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WEC
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 76th Le Mans 24 Hours
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The leader arrives in the pits. Villeneuve stays in the car and the machine is as predicted wheeled into the garage. The lead is shrinking all the time.
The No.7 is indeed put in the garage for a cool-down with liquid nitrogen.
The No.7 Peugeot, still leading, is running laps slower and slower. Villeneuve's pace has dropped to 3:36.192, and our autosport.com news team on site tell us that the No.7 car is likely to be wheeled into the garage on its next visit to the pits to be cooled as well.
The autosport.com team at the track also expect the No.7 Peugeot to be put in the garage for a cool-down of the system.
Christian Klien is back underway in third after what was perhaps a precautionary stop to keep the temperatures under control on the No.9 Peugeot.
While we have been monitoring the incident-strewn machinery in the garages and the battle for the lead, the No.3 Audi came in for regular service and rejoined the race still in fourth place.
It is a very quick period of attention to the No.9, with cooling liquid nitrogen pumped in to the sidepods.
The No.9 Peugeot has been swung in to the garage ...
The No.26 Radical AER is back on circuit after attention to its cooling in the garage.
The No.11 Dome is back in the garage again for yet more repairs. That car has dropped right down to 23rd in the overall classification.
The No.21 Epsilon Euskadi car has been in the pits with the rear bodywork removed in the pit lane. The sister No.20 has been in the garage for over three hours with the mechanics casually working away.
Villeneuve responds and increases his pace on the last lap with a 3:28.477, as the No.7 Peugeot continues to lead ahead of the No.2 Audi.
After twelve-and-a-half hours these are the only two cars on the lead lap. Christian Klien runs third in the No.9 Peugeot, with the No.3 and No.1 Audis fourth and fifth respectively.
After twelve-and-a-half hours these are the only two cars on the lead lap. Christian Klien runs third in the No.9 Peugeot, with the No.3 and No.1 Audis fourth and fifth respectively.
Casper Elgaard remains in the Team Essex car as they finally finish their lengthy stop. They have fallen further behind the van Merksteijn entry in LMP2.
Team Essex are back in the pits for fuel. The team also take the opportunity to connect up the laptops as they continue to diagnose a misfire in the Porsche.
The second placed Audi No.2 begins to haul in the leader once again after the stops.
The gap is still over three minutes between Villeneuve and Capello, but Rinaldo has just turned a 3:29.649 in comparison with Villeneuve's 3:38.344.
The gap is still over three minutes between Villeneuve and Capello, but Rinaldo has just turned a 3:29.649 in comparison with Villeneuve's 3:38.344.
The No.32 Barazi Epsilon is in the garage. The team are focusing their attention on the rear of the car, but are also taking the opportunity to tidy up the front bodywork.
Up front, now that the latest round of stop have shaken out, the No.7 Peugeot has a lead of just over three minutes on the No.2 Audi. Villeneuve and Capello continue their fight on the lead lap of the race.
The No.90 Farnbacher Ferrari comes into the pits with mechanical problems in the form of a loose undertray. The mechanics will repair the car quickly and it should be back in action soon.
Stephane Sarrazin demonstrates that his No.8 Peugeot has great pace when it is not visiting the garage. The Frenchman has flown round in 3:21.774 as once again they are playing catch up on the leading five cars.
Marco Werner brings the fifth-placed Audi No.1 into the pits. Tyres are take as well as a full tank of gas. Werner stays in the car and he gets away.
Rinaldo Capello brings the No.2 Audi into the pits now for its routine stop. The gap had closed to well under two minutes before this stop. Rinaldo stays in the car while the going is good and continues the chase of the leader.
More news from autosport.com's team in the pits - the No.26 Radical has been garaged for the team to investigate cooling problems.
The gap closes still further at the head of the race. The leading No.7 Peugeot still with Villeneuve in the cockpit has seen its lead cut to 1 minute 47 seconds after the pitstop.
The eighth-placed Team Oreca Matmut car was only 90 seconds behind the No.8 before the lengthy pitstop, and will have moved into seventh.
The autosport.com news team in Le Mans tell us that the No.31 Team Essex car has a misfire. The team have pitted the Porsche RS Spyder to download details from the ECU for analysis.
In the Peugeot pit steam can be seen eminating from the No.8 car. The mechanics wheel it back out into the pitlane anyway and send it back out onto the track.
The No.8 car comes in and it isn't routine service for the car that has been niggled by problems all race. The seventh-placed car is now wheeled into the garage with yet another mechanical problem.
The race leader pits in the No.7 Peugeot. Jacques Villeneuve stays in the car, takes on a tank of gas, keeps the same tyres on the car and he's back out on the racetrack.
Peter van Merksteijn is back at the wheel of his LMP2-leading Porsche RS Spyder. They currently have a two-and-a-half minute gap over the Team Essex car.
The No.9 Peugeot pits from the third position. Christian Klien stays in the car, takes on fuel only and he rejoins.
The No.24 Terramos Courage has been wheeled back on to the pit lane after a spell in the garage.
It is pitstop time for the GT1 leaders again. The 007 Aston Martin held a lead of 34 seconds over the No.63 Corvette before this latest round of stops.
When the stops are completed and the order sorts itself out we will update the latest positions in this tight battle.
When the stops are completed and the order sorts itself out we will update the latest positions in this tight battle.
We tick through the half-way stage of the 24 Heures du Mans.
The No.7 Peugeot 908 HDi driven by Jacques Villeneuve at the moment leads the race by a decreasing margin over the No.2 Audi (Rinaldo Capello) . The Audi is consistently quicker on the circuit, to the tune of four seconds per lap.
The No.9 Peugeot with Christian Klien at the controls lies third, with the No.3 Audi in fourth. The No.1 Audi in fifth place had been running in close company with the No.3, but there is now a one lap difference between them.
The No.17 Pescarolo Sport entry runs in sixth position, almost six laps behind the fifth-placed car. However they comfortably lead the race for the Petrol honours.
The recovering No.8 Peugeot of Pedro Lamy is homing in on that sixth position and trails the Pescarolo Judd by 2 minutes 39 seconds.
The No.7 Peugeot 908 HDi driven by Jacques Villeneuve at the moment leads the race by a decreasing margin over the No.2 Audi (Rinaldo Capello) . The Audi is consistently quicker on the circuit, to the tune of four seconds per lap.
The No.9 Peugeot with Christian Klien at the controls lies third, with the No.3 Audi in fourth. The No.1 Audi in fifth place had been running in close company with the No.3, but there is now a one lap difference between them.
The No.17 Pescarolo Sport entry runs in sixth position, almost six laps behind the fifth-placed car. However they comfortably lead the race for the Petrol honours.
The recovering No.8 Peugeot of Pedro Lamy is homing in on that sixth position and trails the Pescarolo Judd by 2 minutes 39 seconds.
Alexandre Premat takes fuel and tyres and is waved back out into the darkness.
The Audi garage are ready to receive their next stopping car, the No.3 of Alexandre Premat from fourth overall.
The Lola Aston Martin, No.10, is once again on form after a number of garage visits. Jan Charouz is currently at the wheel, and the car is up to 13th overall.
Meanwhile in GT1 the 009 Aston Martin in 15th position overall leads the class, with the gap to the No.63 Corvette remaining static at around 33 seconds.
At the front of the field the Villeneuve pace is having the predictable effect on the race.
Rinaldo Capello in the second placed Audi No.2 car is lapping around three seconds per lap quicker than the No.7 Peugeot.
The gap is gradually coming down - 2 minutes 48 seconds.
Rinaldo Capello in the second placed Audi No.2 car is lapping around three seconds per lap quicker than the No.7 Peugeot.
The gap is gradually coming down - 2 minutes 48 seconds.
Pedro Lamy in the No.8 Peugeot is the fastest car on the track at the moment. He is rapidly closing in on the Courage-Oreca for seventh.
In GT1 David Brabham continues to lead in the 009 Aston Martin. The gap to the No.63 Corvette now stands at 32 seconds with Jan Magnussen still on board.
The 007 Aston Martin lies third in class, a lap down on the sister car. The No.64 Corvette with Max Papis at the wheel is maintaining fourth position in class, a further lap adrift.
The 007 Aston Martin lies third in class, a lap down on the sister car. The No.64 Corvette with Max Papis at the wheel is maintaining fourth position in class, a further lap adrift.
By: Geoff Creighton, Emlyn Hughes
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