At 8am, the trouble-free run of the leading Matra ended when Larrousse bought the car in with a misfire. Several stops were needed to fix the issue, costing three-quarters of an hour, but they were able to keep their lead. The Gulf then also lost almost 45 minutes fixing its starter motor, dropping to fourth. Around 10am the Porsche developed a steering problem and then lost all but its fourth and fifth gears. Running around 40 seconds a lap slower, it fell eleven laps behind the leading Matra.