The number 12 Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac V-Series.
R has taken the lead at the 94th 24 Hours of Le Mans, overtaking Toyota during the nighttime and sunrise hours.
As the race completed its 15th hour at the Circuit de la Sarthe on June 14, 2026, driver Will Stevens established an 18-second advantage over Rene Rast in the number 20 BMW M Hybrid V8.
The lead change came after the number 8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid, driven by Brendon Hartley, went off-track at Mulsanne Corner and later received a drive-through penalty for a Full Course Yellow infringement.
That dropped the car to third place.
The sister number 7 Toyota ran in fourth, while the number 51 AF Corse Ferrari 499P rounded out the top five as the field adjusted to daytime conditions.
The number 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P also remained competitive despite a drive-through penalty that dropped it to sixth overall.
Driver Robert Kubica commented on the team's performance: "We have a good pace, but we're losing too much time in the straights due to a lack of acceleration.
There's nothing we can do.
We need to focus on what we can control, and with a little bit of luck, we can take advantage of mistakes made by others."
The Italian squad had earlier setbacks when the number 50 Ferrari 499P lost 28 minutes in the pits due to a fire extinguisher system malfunction, returning eight laps down.
Genesis Magma Racing continued its debut appearance with the number 17 and number 19 GMR-001 Hypercars, despite the number 19 car stalling temporarily between Arnage and Indianapolis.
"The number one priority is to show up and reach the finish line. Then, we will build for the long term," noted representatives from Genesis Magma Racing.
In LMP2, the number 30 Duqueine Team ORECA 07-Gibson led the class with Richard Verschoor driving, following a tight battle with Inter Europol Competition entries.
The LMGT3 class saw Jonny Edgar leading in the number 33 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.
R, holding a lead of over one minute against the number 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo.
Mechanical issues and incidents altered the lower field, including a suspension failure for Giuliano Alesi in the number 62 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo and an accident by Dane Cameron in the number 99 AO by TF Oreca at Indianapolis.
