The fifth hour of racing began with the Ferrari 499Ps, Fuoco (#50), Kubica (#83), and Giovinazzi (#51), in that order, dominating. The Italian machines proved unstoppable on the long straights of the Le Mans circuit. This situation only became more pronounced in the hours that followed. The other competitors were reduced to watching for the slightest misstep from the Ferrari machine. The three Italian Hypercars were in the middle of an internal battle: they were separated by less than two seconds (22:17), with the advantage going to the #83, then driven by Ye Yifei. An hour later, it was the #50 that was the first to be slowed down when it received a drive-through penalty for failing to comply with yellow flag procedures.

As the laps progressed, the opposition became more organized: cruising around a dozen seconds behind the closest Ferrari 499P (the #51), it was first polesitter Alex Lynn (Cadillac V-Series.R #12) who took charge. He brought Raffaele Marciello (BMW M Hybrid V8 #15) and Matt Campbell (Porsche 963 #6) in his wake. At the back of the pack, the Peugeot 9X8s, Alpine A424s, and Aston Martin Valkyries were struggling. The Peugeot #93 and Aston Martin #007 were a lap behind after five hours of racing. On lap 89, Michael Christensen lost two places to Jenson Button (Cadillac #38) and Nyck De Vries (Toyota #7). The Porsche 963 #5 was no longer on the pace, stuck in 14th place in the race. At the wheel and after a start to the race which saw him shine , Julien Andlauer is working to move up the rankings.

Last on the grid in the Hypercar category, the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 moved up to third place, thanks in part to a very fit Kévin Estre. BMW with the #20, Toyota with the #8 and Cadillac with the #12 followed in the chasing group.

Sentenced to 50 seconds of stop and go for speeding in the pit lane, the #7 Toyota found itself more than a lap behind the #50 Ferrari 499P. Taking the wheel of the #36 Alpine A424, Mick Schumacher sounded the wake-up call for the French clan and set the fastest time for his car in 3:28.548. Braking at Mulsanne, the other Alpine A424 hit the rear of the #94 Peugeot 9X8. Paul-Loup Chatin spun while trying to get back on track and Loïc Duval had to go around the roundabout.

As night falls over the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit, sixteen Hypercars are still on the same lap. The most threatening opponent for the Ferraris, the #6 Porsche 963, is only 15 seconds behind after eight hours of racing.

No major incidents to report in the LMP2 category. The Oreca 07-Gibson race was only disrupted by minor incidents: small incidents without consequences or penalties. Jakub Smiechowski, Tom Dillmann and Nick Yelloly, who outperformed their teammates, took turns at the wheel of the leading car (Oreca 07-Gibson #43 Inter Europol Competition). And while Louis Deletraz (#199 AO by TF) took the lead over Reshad de Gerus (#9 Iron Lynx-Proton) from Sarthe, it was Esteban Masson (#48 Panis Racing) who provided the strongest opposition and managed to take the lead at the eighth hour mark.

The fifth hour of the race is Valentino Rossi's. The MotoGP star is taking his first stints and is in first place in the LMGT3 class when he hands over the wheel to his South African teammate Kelvin Van der Linde (BMW M4 LMGT3 #46 Team WRT). The sun sets and the #60 Mercedes-AMG GT3 will not see the finish of this 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Iron Lynx team manages to send it back out onto the track twice, without success. Stopped on the track after the 2nd chicane of the Mulsanne Hills at the wheel of the #95 McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo, Darren Leung is unable to get going again to reach his pit. He leaves the cockpit, removes his helmet and balaclava: it's retirement.