Highlights | 24 Hours of Le Mans 2026 | FIA WEC

For the 94th running of the great race, we are underway and it's a great start by Will Stevens in the Cadillac who gets up the inside and Rennie Rath goes second and almost makes contact with his teammate. The two BMWs very nearly brush, Rath goes up into second place, but it is going to be Will Stevens in the lead and there's a big, big dive around the outside look going on as they come up towards the chicane for the first time. Side by side too, the two factory Ferraris, a little bit of a brush maybe, pushes the 51 out wide. That takes advantage as they come down now, pouring down to the second chicane, here comes the 38 Cadillac. And here we see the fight between the number 32 BMW WRT and 69 getting close here. Dan Harper being the rookie here at Le Mans, but a very fast rookie indeed. That's a BMW factory driver on bronze rank, Francois Heriot, pulls by, it's all safe and away he goes, the multicoloured number 32. So, as expected, the Corvette is definitely looking strong out there. And as Lorenzo made the point, struggling in a straight line, the Genesis, that's the other Toyota to go by. Mike Conway had already got past Andre Lotterer, now Sebastian Buemi goes through as well. So it'll be interesting to see if there's anything that can be done to help that Genesis. Dani Juncker's car is still a little bit further up the road in the top ten in ninth place, but it is not looking all that promising for 17 Genesis at the moment. Let's listen to Phil Hanson. There's got to be something wrong with the car. There has to be. I don't know why, but when I turn into the chicane, the rear is just so bad. Really, really bad. It's got a spin, even when the lift goes. So Phil Hanson's saying there must be something wrong with the car. The rear of it feels really, really bad. Not a happy man at all. As he said it, or rather as we saw it, passing gas to Martin, so not that bad. Mercedes, which is in a battle with the Porsche. Look, René Rast gets past the pair of them and James Cottingham in the 911 is about to lose out. It's either two Silver Dream racers go toe-to-toe and the Mercedes has got more grunt in the straight line. So the AMG rumbles past the Porsche. Actually, it looks like we have damage. Oh, the damage? I think he hit the barrier at the exit. That's a shame. That's a long way home there. He needs to slow down. I think he hit the barrier coming through the first chicane. Let's have a look at this. He went deep into the chicane, Graeme, you're right, because that spin, there's nothing really to hit. It's just the fact that he has the spin and that he's trying to stop the car and it looks like it damaged the tyre. LMP2 traffic coming in here for the three hypercars that are all fighting together. Oh, this is close. Oh, the Duquesne. Oh, there is a contact. It's the Ferrari that has gone around out of seventh place. It's number 50. That's Antonio Ferroco. Everybody has missed him. He's got the car going again, but Ferroco has had a spin. It ain't going to do that set of tyres any good. Thankfully, he has not lost that much time. He was quickly able to get it back in the right direction, but that was the scare that Ferrari didn't need. Pierre Gridi is sideways, though. He's lost it. He's slightly out of position and slides into that car, I would offer you. He's not going to be happy. We might just eavesdrop on Alessandro Pierre Gridi. I still think it slides. I think Pierre Gridi just had an ever so tiny twitch and that slid him towards that Orica. Yeah, obviously looking from the outside, from the camera angle, we saw it from. Yes, Pierre Gridi was definitely sliding. It's a tricky one and thank you to Matt Bell. Jack Aitken behind. Remember how quick Jack was in Hyperpole 2 before the procedural error from the team that really cost him that time. They're almost together. Look into the slipstream comes Aitken. Closing, closing, closing on the BMW. This is for the lead on the road of the race. Remember, the Cadillac is almost there. He's going to run out of straight, though, if he doesn't make the move down to the chicane. Van der Linde tries to cover him off and up the inside dive, Jack Aitken. Brilliant move. Absolutely darts out of the slipstream. Through he goes. Jack Aitken leads Le Mans. Absolutely nose to tail. Courtesy of the traffic, Oliver Gray in the green and black car to the inside line. Adrien Closemidle gives him a bit of room, but do they get through safely? They do. Closemidle hangs on to the place, but only just. They're going to come out of the chicane. Absolutely nose to tail. Oliver Gray, thankfully, was able to do that without drama. Just up the road ahead is Bijoy Garg for Inter-Europole competition. And now Gray lines up to have a go on the inside. This, remember, is for third in LMP2. Gray in the green and black car to the inside line. Adrien Closemidle to the inside, though, for Turn 2. And he's going to stay ahead. He's up the kerb a little bit. Fabulous racing, this. And all over the back of Closemidle is Oliver Gray. He's now got the inside line for the next significant corner. And he's got the job done. Beautifully done. So changing some engine mapping. Yep. And that's going to give him, hopefully, a bit of straight line. Look at that for a lunge, though, down in the inside. An Arnage. A brilliant move. Almost karting move from Kobayashi. Properly charged on the brakes. He's going to be vulnerable here, though. He's going to have to defend the inside. And this is a drag race now, down towards the Porsche curves. Is there enough straight line speed once again in the Cadillac, though, to make the move? Yes, he does. Brilliant stuff between these two. And they're using the speed of their car perfectly well in the areas where they're faster. Oh, a lot of flame coming out of the exhaust there. And somebody has lost a bit of bodywork. Yes. Is that 15? This is what I saw in the Porsche curves. He's hit the LMP2 car. Oh, yeah. And that's why he ran wide. Oh, there's the drama. And it is 54. That's the AF Corsa Ferrari. He was at the wheel of that. He says, quickly looking at the screen, it is Francesco Castellacci. Is he in the gravel? He is. He's well beat in the gravel. He's in the gravel and he's missing a tyre, it looks like. It looks like the car is quite low. Now we're going to see what's happening. So it's between the Ford. I think he just lost it. No, I think he got hit. You reckon? Okay. I think he got hit from the Ford. 50 to the garage. That's the answer of why you pit now on the grid. Because you've got a problem in the case of 50 Ferrari. But Niklas Nilsson then into the garage. And this is bad news. He's getting out of the car. And my question was going to be, why would you pit at the end of a long safety car period as soon as you go green? But the Ferrari number 50 has got an issue. Timing beam is just after Mulsanne Corner. So second sector is not the issue. There is the Toyota and there is the number 12 Cadillac. And for briefly, that was Will Stephens ahead. But Brendan Hartley has fended him off. Front grip becoming quite digital. Probably due to the little flat spot. Little flat spot is the interesting part. Now, is that what caused him to go off? Or is it a legacy of going off? I think it's the latter. One thing I'd say here is throughout this race so far, what we've heard from all the teams, it's been a strategy led race. Can't be that now. Brendan Hartley is desperate for this track position. Desperate to stay ahead. Is that the replay? That is the replay. So he's going back around the roundabout. He was outbraking himself in a bit of traffic. And what he wouldn't have liked to see is what's coming towards him. That was what's caused the battle we've got now. Did exactly what he should do. And he pulls ahead there. Next car through, Cadillac. Just retains the lead. But because she's Danish. Because they've had a real figurehead for the sports. And what's that? That's the Genesis running up the back of one of the GT, the LMP2 cars. Right, Louis Delatraz in the meantime is pressing on. And seeing what he can do about Jack Aitken. It's Bieper to the north. The immediate problem is Brendan Hartley. He's three tenths of a second behind him. So he's trying to soak up the pressure whilst getting these tyres up to temperature. They should be up by now. He's on, you know, the best part of the lap. So here he comes then. But Brendan Hartley you're riding with is in his wheel track. This is for position. This is for second place. And Brendan Hartley gets the tow. Delatraz has to defend. He's got the headlight bearing down on him. Brendan Hartley dives to one side. And as they come towards the corner, he's got to go right around the outside on the run towards Indianapolis. And Brendan Hartley goes second. A great move. That was very, very brave indeed. And Brendan Hartley with utter commitment sweeps around the outside. Toyota back up into second place. And that is a significant pass. Because for the first time in probably about an hour and a bit, the Toyota looks competitive again. All we need is a significant intervention. Let's look again. This was a corky pass from Brendan Hartley. Full commitment. Totally. And Louis Delatraz gave him the room to do it. As we've got a yellow at Marshall's post 25. And the car in the gravel. Let's just listen quickly. Eight laps left on this. Tires are going in the bin at the end. So you can take all the life out of them over the next eight laps. What has he done? Is it an honour? It is. It is an honour. 100% it's an honour. Lock up. And continue straight into the gravel track, young man. Unfortunate. He nearly got away with that. He nearly did. He nearly made the corner on that run-off tarmac. But not quite. Stewie Cox is going to be very grumpy about that. Four-course yellow is coming at 3.18 in the morning. Yellow is at Marshall post 26. So it is not an Aston. It's a Genesis. It is Paul-Loup Chateau. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. We've been saying good things about the Genesis. But now that car going through what is effectively a Control-Alt-Delete. Trying to reset it. Check by 2P1. Copy. Loud and clear. Standby. Put the car in a safe position. Looks okay on the dash. After he can rejoin. Okay. Like this we are Marshalls exposed. The car is exposed. It's dangerous for everyone. And I can't stay forever under four-course yellow. So Eduardo Freitas telling them to get the car to a safe place. It won't fire up. So they need it out of the way, off the racetrack. If it can start, then it will be allowed to rejoin. But it can't stay there indefinitely. It needs to go behind the barrier. He's got it going. Excellent. So our Genesis stationary. Is that 19? 19. Yep. Danny Honcadea. Now they had to do a little reset on the car earlier. That's a really dangerous position to be in. Yeah, especially with no lights on. You've got the flashing green lights at the front. But it looks like they're power cycling the car. Uh-oh. The Cadillac 38 back in the garage. And Bordet out of the car. In LMP2. This is an Alpine catching V. Is that 183? It is, isn't it? Oh, round it goes. Well avoided. I'm looking to see who was at the wheel of 183. It was Mathieu Vaxivier. It was, yes. There's the bright yellow of Vaxivier's helmet. Oh, dear, oh, dear. That's not the kind of. That's not what you'd expect from Vaxivier. Not what you've been hired for, son. An hour of character. An hour of character mistake. That is down. Oh, there we are. It's car 14 in the barrier. Oh. Beached in the gravel. Kevin Estre. And that car, second and battling for the lead in LMP2 Pro-Am. No amount of selecting reverse is getting you out of there. Crowd strike by APR. Alex Quinn leading in Pro-Am. Oh, he hit the kerb on the inside. Just a moment of misjudgment. All crossed up into the barrier. Not the first, not the last. But, wow, that changed ends almost on him very quickly, didn't it? That was a good save. Car in the gravel. Driver's right. Car in the gravel. Driver's right at MP25. Tried everything he could to keep that car out of the barrier. Oh, trouble for the Genesis Magris. That number 17, not 19. So that's not the car that stopped before. But a similar issue perhaps for Matisse Aubert. And he has. It doesn't look right. He's on the outside of the S's. The other car stopped on the inside and had to roll down the hill. Looks like some kind of suspension issue maybe. He tried to re-go, but you see it was quite... Bumping up and down. Yeah, is that a breakage then as he hit the kerb? Let's take a look. Oh, that made it clatter, didn't it? Yeah, that has broken the car. I reckon he took too much of that right kerb. That's always the big discussion. Because taking those kerbs makes you gain so much lap time. But it might end up being this as a result if you do it too often or too early in the race. Wow, broken right front suspension. That is not coming back home. That's the end of that car's race, unfortunately. That wheel is held on only by the wheel tether. Brave to go anywhere near them without gloves. What we do... Oh, what's this? This is the number 9 car. Extreme brand advertising. Product placement to the max. This is Jonas Reed, Christian Reed's son. The trick was to go drive super close behind another car, so the turbulent air would suck the grass from the radiator away. But it's obviously a little bit more difficult with a big... Right, how did this happen? Final corner. Oh, no. Straight off. And that is so unlucky to pick up that branding. And the final corner because, of course, if it hadn't been, he'd have gone into the pits. It's already been chipped off already, isn't it? Maybe don't put advertising hoardings there next year. Or maybe stay on the grey stuff as a driver, you know? It's easier not to put the branding there. I'm sorry, that's professional branding. Put it somewhere else. Put it somewhere else. This is overheating now, isn't it? Disaster. Oh, no. Broken left front suspension. Yeah, it looks like it. Tracking that tyre along. The left front suspension has totally collapsed. I wonder if that's why he was off in the first place. Oh, and that's trouble for the DK Engineering car. That's the car that was in fourth in LMGT3. The Porsche Pro is off the road and in the barriers on the Mulsanne. And he's shaking his head. And that looks to me as though that might have been driver error. But with whom and where? That's a big one. Oh, it looks like he definitely had a contact. Well, let's hear from the team. Wow. Steering went. Safety car is out. And that's a big scare for Chan Juven. He's blaming himself for just the frustrations. He bangs on the wheel. Look, there's nothing left on the left side. He hit those tyres and he's carried them a long way. Look at this. Steering went. Yeah, it looks like he was just not able to... What a hit he got there. That's a plane crash. Super happy to see that Ai-Chen Juven is OK. That was a massive hit. Let's see from the inside here. He's just trying to turn. And he only just avoided the wall on the inside. So at that stage, he's fighting the car all the way as well. Robin Frins ready to pull the pin. It's the fourth car in the queue we're looking at. We go back racing out of the green flag. Then Frins storms away. And he's going to have Norman Nato right up behind him. This for the lead of Le Mans. Remember the BMW just ahead of the Cadillac. As they go up through the Dunlop corner, they've cleared all but one of the back markers in the case there of the Cadillac. And that means that Norman Nato is slightly impeded behind Nick Katzberg, who had to turn in to take the line for the corner. And this is an absolute free ride for Robin Frins. He's being able to build a little bit more of a gap. Not a huge one, but a slightly greater gap. So the BMW continues to lead. And now that he's got through the GT3 traffic, the LM GT3 traffic, so Norman Nato can try to do something about this gap. But the first part of the restart is advantage, Robin Frins. To the pits. Julian Handler, leaders in. And we're expecting second and third in as well. Remember now, number eight, Toyota rear, Hirokawa. Quickest lap of the race. A 3.25.041. So all eyes have been on seven. Getting a replay of Robin Frins. He locks up big time. And he's across the gravel as he comes into the pit lane. That shows you how intense the battle is. Robin Frins then makes a mistake as he comes into the pit lane. Straight through the gravel. Carries on. But, wow. Robin Frins, pit in. And they have to clear that gravel out. So that's going to be another factor to this pit stop. Where do you catch them? At what point? So you try and get past as many as you can before the high-speed corner. What do you do if you rear around the outside of this one? Maybe he tries to. I'm watching it. Yeah, he's done it. But look at Nato further up. He's got a bit of free air there. And he's going to pull a big gap because of that. But also the traffic that he's going to encounter next. They're having their own battle. So he's got to be hopeful that they are watching. This is bringing Kobayashi a little bit nearer. Where is Nato? Here he is against the traffic. Gets past the yellow Ferrari. He might clear them before the chicanes. Maybe. And that's what you're looking for. Yeah, he does. And he slips in behind the LMP2, who's of equal speed through this part of the track. But he's brought the Toyotas closer to one another, hasn't he? This has brought Kobayashi back towards Hirakawa. It really has. That's just how the cookie crumbles in traffic. And one day it will go against you. One day for you. And you're trying to analyze it like a high-speed game of chess. You're looking at who's going to catch you where. And if you're going to benefit from that or not. And you curse the driver that's got through unscathed. Sometimes just sitting in the corner. Come on, come on. I need to get him clear before Porsche corners. Catch him there. Catch him. Yes, that's it. That's it. Right. I'm going after you. Right. Well, Norman Nato has done a good job through the traffic. And not only that, but he's also still got an LMP2 Orica between himself and the Toyotas. Plural, which are absolutely back together again. It's going to be interesting now, Lance, to see whether Ryo Hirakawa can pull away again from Kobayashi. We had the gap about a lap or two laps ago before that traffic got in the way. Or whether Kobayashi now will stay with his teammate. Because, as you can see, the gap has come right down between the Toyotas. Let's see whether it stretches. We've been speaking about clean air for the whole time, which is a fair point. But we're in Le Mans as well. So you're sitting in the draft, which is also a gain. So if you play it smart and you control your tyre temperatures in corners like Porsche corners and all the other stuff. But use the draft in the straight to sit behind and save a bit more fuel. It can sometimes also work to your benefit. He did sit yesterday. But the Toyota seemed happier than other cars to sit in traffic for lap after lap. And right now, Kamui Kobayashi in third place. Chases Hirakawa. They sort out the Corvette going down towards the second chicane. Let's have another listen into Team Radio from Toyota Eight. Exactly what we were just talking about. Brendan Hartley has to go the long way round the outside. And Hartley goes, yeah, I'll do that. Just watch me. Sits there alongside. He's got the top speed advantage. He's got it. And he has got the lead of the race. And actually for number seven, that didn't break quite so well. Because it was he that got held up by 183 into that chicane. Now they go by the racing spirit of Le Mans. Aston Martin that we've barely mentioned. That car a long way down the order. 15th place in its, 13th place in its class. Lest we forget, Toyota lead Le Mans. So this is it. Three hours and 12 minutes. Number eight Toyota back in front. They led quite a lot up to the safety car at midnight. And then everybody got reset. That was courtesy of their off-kilter fuel strategy. It worked out well for them. Particularly for the number eight car. And that was cycling in and out of the lead group. With a couple of Cadillacs, 12 and 38. And with the BMW number 20. Yeah, there was the error. Middle of the night for Brendan Hartley. Lock up coming into the Mulsanne corner. Meant that he had to go around the roundabout at Mulsanne. Joined just in front of the lead of the Cadillacs. And from there on in, it was pit stop strategy and pace. That put the two caddies at that stage. The 12 and the 38 ahead of the leading Toyota. Before we saw the 38 eliminated from the race. After a long battle with problematic power steering. It looks like he's a bit close here. I don't know if Buemi made a mistake there. But he's gone into the defensive position. Frijns is going to have to go the long way around the outside. But there's a GT car in the way. He's going to pick up the slipstream off that car. But Buemi looks like he just about holds on to position. Wow, that was some great driving by the two of them there. Suddenly, just as we were mentioning. A lack of straight line speed. He's right there. And he's able to close in on it. I haven't seen that from this car so far. So, I like this. This new strategy where the drivers are being encouraged to drive off the circuit. I think Toyota car number 8 realised that they can't win this fight against car 20. But they're focusing on this car here. Will Stevens. So that final podium spot. I want to see the action. BMW is right there. They want to see the action as well. He's alongside. He's going to sweep around the outside into the Porsche curves. Now, Buemi will take tyres. I think it would have been a bold observer. Or a passionate fan. Who went, yep. Toyota will have two cars on the podium. There was so much opposition. So much talent in the field. In terms of pulling equipment. Engineering ability. Driving talent. Calm, calm, calm. They won in Imola. Our first race of the World Endurance Championship this season. Should have obviously been Qatar. And it's a very different track in Imola to this one. So I remember Buemi after that victory saying, yeah, but Le Mans is the one that we want. 2023, victory for Ferrari. 2024, victory for Ferrari. 2025, victory for Ferrari. We're on the final lap of Le Mans. I'm not sure we're going to be saying victory for Ferrari at the end of this. Kamui Kobayashi has done everything he needed. He has kept this race under control. And Toyota have not taken their foot off the throttle. They are on their way to a 51st World Endurance Championship win from 102 starts. Yes, for a number of years, they were effectively the only car in the top class. Never level that at them for this year's win. Because this is the toughest international field of endurance racing cars that has ever come to Le Mans. And next year, coming back to defend this, it will be tougher still. Two more massive titans of motorsports, McLaren and Ford, will arrive in the top class. And the task will get tougher and tougher and tougher. And so for the men and women in Toyota racing, this is going to be a massive moment. And Nick de Vries, very shortly, will be able to start breathing again. In an LMP2, it is going to be another remarkable race for Inter Europale. Not just one car on the podium, not just victory, but a first and second double podium finish. We are Forestry Racing by Panis in third place. And the challenge to that seems to have faded. The LMGT3, a resounding run from the 33 TF Sport Corvette to lead from the 78 Lexus. And a third different brand on the podium with Barrichello. But for victory once more, after three years away from the top step of the podium. Toyota Racing are heading to win the 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours. The 94th running of the world's greatest endurance motor race falls to Toyota number 7. Kamui Kobayashi takes the chequered flag at Le Mans. He takes his second win along with his teammate Mike Conway. And now jubilation in the garage. Nick de Vries, the third member of the team, takes his first win. BMW number 20 Robin Fiennes puts them on the podium. And extends their drivers championship advantage with second place. And the remarkable story of this race for Toyota concludes with a third placed finish for car number 8. They knew they were under pressure. They knew they had potential. But this place, as Toyota knows perhaps above all others, can be mercilessly cruel. But Toyota win in 2026. It really is a massive public outpouring of support for motorsport at its finest. Toyota win Le Mans. BMW car number 20 in second place. A fine result for them. And an extended world championship lead in the drivers title. And Toyota's first and third place puts them at the top of the manufacturers. Cadillac Hurst Team Jersey came close to that podium. With fourth ahead of the 51 Ferrari and the 35 Alpine. So we had five brands in the top six cars. Aston Martin the sixth brand in eighth place. And we had the Peugeots just outside the top ten. Genesis Magma Racing getting one of their two cars to the finish. But a Ferrari, a BMW and the 38 Cadillac also retiring along with them. Before we got to the chequered flag. Fastest race lap from, fittingly enough, Ryo Hirakawa in the number 8 Toyota. Mike's asking if they should pick up the big one. Now they should pick up the big one. Now we know who's been working hard in the gym. Look at the size of it. The permanent 24 hour trophy. And remember, that trophy will make its way to Toyota in Cologne. I'm sure it will do a bit of the grand tour. Three wins on the trots. And Toyota have done that before. And you get to keep it. Finally. Mark Cavendish knew what was coming, didn't he? The moment the last medal was around Kamui Kobayashi's neck. He was off-ski right out of the way. The spell of success.