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WEC 24 Hours of Le Mans

Le Mans practice and first qualifying

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Hello again, ready for some qualifying? We're underway in less than 15 minutes.
So, Toyota ends up fastest in practice, but only after a late, late Kobayashi effort. Join us again in less than 90 minutes for live updates from the first qualifying session.
Le Mans 24 Hours: Toyota grabs practice top spot from SMP
And here's the cause of the yellow that prevented a late Nakajima improvement

And here's the cause of the yellow that prevented a late Nakajima improvement

So in LMP1, the final order was:

#7 Toyota
#11 SMP Racing
#3 Rebellion Racing
#8 Toyota
#1 Rebellion
#17 SMP Racing
#10 DragonSpeed
#4 ByKolles
Replays show Creed managed not to hit anything, but that Ligier is well and truly buried. His mechanics came oh so close to being able to knock off early for dinner, but will now have to get to work removing gravel from its innards.
And the pitlane fills with cars heading for a well-earned rest.
Nakajima had looked set to improve - perhaps even go quickest - but that yellow flag in the third sector baulked him.
Yellow flags out as the session ends for the #50 Larbre Competition Ligier of Erwin Creed in the gravel at the Porsche Curves. That will hamper Nakajima making any further gains.
Good improvement for Nakajima in the first and second sectors aboard the #8 Toyota.
Julien Andlauer has set a new best time in GTE Am in the #77 Dempsey-Proton Porsche, a 3m55.304s.
And there's one! Kobayashi puts the #7 Toyota on top with just one minute remaining.

His lap was completed in 3m18.091s and puts him 1.840s ahead of SMP driver Vandoorne's prior benchmark.
There's just about enough time for a final flying lap for the LMP1 runners.
The ARC Bratislava Ligier is reported to have stopped on the exit of Mulsanne Corner with gravel on the road. Team owner Miroslav Konopka, a 57-year-old multiple touring car champion in his native Slovakia, is behind the wheel.
All change in GTE Pro, barring the top time - Mathieu Jaminet has restored the earlier Porsche 1-2 by setting a 3m52.464s in the #94 machine, while Sam Bird has put the #71 Ferrari up into third ahead of the best of the Ford GTs.
Menezes's Rebellion is now being pushed into the garage, looks like session over for that crew now that there's just five minutes remaining in the session.
Live footage shows he's nowhere near full-pelt pace as he enters the pitlane.
Menezes is now reported to be moving slowly through the Porsche Curves. It would suggest he's making his way back to the pits at a reduced pace.
Aleshin's replaced Vandoorne in the #11 SMP Racing car, as Dillmann returns to the wheel of the ByKolles and heads out.
The #3 Rebellion of Menezes has been reported as exiting the Mulsanne slowly. Yet to known if it's a genuine problem for the car.
Vandoorne's pitted his SMP Racing machine, joining the ByKolles of Ruberti in the pitlane.
We're in for 10 minutes staring at the leaderboard looking out for new fastest laps. Will Vandoorne stay on top?
Chatin's time of 3m28.363 is still some way off last year's qualifying pace though. He clocked a 3m24.842s to take pole last year, so we've still got some way to go...
Whoops, another spin for Frits Van Eerd at the Dunlop Chicane has distracted us from a new fastest lap in LMP2 - it's last year's poleman Paul-Loup Chatin in the 28 IDEC Sport ORECA.
So at the moment, the LMP1 leaderboard looks like:

#11 SMP Racing
#3 Rebellion Racing
#7 Toyota
#8 Toyota
#1 Rebellion
#17 SMP Racing
#10 DragonSpeed
#4 ByKolles
The first chicane yellow flag was caused by the #60 Kessel Racing Ferrari. Claudio Schiavoni is behind the wheel.
Vandoorne has put the #11 SMP Racing machine on top of the times with a 3m19.931s effort.
There's a yellow at the favourite spot of the first Mulsanne chicane.
Another improvement in GTE Pro as Stefan Mucke goes seventh in the #66 Ford. Next time by, he improves to a 3m52.778s, good enough to go second. Still the #92 Porsche on top in class.
Into the final 20 minutes now and there's only been the Lopez improvement to report in LMP1.

Our report writers will be hoping it stays that way...
There are a few cars making improvements at the moment. Defending LMP2 winner Nicolas Lapierre has gone sixth in LMP2 in the #36 Signatech-Alpine, while Alex Brundle and Paul-Loup Chatin have also posted personal bests in the #32 United Autosports Ligier and #28 IDEC Sport ORECA.
Every LMP1 car is on track now except the ByKolles of Webb.
Here's the first instance of Van Eerd pointing the wrong way in the Racing Team Nederland Dallara (yes, it's the correct picture this time)

Here's the first instance of Van Eerd pointing the wrong way in the Racing Team Nederland Dallara (yes, it's the correct picture this time)

That Lopez improvement puts him 0.395s off the #3 Rebellion's class-leading time.

By: Matt Beer

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