Skip to main content

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe
Live text
WEC 24 Hours of Le Mans

Le Mans 24 Hours race day

Live Text

Sort by
Nakajima is now only 3.3s behind fellow countryman Kobayashi. There could finally be a change of overall lead in this race very soon.
Bourdais is in, so it's the two retro-liviered 911s out front in GTE Pro again.
The #91 'Rothmans' Porsche has pitted, allowing the #68 Ford up into second in the hands of Bourdais.
Nakajima has banged in a couple of 3m19s to close the gap to 6.2s at the head of the leaderboard.
Button has just posted the #11 SMP car's fastest first and second sector times of the race. The conditions will be spot-on right now in the cool air of the morning. It's a 3m22.0s he's pumped in there, which is quicker than either of the two Rebellions.
The GTE Pro leader is into the pits in all its pinkness. Vanthoor is getting out and Estre is climbing aboard.
Kobayashi has pitted now. The status quo has more or less been maintained. The gap between the two TS050s is 14s.
It's noticeably lighter now, and the sun has officially risen.
Laurent has been in and out of the pits in the #3 Rebellion. That car (and the sister #1 R-13) has made 25 stops so far, which is two more than either of the Toyotas have had to do.
Kobayashi has rebuffed a couple of fast efforts from Nakajima in recent laps and has increased his lead to 14s in the #7.
The #31 DragonSpeed car has now been hauled back into its garage after recovering to the pits.
Stevens now brings the Panis Barthez Ligier in from second in LMP2. Negrao in the chasing Signatech Alpine had stopped previously, and Stevens - who has emerged from the pits - should end up a decent chunk ahead still.
A flurry of LMP2 stops greets us on this lap, with the leading G-Drive ORECA, sixth-placed Graff, the #32 United Autosports Ligier and #33 DC Racing cars all visiting the pits.
The #31 DragonSpeed car is slow on track on its way down to the Mulsanne corner. Berthon is currently at the wheel of the ORECA.
The #38 DC car is being pushed down pitlane to its box. It's currently 16th in class.
Jani stops in the #1 Rebellion. Looks like they have added some fluid - think it was water rather than oil.
A recent skyline scene on the front stretch. It's a little lighter now - on-board cameras highlight that - but it's still another half hour before sunrise (Photo: LAT)

A recent skyline scene on the front stretch. It's a little lighter now - on-board cameras highlight that - but it's still another half hour before sunrise (Photo: LAT)

With the on-track order fairly settled in the every class, we're being treated to a lot of sleepy garage shots. One innovation has caught our attention - could a reclining mechanic spark a new trend of using a balaclava as a makeshift sleeping mask?
Kobayashi and Nakajima wwere within a hundredth or so of each other that lap. The gap, first to second, is now 12s.
You probably don't need us to say so, but things are as they were in LMP2. The #26 G-Drive ORECA is a lap to the good, with Pizzitola at the wheel, while Stevens in the Panis Barthez Competition Ligier has a 21-second advantage over the Singatech Alpine in the battle for second.
The grandstands look very bare on the front stretch right now, and we're properly into the graveyard shift. Are any of you out there in the grandstands still up? Let us know how you're faring by tweeting @autosport.
After that round of stops in GTE Pro the order is restored. Vanthoor is over two minutes up on team-mate Makowiecki and the Ford with Bourdais driving is a further 45s in arrears.
Bourdais brings the #68 car into the pits. There's a brake change for the car — and a speedy one at that. It was a 1m28s, so only about 20s longer than a usual fuel-and-tyres service.
Nakajima brings the #8 in from second place for its 23rd pitstop of the race.
There's a raft of stoppers in GTE Pro. Remember they can't go beyond 14 laps on a tank of gas by regulation (though didn't really anyway). Vanthoor stops in the leading Porsche, but Bourdais in the second-placed Ganassi Ford owes us a stop.
,... but not for long. Stevens brings the Panis Barthez ORECA in.
A stop there from G-Drive at the top of the P2 leaderboard, so Panis Barthez is back on the lead lap.
Nothing quite like sportscar racing at night is there? Kobayashi's using it to his advantage, pulling the gap back to 12.9s and rebuilding some of the advantage the #7 car enjoyed before Alonso had his say.
It was all going so well for the #52 Ferrari, but its hopes of a podium could be dashed by a 60-second stop/go penalty for speeding in a slow zone. That will be a bitter pill for Pipo Derani to swallow...

By: Matt Beer

Published: