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24 Hours of Le Mans
Le Mans 24 Hours practice and first qualifying
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LMP2
There's a black and white flag out for the #22 United Autosports car - which Paul di Resta is currently at the wheel of - for an abuse of track limits.
LMP1
Couple more driver changes in LMP1, Egor Orduzhev is now in the #17 SMP Racing machine and Mathias Beche now drives the #3 Rebellion car.
Quote
Here's Button, who's been out of the second SMP car for around 10 minutes now.
"We have a few issues with the balance that we didn’t have so much at the test, [we're] just working out why that is. There’s always lots of adjustments to do through a 24-hour race, the temperature changes a lot, it’s about getting a balance that works in every condition.”
"We have a few issues with the balance that we didn’t have so much at the test, [we're] just working out why that is. There’s always lots of adjustments to do through a 24-hour race, the temperature changes a lot, it’s about getting a balance that works in every condition.”
LMP1
Kazuki Nakajima is looking ready to get into the #8 Toyota shortly, suggesting Alonso's stint may soon be ending.
LMP1
Aside from the Manor-Ginettas, neither of which have set a time, there's only one other LMP1 car not out on track at the moment. The third-placed SMP Racing BR1 - which is only just over a second off the pace - is currently in its box.
GTE PRO
We still haven't seen much of the two new cars in GTE Pro, the BMW M8 and the new-generation Aston Martin Vantage. BMW lies 12th and 16th in class, Aston 14th and 17th.
LMP2
The two Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECAs have returned to the track after their earlier issues. Jazeman Jaafar is currently eighth in class in the #37 machine, Stephane Richelmi P16 in the #38.
LMP1
Here's a first bit of LMP1 racing of the Le Mans week as the #7 Toyota - the current practice pacesetter - catches one of the Rebellions into the Ford chicane. There's not much of a contest, though, as the Rebellion backs out of Conway's way out of the final corner.
LMP1
Alonso's improves to a 3m21.437s, which is marginally faster than the best time Buemi set when he was in the #8 Toyota.
LMP2
Pastor Maldonado is turning some quick laps aboard the #31 DragonSpeed ORECA. The Venezuelan goes up to P4 with his latest effort, a 3m28.239s.
LMP1
We've had a few driver changeovers in the last few minutes with Henrik Hedman replacing Hanley in the #10 Dragonspeed, Neel Jani stepping into the #1 Rebellion seat vacated by Lotterer and Mikhail Aleshin has replaced Button in the #11 SMP Racing machine.
LMP1
The ByKolles car has been reported to the stewards for dangerous driving, with Oli Webb currently at the wheel of that machine.
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With an hour of practice down, here’s a quick look at how things are shaping up so far:
LMP1: The two Toyotas are back on top of the timesheets with Mike Conway setting a best lap of 3.20.723s in the #7 car. The sister #8 entry is 0.726 seconds back, with Fernando Alonso now at the wheel. The non-hybrid LMP1s were briefly able to split the Toyotas when Dragonspeed's Ben Hanley went second. Alonso's ex-Formula 1 team-mate Jenson Button is sixth in class aboard the SMP Racing #11 car. The Manor Ginettas are yet to set a competitive time after an early stoppage on track for the #5 car.
LMP2: It's been all-ORECA in the early running, with the top five places filled by the French marque. Paul-Loup Chatin set the early pace in the #48 IDEC Sport machine with a time of 3m37.054s, 1.2s up on Loic Duval in the #28 TDS entry. Tristan Gommendy in the #39 Graff-SO24 car is third, ahead of the two G-Drive machines of Roman Rusinov and James Allen. Ex-F1 driver Felipe Nasr is the best of the rest in the #47 Cetilar Vilorba Corse Dallara.
GTE Pro: It's a Porsche 1-2 at the head of the order, with Earl Bamber setting a fastest time of 3m52.656s in the #93 911 before later skipping across the gravel on the approach to the pitlane. Nick Tandy is now in the #93, which is a mere 0.070s faster than the sister #91 car. Fords then occupy third to fifth, with Davide Rigon in the #71 AF Corse Ferrari the final car within a second of the pace in class in sixth.
GTE Am: A Porsche also leads the way in GTE Am, with the #86 Gulf Racing 911 of Ben Barker out in front. The TF Sport Aston is second, seven tenths back, with a second Am Porsche - the #56 Team Project 1 car - third.
LMP1: The two Toyotas are back on top of the timesheets with Mike Conway setting a best lap of 3.20.723s in the #7 car. The sister #8 entry is 0.726 seconds back, with Fernando Alonso now at the wheel. The non-hybrid LMP1s were briefly able to split the Toyotas when Dragonspeed's Ben Hanley went second. Alonso's ex-Formula 1 team-mate Jenson Button is sixth in class aboard the SMP Racing #11 car. The Manor Ginettas are yet to set a competitive time after an early stoppage on track for the #5 car.
LMP2: It's been all-ORECA in the early running, with the top five places filled by the French marque. Paul-Loup Chatin set the early pace in the #48 IDEC Sport machine with a time of 3m37.054s, 1.2s up on Loic Duval in the #28 TDS entry. Tristan Gommendy in the #39 Graff-SO24 car is third, ahead of the two G-Drive machines of Roman Rusinov and James Allen. Ex-F1 driver Felipe Nasr is the best of the rest in the #47 Cetilar Vilorba Corse Dallara.
GTE Pro: It's a Porsche 1-2 at the head of the order, with Earl Bamber setting a fastest time of 3m52.656s in the #93 911 before later skipping across the gravel on the approach to the pitlane. Nick Tandy is now in the #93, which is a mere 0.070s faster than the sister #91 car. Fords then occupy third to fifth, with Davide Rigon in the #71 AF Corse Ferrari the final car within a second of the pace in class in sixth.
GTE Am: A Porsche also leads the way in GTE Am, with the #86 Gulf Racing 911 of Ben Barker out in front. The TF Sport Aston is second, seven tenths back, with a second Am Porsche - the #56 Team Project 1 car - third.
LMP1
Alonso has yet to improve on Buemi's 3m21.449s time that trails Conway's time by 0.726s, although the McLaren F1 driver is on his early laps.
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Toyota boss Pascal Vasselon briefs Alonso with some notes before the start of his stint: “Little bit of understeer and a low brake pressure, so a little bit of instability.”
LMP1
Alonso is out on track! The Spaniard's on his first lap in the #8 Toyota.
LMP2
Replays show one of the United Autosports Ligiers running a bit wide at the Dunlop Chicane and losing a piece of bodywork over the kerbs, but no harm done. They're clearly having to push to keep on terms with the ORECAs.
LMP1
There's a hive of activity in the pitlane, with both Toyotas in the pits.
LMP1
For those who enjoy a good Fernando Alonso watch, he's in the #8 car so it won't be long until he hits the track.
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Another message from race control up on the screens now to declare slow zone speeds are being investigated.
LMP1
It's now Bruno Senna in the #1 Rebellion, with its best time still fifth in class.
Green flag
No major trouble with that slow zone, though - that's now been lifted and the track is clear again.
GTE PRO
Sebastien Bourdais has just taken the #68 Ford - which is currently third in the GTE Pro order - back out on track.
Porsche's Earl Bamber, meanwhile, has just had a bit of a lairy trip across the gravel after locking up his left-front on his way into the pits.
Porsche's Earl Bamber, meanwhile, has just had a bit of a lairy trip across the gravel after locking up his left-front on his way into the pits.
Yellow flag
We have a double yellow slow zone.
Stopwatch
Change at the top of the times, Conway's 3m21.376s lap is now the benchmark. That's 0.073s clear of Buemi and almost a second quicker than the fastest non-hybrid LMP1s car driven by Dragonspeed's Hanley.
LMP2
Given that last year's poletime from Alex Lynn was a 3m25.352s, there's plenty of time left in the LMP2 class. Current pace-setter Chatin in the #48 IDEC Sport ORECA is the only driver under the 3m28s bracket so far, 1.144s ahead of Loic Duval.
LMP1
Button's continued to improve, he's now sixth in class with a 3m23.689s lap.
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GTE PRO
Update on the GTE Pro teams we haven't mentioned so far - Ferrari's #71 car is the best non Ford/Porsche in sixth, the top Aston Martin is 10th and the best of the BMWs is 14th.
LMP1
The Toyotas no longer hold the top two spots as Ben Hanley splits them with a 3m22.324s in the #10 Dragonspeed car.
LMP2
The two Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECAs remain the only cars in class yet to set a time.
Green flag
And we're back to green conditions almost instantly.
GTE PRO
Richard Lietz splits the Fords at the top of the GTE Pro times in the #91 Porsche before going quickest with a 3m52.726s.
So it's Porsche, followed by the four Fords - #68, #69, #66 and #67.
So it's Porsche, followed by the four Fords - #68, #69, #66 and #67.
LMP1
Tom Dillmann had a moment in the ByKolles car, skating across the gravel at Tetre Rouge before rejoining the circuit.
Yellow flag
We have a yellow flag.
LMP2
The top four in class are all ORECAs. Paul Loup Chatin is the current pacesetter in the #48 IDEC Sport machine, ahead of Duval, then Gommendy and James Allen in the Graff-run #40 G-Drive Racing ORECA. Best of the rest is Felipe Nasr in the #47 Cetilar Villorba Corse Dallara, 2.1 seconds off the pace.
LMP1
One-time Formula 1 champion Jenson Button's completed his first flyer in the #11 SMP Racing BR1 with a time of 3m29.011s. That's a distant seventh in class for now.
GTE AM
Ben Barker has set the best time in GTE Am of the afternoon so far in the #86 Gulf Racing Porsche, surpassing Bergmeister's previous best by some six tenths.
By: Matt Beer
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