Le Mans 24 Hours 2015 The 83rd Le Mans 24 Hours
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The fight for the LMP2 lead has intensified. Bird had a big look alongside Bradley down Mulsanne, but had to yield at the first chicane. Gommendy then bought into the action, and passed Bird at the end of the straight to sit second.
A little further back, Vanthoor has passed both the Jota and Greaves-entered Gibsons to sit fourth.
A little further back, Vanthoor has passed both the Jota and Greaves-entered Gibsons to sit fourth.
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@AMR_Official: "The GTE PRO battle is epic... we've had three leaders already. This is going to be an awesome 24 hours."
A slow lap from the GTE Am leader, a few seconds off the pace. Lappery in the middle sector might be to blame, and he's dropped behind the Pro-class Corvette now. Still going strong though.
The Porsches have maintained their early lead.
Le Mans 2015 start
Lotterer is hunting Jani now, with Duval hanging back in fourth. That's the big battle in LMP1 at the moment. Bernhard leads for Porsche by 4.7s.
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@NISMO: "15:22. Great news! The No.23 is in the race! @Jannthaman at the wheel."
A change for fifth in GTE Pro as Gavin moves the Corvette ahead of the #91 Porsche. Good progress from the C7.R so far.
Speaking of progress, Calado's up to 44th overall - still last in Pro, but now with only five more Am-class cars ahead of him (and one of those is Lamy in fifth overall in GTE).
Speaking of progress, Calado's up to 44th overall - still last in Pro, but now with only five more Am-class cars ahead of him (and one of those is Lamy in fifth overall in GTE).
Bernhard has the best of the first bunch of traffic, extending his lead over Jani to four seconds.
Jani is under all kinds of pressure from the Audis as they head back out to the Mulsanne, but the Audis are fighting each other too as they continue to lap GTE runners. Lotterer has got the #7 ahead of Duval in the #8 into the first chicane.
Hulkenberg is back in the thick of it too - passing Bonanomi back for fifth.
Jani is under all kinds of pressure from the Audis as they head back out to the Mulsanne, but the Audis are fighting each other too as they continue to lap GTE runners. Lotterer has got the #7 ahead of Duval in the #8 into the first chicane.
Hulkenberg is back in the thick of it too - passing Bonanomi back for fifth.
Here’s the relative pace of the lead car for each works LMP1 car in the first four flying laps (laps 2-5).
Porsche 3m20.791s
Audi 3m20.947s
Toyota 3m23.668s
Nissan 3m43.513s
Porsche 3m20.791s
Audi 3m20.947s
Toyota 3m23.668s
Nissan 3m43.513s
The Pegasus entry is in pitlane, having received a mechanical black flag from stewards a couple of minutes ago.
Twitter
Not all of the drivers are following the action, some are preparing for the long day ahead...
@karunchandhok: "Right... Now that the race has started, I'm off for a nap!!"
@karunchandhok: "Right... Now that the race has started, I'm off for a nap!!"
The leaders have caught the GTE cars. This is where Audi could sniff a chance to get at the two Porsches out front.
Thiim leads in GTE Pro, moving the #95 past the #99 Aston.
Just 5.1s covers the top five: Bernhard, Jani, Duval, Lotterer, Bonanomi.
Hulkenberg is 7.7s off the lead, with the Toyotas +16s and +20s.
Hulkenberg is 7.7s off the lead, with the Toyotas +16s and +20s.
A nice early scrap between Chatin in the Signatech Alpine and Vanthoor in the Honda-powered OAK Ligier for fifth in LMP2. They've swapped places a couple of times, Vanthoor has now seured the position.
At the front, Bradley still leads Bird, with Gommendy third.
Meanwhile, Ibanez has received a stop-go penalty for jumping the start.
At the front, Bradley still leads Bird, with Gommendy third.
Meanwhile, Ibanez has received a stop-go penalty for jumping the start.
It's the #99 by a nose with Thiim less than half a second behind Stanaway ahead.
Bruni regrouped with a personal-best lap last time round and has put over a second between the #51 Ferrari and the chasing #97 Aston.
Bruni regrouped with a personal-best lap last time round and has put over a second between the #51 Ferrari and the chasing #97 Aston.
Both Nissans that are running (the #23 isn't) are now onto the first page of our timing screens, which means they are in the top 22. Tincknell leads Ordonez - so #22 leads #21.
Porsche has got its feet under the table, so to speak, out front. Bernhard and Jani trade fastest laps at the end of lap four, edging away (only slightly) from the chasing Audis.
Hulkenberg is nearly three seconds behind the Audi trio now, settling in to some quiet no-man's land between the leaders and the Toyotas.
Hulkenberg is nearly three seconds behind the Audi trio now, settling in to some quiet no-man's land between the leaders and the Toyotas.
Twitter
Not all of the drivers are following the action...
@karunchandhok: "Right... Now that the race has started, I'm off for a nap!!"
@karunchandhok: "Right... Now that the race has started, I'm off for a nap!!"
Pedro Lamy, suffering from chickenpox this week, leads GTE Am and is ahead of four Pro cars at present.
The #72 SMP Ferrari, being driven by Andrea Bertolini, is second in the Am class.
The #72 SMP Ferrari, being driven by Andrea Bertolini, is second in the Am class.
Twitter
@Toyota_Hybrid: "Great action shots from the first few laps of #LM24."
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Stanaway still leads as Thiim cuts the first part of the Ford chicane behind. That's given Bruni a sniff, and he's very close over the line but not able to dive by into the Dunlop chicane.
Having moved back up to second, Bird clearly feels there's more in his G-Drive (OAK) Ligier. He's closed in on Bradley to be running within a second of the class lead. A little further back, Gommendy has moved his TDS Racing entry into third, past Lancaster.
Good news for Porsche - race leader Bernhard is able to respond to the early Audi onslaught by lapping faster than the chasing pack that time around.
Jani continues to keep Duval and Lotterer at bay, while Bonanomi leads Hulkenberg in the fight for fifth.
Buemi and Wurz have settled in, three seconds apart, in the Toyotas.
Jani continues to keep Duval and Lotterer at bay, while Bonanomi leads Hulkenberg in the fight for fifth.
Buemi and Wurz have settled in, three seconds apart, in the Toyotas.
Bruni's fallen to third now, behind the #95 Aston. Thiim's had a great start, he's up from fourth to second having passed team-mate Mucke (#97) on the second lap.
The Toyotas are starting to drop back from the two German marques ahead of them. This race was always going to be about stealth for the TS040s - they'll be hoping it comes back to them later on.
At the end of the second lap Stanaway's back ahead of Bruni. The GTE Pro battle starting off nice and feisty.
Gavin got the Corvette ahead of the #92 Porsche on lap one, by the way, while Calado's made up a couple more places as the #71 Ferrari recovers.
Gavin got the Corvette ahead of the #92 Porsche on lap one, by the way, while Calado's made up a couple more places as the #71 Ferrari recovers.
The #67 Porsche has picked up a five-minute stop-go penalty for breaching Article 65.B - that's for the engine change it required following its qualifying fire.
Audi is clearly well up for this. It's game on. Duval and Lotterer are straight onto poleman Jani's tail, while Bernhard holds a slight lead out front.
Bonanomi has picked off Hulkenberg too, putting the third Porsche down to sixth.
Bonanomi has picked off Hulkenberg too, putting the third Porsche down to sixth.
Bird is now back up to second in LMP2, Bradley leads by just over two seconds.
Stopwatch
Lotterer - now fourth at the expense of Hulkenberg - sets the fastest lap - 3m20.709s on lap two.
Lotterer Le Mans 2015
Some feisty action moment later, as Bird takes third in LMP2 back from Turvey at the second Mulsanne chicane.
Clean first lap in LMP2, Bradley leads in the polesitting KCMG ORECA, while Lancaster (Greaves Motorsport) and Turvey (Jota) have found their way past Bird in the G-Drive OAK. Then it's Gommendy, Chatin and Vanthoor.
Five seconds cover the Porsches, Audis and Toyotas at the end of the first lap. The Japanese cars are hanging in there, sticking in the slipstream of the Audis.
Bruni has got ahead of Stanaway, so the #51 Ferrari leads GTE Pro as they cross the line at the end of the first lap.
Applause from the Audi garage as the first of the R18s breaks the Porsche stranglehold on the top three at the expense of the Formula 1 driver.
The Audis of Duval and Lotterer are giving Hulkenberg plenty to think about as the first lap comes to an end, and Duval gets through before the final chicane. The #8 Audi is up to third.
In GTE, the #99 Aston has held a slender lead over the #51 Ferrari.
The #71 Pro Ferrari has already made up a few positions having been sent almost to last.
The #71 Pro Ferrari has already made up a few positions having been sent almost to last.
As they exit Mulsanne Corner it's Bernhard, Jani, Hulkenberg, Duval, Lotterer, Bonanomi, Buemi, Wurz up front.
Bernhard passes Jani for the lead on the Mulsanne straight, as the factory cars all form a long queue.
By: Scott Mitchell, AUTOSPORT staff, Mitchell Adam, Glenn Freeman, Edd Straw, Gary Watkins
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