Race Report timed 1830 (BST) 13th June 2026: The 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans is now well underway, and the opening phase has already delivered exactly what this race usually does: speed, strategy, traffic, changing class battles and early signs of which cars are comfortable over a long run.

For Aston Martin, the start brought both promise and a reminder of how quickly Le Mans can move away from the neat order of qualifying. The #27 Heart of Racing Vantage AMR LMGT3 made the clearest early statement, leading the GT3 class from pole and building an advantage in the opening laps. In Hypercar, both Valkyries were immediately part of the dense top-class traffic, with the #009 and #007 having to fight through a very close opening phase as Cadillac, BMW, Alpine, Ferrari and Toyota all began to shuffle around through strategy and traffic.

A lively opening lap

The race began with a fierce battle at the front. The #12 Cadillac made the first big move from the start, while the BMWs immediately became involved in their own fight. René Rast in the #20 BMW was particularly aggressive in the opening lap and quickly moved into the lead, with Cadillac, BMW, Alpine and Ferrari all close behind.

The official start coverage described a very lively first lap, but importantly, the field survived the opening phase cleanly. With 62 cars on track and three classes sharing the Circuit de la Sarthe, simply getting through the opening lap without major damage is always the first small victory of Le Mans.

The early television commentary also noted Aston Martin’s straight-line pace, with the Valkyrie beginning to show what it could do down the long Le Mans straights. Marco Sørensen in the #009 was the leading Aston Martin early on, while Harry Tincknell in the #007 was already in a fight of his own, with Toyota traffic around him and the car clearly not feeling perfect in the opening laps.

Valkyrie: #007 ahead of #009 after two hours

By the latest official Hour 2 classification, the two Aston Martin Valkyries had settled into the lower half of the Hypercar field, but both remained on the lead lap and very much in the race.

The #007 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie was classified 11th in Hypercar after two hours, 57.115 seconds behind the leading #8 Toyota. Given the early radio concerns around power and grip, that was a respectable position for the all-British crew of Harry Tincknell, Tom Gamble and Ross Gunn. The car hadn’t disappeared from the fight and was still close enough to several rivals ahead for the race to remain open.

The #009 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie was classified 15th in Hypercar after two hours, 1 minute 09.960 seconds behind the leader. That wasn’t the position Aston Martin would have hoped for after starting seventh, but the key point at this stage is that the car was still running, still on the lead lap, and still part of a Hypercar race that will continue to change with tyre choices, pit cycles, traffic and night running.

At Le Mans, this is still the very beginning. The Valkyries have lost some of the clean-track promise they showed in qualifying, but both cars remain alive in the race and have plenty of time to work back into stronger positions if the execution is clean.

Vantage: #27 leads early, then the class resets through pit stops

The strongest Aston Martin start came in LMGT3. Mattia Drudi made exactly the kind of opening stint Heart of Racing needed in the #27 Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3, leading the class and building a gap in the early laps. The official race update described the #27 Vantage as leading the early GT3 charge and pulling away at almost a second per lap in the opening phase. That was the perfect confirmation that the Hyperpole pace was real, not simply a one-lap moment.

However, the first pit cycle changed the shape of the class. The #78 Akkodis ASP Lexus jumped the #27 Aston Martin and took over at the front of LMGT3, with the two Lexus cars and the WRT BMWs becoming major players in the class battle.

By the Hour 2 classification, the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage was the leading Aston Martin in LMGT3, running ninth in class. The #27 Heart of Racing Vantage was 12th in class, while the #59 Racing Spirit of Léman Vantage was 20th.

That sounds like a drop away from the dream start, but LMGT3 is always extremely sensitive to pit timing, driver order and traffic. The key Aston Martin point is that all three Vantage entries were still running after the opening phase, with the #23 and #27 still close enough to be part of the evolving class story.

Overall race picture

At the front of the race, Toyota had moved into the lead by the end of the first hour through an early strategy call. The #8 Toyota led after one hour, with BMW, Alpine and Cadillac all in the fight behind.

By Hour 2, the #8 Toyota still led the race, with the #20 BMW second, the #35 Alpine third, the #38 Cadillac fourth and the #12 Cadillac fifth. The early impression is that strategy is already playing a major role, especially with Toyota choosing an offset approach in the opening stint.

It’s far too early to call the race direction, but the pattern is already clear: the outright Hypercar battle is not just about one-lap speed. It’s about tyre behaviour, energy management, clean air, traffic and avoiding mistakes through the long evening and night ahead.

FTP reading

From an Aston Martin perspective, the start has been encouraging but not perfect.

The #27 Vantage gave Aston Martin the headline moment by leading LMGT3 early from pole, proving again that the car has serious pace at Le Mans. The pit cycle then reshuffled the class, but Heart of Racing still has both Vantages running and still has time to rebuild the race from there.

In Hypercar, the Valkyries have not yet turned their qualifying momentum into a front-running race position, but both cars remain in the race and on the lead lap after the first two hours. The #007 is the stronger placed of the two at this early stage, while the #009 has work to do after slipping back from its seventh-place starting position.

The most important point is simple: this is Le Mans. The start matters, but it does not decide the race. Aston Martin has shown pace, has all its key cars still running, and now needs clean stints, smart strategy and reliability as the race moves towards evening and the long night ahead.

If you want to see live coverage, free of charge, check out the live onboard footage on the front page of this FTP website. Just find the race countdown clock and below that you’ll see the three livestream videos of the two Valkyrie’s and #27 Vantage GT3. Come on Aston Martin!

The official Hour 2 classification places #007 11th in Hypercar, #009 15th in Hypercar, #23 9th in LMGT3, #27 12th in LMGT3 and #59 20th in LMGT3.