Le Mans 24 Hours 2019
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Pit stop
An excellent first run for LMP2 leader Job Van Uitert is completed - he's hopped out right on schedule and handed over the #26 G-Drive ORECA to Roman Rusinov. Right behind him, Thiriet also pits but remains behind the wheel of the Signatech-Alpine.
LMP1
Alonso is making progress after the nose change. A gap that stood at more than a minute is now down to 51s. Has that aero tweak made a difference?
Pit stop
A lap after Vandoorne, Berthon has also visited the pits in the #3 Rebellion. Another quick turnaround gives the Frenchman a bit more breathing space in the battle for third, as the gap is back up to 12s.
GTE PRO
Serra - Daniel, son of Chico - is past Bamber for second in class and within sniffing distance of Rockenfeller in the Corvette.
LMP1
More progress for Hedman in the DragonSpeed car in the past hour, even if his pace is 10s away from that of the Toyotas. He's now up to 28th and ahead of the GTE Pro cars.
Pit stop
Orudzhev pitted the #17 SMP not long after going a lap down, while Vandoorne has now been in and out in the #11 car as well.
GTE PRO
Molina will have 10s added to his next pit-stop for not respecting the FCY procedure.
LMP1
The gap between the two leaders remains at just under one minute as we approach the end of the fourth hour. Kobayashi has now put Orudzhev in the fifth-place SMP BR1 a lap down.
GTE PRO
The Corvette is back in the lead after those stops, now with Rockenfeller leading by less than a second from the #93 'American' Porsche with Bamber at the wheel. So that's two outright Le Mans winners 1-2 in GTE Pro.
LMP2
After several laps of shadowing, Van Uitert finally gets the move done on Thiriet into the first chicane and takes the class lead. Now in clear air, let's see if he can build an advantage.
Information
Race control reported debris on track at marshal post 8 - that's out of Arnage and onto the start of the Mulsanne Straight. It's since removed that message.
LMP1
Vandoorne continues to close on Berthon in the battle of the privateers - the gap is down to 11s now.
Yellow flag
Meanwhile, Henning Enqvist had a bit of a hapless moment in the ARC Bratislava Ligier at Indianapolis. Facing the wrong way against traffic, he performed a three-point turn reminiscent of JACK COZENS' crowd-pleasing attempt outside the Buffalo Grill last night, before getting underway again.
Pit stop
Kobayashi pits the #7 Toyota, after setting overall bests in sectors two and three.
GTE PRO
Now Calado is into the pits in the #51 AF Ferrari.
LMP2
Duval watch: He's now dispatched Memo Rojas - in for Paul Lafargue in the #48 IDEC Sport ORECA - and up to P7 after Capillaire comes into the pits. The poleman is 2m46s off the lead and 56s off sixth-placed Phil Hanson, but making gradual inroads.
An overhead view of that nose change
LMP1
Alonso is swiftly back out on track. The gap between Kobayashi and himself went back above a minute before his stop; can he make up ground in his third stint?
GTE PRO
The leading Corvette is in the pits and Rockenfeller takes over.
Pit stop
In comes the #8 Toyota, which also has a nose change.
LMP1
Lotterer has now got the #1 car back into sixth, by the way, after passing the duelling LMP2 leaders.
Driver Change
We've had a few driver changes meanwhile in LMP2. David Heinemeier-Hansson is now aboard the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECA in fourth after taking over from King, while Pastor Maldonado has taken over the #31 DragonSpeed after a triple stint from Gonzlez and making swift inroads into his deficit.
LMP1
Progress report for the #10 DragonSpeed car. It's now 44th in the overall order, and into the GTE Pro pack.
LMP2
Right on schedule, Thiriet and Van Uitert pit on lap 59. They're nose to tail as they go in and just as close as they come out. The Dutchman seems to have the edge in the battle of the Silvers, so expect the G-Drive car to make a move soon.
Pit stop
Lotterer had just cycled back into sixth in the order, but is eighth again now after stopping.
LMP2
Duval watch: Next in his sights is Julien Canal's Panis-Barthez Ligier, which has been strangely off the pace so far today. He's 3.5s behind Canal, and only a further 4s behind Capillaire's Graff ORECA.
LMP1
When we last checked in with the leaders, the gap between them was 57s. But Kobayashi and Alonso are now separated by... 58s. You're welcome.
Pit stop
Sure enough, Berthon is in. Rebellion does its usual trick of turning the car around quicker than SMP, too, and sends the #3 back on track after a 70-second stay in the pitlane.
Leading LMP1 positions after three and a half hours
LMP1
Personal best for the #3 from Berthon on this lap - expect the Rebellion to stop at the end of it.
Pit stop
Vandoorne is in next time by in the sister #11 SMP car. He had eaten into Berthon's advantage in the battle for third, but the #3 Rebellion has responded in recent laps and was around 20s clear before Vandoorne headed in.
Pit stop
Orudzhev is in the pits in the #17 SMP, which was the last car on the lead lap before the start of this pitstop cycle.
LMP2
Duval watch: The LMP2 poleman has passed Ryan Cullen's #32 United Autosport Ligier for P12 - Cullen back in for Will Owen - and is now right on the tail of Arjun Maini's RLR M Sport ORECA for 11th.
GTE PRO
Pilet is under five seconds off Calado now, and 14s off the lead - so it's all very much to play for at the minute in GTE Pro.
Here's Pilet being rather good at this overtaking lark
LMP2
Van Uitert is really eating up Thiriet's advantage - it was 11 seconds four laps ago and now it's just over 3s. Expect another challenge for the lead before too long.
Pit stop
Webb pits the ByKolles, which is making its eighth stop. No other car has made more than six stops.
GTE PRO
GTE Pro really is a bit good, isn't it? It's hard to keep up with all the manufacturer battles throughout the field.
By: Geoff Creighton
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