16 June 2018
Le Mans, 16 June 2018 – At 3 pm tennis player Rafael Nadal waved the flag to start the 86th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which was immediately marked by an accident involving two prototypes.
GTE-Pro. At the start, Ferrari 488 GTE no. 51 of AF Corse, driven by James Calado, was overtaken by Porsche no. 93 and Ford no. 66, which took advantage of their higher top speed allowed by the regulations. Sam Bird and Toni Vilander maintained the starting position. Calado was able to recover fifth place.
GTE-Am. Giancarlo Fisichella pulled off a Formula 1 style start, surging from fourth to second in the Ferrari no. 54 of Spirit of Race. Matt Griffin also got off to a great start in the car of Clearwater Racing, as did the car of JMW Motorsport.