Le Mans 2013 81st Le Mans 24 Hours
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15h04m LMP2: Luhr has made it back to the pits, having dropped back to fifth. The front-right tyre is very askew. This will drop the car further down the order as Simon Dolan is instructed not to get in the car yet.
14h59m LMP1: Marc Gene has had a moment at the second Mulsanne chicane; the Spaniard straight-lining it and losing himself a handful of seconds.
14h58m LMP2: Lucas Luhr has been off at the Esses before Tertre Rouge and is now crawling back towards the pits very slowly.
The #38 Jota Zytek-Nissan driver still, for the moment, holds third in the class, but with only a 1m20s lead over fourth-placed Michael Krumm, he's bound to drop back by the end of this lap.
He could well find himself back to about sixth very shortly.
The #38 Jota Zytek-Nissan driver still, for the moment, holds third in the class, but with only a 1m20s lead over fourth-placed Michael Krumm, he's bound to drop back by the end of this lap.
He could well find himself back to about sixth very shortly.
14h54m Here's how many cars remain in the race in the various classes..
LMP1: 8 (everyone still running)
LMP2: 18 (4 retirements)
GTE Pro: 12 (everyone still running)
GTE Am: 10 (4 retirements)
LMP1: 8 (everyone still running)
LMP2: 18 (4 retirements)
GTE Pro: 12 (everyone still running)
GTE Am: 10 (4 retirements)
14h53m GTE Am: The class-leading #76 Imsa Porsche of Raymond Narac is in for fuel. His last lap - complete with pit entry time loss - was the same as second-placed Darryl O'Young in the #55 Ferrari.
O'Young had a brief off on that lap, which he may wel be cursing himself for.
O'Young had a brief off on that lap, which he may wel be cursing himself for.
14h47m LMP2: Pla's lead in the #24 OAK is now 34s - and he's still lapping quicker than Baguette. It looks like that #35 has a pitstop in hand, though.
14h43m GTE Pro: As Senna takes over the #99 car - further in arrears after the stop - Mucke in the #97 has Pilet in the #91 Manthey Porsche for company. There's just half a second between that scrap for third.
Quote
14h38m GTE Pro: Romain Dumas: "In the wet or the damp is the only conditions in which we can catch the Astons. In the dry they are much faster."
14h37m LMP2: Plowman makes his stop in the #35 OAK car...Baguette steps in, and Pla is though and into the lead!
14h36m GTE Pro: Makowiecki pits, interrupting his chase of the #92 Manthey Porsche - which now has Richard Lietz at the wheel.
Before that stop, he'd brought the gap down to almost a minute - a gain of 20-odd seconds - in about half an hour.
Before that stop, he'd brought the gap down to almost a minute - a gain of 20-odd seconds - in about half an hour.
14h35m The #55 Darryl O'Young AF Corse Ferrari didn't lose too much time with that Brandela-ing. He still has a minute in hand over Matt Griffin in the sister #61 machine and is lapping only about a second slower.
14h34m 
LMP2: Pla pits in the #24 OAK car, so the lead battle ends - on track, at least - for now as the #35 (pictured) pulls clear.
LMP2: Pla pits in the #24 OAK car, so the lead battle ends - on track, at least - for now as the #35 (pictured) pulls clear.
14h31m LMP1: Buemi pits for the 18th time from second and that will ensure that Duval's advantage goes back up by a minute or so.
14h30m LMP2: The battle for the lead rages between Plowman and Pla, with less than a second covering the pair of OAK cars.
14h29m GTE Pro: The #93 Viper of Tommy Kendall is driving around slowly with a left-rear puncture.
14h29m GTE Pro: Mucke rejoins right ahead of the class-leading Manthey Porsche, and is passed on the the run down to Indianapolis. While Dumas in the #92 is yet to stop, the Aston is now a lap down.
14h28m LMP1: Duval stops again in the leading #2 Audi and rejoins still leading. His advantage is down to 1m33s. That's his 20th stop whereas the Toyotas have made 17 each.
14h27m GTE Pro: Stefan Mucke pits the #97 Aston from third.
14h25m GTE Am: The #88 Proton Porsche is in the pits now having repairs made to its front. That's the car that was Brandelad earlier.
14h24m GTE Pro: Tommy Kendall in the #93 SRT Viper is in the gravel at Mulsanne Corner. It's being treated with localised yellows.
14h23m LMP1: More problems for the #1 Audi of Lotterer. Running eighth - and last of the LMP1 machines - the R18 has been wheeled back into the garage after a few futile efforts to recharge... something in the pit stall.
14h21m LMP2: At the sharper end of LMP2, Pla is gaining on Plowman. A lap in traffic put the gap back up over 10s but the class polesitter is now just 6.6s behind.
14h18m LMP2: Duval is properly ekeing out his advantage now. His last lap was a 3m28.1s while Buemi and Wurz were in the 3m33s and 3m35s respectively.
14h16m LMP2: This is getting stupid now. Brandela gets as far as the first Mulsanne chicane.... and goes straight on.
The DKR squad needs to get him back in the pits and out of the car NOW!
The DKR squad needs to get him back in the pits and out of the car NOW!
14h14m LMP2: For goodness sake. Brandela exits the pits after about a five-minute check.
His first act? Doin his best to run Buemi's Toyota clean off the road at the Dunlop chicane. Rubbish. Just rubbish.
His first act? Doin his best to run Buemi's Toyota clean off the road at the Dunlop chicane. Rubbish. Just rubbish.
14h13m GTE Pro: The #99 Aston Martin is making inroads into the lead of the #92 Manthey Porsche - he's been quicker by at 1.5s the last three laps.
14h13m GTE Am: The #88 Porsche of Paolo Ruberti is back in the race, having got going again after being taken behind the wall.
Ruberti is now ninth in class and will certainly lose even more time by pitting at the end of the lap. What a shame for the Italian, who had driven brilliantly in this race.
Ruberti is now ninth in class and will certainly lose even more time by pitting at the end of the lap. What a shame for the Italian, who had driven brilliantly in this race.
14h11m LMP1: The race is heading right back towards Camp Audi. After the heroics of the Toyotas in the wet, Duval is now lapping consistently in the 3m30s while the Japanese machines are in the 3m37s and dropping back.
14h10m LMP2: Quite unbelievable driving from Brandela. That's about the 15th time he's spun or hit someone in this race.
14h07m LMP2: ...And as we type that, the incident comes under investigation.
14h07m LMP2: Brandela, recovering from his error, then causes a worrying off for the #55 and #88 GTE Am cars - that's the second-placed AF Ferrari and the Proton Porsche - on the run from Dunlop to Tertre Rouge.
The Porsche, which was fourth in class, is in the gravel, and so is the Ferrari.
The Porsche, which was fourth in class, is in the gravel, and so is the Ferrari.
14h05m 
LMP2: ...As one of our member expresses his incredulity at another spin for Romain Brandela in the #39 DKR. He's back going now, in 48th place - that's last but one of the runners.
LMP2: ...As one of our member expresses his incredulity at another spin for Romain Brandela in the #39 DKR. He's back going now, in 48th place - that's last but one of the runners.
14h03m LMP1: Jonny Kane meanwhile spins into the gravel entering the pits, but is soon able to extricate himself and head down to his waiting crew.
14h03m LMP2: Matthew Howson in the #47 KCMG Morgan-Nissan spins at the first Mulsanne chicane but continues.
13h59m LMP1: Problems for the #12 Rebellion Lola, which is being rolled into the garage. Neel Jani is currently driving - or not as it may be.
13h58m GTE Pro: Nip and tuck for laptime in the battle for the lead between Dumas in the #92 Manthey Porsche and Makowiecki in the #99 Aston.
What is a bit more substantial there is the 1m23s separating the two. 'Mako' will need a sterling stint to regain that, short of a Dumas error.
What is a bit more substantial there is the 1m23s separating the two. 'Mako' will need a sterling stint to regain that, short of a Dumas error.
13h57m GTE Am: Raymond Narac pits in the class-leading #76 Imsa Porsche. He still has almost one lap over the chasing pack, now led by WTCC regular Darryl O'Young in the #55 Ferrari.
13h56m LMP1: Slight delay in the pitlane for the #7 Toyota, but its back out now.
13h54m LMP2: Now it's the turn of the #35 OAK to pit - a gain of 12s in the pitlane alone, and they retain the lead. Before, they were handing it back to the #24.
13h53m 
LMP1: Lapierre now just over one minute behind Duval, although he's due to pit shortly. Buemi, on the same sequence as Duval, is a further 60s down the road.
Toyota WEC Le Mans 2013
LMP1: Lapierre now just over one minute behind Duval, although he's due to pit shortly. Buemi, on the same sequence as Duval, is a further 60s down the road.
By: Jamie O'Leary, Gary Watkins, Sam Tremayne, Scott Mitchell, Geoff Creighton, Matt Beer
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