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WEC 24 Hours of Le Mans

Le Mans 2013 81st Le Mans 24 Hours

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19h44m
Toyota WEC Le Mans 2013

Toyota WEC Le Mans 2013


LMP1: After that wild moment through the Dunlop Esses, Nakajima pits but is quickly back on his way. He doesn't have a whole lot of breathing space over the #3 Audi R18, which is less than 90s down the road now.
19h42m GTE Pro: Meanwhile Jorg Bergmeister has closed to within 1m40s of the class-leading sister Manthey Porsche of Marc Lieb. Darren Turner in the #97 Aston Martin still splits the pair.
19h40m GTE Pro: Corvette has been quietly climbing the order, and there's now a fantastic battle developing for fifth in class. Tommy Milner in the #74 Vette and Matteo Malucelli in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari are locked nose to tail down the Mulsanne straight, the Ferrari just ahead.
19h37m LMP1: Nakajima's windscreen wipers were going when he crashed, suggesting there could be some rain at that end of the circuit. Still dry in the pitlane though.
19h36m LMP1: Replays show just how scary an accident that was for the Japanese driver. He vaults over the first of the Dunlop Esses kerbs, narrowly misses a GTE Am car and then spins across the run-off, ending backwards on the exit of the second curve. Very lucky to get away with that, although there could well be damage given the severity of that accident.
19h33m LMP1: Well, di Grassi had gained himself a lap back - Duval has now re-lapped the sister Audi heading into the Dunlop Esses.
19h31m LMP1: Lucas di Grassi sails past Duval down the Mulsanne, gaining another lap back on the leaders. The #1 Audi is still fifth overall.
19h28m LMP1: It's not always beneficial to stop under the safety car at Le Mans of course - just ask Toyota, following Stephane Sarrazin's three-minute stop during Hour 18.
19h27m LMP1: We have the leaders in the pits. Allan McNish brings the #1 Audi R18, currently running on wets, into the pitlane and hands over to Loic Duval. Fresh slicks being fitted.
19h26m Think we've had a lot of safety car interruptions this year? You'd be right - 10 cars is a record. We're also closing in on the overall record time under cautions, which is the 2011 benchmark of 4 hours and 53 minutes.
19h20m It's difficult to tell you anything other than that, but when we get information, you will know.
19h19m The barrier crew have been busy all week and are again pressing on with the work to put the Armco back into shape at the exit of the first chicane.
19h04m More barrier repairs here at Le Mans - to be more specific, 30-40 minutes worth. That's how long the organisers estimate anyway.
19h01m That rain shower has eased in recent minutes and things look a bit brighter again over the pits.
18h57m
Le Mans 2013

Le Mans 2013


LMP1: Prost in the #12 Rebellion lines up at the end of the pitlane - a 1hr48m pitstop.

We've seen quicker.
18h55m LMP2: Reactionary pitstops for the lead pair in P2 as Martin Plowman takes the wheel of the class-leading OAK #35.
18h52m GTE Pro: Huge, huge shunt for Makowiecki. The lead Aston was 12s clear but something's gone wrong and the front end is in a big mess.

Fortunately, Mako gets out of the car unassisted, and immediately sprints across the track and gets to safety.
18h51m The safety car is out after a big shunt at the first chicane.
18h50m LMP1: McNish takes on a set of intermediates...nope! Full wets!
18h49m LMP2:Brundle in the chasing #24 OAK Morgan flashes past the pits as the shower continues to make the circuit slippery. He's 2m15s behind the class leader.
18h48m GTE Pro: Wild ride for Kamui Kobayashia over the kerbs as his Ferrari team-mate Gianmaria Bruni pits. Very, very slippery!
18h44m If the rain continues like this, though, it's definitely going to have a few people thinking...
18h43m GTE Pro: The real picture in the class, with the latest round of stops down, is that Frederic Makowiecki leads in the #99 Aston Martin with Marc Lieb, now driving the #92 Porsche, 15s behind and fighting off the advances of Peter Dumbreck.
18h42m It's starting to rain at the Dunlop Esses again. It's not heavy enough to warrant thinking about inters just yet.
18h40m GTE Am: Time was when you could rely on Larbre Competition to pull out a class winner somewhere in the field.

It looks unlikely this time, although the #50 car of Bornhauser/Canal/Taylor isn't a million miles away from the podium. It's more like 17 miles off it, or two laps in Le Mans terms.
18h35m GTE Am: Jean-Karl Vernay has been in the class-leading #76 Imsa Porsche for about half an hour, and has already pulled out two minutes on Piergiuseppe Perazzini in the #55 AF Corse Ferrari.
18h32m We are in 30 minutes in to the final quarter of the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours. A lot has happened in the early hours, so if you need a recap, look no further:

Hour 13: Toyota closes back in on Audi under cautions

Hour 14: Lead battle remains tense as Toyota closes on Audi

Hour 15: Toyotas slip back as Duval strengthens lead

Hour 16: Loic Duval opens up one-lap advantage for Audi

Hour 17: Tom Kristensen on course for record ninth victory

Hour 18: Audi still ahead amid safety-car running

The race is marred, however, by the tragic news early on that Allan Simonsen died from injuries sustained in a heavy crash.

You can read AUTOSPORT's tribute here
18h32m LMP1: The second-placed #8 Toyota pits, just a lap after the #7 had done likewise from third.
18h32m GTE Pro: Senna pits in the class-leading #99 Aston Martin and hands his machine over to Frederic Makowiecki. That may well lose the car the lead to the #92 Porsche, which has been recovering superbly in Marc Lieb's hands.
18h28m LMP2: Turvey unlaps himself from both car with a daring three-wide move that he pulls off on the way into the second Mulsanne chicane.

Ordonez needs only one more turn to make it by Rusinov for third in the division.
18h26m LMP2: Lucas Ordonez is on a charge and is tucked in behind Roman Rusinov. This is the battle for third in class between the #26 G-Drive ORECA and the #42 Greaves Zytek.

The recovering Oliver Turvey - six laps down - is also right with them and lapping even more quickly.
18h22m LMP1: McNish puts another lap on Kazuki Nakajima, so the #7 Toyota is two laps behind the leader.
18h21m LMP2: Ricardo Gonzalez is the LMP2 leader driving the #35 OAK Morgan-Nissan. Brundle is more than two minutes behind him.

What a shame the safety car has seemingly denied us the victory battle between the OAK cars.
18h18m LMP1: McNish continues to lead in the #2 Audi a lap ahead of the #8 and #7 Toyotas.
18h14m Green flags, and we're racing again - let's hope for longer this time!
18h11m Allan McNish takes over the #2 Audi. Alex Brundle and Lucas Ordonez replace Heinemeier Hansson and Mardenborough.

By: Jamie O'Leary, Gary Watkins, Sam Tremayne, Scott Mitchell, Geoff Creighton, Matt Beer

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