Live text
WEC
24 Hours of Le Mans
Le Mans 24 Hours 2014 The 82nd Le Mans 24 Hours
Live AppleTV Race Audio
Live Standings
presented by
Stopped
Summary
Live Text
Sort by
The #46 TDS Ligier, third in LMP2, has been reported for pitlane speeding.
Mailleux brings the #34 Race Performance ORECA into the pits for a routine stop.
Mucke leads Bruni by 6.7s. That's come down bit by bit over the last few laps, and Mucke's last was a 4m00.867s – 2.7s slower than Bruni's.
All of the leading LMP1 runners are lapping around the 3m30s bracket, although third-placed Gene has just popped in a 3m27s. Fassler then follows suit, outpacing leader Wurz for the first time in a while during this stint.
Wurz responds to the pace of the Audis with a 3m26s.
Bernhard is getting ready in the Porsche garage, looks like he'll be taking over from Webber soon.
Then again, over at Audi, Kristensen has been ready and had his helmet on for a very long time...
Then again, over at Audi, Kristensen has been ready and had his helmet on for a very long time...
Mucke's responded to Bruni's pressure and the gap's up to 8.7s now. Milner and Holzer are lapping slightly faster than the lead duo but far too far behind to make a difference at the moment.
LMP2 continues to be a close fight. While Mardenborough has been gradually building a lead of over 2 minutes in the #35 Ligier, the #46 TDS Ligier, the #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA and the #34 Race Performance ORECA are all well in the hunt.
Webber brings the #20 Porsche in, and hands over to race-starter Bernhard in the car that is running a lonely fourth at the moment.
Up ahead, Gene has been chipping away at second-placed Fassler for a while now, and has the gap down to 1m10s.
Up ahead, Gene has been chipping away at second-placed Fassler for a while now, and has the gap down to 1m10s.
Kristensen makes his way to the front of the Audi garage. Maybe this time he'll actually get in when the #1 car comes to a stop.
The #26 OAK-run G-Drive Morgan is still missing, stopped on track. It's now over 15 laps down in LMP2, so the team/car combination that won the class last year won't be doing it again. Good job that the leading Ligier is also an OAK-run car!
Indeed, this time Gene does get out and Kristensen takes over the #1 car. The Spaniard - drafted in at short notice to replace Loic Duval after his crash - did a good job in that stint, keeping the #1 car on the lead lap and making sure the leaders stayed on their toes.
GARY WATKINS: Congratulations to Marc Gene on a brilliant quadruple stint. Remember that on Wednesday, he was driving an LMP2 car and he's only had four days in the new R18.
The GTE Am-dominating #98 Aston Martin Vantage is in the pits, smoking, and being wheeled into the garage!
Bonnet's up, furrowed brows...the AMR mechanics get to work.
The #33 OAK Team Asia Ligier is slow at the Porsche Curves. It's cruising back to the pits with Tung at the wheel.
The #98 car has now dropped out of the GTE Am lead as Poulsen gets the lap back and powers into top spot.
The #2 Audi pits from second place, and Fassler hands over to Lotterer
Brundle is now out in the LMP2-leading #35 Ligier.
Wurz pits in the #7 Toyota. All looks fine, and he's back out in the lead. The Austrian had a good back-and-forth laptimes battle with Fassler - now he's got to deal with Lotterer snapping at his heels and trying to make inroads.
Bruni pits, the AF Corse making its customary early stop compared to the rest. Milner, whose pace looks very strong at this stage of the stint, is 38s behind Mucke.
The #46 TDS Ligier, currently third in LMP2, has been slapped with a 35-second stop/go penalty for pitlane speeding.
The driver change at the last stop for the #2 Audi has allowed Wurz to extend Toyota's lead. The top two are now covered by 2m15s - the biggest the TS040's lead has been all race.
The #91 Porsche, briefly on track, has been brought back into the pits with Jorg Bergmeister.
Lotterer - on fresh tyres - is taking chunks out of Wurz at the moment. It was six seconds last time round, and the gap is down to 2m08s.
Kristensen is still third for Audi, ahead of the two Porsches.
Kristensen is still third for Audi, ahead of the two Porsches.
Senna's back in the leading #97 Aston Martin – and he's only 2s clear of Vilander behind. Milner's third in the Corvette, but didn't take on new tyres in his stop – the leading two did.
Breaking news
The #12 Rebellion picks up a stop and go penalty for an unsafe release - referring to when Heidfeld lost a wheel as he left the pits. That one has taken a while to come back around.
Vilander's cut Senna's gap to half a second now and has the Vantage in his sights. Amazing GTE Pro scrap.
GTs. The gift that keeps on giving.
GTs. The gift that keeps on giving.
The #60 AF Corse Ferrari has now officially retired.
Milner's right with the lead two now, superb effort for the man double-stinting these tyres.
It's Aston Martin vs Ferrari vs Corvette. British beef vs Italian style vs American muscle.
And Vilander is RIGHT up the back of Senna down the Mulsanne straight. He's flashing his lights – get out of the way Bruno! – and tries to get his nose up the inside.
Senna's having none of it, and brutally slams the door.
It's Aston Martin vs Ferrari vs Corvette. British beef vs Italian style vs American muscle.
And Vilander is RIGHT up the back of Senna down the Mulsanne straight. He's flashing his lights – get out of the way Bruno! – and tries to get his nose up the inside.
Senna's having none of it, and brutally slams the door.
The best laid plans o' mice and Tony Vilander...
Milner crashes the party and gets in between the Aston and the Ferrari. Now the Corvette is harrying Senna for the lead!
Milner crashes the party and gets in between the Aston and the Ferrari. Now the Corvette is harrying Senna for the lead!
Brundle still leading in LMP2. The last time there was a Brundle running so well up in an international race in a Ligier was in the 1995 Belgian Grand Prix, when Martin finished third.
Bernhard pits the #20 Porsche, taking on fuel only and staying in fourth.
There's nothing to choose between the laptimes of the top three, which is good news for Wurz and Toyota. The Audis of Lotterer and Kristensen are giving chase and hanging onto their lead lap status, but they can't make any significant gains on the leading car.
Senna's just about clear of an imminent attack from Milner. There's two seconds between them now – good work from the Brazilian.
Vilander's also slipped back a similar distance from the Corvette.
Vilander's also slipped back a similar distance from the Corvette.
The #75 ProSpeed Porsche is running slowly at the Porsche Curves.
Garcia has just unlapped himself from Holzer's Manthey Porsche. Think that goes some way to exemplifying the pace levels of the Corvette and the 911 here – they're now on the same lap, despite the Corvette make two more pitstops, and getting stuck in the pits at one point with a jack problem.
Kristensen pits the #1 Audi from third, taking on just fuel.
Milner's eaten into Senna's lead again – just 0.6s between them now.
Wurz's Toyota leads Lotterer's Audi by 2m11s. The German cars are doing just about enough to keep the race alive at the moment, but they need something to happen because they are ever-so-gradually slipping away from the #7 car out front.
By: Geoff Creighton, Scott Mitchell, Glenn Freeman, Edd Straw, Gary Watkins, AUTOSPORT staff
Published:
Page:
