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24 Hours of Le Mans
Le Mans 24 Hours Live Commentary and Updates
Updates and live commentary throughout the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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GTE Am: Or at least that was the gap until Pereira pitted at the end of that lap, the 256th for the Aston.
GTE Am: We've not updated you with the gap between the two leaders for a while now. Nielsen, who is putting in a marathon effort in this race, has 39s on pursuer Pereira.
Pit stop
LMH: Lopez has jumped back into the leading #7 Toyota, taking over from Kobayashi, with everything looking calm and controlled during the pitstop.
GTE Pro: We hadn't notified you before, but the #64 Corvette has rejoined after spending some time in the garage to replace the alternator. It's still showing as seventh in GTE Pro although the HubAuto car ahead of it has stopped and we believe is out. It only has one more lap to do to get ahead though.
Stopwatch
LMP2: The #41 Team WRT, driven by Yifei Ye, isn't giving up its victory push against its sister car as the Chinese driver sets his car's fastest lap of the race of 3m31.957s. The #31 Team WRT, with Mailleux at the controls, still holds a two-minute advantage out in front.
GTE Pro: While we were updating you on the progress of the Porsches, Fred Makowiecki made a blunder which could have been very costly in - of all places - the Porsche Curves with a mid-corner wobble that causes his #91 911 RSR-19 to kiss the wall on the right-hand side. He's very lucky to get away with that one.
GTE Pro: To cover off the issues for the other Porsches - the #79 WeatherTech car had dropped away from the leaders when Cooper MacNeil shunted at the Ford curves, damaging the chassis beyond repair, while the #72 HubAuto car that struggled to fight back from being turned around at the start earned drive-through penalties for track limits and passing under yellows before stopping while running P5 with an electronic-related gearbox issue.
As we see gratuitous shots of mechanics drinking coffee, we're grateful for the ever-plentiful supply of biscuits on our desk to keep us going. What is your Le Mans snack of choice?
GTE Pro: Where did it go wrong for Porsche? After a spin for Estre dropped him to the back in the early laps, #92 had fought back into the lead group through safety cars and slow zones - only for the very things that had helped them to split them off again from the leaders. Since Jani was challenging Bird for second last night, they haven't really been close to the sharp end. #91 was set back early doors by contact with an LMP2 car, and has never really been at the races since.
LMH: The gaps at the front have stabilised again with Kobayashi keeping a three-minute buffer over Buemi in the fight for the win between the Toyotas. The #36 Alpine, four laps back on the leaders, holds third with a 41s gap to the #708 Glickenhaus.
GTE Pro: Neel Jani is now back aboard the #92 Porsche, taking over from Michael Christensen. He's up to third after the numerous delays striking the #52 Ferrari, but is going to need some more misfortune to befall others if he is to rise up the order and challenge for a class win to add to the outright victory he achieved in 2016.
GTE Am: The order in GTE Am is: 1 #83 AF Corse (Nielsen); 2 #33 TF Sport (Pereira); 3 #80 Iron Lynx (Mastronardi); 4 #54 AF Corse (Fisichella); 5 #77 Dempsey - Proton Racing (Campbell)
It is time for the latest stint changeover of our own as Stephen and Megan head off to hunt out a late breakfast. For the next three hours, refreshed from our own refuelling, James and I will see how this race unfolds.
GTE Pro: The order in GTE Pro is: 1 #51 AF Corse (Ledogar); 2 #63 Corvette Racing (Taylor); 3 #92 Porsche (Christensen); 4 #91 Porsche (Makowiecki); 5 #52 AF Corse (Bird)
Breaking news
LMP2: The order in LMP2 is. 1 #31 WRT (Milesi); 2 #41 WRT (Ye) +2m13s; 3 #28 Jota (Gelael); 4 #65 Panis Racing (Allen); 5 #34 Inter Europol (Smiechowski)
Breaking news
LMH: With six hours left on the clock, here's the order in LMH. 1 Toyota #7 (Kobayashi); 2. Toyota #8 (Buemi) - 1 lap; 3 Alpine #36 (Negrao); 4 Glickenhaus #708 (Mailleux); 5 (8th overall) Glickenhaus #709 (Dumas).
Pit stop
LMP2: As with last time, three of the top four LMP2 runners pit on the same lap and again the order remains unchanged. There's been a driver change for the #28, though, with Gelael taking back over from Blomqvist.
Green flag
GTE Pro: Bird has made it back to the pits after a blowout but he's suffered a lot of damage to the front of his Ferrari.
Pit stop
LMH: During this slow zone, Pla brings the lead Glickenhaus in for its 21st stop - two fewer pit visits than the Toyota at the front.
GTE Pro: Lietz pits in the #91 Porsche to swap with Makowiecki.
Yellow flag
GTE Pro: Yellow flags are out after Sam Bird's blowout in the #52 Ferrari - he's running very slowly in an attempt to get back to the pits.
Here's a chance to catch your breath after those dramatic few minutes and recap the past few hours:
LMH: Whatever the issue was for the #8 Toyota, Buemi seems to have resolved it as his last lap was a 3m31.838s, right back on the pace it had previously been running at.
GTE Pro: Huge blowout for the #52 Ferrari of Sam Bird!
Pit stop
LMH: Away from the troubles for the #8 Toyota, the #7 machine now heads to the pits.
LMH: That trouble for the #8 means the second Toyota is now a lap behind the lead car. A fourth consecutive win for that crew looks increasingly unlikely.
LMH: Things clearly hadn't been well with the #8 Toyota for quite some time - reports of a gearbox issue and refuelling troubles. The car briefly ground to a halt but Buemi seems to have done a reset and the car is back going again and does not return to the pits.
Mechanical problem
LMH: Drama for the #8 Toyota! Buemi's going slow.
Pit stop
LMP2: Kubica pits the second-placed WRT ORECA, which was around 90s behind its class-leading sister car. Kubica hands over to Ye for the next stint.
GTE Pro: Côme Ledogar is now in the leading #51 Ferrari.
Sun
The sun is shining over the Circuit de la Sarthe and it's 21C as we head towards the six-hours remaining mark.
LMP2: We've not spoken about the battle for third in LMP2 for a while and that's because Blomqvist is surging away in the #28 Jota ORECA. Amateur Allen is now in the #65 Panis car and is losing several seconds per lap.
Pit stop
LMH: Negrao now dives into the pits from third having just set the Alpine's best lap of the race so far with a 3m29.478s, which is faster than the Toyotas are managing at the moment.
GTE Pro: The #63 of Jordan Taylor, running second in his class, pits briefly.
Pit stop
LMH: Things may be going well for #7, but it's not for the #8 Toyota. Buemi is back in the pits again, just three laps after his last visit, which suggests there's more strife than just a refuelling issue.
Quote
LMH: He may be enjoying a comfortable lead with the #7 car but Mike Conway isn't getting complacent after his latest successful stint. "So far so good on our side but there's still a long way to go," he says. "We have a decent margin to third place as well." As Toyota well knows at Le Mans, anything can still happen in the remaining six and a half hours.
Sun
Earlier we talked about the mist and fog engulfing parts of the track but the sun is now shining over the Circuit de la Sarthe once more.
GTE Pro: The #51 of Pier Guidi currently leads his class by 1m13s.
Mechanical problem
LMH: Our sportscar guru GARY WATKINS has more details on the short stints for the second-placed #8 Toyota, as it makes its latest visit to the pits. He says there's a refuelling issue and that explains the small gap between its recent stops.
By: Loris Capirossi
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