At the start of the race, pole-sitting Loïc Duval, in the #94 Team Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 Hypercar, was overtaken into Les Combes for the first time, as Will Stevens in the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R powered through
It was a lead that Stevens held until the first scheduled pit-stop just after the first hour mark; the Cadillac re-emerged in third position, though, as the short-fuelled #20 BMW M Team WRT of René Rast went into the lead
Rast was followed by the off-sequence #8 TOYOTA RACING TR010 Hybrid of Brendon Hartley in the first part of the second hour, with the German opening up a handsome 19-second lead over the regular stoppers, headed by Stevens
Rast handed over to Sheldon van der Linde an hour-and-a-half into the race, with the BMW M Team WRT squad aiming to pull off a strategic masterclass; as the third hour arrived, van der Linde held a 14-second advantage over the #8 Toyota driven by Ryō Hirakawa
The net lead on regular strategy, though, was held by Stevens, who fended off a charging Ferdinand Habsburg in the #35 Alpine; the Austrian drove a stellar first two hours, during which he overhauled the Duval-driven Peugeot
When Stevens handed over to new team-mate Louis Delétraz just before the beginning of the third hour, the #12 Cadillac was third ahead of the #35 Alpine, now piloted by António Félix da Costa
The highest-placed Ferrari was the #83 AF Corse 499P, following a strong double stint from Phil Hanson who subsequently handed over to Yifei Ye
There was first hour drama for Earl Bamber in the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R, as the New Zealander made contact with Yasser Shahin aboard the #92 The Bend Manthey Porsche at the Fagnes chicane; the resulting puncture and damaged steering on the Cadillac saw it pulled back into the pits for lengthy repairs for a brake hydraulics issue
One of the big winners of the first two hours was the #50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P driven by Miguel Molina; the Spaniard climbed from eighth place to a net second as the third hour approached, having despatched Habsburg at Les Combes
Behind the Ferrari was the pole-sitting #94 Peugeot, as Duval got ready to hand over to Théo Pourchaire for the mid-portion of the race, but there was disaster for Ferrari as Nicklas Nielsen climbed into the cockpit of the #50 499P but was delayed by 20 seconds due to a stuck front-left wheel nut, dropping the car to 13th position
Kevin Magnussen and Antonio Giovinazzi indulged in a spirited battle for seventh place in the second hour, with the Ferrari losing time after the pair clashed on the exit of Les Combes
The #19 Genesis Magma Racing GMR-001 lost time in the pits due to a technical issue, but returned to the race to accrue more valuable data about the all-new Korean Hypercar
LMGT3 - #69 BMW
From pole position, Tom Van Rompuy leapt into an instant lead at the start, as the #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus headed the 18-strong LMGT3 class field
A ferocious opening hour battle at the front saw Van Rompuy overtaken by Eric Powell in the #77 Proton Competition entry; the American drove a brilliant first six laps but spun off after dipping a wheel onto the gravel at Stavelot, bringing out the only safety car of the race so far and leaving the Ford Mustang five laps adrift of the pack
That allowed the #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin through into second position, as Ian James headed Stefano Gattuso in the #88 Proton Ford Mustang and a charging François Hériau in the #21 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari, which survived contact with the #88 Mustang at La Source on the first lap
Van Rompuy’s race was spoiled as he was handed a drive-through penalty for track limit violations and dropped down to third, albeit still in contention
As the third hour approached, it was the late-stopping #69 Team WRT BMW that led, with Anthony McIntosh enjoying a two-second margin just before his scheduled stop
But the net battle was between the #21 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari (Simon Mann) and #88 Proton Mustang (Giammarco Levorato), the pair separated by just 0.7secs
Duels raged throughout the field during the first two hours, with several incidents playing out including a clash between James Cottingham in the #91 Manthey DK Engineering Porsche and Antares Au in the #10 Garage 59 McLaren at Pouhon; both continued with minimal delay
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