The #94 Peugeot 9X8, driven by Nico Muller, was in the lead at the nine-hour mark of the 2021 Le Mans race. Behind Muller were Ryo Hirakawa in the #8 Toyota GR010, Alex Lynn’s Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series.R, and the Ferraris of polewinner Antonio Fuoco and Alessandro Pier Guidi.
Multiple crashes and retirements
In the eighth hour of the race, Pier Guidi spun his #51 Ferrari into the gravel at the first Mulsanne chicane, causing his car to be beached as two cars collided in front of him, one of which was the #911 Porsche of Richard Lietz. Pier Guidi rejoined the race in fourth place after being removed from the gravel trap.
Shortly thereafter, a much larger crash occurred at the start of a slow zone on the approach to Tertre Rouge. The Graff Racing LMP2 machine of Giedo van der Garde was the first car to slow, causing Kamui Kobayashi’s #7 Toyota to back off to avoid overtaking it. Louis Prette’s JWM Ferrari was then launched over the rear of Kobayashi after the P2 cars of Memo Rojas (Alpine) and Manuel Maldonado (Panis Racing) drove into the back of them. Kobayashi was unable to restart his engine and had to retire from the race, the first time a Toyota had retired from Le Mans in six years. A lengthy safety car period was necessary to retrieve his car, as its high voltage system was left in an unsafe state.
Earlier in the race, a heavy rain shower in the seventh hour had caused many slick-shod cars to run off track on a treacherous surface. Niklas Nielsen in the #50 Ferrari went ploughing through the gravel at the Porsche Curves. In LMP2, the #22 United and #9 Prema entries went off at Indianapolis, where the latter was hit by the #923 Team Turkey car of Salih Yoluc. The GTE Am-leading #66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari of Giacomo Petrobelli spun into the gravel at Karting, while the #100 Walkenhorst Ferrari needed salvaging from the second Mulsanne chicane.
Just before 11pm, Porsche’s best-placed car, the #75 driven by Mathieu Jaminet, ground to a halt on the inside of Tertre Rouge with a fuel pressure problem. Jaminet attempted to drag the car back to the pits but was forced to give up, making it the first of the Hypercars to retire from the race. The #7 Toyota also retired later.
LMP2 drama
In LMP2, the #23 United Autosports car of Tom Blomqvist took the lead from the #34 Inter Europol entry in the eighth hour but then suffered a big crash after reporting a brake issue. Blomqvist had to visit the medical centre while the car was being repaired. The #34 Inter Europol Competition ORECA of Jakub Smiechowski led Maldonado and Paul Loup Chatin (IDEC).
Current leaders in GTE Am
The #85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 is leading in GTE Am, followed by the #56 Project 1 entry. The Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR Garage 56 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is currently in 38th place overall, with Mike Rockenfeller behind the wheel.
The 2021 Le Mans race has been filled with chaos, with multiple crashes and retirements throughout the event. The current leaders in each category are fiercely competing for the win, with plenty of time left in the race for anything to happen.
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