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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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We don't have a weather logo for mist, but that's what we've got at Le Mans! The bright sunshine has been replaced around the pit area and the skies are far gloomier.
Pit stop
LMH: And now Conway pits from the lead. The #7 car takes on fuel and is on his way, still with a gap.
GTE Pro: Calado has now built up a 1:37 lead in the #51 AF Corse, leading from Garcia's #63 Corvette.
LMH: The #8 Toyota's possible gearbox issue is borne out by the lap times. Nakajima's last was about 3.5s slower than Conway in the lead.
Quote
LMH: Nakajima's not happy in the #8 Toyota! "Something's funny with the engine or gearbox," he reports. The team tells him they know about the problem - but doesn't reveal any details.
Pit stop
LMP2: While focusing on the third and fourth-placed cars pitting, the leading #31 WRT also stops and keeps a lead of around a minute over the sister car.
It's sunrise at Le Mans and we've got eight hours to go.
LMP2: And there has indeed been a change for third. Stevens in the #65 Panis car takes the place as the #28 Jota machine has a longer stop with Gelael handing over to Blomqvist. It's likely Stevens will now continue to pull away.
GTE Am: The #83 of Perrodo has been handed a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pitlane.
Pit stop
LMP2: And it's now a battle of the pit crews as both cars dive in!
LMP2: After getting baulked by the backmarkers, Stevens has regrouped and is starting to close back in on Gelael in the fight for third. He's got the gap down to 1.7s.
Pit stop
LMH: Nakajima dives into the pits from second place in the #8 Toyota, which was around half a minute behind the leader.
LMP2: Inter Europol is on the search for a podium in this class. As others have hit strife, van der Zande has just emerged from the pits and keeps the car fifth in LMP2, around a lap behind the close battle for third.
Night is well and truly over now and the drivers have a different battle on their hands: the sun is shining directly into their faces down at Terte Rouge, as if there aren't enough challenges for the competitors in this race.
GTE Pro: Calado now leads by 1:35 from Garcia, with Estre 30 seconds behind him.
Pit stop
LMP2: Deletraz is now in for a driver change with the #41 WRT machine that was second in class. Kubica emerges from the pits without losing a place.
GTE Am: AF Corse's Perrodo leads from Keating in the #33 TF Sport by over three minutes.
LMP2: One of the cars struggling in the class is #49 High Class machine, with Fjordbach asking the team to check the engine. It's down in 44th place overall.
Pit stop
LMH: The Glickenhaus has now pitted from third, promoting the Alpine back to the place.
LMP2: But, just as we type that, Stevens massively loses out in traffic - such is the nature of Le Mans - and has instantly dropped 2.5s back.
LMP2: The battle for third is getting REALLY close now but still Stevens can't find a way by Gelael. Stevens in the Panis machine is clearly quicker but just can't get ahead.
GTE Pro: AF Corse's Calado leads from the 63 Corvette by 23.582s with just over eight-and-a-half hours to go.
LMH: That stop for the Alpine has promoted the leading Glickenhaus of Derani up to third - but Lapierre is only 20 or so seconds behind.
LMP2: It's still WRT domination in LMP2 with the #31 of Frijns leading the #41 of Deletraz by 25s, but the battle is on third between Gelael in the #28 Jota ORECA and Stevens in the #65 Panis machine.
LMH: With just over a third of the race to go, there's just 26s between the two Toyotas in the lead after that slower stop for Conway in the #7. The Alpine has just dived into the pits and remains in third, four laps further back.
My thanks go to Jamie and Charles for doing a great stint during the night, now the sun's getting brighter and brighter and we have less than nine hours to go.
So, now we're into the daylight hours here at Le Mans, it's time for myself, Jamie, and Charles to sign off. Taking you through the next portion of the race will be Stephen Lickorish and Megan White. Thanks for sticking with us!
Pit stop
LMH: Lopez pits the leading Toyota to hand over to Conway, and it looks like he had a big slide at Mulsanne Corner on his in-lap. New tyres for Conway, but looked like there was a problem with the left-rear wheelgun.
Quote
LMP2: Alex Brundle sounds off about being hit at the end of his stint, that required a new rear body section for the fifth-placed #34 Inter Europol entry: "I got hit directly from behind at the first chicane, it was a big hit, he completely locked up and I was his brakes basically. It didn't feel great coming in. It's frustrating, some people need one or two more club races before they do Le Mans."
GTE Pro: Calado's bought himself some time, as the gap back to Garcia is a relatively comfortable 28s. Estre has just brought in the third-placed #92 Porsche for a stop, but is still some three minutes down on the top two.
Pit stop
LMH: Nakajima pits the #8 Toyota from second place. His pace dropped off at the end of that stint a little.
Pit stop
GTE Pro: Calado brings in the #51 Ferrari from the lead. Soon we'll know the real gap to Garcia's Corvette...
Penalty
LMH: Briscoe will get a 10-second penalty for a pitstop infringement.
LMH: Briscoe has passed Gelael for seventh overall, but is now under investigation.
LMP2: Best battle on track is Gelael v Stevens for third place, with just a couple of seconds between them – but now with the Briscoe Glickenhaus in the mix to confuse the matter.
LMP2: An update on the #22 United Autosports entry, and it's not good news. After replacing lots of parts, they still can't get the battery to take any charge – so now the loom is being changed. Agonizing for a car that was top three not so long ago.
Sun
Ooh, it's definitely starting to get light... it's just coming up for 7am in Le Mans.
Pit stop
GTE Am: Rovera pits in the #83 AF Corse Ferrari from the lead of the class. Now it's Francois Perrodo at the wheel, the car's designated 'Am', but thanks to the hard work of his teammates, he's got a nice buffer over fellow gentleman racer Keating of 2m26s.
Quote
LMP2: Kevin Magnussen has just laid it on the line in his summation of his High Class car's powerplant: "The engine is dead. I was behind a Porsche and it was pulling away. In one minute this engine goes boom."
Stopwatch
LMH: Nakajima has cut Lopez's lead to under one minute.
By: Loris Capirossi
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