play host to the greatest race in the world. I’ve been twiddling my thumbs watching as much le mans content as I can all day, and now it is finally here. There’s a different feeling over this one, too. Mercedes and Aston Martin are back, the field is only growing and crucially it looks to be a dry race all the way through. But there’s an entire day to go, so who will Le Mans choose to be its victor in 2025? There’s only one way to find out…

The opening battle of the hour as we entered a standard WEC race distance was between Mattia Drudi’s Heart of Racing Aston Martin and the #78 Akkodis ASP Lexus of Jack Hawksworth, for fourth place. Drudi had started on pole, and now he was back up to fourth. The Spa 24 Hours winner then set about trying to get himself into a proper lead battle, setting the fastest time of all LMGT3 runners so far during the race. Meanwhile, the race stayed virtually the same. Ferrari led 1-2-3 with the #51, then the #83 and the #50 holding the final podium place. The #6 Porsche, #8 Toyota and #15 BMW were next and filled out the top six. LMP2 was very much a similar affiar. Inter Europol’s #43 led from the VDS Panis #48 and Iron Lynx’s #9. LMGT3 meanwhile was still in the hands of the Manthey #92 from the AF Corse #21 and Charlie Eastwood’s #81. Drudi meanwhile was a lap down on the domineering Porsche but there was still 6 hours left, and anything could happen.

Up front meanwhile, a puncture for the #5 Porsche dropped it further down the field, but it was clear the race was heading the way of Ferrari. And the Scuderia knew it too, their drivers began squabbling over absolute best lap times and purple sectors, all for the privilege of lifting that trophy come 4pm today, as Robin Frijns and Mathieu Jaminet fought over a lowly 10th, before a debris full course yellow saw the race neutralised. Sebastian Bourdais was one man caught out, who intially jumped across the grass and crucially the white line before going back across and entering the pits.

For the next while the race settled down with cars seemingly content to just finish as they ran. The lead battle dried up, and the gaps extended to the point there was hardly any actual battles for position, the only notable event in the next hour was the #78 Akkodis ASP Lexus slamming into the barriers at the Porsche curves just inside the 20th hour of the race. The result was a full course yellow, with the Lexus having broken suspension. The car was done, becoming the seventh retirement in the LMGT3 category. Cadillac’s woes continued as the #38 was given a drive through penalty for the earlier incident at pit entry.

And then things got interesting, as the #51 Ferrari lost the rear over the kerbs while leading the race. Alessandeo Pier Guidi nearly threw a potential 2nd win at Le Mans away. It was easily one of the most interesting moments of the race so far, with the factory backed car losing significant time which now means that the #83 AF Corse Ferrari of Ye Yifei now inherits the lead. Another LMGT3 in strife was the remaining McLaren #59 that went into the garage to fix an alternator issue, the team were out of contention for victory in their class but they were always going to try and finish the race.

And there was yet more drama up front, the #8 Toyota loosing a wheel nut and significant time having suffered a severe puncture. Not wanting to risk any bodywork damage Bredon Hartley limped back to the pits at a crawl, and ruining any outside chance it had victory and by the time it returned to the race the #8 car was down in 19th place as the #6 also spent a long time in the pits under the full course yellow.

When racing went back to green, the top three remained the same, with the #6 and #12 still prowling round. Incredibly, despite having driven virtually the entire race with significant sidepod damage the #7 throwback livery was up to sixth overall with a good amount of virtual energy remaining.

And as soon as the Toyota had fixed its own issue, the remaining IDEC Sport #28 also lost a wheel at high speed heading into the Mulsanne chicanes, the car’s race over in an instant. For IDEC, not the ending they wanted but it’s good experience for them to learn and gain knowledge ahead of running the Genesis Hypercar programme next year. But still, it’s now getting really interesting that so many cars are losing wheels or suffering late race issues. Perhaps it isn’t going to be plain sailing for Ferrari? Either way, a horrible way to go out of the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans for IDEC sport. A full course yellow was called to clear debris at the Porsche Curves.

With three and a half hours remaining, it suddenly became apparent that Ferrari might not have it all their way. #51 led from #83 and #50, but behind them – and closing – was the #6 Porsche that had started last of the Hypercar field. Three and a half hours of racing would decide the winner and Ferrari couldn’t start getting complacent, with the top five on the road running to the same strategy. The #51 was running an alternate strategy, with a twenty percent energy difference. And when that #51 pit, a slightly new order emerged. The #83 AF Corse Hypercar led from the #51, with the #50 in third. Then came the #6 and #12, on the lead lap and with an outside chance of a podium. This wasn’t over, and there was still plenty of time for more complications to arise.

And in LMP2, the #22 United Autosports car that had been involved in multiple skirmishes during the 24 hours now ran slowly along the Mulsanne and cruised round into the pits as the battle for third was bubbling up. #50 and #51 were now separated by under two seconds, with the #6 Porsche of Laurens Vanthoor catching all the while.

LMP2 was still the same as it had been for some time now, with only the race leading #43 Inter Europol and the #48 of VDS Panis left on the lead lap. AO Racing’s #199 of Dane Cameron led the Pro/Am category from third in the LMP2 class with Iron Lynx chasing them down for an LMP2 podium spot.

LMGT3 meanwhile was still the #92 Manthey show, with a one minute gap over the #21 AF Corse Ferrari with Rui Andrade’s #81 Corvette in third. Zach Robichon was locked in fourth for the moment for the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin.

But the overall battle has now been re-ignited, as we enter the last three hours of the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans. Four cars. Four drivers. Two manufacturers. A legendary Rivalry reborn. Who will win the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans? There’s only one way to find out…

thumbnail credit – Lukas Raich, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons