Le Mans 24 Hours Live Commentary and Updates
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours.
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Jakobsen lost out badly through that last pit sequence - to the tune of 47s relative to Lomko, who also came in last time around.
I wonder if either Gatting or Lietz have gone onto slicks. Lietz is 9s slower than the Dane's Lambo, and his lead that stood at 20s a few laps ago has been almost eradicated. Whichever, the Porsche could soon come under pressure unless he can pick up the pace.
For housekeeping purposes, Bachler has now rejoined in the #92 Porsche after losing 24 minutes in the pits to gearbox issues, but is in 18th position. A hammer blow to hopes the WEC points leaders had of claiming the big prize.
We've now reached now completed 17 hours of the 92nd edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours, so still plenty of time for things to change but here's the current order in Hypercar:
1.#8 Toyota - Hirakawa
2. #6 Porsche - Vanthoor
3. #7 Toyota - de Vries
4. #50 Ferrari - Nielsen
5. #83 Ferrari - Kubica
6. #2 Cadillac - Lynn
Jakobsen is also losing time hand-over-fist to the LMP2 cars around him, and was over 20s slower than De Gerus on the road ahead of him last time around. Could it be that the Peugeot reserve in Cool's #37 ORECA went too early for slicks?
Change for eighth place as Nato in the #12 Jota Porsche was somewhat blocked by LMGT3 traffic at the first Mulsanne Chicane, enabling Giovinazzi in the #51 Ferrari to zip ahead.
The #7 Toyota now pits from third and it looks like de Vries is becoming the first of the Hypercar contenders to swap to slicks on this rapidly drying track.
Lietz's times have started to pick up and he is now pulling away from Gatting again. That suggests it was indeed the Porsche man who switched to slicks that took time to come up to temperature, explaining his initial haemorrhaging of time.
Jakobsen isn't having the same fortunes if indeed he is on the slicks. He was again 15s off the leaders' pace last time around and has dropped 1m35 back from Richelmi, who is 4.7s to the good on Barnicoat.
Dramas for Kyffin Simpson! He had just pitted the Nielsen LMP2 car for slicks and was gingerly coming through the Esses when one of the APR cars flashed by on his outside, sending Simpson sharp right and into a collision course with the barrier. He has damage to his right-rear corner and an apparently broken rear wing too.
Change for second in LMGT3, as Hamaguchi now passes Gatting. That's perhaps not a move we'd expect given the Japanese is the amateur in the #95 McLaren. Meanwhile Heriau has rotated the #55 Ferrari at the first chicane.
Hamaguchi and Gatting now pit together on lap 192, moving Mancinelli up to second in the HoR Aston - albeit 30s back from Lietz - and Gelael into third having shrugged off Nicolas Costa's McLaren.
Jakobsen's times are now on a par with the LMP2 leaders, which underlines that the crossover point has now at last been reached to go to slicks. Jarvis and Deletraz respond and come in.
More pit visitors in Hypercar as the Kubica's Ferrari and Lynn's Caddy both come in this time around. Given de Vries on his slicks is lapping at a comparable pace to the rest, it does seem the time is right.
Eastwood has stopped on track in the Corvette at marshal post 11, we're told by the timing screens. That #81 car had not long ago got back onto the lead lap through the pit cycles, but hopes of a result now appear dashed.
Hirakawa has some data to draw upon from team-mate de Vries and brings the #8 Toyota in for slicks from the lead. Third-placed Nielsen and fourth-placed Makowiecki are also in.
Crash for Nasr in the #4 Porsche! The Brazilian was on his outlap on slicks when the car just snapped at high-speed through Indianapolis and he has spun into the barriers.
Some notable pit callers in LMP2. Richelmi and Barnicoat come in together from first and second, but swap places as they exit the pits with the Briton's AF Corse car emerging ahead. Jakobsen is now between the two, his tyres fully up to temperature.
We've now got a slow zone in place as the stricken #4 Porsche is recovered.
And, on weather watch, some ominous dark clouds are rolling in again. So will those on slicks soon be forced in again?
Vanthoor has pitted from the lead in the #6 Porsche and has bolted on slicks nevertheless - despite the clouds and Nasr's spin in the sister car.
Now that the other P2 runners are having to go through the pain of bringing their tyres in, Jakobsen has blasted past Barnicoat and is 50s back from new leading duo Lomko and De Gerus, who are persisting with wets but circulating around 7s per lap slower.
Vanthoor has massively benefited from this slow zone and the timing of his stop as he has pulled out a lead of over a minute from Hirakawa - could this be a race-defining moment?
Eastwood's #81 Corvette is now being pushed behind the wall and appears to be out of the race.
Lomko and De Gerus have pitted from the lead and second place in LMP2, cycling Jakobsen - first of the drivers to plump for slicks - into the lead ahead of Barnicoat and Richelmi. Lomko rejoins fourth ahead of Jarvis, with de Gerus now sixth.
It's very close in the battle for third with de Vries in the #7 Toyota heading Fuoco in the #50 Ferrari and Shwartzman in the #83 Ferrari by less than a second as they thread their way through a pack of traffic.
Up ahead, once the gaps settled down during the slow zone, Vanthoor's lead stands at 18 seconds.
And it all got very dicey there for Fuoco in the #50 Ferrari as he encountered a GT3 BMW through the Esses and the pair made slight contact but they both continue and the Ferrari doesn't lose a place.
All eyes on the battle for third as just millimetres separate the second Toyota from the two chasing Ferraris!
Gatting got out of the pits ahead of Marino Sato, but the Japanese has now reclaimed fifth in GT3 from the Iron Dames Lambo. The best battle in class now looming is for second with Sean Gelael closing on Daniel Mancinelli's HoR Aston.
Corvette isn't currently sure what the problem was for Eastwood, as it has lost all radio comms with the Northern Irishman.
We've had a lead change in P2 as Barnicoat has got back ahead of Jakobsen.
Big crash for Daniel Mancinelli, his Aston Martin has hit the barriers at Indianapolis and rolled. The safety car is out.
Good news is the Italian has emerged unscathed from his upturned Vantage.
Replays show that he was attempting to leave space on the inside at the right-hand kink approaching Indianapolis, with a Ferrari Hypercar fast-approaching, then lost it on the slighty damp line and spun backwards into the barriers, which turned the car over.
This safety car means the handy advantage that Vanthoor had built with that stop during a slow zone has ben wiped out. And with 11 Hypercars still on the lead lap, there's still plenty of contenders here.
The safety car immediately prompted Lietz and Gelael to come to the pits, with van der Linde following suit. Sato now shuffles to the lead from Gatting, Olsen and Saucy.
The badly-damaged HoR Aston has now been put back on its wheels and is in the process of being recovered.
The #50 and #83 Ferraris have both pitted under this safety car but are now being held at the end of the pitlane. But worth noting that Shwartzman in the privateer car jumped ahead of Fuoco with a faster stop.
Pitstops for the P2 runners now. Jakobsen was a little offset from the rest in the #37 Cool ORECA, and he is followed in by Richelmi. Barnicoat, who had just lost the lead on track prior to the safety car, now cycles back to the front.
By: Autosport Staff
