Like two heavyweight fighters standing toe to toe and trading blows, the fight between Porsche and Audi at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is relentless. Two Porsches and two Audis have led as the German marques monopolized the top six spots throughout the first six hours of racing. At the six-hour mark, the running order at the sharp end was Porsche, Audi, Audi, Porsche, Porsche, Audi.

Mark Webber was the leader at the six-hour mark in the distinctive red and white No. 17 Porsche 991 Hybrid that celebrates Porsche’s first Le Mans victory in 1970. The speed advantage that Porsche displayed in qualifying is nowhere to be found in the race – the No. 7 Audi R18 e-tron quattro of Benoit Treluyer was in hot pursuit just 12 seconds behind, with the No. 9 Audi of Filipe Albuquerque another five seconds back.

In the fourth hour, the No. 9 Audi rewrote the Le Mans record book, setting records for the fastest race lap on consecutive circuits of the 8.47-mile course. On Lap 61, Albuquerque lowered the mark to 3:18.477, and on Lap 62 he was even quicker at 3:17.647 – less than one second off this year’s pole-winning time.

The Toyota TS040 Hybrids have yet to show the pace to challenge the frontrunners. The No. 2 Toyota was one lap down to the leaders, and the No. 1 Toyota four laps in arrears. The Nissan GT-R LM NISMO prototypes languished in the 21st, 37th, and 43rd positions overall as their extended Le Mans test session continued.

The story in GTE Pro is the resurrection of Corvette Racing. Down but not out after the forced withdrawal of the No. 63 Corvette C7.R following a crash in qualifying, the American team rallied as the No. 64 Corvette C7.R went from last on the GTE Pro grid to first in class on the track.

Tommy Milner put the yellow Corvette in P1 after three hours and 45 minutes of racing. With savvy strategy, longer runs between fuel stops, and impressive speed, Corvette Racing is a genuine contender for the class honors.

After six hours, Aston Martin led in GTE Pro (No. 99) and GTE Am (No. 98). The No. 53 Riley Motorsports-TI Automotive SRT Viper GTS-R is triple stinting its Michelin tires and running at the front in GTE Am. After leading at three hours, the Viper was fourth and on the same lap as the class-leading No. 98 Aston Martin of Pedro Lamy at six hours.

The sun will set at Le Mans at 10:00 p.m. and the drivers will begin their journey into darkness.