H12: Audi on top at halfway stage
Benoit Treluyer ensured Audi remained in the lead at the halfway stage of the Le Mans 24 Hours
In the sole remaining #2 Audi, Treluyer's lead of more than two minutes was gradually eroded by a flying Sebastien Bourdais in the #9 Peugeot - the Frenchman threatening to set a new fastest lap several times during his stint.
Treluyer and Audi were able to respond however, upping their pace to maintain a healthy lead of almost two minutes. Simon Pagenaud then took over from Bourdais, but was unable to make any further significant inroads into the Audi's lead.
Alex Wurz was third at the halfway stage in the #7 Peugeot, eight seconds behind Pagenaud, while the third #8 Peugeot of Stephane Sarrazin remained on the lead lap.
Loic Duval beached the #10 Matmut Peugeot in the gravel at the first chicane on the Mulsanne straight, causing long delays which dropped the car from fifth to eighth as it was recovered and then repaired.
Julien Jousse took over fifth in the #16 Pescarolo-Judd, which now leads the petrol standings by more than one lap from the #13 Rebellion Racing Lola.
In LMP2 the #41 Zytek-Nissan set about establishing a formidable lead, although their cause was aided by a recurring problem for Danny Watts in the #42 Strakka HPD, which dropped from second to ninth as a consequence.
Dominik Kraihamer took over the #48 ORECA-Nissan from Alexandre Premat, and currently lies second in the class, just over one minute down the road from the #41 Nissan.
In the GTE Pro class, Jan Magnussen in the #75 Corvette leads Toni Vilander in the #51 Ferrari 458 by more than two minutes, although Vilander has been slowly reducing the arrears.
The #50 Larbre Chevrolette Corvette leads the GTE Am class from the #81 Flying Lizard Porsche.
NOTES:
- Mike Rockenfeller was taken to hospital following a frightening accident that totally destroyed the #1 Audi in the seventh hour of the race. The German had been running third when he made contact with a GTE Ferrari at kink after Mulsanne. Audi confirmed that their driver climbed from the car before medical crews got to him.
- The #3 Audi of Allan McNish crashed out of the race in the first hour having just taken second position. The Scot collected the #58 Luxury Racing Ferrari in the right-hander after the Dunlop Bridge. The heavy impact destroyed the car and McNish was taken to hospital for precautionary checks, but was later released with an all-clear.
- Both Aston Martin AMR Ones ran into trouble on the first lap of the race. Darren Turner spinning with mechanical trouble and Adrian Fernandez stopping out on the Mulsanne. The #007 car of Turner was recovered to the pits where it was discovered an alternator belt tensioner was to blame.
POSITIONS AFTER 12 HOURS Pos Car Team Class Gap 1. #2 Audi Audi Sport Team Joest (LMP1) 2. #9 Peugeot Team Peugeot Total (LMP1) + 54.993 3. #7 Peugeot Peugeot Sport Total (LMP1) + 1:00.528 4. #8 Peugeot Peugeot Sport Total (LMP1) + 2:27.585 5. #16 Pescarolo Pescarolo Team (LMP1) + 5 Laps 6. #13 Lola Rebellion Racing (LMP1) + 6 Laps 7. #12 Lola Rebellion Racing (LMP1) + 6 Laps 8. #10 Peugeot Team Oreca-Matmut (LMP1) + 8 Laps 9. #22 Lola Kronos Racing (LMP1) + 10 Laps 10. #41 Zytek Greaves Motorsport (LMP2) + 11 Laps 11. #48 Oreca Team Oreca-Matmut (LMP2) + 11 Laps 12. #33 Lola Level 5 Motorsports (LMP2) + 13 Laps 13. #26 Oreca Signatech Nissan (LMP2) + 13 Laps 14. #49 OAK OAK Racing (LMP2) + 13 Laps 15. #74 Corvette Corvette Racing (GTEP) + 16 Laps 16. #35 OAK OAK Racing (LMP2) + 16 Laps 17. #51 Ferrari AF Corse (GTEP) + 16 Laps 18. #75 Porsche Prospeed Competition (GTEP) + 17 Laps 19. #73 Corvette Corvette Racing (GTEP) + 17 Laps 20. #59 Ferrari Luxury Racing (GTEP) + 17 Laps 21. #55 BMW BMW Motorsport (GTEP) + 18 Laps 22. #80 Porsche Flying Lizard Motorsports (GTEP) + 18 Laps 23. #76 Porsche IMSA Performance Matmut (GTEP) + 18 Laps 24. #56 BMW BMW Motorsport (GTEP) + 19 Laps 25. #77 Porsche Team Felbermayr-Proton (GTEP) + 19 Laps 26. #36 HPD RML (LMP2) + 21 Laps 27. #50 Corvette Larbre Competition (GTEA) + 21 Laps 28. #70 Porsche Larbre Competition (GTEA) + 21 Laps 29. #81 Porsche Flying Lizard Motorsports (GTEA) + 21 Laps 30. #40 Oreca Race Performance (LMP2) + 21 Laps 31. #61 Ferrari AF Corse (GTEA) + 21 Laps 32. #42 HPD Strakka Racing (LMP2) + 22 Laps 33. #71 Ferrari AF Corse (GTEP) + 23 Laps 34. #65 Lotus Lotus Jetalliance (GTEP) + 23 Laps 35. #63 Porsche Proton Competition (GTEA) + 26 Laps 36. #83 Ferrari JMB Racing (GTEA) + 27 Laps 37. #88 Porsche Team Felbermayr-Proton (GTEP) + 28 Laps 38. #68 Ford Robertson Racing (GTEA) + 32 Laps 39. #66 Ferrari JMW Motorsport (GTEP) + 33 Laps 40. #60 Aston Gulf AMR Middle East (GTEA) + 33 Laps 41. #44 Norma Extr (LMP2) + 36 Laps 42. #89 Ferrari Hankook Team Farnbacher (GTEP) + 47 Laps 43. #64 Lotus Lotus Jetalliance (GTEP) + 47 Laps 44. #58 Ferrari Luxury Racing (GTEP) + 58 Laps 45. #5 Oreca Hope Racing (LMP1) + 65 Laps 46. #39 Lola PeCom Racing (LMP2) + 27 Laps 47. #57 Ferrari Krohn Racing (GTEA) + 43 Laps 48. #24 OAK OAK Racing (LMP1) + 47 Laps 49. #1 Audi Audi Sport Team Joest (LMP1) Retired 50. #62 Ferrari CRS Racing (GTEA) Retired 51. #15 OAK OAK Racing (LMP1) + 86 Laps 52. #79 Aston Jota (GTEP) Retired 53. #20 Zytek Quifel-ASM Team (LMP1) Retired 54. #3 Audi Audi Sport North America (LMP1) Retired 55. #007 AMR-One Aston Martin Racing (LMP1) Retired 56. #009 AMR-One Aston Martin Racing (LMP1) Retired
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
WEC Imola: Ferrari 1-2-3 in dominant qualifying feat
Horner: More relaxed Perez no longer focused on Verstappen in F1 2024
FIA dismisses Aston Martin protest over China F1 qualifying
Espargaro considering Aprilia test rider role, but MotoGP future still open
Ranking Derek Warwick’s top 10 greatest races
Why Peugeot had no choice but to revamp its radical Le Mans Hypercar
How motorsport is embracing the opportunities of AI
The experiment WEC could revisit to magnify its boom period
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments