Le Mans 24 Hours 2015 The 83rd Le Mans 24 Hours
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Gavin's pace suggests the Corvette is strutting around the Circuit de la Sarthe at nearly 2am with some swanky new boots on.
It would be ludicrous to suggest this is over. We're not even halfway through! What we can say is Aston vs Corvette (and Porsche, to be fair) never gets dull.
It would be ludicrous to suggest this is over. We're not even halfway through! What we can say is Aston vs Corvette (and Porsche, to be fair) never gets dull.
Another quick time from Lapierre, a 3m37.522s, means he extends his advantage by another seven seconds on that lap alone.
Christensen pits the #91 Porsche and that will free up the #64 Corvette into second.
Lotterer - still not as fast as race leader Tandy - pits from second in the #7 Audi.
Bonanomi moves back up to second in the #9 Audi - 1m03s behind Tandy. Lotterer is now 1m11s behind the leader in the #7 car that's third.
With 13 hours to go, Lapierre's LMP2 advantage in the #47 KCMG car stands at roughly three minutes. A massive lead, but this is Le Mans and there is still over half the race left so anything can happen...
Lapierre now pits after that first stint back behind the wheel, so that three minute lead will erode a little.
The leading GTE Pro car pits, with Rees bringing the #99 Aston in. And it's on its way again. Efficient work, AMR.
Where will it emerge in relation to the #64 Corvette and #91 Porsche?
Where will it emerge in relation to the #64 Corvette and #91 Porsche?
Twitter
@OliverTurvey: "Mega quadruple stint, up to P7 & closed the gap to the leaders, with a best lap of 3:38.4 to set fastest LMP2 lap of the race."
So with its 11th stop completed the #99 Aston retains its lead - that hasn't happened for a while. Cold be a significant development, with a decent lead over the #64 Corvette as well.
Christensen's some way back from the Chevy in third.
Christensen's some way back from the Chevy in third.
As the #18 Porsche pits and rejoins, its team manager is called to race control immediately.
It looks like there's about four seconds between Rees and Gavin. It's close, but Gavin's got fresher rubber...
Fisichella pits the #51 Ferrari.
Tandy's lead is still commanding at this stage in the #19 Porsche. He's 1m08s ahead of Bonanomi, and 1m20s clear of Lotterer.
#19 Porsche 919, Le Mans 2015
Yellow flag
The #29 Pegasus Morgan has stopped on the track, with a slow zone declared in the Porsche Curves.
We have an on-track genuine battle for the lead!
Gavin has caught Rees so the #99 Aston just about heads the #74 Corvette as the clock ticks towards halfway.
Think about that: 11 hours and 20 minutes of racing and it's nose-to-tail for GTE Pro glory.
Gavin has caught Rees so the #99 Aston just about heads the #74 Corvette as the clock ticks towards halfway.
Think about that: 11 hours and 20 minutes of racing and it's nose-to-tail for GTE Pro glory.
The same amount of excitement can't be said for LMP1, which is going through a stagnant period at the front.
That said, Bonanomi pits the #9 Audi from second. Tandy leads Lotterer by 1m22s.
That said, Bonanomi pits the #9 Audi from second. Tandy leads Lotterer by 1m22s.
Duval stopped the #8 Audi as well, and both cars have since rejoined the track. Third for the #9, fifth for the #8.
Gavin closes right up to Rees under braking for the second Mulsanne chicane but still the #99 Aston leads.
Bird has pitted for fuel in LMP2 but the #26 G-Drive Ligier retains third place.
Twitter
Time for another Nissan update:
@NISMO: "We are getting close with the No.22, & the No.23 isn't far behind. @HarryTincknell getting ready."
@NISMO: "We are getting close with the No.22, & the No.23 isn't far behind. @HarryTincknell getting ready."
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A mistake from Fernando Rees gifts the Corvette the lead. It was in the middle sector, but we're not sure where - possible the second Mulsanne chicane. He ran wide and that was more than enough for Gavin to slip past into first.
Gavin pits - just how important could that error from Rees be at this stage?
Replays show it was the first Mulsanne chicane where Rees got his braking wrong, ran wide, locked up, slid over the gravel and dropped to second.
But another mistake, from Gavin's replacement in the Chevy Tommy Milner this time - he stalls in the pitlane! Only a minor glitch but a second or two lost, surely.
Not exactly the best way to start your stint.
But another mistake, from Gavin's replacement in the Chevy Tommy Milner this time - he stalls in the pitlane! Only a minor glitch but a second or two lost, surely.
Not exactly the best way to start your stint.
Tandy pits the #19 Porsche from the lead, and he emerges with a 13s lead over Lotterer. Now, last time the #19 car pitted, it had an 18s lead afterwards, so that's some time won back for Audi.
Christensen pits the #91 Porsche, which is firmly ensconced within the top three at this stage.
Here's some more details on the one-minute stop/go penalty the #17 Porsche picked up earlier. While Webber had to serve the penalty, it was for an offence committed by Hartley under yellow flags earlier in the race.
Also, on top of the one-minute penalty, Hartley now has a suspended nine-minute penalty - so if he offends again the #17 car will pay a hefty price.
Right now, it's running fourth, hanging onto the lead lap but 1m55s off the lead.
Also, on top of the one-minute penalty, Hartley now has a suspended nine-minute penalty - so if he offends again the #17 car will pay a hefty price.
Right now, it's running fourth, hanging onto the lead lap but 1m55s off the lead.
Badey pits from second in LMP2. He was already almost three minutes behind leader Lapierre in the #47 KCMG ORECA and that advantage is about to grow further still.
This hasn't been a great outlap for Tandy - Lotterer has taken four seconds out of his lead, so the gap is down to 9s.
Yellow flag
Another LMP2 has hit trouble, this time it's the #43 Team SARD Morand car on the exit of Arnage.
Yes, we still have two Toyotas in this race, but they are four and seven laps down, running in a distant P7/P8 as we approach half-distance.
We've not been able to say this much over the last few stints, but Lotterer is managing to peg Tandy's pace at the moment. He's doing most of the work through the short first sector, where he's been as much as a second quicker than the Porsche.
Perhaps Lotterer's low fuel load was helping him keep up with the Porsche - he pits, rejoining third behind Bonanomi.
So here's how the top three looks now:
1 #19 Porsche (Tandy)
2 #9 Audi (Bonanomi), +58s
3 #7 Audi (Lotterer), +1m01s
So here's how the top three looks now:
1 #19 Porsche (Tandy)
2 #9 Audi (Bonanomi), +58s
3 #7 Audi (Lotterer), +1m01s
The LMP2 leader Lapierre is in the pits again. His #47 KCMG has a massive advantage over Thiriet who has replaced Badey in the #46 car.
It was a very long stop for Lapierre - not quite sure what the team was looking at but they were having a thorough examination of something. It doesn't prevent him retaining the LMP2 lead though.
Sure enough, Tandy has now settled into the 3m21s, and he is easing away from both of the chasing Audis, as we've seen for the last couple of stints.
The combination of Lotterer being light on fuel and Tandy being heavy briefly made it look like the pendulum was about to swing back in Audi's favour.
The combination of Lotterer being light on fuel and Tandy being heavy briefly made it look like the pendulum was about to swing back in Audi's favour.
Lapierre's advantage has been slashed at the head of the class from over four minutes to just 49 seconds. That long stop could prove very costly.
Worth pointing out the #91 Porsche has ceded third place to the #51 Ferrari, though with the way the pitstops keep shaking out it's likely the 911 RSR will be back ahead when Vilander stops.
Bernhard hands the #17 Porsche over to Hartley, the man whose yellow flag infringement dropped it out of the battle for the lead.
Rees's lead in the #99 Aston is 1m22s, with Corvette's Milner struggling to match the Brazilian's pace.
It's been 53 laps since we lost the #97 Aston from the lead fight. Doesn't feel it...
It's been 53 laps since we lost the #97 Aston from the lead fight. Doesn't feel it...
By: Scott Mitchell, AUTOSPORT staff, Mitchell Adam, Glenn Freeman, Edd Straw, Gary Watkins
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