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24 Hours of Le Mans
The 76th Le Mans 24 Hours
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The crawling No.1 Audi has made it into the pitlane and the mechanics go to work. They instantly wheel him into the garage.
Car No.1, fifth placed Audi in the garage for repairs.
Car No.1, fifth placed Audi in the garage for repairs.
Hurried work is underway on the No.1 car as the first garage visit for an Audi continues. Some light smoke could be seen coming from the car as Werner finally pulled in the pit lane.
Out on the track there has been a shunt involving the mobile warzone that is the No.11 Dome Judd, that has had so many minor incidents during the course of this race.
Coming out of the second chicane on the Mulsanne straight, Daisuke Ito lost control of the rear of the car and was pitched into the armco on the drivers' left.
There is front end damage to the car, but it is slowly making its way back to the pits under its own power.
Coming out of the second chicane on the Mulsanne straight, Daisuke Ito lost control of the rear of the car and was pitched into the armco on the drivers' left.
There is front end damage to the car, but it is slowly making its way back to the pits under its own power.
The Marco Werner Audi No.1 car is still in the garage, following that spin at the Ford chicane and a slow lap back to the pits. The car is up on stands and there is a small army of Audi mechanics trying to fix the car as quickly as possible so that it can rejoin the race.
The No.11 Dome Judd has once again returned to the pits for repairs from the crew.
The Dome Judd No.11 that headbutted the armco on the Mulsanne has made it back into the pitlane. The Dome mechanics are frantically trying to get the car into the pit garage.
The Audi No.1 car can still afford a number of laps in the pits before being overtaken by the No.8 Peugeot for fifth.
Dindo Capello is now losing several seconds per lap to Villeneuve as the Peugeot again tries to get back on the lead lap.
Christian Klien brings the No.9 Peugeot into the pits for routine service.
Villeneuve is through under the Dunlop Bridge and there is less than a lap between himself and the No.2 Audi in the lead.
The No.8 Peugeot is pitted by Alex Wurz and takes a set of intermediate tyres.
Four hours left to go and it's game on at La Sarthe!
If both cars run reliably until the end of the race, then one factor will determine the outcome of the race - the weather.
Through the dry period of the race yesterday Peugeot demonstrated that they could run quicker than the Audis, yet in the wet conditions the pendulum swung and the Audi seems to be a more predictable and forgiving car to drive. The Peugeots have struggled in the wet in terms of laptime.
If the showers clear then we have a race on our hands. It comes down to whether there is any more rain or not.
If it is dry, we could be in for a classic.
If it rains again, Audi will hold on and maintain the gap.
If both cars run reliably until the end of the race, then one factor will determine the outcome of the race - the weather.
Through the dry period of the race yesterday Peugeot demonstrated that they could run quicker than the Audis, yet in the wet conditions the pendulum swung and the Audi seems to be a more predictable and forgiving car to drive. The Peugeots have struggled in the wet in terms of laptime.
If the showers clear then we have a race on our hands. It comes down to whether there is any more rain or not.
If it is dry, we could be in for a classic.
If it rains again, Audi will hold on and maintain the gap.
We hear that the Audi No.1 has a clutch problem. This is the Marco Werner car that crawled back to the pits a short time ago after spinning.
The No.8 Peugeot with Alex Wurz at the wheel has spun. Alex quickly gets the car pointed the right way and rejoins.
Wurz continues to run in sixth, but will pass Werner for fifth unless the No.1 Audi has its clutch repaired within the next two laps.
Wurz continues to run in sixth, but will pass Werner for fifth unless the No.1 Audi has its clutch repaired within the next two laps.
Alexandre Premat is the man setting the best lap times at the moment with intermediate tyres on his Audi. The track is very dry on the racing line and full wet tyres will rapidly overheat in these conditions.
The No.2 Audi is in from the lead and appeared to take intermediate rubber along with his tank of fuel.
This is tricky for Capello now as parts of the circuit remain wet and care must be taken when passing cars off line.
Jacques Villeneuve brings the second-placed Peugeot into the pits. He hits the marks and stays on board while the wets come off and intermediate tyres are fitted to the car. A tank of diesel goes in and Villeneuve is away.
Jacques Villeneuve has retained his position on the lead lap after that stop.
The No.1 Audi car that had the clutch problem has rejoined the race, but they have been demoted by the No.8 Peugeot.
Wurz passes Werner for fifth.
Wurz passes Werner for fifth.
Alexandre Premat has pitted his No.3 Audi to take a lightly cut tyre.
Christian Kilien is the man on the move at the moment in the No.9 Peugeot. He is up to third after that stop for Premat and is setting a blistering pace of 3:33.
The rain continues to hold off and the times have sorted themselves out after that latest round of pitstops.
Audi No.2 driven by Rinaldo Capello leads at Le Mans. The gap back to Jacques Villeneuve in the No.7 Peugeot is 3 minutes 32 seconds.
Audi No.2 driven by Rinaldo Capello leads at Le Mans. The gap back to Jacques Villeneuve in the No.7 Peugeot is 3 minutes 32 seconds.
Lap 324 completed.
Capello - 3:35
Villeneuve - 3:32
Capello - 3:35
Villeneuve - 3:32
The No.32 Barazi Epsilon Zytek car has pulled off to the side of the track at the second of the Mulsanne chicanes.
Lap 325 completed.
1) Capello - 3:37
2) Villeneuve - 3:40
3) Klien - 3:33.
1) Capello - 3:37
2) Villeneuve - 3:40
3) Klien - 3:33.
On the next lap it is a 3:37 for Capello and a 3:40 for Villeneuve, balancing out the lead gap at over three minutes.
Christian Klien continues to push hard in the 3:33 bracket.
Christian Klien continues to push hard in the 3:33 bracket.
The No.32 Barazi Epsilon Zytek car is back on the road again, and making its way slowly back to the pits with damage to the left rear of the car. Stuart Moseley is behind the wheel and bringing it to pitroad slowly.
Villeneuve takes two seconds back next time by but it is Klien in third who is really hooked up at the moment, clocking a 3:29.
Stuart Moseley has made it back to the pits in the Barazi Epsilon with the puncture on the Mulsanne. There is lots of damage to the car, including a lost engine cover.
The Audi mechanics are ready in the pit lane to put a car on slick tyres.
Jos Verstappen continues to lead in LMP2 with the Porshe RS Spyder and runs ninth overall.
In the GT1 category, the 009 Aston Martin DBR9 continues to lead and has a sizeable lead over its main rival through the race - the No.63 Corvette.
Darren Turner is back at the wheel of the Aston, with Ron Fellows back at the controls of the Corvette.
Darren Turner is back at the wheel of the Aston, with Ron Fellows back at the controls of the Corvette.
The delayed No.1 Audi of Marco Werner is sent out to test the conditions on slick tyres.
Jos Verstappen pits and takes slick tyres in the leading LMP2 entry.
The No.8 Peugeot comes into pitlane and takes on slick tyres.
Alex Wurz stays in the car and he rejoins the race.
Alex Wurz stays in the car and he rejoins the race.
As both Audi and Peugeot use their lowest-placed cars to test the slick tyres, the lead three continue on intermediates.
Capello set a 3:32 in the leading Audi on lap 329, with Villeneuve lapping in 3:34 and Klien 3:30.
Capello set a 3:32 in the leading Audi on lap 329, with Villeneuve lapping in 3:34 and Klien 3:30.
The No.3 Audi is next to pit for slick rubber. Mike Rockenfeller takes the wheel and heads out.
The No.9 Peugeot comes into the pits. Christian Klien hands over to Ricardo Zonta as the slick tyres are bolted on. A tank of diesel is added and the No.9 rejoins the fray.
Capello and Villeneuve are matched for pace on lap 330, clocking times in the 3:34s.
The No.7 will need to go much faster than the leader if they want to overhaul that gap in the time remaining.
The No.7 will need to go much faster than the leader if they want to overhaul that gap in the time remaining.
By: Geoff Creighton, Emlyn Hughes
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