Le Mans 24 Hours race day
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The marshals are replacing a missing 'floppy' in the esses. Those are the things that the drivers are not meant to run over - so there is a similarity with rabbits.
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LMP1
Senna's stop has cost him potentially two laps compared to the sister car of Beche. He's now seventh overall.
LMP2
This safety car could play into TDS's hands later in the race, as Perrodo is using up his allotted driver time without losing any ground to the cars around him. He's kept the car on the lead lap - albiet only just, as race leader Pizzitola is immediately behind him in the safety car queue - but that's about all that could be asked of him.
Green flag
And we go green again.
LMP2
Pizzitola immediately passes Perrodo at the restart and sets about using the clear air in front of him. Don't be surprised to see him clock some fast times in the next few minutes.
LMP1
The Mulsanne is an absolute sea of headlights and cars, with the Toyotas flying through! Nervy moment as Lopez just holds on ahead of Alonso!
This is worse than the M25 at rush hour.
LMP1
Alonso gets baulked by a Ferrari GTE, which ended that exciting minute or so. For now.
GTE PRO
Estre pits from the lead of the GTE Pro class, so he isn't a part of that enormous queue of cars we just saw jockeying for position.
LMP1
Alonso makes a move around the outside heading into the Porsche Curves and has a twitchy moment. That traffic management picked up at Daytona and Le Mans has been handy.
GTE PRO
The 'Pink Pig' exits the pits with its lead in tact, and now a number of other GTE Pro cars are in, including second-placed man Catsburg's BMW.
LMP1
Replays show Alonso within inches of the #80 EBI Motors Porsche on the Mulsanne as he pulled very wide to clear it. He's now almost half a second behind Lopez and the Toyota garage can sit down and catch their breath.
LMP1
And Alonso's now made a move to get back into the lead.
LMP1
Alonso's stretched a lead to almost half a second, you would suspect that traffic swung back in his favour that time.
LMP2
Pizzitola has jumped out of the leading #26 G-Drive car and hands over to Roman Rusinov. The Russian has a minute in hand over Canal, who is due a stop, but more presciently Thiriet is now only 1m07s off the lead in third having also pitted when the safety car came in.
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LMP2
Perrodo has also jumped out of the #28 TDS car and handed over to Matthieu Vaxiviere. He's a very rapid peddler, let's see what he can do to bring down that one lap deficit.
The sun's starting to see here at Le Mans. The slightly overcast conditions are certainly playing a part too.
GTE PRO
That's the rest of the GTE Pro cars in now, and Estre is 1m37s to the good ahead of Catsburg, who keeps second. Bamber and Lietz have jumped up to third and fourth places, with that last safety car helping them catch up after they were done over by the previous one.
LMP1
Alonso's lead is now up to over a second.
Here's the order at the head of the field now we've settled into green flag action again
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The ByKolles driver Kraihamer has his say on his big shunt: "What a bummer.
"I was really fast on my stint. Then I got into the Porsche corners. An LMP2 had passed a GTE-Am car quite far in front of me, I wanted to pass the outside of this vehicle as usual.
"Maybe he was a little off the line and went a bit wide - I don't know. Maybe I misjudged it and it was just a little too much risk. I don't know exactly which car it was.
"I'm fine. I have no injuries whatsoever. But of course, I don't feel happy at all."
"I was really fast on my stint. Then I got into the Porsche corners. An LMP2 had passed a GTE-Am car quite far in front of me, I wanted to pass the outside of this vehicle as usual.
"Maybe he was a little off the line and went a bit wide - I don't know. Maybe I misjudged it and it was just a little too much risk. I don't know exactly which car it was.
"I'm fine. I have no injuries whatsoever. But of course, I don't feel happy at all."
GTE AM
Matt Campbell pits the GTE Am class leading Dempsey-Proton Porsche, which had been 1m30s clear of its opposition.
LMP1
Senna managed to get back in front of Hedman for fifth during that incredible Toyota duel. No surprise there, Hedman's pace has been lacking.
LMP1
The Manor-Ginettas are still on the fringes of the top 20, with Robertson's #5 machine in 19th and Turvey in 21st aboard the sister car.
Fair to say that pass for the lead wasn't particularly contested between the Toyotas
GTE PRO
Uh-oh, the #71 Ferrari goes into the garage. Thanks to its three-minute stop-and-go penalty, it was already a lap off the leaders in class.
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Replays show that Alonso's pass for the lead on Lopez was on the run out of Arnage and Alonso's enjoying that tactic.
LMP1
Lopez was almost a second quicker than Alonso on lap 76, meaning the next tour began with the leader holding a margin of around half a second.
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LMP1
Alonso's responded with a laptime that was over half a second quicker than Lopez. That lead is back up to just over a second and you get the feeling the trading times is going to continue.
LMP1
Button's back in the pits, having spent most of that stint behind the safety car. Unsurprisingly, that machine is still bottom of the order.
Considering Orudzhev's SMP Racing BR1 is still third overall, that must hurt for the #11 team.
Considering Orudzhev's SMP Racing BR1 is still third overall, that must hurt for the #11 team.
Standard shot of GTE Pro action
LMP1
SMP's Orudzhev and DragonSpeed's Hedman both stop on lap 79, from third and sixth respectively.
LMP1
Alonso's starting to consistently edge Lopez's times now, he's managed to get that lead up to 1.5s. For all LMP1-H is a two-car race, it's certainly not been low on excitement.
LMP1
Orudzhev will return third but Hedman's stop means he will drop behind some of the LMP2 contenders.
GTE PRO
Great bit of GTE Pro action - Antonio Felix da Costa picks off not one but two Ford GTs along the Mulsane, the cars of Harry Tincknell and Scott Dixon. Now the Portuguese ace has Mike Rockenfeller's Corvette in his sights up ahead.
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Driver Change
Hedman's handed the car over to Van der Zande now.
By: Matt Beer
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