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24 Hours of Le Mans
The 76th Le Mans 24 Hours
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So it is Tom Kristensen leading from Marc Gene and Mike Rockenfeller as the race takes a dramatic turn in the rain with under ten hours remaining.
Jacques Villeneuve tells Radio Le Mans that he spent the first two stints going slowly to protect the temperatures, and then after the quick stop to cool everything down with the liquid nitrogen that the car ran much better. He also states that the car was very difficult to drive when the team fitted the full wet tyres to the car.
The No.1 Audi of Beila has pitted and is underway again in fifth.
Repairs are almost complete on the No.11 Dome Judd that went straight on into the tyre barrier a short time ago. In the next few minutes the car should be able to rejoin the race.
Heavy rain is falling around the circuit as conditions get wetter by the lap.
Tom Kristensen is sprinting off in to the distance and already has a lead of 30 seconds from Marc Gene.
In the Peugeot No.8 pit we see Alex Wurz with his helmet on. The Austrian will take over the sixth placed car from Stephane Sarrazin when the Frenchman pits soon.
The No.8 does indeed come into the pits and Alex Wurz takes it out onto the circuit.
Jaime Melo pits the No.82 Ferrari from the LMGT2 lead and is away once again. They still have over a lap on the Tim Sugden No.96.
The No.11 Dome Judd is finally repaired and it too rejoins the race. However it has dropped so far down the field that it is currently in the 31st position.
The sky begins to brighten as dawn nears in Le Mans.
Tom Kristensen is pushing hard and now has the No.2 Audi over 50 seconds in the lead over Gene in the No.7 Peugeot.
Jos Verstappen is at the wheel of the Van Merksteijn Porshe RS Spyder in the LMP2 lead. Team Essex continue to run second in class and pit for a change of driver to John Nielsen.
The Team Essex car of John Nielsen is struggling to get up to speed after the stop and may still be struggling with the misfire we reported earlier.
The deadlock is showing signs of breaking in the GT1 category.
Andy Garcia in the leading Aston Martin 009 had alsmost a three minute lead over the No.63 Corvette. These two cars have been fighting tooth and nail for many hours, never more than 90 seconds apart.
The gap was up to 2 minutes 50 seconds but Garcia has just been into the pits . We will monitor the gap and update when the positions sort themselves out.
Andy Garcia in the leading Aston Martin 009 had alsmost a three minute lead over the No.63 Corvette. These two cars have been fighting tooth and nail for many hours, never more than 90 seconds apart.
The gap was up to 2 minutes 50 seconds but Garcia has just been into the pits . We will monitor the gap and update when the positions sort themselves out.
As light levels continue to increase, balls of spray can be seen coming off the cars and visibility is very poor in traffic.
The No.21 Epsilon Euskadi has mechanical trouble yet again. The team are attempting to fix it with the engine cover off on pit lane.
The No.21 is quickly repaired and is heading back out on to the circuit.
The story of the race has changed overnight.
The No.7 Peugeot at one stage enjoyed its healthiest lead to date a few hours ago - up towards three minutes. Since 02:30 local time Jacques Villeneuve completed a triple-stint. He was forced to back off the pace a little due to fears of increasing temperatres. A quick stop to cool the 908 HDi, allied to Villeneuve's reduced pace and the recent rain, have all contributed to the situation we have now - that of the Audi No.2 leading and comfortably pulling away from the Peugeot No.7 (now with Gene at the wheel).
Peugeot must be hoping that the rain eases and the track dries out as quickly as possible. They have proved that in the dry they have the faster package. However if the rain continues and the Audi builds up enough of a lead, it may be too late for the Peugeot squad to catch the leading R10.
The No.7 Peugeot at one stage enjoyed its healthiest lead to date a few hours ago - up towards three minutes. Since 02:30 local time Jacques Villeneuve completed a triple-stint. He was forced to back off the pace a little due to fears of increasing temperatres. A quick stop to cool the 908 HDi, allied to Villeneuve's reduced pace and the recent rain, have all contributed to the situation we have now - that of the Audi No.2 leading and comfortably pulling away from the Peugeot No.7 (now with Gene at the wheel).
Peugeot must be hoping that the rain eases and the track dries out as quickly as possible. They have proved that in the dry they have the faster package. However if the rain continues and the Audi builds up enough of a lead, it may be too late for the Peugeot squad to catch the leading R10.
Rain continues to fall on the circuit, although it is no longer as heavy as experienced earlier
The No.64 Corvette comes into the pits. Oliver Gavin climbs out of the car handing over to Olivier Beretta.
Tom Kristensen leads by over a minute but has just had a moment on the Mulsanne straight. He got the braking all wrong for one of the chicanes and was forced to weave through the tyres while taking to the escape road.
The No.45 Embassy Racing Zytec is again needing mechanical attention and has been pushed back in to the garage.
At the front of the GT1 category, the 009 Aston Martin continues to lead. We mentioned a short time ago that the deadlock may have been broken.
In the rain that would seem to be the case, as Andy Garcia now enjoys a lead of two minutes over the No.63 Corvette, with Ron Fellows now behind the steering wheel.
In the rain that would seem to be the case, as Andy Garcia now enjoys a lead of two minutes over the No.63 Corvette, with Ron Fellows now behind the steering wheel.
With just nine hours remaining, Kristensen leads by over a minute from Marc Gene's Peugeot.
Mike Rockenfeller is third in the No.3 Audi, a lap down on Gene, with Ricardo Zonta in the No.9 Peugeot over a minute further behind.
Mike Rockenfeller is third in the No.3 Audi, a lap down on Gene, with Ricardo Zonta in the No.9 Peugeot over a minute further behind.
The rain has eased off considerably in the last few minutes.
Very light rain continues to fall in the pitlane.
Very light rain continues to fall in the pitlane.
As the rain eases, Marc Gene is starting to bounce back for Peugeot. He is now lapping slightly quicker than the leader and has the gap stabilised at around one minute.
The fourth-placed No.9 driven by Ricardo Zonta comes into the pits. A fresh set of full wet tyres are taken and a tank of diesel.
Driver change for the No.9 during this stop as well. Zonta climbs out, handing over to Franck Montagny. The car is down off the jacks and Franck gets away.
Driver change for the No.9 during this stop as well. Zonta climbs out, handing over to Franck Montagny. The car is down off the jacks and Franck gets away.
Marc Gene pits the No.7 Peugeot, takes more full wet tyres and is back in the race.
The No.3 Audi comes into the pits from third position. Mike Rockenfeller stays in the car, takes on a fresh set of tyres, fuel, and he rejoins the race.
Tom Kristensen pits the No.2 Audi from the lead. Allan McNish climbs aboard to take over the car with new tyres and a tank of fuel.
Track conditions are in fact improving quite a lot round the back of the circuit while light rain continues at start-finish. The track condition overall is more into a damp condition than fully wet as it was an hour ago.
The pack of cars circulating have reduced the water levels on the racing line to a manageable condition. Rain is still falling, however.
The No.1 Audi comes onto pitroad. A fresh set of full wet tyres are taken and a tank of fuel. Frank Biela remains on board and he rejoins the race still in fifth position.
Allan McNish is being closed down for the lead after a quick lap of 3:55 from Marc Gene in the second-placed Peugeot.
Jos Verstappen remains in control of LMP2 after another pit call in the Van Merksteijn Porsche.
The rain has been falling a bit heavier again in the last few minutes as the laptime edge back towards the four minute mark.
The No.16 Pescarolo has been pushed back in to the garage. The car was running eighth before the stop with Jean-Christophe Boullion at the wheel.
Marc Gene continues to close in on McNish for the lead as the balance of performance between the Audis and Peugeots has changed once again.
The No.5 Courage-Oreca is making another visit to its garage. The mechanics have both the front and rear bodywork off the car.
By: Geoff Creighton, Emlyn Hughes
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