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WEC 24 Hours of Le Mans

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

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The #38 Jota Zytek has lost time in LMP2 replacing a number panel. It is currently 10th in class in the hands of Turvey.
Third-placed Treluyer is +1m04s; Kristensen in P4 is +2m02s
Fong has spun in the #33 OAK Racing Asia Ligier and is in the gravel at Indianapolis. It was running sixth in class.
Yellow flag
There's a yellow flag covering Fong's stricken car, which is being attended to by a recovery vehicle.
Traffic for the leader on that lap. Bernhard's lead in the #20 Porsche drops to 6s over the #7 Toyota of Sarrazin, and it looked like we'll have a 919 in the pits shortly for a driver change.
It's a Porsche one-two at the front of GTE now after Holzer and Bergmeister got past Patrick Long in the Dempsey Porsche.

Long has also dropped behind Milner's #74 Corvette and lost the Am lead to Pedro Lamy. Long, who is on slicks, is 30s off the pace but (probably wisely) is not pitting.
Chatin is closing in on LMP2 class leader Mailleux. Mailleux is lapping in the 4m24s bracket, with Chatin six seconds faster. That suggests a difference in tyre choice.
Fong has rejoined after his spin.
Badey brings the #46 Ligier, third in LMP2, into the pits for fuel.
Bergmeister has a very narrow lead over the second Manthey car, in fact less than a second separates the two 911s.

Milner's 25s back in the Corvette, with Am leader Lamy a few seconds further behind.

Early frontrunners AF Corse (the #51 car) and Aston Martin have slipped back in all this. Vilander's currently fifth in the Ferrari, one minute off the lead, with Mucke 18s further back.
The gap continues to fluctuate at the front between Bernhard and Sarrazin. Since we last updated you it's been as high as 9s, and is now back down to 6.9s.
Bernhard is baulked badly by two LMP2 cars scrapping through the Ford Chicane. He still extends his lead over Sarrazin's Toyota on that lap, taking it past 7s.
GARY WATKINS: The leading Porsche has just started its 17th lap on this tank of fuel. That's not as strange as it might sound given that much of this stint had been run behind the safety car.
The frontrunning LMP1 cars have broken the 3m50s barrier as the track continues to dry. They're all in the 3m48-49s bracket.
The #1 Audi pits. Kristensen out, di Grassi in.
Crash
One of the AF Ferraris has gone off at Indianapolis.
Mailleux has brought the #34 Race Performance ORECA into the pits, losing the LMP1 lead to Chatin's #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA. Frey has taken over the Race Performance car.
The Signatech Alpine ORECA might have taken the lead in P2, but there has been a breakage within the team - Marie-Helene, the pr girl, broke a finger trying to keep photographers away from Gérard Depardieu‎ on the grid. Not sure the giant French actor needs much protecting.
Yellow flag
It's the #60 Am-class car that's gone off, bringing out yellow flags.
The #20 Porsche pits from the lead. Hartley takes over from Bernhard, meaning Webber will be last to get his first taste of today's race.

Sarrazin now leads by 54s from Treluyer.
The Signatech Alpine ORECA is now in the pits. Fuel and tyres. This will give the LMP2 lead back to the #34 Race Performance ORECA.
Another driver change – Bruno Senna's now in the #97 Aston, which has cycled through all drivers now.
The two Manthey Porsches pit from the GTE lead.
Cars are switching back from wets to slicks now as the track dries.
The order in LMP2 is now: 1 #34 ORECA, 2 #35 Ligier, 3 #43 Morgan; 4 #36 ORECA; 5 #46 Ligier; 6 #26 Morgan.
The #41 Greaves Zytek has been officially retired. That's as a result of damage sustained in that crash on Mulsanne with the #48 Murphy ORECA.
Quote
Nicolas Lapierre on his crash in the #8 Toyota: "It was very heavy rain on the first part of the straight. I saw some cars – they were very slow but no-one had the rain light on. I tried to brake and then I’m not sure if someone hit me first – I don’t know what happened.

"Then I went on the right, into the wall, and the Ferrari took everybody out. That’s all I can remember from the crash, but honestly there was nothing I could see and nothing I could do."
Brundle, in the #35 Ligier, is rapidly closing in on the LMP2 class-leading #34 Race Performance ORECA. Expect a change of lead soon. He was four seconds faster last lap.
The #50 Larbre Morgan has been reported for a possible pitlane speeding offence.
LMP1 order: 1 Sarrazin (Toyota); 2 Treluyer (Audi) +52s; 3 Hartley (Porsche) +1m17s; 4 di Grassi (Audi) +2.56s
Brundle is right with Frey and looking to take the LMP2 lead.
Treluyer brings the #2 Audi in from second place. That moves Hartley up to second in the #20 Porsche.
Brundle takes the LMP2 lead from Frey after boxing the Race Performance ORECA in behind a GT car on the Mulsanne Straight. Frey tries to fight back, but Brundle is away. The #35 OAK Ligier leads.
Hartley trails race leader Sarrazin by 1m06s, with both cars having stopped three times so far.
Sarrazin pits from the lead in the #7 Toyota to get rid of his wets.
It's been quiet at the front of GTE, but three and a half hours in this is the state of play:

1 #91 Manthey Porsche
2 #74 Corvette +2.61s
3 #92 Manthey Porsche
4 #51 AF Ferrari
5 #95 Aston Martin (Am leader)
Milner now has Bergmeister in his sights – having taken out 3.5s of his lead on that last lap!

There could be a change of leader very soon.
Frey was able to reclaim the LMP2 lead from Brundle after the Ligier driver ran wide moments after taking the lead.
Hartley whizzes by as the Toyota tours down the pits, so the #20 Porsche is back in the lead. Sarrazin is 14s back in second, with P3 Treluyer +59s.
Bradley pits in the #47 KCMG ORECA.

By: Geoff Creighton, Scott Mitchell, Glenn Freeman, Edd Straw, Gary Watkins, AUTOSPORT staff

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