They’ve had worse, but that was harsh.
Hypercar Performance – LMGT3 Performance
Relative Performance– Hypercar
The #35 Alpine and #7 Toyota were the two standout cars. Toyota had the strongest outright and short-run pace, but the #35 Alpine moved ahead as the sample widened, leading both the medium and long race averages. That makes the Alpine the strongest overall race-pace performer rather than simply the quickest over a handful of laps.
Behind them it was exceptionally close. The #38 Cadillac and #50 Ferrari were virtually inseparable over the longest sample, with the #8 Toyota and #36 Alpine only a little further back. Aston Martin was also firmly in that leading group, particularly the #007.
The #51 Ferrari, #009 Aston Martin and #12 Cadillac formed the next group, followed by the two Genesis cars. Peugeot and BMW were generally towards the back of the race-pace order, although the gaps remained small by normal Hypercar standards.
Practice looks to have been a useful indication of the broad competitive picture, but less effective at predicting the exact race hierarchy. The tightly grouped nature of Alpine, Toyota, Ferrari, Cadillac and Aston Martin carried through into the race, but the longer race samples made the strengths of the #35 Alpine and #7 Toyota much clearer.
Sectors
There was no single car dominating all three sectors. Peugeot’s #93 led Sector 1, the #38 Cadillac led Sector 2 and the #7 Toyota led Sector 3.
The #35 Alpine again stands out for its completeness. It was near the front in both Sectors 2 and 3 and, combined with respectable Sector 1 performance, that translated into the best sustained overall lap pace. The #7 Toyota similarly combined strong performance throughout the lap rather than depending on one section.
Cadillac’s #38 was particularly strong through the middle sector, while Aston Martin showed very good pace through Sectors 1 and 2. Ferrari’s #50 was consistently competitive across all three.
BMW’s biggest weakness was towards the end of the lap, while Peugeot showed almost the opposite characteristic: very strong Sector 1 performance but considerably less competitive in Sector 3.
Speed Trap
Aston Martin #007 looks strongest over the broader speed-trap samples, with Alpine #36 also consistently near the front. Ferrari #50 is quickest over the Top 10 runs, while #51 is particularly strong over the Top 56 and has the highest modal speed.
The single biggest number belongs to Peugeot #94, but that clearly is not representative of its normal running. Toyota #8 and Genesis #17 also reach very high peaks without sustaining that advantage deeper into the sample.
BMW sits firmly at the bottom of the repeated-speed measures, with Toyota #7 also relatively low. Overall, the trap data shows some sizeable differences in how the cars are achieving their lap time, but the peak figure alone is again a poor guide to race pace.
Peugeot #94 is particularly interesting. It recorded the highest single speed-trap figure and was also exceptionally strong in Sector 1, so there is clearly some relationship between its straight-line performance and that sector.
However, the correlation is not as simple as the peak speed suggests. Over the larger speed-trap samples the #94 falls much further down the order, while still performing very well in Sector 1. That suggests its strength there was not simply maximum speed: acceleration, braking and the other corners in the sector were contributing too.
The #93 reinforces that point. It was reasonably competitive through the trap without matching the #94’s Sector 1 performance. So Peugeot #94 could certainly produce a very big number on the straight, but its sector strength looks broader than just being the fastest car past one measuring point.
Drivers
Charles Milesi and Nyck de Vries were the two standout drivers of the race. Milesi led the longer averages and completed a huge proportion of the #35 Alpine’s running, while de Vries set the benchmark for outright and short-run pace in the #7 Toyota and remained right at the front as the sample widened. Both were exceptional, and, for those too cool to listen to commentary, Anthony Davidson made it clear just how impressed he was with the level of performance they were producing.
Nyck de Vries was the benchmark for outright and short-run performance in the #7 Toyota and remained right at the front as the sample expanded.
Nicklas Nielsen was Ferrari’s strongest driver, while Jack Aitken led Cadillac’s effort. Tom Gamble was particularly impressive for Aston Martin, especially given his Gold grading, and was amongst the leading drivers across the averages. Victor Martins also produced a strong Gold-graded performance for Alpine.
Marco Sørensen completed the most laps of any Hypercar driver, taking a particularly large share of the #009 Aston Martin’s running. Milesi was next among the major workloads, while Antonio Giovinazzi and Phil Hanson also completed substantial numbers of laps.
Relative Performance– LMGT3
The #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG, like in the last race, and #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin were the class benchmarks. The Mercedes set the fastest lap and led the medium-length sample, while the Aston Martin was strongest over the Top 10 and, importantly, the Top 100 average. Both remained at the front as the sample widened, showing genuine sustained race pace.
The #91 Manthey Porsche was next and particularly strong over the longer averages, followed by the second Aston Martin, #23. Ferrari’s #21 also had excellent peak pace and remained competitive over the race distance.
Behind them, the #79 Mercedes, #77 Ford, McLarens and second Ferrari formed a fairly close middle group. BMW, Lexus and Corvette were generally further back, while the #92 Porsche was notably less competitive than the #91.
Sectors
The sector rankings show quite different strengths between the leading cars. The #61 Mercedes was exceptionally complete, leading Sector 1 and remaining right at the front in both Sectors 2 and 3.
Aston Martin’s advantage came later in the lap. The #27 led Sector 2 and was second in Sector 3, while the #23 was also near the front in both. That explains why the Aston Martins became particularly strong as the lap-average samples increased.
The #91 Porsche had almost the opposite profile. It was well down the Sector 1 ranking but led Sector 3 and was strong in Sector 2. Ford was very strong in Sector 1 with both cars, but dropped substantially in Sector 3.
Corvette struggled particularly through Sectors 2 and 3, which is reflected in its position towards the rear of the overall race-pace ranking.
Speed Trap
Ford clearly led the LMGT3 speed-trap picture. Both #77 and #88 were consistently at the front across the larger samples, rather than relying on one unusually quick pass.
Aston Martin #23, Lexus #87 and Mercedes #61 were also consistently strong. Ferrari #54 could produce very high speeds over the shorter samples, but dropped back as more laps were included.
At the other end, Porsche, Corvette and particularly BMW #32 were generally slower through the trap. The #27 Aston Martin is also interesting: despite being one of the strongest cars on overall race pace, it was only midfield on sustained straight-line speed. As in Hypercar, outright trap speed was clearly only one part of producing a quick lap.
Drivers
Maxime Martin and Mattia Drudi were the standout drivers at the front. Martin led every driver pace measure and was central to the #61 Mercedes’ performance, while Drudi was extremely close and underpinned the #27 Aston Martin’s class-leading long-run pace.
Ayhancan Güven was also excellent in the #91 Porsche. Eduardo Barrichello deserves particular mention: the Silver-rated driver was right among the fastest drivers and completed by far the most laps of anyone in LMGT3, making his contribution to the #23 Aston Martin especially impressive.
Alessio Rovera was Ferrari’s strongest driver, while Zacharie Robichon also produced very competitive Silver-rated pace for Aston Martin. Ben Tuck was another Silver who combined solid pace with a very large workload.
Barrichello completed the most laps, followed by Jonny Edgar and Ben Tuck, with Yasser Shahin and Anthony McIntosh also taking on particularly large shares of their cars’ races.
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