Le Mans 24 Hours: Cadillac leads after midnight chaos and key retirements

However, at just over the halfway point, Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA holds the advantage, but with another 12 hours still to run, the smallest mistake could dramatically alter the outcome of one of motorsport's most demanding contests.

As is often the case at Le Mans, the night hours have proven decisive. Darkness has exposed weaknesses, highlighted strengths and tested the limits of both machinery and drivers. Shortly after midnight, the race was neutralised for 45 minutes following an incident involving the #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo at the Forest Esses. The damaged Ferrari was subsequently forced to retire.

When racing resumed, the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid led the field for Toyota Racing, ahead of the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 of BMW M Team WRT and the #12 Cadillac V-Series.

Behind the leading trio, strategic battles were already unfolding. While Cadillac elected to run its cars on soft-compound tyres, Toyota opted for the more durable medium-compound tyres, setting the stage for a fascinating tactical contest throughout the night.

The strategy appeared to pay off for Cadillac, with both Hertz Team JOTA entries moving to the front following the latest round of pit stops. Will Stevens emerged ahead of teammate Jack Aitken, while Porsche Penske Motorsport's Mathieu Jaminet dropped to 11th after making his stop.

Cadillac continued to assert its authority as the night progressed, with the #12 and #38 cars controlling the race. Just before the completion of the twelfth hour, the #38 made another scheduled stop, with Sébastien Bourdais taking over from Jack Aitken, while Louis Delétraz remained at the wheel of the leading sister car.

Elsewhere, the twelfth hour featured an off-track excursion for Enzo Trulli in the #25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca 07, while the #19 Genesis encountered reliability issues that briefly halted its progress before it eventually rejoined the race. In the LMP2 category, the battle for class honours remained intense, with Inter Europol Competition and Duqueine Team exchanging the lead during the latest pit-stop cycle.

1. #12 Cadillac V-Series.R (Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA) – Louis Delétraz / Will Stevens / Norman Nato – 192 laps

2. #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 (BMW M Team WRT) – Robin Frijns / René Rast / Sheldon van der Linde +15.360s

3. #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid (Toyota Racing) – Sébastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa +20.725s

4. #38 Cadillac V-Series.R (Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA) – Sébastien Bourdais / Earl Bamber / Jack Aitken +1:10.191

5. #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid (Toyota Racing) – Mike Conway / Kamui Kobayashi / Nyck de Vries +2:06.396

#30 ORECA 07-Gibson (Duqueine Team) – Doriane Pin / Julien Andlauer / Richard Verschoor

#33 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R (TF Sport) – Ben Keating / Jonny Edgar / Nicky Catsburg