Le Mans 24 Hours Live Commentary and Updates

After a single stint, Malykhin has given the #92 Porsche back to Joel Sturm. He helped pull the car forward earlier in the race, but so far it's Bachler who has set that vehicle's best time...by a mere tenth of a second.

The #50 Ferrari is back in front of the #2 after pitting, but the #83 AF Corse entry is yet to stop.

This is the first real look at the latest wet weather running after that interruption, so let's see how clean these lot can keep it.

It is very wet down at Mulsanne Corner and on the run-up to Indianapolis. It isn't want I would call light rain, as the teams were predicting earlier.

The lap times have really dropped off in these conditions. Hartley is lapping in the 4m01s but Calado down in sixth is in the 3m57s.

So is Christensen in the #5 PPM.

Estre now pumps in a 3m57 to pull back into within 12 seconds of the lead, as Hartley finds traffic at the Dunlop Chicane. That will be another second or two bled.

Judging by the lap times and visuals, it's probably rain tyres all round in LMP2. So with everyone having stopped at about the same time, strategies may prove to be on an even keel. At any rate, the current situation is that Varrone leads Siegel by the best part of two minutes, with Fluxa and Cullen in close attendance. 

There are full rooster tails down the Mulsanne straight now. The weather radar suggests there will be a long run in these conditions too.

Estre is on a mission for the #6 crew. The PPM is now just 10 seconds off the Toyota at the front. It is fascinating watching the gaps fluctuate in different conditions.

In GT3, we have a Manthey 1-2 again but it's Sturm leading Schuring by seven seconds. The #59 United Autosports car just stopped and is third on its out lap with Nicolas Costa driving. Then come the two Akkodis Lexus cars.

It's worth having a top 10 rundown while in between pit windows:

1. #8 Toyota
2. #6 Porsche
3. #7 Toyota
4. #50 Ferrari
5. #2 Cadillac
6. #51 Ferrari
7. #83 AF Corse
8. #38 Jota Porsche
9. #3 Cadillac
10. #5 Porsche

The lead gap is now back down to under eight seconds. Estre is flying!

That 'second' Akkodis ASP car has picked up a drive-through penalty for pitlane speeding, with current driver Jack Hawksworth the likely guilty party. On top of that he will also have a drive-through for slow zones procedures! And on top of that, it's raining hard!

Traffic has dented the #6's charge for now, but the luck will yo-yo through the next 12 hours and 20 minutes.

The Europol continues to make great inroads in the wet. Novalak is 3-6 seconds a lap quicker than those around him! So the 45s gap to Cullen up ahead might disappear fast...

The weather is pretty horrendous now and the #311 of Aitken spun into the gravel, though he has continued.

There's no indication as to why there is a safety car. Is it the rain? Is there an abundance of gravel on the road from Aitken's off?

Just a second separates the Manthey Porsches at the head of the GT3 pack now. Costa, on the other hand, is 90 seconds behind...with Timur Boguslavskiy's Lexus right on this tail.

With Siegel and Cullen pitting under the safety car, Europol is promoted to third. 

The #7 is doing the same thing as the sister car, though fresh wets are going on for Lopez. 

The #50 Ferrari is also in with new fronts going on.

The Nielsen Racing #24 car is running again following its excursion into the gravel at the Esses...but there'll be a stop and go penalty for its part in said incident, which also involved the #77 Mustang.

The big question now is whether PPM follow suit with Estre and cover off the Toyota move. You have to think they will.

The answer to the Porsche question is that yes, Estre will pit.

With the previous queue leaving the pits, the #8 is in front of the #2 Cadillac, the #51 Ferrari and then the #7 sister car.

There's still no guess as to what the safety car is actually for, though the conditions are the safest bet...

The pits are busy with GT3 cars now. Both Mantheys and both Lexus cars, among others. The two United Autosport McLarens remain out, however.

The next pitlane queue has been released to the back of a safety car queue, with Estre ahead of the #2 upon filtering.

So the #2 is the lead Hypercar in the following safety car line.

And that milestone marks the end for me and Richard, for now! Simple Minds played the live music stage earlier and someone who is very much alive and kicking (I'm sorry) is Haydn Cobb, who will lead you through the next stint.

Alive and kicking is an accurate description of my current status, thank you Richard and Ewan! It has been six hours since my last live stint but, my oh my, have things changed since then.

The race is still running behind the safety car, with the #8 Toyota currently holding the lead as the pitstops shake out. But less good news for the #50 Ferrari which is under investigation for overtaking under the safety car. Molina is strapped in at the moment running in fourth.

What is the worst thing that could break in heavy rain? If you said windscreen wiper, give yourself a point, because that's the exact part that has gone awry on the #4 Porsche with Jaminet at the wheel. If he cannot fix it running behind the safety car he'll need to pit for a proper fix. That car is currently 14th and two laps down.