Le Mans 24 Hours Live Commentary and Updates
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours.
Live Text
Lopez has duly picked up a drive-through penalty in the #7 Toyota for that slow zone investigation. That'll be a sucker punch.
The Iron Dames Lamborghini looked stranded for a moment after high-speed contact with a Hypercar, but Sarah Bovy has just managed to bring it back to the pits. Signs are good that the car is in decent health as it was sent on its way quickly. Hopefully the crew can still contend as it did last year.
If you're wondering about the Europol LMP2 car that was down to three wheels earlier, it has been turning respectable lap times and as such looks to be in good health now. It's actually up to eighth in class and will be worth keeping an eye on.
Five hours down, 19 hours to go. Strap on in.
#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman, Yifei Ye
Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt
It was the #4 Porsche that tagged Bovy and that has been put under investigation. Having served a driver-through penalty in the last hour which dropped it to 14th, more trouble could becoming for the Hypercar squad.
Following the protracted round of GT3 stops, it's once again the WRT BMW followed by the two Manthey Porsches. And Joel Sturm in second is the fastest of those three cars.
And on cue, Jaminet has been given a drive-through penalty for the #4 Porsche. That'll more than likely drop it a lap down on the leaders.
Things are closing up in LMP2 now. The Vector Sport car lost some time at the last round of stops, leaving new driver Stephane Richelmi with an eight-second lead over Lorenzo Fluxa's Cool Racing Entry. Nolan Siegel is 32s off the lead for United Autosports.
Molina pits in the #50 Ferrari from second and cycles out in fourth just ahead of the sister #51.
The Petrobelli JMW Ferrari has a drive-through following that investigation. And Sarah Bovy can take some comfort in a similar penalty for Mathieu Jaminet after their recent clash.
Alpine has confirmed the #35 is out of the race and is the second official retirement in this race.
Sturm is breathing down Rossi's neck!!! Battle on for the lead in GT3!
The #83 and the #5 pit on the same lap, as expected, which releases the #8 Toyota into the lead once again. Hartley is pulling his car into the lead fight.
The fastest car on track right now is the #15 BMW in the hands of Dries Vanthoor. Wittmann had his off early doors and then there was an unscheduled stop with a puncture, but the car is on the lead lap — and flying! BMW hasn't lost its status as a darkhorse just yet.
Sturm has swept past Rossi somewhere around the Le Mans circuit. He's just too quick, lapping in the 3m58s where Rossi has yet to crack the 4-minute barrier. 46s behind, Yasser Shahin is keeping an eye on all this in the other Manthey Porsche.
Gary is spot on, as Vanthoor is on a charge in 15th at present, with the #4 Porsche set to serve its penalty shortly directly ahead.
Jenson Button hops into the #38 Jota Porsche which is currently running ninth. The 2009 F1 world champion had a lot of fun as part of the Garage 56 NASCAR entry last year and this time he feels it is his first genuine chance of fighting for victory at Le Mans.
It's still early days, but on the pace seen so far the #92 Manthey Porsche looks a better bet than the #46 WRT BMW for GT3 honours. Its bronze, silver and platinum drivers each have a quicker time to their names than their respective counterparts. The other Manthey Porsche looks the bigger threat, with Morris Schuring having shown terrific pace earlier on, Yasser Shahin doing a solid job and Richard Lietz yet to have a stint.
The #8 Toyota pits to release the #83 AF Corse Ferrari back to its net lead, as Hartley's good work is done for now as he hands over to Hirakawa.
Richelmi's lead in LMP2 is down to 5.4s now, with little to choose in terms of pace between the Vector Sport man and his chaser Lorenzo Fluxa (Cool Racing).
Sunset is 10pm local time at Le Mans (so in 29 minutes) but it already looks gloomy under heavy cloud cover. The cars headlights are taking over as the main light providers on track.
Bovy's incident with Jaminet has certainly been costly for the Iron Dames. The Lambo was running in the top five before being punted off, but is now ninth. However, they're on the lead lap and there's always hope when you're on the lead lap. The race is still awaiting its first safety car though - it's been quite the settled Le Mans thus far.
Vanthoor is up to 13th in the #15 BMW with a smart move on van der Zande in the #3 Cadillac. Further ahead, the Jota Hypercar enact a position swap, as Nato in the #12 gets by Button in the #38.
More bad news for Alpine, as the sole remaining #36 is hauled into the garage and the engine cover is taken off. Lapierre is still at the wheel but that's a major blow.
Sturm drops to 3rd in GT3 as the next stops kick off, but is only just shy of a minute behind Rossie and Shahin, who are a couple of seconds slower per lap and yet to stop. If that trend goes on long enough, the #92 car may end up leading both before and after its pitstop.
The #65 Panis car has been reported for having its door open.
Ye is told rain is on the way again at Le Mans, while his lead over Molina in the #50 Ferrari is growing again, currently at 28s. The top four are split by under a minute, so after nearly six hours of racing the competition is still red hot.
Lietz has jumped aboard the #91 GT3 contender, and Michelle Gatting has just begun her first stint in the #85 car. That means every driver has had a go so far, with the exception of Sean Gelael in the #31 WRT BMW.
The #4 Porsche, which has been in the wars, is wheeled into the garage as the mechanics begin repair work on the damage sustained in the earlier clash with Bovy.
Proton's Jonas Ried is stuck on track in the #9 LMP2 entry. Cue a slow zone...
A little teaser for our next 'driver change' coming up...
The #6 Porsche runs on at the first chicane, which could have been triggered by rain which is due to arrive any minute now.
Fluxa has moved into the lead of LMP2, slipping ahead of Richelmi around the time of the latest set of stops.
The #4 Porsche is back out on the track but it has lost a lap to those repairs. Meanwhile the rain has arrived and in some style at Arnage, it is bucketing it down!
Rossi has escaped the #46 BMW just in time to avoid the rain - a perfect moment to get the gold driver Maxime Martin into the cockpit!
The #50 Ferrari, which has Nielsen back at the wheel, has just pitted but taken on soft slick tyres which could be the wrong call with this rain coming down.
In come the #4 and #6 Porsche, both taking on wet tyres. It looks like everyone is dashing into the pits for the wet tyres - including the leading #83! Ye jumps out, Kubica jumps in and on go the wet tyres.
The #22 United Autosports car and the #24 Nielsen Racing car have popped in for wets from the fringes of the podium spots. The leaders, Fluxa and Richelmi, have stayed out for now.
The two factory Ferrari cars, the #7 Toyota and #311 Whelen Cadillac are braving this out, sticking with the slicks during this rain shower. They will be the ones to watch with how this next phase of the race develops.
Stick or twist? We're twisting, as it is time for our next live text commentary change. James Newbold and Ben Vinel will guide you through this fascinating part of the race, as Richard and I take a breather.
By: Autosport Staff
