The start of the 89th Le Mans 24 Hours gets underway in the wet, with Derek Bell leading the field in the Porsche 911 pace car.
The weather had been warm all week, but on race day, the heavens opened just in time for the start, which meant the formation lap and the first two laps of the race took place behind the Porsche pace car. With Derek Bell at the wheel of the pace car and serving as the Grand Marshal, the 89th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans got underway at the later-than-normal time of 1600h. It was also the second time this great race was held at a time of year other than its traditional mid-June slot.
This year, 62 cars took to the circuit in a bid for a class victory, or—in the case of the top Hypercar class—overall victory. This coveted class was contested by five cars: two Toyotas, a single Alpine A480, and a pair of Glickenhaus 007s. It perhaps came as no surprise to racing enthusiasts after the Hyperpole shoot-out to find that the two Toyotas were on the front row of the grid for the start of the race.
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