From the race start, the Ferraris were on the pace, Nielsen and Giovinazzi in the #50 and #51 cars seizing the lead after just 13 minutes. Kubica in the #83 had started the race in an equally determined manner, rapidly climbing to fifth place. As the rain began to fall around the two-hour mark, the teams were forced into early strategy decisions. Several hypercars, including the red-liveried Ferraris, switched to wet-weather tyres early. Kubica in the #83, however, stayed on soft slick tyres, mastering his car in the damp conditions. As the track dried, Shwartzman took over the drive and took off, his lead steadily increasing over the chasing #8 Toyota and the #5 Porsche. The rain returned around the sixth hour, triggering another series of pit stops. This time, the #83 stopped for wet tyres and, once again, had judged the conditions perfectly, gaining up to 30 seconds a lap over some of its rivals. However, the #83, then with Kubica at the wheel, was then involved in a collision with the #15 BMW of Dries Vanthoor, sending the Belgian racer into the wall as he tried to unlap himself. The incident triggered a lengthy safety car period of over ninety minutes, and the stewards shortly found Kubica at fault, handing down a 30-second penalty stop and go penalty, dropping the #83 back into the pack. At the nine-hour mark, the #50, #83 and #51 Ferrari trio were fifth, sixth and seventh, trailing the #8 Toyota, #6 Porsche, #7 Toyota and #2 Cadillac. Deep into the night, Race Control triggered a Safety Car period for almost four-and-a-half hours after, due to a combination of continuous heavy rain and low visibility in the dark. The race resumed just after the sixteen-hour mark, with the #50 in third, and the #83 fifth, having gained positions in the pit stop periods. Giovinazzi in the #51 maintained seventh place, though soon received a drive-through penalty for incorrect speeds during a full course yellow. The battle for position continued until another hour of safety car, this time triggered by a big crash in the GT class, bunching up the Hypercars again.