Le Mans 24 Hours Live Commentary and Updates
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours.
The eagerly-anticipated centenary edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours is the first in which cars built to the new-for-2023 LMDh ruleset have been eligible to compete.
Toyota is seeking a sixth consecutive victory at the world's most famous endurance race, while Ferrari on its first factory effort in the top class in half a century and fellow returnee Porsche are gunning for their 10th and 20th victories respectively.
A field of 62 cars, including the Garage 56 NASCAR entry and 21 GTE Am machines on the category's Le Mans swansong, will take the start at the Circuit de la Sarthe at 4pm local time and race through the night.
Join us here for live updates throughout the race.
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Pit stop
Tandy pits and that restores the Ferrari 1-2, Molina leading Giovinazzi, with the #94 Peugeot back up to third. The #75 Porsche comes back out in sixth, right in between the Toyotas.
The #25 GTE Am Ort by TF Aston of Michael Dinan just enjoyed a light brush with the tyre barrier. And while that was going on, Rump passed Castellacci for the class lead! The only shame about Hypercar being so competitive as that you won't see much of this on the television broadcast...
We've got a beached LMP2 car at the first chicane, namely the DKR Engineering #43 machine of Tom van Rompuy. That will be covered with a slow zone.
Whisper it quietly, especially with so far to go in this race, but things are shaping up nicely for Ferrari as the sun starts to set at Le Mans. The leading pair have 22s in hand on the closest chaser, the #94 Peugeot, while trouble in some shape or form has hit many of its rivals.
Arnold Robin was doing rather well in GTE Am, but he's just given the barrier in the middle of the Porsche Curves a hefty whack. We've seen worse at that left-hander, given he went in side-on, but it looks enough to have stopped him in his tracks after he spun across to the other side of the track. There's consequently a slow zone there too at the moment.
As Bovy also moves past Castellacci for second in GTE Am, we've got some quotes from Nicky Catsburg, who tells us more about the damper issue that has resulted in the #33 Corvette currently languishing near the bottom of the leaderboard:
"The car was moving around a lot and it wouldn't disappear. The car was moving around a lot under braking and at all speeds. So I told the guys that I think we had an issue. When we got it into the pitlane, it was the damper and we lost two laps. The crew still did an awesome job and couldn't have done it quicker. It's really tough, though, to come back from this spot. It seems like a disastrous race with the safety cars. But our main competitors in the championship are out of the race, so even with zero points we will still lead the championship."
Porsche has revealed that Cameron's problem was a sensor issue, He had to bring the car to a complete stop and undertake an electronics recycle. He appears to be back up to speed now.
Nielsen is primed and ready in the Ferrari garage, to give us a hint the pitstops aren't far away for the two leaders. The Dane will take over the #50 from Molina.
Silver driver Francesco Castellacci has just handed over the fading #54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 to bronze driver Thomas Flohr...
Another hint a Ferrari pitstop is coming is the switch for the lead, as the #51 gets waved by the #50. Its pitstop position is in front of the sister car so this will make their way into the pits more efficient and easier. But they continue for another lap, blasting by the pitstraight.
Albert Costa has just set the best lap for the #34 Inter Europol LMP2 car, as he works on a 11.4s deficit to leader Oliver Rasmussen (Jota). It's sunset and the track appears fully dry, so there's likely to be more green and purple flashing up on the timing screens...
After a solid stint at the front of GTE Am, the Proton Competition and Iron Dames cars have pitted together: this category is positively settled compared to some others! Michael Fassbender and Michelle Gatting will take those cars forward, separated by three seconds on their out laps.
Duval gets in hot at the first chicane on the Mulsanne straight but gets away with it, running into the runoff, in the #94 Peugeot. He's still got a 20s gap to the chasing Lynn in the #2 Cadillac.
Pit stop
Giovinazzi pits from the lead, having pushed in the #51 Ferrari to pull out a 5s advantage, to release Molina back out in front in the sister car.
Toyota reports possible rain coming over the team radio to Hartley... given the carnage it caused three hours ago, this could be trouble!
The Jota and Inter Europol cars that were heading the way in LMP2 have both pitted. Rasmussen remains at the wheel of #28, but Costa has handed over to Jakub Smiechowski. Oliver Jarvis thus accepts a five-second class lead for United Autosports, as LMP2 also settles into a pattern following the mad opening hours of this centenary 24 Heures du Mans.
Pit stop
A lap later Molina dives into the pits from the lead in the #50 Ferrari, followed in by the #94 Peugeot. Nielsen takes over from Molina and returns to the action in fifth behind the #51 Ferrari. The #94 is back out in sixth.
The #43 DKR Engineering LMP2 car that spun a little earlier is now running again. Arnold Robin's #72 TF Sport Aston, however, is listed as well and truly stopped after his Porsche Curves incident at around the same time.
It is advantage Ferrari as we approach six hours completed at the centenary Le Mans 24 Hours. Currently running fourth and fifth, within striking range of the trio ahead, but those ahead are all due to pit soon.
A smiling Sarah Bovy says she's really happy to have emerged from that stint without any problems. According to the Iron Dames driver, she couldn't see a thing when she jumped aboard during the wet chaos of the three-hour mark. She says the pink Porsche is running well, and the leaderboard confirms as much: it's currently third and that will get better when the next pitstops shake out.
Trouble for Berthon in the #709 Glickenhaus, who has a tyre issue having just pitted and is now dropping down the order.
Pit stop
The Toyotas pit together but with congestion in the pitlane there is a bit of moving and shaking for them to get serviced, so the stop is a little longer than preferred.
Tandy once again has a pair of Ferraris bearing down on him at the front, with the #75 Porsche just 1.1s up on Pier Guidi in the #51 Ferrari.
Rasmussen in the leading #28 Jota LMP2 has just made what looks to be an unscheduled extra stop, which lets Smiechowski (Inter Europol) and the United Autosports car of Oliver Jarvis ahead.
It is time for our own change in the hotseats as James Newbold and Stephen Lickorish are refreshed and ready for the start of the night stint! Enjoy chaps!
Rain
Cheers Haydn, we take over as darkness is truly descending at Le Mans now and there are some reports of rain with some of the wipers coming on. Given the chaos this caused earlier, things could get very chaotic again soon...
Richard is right, it was a shorter-than-expected stint for Rasmussen. He previously came in on lap 67, and then returned to the box just before the hour mark on his 71st tour.
Rain
It's raining very heavily now! Here we go again...
The Glickenhaus has just limped itself all the way back to the pits and is wheeled into the garage.
Problems for Jota! The front bodywork has come loose on Rasmussen who is crawling around the second Mulsanne Chicane. Was it the result of contact?
Pit stop
Cars are now heading into the pits including the #50 Ferrari, the lead #94 Peugeot and the #2 Caddy. But Pier Guidi stays out in the lead Ferrari as the manufacturer splits strategies.
Pit stop
The Toyotas had only just pitted but now the #8 is back in to change onto wet weather tyres!
Crash
Replays show Rasmussen was being super careful at Tertre Rouge with a United car to his outside before spinning and clouting the barrier with his front-right corner.
The rain is really getting heavy now and it's going to be treacherous for those still out on slicks.
Pit stop
And sure enough Pier Guidi now pits from the lead in the Ferrari, but will this late stop cost it dear?
Pit stop
All of the top four in LM2 come into the pits, with Smiechowski followed in by Jarvis, Deletraz and van der Helm. Prema's Filip Ugran stays out though and takes the lead.
Crash
Crash! The GTE Am leading Ferrari of Giacomo Petrobelli has floated backwards into the barriers at the Porsche Curves. More carnage in the wet!
And he's not the only one! A Porsche and the #50 Ferrari also go off at Porsche Curves from the leading contenders.
Pit stop
Michelle Gatting now takes the GTE Am lead but comes immediately into the pits. Meanwhile erstwhile LMP2 leader Rasmussen has made it back to the pits after that costly blow with the barriers at Tertre Rouge.
Pit stop
The #7 is the last of the leading contenders to pit for wet weather rubber.
By: Autosport Staff
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