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24 Hours of Le Mans
Le Mans 24 Hours 2015 The 83rd Le Mans 24 Hours
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Bird now pits from third in LMP2 in his #26 G-Drive Ligier.
Twitter
A disappointed Lancaster, watching from the sidelines:
@JonLracing: "Track looks really fast out there now... Not even half way... Its such a gruelling race... Epic!"
@JonLracing: "Track looks really fast out there now... Not even half way... Its such a gruelling race... Epic!"
Bonanomi pits from second, having been no match for Tandy during that stint. Lotterer, who continues to fall back from the Porsche and is now 58s adrift, picks up second place in the #7 Audi.
Porsche's description of Dumas's off at Mulsanne corner (that was the first time the #18 car went straight on there) was simply that the driver "locked the brakes".
Given that Jani's incident looked so similar, perhaps he just made the same error, rather than there being something wrong on the car.
Given that Jani's incident looked so similar, perhaps he just made the same error, rather than there being something wrong on the car.
But Lapierre responds with a personal best himself to counter any threat from behind.
Gavin stayed in the car but that was quite a lengthy stay in the pits, even if he's taken on tyres. That might make the difference at this stage of the race.
Some quick times in LMP2 as both Badey (#46 ORECA) and Bird (#26 Ligier) in second and third try to hunt down leader Lapierre.
Duval pits the #8 Audi from P5, more than two minutes behind the #17 Porsche in fourth.
Replays show Fogarty lost the car midway through the corner before hitting both the front and rear of the car against the wall.
Gavin pits, but may have got stuck behind that crawling LMP2 making its way back to the pits.
Rees takes the lead in the #99 Aston. These two cars have been doing this dance for a while.
Rees takes the lead in the #99 Aston. These two cars have been doing this dance for a while.
Crash
More bad news for Extreme Speed as the #31 car has now hit the barrier at the Porsche Curves. Fogarty is trying to limp the car back to the pits.
A 55-second stop/go penalty has been dished out to the #30 Extreme Speed Ligier for speeding in the pitlane. With the lead Nissan still being worked on in the pits, it may not drop a place from its current 43rd.
Tandy continues to charge, setting a new best lap for the #19 car - a 3m18.6s.
His lead is up to 42s over Bonanomi, while Lotterer slips to 55s back. Tandy is well-and-truly picking up where Hulkenberg left off, and the #19 car's position continues to strengthen at the head of the field.
His lead is up to 42s over Bonanomi, while Lotterer slips to 55s back. Tandy is well-and-truly picking up where Hulkenberg left off, and the #19 car's position continues to strengthen at the head of the field.
Lieb is one lap behind the fifth-placed #8 Audi now that things have shaken out after Jani's off at Mulsanne corner.
Tandy's lead continues to grow. Bonanomi is now 38s behind the #19 Porsche, with Lotterer 53s adrift.
Lapierre's advantage is still a very healthy 1m45s even after that latest driver change.
Jani brings the #18 into the pits. He hands the car over to Lieb, and just like when Dumas brought the car in, the mechanics change the front bodywork before sending the car on its way after spending 1m29s in the pitlane.
Lapierre has taken over the #47 car from Bradley.
Jani rejoins, but that will be a hefty time loss.
The #18 Porsche has already lost fifth place to the #8 Audi, as the recovery tractor comes along and picks it out of the gravel.
Bradley pits the #47 KCMG from the lead of LMP2. His advantage is so huge the question is how big will it be afterwards, not where he will emerge.
Yellow flag
That's a carbon copy of the straight-on incident we saw from Dumas that cost the #18 before Jani got in the car. Massive lock-up, bouncing through the gravel, tapping the barrier then trying to reverse out.
The difference is, Dumas didn't get stuck when trying to back out of the gravel, but Jani is stuck.
And we have a slow zone in place now.
The difference is, Dumas didn't get stuck when trying to back out of the gravel, but Jani is stuck.
And we have a slow zone in place now.
Yellow flag
The #18 car is beached in the gravel at Mulsanne Corner, with Jani at the wheel.
LMP1 order:
1 #19 Porsche
2 #9 Audi
3 #7 Audi
4 #17 Porsche
5 #18 Porsche
6 #8 Audi
7 #2 Toyota
8 #1 Toyota
1 #19 Porsche
2 #9 Audi
3 #7 Audi
4 #17 Porsche
5 #18 Porsche
6 #8 Audi
7 #2 Toyota
8 #1 Toyota
Into the pits comes the #51 Ferrari of Fisichella.
Aguas' car has been wheeled into the garage by the way. Mechanics have been scrambled.
Aguas' car has been wheeled into the garage by the way. Mechanics have been scrambled.
Bradley's lead in the #47 KCMG car is now over three minutes after that latest stop for Badey's #46 Thiriet by TDS machine. The Briton has come incredibly close to lapping the entire LMP2 field.
Tandy (#19) leads Bonanomi (#9) by 33s, and Lotterer (#7) by 45s.
It's all about those three cars (and their rotation based on pit strategy) at the front, with Bernhard keeping the fourth-placed #17 car on the lead lap without making inroads.
It's all about those three cars (and their rotation based on pit strategy) at the front, with Bernhard keeping the fourth-placed #17 car on the lead lap without making inroads.
The #30 Extreme Speed Ligier has seemingly lived up to its name and is under investigation for speeding in the pitlane. Down in 44th overall, it's unlikely to make a massive difference.
Lotterer pits the #7 Audi, handing the lead back to Tandy in the #19 Porsche. Bonanomi slots into second in the #9 Audi.
A problem for the third-placed (well, it was) #83 Ferrari, which Aguas is limping back to the pits with a crocked front-right.
Badey pits for fuel from P2 in LMP2. The Frenchman's deficit to leader Bradley's #47 KCMG ORECA had increased to 2m20s by this point.
Stanaway hands over the #99 Aston to Rees, who rejoins 25s behind Gavin's Corvette.
Yellow flag
There's a tractor on the circuit collecting the #21 Nissan, so the slow zone is still in action and drivers are being told to keep to the left.
Twitter
That's it for one of the Nissans.
@NISMO: "Unfortunately we cannot get the No.21 back to the pits, so it has retired."
@NISMO: "Unfortunately we cannot get the No.21 back to the pits, so it has retired."
Tandy pits the #19 car, rejoining only 6s behind Lotterer thanks to that slow zone halting the Audi's progress.
Bonanomi is 38s off the lead in third.
Bonanomi is 38s off the lead in third.
Very slow lap from Badey last time around results in Bradley increasing his advantage by another 19 seconds.
Yellow flag
The slow zone for the stranded #21 Nissan caught Lotterer but not Tandy first time around, so the #19 Porsche extends its lead to 52 seconds with a bit of good fortune there.
Lietz made way for Christensen in that stop, and the #91 Porsche rejoins still well clear of the #51 Ferrari.
Will Stanaway stop? Not this time. He carries on.
Will Stanaway stop? Not this time. He carries on.
Rusinov pits the #26 G-Drive Ligier from third in LMP2.
Bird has taken over from the Russian and doesn't lose a place.
Bird has taken over from the Russian and doesn't lose a place.
The #91 Porsche pits from second place. It'd be surprising if the #99 Aston didn't stop next time round.
By: Scott Mitchell, AUTOSPORT staff, Mitchell Adam, Glenn Freeman, Edd Straw, Gary Watkins
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