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24 Hours of Le Mans
The 76th Le Mans 24 Hours
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The rain holds off in the cool morning air and the track is drying slowly again. The racing line is damp. Offline is still fairly wet - enough to still throw up rooster tails of spray from the cars.
Allan McNish is still setting a stunning pace in the lead as his run of over three hours at the wheel is almost at an end.
Allan McNish pits the No.2 Audi from the lead, handing over the reigns to Rinaldo Capello.
The No.7 Peugeot comes into the pits, takes on fresh tyres and fuel.
Oh it's a long stop for the No.7 car as the team decide to change the rear bodywork. The engine cover was changed for one that is set up for drier conditions.
Nicolas Minassian remains on board for another stint.
Oh it's a long stop for the No.7 car as the team decide to change the rear bodywork. The engine cover was changed for one that is set up for drier conditions.
Nicolas Minassian remains on board for another stint.
The No.7 car now appears to be over one lap down on the lead Audi after that long stop.
Vanina Ickx has just had an incident at Arnage in the rollcentre Racing Pescarolo Judd. She went straight on towards the tyres but didn't touch them. The marshals help her back onto the road and the No.18 car continues, still in tenth position.
The No.8 Peugeot pits from its long-term sixth position. Stephane Sarrazin remains as the driver and he is away with fuel and new tyres.
Emanuele Pirro has had a spin in the No.1 Audi. He didn't hit anything solid and quickly looped the car back round and is underway again in fifth.
Pirro pits the No.1 and hands the Audi over to Marco Werner.
No.3 is the next Audi to pit from fourth. Alexandre Premat retains his post in the car and is back out with fuel and fresh rubber.
At the front of the pack the No.2 Audi continues to lead very comfortably as we approach 19 hours completed. Rinaldo Capello is at the wheel and he has put a lap on the second placed Peugeot No.7 car.
The Peugeot had a rear bodywork modification made to it at the last pitstop, scuppering their challenge. In the minor delay Capello want through to put his nearest challenger one lap down.
In third position is the No.9 Peugeot. Christian Klien is in that car at the moment and is setting competitive laptimes.
In fourth position we find the No.3 Audi. Alexandre Premat in fact brings that car into the pits and rejoins still in the same position.
Emanuele Pirro is fifth and has also just pitted following that spin a short time ago. Marco Werner now takes over that car. Stephane Sarrazin is the last of the diesel runners in sisxth - 11 laps behind the leader.
The Peugeot had a rear bodywork modification made to it at the last pitstop, scuppering their challenge. In the minor delay Capello want through to put his nearest challenger one lap down.
In third position is the No.9 Peugeot. Christian Klien is in that car at the moment and is setting competitive laptimes.
In fourth position we find the No.3 Audi. Alexandre Premat in fact brings that car into the pits and rejoins still in the same position.
Emanuele Pirro is fifth and has also just pitted following that spin a short time ago. Marco Werner now takes over that car. Stephane Sarrazin is the last of the diesel runners in sisxth - 11 laps behind the leader.
The No.7 Peugeot is slowly closing on the back of the leading Audi in an effort to get back on the lead lap.
The leader has not quite had the blistering pace that Allan McNish demonstrated earlier, with almost all the diesels lapping around the four minute mark.
The leader has not quite had the blistering pace that Allan McNish demonstrated earlier, with almost all the diesels lapping around the four minute mark.
Dindo Capello in the the No.2 Audi now has his immediate challenger right on his tail, with the No.7 Peugeot trying hard to unlap himself.
Track conditions are continually improving. No rain has fallen for around 30 minutes.
The racing line is mainly damp and drying. Off line the track is damp-towards-wet in portions.
The racing line is mainly damp and drying. Off line the track is damp-towards-wet in portions.
Nicolas Minassian has lost out in traffic and has now fallen some way behind the No.2.
Peter van Merksteijn is now at the wheel of his Porshe RS Spyder, running well in the lead of LMP2 and ninth overall.
The rain begins to fall lightly again over the circuit.
The No.9 Peugeot has made a routine stop for fuel and tyres.
The rainfall has quickly increased to moderate. The laptimes will soon begin to increase again.
The No.8 Peugeot with Stephane Sarrazin at the wheel comes into the pits. Sarrizin overshoots the pitbox and the pit crew have to push him back slightly.
It's a tyre change as well as fuel on this occasion. Also the drivers swap places. Sarrazin out, Wurz now in the car and he makes his way out onto the racetrack.
It's a tyre change as well as fuel on this occasion. Also the drivers swap places. Sarrazin out, Wurz now in the car and he makes his way out onto the racetrack.
The No.7 of Nicolas Minassian has been flying and is once again on the tail of Capello's Audi in an attempt to get back on the lead lap.
Nicolas Minassian flys around the outside of the Audi on the run the the first chicane and the lead battle is now on the same lap.
The No.11 Dome Judd has been in the wars again as we see the all-white machine in the gravel, beached. This car was in 25th position overall, but Tatsuya Kataoka has run wide into the kitty litter.
The latest in this morning's series of light showers has passed over, and the drying out process on the track surface begins once again.
In the Peugeot No.7 pit we can see Jacques Villeneuve is ready to take over from Nicolas Minassian at the next pitstop, which is due imminently.
The No.11 Dome Judd has made it back into the pits, having been recovered from the gravel trap.
Minassian is already pulling away from the No.2 Audi. The car has almost four minutes to make up for the lead but there are still over four-and-a-half hours remaining.
The lead No.2 Audi is also in the pits at the same time as the No.7. The Audi is away first with no driver change.
Nicolas Minassian brings the No.7 Peugeot onto pitroad.
Minassian as expected hands over to Jacques Villeneuve who climbs aboard. Fresh tyres go on the Peugeot as well as a tankful of diesel.
The Peugeot is dropped down and Villeneuve is away.
Minassian as expected hands over to Jacques Villeneuve who climbs aboard. Fresh tyres go on the Peugeot as well as a tankful of diesel.
The Peugeot is dropped down and Villeneuve is away.
The time taken to change the No.7 driver to Villeneuve meant a longer stop than the unchanged Audi, dropping the Peugeot a lap down once again.
The No.3 Audi is in the pits for routine service. Intermediates for Alexandre Premat and he rejoins the race still in fourth position.
The class-leading Porsche RS Spyder has had a harmless spin approaching the Ford Chicane. Jos Verstappen looped the car around and got going again from the kerbs on the inside.
Marco Werner brings the No.1 Audi into pitlane. He too takes on intermediate tyres, no driver change and Werner rejoins the circuit still in fifth position.
The fourth and fifth placed Audis are now experimenting on the intermediate rubber. The track is tricky in places for those tyres, especially if forced to pass slower cars off the racing line.
Marco Werner in the No.1 Audi has spun in the Ford Chicane as the track proves it is not quite ready for the intermediate tyre just yet.
Werner rejoins without damage and continues round on these tyres.
Werner rejoins without damage and continues round on these tyres.
The No.1 Audi is now slowly returning to the pits after that spin in the Ford Chicane.
Werner is almost certainly coming back into the pits for a change to the wet tyres. However he was crawling, prompting suspicions that there is some minor damage to that No.1 car.
With the No.2 car still on wet tyres, Dindo Capello continues to lead by over a lap from the No.7 Peugeot of Villeneuve.
Rinaldo Capello is now searching for wetter parts of the track away from the racing line to cool down his very warm wet tyres.
The No.8 Peugeot pits for routine service and is delayed at the pit entrance by the crawling No.1 Audi.
By: Geoff Creighton, Emlyn Hughes
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