The first half of the 86^th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been completed and the no7 Toyota TS050 of Jose Maria Lopez is leading the race by 77 seconds ahead of the no8 Toyota of Fernando Alonso. 

The no8 Toyota was penalised when Sebastien Buemi was found to have driving too fast in a slow zone and the Swiss driver was forced to serve a 60 second stop and go penalty.

The no3 Rebellion Racing R13 of Matthias Beche is running in third place, four laps behind the Toyotas and ahead of the no1 Rebellion of Bruno Senna.  The no17 SMP Racing BR01 was running at the front of the field but Matevos Isaakyan spun at the Porsche Curves damaging the car.  The Russian tried to clear the damaged parts of the car to get back to the pits but then the engine failed in spectacular style in a cloud of smoke and the race for the no17 was over.

In the LMGTE Pro category the two of the Porsche 911s continue to lead the class, with the no92 911 of Michael Christensen holding a one minute fifty three second advantage over the no91 Porsche of pole sitter Gimmi Bruni. The no68 Ford GT is third ad the no52 AF Corse Ferrari of Toni Vilander is fourth.

The no81 BMW M8 was handed a drive through penalty when the team refuelled the car while it was still on the skates and the earth lead wasn’t attached to the car during the refuelling process.

The no26 G-Drive Racing Oreca is still in charge in the LMP2 category with Roman Rusinov circulating 1 lap ahead of the rest of the field.  Nicolas Lapierre is currently second in the no36 Signatech Alpine A470, 3 seconds ahead of the no23 Panis Barthez Competition Ligier of Timothe Buret.

Porsche continue to dominate the LMGTE AM class as well as the PRO category and at the end of the twelfth hour the no77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche of Julien Andlauer over 90 seconds ahead of the no85 Keating Motorsports Ferrari, with last years’ class winner JMW Motorsport in third.

The no98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage was another retirement in second quarter when Paul Dalla Lana went off into the barriers at the Porsche Curves.  The Canadian was OK but the car had to recovered to a safe area, its race run.

Emirati racing driver Khalid Al Qubaisi and his Dempsey Proton Racing entry will start the famous Le Mans 24 Hours in pole position in the Pro-Am class following qualifying on Thursday.

Driving a Porsche 911 RSR, Al Qubaisi is part of the No.88 line-up with his teammates Matteo Cairoli and Giorgio Roda, and the team started the 2018 Le Mans race weekend by setting the best time in practice of 3:52.903s on the iconic 13.6km Circuit de la Sarthe.

That strong pace was confirmed again as his Dempsey Proton Racing car achieved the fastest time in the first qualifying session, as Porsche factory Mateo Cairoli lowered the bar with a 3:50.728s, improving the fastest time in class by more than two seconds

Their advantage at the time was 1.2 seconds to the nearest competitor in the Pro-Am category, the No.77 sister Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche after the first qualifying.

And in the second and third qualifying rounds, the No.88 continued to set a steady pace and most importantly maintained its lead in the overall ranking with the No.86 Gulf Racing UK moving up to second, although still with a difference of 0.663s between the two cars.

That ensured Al Qubaisi and his team will start the 24-hour race from first in class, while Porsche completed a clean sweep of the top three places as the No. 77 held on to third place.

Commenting on the performance of his Dempsey-Proton Racing car, Al Qubaisi said: "Thankfully, Abu Dhabi Racing has been able to reserve the first place in the world's most glorious race.

“This is certainly a great achievement and a great effort from Porsche to provide us with a good car and great settings.

“The race is the most important and now we are fully focused on it, avoiding surprises and maintaining a good pace are very important if we want to turn this result into a good finish on Sunday.”

The 2018 Le Mans 24 hours will start on Saturday afternoon, June 16 at 15:00 local time (17:00 UAE time) with the clock ticking down for an entire day before the checkered flag is waved the following day (Sunday) at the same time.

The first quarter of the 86th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is over with several safety zones and two safety cars during the first six hours of racing.

Several accidents during the first quarter but there is only one official retirement which is the no4 Bykolles Racing Team ENSO-Nismo after Dominik Kraihamer clipped a backmarker while passing and the Austrian spun off into the wall. Kraihamer emerged unscathed but the car was unable to continue.

With just over 90 laps of the 13.6km La Sarthe circuit complete the two Toyota TS050s are leading with the no8 Toyota of Kazuki Nakajima leading by just 12 seconds from the no7 TS050 of Kamui Kobayashi. The no17 SMP Racing BR01 is in third place, one lap behind the leaders and over a lap ahead of the no3 Rebellion Racing R13 of Gustavo Menezes.

In the LMGTE Pro category two of the Porsche 911s hold the upperhand, with the no92 911 of Michael Christensen holding a two minute advantage over the no93 Porsche of Patrick Pilet. The early race leader Gimmi Bruni is currently in 4th in the no91 911, 3 seconds behind the no81 BMW of Martin Tomczyk

The no26 G-Drive Racing Oreca is out in front thanks to the efforts of jean-Eric Vergne and the Russian entered team now has Roman Rusinov holding a 1 lap advantage over the no23 Panis Barthez Competition Ligier of Timothe Buret.

Porsche also hold the upperhand in the LMGTE Am class after six hours of racing with the no77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche of Christian Ried holding a strong lead over the no56 Team Project 911 of Edigio Perfetti. Third spot is currently held by the reigning LMGTE Am WEC champions in the no98 Aston Martin Racing, with Paul Dalla Lana at the wheel and just over three seconds behind the Team Project Porsche.

A new top class will be launched for 2020-2024: sleeker prototypes with more marque cachet. While these racing cars will cut quite an imposing figure, they will also retain the usage of a hybrid system while leaving free the choice of combustion engine at a predetermined and fixed cost. The name of the new class will be chosen by popular vote. 

The 2020-2024 plan will usher in a new era of endurance racing with an ultramodern style of prototype called.... whatever the fans of the discipline decide! Super Sportscar, GTPrototype, Le Mans Supercars or Le MansHypercars? The choice is the fans’!  

The regulations, devised by the ACO and the FIA, focus on the appearance, style and lines of the cars in the new premier league. Team and car diversity in endurance racing is one of the discipline’s foremost trademarks, never truer with the emergence of these stylized yet muscular cars, veritable racing beasts in the spirit and image of endurance. They will take on circuits like Le Mans, Spa, Silverstone, Fuji and Sebring in the day and night, rain or shine, in hot weather as in cold. That calls for a tough prototype, one as imposing as it is ingenious and technological. One that turns heads, like hypercars, supercars, prestigious GTs and concept cars do on the street or at any given motor show. So, why not draw inspiration from those machines to build endurance racing cars? Consider it a done deal. 

Aerodynamics cannot take precedence over aesthetics. 

Being the top class, these new prototypes must be technologically powerful and compelling in design and will therefore remain hybrid, with a KERS system in front and 4WD to ensure energy efficiency. This technology will become more and more popular as the KERS system developed by some constructors will have to be used on production cars at a pre-defined price. 

These new prototypes will have an alluring design and incredible pace. The regulations seek excellence: 3:20.00 per lap at Le Mans with limited fuel. The other priority is cost. They will be remarkable, competitive, innovative and affordable - requiring a quarter of current budgets. Costly developments will be kept in check by a new homologation procedure and technical rules that will naturally reduce budgets. 

However, there will be no restrictions on engine selection. Consumption rules will ensure fair competition between different systems.    The new regulations will take effect for 2020-2024. 

Jean Todt, FIA President: “The new regulations for the FIA World Endurance Championship, which come into effect for the 2020/21 season, are the result of hard work between members of the FIA, ACO, manufacturers and teams.  This will provide endurance racing with a long term, stable platform, while continuing to offer a cost-effective stage to showcase future technologies.” 

Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest: “Crafting these regulations was particularly satisfying as very quickly it sparked interest and gained the support of competitors or potential competitors. A new era will dawn in 2020 for endurance racing. On paper it has enormous potential. Le Mans 2018, 2019 and 2020 will each be outstanding editions, but now I can’t wait for the start at the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans.” 

Richard Mille, President of the FIA Endurance Commission: “What has been announced today is the first step in a new direction for the premier class of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of LeMans.  The new regulations are a framework that will be attractive to more manufacturers and teams, while at the same time retaining the excitement of endurance racing for existing fans to enjoy and to attract a new generation of spectator to the sport. The proposals announced today include cost limiting measures, making hybrid power more affordable and building a future for endurance with renewable energy.  From 2020 the front of the grid will look very different and it is an exciting prospect that we are all looking forward to seeing.” 

Gérard Neveu, CEO FIA World Endurance Championship: “The direction for the new regulations announced today jointly by the ACO and the FIA is a supremely positive one. The 2020-24 regulations are, for competitors, both technically interesting and sustainable, with the controlled budgets being a key factor.  We are confident that we will welcome an increased number of world-class manufacturers and international teams to the WEC and that all the elements are in place for them to be able to compete at the highest level, with the pinnacle of course being the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”