Le Mans practice and first qualifying
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Good afternoon! Thanks for joining us for coverage of the Le Mans 24 Hours week (or weekend?), starting with live updates from Wednesday's practice session.
Rain
Let's get straight to the thing you're all wondering about right now - the weather. It's pretty mixed right now, so don't be misled by the rain icon. It was bucketing down an hour or two ago and the threat of rain remains in the air, although the sun is currently poking through the clouds where we're situated on the main straight.
You wouldn't know how heavy the rain had been looking at the track surface, though, which should mean a decent flood of cars take straight to the track at the start of this four-hour session. A handful of cars, led by one of the SMP LMP1s, are already at the end of the pitlane.
Both Toyotas are also in that queue.
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Green flag
Green light at the end of the pitlane - practice is underway!
A smattering of LMP2 machinery heads out on track - namely the #20 High Class Racing entry, the #22 United Autosports car and the #23 Panis-Barthez entry.
Decent amount of spray being kicked up on the Mulsanne straight by those cars that have taken to track in these opening minutes.
Anders Fjordbach sets the first LMP2 time with a lap completed in 4m14.043s aboard the #20 High Class ORECA-Gibson 07.
Autosport
We've seen had a shot of the #1 Rebellion - though it was hard to distinguish in a blur of colour - returning to the pits. If you weren't already aware, both of the team's cars are in pretty funky colours this weekend. 
Stopwatch
First times on the board for LMP1s - Mike Conway has set a 3m42.606s in the #7 Toyota, which is 0.366s faster than the sister #8 car of Fernando Alonso has managed.
GTE PRO
And we have a GTE Pro time on the board. Porsche's Mathieu Jaminet gets us going with a 4m27.185s in the #94 machine, which is one of the CORE Autosport-run IMSA cars.
LMP1
Conway has improved to a 3m41.052s at the head of this wet-shod order.
Pit stop
Conway was the only LMP1 car out on track, but has returned the #7 to the Toyota garage.
LMP2
The quickest LMP2 lap so far has been set by the #29 Racing Team Netherland Dallara, sporting a 1992 tribute Minardi livery, with ex-F1 driver Giedo van der Garde clocking in on 3m47.063s. It's one of two Dallaras in the race, but as with fellow P217 runners Villorba Corse, Le Mans is set to be the team's final appearance with the car before switching to ORECA for the 2019-2020 WEC.
LMP1
The #7 Toyota is back out on track pretty swiftly after that initial pit visit, though.
GTE AM
There are a few GTE Am times trickling in now, fastest of which is Come Ledogar in the #57 CarGuy Racing Ferrari with a 4m18.600s. That's another car that's tricky to miss, as it's sporting a fairly garish fluorescent yellow paintjob for this race.
Apologies, Gary Watkins has pointed out that the Racing Team Netherlands livery is more reminiscent of the 1990 Minardi M190 (which caused a shock by qualifying on the front row in Phoenix) than the M192 of '92. You can't say we're not sticklers for detail! Could the Dallara cause a similar shock in qualifying here?
Stopwatch
Major improvement from Conway on his first timed lap out of the pits - it's a 3m30.432s for the Toyota this time. Still a long way off what we're expecting, of course.
GTE PRO
Gianmaria Bruni has lowered the GTE Pro bar to a 4m17.797s in another of the Porsches, the #91 machine. Both of the Manthey-run cars are sporting gold sections on their liveries this weekend to mark the Weissach marque's already-sealed WEC manufacturers' title.
GTE PRO
Bruni goes quicker now on a 4m15.796s. Still just the two Porsches that have set times in GTE Pro so far.
LMP1
Alonso is back out in the #8 Toyota, while the #1 Rebellion-Gibson R-13 and The ByKolles are also on track.
LMP2
We've got a new quickest time in LMP2, with two-time Le Mans winner Romain Dumas now topping the times in the #30 Duqueine Engineering ORECA, which is making its first appearance at Le Mans this year. The team is owned by ex-F3 racer Gilles Duqueine, who was paralysed in a road accident in 1985, and based in the same town of Ales that Dumas grew up in.
LMP1
Conway shaved a further three seconds off his personal best on his most recent lap, so is now down to a 3m27.743s. For reference, the fastest time set in the test day earlier this month was Sebastien Buemi's 3m19.440s in the #8 TS050 HYBRID.
Stopwatch
Dumas is currently only a second and a half slower than the #8 Toyota, but we don't expect that to remain the case this weekend.
Crash
The ByKolles, which was circulating with its right-hand door open, is now back in the pits.
Stopwatch
Change of pacesetter! Thomas Laurent sends the #3 Rebellion to the top of the times with a 3m26.618s. Alonso laps just 0.185s slower to slot into second.
GTE AM
Couple of new quickest times in Am. First Matt Griffin shaved a small fraction off the existing benchmark in the Clearwater Racing Ferrari, but now the best time is that of Giorgio Roda in the #88 Proton Competition Porsche, a 4m18.015s.
Stopwatch
Laurent improves to a 3m24.057s in the yellow/green/white/pink #3 Rebellion to extend his advantage over Alonso, who set a fastest middle sector of all on his most recent lap but failed to improve.
LMP1
That's partly because he - like Conway - dived for the pits at the end of that lap. Both are back on track now.
LMP2
Times are starting to tumble now across the classes. Phil Hanson has just gone quickest in LMP2 by three seconds in the #22 United Autosports Ligier, setting a 3m41.592s.
GTE PRO
Ferrari deposes Porsche from the top of the times in GTE Pro, thanks to Miguel Molina's 4m01.074s effort in the #71 AF Corse-run 488 GTE.
LMP1
The #1 Rebellion (that's the black/green/yellow/pink car) has a time on the board, although Andre Lotterer's 3m28.317s is five seconds slower than Laurent's new 3m22.941s benchmark.
GTE PRO
Moments later, Richard Lietz responds with a 4m00.409s, putting the #91 Porsche back on top.
LMP1
And a Toyota is on top of the times once again, which isn't too surprising. - Conway's put the #7 car clear with a 3m22.165s effort.
That's 0.7s clear of Laurent's best in his flurry of fast laps in the #3 Rebellion.
That's 0.7s clear of Laurent's best in his flurry of fast laps in the #3 Rebellion.
GTE PRO
Times dropping fast in GTE Pro now. Molina just gave us our first sub-four minute effort of the week in the #71 Ferrari, before that was blown out of the water by Nick Tandy in the #93 Porsche. The former outright winner posts a 3m55.742s to go top of the order.
LMP1
There's an improvement from Lotterer, who goes up to second in the #1 Rebellion on a 3m22.468s.
LMP2
United Autosports are now 1-2 in LMP2, with Hanson improving to a 3m35.407s, with team-mate Ryan Cullen nine tenths behind him. They're still currently the only cars under the 3m40 barrier.
GTE AM
Times in GTE Am are tumbling towards the four-minute mark too. Charlie Eastwood is quickest for now on a 4m02.040s in the TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage.
LMP1
Leading LMP1 times:
1 #7 Toyota 3m22.165s; 2 #1 Rebellion +0.303s; 3 #3 Rebellion +0.776s; 4 #8 Toyota +1.123s; 5 #11 SMP 7.627s.
1 #7 Toyota 3m22.165s; 2 #1 Rebellion +0.303s; 3 #3 Rebellion +0.776s; 4 #8 Toyota +1.123s; 5 #11 SMP 7.627s.
By: Matt Beer
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