Le Mans 24 Hours 2014 The 82nd Le Mans 24 Hours
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So, with the latest round of stops completed, the top three in LMP2 are covered by less than 20 seconds:
1 #35 Ligier (Brundle), 2 #34 ORECA (Frey) +10.582s; 3 #36 ORECA (Chatin) +18.353.
1 #35 Ligier (Brundle), 2 #34 ORECA (Frey) +10.582s; 3 #36 ORECA (Chatin) +18.353.
GARY WATKINS: The way di Grassi out-accelerated Hartley out of the Ford Chicane doesn't appear right. The Porsche should pull away initially thanks to its greater hybrid punch.
The troubled #48 Murphy ORECA is back in the pits.
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@RamRacingCom: "The #52 is back in the garage. The team confirm an electrical issue was the cause."
Driver change imminent for the #20 Porsche. Mark Webber is ready to go - helmet on.
Di Grassi pits the #1 Audi, so his spell ahead of the #20 Porsche is short-lived.
Bergmeister takes fourth in GTE from Holzer with a brave move down the inside of the right before Indianapolis.
Brundle is extending the lead in LMP2 for the #35 OAK Ligier. He now has 18 seconds over the #34 Race Performance ORECA driven by Frey.
Hartley goes straight on at the first Mulsanne Chicane in the #20 Porsche, losing around four seconds.
Treluyer pits the #2 Audi from second place.
Treluyer pits the #2 Audi from second place.
Perrodo just had a quick spin in the #75 GTE Am Porsche at the Dunlop chicane.
Sarrazin pits the #8 Toyota from the lead. Pretty soon we'll get a gap between him and Treluyer in second now they've both been in.
Hartley is 22s behind Treluyer in third, with di Grassi 44s behind Hartley.
Hartley is 22s behind Treluyer in third, with di Grassi 44s behind Hartley.
The new gap at the front is 56s - so Toyota gained a little bit over Audi during that sequence of stops.
Brundle is now struggling in the LMP2-leading Ligier. The age of his tyres will be starting to hurt him and both Frey has closed the gap down to 13.687s and was two seconds faster on the 67th lap.
GARY WATKINS: Sarrazin and Treluyer in first and second have both just started a third stint on their Michelin tyres. Neither Toyota nor Audi made any secret of their intention to run triples. The quadruples of old, however, are probably going to be consigned to history with the narrower tyres demanded by the new regulations.
LMP1: 1 Sarrazin; 2 Treluyer +58s; 3 Hartley +1m22s; 4 di Grassi +2m49s.
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Sam Bird, whose #81 Ferrari was eliminated in the crash involving the #3 Audi and the #8 Toyota earlier, isn't sure of the exact order of events in the shunt. @sambirdracing: "Gutted about what happened today. Such a shame for all the cars involved. Really unsure as to what happened."
LMP2: 1 Brundle; 2 Frey; 3 Chatin; 4 Thiriet; 5 Hirsch; 6 Rusinov.
GTE Pro: 1 Milner; 2 Senna; 3 Bergmeister; 4 Holzer; 5 Taylor; 6 Fisichella.
Buemi in the recovering #8 Toyota has got one of his (many) laps back on the #2 Audi of Treluyer, which remains 56s adrift of the race-leading #7 Toyota of Sarrazin.
GTE AM: 1 Nygaard; 2 Hamilton; 3 Basov; 4 Heinemeier-Hansson; 5 Dempsey; 6 Perez-Companc.
Quote
NISMO global head of brand, marketing and sales Darren Cox on the retirement of the Nissan ZEOD early in the race: "They say that life is a rollercoaster but certainly motorsport takes this to the next level. Just today we’ve had massive highs followed by a temporary low.
"This morning the team did a brilliant job in achieving the electric lap. We only tried it once and we completed it. That is an amazing accomplishment for Nissan and electric vehicles.
"We were very confident in starting the race and earlier in the week we had already exceeded 300km/h. We were looking forward to doing some more electric laps throughout the race but a traditional part of a gearbox broke.
"It is a real shame because we were really looking forward to showcasing the EV technology in the race.
"It has been an amazing experience for everyone that has been involved. I hope everyone who was worked on the project and put in so many hours will remember the high when the car completed its electric lap of Le Mans."
"This morning the team did a brilliant job in achieving the electric lap. We only tried it once and we completed it. That is an amazing accomplishment for Nissan and electric vehicles.
"We were very confident in starting the race and earlier in the week we had already exceeded 300km/h. We were looking forward to doing some more electric laps throughout the race but a traditional part of a gearbox broke.
"It is a real shame because we were really looking forward to showcasing the EV technology in the race.
"It has been an amazing experience for everyone that has been involved. I hope everyone who was worked on the project and put in so many hours will remember the high when the car completed its electric lap of Le Mans."
Charouz just had a brief off in the #24 Sebastien Loeb Racing ORECA. That car is seventh in class.
Brundle pulling away again in the LMP2-leading #35 OAK Ligier. He's now 21 seconds clear of Frey in the #34 Race Performance ORECA.
Laptime update in LMP1: Sarrazin and Treluyer are doing 3m26s, Hartley and di Grassi 3m28s.
A few pitstops to tell you about in GTE. The #74 Corvette's out of the lead, and Milner's out of the car – making way for Richard Westbrook.
Holzer has taken over the lead while the C7.R was in the pits, but the Manthey Porsche is due in shortly. Senna's jumped Fisichella, who has taken over the AF Ferrari from Vilander.
Holzer has taken over the lead while the C7.R was in the pits, but the Manthey Porsche is due in shortly. Senna's jumped Fisichella, who has taken over the AF Ferrari from Vilander.
Brundle pits in the LMP2-leading OAK Ligier. He hands over to Shulzhitskiy. Expect Thiriet in the #46 TDS Ligier in from third place next lap.
Yellow flag
Yellow flag at Arnage.
It was Venturi in the #61 Ferrari that went off. He's rejoined.
LMP1: 1 Sarrazin; 2 Treluyer +57s; 3 Hartley +1m25s; 4 di Grassi +2m09s; 5 Prost +4 laps; 6 Lieb +5 laps.
As expected, Thiriet brings the #46 Ligier into the pits. Next lap, the leading #34 Race Performance ORECA should be in.
Breaking news
Five hours have already passed, and it's been a crazy race – though it's settled down in the last hour or so.
This should be perfect for those of you who need filling in on the happenings of the previous hour:
Toyota on top as Porsche slips back in hour five
And our reports from the opening four hours as approach quarter-distance already:
Porsche leads Toyota after four hours
Porsche 919 moves into lead in hour three
Rain causes chaos, Audi/Toyota crash in hour two
Toyota leads frantic opening hour
Hartley pits in the #20 Porsche from third place. He'll rejoin in P4 behind di Grassi.
Frey heads into the pits in the #34 Race Performance car. New tyres. This will allow the Signatech Alpine ORECA into the lead, but it should pit next time around and put the #35 Ligier back up front.
The pitstops have all shaken out again now and the #74 Corvette regains its lead. Westbrook leads Senna by 27.7s – so that gap has come down quite a bit.
The data shows AMR's pitstop was some 22s quicker than Corvette's, which would be tyres, we think.
Fisichella is third, with Bergmeister and Lietz gapped out behind. That's how we expected it to be.
The data shows AMR's pitstop was some 22s quicker than Corvette's, which would be tyres, we think.
Fisichella is third, with Bergmeister and Lietz gapped out behind. That's how we expected it to be.
Hartley has rejoined 19s behind di Grassi after that stop for the #20 Porsche.
Lietz actually has the second Corvette, which led early on but lost out because of an added pitstop, right on his tail now.
The #8 Toyota's lead goes above one minute. Treluyer's Audi trails Sarrazin by 1m01s now.
Lancaster heads out having taken over the #34 ORECA from Frey.
Chatin leads in LMP2, but he'll be in this lap.
And Chatin is in. That will promote Shulzhitskiy to the lead in LMP2 driving the #35 OAK Ligier.
By: Geoff Creighton, Scott Mitchell, Glenn Freeman, Edd Straw, Gary Watkins, AUTOSPORT staff
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