Le Mans 24 Hours Live Commentary and Updates
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours.
Live Text
Sturm is doing an excellent job in the GT3-leading Porsche at keeping heat in his tyres and ensuring he's not losing time to the pursuing Maxime Martin. Remember, Sturm is the silver in the #92 Manthey Rxcing machine, and has past form for excelling in the wet - he cheekily unlapped himself from the Hypercars after a safety car restart at Imola, you may recall.
The #51 Ferrari is now pitting for grooved tyres too. Antonio Giovinazzi gets back on track in 13th position, nearly four minutes off the lead car – the #83 Ferrari.
Spins galore for in the LMP2 class. The leading #37 ORECA of Lorenzo Fluxa rotated on his way into the pits, while the #30 Duqueine machine of Jon Falb also found himself pointing the wrong way exiting the first Mulsanne Chicane. It really is treacherous out there.
According to Alpine, both cars suffered terminal engine failures. Unfortunately, their race won't even have lasted six hours.
Fluxa has vacated the Cool Racing ORECA with Peugeot reserve Malthe Jakobsen now aboard. Stephane Richelmi has cycled back to the LMP2 class lead in the Vector Sport entry, 30s ahead of the #22 United car.
Crash! The #60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini with bronze driver Claudio Schiavone on-board has lost it on the exit of the second Mulsanne Chicane and turned hard left into the barriers, with a hefty frontal impact on his Huracan GT3. That may be terminal damage, and has resulted in a FCY.
Matt Bell meanwhile goes straight on at Arnage corner in the #47 Cool ORECA which is a good few laps down in the LMP2 fight, currently in 15th spot.
This reprieve will be welcomed for the bronze drivers who are finding life tough out there currently. Poleman Brendan Iribe's Inception McLaren had just lost a couple of spots, dropping back to eighth in LMGT3 having been fourth a few minutes ago.
We're back to green, with the full course yellow removed.
Kubica currently leads aboard the #83 Ferrari with a 44-second margin over Porsche's Makowiecki in the #5 car. Hirakawa's #8 Toyota is a further eight seconds away.
It's all happening - Schiavone's heavily-damaged Lamborghini has made it back to the pits, while the second-placed LMGT3 BMW of Maxime Martin has tagged the #23 United ORECA of Ben Hanley into a spin at the Porsche Curves, the result of the Belgian trying an optimistic move at the return to green.
Martin may get into trouble for that one, but for the time being he leads in GT3 as Sturm comes into the pits.
Makowiecki gained nearly two seconds on Kubica on the last lap, bringing the gap down to 42 seconds.
Sebastien Bourdais is in the gravel at the wheel of the #3 Cadillac, which just came out of the pits! The French veteran lost the back end on cold tyres at Indianapolis, but managed to get going again.
We've had a change for fourth in LMGT3, with Daniel Serra moving ahead of James Cottingham. No surprise there - factory driver Serra is the pro in GR Racing's Ferrari, while Cottingham is the bronze in United Autosports' #59 McLaren and doing well to keep it on the island.
This off cost Bourdais some 30 seconds, and the yellow Cadillac now languishes in 14th place.
Moments before the off for Bourdais, we had the Nielsen LMP2 car take a trip through the gravel at Indianapolis and just brush the wall. But it hasn't halted Kyffin Simpson's progress too much, and he has just cycled into fourth following Ben Barnicoat's pitstop in the AF Corse #183 entry. Also in is Louis Deletraz in the pole-sitting #14 AO by TF car.
Several cars are in the pits, including Nyck de Vries' #7 Toyota, whose tyres are being switched from wets to slicks.
Statement from Alpine following its double retirement:
"We can confirm both Car #35 and Car #36 are out of the race due to a suspected engine issue. This is the team’s first year in the Hypercar category at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which we knew from the start would be a steep learning curve. We will further investigate the issue and we will come back stronger and more determined next year in Le Mans. The car showed good pace to make Hyperpole in Qualifying, we had a good race start and this gives us encouragement for the future."
A drive-through penalty for a full course yellow infringement won't help Cottingham's cause as he seeks to keep Michelle Gatting at bay in the delayed Iron Dames Lamborghini.
The gap between Kubica (#83 Ferrari) and Makowiecki (#5 Porsche) is now under 30 seconds, with Nielsen (#50 Ferrari) in-between them, but the Dane should pit soon.
Jakobsen shaved 4s out of Richelmi's lead last time around. Can the Dane continue to chip away at the Vector car which has been established in the lead since the second hour?
The #15 BMW is stopped on track with Dries Vanthoor at the wheel.
Jakobsen's pursuit of LMP2 leader Richelmi takes a pause as he comes into the pits, along with Garg's pursuing #22 United car.
Replays show a pretty unnecessary collision between Vanthoor and the race-leading #83 Ferrari driven by Kubica!
The Safety Car is called upon for the first time in this 92nd running of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Trouble for the LMGT3 polesitting Inception McLaren! It has been wheeled into the garage with plumes of smoke pouring out of the front. That looks like it could be game over.
The incident involving Kubica and Vanthoor is under investigation.
Might this safety car be an opportunity for teams in LMP2 and LMGT3 to use up some bronze time? Ian James has moved up to third in the Heart of Racing Aston Martin following a pitstop for Richard Lietz, and now several more LMGT3 cars are stopping too.
Ferrari is pitting its #50 car during the safety car intervention. Nicklas Nielsen is staying in the cockpit.
The leading #83 Ferrari's advantage has turned to dust, with the #5 Porsche and #8 Toyota now under ten seconds behind.
Those that stopped included Sturm from second in LMGT3. Those who came in were held at the end of the pitlane before eventually being released, so it will take a little bit of time for the timing screens to catch up with themselves.
In now comes LMP2 leader Richelmi, who swaps off the wets onto slicks.
The timing screens say 'warning flag' to Martin for his earlier skirmish with Hanley. If that means he's gotten away with it, then he might be considered a tad fortunate.
Richelmi is held at the end of the pitlane and so loses the lead in LMP2. But that's not all - the Vector car that has controlled the race for several hours now has dropped to fourth by the time he is allowed out, with Jakobsen now leading in the #37 Cool ORECA from Garg's #22 United car and the #24 Nielsen machine of Simpson.
It is now 29 laps down on the class leaders, but the #77 Ford that ran second in the early stages appears set to rejoin the fray fairly soon after its steering rack dramas. The front bodywork is now back on the car and things in the garage seem less frenetic than they were a little while ago.
So far, it has been a decent race for Ferrari and Porsche, who have three cars each (factory or customer) in the top eight. The #8 Toyota is third, while the #2 Cadillac holds sixth place.
Speaking of lengthy repairs, Iron Lynx hasn't given up on getting the battered #60 Lamborghini back into the race after Claudio Schiavoni greeted the barriers head-first on the exit of the second Mulsanne Chicane earlier on. Endurance racing mechanics are nothing if not dedicated.
That contact between Kubica's #83 Ferrari and Vanthoor's #15 BMW.
By: Autosport Staff
