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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It appears as though the GTE Am-leading TF Sport Aston has been split from the rest of its class pursuers by this safety car. That's doubly bad news for the pursuing #79 WeatherTech Porsche, which currently has its fastest driver Julien Andlauer aboard. He's just ahead of Paul dalla Lana's #98 NorthWest AMR Aston on the road, but not able to pull away as he would do in normal racing conditions.
The TV cameras are showing us that the leaders in GTE Pro are line astern behind the same safety car. Alessandro Pier Guidi and Fred Makowiecki are, mouthwateringly, nose-to-tail.
The stricken Frijns car has been carried behind the barriers now, but we expect barrier repairs may take some time. We remain behind safety car (three of them, remember around the long Circuit de la Sarthe).
The first group of cars to have pitted are being held by the red light at the end of the pitlane. They have to wait until the next safety car snake has passed before joining the back end of it. That will mix things up considerably.
There are a flurry of cars coming into the pits to take advantage of the slower speeds. Expect LMP2 teams with silver time still to use up to install them, likewise GTE Am crews with bronze time to use up.
There is a tractor on the road that has lifted up the stricken #31 car. Hugs all around in the WRT box suggest it's game over.
Safety car
And now it's a full safety car.
We have a slow zone before Arnage, aside from the fact Frijns's car is still there, he gave the barrier a hefty whack and that will likely need some attention.
Frijns was running sixth in LMP2 and chasing down Yifei Ye at the time. Rene Rast was primed and ready to take over. But the car is still stationery, it remains to be seen whether Frijns can get it restarted. Terrible blow for the pre-event WEC championship leaders, whose race had been one of recovery after Rast was penalised for the contact at the start.
Crash
Trouble for the #31 WRT ORECA! Robin Frijns has spun exiting Indianapolis and appeared to just touch the gravel with his right-hand wheels which spits the Dutchman across the road to the left and into the armco head-on. Big impact.
The gap is coming down gradually in the GTE Pro fight at the front. Makowiecki is now 9.7s behind Pier Guidi with 5 hours 17 minutes to go. This is going to be a fascinating watch.
Fastest lap of the race from Kobayashi in the #7 Toyota. He's set a 3m27.762s as he chases down Hirakawa. The gap is edging down and is now a tad over three minutes.
A small mistake from Wadoux into Arnage gifts the spot to Hanson, who now moves up to ninth in LMP2, one lap behind the sister United Autosports car driven by Pierson.
It's been an eventful race for Michael Fassbender, but the Irishman is back behind the wheel of the #93 Proton Porsche that was nerfed unceremoniously into the barriers at Indianapolis with him at the wheel last night. I was quite surprised to see him bring it back to the pits, but full credit to the mechanics for the rebuild job. He's currently 17th in the GTE Am class.
Lilou Wadoux is currently driving the #1 Richard Mille ORECA that runs ninth in LMP2 and survives a brush with Job van Uitert's Panis ORECA that moved across her bows entering the Ford Chicane - causing the Dutchman to go off-line and briefly catch air. That has allowed Hanson to close in the recovering #22 United car, and he's now right on the tail of a machine in which rally legend Sebastien Ogier has completed 98 laps so far.
Glad to be green! Finally. Can't ever remember such a protracted period of slow zones. We went from that triple SZ through a very short time of proper running and then back into another stint of yellows through a period lasting more than 90 minutes. All I can say is that it is better than the alternative. The three safety-car set-up at Le Mans can destroy the racing.
Now feels like a good time to point out that both United cars are currently in the top 10 of LMP2, which you might have got long odds on after hour 1. Phil Hanson has passed Rolf Iniechen's #32 WRT ORECA for tenth in the #22 United car that found itself in the gravel 200m after the start following contact with Inichen's team-mate Rene Rast.
Record-breaking 16-year-old rookie Josh Pierson has just had a trip through the Porsche Curves gravel in the #23 United Autosport ORECA, fortunately without hitting anything. That car's win hopes were hampered by an early puncture for Alex Lynn and then penalties for pitlane contact with a Porsche and not following slow zone procedure, and currently runs eighth.
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Frijns has now passed Collard for sixth in LMP2. Next in his sights is Ye's Cool Racing machine which is 15 seconds up the road.
During the last pitstop for the GTE Pro leaders, Alessandro Pier Guidi hopped aboard the #51 Ferrari. He's 13s ahead of the pursuing Makowiecki in what is boiling towards a straight fight between Porsche and Ferrari for the class win. Antonio Fuoco, in the #52 Ferrari that was delayed earlier by a puncture following contact with a prototype at Tertre Rouge, is almost a full lap behind that pair in third.
Julien Andlauer is back aboard the #79 WeatherTech Porsche that dominated much of the opening half of the race in GTE Am. Five cars are still in contention in that class, which is still headed by the Aston Martins of TF Sport and NorthWest AMR with Henrique Chaves and Nicki Thiim respectively at the wheel.
We've not mentioned the lead gap for a while, but the #8 Toyota continues to lead by around three minutes with Ryo Hirakawa still at the wheel. Jose Maria Lopez is giving chase in the #7 machine.
Toyota have been more specific on the problem that delayed the #7 car and changed the complexion of the race. It was specifically a reset of the motor generator unit.
As a bit of housekeeping, the #83 LMP2 car Perrodo has handed over to Nicklas Nielsen has been given a three-minute penalty for that race-ending contact on the #64 Corvette. We've still got a slow zone between the two Mulsanne Chicanes while barrier repairs are continuing.
All credit to Francois Perrodo, who heads down to the Corvette box to apologise for his clash with Alexander Sims that put the #64 C8.R out of the race. That takes big character.
We've got a battle for sixth in LMP2 looming, with Robin Frijns in the #31 WRT ORECA hunting down the #5 Penske machine driven by veteran Manu Collard. Between them is Paul-Loup Chatin's IDEC car which lost time early on to losing a wheel, but he's not compliant when Frijns tries a bold move through the Porsche Curves and the Dutchman has to back out of it.
We've just had a change of position in the battle for fourth in GTE Am as the #99 Hardpoint Porsche with Martin Rump at the wheel passes Christian Ried's #77 Dempsey-Proton Porsche. That then becomes third when Cooper MacNeil brings the WeatherTech car into the pits.
The two factory Porsches are currently circulating on track together, but the #92 car remember is many laps down after its dramatic blowout while leading this morning.
Thanks Haydn! A superb stint through this morning's carnage. Calado can therefore breathe a sigh of relief with the Corvette no longer on the #51 Ferrari man's tail. But the fight for GTE Pro victory is far from over, as the #91 Porsche was only around 20 seconds behind when both Calado and Fred Makowiecki came into the pits.
Well, that caps a dramatic stint, with changes for the overall lead, the GTE Pro lead (twice) and a fair few offs all in the last three hours. I'll take a breather and hand over to James Newbold, who is refuelled and ready to roll.
The #83 AF Corse is able to get back in the race after some repairs in the garage, with Nielsen taking over from Perrodo. The French driver looks devastated at what has just happened.
So, in the space of about five minutes, both Corvettes are out of the race. The US squad looks shattered, with hugs being shared in the garage, as they know it is over.
That all started by John Falb in the #47 APR LMP2 trying to divebomb Calado into the first Mulsanne Chicane and having to run off-line as the Ferrari driver held his line. Perrodo got a run on Falb, but as they ran three-wide with Sims on his left, the AF Corse LMP2 driver jinked suddenly left and fired the luckless Sims into the wall.
Perrodo, who also picked up damage to his #83 AF Corse in the clash, limps back to the pits to allow the team mechanics to assess the damage.
It looks terminal for the #64 Corvette, as Sims steps out of the car which has suffered heavy damage. He had been chasing Calado in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari for the GTE Pro lead, but that's all over now.
Crash
But even worse news for the #64 Corvette, Sims has crashed! He was hit by the Perrodo in the #83 AF Corse LMP2, going three-wide on the Mulsanne straight, and it has sent Sims into the wall!
Mechanical problem
Bad news from the other side of the Corvette garage, as the #63 car is officially retired from the race due to damage.
A pitstop cycle sees the #51 AF Corse Ferrari rise into the GTE Pro for the time being, as Sims in the #64 Corvette pits.
The #28 Jota duly pits with, Rasmussen taking over on driving duty, to release Deletraz in the #9 Prema back into second place in LMP2.
By: autosport.com
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