Le Mans 24 Hours 2015 The 83rd Le Mans 24 Hours
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Meanwhile, the Strakka has again ground to a halt. The Ctrl Alt Del didn't work.
Canal crosses the line in the #26 Ligier and Bradley's lead in #47 has been cut to just 1m25s - it was over four minutes before the problem struck.
Whatever Bradley's problem was it doesn't seem to be affecting him now as he's immediately back on the pace of the other LMP2 cars.
Bernhard (#17 Porsche) leads Rast (#9 Audi) by 56s, which could almost be enough to allow him to complete a fuel-only stop and stay ahead. It would certainly be very close if the Porsche came in any time soon - remember, he was only 4s behind the Audi before Rast made his last stop.
Tandy brings the leading #19 Porsche in for fuel, and a few seconds ahead of him Fassler pits from P4 in the #7 Audi.
Interestingly, Tandy gets out ahead, spending six seconds less in the pits than the Audi.
Interestingly, Tandy gets out ahead, spending six seconds less in the pits than the Audi.
Twitter
@BrendonHartley: "Our red #17 is running P3 with 5 hours 20 to go. #19 @Porsche is leading!!! All still to play for."
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The third-placed Porsche pits and Jorg Bergmeister continues.
Breaking news
The (minor) clash between the #7 Audi and the #19 Porsche (which leads the race) during a slow zone on the start/finish straight is under investigation.
To refresh those of you who missed it, Tandy and Fassler made very slight side-to-side contact in the slow zone, seemingly because Tandy was unaware the Audi was alongside him at the time.
To refresh those of you who missed it, Tandy and Fassler made very slight side-to-side contact in the slow zone, seemingly because Tandy was unaware the Audi was alongside him at the time.
Bernhard pumps in the best lap so far for the #17 Porsche, a 3m18.186s for the second-placed car.
The #64 Corvette leads the #51 Ferrari by 9.2s in GTE Pro. This fight will continue for a few more laps before the next stops.
Twitter
Strakka still haven't given up getting back in the race.
@StrakkaRacing: "We are sending technicians trackside to see if manual gearshift procedure will get car running - update when we can."
@StrakkaRacing: "We are sending technicians trackside to see if manual gearshift procedure will get car running - update when we can."
Bernhard continues to outpace the #9 Audi of Rast, which was only 4s ahead of him before it pitted. The #17 Porsche continues to put in sub-3m20s laps, so he's building a cushion that could be enough to incorporate a stop of his own and give Porsche a legitimate one-two at the front.
Thiim continues to be arguably the star of the GTE Pro race. The Dane deserves more from his work in the #95 car.
Since pitting he's pumped in the following flying laps:
3m56.865s
3m56.886s
3m57.605s
3m55.707s
3m55.551s
3m55.803s
That's taken the #95 to a second behind the #71 Ferrari in the fight for fourth.
Since pitting he's pumped in the following flying laps:
3m56.865s
3m56.886s
3m57.605s
3m55.707s
3m55.551s
3m55.803s
That's taken the #95 to a second behind the #71 Ferrari in the fight for fourth.
Strong pace between the two leaders as well, with the gap 8.8s. It's ebbing and flowing between the Corvette and the Ferrari.
A new fastest lap for the #72 car as Victor Shaytar continues his impressive performance. It's over a minute and a half behind the #98 Aston but the pace difference between Shaytar and Lauda is probably going to be a couple of seconds on average.
Bradley pits from the lead of LMP2, will he still maintain an advantage over the #26 Ligier?
The answer is yes, but the #47 KCMG ORECA's gap has now diminished further.
As expected, Bernhard was able to make a stop and still emerge ahead of the #9 Audi, so Porsche's 1-2 position at the top gets stronger with five hours to go.
Fun moment for one of the SMP LMP2 entries, which skipped over the gravel at the first Mulsanne chicane. Patterson has also spun, exiting Mulsanne corner in the fourth-placed Murphy entry.
Twitter
A rather dejected confirmation that the race is over for the #42 Strakka Dome.
@StrakkaRacing: "Afraid that it is over for us."
@StrakkaRacing: "Afraid that it is over for us."
The two GTE Pro leaders have stopped, and a long stay in the pits for the #51 Ferrari as Bruni takes over from Vilander hands the Corvette a 24-second lead.
This might be the biggest test of the race for Milner in the Chevy. So far he's handled everything thrown at him.
This might be the biggest test of the race for Milner in the Chevy. So far he's handled everything thrown at him.
Twitter
Time for another Nissan update - and yes, it's more problems for the Japanese cars.
@NISMO: "Last stop for the No.23 was to bleed the brakes to solve a long brake pedal. No.22 was having gearbox worked on."
@NISMO: "Last stop for the No.23 was to bleed the brakes to solve a long brake pedal. No.22 was having gearbox worked on."
Thiim pits the #95 Aston. Has he done enough to jump Rigon? The Italian had a long stop for fuel and tyres.
It goes from bad and worse for the #99 Aston, which crashed earlier while firmly in the fight for the win and has now been reported to the stewards for speeding in the pitlane.
Pitstop for the #26 G-Drive Ligier, in second place. Seemed straightforward enough with Canal swapped for Rusinov, but it was followed by a slight stutter leaving the bay.
The Honda-powered OAK has also stopped, with Vanthoor still behind the wheel.
The Honda-powered OAK has also stopped, with Vanthoor still behind the wheel.
The answer to the question 'has the #95 Aston done enough to get ahead of the #71 Ferrari' is a resounding yes.
Sorensen's in the car now and 4.2s clear of Rigon.
Sorensen's in the car now and 4.2s clear of Rigon.
Left-rear puncture for the #37 SMP BRE-Nissan. Aleshin is bringing it back to the pits, the car is 15th and last of those still running in LMP2.
Another stop in the books for Jota, Evans stays in the car and third place.
Since emerging from his most recent stop still ahead of the #9 Audi, Bernhard has set about putting time into Rast to solidify Porsche's 1-2. He's currently more than 40s clear of the leading Audi.
Olivier Beretta is in the #71 not Rigon. Timing screen took a while to register the driver change. Explains the slow stop.
At the front, Bruni's quicker than Milner for the first time this race. There are 26 seconds between them, can the Ferrari man haul in the Corvette?
At the front, Bruni's quicker than Milner for the first time this race. There are 26 seconds between them, can the Ferrari man haul in the Corvette?
The quickest LMP1 cars at the moment are the #17 Porsche and the #7 Audi - 2nd and 4th respectively. Both Bernhard and Fassler have been down to 3m19-20s territory in this stint.
Long stop here for the Murphy entry, following Patterson's spin earlier. Now down to sixth.
Rast pits the #9 Audi, at the end of a stint where Bernhard has hammered home Porsche's advantage in the fight for second. Just a couple of pitstop cycles ago Rast was ahead of the #17 Porsche, but now that's out of the question.
Twitter
@MurphyPrototype: Bad news for #murphysmen, the car is in the pits with what looks like terminal damage - more to follow soon
Beretta's now all over Sorensen for fourth in GTE Pro.
Another quick lap from Bruni – the #51's best lap of the race, a 3m54.214s – cuts Milner's advantage to 22.5s.
Another quick lap from Bruni – the #51's best lap of the race, a 3m54.214s – cuts Milner's advantage to 22.5s.
Crash
Shunt for the #72 SMP Ferrari! Shaytar undoes all his great work from earlier by running across the gravel at Indianapolis and nosing the tyre barrier.
That car was a comfortable second in class.
That car was a comfortable second in class.
So, out front, Tandy enjoys a one-lap lead over Bernhard in a Porsche one-two (#19 + #17). Bernhard's relentless pace since he got into the #17 car has put Audi in the shade, and now it's up to Bonanomi to try to repair the damage suffered during Rast's time at the wheel of the #9, which runs third.
Fassler, in the #7 Audi, has had decent pace this morning, but he's a large chunk of a lap behind his team-mate (and has just come into the pits).
Fassler, in the #7 Audi, has had decent pace this morning, but he's a large chunk of a lap behind his team-mate (and has just come into the pits).
Lotterer takes over the #7 Audi from Fassler, and he rejoins 2m24s adrift of Bonanomi in the #9 car that occupies third.
The slow zone - called to deal with the SMP car - has hurt Bruni, who lost a couple of seconds to Milner than lap. The gap's back up to 25s.
Twitter
@MurphyPrototype: "The guys at @oreca have sourced us a new rear end for the car and the crew are working frantically to get the car back on track. Still P6."
By: Scott Mitchell, AUTOSPORT staff, Mitchell Adam, Glenn Freeman, Edd Straw, Gary Watkins
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