H13: Peugeot closes on lead Audi
Marcel Fassler and Benoit Treluyer kept Audi at the front of the Le Mans field at the end of the 13th hour, although Peugeot was able to make significant inroads into the overall lead
Audi had enjoyed a gap of almost two minutes at the halfway stage of the race, but lost time as Treluyer handed over to Fassler in the pitlane.
Sebastien Bourdais meanwhile handed the reigns of the lead #9 Peugeot to Simon Pagenaud, and the Frenchman steadily reduced the arrears to Fassler - even moving back into the lead when the Audi made its 15th stop of the race.
Pagenaud stopped shortly after, but came back out just 40s behind Fassler - with the gap then staying fairly constant as the 13th hour concluded.
The #7 and #8 Peugeots swapped places twice, with Anthony Davidson in the #7 908 ending just eight seconds ahead of Stephane Sarrazin in the #8 car.
Julien Jousse took over in the #16 Pescarolo-Judd and re-enforced his team's lead in the petrol standings, with the gap to the #12 Rebellion Racing Lola now more than a lap.
In LMP2, a flying Dominik Kraihamer in the #48 ORECA successfully hounded down Karim Ojjeh in the #41 Zytek-Nissan to recapture the class lead. Having made one stop less, Ojjeh trails Kraihamer by 14s.
Having once lain second, the #42 Strakka HPD has thus far been unable to return to the track following a recurring problem toward the halfway stage of the race.
In the GTE Pro class, Jan Magnussen handed a healthy lead to his #74 Corvette team-mate Richard Westbrook. Gianmaria Bruni currently lies second in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari, more than two minutes down the road.
Jean-Philippe Beloc leads the GTE Am field in the #70 Larbre Porsche 911.
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 13 HOURS Pos Car Team Class Gap 1. #2 Audi Audi Sport Team Joest (LMP1) 2. #9 Peugeot Team Peugeot Total (LMP1) + 35.889 3. #7 Peugeot Peugeot Sport Total (LMP1) + 1:10.739 4. #8 Peugeot Peugeot Sport Total (LMP1) + 1:20.210 5. #16 Pescarolo Pescarolo Team (LMP1) + 5 Laps 6. #12 Lola Rebellion Racing (LMP1) + 7 Laps 7. #13 Lola Rebellion Racing (LMP1) + 7 Laps 8. #10 Peugeot Team Oreca-Matmut (LMP1) + 8 Laps 9. #22 Lola Kronos Racing (LMP1) + 11 Laps 10. #48 Oreca Team Oreca-Matmut (LMP2) + 12 Laps 11. #41 Zytek Greaves Motorsport (LMP2) + 12 Laps 12. #26 Oreca Signatech Nissan (LMP2) + 14 Laps 13. #33 Lola Level 5 Motorsports (LMP2) + 14 Laps 14. #49 OAK OAK Racing (LMP2) + 15 Laps 15. #35 OAK OAK Racing (LMP2) + 18 Laps 16. #74 Corvette Corvette Racing (GTEP) + 18 Laps 17. #51 Ferrari AF Corse (GTEP) + 19 Laps 18. #75 Porsche Prospeed Competition (GTEP) + 19 Laps 19. #59 Ferrari Luxury Racing (GTEP) + 19 Laps 20. #73 Corvette Corvette Racing (GTEP) + 19 Laps 21. #55 BMW BMW Motorsport (GTEP) + 20 Laps 22. #80 Porsche Flying Lizard Motorsports (GTEP) + 20 Laps 23. #76 Porsche IMSA Performance Matmut (GTEP) + 21 Laps 24. #56 BMW BMW Motorsport (GTEP) + 21 Laps 25. #77 Porsche Team Felbermayr-Proton (GTEP) + 21 Laps 26. #36 HPD RML (LMP2) + 22 Laps 27. #81 Porsche Flying Lizard Motorsports (GTEA) + 23 Laps 28. #70 Porsche Larbre Competition (GTEA) + 23 Laps 29. #50 Corvette Larbre Competition (GTEA) + 24 Laps 30. #61 Ferrari AF Corse (GTEA) + 24 Laps 31. #40 Oreca Race Performance (LMP2) + 25 Laps 32. #65 Lotus Lotus Jetalliance (GTEP) + 26 Laps 33. #71 Ferrari AF Corse (GTEP) + 26 Laps 34. #63 Porsche Proton Competition (GTEA) + 29 Laps 35. #83 Ferrari JMB Racing (GTEA) + 30 Laps 36. #66 Ferrari JMW Motorsport (GTEP) + 35 Laps 37. #68 Ford Robertson Racing (GTEA) + 35 Laps 38. #88 Porsche Team Felbermayr-Proton (GTEP) + 39 Laps 39. #60 Aston Gulf AMR Middle East (GTEA) + 41 Laps 40. #89 Ferrari Hankook Team Farnbacher (GTEP) + 50 Laps 41. #44 Norma Extr (LMP2) + 52 Laps 42. #64 Lotus Lotus Jetalliance (GTEP) + 56 Laps 43. #58 Ferrari Luxury Racing (GTEP) + 72 Laps 44. #5 Oreca Hope Racing (LMP1) + 73 Laps 45. #42 HPD Strakka Racing (LMP2) Retired 46. #39 Lola PeCom Racing (LMP2) Retired 47. #57 Ferrari Krohn Racing (GTEA) Retired 48. #24 OAK OAK Racing (LMP1) Retired 49. #1 Audi Audi Sport Team Joest (LMP1) Retired 50. #62 Ferrari CRS Racing (GTEA) Retired 51. #15 OAK OAK Racing (LMP1) Retired 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
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