2022 Le Mans 24 Hours Live Commentary and Updates
Live updates for the 2022 Le Mans 24 Hours at the Circuit de la Sarthe
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The leading #63 Corvette has picked up a puncture and is limping with Antonio Garcia at the wheel. The #92 Porsche now leads GTE Pro.
The #46 Team Project 1 Porsche is out of the race. The car in which Matteo Cairoli led the class early had vibrations after a trip into the Indianapolis gravel with Nicolas Leutwiler at the wheel, which the team has since tried to fix several times. "They changed the tyres, the rear diffuser, stabilisers and checked the car several times. In the end, the car is so damaged that safety can no longer be guaranteed," we are told by Porsche's spokesperson.
A difficult race for the #23 United Autosports LMP2 has been made tougher. Alex Lynn has had to serve a stop-go penalty after an unsafe release incident with a Porsche earlier.
The leading GTE Pro #92 Porsche pits and rejoins after a slick stop. It rejoins second in class behind the #63 Corvette.
In LMP2, the #38 Jota continues to lead with Roberto Gonzalez at the wheel. The entry is 1m18.5s ahead of the #9 Prema driven by former F3 driver Lorenzo Colombo. But now the #38 Jota is in pitlane and Antonio Felix Da Costa jumps in.
The #8 Toyota jumped the #7 car there in the pits when Buemi replaced Hirakawa. The erstwhile leader spent 7s longer in pitlane. Bit of a problem getting a new set of wheels and tyres on while Conway was taking over from Kobayashi.
Miguel Molina explains that contact with a Prototype at Tetre Rouge caused a front right puncture on the #52 GTE Pro Ferrari.
The gap between the Toyotas at the front has extended from 2.5s to 8.0s following that round of stops.
The #52 Ferrari has an issue with the front of the car. It limps back to the pits. The car was sitting fourth in class.
Hirakawa brings the #8 Toyota into the pits. The Japanese driver was getting frustrated by a LMP2 car on that in lap. "Ryo it's a long race, it's a long race, let's stay calm, the car is good, it's a long race" says the team on the radio.
Sebastien Buemi jumps in and rejoins ahead of Conway in the #7 Toyota. A lead change in the Hypercar class!
Sebastien Buemi jumps in and rejoins ahead of Conway in the #7 Toyota. A lead change in the Hypercar class!
The leading #7 Toyota pits and it appears Mike Conway will take over from Kamui Kobayashi.
In GTE Am, Nicki Thiim (Northwest AMR) is on a charge and is reeling in the leading Cooper MacNeil driven Weathertech Racing (Porsche). The gap has come down from over a minute to 24s in the last 30 minutes.
The #8 Toyota has shaved a few more tenths off the leading #7 Toyota with the gap down to 2.3s.
The #64 Corvette had a rear brake issue. Brakes changed on all four wheels and the car is back out with only two minutes dropped. The car was sitting third in class before the stop.
The #64 Corvette GTE Pro entry has been wheeled into the garage. Nick Tandy is at the wheel.
Makowiecki passes Molina with a slick move around the outside of Indianapolis. The #91 Porsche takes fourth in GTE Pro from the #52 Ferrari. That was a great scrap and an even better overtake.
In the battle of the Toyotas at the front, the #7 car leads the #8 by 3.061s.
Great battle for fourth in GTE Pro class. The #91 Porsche (Makowiecki) is chasing down the #52 Ferrari (Molina). Only 0.5s between the pair currently.
We are getting into some proper night running now with lights ablaze.
The #709 Glickenhaus has also ducked in for service with Aussie Ryan Briscoe at the wheel. The car is sitting fourth in Hypercar class, two laps down on the leading #7 Toyota.
The #5 Penske LMP2 has come in for a 10th stop. Former F1 driver Felipe Nasr is at the wheel as he rejoins the race in eighth. The lead LMP2 Jota is in the pits amid a flurry of action in pitlane.
The #7 leading Toyota has run across the first Mulsanne chicane. Kamui Kobayashi at the wheel. It is a lucky escape this time.
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As I get set to hand over to my learned colleague Tom at the end of the sixth hour, it's still a Toyota 1-2 at the front of the race. Jota controls things in LMP2, Corvette have a tenuous 1-2 in GTE Pro and Weathertech Racing is bossing things in GTE Am. Tom will take you through into the dead of night!
With the race neutralised in one part of the track, it's stop time in GTE. Antonio Garcia is back in the #63 car, and ought to reassume the lead of the race when the Sims/Vanthoor battle pits -- probably next time around.
There's a piece of debris on the terrifyingly fast run between Mulsanne and Indianapolis. We're not sure whom it belongs to, but that's an instant slow zone.
The #91 Porsche, placed fourth in GTE Pro, has picked up a drive-through penalty pertaining to track limits infringements. The driver in question is Fred Makowiecki.
Following the latest round of pit stops, it's now a Jota 1-2 in LM P2. Roberto Gonzalez leads Oliver Rasmussen, with the #9 Prema Orlen Team car following seven seconds behind. Penske's latest stop went to plan, and Felipe Nasr is fourth. Third driver Emmanuel Collard hasn't had a go yet!
More news from that GTE battle: Alex Sims has received a track limits warning.
And that battle for second in GTE Pro simply won't let up. Laurens Vanthoor is still within two seconds of the #64 Corvette of Alex Sims. There is little to choose between their lap times at the moment -- though the Corvette's fastest lap of the race is about a second quicker.
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Scary moment for the #9 Prema LM P2 car as Lorenzo Colombo battles with Rolf Ineichen (WRT) over fourth in class. He goes slipping and sliding across the second chicane on the Mulsanne Straight, but no harm done.
Kamui Kobayashi has slipped into the lead in the #7 Toyota, relegating his countryman and team-mate Ryo Hirakawa into second once more. The gap is five seconds....and the odds on it being the last swap of positions between these two Hypercars are long!
The Weathertech Racing Porsche is still merrily leading away in GTE Am, with Cooper MacNeil now threading the car around the Circuit de la Sarthe in the tricky sunset hour. You'll have to wait a good 90 seconds for his closest challenger Nicki Thiim to come along in his Northwest AMR Aston Martin. The TF Sport Aston lies third, a further half a minute behind.
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Another incident in the Porsche Curves. It's the Alpine, which is running again...but running off the road. It was a brief moment, however, and the car is now up to speed again.
The front-running LM P2 Penske has been into the pits and received some replacement bodywork on the front end. That stop was a little longer than standard, but it came on schedule and the #5 car has only dropped to eighth place following this ninth round of stops. That leaves Louis Deletraz (Prema Orlen Team) in charge of chasing the lead Jota car for the time being. Its advantage has been cut from over two minutes to 1m43s. The gaps behind meanwhile, are mostly single-figure ones....
The #64 Corvette has begun working its way back up towards the front of GTE PRO. In fact, Alex Sims has just taken second from Laurens Vanthoor in the #64 Porsche. That re-establishes the 1-2 we had for the American cars earlier on. Nicky Catsburg continues to lead in the #63 car, with an advantage of 42 seconds over his team-mate.
We're five hours into the Le Mans 24 Hours, and so far things are running sweet for Toyota, with Ryo Hirakawa (#8) leading Kamui Kobayashi (#7) as the Japanese marque chases a fifth straight victory with two Japanese drivers currently at the wheel. They're split by three seconds. The Glickenhaus cars have shown that they can pump in fast laps, but not consistently enough to get closer than 1m16s of second place at this stage, with Luis Felipe Derani leading the chase in the #708 car. That is close enough, however, to take advantage of event a minor problem for the Toyotas as we count down to the hours of darkness.
By: autosport.com
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