The two Toyota Gazoo Racing entries have controlled the race from th♏e very first corner, holding a sizeable lead for the first six hours of the race before a spin for its erstwhile nearest competitor - the #708 Glickenhaus - multiplie✤d its advantage to two laps by the ninth hour.

With no issues to report as Toyota safely navigaꦜted the notorious nightshift, come day break the manufacturer sits pretty with a four lap margin over the third place #709 Gliﷺckenhaus entry.

Though Toyota insists it is not managing its pace to ensure it protects a much desired 1-2 finish, the margin between the two cars out front has remained remarkably static throughout the race having swelled to nothing more than 30secs at an🌜y point.

While the lead itself has swapped hands on a few occasions, as of the 15th hour mark (7:00 local) it is the #7 ﷽car of Mike Conway, Jose Maria Lopez and Kamui Kobayashi in front, with the #8 car of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartl♚ey and Ryo Hurakawa still just 16secs behind.

It remains to 💯be seen whether the two cars will be permitted to duke it out for victory in th🔯e latter stages - if they aren’t already - or whether Toyota will focus on ensuring a 1-2 at the flag.

With Glickenhaus still on course for a podium, the sister #708 car - which had stayed within 90secs prior to Olivier Pla’s kiss with the barriers and subsequent pit-stop for repairs after a spin at Tetre Rouge - is steadily picking its way back up the overall order. It is seventꦆh out-ofℱ-sync with the pit-stops among the LMP2 cars but is on course to get back to fourth.

All five Hypercars are still in the race with the Alpine making slow prog🦩ress back up the order from earlier technical issues, the French team now up to 19th, 11 laps off the lead.

Running fourth overall and still leading LMP2, the #38 Jota Sport’s trouble-free race continued into the mornin꧃g, though its advantage has been chipped down by the Prema Orlen car in second.

The Le Mans debutants have pulled clear of an absorbing LMP2 podium fight to make headway on a lead held by Jota since the first hour. The #9 Oreca - steered by Robert Kubica, Louis Del⛦etraz and Lorenzo Colombo - is 🍰now circulating within a lap of the leaders, with a gap back now to the #28 Jota in third.

The fourth #31 Team WRT car is also continuing along the comeback trail from a stop-go penalty early in the race, the im✃pact of which 𒐪has been felt harder by the low attrition rate across the entire field.

Cool R♒acing rounds out the LMP2 top five, ahead of TDS Racing and Team Penske, which has slipped back from an earlier podium fight. 

Else🎀where, Panis Racing - which had also worked its way into a possible top three finish - has plunged down the🌟 order after Nicholas Jamin ran on at Mulsanne, dropping the entry down to 20th. The Ultimate car was also forced to pit for repairs after a wild spin into the barriers at Porsche.

While the race has settled elsewhere, in GTE Pro things have closed up again with the #64 Corvette leading at the turn of the hour, though just seconds split it from the #51 AF Corse and the #92 Porsche in the run up to the lates𓂃t cycle of pit-stops🀅.

Similarly, the GTE Am lead has been swapping between stops for the two leading contenders with long-time leaders WeatherTech Porsche coming under 🃏pressure from the rapidly advancing TF Sport Aston Martin, while the Hardpoint Porsche is also creeping back into contention on the class lead lap in third.

We still have only three official retirements - the #59 Inception Po꧒rsche, #77 Spirit of Race Ferrari and the #46 Team Project 1 Porsche, all GTE Am - though the D’station Aston Martin has been stationary for some hours, while the #64 Corve♐tte, #30 Duqueine Oreca LMP2 and #27 CD Sport Ligier LMP2 are running but way behind after lengthy issues.