Le Mans 24 Hours Live Commentary and Updates
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours.
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Summary
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As we enter the final half hour of the event, the #86 GR Racing Ferrari has ground to a halt approaching the Esses and a slow zone is in force.
Jarvis' advantage in LMP2 has been cut by around half a minute during that round of stops as Novalak has got the gap down to just 14 seconds despite serving his penalty. Could a grandstand finish be on?
Lopez has been suffering a power issue in the #7 Toyota which likely explains his unexpected pace drop. This is all playing into the #50 Ferrari's favour.
Nielsen, drifting his #50 Ferrari, leads by 31s from Buemi in the #8 Toyota and is doing a mega job with the economy drive so far. Meanwhile the #7 Toyota has dropped 14s behind its sister car.
We've had a change for fourth too, as Gatting has jumped back ahead of Mies. Meanwhile,there are problems for the GR Ferrari of Daniel Serra that was in fifth and has slowed to a halt at the first corner.
Now in comes the LMGT3 leading #92 Porsche for its final stop. Richard Lietz has a commanding lead over Augusto Farfus in the #31 BMW, which hasn't had an answer for the Manthey car since the rain returned. Farfus follows Lietz in, while the lapped fourth and fifth place cars of Christopher Mies and Michelle Gatting come in too.
The #8 Toyota is allowed by the sister #7 car but it is due to also stop again. In comes the #6 Porsche to relinquish second place, as does the #2 Cadillac from fifth, and they come out in sixth and eighth respectively.
Jarvis has now pitted for his final scheduled stop from the lead of the LMP2 field. He enjoyed a comfortable advantage before pitting and will be looking to maintain that in this final stint. The #28 IDEC car has also headed in this time around.
The fuel-saving #50 Ferrari leads by 8s from the #6 Porsche, but Vanthoor in that car must pit again. Then it is the #7 Toyota which is 31s back.
Lopez pits from the lead. He's told to stay in the car and it is a fuel-only stop, so he will drive the #7 Toyota to the finish of this race. The #51 Ferrari also pits so that releases the #50 sister car back into the lead.
Novalak has now brought the #34 Inter Europol LMP2 machine in for its last stop but will have to serve that five-second penalty before the car can be serviced. The #10 Vector car is also in.
Nielsen is told he must drop his energy use to make the finish, which will decide if he can fight for the win. Simply pitting again will drop him too far off the leading #7 Toyota.
Here's the picture for the victory battle: The #7 Toyota leads by 18s from the #51 Ferrari but both of them will definitely pit again. The #50 Ferrari is 22s off the overall lead but needs to stretch its current stint to not pit again to make the finish.
Over in LMGT3, it's still looking good for Manthey and Lietz at present with Farfus continuing to circulate about 34 seconds behind. Then it's almost a further lap before you go back to the first of the top Proton Mustangs, the #88, in third.
And it isn't looking good for Jakobsen. The car has been wheeled into the garage, so perhaps there's a fundamental reason for his recent lack of pace.
Jakobsen now pits after that spin and any hope of a podium is very slim now.
The answer is no, as the #50 Ferrari pits with 50 minutes to go. That feels too much to make it to the end of the race without having to stop again, but can the Italian team prove us wrong? Nielsen comes out of the pits in third place, as the #7 Toyota goes into the lead ahead of the #51 Ferrari.
Not a good few moments for a couple of the LMP2 frontrunners, the fifth-placed Cool car of Jakobsen has just had a spin and has lost a place, while the second-placed Inter Europol car has been given a five-second penalty for going off at the Dunlop Chicane and gaining a lasting advantage. Novalak does have a margin of 11s over van Uitert in third but this adds some late, unwanted pressure.
The big question now is can the #50 Ferrari extend its stint enough to not need a late splash and dash at the end? That stop to fix its loose door has put Nielsen on the backfoot and out of sync with the rest right behind him.
There was a point where it looked like the leading Pro-Am LMP2 car, the #183 AF Corse machine, could join the podium battle but Varrone is now gradually drifting further adrift in fourth, unable to match the pace of those ahead.
Lopez spins in the #7 Toyota at the first chicane! He gets going again but loses a chunk of time and the lead of the #50 Ferrari grows to 49s.
That's a big call to go in the favour of the #50 Ferrari, given there was a very similar pitlane incident for the sister #51 car that earned it a penalty earlier in the race.
No further action for the leading #50 Ferrari for that pitstop incident. They are cleared from the dock.
Novalak's five-second grip on runner-up spot in LMP2 could be under threat as he is under investigation for cutting the Dunlop Chicane in that brilliant battle with van Uitert earlier.
The #50 Ferrari is keeping its lead at the 33s mark but the team will be sweating over a current investigation into its unsafe release during the pitstop switch to wet tyres.
Lietz is now looking increasingly strong in LMGT3 as his lead after the latest round of stops has ballooned to over 33 seconds in the #91 Manthey Porsche. He could give the German brand some cheer after the recent Hypercar struggles.
A TV graphic pops up to state over 21,000 overtakes have taken place in this race. I don't really know what point that is trying to prove, but yes.
The #5 Porsche driven by Matt Campbell overtakes the #12 Jota Porsche with Nato at the controls for seventh. Despite losing that spot, full credit to Jota for a total rebuild of the #12 car from Wednesday night's smash and it is still going strong on the lead lap.
More trouble for the #87 Lexus as Masson locks up and goes straight on there but is able to get away with it and keep it out of the barriers. The crew remains 11th after earlier bonnet problems.
The #8 Toyota duly pits and drops to fifth place with Buemi at the wheel. So, Neilsen leads in the #50 Ferrari with his door now fixed and a 35s gap over the #7 Toyota driven by Lopez.
While the second-placed LMP2 battle has been providing plenty of entertainment, Jarvis has been getting on with the job in hand out front and now leads by almost 50 seconds in the #22 United Autosports entry.
There's also been a change for fourth in LMGT3 as a slower stop for the Iron Dames Lambo has put second Proton Mustang of Mies ahead.
On the out-lap following those stops, Novalak (in for Lomko) has snuck ahead of van Uitert (in for de Gerus) to put the Inter Europol car up to second in LMP2 from the IDEC machine. But their battle resumes with van Uitert moving past at the final chicane before Novalak reclaimed the place across the line and defended into the Dunlop chicane. And this one may still not be over!
Another flurry of pitstops from the Hypercar runners, so the order is shuffling around. The #50 Ferrari continues to lead, with a 18s gap over the #8 Toyota which is due to pit next time around.
The #51 Ferrari has been given a 5s penalty to serve at its next pitstop for the contact with the #8 Toyota around 40 minutes ago. Pier Guidi pits on schedule which allows him to serve the penalty and he drops to fourth.
In comes Lynn in the #2 Caddy, handing over the car to Palou to make it an Alex-Alex swap. The IndyCar champion is given fresh wet tyres and a new wiper, so he comes out in seventh.
Jarvis has now pitted from the LMP2 lead, and has been followed in by Barnicoat, de Gerus, Lomko and Richelmi.
Lopez in the #7 Toyota is managing well in the lead, as his advantage is up to 13s over the #51 Ferrari. Lynn, still battling on without a working wiper, is told to pit next time around. That'll leave him short and needing a late final stop later.
Gelael now pits the #31 from second in LMGT3 and has handed over to Farfus for the final stint.
Richelmi in the #10 Vector car provides another demonstration of how slippery the conditions are as he slides off into the gravel at Indianapolis but keeps going.
By: Autosport Staff
