The 89th edition of the 24 hours of Le Mans did not disappoint since its start. The rain that fell at the beginning of the test led not only to several extra training laps, but also to change the planned starting script.
It was the fault Richard Westbrook with the illustrious Glickenhaus # 709. Just after the first chicanes before the Dunlop Bridge, he took the Toyota # 8 that was with Sebastien Buemi at the wheel. The great beneficiary of this first incident was the other Toyota, with Mike conway at the wheel, which was the leader without two rivals (at least one).
From its rear camera you can see perfectly how Westbrook (who was later punished with 10 seconds of stop & go) went totally past.
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It was not the only incident in these early stages. The Alpine # 36 left everything with a spin in Indianapolis caused by the wet track, something that also happened to one of the three Spanish drivers.
Roberto Merhi saw his chances of victory in the Pro-Am category of LMP2 become very complicated with a spin that left him bogged down on the ground. Until G-Drive # 25 was retired, a full lap passed, but as the times to put dry tires approached, the incidents accumulated.
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More luck had Miguel Molina. The Catalan of Ferrari # 52 had a great fight for the other Ferrari for the leadership of GTEPro, with the Corvette # 63 of Antonio Garcia constantly trying to hook into the ‘top 5’.
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