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H23: Rain makes for dramatic final hour

Heavy rain at the turn of the hour has thrown yet another twist on one of the most enthralling Le Mans 24 Hours race in history

Peugeot have not given up on their dream of winning the classic French race, with one hour to go, as they put French ace Nicolas Minassian in the chasing second-placed No.7 908 for the final three stints of the race.

The No.2 Audi of Tom Kristensen still leads, but the gap between him and Minassian had been reduced to just two minutes, although the picture remained somewhat clouded as both leaders pitted late in the hour.

Audi put Kristensen on what appeared to be a set of cut slicks as the rain hammered the pit straight, but the rest of the circuit remaining dry Peugeot opted to leave the No.7 on dries.

Meanwhile the battle for third remained open as both Franck Montagny's No.9 Peugeot and the fourth placed No.3 Audi of Lucas Luhr were both pushed into the garage for a service.

Jeroen Bleekemolen remains in control in LMP2 with a seven lap over the Team Essex Porsche, which has Jon Nielsen at the wheel.

David Brabham took over from Darren Turner in the leading GT1 Aston Martin, which enjoys nearly a lap's lead over Corvette's Jan Magnussen.

So long as he keeps it on the track, Mika Salo has GT2 wrapped up now that the Risi Ferrari has an eight lap lead (nearly an entire stint's worth) over the Fabio Babini driven BMS car.

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