Mans 24h, H1: Toyota takes lead from 15th on the grid

Le Mans 2026 begins with Toyota leading an hour in, after a dramatic start where pole-sitter BMW and Cadillac battles raged over the early laps. The #8 Toyota, starting from 15th, moved to the front as the first pit cycles reshuffled positions; Rene Rast in the #20 BMW M Team WRT led early before Buemi’s Toyota seized the initiative, leaving Rast roughly seven seconds adrift at times by late hour one. The lone significant incident involved the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes spinning at Tertre Rouge. In LMGT3, the #27 Aston Martin briefly led before the #78 Lexus from Akkodis ASP Team took command after the opening pit stops, with Jack Hawksworth continuing the fight as the gap to Ian James in the Aston widened.