24H of Le Mans, 16H update: Pin's Duqueine rebuilds solid gap in the lead, Wadoux just outside the top-10

As dawn begins to break over Circuit de la Sarthe, Doriane Pin and the #30 Duqueine Team Oreca remain in command of the LMP2 category after 16 hours of racing in the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Lilou Wadoux and the #150 Richard Mille Ferrari have continued their recovery, running inside the top ten during the night before settling just outside the top-10.

Photo credits: DPPI

As dawn begins to break over Circuit de la Sarthe, Doriane Pin and the #30 Duqueine Team Oreca remain in command of the LMP2 category after 16 hours of racing in the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Despite repeated position changes due to strategy with the #343 Inter Europol entry, the Duqueine trio of Pin, Julien Andlauer and Richard Verschoor continue to set the pace at the front of the field and hold a lead of approximately one minute with eight hours remaining.

In LMGT3, Lilou Wadoux and the #150 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari have continued their recovery from 19th on the grid, running inside the top ten during the night before settling just outside the top-10 as bronze-rated drivers complete their mandatory drive time.

Duqueine Team had dominated much of the opening twelve hours, with Julien Andlauer, Richard Verschoor and Doriane Pin repeatedly exchanging at the lead through pit-stop cycles while maintaining some of the strongest pace in LMP2. Pin executed some brilliant early stints, and kept a consistently competitive pace lapping in the low 3:40s and dipping into the 3:39 range while managing tyres and traffic.

Meanwhile, in LMGT3, the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari had steadily climbed through the field after starting 19th. Custodio Toledo completed a solid opening phase before Riccardo Agostini and later Lilou Wadoux transformed the race with competitive pace, allowing the #150 Ferrari to challenge for positions inside the top ten.

As the race entered its 13th hour, Doriane Pin continued another strong stint at the wheel of the #30 Oreca. After cycling back into the class lead, she made her 16th pit stop on lap 183 and rejoined approximately twenty seconds behind the #343 Inter Europol Competition Oreca driven by Bijoy Garg.

At the same time, Wadoux brought the #150 Ferrari into pit lane on lap 175 from 11th position. After rejoining behind Salih Yoluc's Corvette, the Frenchwoman quickly worked her way back past the Turkish driver to reclaim 11th place and resume her charge through the LMGT3 field.

Running throughout the night, Pin recorded competitive laps in the low 3:40 range and kept the Duqueine Team in contention for victory. Shortly afterwards, she returned to pit lane and handed the Oreca over to Julien Andlauer. The LMP2 lead battle remained tightly contested, with Duqueine and Inter Europol effectively exchanging the lead through their differing strategies. When Andlauer climbed aboard, he found himself approximately 16 seconds behind Garg's Inter Europol machine.

In LMGT3, Wadoux also continued producing strong laps for the #150 Ferrari's race. Running consistently in the 3:56 range, she moved into the top ten and built a twelve-second margin over Tom Van Rompuy's Lexus while simultaneously gaining on the bronze-rated drivers ahead.

On lap 185 the Frenchwoman made the Ferrari's 18th stop of the race and rejoined in tenth place. Only two seconds ahead sat the Akkodis Lexus of Petru Umbrarescu, while Conrad Laursen's Ferrari was directly behind. Lilou expertly managed both battles.

First she kept the Dane at bay, then launched an attack on Umbrarescu. Both Wadoux and Laursen eventually found a way past the Lexus, but it was the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari that emerged ahead, elevating Wadoux to eighth position in class.

At the front of LMP2, Andlauer resumed the pace that had made the Duqueine Oreca the car to beat throughout the event. Returning to the 3:38 range, he steadily closed the gap to Garg.

The American responded with equally competitive lap times, stabilizing the margin until lap 204, when Garg finally brought the #343 Oreca into the pits and handed over to Reshad De Gerus. That stop returned the lead to Duqueine.

One lap later Andlauer completed his own service stop, but a quicker turnaround allowed the French squad to retain the advantage. Once the cycle completed, the #30 Oreca held a margin of approximately 40 seconds over its closest rival.

While Andlauer controlled the LMP2 lead, Wadoux completed another highly productive stint. Running comfortably inside the top ten, she continued to close on the cars ahead while simultaneously defending from Laursen behind. On lap 195 she finally handed the Ferrari back to Custodio Toledo for the Brazilian's third stint of the race. The pit stop dropped the #150 Ferrari to 13th position.

As darkness slowly began giving way to the first hints of dawn, Duqueine Team continued to dictate the pace of the LMP2 contest. Andlauer extended the advantage once again: with De Gerus now in the Inter Europol machine, the Frenchman seized every opportunity to increase the margin, and stretched his lead beyond 50 seconds with less than ten hours remaining.

Meanwhile, Toledo's third stint proved more challenging. The Brazilian initially slipped behind Augusto Farfus' BMW WRT machine and later came under pressure from Timur Boguslavskiy's Manthey Porsche. Although he lost positions during this phase on ageing tyres, he continued running steadily.

The race then briefly slowed when the Iron Lynx Mercedes of Giuliano Alesi went off in the gravel at the Ford chicane, prompting a slow zone at the final corner.

Toledo caught and passed Takeshi Kimura's Kessel Ferrari after the Japanese driver experienced a close moment while negotiating traffic from the Forestier Racing by Panis LMP2 car. The move elevated Toledo back into 11th place. After another pit stop on lap 205, Toledo remained in the car as dawn approached.

Further drama arrived when the AO by TF LMP2 machine of Dane Cameron went off at Indianapolis and struck the tyre barriers, triggering another slow zone.

At the front, Andlauer completed yet another superb stint. By the time he handed the car over to Richard Verschoor with 9 hours remaining, he had rebuilt the Duqueine advantage to approximately one minute over Inter Europol.

The Dutchman immediately settled into a strong rhythm that mirrored his teammates. Although Reshad De Gerus responded with strong pace of his own, Verschoor consistently maintained the gap with several laps under the 3:40 barrier.

In LMGT3, Toledo continued battling through a tricky stint; Sean Gelael's BMW eventually found a way through, dropping the Ferrari to 12th, before Anthony McIntosh's BMW later moved ahead as well. Toledo eventually found a stable rhythm and maintained a healthy cushion over the pursuing Kessel Ferrari.

As the race entered its 17th hour, Verschoor brought the Duqueine Oreca into pit lane on lap 238, temporarily surrendering the lead for the first time in more than an hour. However, both the Inter Europol entries still had to stop: when Reshad De Gerus and Nick Yelloly completed their service on lap 240, Team Duqueine returned to the front once again, maintaining a margin of approximately one minute.

With eight hours remaining, Doriane Pin, Julien Andlauer and Richard Verschoor continue to control the LMP2 category. In LMGT3, Lilou Wadoux's strong night-time performances helped the #150 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari to break into the top ten, before the strategy cycle returned the car to the edge of that battle.