The pole-sitting Toyota of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez led the Le Mans 24 Hour Race into the early hours of Sunday as the Japanese manufacturer stayed on course for a predictable back-to-back win. 

After nine hours, they had a seven-second lead on the other Toyota hybrid of Fernando Alonso, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima who triumphed 12 months ago. 

The number three Rebellion Racing entry, with Frenchmen Thomas Laurent and Nathanael Berthon as well as American Gustavo Menezes, was in third place in late afternoon sunshine with a threat of rain. 

Alonso, 37, who left Formula One at the end of last year with two titles, can become the first F1 champion to win more than once at Le Mans. 

"It's always tough to race for 24 hours," said Alonso who is still in contention for the overall world endurance championship title this season. 

For the last two seasons, Toyota have been the only manufacturer on the grid after Porsche and Audi pulled out of the elite LMP1 class which this year features just six other cars. 

(With input from AFP and Reuters)