Le Mans 24 Hours Live Commentary and Updates
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours.
Live Text
The timing screens now say that the pass around has concluded, so we're surely not far away from going back to racing.
A few nice shots of night racing at Circuit de la Sarthe – although we're pretty sure that words can describe the Le Mans 24 Hours at night, because that's exactly what we did over here.
The next phase towards the resumption of racing has now begun with the pass around process taking place - this is where lapped cars between the safety car and the class leader can overtake the safety car and join the back of the queue.
If you're wondering how bad the rain is: 7.1mm fell between 3am and 7am. So, rather close to a centimetre of water, if that's easier to picture.
There were driver changes among those couple of LMP2 pitstops we just mentioned with Lomko now back in the #37 and the rapid Jakobsen in the #34.
One of the trio of safety cars has now peeled off and the merging process is properly beginning.
More pitstops are now being completed as this slow process of ending the safety car commences. Most notable among them are the second- and fourth-placed cars from LMP2 as the #34 Inter Europol car and the #37 Cool entry both pit.
But don't get too carried away - it won't be the work of the moment to complete the merge process and the wave-by.
An important update from race control - this will be the last lap with three different safety cars, which suggests it will soon coalesce behind one and we may, perhaps, even get back to racing.
Meanwhile, we've lost just two from LMGT3 - Flohr in the #54 AF Corse Ferrari was the first to exit the race when he crashed at the Dunlop Chicane. But far more significant was the loss of the #46 WRT BMW that was in contention for the win when Al Harthy slid off track.
The best of the Hypercar newcomers, it can be said, is Lamborghini with its pair of SC63 LMDh machines based on the Ligier chassis. Matteo Cairoli is 13th at present in the #19 car, two spots ahead of Daniil Kvyat in #63.
On the point earlier about a red flag and wouldn't it have been better to park the cars for while when the rain was at its worst, well, the ACO is very proud of the fact that this race has never been red-flagged. A senior official once told me that it never will be.
There is one edition from the pre-war days where the race did come to a halt when the track - much narrower back then, of course - was somehow blocked. Couldn't be described as a stoppage in the modern sense, though.
There have also been just the three confirmed retirements so far from the LMP2 ranks as well. The #9 Proton machine was the first when it suddenly ground to halt through the Porsche Curves in the sixth hour. Then a few hours later the #30 Duqueine entry ground to a smoky halt, while shortly before this lengthy safety car period began the #45 Algarve Pro ORECA shed a wheel.
We only have three official retirements in the Hypercar ranks so far. Both Alpines were halted by engine failures, while Dries Vanthoor's #15 BMW crashed out after contact with the #83 Ferrari which was given a 30-second penalty as a result. The #20 BMW that was crashed into the barriers at the Ford chicane by Robin Frijns is not yet an official retirement, and the WRT team has pledged it will return to the track later on as it continues to learn more about its M Hybrid V8 LMDh.
Your humble live text commenters have at least had a bit of kip to keep us sane. We feel a bit for the guys on the pitwall who are chained (almost) to their engineering stations and pit-to-car radios throughout the duration of the race.
Those LMGT3 stops featured a few driver changes as well, with Gatting replacing Bovy in the Iron Dames Lambo and Costa in for Cottingham in the #59 McLaren.
Ryo Hirakawa remains in the outright lead behind the safety car aboard the #8 Toyota GR010 HYBRID. Laurens Vanthoor's #6 factory Penske Porsche Motorsport 963 is next in line, then there's a gap back to the #50 Ferrari 499P of Nicklas Nielsen and Nyck de Vries's #7 Toyota which are in the next safety car queue. Remember, there are three different safety cars around the long lap here.
More pitstops among the leading contenders in LMP2 and LMGT3 as the #10 Vector entry stops from third in LMP2, while the frontrunning #91 Manthey Porsche, #85 Iron Dames Lambo and #59 United Autosports McLaren all pit from the GT3 ranks.
If you've just joined us, then welcome. We're coming up to four hours behind the safety car due to rain and lack of visibility at the Circuit de la Sarthe which has meant the main point of intrigue has come through pit cycles over the past few hours. We'll let you know, as soon as we do, once we know more about going back to green.
Francois Perrodo meanwhile has pitted the LMP2-leading AF Corse ORECA, with Ben Barnicoat taking over.
Shahin has had a few more laps in the lead and now cycles into the pits a few laps later than team-mate Malykhin. Ian James has also vacated the Heart of Racing Aston Martin.
Although, obviously, "racing" might be a stretch when describing what is happening right now.
The Hypercar driver who has spent the longest time behind the wheel so far is Isotta Fraschini's Antonio Serravalle, who drove for six hours and 28 minutes, out of our 15 hours and 19 minutes of racing.
Well, it seems like the rain has stopped for now. Will the green flag be waved soon?
Just walked from my car after a nice three-hour sleep back at base. It has, more or less stopped raining. It's kind of rain in the air at the moment. On the question of how long before we go green, I have no idea!
By our estimation, the lengthy safety car interruptions means most of the LMGT3 entries have cleared, or almost cleared their bronze time. Hamaguchi, Heriau and Roda are yet to complete their six-hour minimum, but the likes of James (over nine hours), Shahin and Malykhin (both more than seven) are well clear.
While the temperature went down to 9.6°C at 5am local time, it is now around 12°C. According to MeteoFrance, it should stop raining sometime between 9am and 10am. It is so wet that some spectators found shelter in the pedestrian tunnels under the track and are sleeping there.
Thanks Haydn, well done keeping on top of those developments, which may prove crucial later on! Malykhin has just pitted from the LMGT3 lead and handed over to Bachler.
The #4 Porsche is back on track, driven by Felipe Nasr. It languishes in 17th, two laps down on the leader.
With an entire live text stint spent covering a safety car period, it is time for me to hand over to Ben Vinel and James Newbold. Hopefully they have better luck than me!
No investigation necessary for the #7 Toyota according to race direction, so that's that. It has dropped de Vries behind the #50 Ferrari in the same safety car train. So, through no immediate fault of its own, it has actually lost a position because of it. Bizarre.
Ah, the #7 Toyota pits but is only held for a short moment, so this could be the team mitigating the issue as it puts it one safety car back now.
De Vries is at the wheel of the #7 Toyota which is now under investigation for coming out early into the wrong safety car pack. The #55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari was under the spotlight for the same offence earlier but has just been cleared. Was the pit exit light green when it should've been red for the #7?
So the top three are in the same safety car train now, which could put the #7 Toyota in trouble given it was in the previous safety car train before stopping. Further back the #3 Cadillac and #51 Ferrari both pit so that pushes the #50 Ferrari back into fourth.
More leader changes - it is all happening now! Granted, it is the pitstop cycles playing out. The #6 Porsche and #7 Toyota nip in which releases the #8 Toyota back into top spot.
The #12 Jota Porsche and the #2 Cadillac have also just pitted, Norman Nato coming out in 11th for Jota and Alex Palou returning in ninth for Caddy. We're now into the third consecutive hour of this safety car period.
Hirakawa has replaced Hartley inside the #8 Toyota and it comes out in third, one safety car train behind the leading #6 Porsche and directly behind the #7 sister Toyota in second.
A change for the lead under the safety car! The #8 Toyota pits so that promotes the #6 Porsche to the head of the pack.
The previously leading #83 AF Corse Ferrari pits and is followed in by the #38 Jota Porsche, as Ye hands over to Kubica and Rasmussen swaps out for Button. That cycles them to the back of the runners on the lead lap in eighth and ninth respectively.
Sadly we don't have a better update to give than the safety car trains continuing to plod around in the rain. The daylight has revealed a very gloomy picture - it looks more like January than June at Le Mans.
By: Autosport Staff
