2022 Le Mans 24 Hours Live Commentary and Updates
Live updates for the 2022 Le Mans 24 Hours at the Circuit de la Sarthe
Live Text
Sort by
Green flag
All slow zones now clear.
The battle at the front continues to rage between the two Toyotas. Mike Conway #7 is hassling the #8 driven by Sebastien Buemi. Only 0.2s separating the pair.
The #51 AF Corse has pitted which has handed second in class to the #91 Porsche.
A double slow zone, two at once at different places around the circuit. There could be some big winners and big losers when we come out of this.
Recovery crews are attending to the Fassbender Porsche now.
The #41 WRT LMP2 is stuck in the gravel at the Porsche curves with Norman Nato in the car. Two active slow zones now.
Yellow flag
We have the yellow flags out. The #93 Porsche is beached in the gravel at the Dunlop chicane with Michael Fassbender back at the wheel.
The #8 Toyota (Buemi) has extended the lead over the #7 Toyota (Conway) to 1.7s.
If you want to catch up on what has happened in the last four hours; here is our eight hour report: https://www.autosport.com/le-mans/news/le-mans-24-hours-toyotas-swap-places-corvette-hopes-implode/10320702/
Buemi was quicker on his in-lap by about a second and then gained a second in the pits. That was enough to overturn a deficit that stood at just 1.3s before Conway came into the pits a lap ahead of him. The two Toyotas really do look evenly matched right now.
Buemi has radioed the team asking if it is necessary for Conway in the chasing #7 Toyota to push this hard given the team's two lap advantage over the third-placed Glickenhaus.
The #8 Toyota (Buemi) has pitted and rejoined ahead of the #7 Toyota (Conway) after the latest round of stops. The overcut has worked here to produce a genuine lead change. This fight continues with 0.7s separating the pair.
The two Porsches have be split at the top of the GTE Pro class. Bruni #91 Porsche has slipped to third, behind the #51 Ferrari driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi. The #63 Corvette, which had led the class, has rejoined the race after a rear suspension failure.
Just as we type that the #7 Toyota has pitted handing the lead back to #8 Toyota.
That's eight hours in the books. Class leaders: Hypercar: #7 Toyota LMP2: #38 Jota GTE Pro: #92 Porsche GTE AM: #79 Weathertech Racing
In GTE Pro, the leading Porsche have pitted. The Team Penske LMP2 has also taken service with Dane Cameron taking over from Emmanuel Collard, who is taking part in his 25th Le Mans (putting him fifth outright in the number of total involvements, putting him beyond Jan Lammers and Francois Migault on 24). That entry is ninth in class on Penske's first Le Mans since 1971.
The #38 Jota ORECA is the big winner in a Slow Zone period once again. Da Costa went into it just over a minute ahead of the Prema with Kubica at the wheel and is now more than two minutes ahead. They can be a bit of a lottery, but the thinking is that these local virtual safety cars are fairer than the real thing. We all know that the three-car safety car set-up at Le Mans can destroy the race.
Now ahead, the #7 Toyota has moved into a 1.7s lead over the #8 Toyota. in GTE Am, the #93 Porsche that was involved in a crash with Michael Fassbender at the wheel has now rejoined with Aussie Matt Campbell at the helm.
We have an outright lead change! Buemi in the #8 Toyota has let the #7 Toyota driven by Conway into the lead.
The third placed #709 Glickenhaus has come in for a quick service. The entry is two laps down on the leading Toyotas that are split by 0.6s now.
The battle at the front is getting seriously tasty. The #8 Toyota (Beumi) leads the #7 (Conway) by 0.8s!
A mechanic down in the Proton pit is taking a boot to the #93 Porsche after Michael Fassbender's accident. I would suggest that someone takes a boot to the actor's posterior. He's been out there lapping some way over four minutes and his lack of pace was undoubtedly a contributory factory to that accident with Vincent Abril in the AF Corse Ferrari.
The #708 Glickenhaus has rejoined the race after a great job by the team to fix the rear of that car after Pla's crash. Pla has stayed behind the wheel and has rejoined in 16th overall, behind the Richard Mille Racing LMP2, driven by eight-time World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier on his Le Mans debut.
The crabbing #708 Glickenhaus is now dropped down the order and is outside the top 10 now, two laps down. It means the #38 Jota leading the LMP2 class has moved to fourth overall.
Twitter
While Fassbender's Porsche is being rebuilt in the garage for the second time this week after his disc failure in FP1, and the Glickenhaus mechanics continue to work on the #708 car, here's what happened to Pla from on-board:
Twitter
Don't know if anyone else caught a glimpse of right rear of the Glickenhaus as it was pulled back into the garage. The tyre wall was in a right old state. The conclusion has to be that the tyre gave out mid-corner in Tertre Rouge, and that caused him to spin.
The #708 Glickenhaus that was spun by Pla has come back into the pits, but it is crabbing significantly at the rear. The team has wheeled it into the garage.
The #8 Toyota continues to lead after that round of stops, but the gap to the #7 is down to two seconds. Conway is hunting down Buemi. Great scrap.
Chevrolet is telling us that it's a suspension problem for the #63 Corvette. By the sound of it, it was a problem at the left rear corner that caused the puncture rather than vice versa.
The leading #38 Jota LMP2 has come in for a swift stop. Antonio Felix da Costa stays behind the wheel.
Fassbender has also somehow managed to bring the Proton Competition Porsche back to the pits after he around the houses trip back to race track following contact with the #61 AF Corse. The Fassbender Porsche has been wheeled back into the garage.
The #7 Toyota has come into the pits for a service. The #708 Glickenhaus has managed to get going again after its spin at Tertre Rouge.
We have a #708 Glickenhaus (Olivier Pla) facing the wrong way at Tetre Rouge. Replays show he spun after hitting a kerb on an out lap.
Twitter
Replays show Abril was diving to the inside of Fassbender on the fast right-hander on the approach to the Indianapolis left-hander. Abril, the GTE class poleman, has been wheeled into the garage with a broken left-rear.
Yellow flag
We have a yellow zone. The reason being contact between the #93 Proton Competition Porsche driven by film star Michael Fassbender and the #61 AF Corse Ferrari piloted by Vincent Abril at Indianapolis.
Ok time for a bit of a class leaders update: Hypercar: #8 Toyota LMP2: #38 Jota GTE Pro: #92 Porsche GTE Am: #79 Weathertech Racing
Following Garcia's problems, it is now a Porsche 1-2 in GTE Pro. Estre in the #92 car leads Bruni in #91, with Pier Guidi's #51 AF Corse Ferrari moving into third despite being penalised earlier for track limits. Brake problems mean Tandy's #64 Corvette that led early doors is now fourth, ahead of the #52 Ferrari that lost ground when Molina sustained a puncture in contact with a prototype at Tetre Rouge.
The #63 Corvette has made it back to the pits, but is wheeled into the garage.
By: autosport.com
Published:
Page:
