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WEC 24 Hours of Le Mans

Le Mans 24 Hours Live Commentary and Updates

Updates and live commentary throughout the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid Hypercar, Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima, Brendon Hartley

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LMH: Lopez locks up at Mulsanne corner but manages to keep it away from the gravel and avoid a worse fate. This race is still in the balance.
GTE Pro: It appears that the #63 Corvette gained a bit on the leader through that Slow Zone, with Catsburg now just 30s behind Calado's #51 Ferrari. The nature of when they appear and disappear can be so pivotal, especially when it's on an area like the Mulsanne Straight where the difference between going 80km/h and flat chat is, well, enormous.

LMH: The #36 Alpine and the #708 Glickenhaus have both pitted during this slow zone period so their battle for the final rostrum place is rather nullified.

Green flag
And we're back to green!
Yellow flag
The culprit has been found - it is the #388 Rinaldi Ferrari driven by Ehret which has spun off and hit the barriers backwards at the first chicane on the Mulsanne straight.
Yellow flag
A slow zone has been called after a crash for one of the GTE Am cars which has caused debris on the track around the first sector.
GTE Am: Just a bit of housekeeping - Flohr is back out again after that mystery problem that meant he came so slowly into the pits. But the AF #54 Ferrari driver is now down in P11, having lost seven laps on the cars he was racing for fourth.
GTE Am: Keating's chase of Perrodo is once again halted by the need to pit for fuel. In he comes, looks like a routine fuel stop.
Breaking news
Here's a recap on the latest action at the Le Mans 24 Hours as the race enters its final stages.
GTE Pro: Estre in #92 has 22s on the #91 Bruni now in the fight for third between the Porsches. In truth, it's been rather one-sided since Estre passed Bruni's team-mate Makowiecki in the last hour.
Pit stop
LMH: Hartley pits in the #8 Toyota and all looks very calm, just as the team said earlier, but it did appear to be a relatively longer stop with mechanics working on the car. The stop also restores the one-lap gap to the leading #7 Toyota.
GTE Am: There are just 9.4s in it now between Perrodo and Keating. The gap has ebbed-and-flowed plenty through the pitstop cycles, but we could shortly be seeing the pass we were denied earlier - remember, Pereiera got right up to the back of Perrodo in his last stint before pitting.
 
GTE Pro: Calado is keeping the gap stable at 41s in the class lead for #51 AF Corse, with Catsburg still giving chase in the #63 Corvette.
Quote
LMH: An update from Toyota on both its cars after this morning's fuelling worries: "Currently all is stable and the data looks good."
Pit stop
LMP2: Class leader #31 Team WRT pits once again just as third-placed #28 Jota exits the pits. So a whole lap covers P1-3 in class after 20 hours of racing.
GTE Am: After Mastronardi's stop, it's Callum Ilott now back aboard the #80 Iron Lynx Ferrari that runs third in class.
Four hours to go! That's basically a sprint race...
Four hours to go! That's basically a sprint race...
GTE Am: As Perrodo rejoins, the gap between the two leaders is down to just 19s between he and Keating. Can the American close onto the tail of the #83 Ferrari that has led for so long?
Pit stop
LMH: Lopez was probably pushing hard as he was due to pit at the end of that lap. Toyota gives him tyres and fuel, as Lopez stays put in the #7 to keep on trucking. We'll wait to see how that impacts the gap.
GTE Pro: Calado has set a new PB to inch the gap over Catsburg to just over 41s now, as both Porsches pit together once again.
GTE Am: Eight laps after Keating's stop, Perrodo comes in. Looks as though he's staying aboard.

LMH: Lopez is still very much in flatout mode despite his one-lap advantage. A barrier of GTs and LMP2s is weaved through as he keeps pushing approaching the final four hours of racing.

GTE Am: Mastronardi has brought the #80 Iron Lynx car in from third. He'll still be counting his lucky stars that he managed to avoid ploughing into the Alpine when the FCY came out earlier at Arnage.
GTE Am: Keating hasn't really been able to make any inroads into Perrodo's lead. The gap is around 1m40s between the #83 Ferrari and #33 Aston, but the Frenchman is due a stop soon, having taken over 13 laps ago from Nielsen under that fortunately-timed slow zone for Hook's car stranded in the gravel.
GTE Pro: Calado is ever-so-slightly pulling away from Catsburg. The gap was 36s when the Brit got into the leading #51 Ferrari, and he's stretched it to just over 38s.
LMH: Hartley pits in the #8 Toyota which sees it go a lap down on the leading sister car. Lopez is still due to pit so Hartley should return to the lead lap but the gap is now the biggest it has been since the crazy start to this race.
GTE Pro: Calado gets back aboard the #51 car with 36s in hand over Catsburg. Can the Dutchman continue to chip away at the lead?
Pit stop
LMP2: Ye hops out of the #41 Team WRT to allow Deletraz to take over as the team completes a full pitstop.
GTE Pro: The track is back to green, and Catsburg is ready for it. He sets another fastest lap, this time a 3m47.716s just as Ledogar pits from the lead to hand back to Calado.
Green flag
Quick work by the Le Mans marshals as the track is cleared up and the green flag conditions return.
GTE Am: Replays show that Rino Mastronardi in the third-placed #80 Iron Lynx Ferrari was a tad slow in reacting to the FCY and nearly ploughed into the back of the Alpine at Arnage. Thankfully, he avoids a Verstappen-Montoya Brazil 2001-style incident and swerves to avoid contact.
GTE Am: Just before that FCY, Ruberti's #60 Iron Lynx Ferrari did indeed get through on Ried's #77 Proton Porsche to take fifth.
Yellow flag
A full course yellow has been called to allow some track repairs to take place. Time for a tidy up.
LMP2: Ex-F1 driver and current Mercedes FE driver Vandoorne is keeping within touching distance of the Team WRT train in the #28 JOTA, but he really needs a slice of luck from a safety car or misfortune to befall the pair ahead. Vandoorne is 2m10s off Ye in the #41 car, who in turn is 58s off Habsburg in the #31 car.
GTE Pro: Estre is continuing his march away from Makowiecki. The gap between the #92 and #91 Porsche in third and fourth is up to 17s after the latter's small trip into the Mulsanne Corner gravel a few laps back.
GTE Am: The problem for Flohr has promoted Christian Ried's #77 Proton Porsche that ran 22nd in the early stages up to fourth. He's two laps down on the #80 Iron Lynx Ferrari ahead of him, but has the other #60 Iron Lynx car just 5s behind and closing with Paolo Ruberti at the wheel.
GTE Am: Our pitlane source tells us that Keating still has "2ish" hours to complete of his six-hour minimum drive time, and Perrodo has one hour fewer to do. So Keating had better get his skates on...

By: Loris Capirossi

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