The race's shape has changed considerably over the past four hours. The suspense is at its peak : the top twelve in the general classification are all on the same lap. It's no longer a Ferrari 499P that's leading the way, but a Porsche 963.
What happened? Shortly before 1 a.m., James Calado , driving the #51 Ferrari of the Ferrari-AF Corse team, had taken the lead. But the Centenary edition's winning car then suffered a front-left puncture. It was deemed responsible for contact with a Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R at the Daytona chicane, and it was also given a five-second penalty. Finally, it was given a 20-second stop-and-go for exceeding the speed limit in the pit lane. It now sits eighth in the standings.

The #6 Porsche 963 from Porsche Penske Motorsport, driven by Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, and Matt Campbell, leads the way. The German hypercar is ahead of the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid from Toyota Gazoo Racing. The gap between the two cars is four seconds. The #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P is third, seven seconds back.

In the Cadillac clan, it's helpless. The #12 and #38 V-Series.Rs are sixth and tenth respectively in the general classification. Sébastien Bourdais , driver of the #38 explains: "We're trying to hold on, but frankly, it's difficult on the track. We're struggling with tire degradation and the car's balance. We're making a lot of corrections with the steering wheel to manage understeer and oversteer. It's a bit of a struggle with the car right now, and with everyone around us. It's not easy."

Two Hypercars suffered problems. First, the #93 Peugeot TotalEnergies Peugeot 9X8 was delayed at 00:13 by a steering rack issue. It was relegated to 20th position, five laps behind the leading car. On the #311 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, mechanics replaced the steering torque sensor and control unit (ECU). It is at the back of the Hypercar class, in 21st place.

The front row of the LMP2 class is still occupied by the #48 VDS Panis Racing Oreca 07-Gibson . It faces the #9 Iron Lynx-Proton Oreca and the #43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca. However, it has two additional pit stops.
At 3:11, the #24 Nielsen Racing Oreca driven by Cem Bolukbasi suffered a track excursion at the Tertre Rouge corner. The driver extricated himself from his car, but the front end suffered a lot and retirement was inevitable. Race control then decided to place the race under safety car regime, for the first time since the start.

Valentino Rossi forced to retire again

The LMGT3 class saw the #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 of Manthey 1st Phorm dominate the proceedings. The defending champion at the Le Mans classic held a 37-second lead over the #81 Corvette of TF Sport. The #78 Lexus RC F LMGT3 of Akkodis ASP Team completed the top three.

In this class, the highlight of the final hour was the retirement of the #46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3. The car initially came to a stop in the gravel trap at the Porsche corner following a technical problem. Kelvin Van Der Linde managed to return to his pit, where the mechanics carried out repairs. After a brief return to the track, the South African rider returned to his pit box to throw in the towel. Like last year, Valentino Rossi , the nine-time motorcycle Grand Prix world champion, will not see the checkered flag.

Halfway through the race, 57 cars remain in the competition.

The next few hours will be marked by daybreak. Traditionally, this phase of the race galvanizes the drivers and teams. Everyone is satisfied to have survived the merciless night of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, nothing is decided yet. It is also in the early hours of the morning that tacticians refine their strategy. Depending on the gaps, teams may decide to increase the pace to gain places in the standings or put pressure on their rivals.