LM24 Hour 22: Once-inevitable Ferrari podium sweep now in doubt

With just two hours to go, Porsche Penske Motorsport has found a way to get the No. 6 963 into the top three, splitting the Ferraris. A 1-2-3 no longer looks inevitable for the Italian marque.

The move of the hour came when Matt Campbell in the No. 6 dived up the inside of James Calado’s No. 51 Ferrari 499P into the second Mulsanne Chicane, moments after the team told Calado over the radio: “Focus, we are playing for P2.”

It wasn’t a perfect hour for the lead Porsche, though, as a wheel gun issue cost the car a handful of seconds at its 28th pit stop and in traffic, Campbell lost further time on fresh tires to a brief off at Mulsanne.

Either way, the No. 6 is still not entirely out of contention and ended up leapfrogging the No. 50 Ferrari shortly after getting past the No. 51 on pit lane. The No. 6 emerged from the pit exit 21 seconds ahead after the Ferrari took tires, and the No. 6 went fuel-only as the hour ticked over.

As the 23rd hour began, the No. 51 was in the lead due to it being out of sequence, with the No. 83 Ferrari second with Kubica still aboard, 45 seconds behind and 20 seconds clear of the chasing No. 6 Porsche.

It still seems unlikely, but Penske cannot be counted out for the win just yet. It wouldn't take much for this race to be turned upside down. What a turnout for the books it would be if the strategy desk found a way to deliver a big result for Roger here, following such a dominant run from the 499Ps.

The gap up top in LMP2 has been reduced to just 8 seconds between the No. 43 Inter Europol ORECA of Tom Dillmann and the No. 48 VDS Panis ORECA of Oliver Gray after a quicker stop for the No. 48.

AO By TF still holds third and the lead in Pro/Am comfortably over the No. 34 Inter Europol 07, which is fifth overall and over three minutes behind.

Riccardo Pera is now strapped into the 1st Phorm Manthey Porsche as the No. 92 closes in on the win in LMGT3. Alessio Rovera is unable to consistently better the pace of the leader in the No. 21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296, which is second and just 11 seconds up the road from the No. 81 TF Sport Corvette.

HOUR 22 STANDINGS