Live text
WEC
24 Hours of Le Mans
Le Mans 24 Hours 2014 The 82nd Le Mans 24 Hours
Live Standings
presented by
Stopped
Summary
Live Text
Sort by
Oldest first
Oldest first
Newest first
Lights out
The 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours is underway!
The leading cars slot into single file, although Bernhard attacks Lapierre and comes under attack from Bonanomi through the first couple of corners.
Tincknell has made a good start in the #38 Jota Zytek and passed Gommendy for the lead of LMP2.
Lotterer passes Audi team-mate Bonanomi for P5 on the first part of the Mulsanne straight. Wurz (Toyota) leads Jani (Porsche) out front.
There's already a small gap developing between the top three (Wurz, Jani, Lapierre) and the rest of the LMP1 cars, lead by Bernhard's Porsche as the cars head to the Porsche Curves for the first time.
It's as-you-were in GTE as Bruni leads Am leader Bird, Magnussen and Turner.
Lotterer passes a defending Bernhard for fourth into the Ford chicane, while Lapierre passes the other Porsche of Jani for second at the start of lap two. We have a Toyota one-two out front, and Porsches slipping back.
Further back, Makowiecki has already got the #92 Porsche ahead of the #52 Ram Ferrari for sixth overall and fifth in class.
Bonanomi and Kristensen have passed Bernhard as well, so the #20 Porsche is seventh and at the back of the 'factory' pack.
In GTE Am, Lamy has held station ahead of Thiim as the Astons hold second and third behind the main Pro group.
This is a racy start - you wouldn't think there were 23 hours and 53 minutes still to go. Bernhard has had a couple of looks at the back of Kristensen, who has moved across to defend at Mulsanne Corner, and had things covered into Indianapolis as well.
The lead Audi (Lotterer) in fourth is closing on Jani's Porsche, as the Toyotas of Wurz and Lapierre edge away out front.
Lapierre - chasing leader Wurz - sets the fastest lap. He trails his Toyota team-mate by 2.6s.
Tincknell holds the lead in LMP2 in the #38 Jota Zytek, but Gommendy is closing in in the #46 TDS Ligier. Mardenborough is third in the #35 OAK-run G-Drive car.
The Toyotas and Lotterer are already down to a pace of 3m23s. Jani is in the 3m24s, while Bernhard is struggling (comparatively) in the 3m28s.
Bruni's lead is pegged at 1.3s by Bird on the second lap while further back Griffin has been demoted by the #92 Porsche, which Pilet now has sixth in class.
Wurz monsters the kerbs at the final chicane in the leading Toyota, while third-placed Jani has a queue of Audis developing behind him: Lotterer; Bonanomi; Kristensen.
Magnussen has got ahead of Bird in the Am-class Ferrari, and has just under 2s between him and leader Bruni.
The Audis close up on Jani in the corners, but the R18 cannot stay with the 919 on the long straights.
The #27 SMP ORECA, driven by Salo, has become the first car to pit. That car had a crash late in the warm-up.
The Corvettes are on the move – Gavin's nailed Turner for P4 and is now on Bird's case as well.
The #27 SMP ORECA, running in LMP2, has been wheeled back into the garage.
Wurz and Lapierre are trading fastest laps at the front. The Toyotas are currently separated by 2.1s.
Behind them, Lotterer finally passes Jani for third on the run to the first corner. Now the lead Audi has clear track, let's see how his pace compares to the Toyotas out front.
Behind them, Lotterer finally passes Jani for third on the run to the first corner. Now the lead Audi has clear track, let's see how his pace compares to the Toyotas out front.
Griffin's now fallen behind the Am Astons of Lamy and Thiim.
It's tight up front in LMP2. Tincknell (#38 Zytek), Gommendy (#46 Ligier), Mardenborough (#35 Ligier), Panciatici (#36 ORECA), Imperatori ('47 ORECA) and Pla (#26 Morgan) are all covered by just four seconds.
Jani gives Audi a scare by pulling alongside Lotterer on the run to the second Mulsanne chicane, and again towards Mulsanne corner. Both times he decides against making the move.
Lotterer defends on the run to Indianapolis, and once again with the inside line he is able to prevent Jani completing the pass. He'll be hoping to make a gap through the twistier final sector.
Lotterer defends on the run to Indianapolis, and once again with the inside line he is able to prevent Jani completing the pass. He'll be hoping to make a gap through the twistier final sector.
Sure enough, the Audi's downforce allows Lotterer to pull clear through the Porsche Curves, and now Jani is defending from the R18 or Bonanomi.
Thiim's taken second in Am from Lamy – and has also got ahead of the #91 Manthey Porsche as well to snatch seventh overall.
Now Lotterer has cleared Jani, he's 10 seconds down on the Toyotas. The Audi is a couple of tenths faster through the first sector, but he loses a full second to the TS040s on the straights of the middle sector.
GARY WATKINS: Does Bernhard have a problem in the #20 Porsche? He's six seconds off the back of the Kristensen in the last of the three Audis and hasn't gone below 3m25s yet.
The leaders are already lapping the tail of the GTE field.
Traffic may have played a part, but Lotterer's first clear lap in the Audi is a 3m25.9s - faster than both of the Toyotas. The gap is now 9.7s to leader Wurz.
Gavin's the fastest car on track – he takes 0.5s out of team-mate Magnussen to close to just a second behind the #73 car.
Bruni's gap stands at just under two seconds. He's got breathing space, but hasn't checked out at the front.
Bird has Turner and Makowiecki right behind him now, while Griffin's fall continues – The #61 AF and #72 SMP Ferraris are now ahead of the Pro car.
Bruni's gap stands at just under two seconds. He's got breathing space, but hasn't checked out at the front.
Bird has Turner and Makowiecki right behind him now, while Griffin's fall continues – The #61 AF and #72 SMP Ferraris are now ahead of the Pro car.
The #76 IMSA Porsche has gone straight on at the first Mulsanne chicane. The leaders were lapping some of the GTE Am backmarkers so that could have played a part.
Kristensen takes fifth from Bonanomi as they pass traffic on the Mulsanne straight. The backmarkers have already split the leaders a bit - with Jani getting away.
Heart-stopping moment in the Audi pits as Bonanomi re-passes Kristensen and they nearly touch at Mulsanne Corner. Kristensen has another look into Indianapolis but backs out at the last moment.
Lapierre has been delayed somewhere and lost second to Lotterer, and Jani is now closing on him as the other Audis do battle behind.
Heart-stopping moment in the Audi pits as Bonanomi re-passes Kristensen and they nearly touch at Mulsanne Corner. Kristensen has another look into Indianapolis but backs out at the last moment.
Lapierre has been delayed somewhere and lost second to Lotterer, and Jani is now closing on him as the other Audis do battle behind.
The Nissan ZEOD RC has slowed right down on the run out of Arnage.
Yellow flag
That's brought out localised yellows.
Imperatori in the #47 KCMG ORECA is having a decent first stint. He started seventh and is now up to third in LMP2.
The ZEOD's now stopped, having barely made any progress down the straight out of Arnage. It's on the right-hand side of the track.
Bird's dropped back behind Turner now – Makowiecki the next Pro car up to try and demote the Am leader further.
By: Geoff Creighton, Scott Mitchell, Glenn Freeman, Edd Straw, Gary Watkins, AUTOSPORT staff
Published:
Page:
