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24 Hours of Le Mans
Le Mans 24 Hours 2014 The 82nd Le Mans 24 Hours
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Interesting that Webber still hasn't taken over the #20 Porsche. We saw him with his helmet on and ready a long time ago, but Hartley is still going in the 919.
Chandhok has set a few quick laptimes in the #48 Murphy ORECA. Unfortunately, it's out of contention in LMP2, 30 laps down.
The #13 Rebellion pits, allowing the recovering #8 Toyota to pass it for 17th overall.
LMP1: 1 Sarrazin; 2 Treluyer +1m00s; 3 di Grassi +2m12s; 4 Hartley +2m40s.
All four cars have stopped six times.
All four cars have stopped six times.
We've had a change of cast in the leading cars in LMP2. Shulthitskiy has taken over the #35 Ligier, Webb is in the #36 ORECA and Lancaster in the #34 ORECA. Thiriet has stayed on in the #46 TDS Ligier.
Parente has rejoined in the #52 Ram Ferrari.
Brandela just lost the #43 Morgan under braking for Arnage in a gaggle of traffic. He spun and recovered. That car has now dropped down to eighth in LMP2.
GARY WATKINS: The two Manthey Porsche 911 RSR have picked up pace and are now regularly doing 3m58s. That's significant because they were struggling to break the four-minute barrier earlier. We know the Porsche is more temperature sensitive than its rivals, but what we don't know is whether it is enough to keep them in the GTE Pro battle.
Chandhok has brought the #48 ORECA into the pits and handed the car over to Gonzalez. The car is 30 laps down, but Chandhok set the fastest LMP2 time after rejoining, showing what might have been possible.
The #26 OAK-run G-Drive Morgan is making up some ground. It's currently fifth in LMP2 but setting quick times with Rusinov at the wheel. But it's almost two minutes behind fourth-placed Lancaster.
And, right on cue, Rusinov just set that car's fastest lap of the race.
Di Grassi pits the #1 Audi from third, slipping behind Hartley in the #20 Porsche again.
The Porsches might be picking up their pace in GTE, but that hasn't stopped Jordan Taylor splitting them and taking fifth.
The Corvettes have been superb in the opening quarter of this race, justifying the pre-race hype.
The Corvettes have been superb in the opening quarter of this race, justifying the pre-race hype.
Since Sarrazin was able to gradually get his lead up from around 50s to 1m00s, he's been unable to make any more progress over Treluyer. On the last lap the margin was 1m00.7s between the top two.
Lieb pits the #14 Porsche from sixth, having just got back on the same lap as the #12 Rebellion he's chasing for P5. The 919 takes on a new set of slick tyres.
Kazuki Nakajima is getting ready for a stint in the race-leading Toyota. While he limbers up, Sarrazin sets a personal best time through the first sector.
Treluyer brings the #2 Audi in from second, takes on fuel only and heads back out. We're expecting the race-leading Toyota of Sarrazin in next time round.
Nakajima heads to the front of the garage holding a seat insert, ready to take over from Sarrazin in the #7 Toyota.
Rusinov brings the #26 OAK-run G-Drive Morgan into the pits from fifth in LMP2.
The leading Toyota gets a new set of tyres for the start of Nakajima's stint.
In LMP2, Shultzhitskiy has extended his lead in the #35 Ligier to 36 seconds over the #46 TDS Ligier of Thiriet. That's impressive, as the new Ligier JSP2 has never raced before and first turned a wheel on March 7.
GARY WATKINS: The leading Toyota tripled its tyres as the team stated it would. Audi, which was less certain (or less inclined to let us know), has sent Treluyer on his way on tyres that are now into their fourth stint.
That tyre information on the top two cars means Toyota spent 1m21s in the pitlane to the Audi's 57s, and the lead is down 35s having been around the minute-mark before the stops.
The fastest LMP2 machines on track right now are the leading #35 Ligier, driven by Shulthitzkiy, and the #48 Murphy ORECA, with Gonzalez at the wheel.
LMP1: 1 Nakajima; 2 Treluyer +36s; 3 Hartley +1m42s; 4 di Grassi +1m58s; 5 Beche +4 laps; 6 Dumas +5 laps.
We're about due the next wave of GTE pitstops. Westbrook leads Senna by 29.3s, with Fisichella a couple of seconds further back.
Right on cue, a 458 is in. Fisichella's first to blink in the AF Corse Ferrari.
Shulzhitskiy pits in the #35 Ligier. That's bang on schedule. The #46 TDS Ligier has taken the lead, but Thiriet is due to bring it into the pits at the end of the next lap.
Fabio Leimer reports that it "doesn't look good" for the #13 Rebellion, which is in the garage at the moment.
GARY WATKINS: Audi's decision to go for a quadruple isn't paying dividends. Nakajima, on fresh Michelins, is pulling away from Treluyer by at least four seconds a lap.
Anthony Davidson has the recovering #8 Toyota - which was crashed by Lapierre in an early rain storm - up to 12th overall, still eight laps off the lead.
Treluyer started this stint 35s behind Nakajima. However, thanks to the fresh tyres on the Toyota that gap is already back up to 51s.
Yellow flag
Hartley has gone straight on at Arnage in the #20 Porsche. He's not rejoining immediately...
The Porsche was due in for a stop this lap. Hartley appears to be trying to reset something in the car, and he's now getting pushed backwards by the marshals - before getting back on his way.
Replays show what looks like a pretty straightforward lock up - of the outside front wheel - sent Hartley down the escape road at the slow right-hander.
He's now in the pits, surely to hand over to Webber.
He's now in the pits, surely to hand over to Webber.
Webb brings the LMP2-leading #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA into the pits for a scheduled stop. This hands the lead back to the '35 OAK Ligier of Shulzhitskiy. Interestingly, during that round of pitstops for the leading three LMP2 cars, the #34 Race Performance car went one lap shorter than expected.
That incident cost Hartley nearly two minutes on his inlap. Sure enough, he hands over to Webber for the Australian's first stint in this year's Le Mans 24 Hours.
LMP2 positions: 1 Schulzhitskiy (#35 Ligier); 2 Thiriet (#46 Ligier); 3 Lancaster (#34 ORECA); 4 Webb (#36 ORECA); 5 Rusinov (#26 Morgan).
Lietz had risen to second after Porsche's rivals stopped, but he's now brought the #92 car in so will drop back down the order.
Crucially, Fisichella has got back ahead of the Aston – which Senna's vacated now for Mucke.
Crucially, Fisichella has got back ahead of the Aston – which Senna's vacated now for Mucke.
The #79 ProSpeed Porsche, which has had a difficult race even before you consider Cooper MacNeil and Jeroen Bleekemolen are driving as a twosome, is limping back to the pits with a puncture.
By: Geoff Creighton, Scott Mitchell, Glenn Freeman, Edd Straw, Gary Watkins, AUTOSPORT staff
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