Le Mans 24 Hours 2014 The 82nd Le Mans 24 Hours

Bonjour! Welcome to AUTOSPORT's live coverage of the 2014 edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The atmosphere is building very nicely here at the Circuit de la Sarthe. So let's get to it...

The grandstand on the start-finish straight is already (AUTOSPORT would estimate) about 95 per cent full.

The cars are on the grid, fever is at bursting point for all present and the build up is in full flow.

It's another hot day at Le Mans, although for the first time this week there is quite a lot of cloud around. Some locals are predicting rain this evening - let's see how well they know their area!

On the grid the Michelin Man is currently handing out American-style handshakes and chest bumps with the Chevrolet mechanics. It's a scene that wouldn't be out of place in the NFL.

French national anthem time...

While that plays, let's trumpet some British success.

Earlier, we witnessed a stellar Porsche Carrera Cup encounter – with respect, not too many times that can be said. In that, Ben Barker fittingly secured victory as his Parr Motorsport squad celebrates 30 years of competition.

His win came after long-time leader Kevin Estre – briefly pitched into the air early on during a wheel-to-wheel battle with Earl Bamber, which ended the New Zealander’s race – suffered a blowout halfway round the final lap.

GP2 race winner Tom Dillmann was second, with Lonni Martins third. Among the British championship frontrunners, Porsche rookie Josh Webster charged from 18th on the grid to finish with seventh overall after besting points leader Michael Meadows in a straight.

We'll have much more pre-race info to come on all of the classes, but to kick us off here are the starting drivers for the manufacturer cars in LMP1:

#7 Toyota – Alexander Wurz
#14 Porsche – Neel Jani
#8 Toyota – Nicolas Lapierre
#20 Porsche – Timo Bernhard
#3 Audi – Marco Bonanomi
#2 Audi – Andre Lotterer
#1 Audi – Tom Kristensen

In addition to our as-it-happens text coverage, you can watch live video of the build-up (and the race itself) on AUTOSPORT courtesy of Nissan's NISMO.TV service.

Just click here to view the coverage provided by Nissan's motorsport and performance division.

The grid is clearing now, with just the last few (essential) team personnel and officials still with the cars.

Shaun Lynn, father of Red Bull junior driver and GP3 ace Alex Lynn, won this morning’s Le Mans Legend Group C race. Driving a Sauber Mercedes C11, he took the lead when the similar machine of Bob Berridge, which was dominating, suffered a puncture and retired.

Tom Kimber-Smith, who is racing the #42 Greaves Motorsport Zytek the 24 Hours, finished second, just over 90 seconds down driving an Aston Martin ARM1.

“I take my hat off to the people that drove them in the day,” said Kimber-Smith after the race. “They are physical compared to today, and the [modern] P2 is quite simple to drive. The technology is so advanced.”

The Nissan ZEOD pulls away from the grid with some sort of cable still attached to its left rear corner, but after a few seconds it drops it and carries on undisturbed.

Look closely at the #73 Corvette and you'll see that Antonio Garcia's name has been erased – but for a good reason.

Garcia, who is back now and ready to join Jan Magnussen and Tommy Milner in a bid for GTE Pro victory, flew home on Friday morning after his wife gave birth to their baby girl Maria.

In celebration, "Maria's dad" now takes pride of place in between Magnussen's and Milner's names on the second-placed CR.7.

Here are the drivers who will be starting the race in the secondary prototype class - LMP2:

#46 Ligier - Gommendy
#38 Zytek - Tincknell
#35 Ligier - Mardenborough
#26 Morgan - Pla
#36 ORECA - Panciatici
#48 ORECA - Berthon
#47 ORECA - Imperatori
#43 Morgan - Klien
#34 ORECA - Mailleux
#42 Zytek - Kimber-Smith
#24 ORECA - Rast
#37 ORECA - Minassian
#27 ORECA - Salo
#29 Morgan - Roussel
#33 Ligier - Tung
#50 Morgan - Ragues
#41 Zytek - Winslow

The leading GT class is the smallest in terms of number of cars. Here are the starting drivers in GTE Pro:

#51 Ferrari - Bruni
#73 Chevrolet - Magnussen
#97 Aston Martin - Turner
#74 Chevrolet - Gavin
#52 Ferrari - Griffin
#92 Porsche - Makowiecki
#91 Porsche - Pilet
#71 Ferrari - Rigon
#79 Porsche - Bleekemolen

A personal note from AUTOSPORT – GARY WATKINS is celebrating his birthday today (which one remains a secret).

Dunlop, forever on his case for his choice in headwear, has marked the occasion with this wonderful personalised cake.

If you want to wish the world's foremost sportscar journalist many happy returns, you can do so on Twitter.

The #1 Audi which Duval crashed earlier this week - an accident that ruled him out of the race - was accompanied on the pre-grid by a sign wishing the Frenchman a speedy recovery.

The cars are returning to the grid now, lining up in a more conventional two-by-two after initially sitting in the traditional 'Le Mans-style' one-by-one next to the pitwall before the installation laps.

Confirmation that the pit exit is now closed. Just over 20 minutes to the start now.

The secondary GT class has a packed entry of 18 cars. Here are the starting drivers in GTE Am:

#81 Ferrari - Bird
#98 Aston Martin - Lamy
#95 Aston Martin - Thiim
#61 Ferrari - Cioci
#72 Ferrari - Bertolini
#88 Porsche - Bachler
#77 Porsche - Long
#90 Ferrari - Ruberti
#60 Ferrari - Gianmaria
#66 Ferrari - Pumpelly
#63 Ferrari - Mowlem
#76 Porsche - Armindo
#75 Porsche - Collard
#58 Ferrari - Ayari
#57 Ferrari - Jonsson
#70 Ferrari - Nakano
#67 Porsche - Helary
#62 Ferrari - Mallegol

There's one other starting driver who we haven't yet named. Starting the Garage 56 (for experimental machinery with green credentials) Nissan ZEDO RC is Wolfgang Reip.

The #79 ProSpeed Porsche almost had a third driver after all. Bleekemolen and MacNeil share the car after Bret Curtis was ruled out following his shunt in qualiyfing and the team's replacement, Sebastien Crubile, was vetoed by the race stewards.

Darryl O'Young, who is kicking his heels after the withdrawal of the #99 Aston, was touted as a possible replacement. Apparently, Bleekemolen and MacNeil decided that they would prefer to do the race as a twosome.

Because there is no longer a bronze driver in the car, it has been reclassified from GTE Am to GTE Pro.

Speaking of GTE Am, what can we expect from the fourth division in the race?

Ferrari leads the way, closely followed by the pair of Aston Martin Vantages.

The 18-car affair will be heavily influenced by the performances of its bronze-rated drivers, and it’s the pole-claiming #81 AF Corse 458 Italia – which single-seater convert Sam Bird planted third overall – that looks strongest.

You can never rule out the Aston Martins, with the #98 car leading the #95 to complete the top three, but this one looks like it might be beyond Porsche.

The IMSA squad’s had a nightmare week so far and the highest 911, Proton’s #88 car, is sixth.

Here is a full rundown of the grid:

1 #81 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (Wyatt/Rugolo/Bird)
2 #98 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage (Dalla Lanna/Lamy/Nygaard)
3 #95 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage (Poulsen/Heinemeier Hansson/Thiim)
4 #61 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (Perez Companc/Cioci/Venturi)
5 #72 SMP Racing Ferrari 458 Italia (Bertolini/Shaitar/Basov)
6 #88 Proton Copmetition Porsche 911 RSR (Ried/Bachler/Al Qubaisi)
7 #77 Dempsey Racing-Proton Porsche 911 RSR (Dempsey/Foster/Long)
8 #90 8Star Motorsports (AF Corse) Ferrari 458 Italia (Montecalvo/Roda/Ruberti)
9 #60 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (Mann/Case/Gianmaria)
10 #66 JMW Motorsport (Al Faisal/Neiman/Pumpelly)
11 #53 Ram Racing Ferrari 458 Italia (Mowlem/Patterson/Hamilton)
12 #76 IMSA Performance Porsche 911 GT3-RSR (Narac/Armindo/Hallyday)
13 #75 ProSpeed Competition (Perrodo/Collard/Palttala)
14 #58 Team Sofrev Ferrari 458 Italia (Barthez/Pons/Ayari)
15 #57 Krohn Racing Ferrari 458 Italia (Krohn/Jonsson/Collins)
16 #70 Team Taisan Ferrari 458 Italia (Nakano/Ehret/Rich)
17 #67 IMSA Performance Porsche 911 GT3-RSR (Maris/Merlin/Helary)
18 #62 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (Mallegol/Bachelier/Blank)

IndyCar driver Sebastien Bourdais was knocking around in the pitlane earlier. He had a test scheduled with KV Racing earlier this week, so couldn't commit to racing at Le Mans again, but says he'll be back when the scheduling allows.

The formation lap will start at 14:52 local time.

Calling a favourite in GTE Pro is incredibly difficult, let alone a winner.

The factory offerings from Ferrari, Corvette, Aston Martin and Porsche could, and should, all challenge for GT victory.

Ferrari led the way in qualifying thanks to a stunning effort from Gianmaria Bruni (which drew rave reviews from GT newbie Sam Bird), but its closest challenger was the #73 CR.7 driven by Jan Magnussen.

The feeling is that Aston has kept its cards close to its chest in the build-up to the race, while Porsche – despite winning last year’s edition – is definitely not the favourite this time around (though more on that in a moment).

The #52 Ram Ferrari has been there or thereabouts, but a victory bid for that, the #71 AF Ferrari or the hastily-repaired, would-be Am ProSpeed Porsche entry is unlikely. In reality this is between six cars – the lead Ferrari, the sole Aston, and the Corvette and Porsche pairs.

In addition to reliability, not getting cut adrift under safety cars will be crucial. As John Gaw from AMR put it: “It will come down to being on the lead lap when the sun comes up.”

Here's the grid:

1 #51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (Bruni/Vilander/Fisichella)
2 #73 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R (Magnussen/Garcia/Taylor)
3 #97 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage GTE (Turner/Mucke/Senna)
4 #74 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R (Gavin/Milner/Westbrook)
5 #52 Ram Racing Ferrari 458 Italia (Griffin/Parente/Leo)
6 #92 Manthey Porsche 911 RSR (Holzer/Makowiecki/Lietz)
7 #91 Manthey Porsche 911 RSR (Pilet/Bergmeister/Tandy)
8 #71 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (Rigon/Kaffer/Beretta)
9 #79 ProSpeed Competition Porsche 911 GT3-RSR (MacNeil/Bleekemolen)

The secondary prototype class could produce a classic battle, with Ligier, Zytek, Morgan and ORECA machinery all in contention at the front of the LMP2 class.

The Ligier JSP2 makes its competitive debut and starts from class pole thanks to Gommendy’s lap in the #46 TDS Racing-run example. But the #35 OAK Racing run example driven by Brundle, Mardenborough and Shultzhitskiy should be the stronger contender. But is the Ligier reliable?

The OAK Morgan-Nissan LMP2 driven by Pla, Rusinov and Canal, should also be a strong contender to repeat the team’s 2013 victory.

The leading ORECAs – the #48 Murphy car, the #36 Alpine-badged Signatech example and the #47 KCMG entry – should also be strong. The ORECA has an improved low-drag specification that ensures there’s no repeat of last year’s straightline speed deficit.

Also watch out for the #38 Jota Sport Zytek, which starts second in the hands of Dolan, Tincknell and Turvey.

Here’s the grid:

1 #46 TDS Racing Ligier-Nissan JSP2 (Gommendy/Thiriet/Badey)
2 #38 Jota Sport Zytek-Nissan Z11SN (Dolan/Tincknell/Turvey)
3 #35 OAK Racing Ligier-Nissan JSP2 (Brundle/Mardenborough/Shulzhitskiy)
4 #26 G-Drive Racing (OAK) Morgan-Nissan LMP2 (Rusinov/Pla/Canal)
5 #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA-Nissan 03R (Chatin/Panciatici/Webb)
6 #48 Murphy Prototypes ORECA-Nissan 03R (Berthon/Chandhok/Gonzalez)
7 #47 KCMG ORECA-Nissan 03R (Howson/Bradley/Imperatori)
8 #43 Morand Racing Morgan-Judd/BMW LMP2 (Klien/Hirsch/Brandela)
9 #34 Race Performance ORECA-Judd/BMW 03R (Frey/Mailleux/Lancaster)
10 #42 Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissan Z11SN (Kimber-Smith/McMurry/Dyson)
11 #24 Sebastien Loeb Racing ORECA-Nissan 03R (Rast/Charouz/Capillaire)
12 #37 SMP Racing (AF Corse) ORECA-Nissan 03R (K Ladygin/Minassian/Mediani)
13 #27 SMP Racing (AF Corse) ORECA-Nissan 03R (Zlobin/Salo/A Ladygin)
14 #29 Pegasus Racing Morgan-Nissan LMP2 (Schell/Leutwiler/Roussel)
15 #33 OAK Racing Asia Morgan-HPD LMP2 (Cheng/Tung/Fong)
16 #50 Larbre Competition Morgan-Judd/BMW LMP2 (Ragues/Taylor/Ihara)
17 #41 Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissan Z11SN (Munemann/Latif/Winslow)

Engines have fired up on the grid with less than a minute to go now until the start of the formation lap.

Le Mans 24 Hours

With three manufacturers going to war for outright victory this year, the battle in LMP1 is going to be fascinating from the off.

In qualifying, Toyota claimed it wasn’t that interested in going for pole, while Porsche admitted that it was gunning to start its comeback race from the front. The result was that they contested the fight almost exclusively, as Audi – rocked by Loic Duval’s car-wrecking shunt in practice – took its customary race-focused approach to the evening sessions earlier in the week.

But there have been hints all week that the R18s might have some pace they’ve not shown so far, including Filipe Albuquerque aborting a potential session-topping lap in the warm-up this morning.

Porsche’s presence on the timing screens was noticeably quieter in the warm-up, suggesting that it has switched its attention from speed to survival now it’s race time.

The first stint of the race will give us some crucial answers about how the cars really stack up against each other, and watch out for how long the Toyotas can go on a tank of fuel.

The team has been weighing up stretching fuel milage to save pitstops versus going faster and stopping more often. Audi is convinced that it is fighting a losing battle on the stint-length front, so the die for the race could be cast early on.

LMP1 GRID
1 # 7 Toyota Racing Toyota TS040 Hybrid (Wurz/Sarrazin/Nakajima)
2 #14 Porsche Team Porsche 919 Hybrid (Dumas/Jani/Lieb)
3 #8 Toyota Racing Team Toyota TS040 (Davidson/Lapierre/Buemi)
4 #20 Porsche Racing Team Porsche 919 Hybrid (Bernhard/Webber/Hartley)
5 #3 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro (Albuquerque/Bonanomi/Jarvis)
6 #2 Audi Sport team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro (Fassler/Lotterer/Treluyer)
7 #1 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro (Di Grassi/Gene/Kristensen)
8 #12 Rebellion Racing Rebellion-Toyota R-One (Prost/Heidfeld/Beche)
9 #13 Rebellion Racing Rebellion-Toyota R-One (Kraihamer/Belicchi/Leimer)

For the first time all week, the sun has gone in behind some clouds just ahead of the start.

The cars are now weaving their way down the Mulsanne straight.

Fernando Alonso is ready with the French flag at the starting gantry...

GT cars have been told, politely, to pick up the pace.

Now specific messages have gone out to the #53 Ram and #71 AF Corse Ferraris.

The train of cars now snakes its way through the Porsche Curves.

Mark Webber is spotted with a beaming smile in the Porsche garage.

The field is getting into two-by-two formation now. Almost ready to go as they run towards the Ford chicane.