24H of Le Mans, 12H update: Doriane Pin exchanging LMP2 lead, Lilou Wadoux recovers through the night

After 12 hours of racing at the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans, Doriane Pin and her Duqueine Team teammates remain in the fight for victory in the LMP2 class after spending much of the first half of the race at the front of the field. In LMGT3, Lilou Wadoux and the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari squad have steadily climbed through the order through the night.

Photo credits: DPPI

After twelve hours of racing at the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans, Doriane Pin and her Duqueine Team teammates remain in the fight for victory in the LMP2 class after spending much of the first half of the race at the front of the field, repeatedly through strategy fluctuations and some neutralizations to maintain control of the class lead.

In LMGT3, Lilou Wadoux and the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari squad have steadily climbed through the order from a difficult starting position, with the Frenchwoman executing another solid night-time stint to bring the #150 Ferrari in the battle for a top-ten result.

The race began under clear skies and in front of packed grandstands at La Sarthe, with Duqueine Team emerging as one of the strongest LMP2 contenders from the outset. Julien Andlauer started sixth and immediately charged through the field, climbing to second within the opening laps before challenging the leading IDEC Sport Oreca. Through the opening hours, Andlauer, Richard Verschoor and Doriane Pin brought the #30 Oreca as the unchallenged class leader, eventually building an advantage approaching two minutes before a first safety car intervention.

Meanwhile, in LMGT3, the #150 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari started 19th in class. Bronze-rated Custodio Toledo enjoyed a positive opening stint, climbing through the field before handing over to Riccardo Agostini, whose pace steadily paved the way towards the top ten, despite the team battling with a tricky BoP from early in the weekend.

The safety car at the 8-hour mark, triggered after contact between the VistaJet Ferrari and a Ford Mustang, dramatically changed the race: with the three safety car trains merging, Duqueine's huge advantage disappeared entirely. Only seven LMP2 cars remained on the lead lap, and the #150 Ferrari also remained on the lead lap in LMGT3.

When racing resumed, Julien Andlauer had remained out before pitting as soon as pit lane reopened. Richard Verschoor took over the #30 Oreca and initially dropped to fifth before cycling back through the field as competitors completed their own stops. By lap 133, the Dutchman had returned to the LMP2 lead with all leading contenders now having completed eleven pit stops.

At the Richard Miller AF Corse crew, Agostini emerged from the safety car period in 12th position after gaining valuable track position during the neutralization. The Italian immediately continued his charge, lowering the Ferrari's benchmark time with a 3:55.894 lap as the race entered its ninth hour. He remained in the car for another stint after his next stop and rejoined in 13th position, but rapidly began hunting down the cars ahead, including Giuliano Alesi's Iron Lynx Mercedes.

Running an alternative strategy, Verschoor would stop on lap 138 before gradually cycling back to the front through the twelfth pit-stop sequence. The Duqueine Oreca repeatedly climbed from fifth back to first as rival teams completed their service, eventually rebuilding an advantage approaching one minute in between pit cycles.

Agostini continued making progress in LMGT3; by stretching his stints, the Ferrari cycled as high as sixth overall in class before another stop on lap 135 dropped him back into the battle for eighth. As others pitted, he once again climbed the order and maintained good pace in the 3:57 range. After passing Sebastian Priaulx, he continued to edge closer to the top ten.

As the race approached the ten-hour mark, Agostini had worked his way into sixth position, though Julian Hanses' Mercedes remained within a second and applied pressure.

At the same time, the battle for the LMP2 lead evolved into a fascinating duel between Duqueine Team and the Inter Europol Competition Oreca.

With Nico Müller now aboard the #343 machine, the Swiss driver began matching Verschoor's pace. The lead effectively changed hands multiple times through the pit-stop cycle as the teams followed different strategies. Verschoor briefly surrendered ground but regained the advantage whenever the Inter Europol Oreca stopped.

When Verschoor brought the Duqueine Oreca into the pits with a lead of approximately 1 minute and 20 seconds, Doriane Pin climbed aboard for her second appearance in the race and rejoined only half a second behind Müller's car.

Pin immediately settled into a good rhythm, running similar lap times to Müller. She ensured the pair pulled away from the chasing cars while dealing with older tyres. Although Müller gradually opened a small advantage before his next stop, the strategy cycle eventually handed the lead back to Pin on lap 169, despite the Frenchwoman running on older tyres.

Back in LMGT3, Agostini completed another strong stint before pitting on lap 154 and handing the Ferrari back to Lilou Wadoux for her second stint of the race. The Frenchwoman rejoined in tenth position and immediately found again her rhythm in the darkness.

Wadoux was consistently quicker than many of the cars around her and soon began making further gains. As pit strategies unfolded around her, she climbed into eighth position before overtaking Salih Yoluc for seventh. Wadoux recorded the fastest first sector in LMGT3 to that point and repeatedly matched her best pace from earlier in the race.

The race was interrupted again when the #25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca went off at Arnage, triggering a Full Course Yellow. Racing resumed briefly before another FCY was required when the #19 Genesis Magma entry of Paul-Loup Chatin stopped on circuit.

The timing of these neutralizations proved critical for Team Duqueine. Pin used the caution period to complete a pit stop, and although the FCY periods cost some of the advantage she had built on track, Pin emerged with fresh tyres and immediately resumed lapping in the 3:39 range, remaining one of the very few LMP2 drivers capable of consistently breaking the 3:40 barrier.

Before the cautions, Wadoux she had climbed to sixth position, then remained in the car after her own stop, rejoining deeper in the order but continuing to push forward through the field.

At the halfway point of the race, the #30 Duqueine Team Oreca of Doriane Pin, Richard Verschoor and Julien Andlauer remains locked in a strategy battle with the #343 Inter Europol Competition machine, exchanging the lead through pit-stop cycles.

In LMGT3, Lilou Wadoux offered a glimpse of her night-racing expertise, spending part of her second stint well into the top 10. After twelve hours of racing, the #150 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari sits 12th in class, with Wadoux and her teammates still aiming to make up ground as the second half of the world's greatest endurance race gets underway.