Madness at Le Mans with Molina and Albert Costa having a great chance of winning

Everyone thought it could be another successful ride for Toyota, another one, to continue their winning streak, which has now stretched to 5 times in a row since Alonso and company won in 2018, but it turned out to be the opposite. . The 24 Hours of Le Mans 2023 They are, after 8 hours of racing, the most exciting in recent decades, without a doubt. A crazy race due to the occurrence of rain on two occasions, and where, due to the speed of the race, things were very good even between the two. Ferrari and the Toyota 8 in a battle where Peugeot, Cadillac and Porsche also remain.

The centenary edition of Le Mans will honor its anniversary and the fact of being one of the editions with the largest audience in living memory. In total, more than 350,000 people. Thousands of them continued walking, camp chairs on their shoulders, at midnight. Many others, following the race in the bars of dozens of fan zones located on the track of La Sarthe, over 13 km. A frenzy of fans with a jackpot: an exciting race where, at midnight, no one can say with absolute certainty which car will drive this Sunday in 4:00 pm Cross the finish line as the new champion.

Good start in Toyota #8

The start of the event, with two Ferraris in the first two starting places, was as expected, with the Toyota 8 overtaking both red cars and snatching first place from the #50 of Molina, driven by Nielsen. But unlike other years, it was notable that the #8 Toyota failed to break away from the group and opened up a large gap. This is a warning of what is to come.

heavy rain

After a few early crashes, the rain led to heavy downpours on one side of the circuit to make things even more spicy. Cars were seen spinning and sliding on the asphalt as if it were a skating rink. And it was there when the Peugeot #94, which was driven Menezes surprised with his good speed in the water to take the lead.

On the water walk, it was the Ferrari of Miguel Molina, with the Catalan at the wheel, who led a very tight leading group. The Toyotas, more than a minute away, were the negative surprise. Did they store a letter to get out of trouble and start their comeback overnight? Many thought that was the case, but the coup d’état was delayed.

The rain came down again and the Ferrari #50 left the track

As the sun went down, the rain fell again on the French track and with it, Molina’s Ferrari #50 escaped the wet asphalt but avoided the wall. So, they lost first place and gave it up, having to go into the pits to reset the car, something that lost them half a minute. But they are still in the middle of the fight and the options are full.

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Theatrical coup: abandoning Toyota #7

Then came the big blow of the stage, an accident involving Toyota #7, which was hit by a Ferrari GT, putting it out of the race. The 2021 champion car, one of the great favourites, stood up and had to go. The first great farewell of the race.

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Soon, another fear will come Ferrari, in this case #51. The red car, driven Pier Guidilanded on the gravel but got back on the asphalt, giving up first place to Peugeotthat although he was not the fastest, had fully fulfilled the planned plan of having a race without mistakes and without wasting time in the pits to keep himself with options against his people in his returns to Le Mans after 12 years.

In this way, it arrived at 00:30 in the evening, with 15:30 of the race still to play, with the Peugeot # as the new leader ahead of the Ferrari #50 of Miguel Molina (2nd) and the Cadillac #2 (3rd). Fourth was the Ferrari 51 after leaving the track, without consequences, and in 5th position, Toyota #8 the champion of last year, more than anyone could imagine at this point in the race.

Albert Costa, leader

After the first 8 hours of racing, the Inter Europol #34 from catalan Albert Costa he achieved a huge return thanks to his great speed and perseverance in the category LMP2. The 13th came out and when he caught it Albert He is in 7th place. The Catalan relay was an exhibition: he did a tremendous job, bringing his car to second position. When his relay was over, Fabio Schererhis partner, put an end to the climb in first place.