H5: Audi 1-2 as Peugeot hit problem

The No. 8 Peugeot 908 was running in second position with Stephane Sarrazin behind the wheel when smoke started to come from the right rear of the car, and the Peugeot mechanics had to wheel the car into the garage for repairs.

The car rejoined the race in sixth position shortly before around 8:00 pm local time, with Sarrazin remaining in the car.

Allan McNish has taken over the race-leading No. 2 Audi R10, while Marco Werner is giving chase in the No.1 car after he took over from Emanuele Pirro.

McNish is leading by more than three minutes, and Werner appears to have no response to the impressive lap times being set by the reining American Le Mans Series champion.

Jacques Villeneuve has made his first appearance in the race after he took over the No.7 Peugeot from Marc Gene, and the car is now in third position and one lap down.

The No. 16 Pescarolo is still the leading petrol-powered car, and Jean-Christophe Boullion is around one minue behind Villeneuve in fourth place.

The pole-sitting LMP2 car has retaken the class lead with Robbie Kerr behind the wheel of the Team Barazi Epsilon Zytek, as the Quifel-ASM Lola team have made a couple of stops in the last hour.

Two-time class winners RML have rejoined the race after Andy Wallace's accident, and the British driver said that he was convinced something had failed on the car to cause the crash.

While several drivers were expecting the GT1 battle to be wide open, the scrap is reminiscent of those from the past two years as the works Aston Martin and Corvette teams lead the class.

The No. 009 DBR9 of Darren Turner currently leads the class, and the British driver is running in the top ten, while the No.007 Aston Martin and the No. 63 Corvette are also on the same lap.

Johnny Mowlem has taken over the No.97 Ferrari from Mika Salo, and the Risi Competizione car remains in the class lead, with three more cars on the same lap.