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24 Hours of Le Mans
The 76th Le Mans 24 Hours
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The gap is down to 10.3 seconds between the front pair as Montagny laps the 8.48 mile circuit with another 3:21.
Tom Kristensen continues to drop back and is now over a minute behind the leaders.
Tom Kristensen continues to drop back and is now over a minute behind the leaders.
After 97 laps The No.7 Peugeot has a 12.805 second lead over the sister car - the No.9.
Tom Kristensen runs third in the first of the Audis. The No.2 machine is now 55.0 seconds off the lead - that despite running in P1 a short time ago.
Tom Kristensen runs third in the first of the Audis. The No.2 machine is now 55.0 seconds off the lead - that despite running in P1 a short time ago.
The No.8 Peugeot continues to fight up the order and is now tenth with Pedro Lamy still at the wheel. He is chasing down the No.6 Courage driven by Olivier Panis.
The stops have shaken out and the No.7 Peugeot maintains its lead, but the gap is now reduced.
Villeneuve now has 9.6 seconds over Montagny in the No.9 Peugeot in second place.
Villeneuve now has 9.6 seconds over Montagny in the No.9 Peugeot in second place.
This will be Kristensen's first stint in the car. He is joining a big battle up front, and Audi need his experience right now.
The No.26 Radical has got underway again after roadside repairs. He'll likely head back to the pits for some more comprehensive service.
It's a driver change for the Audi No.2 as Capello hops out and seven-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen climbs aboard. The Dane rolls down the pitlane and rejoins the race.
The battle is on for the lead of the LMGT1 class, with Aston Martin and Corvette, as expected, in a close scrap for class honours.
The top four cars are all on the same lap, with the 009 Aston driven by David Brabham currently leading from the 63 and 64 Corvettes and the 007 Aston. All four cars are within 90 seconds.
The top four cars are all on the same lap, with the 009 Aston driven by David Brabham currently leading from the 63 and 64 Corvettes and the 007 Aston. All four cars are within 90 seconds.
Franck Montagny brings the leading car into the pits for its routine service. No driver change, Franck continuing on for another stint.
Rinaldo Capello comes into the pits as Montagny rolls out.
Rinaldo Capello comes into the pits as Montagny rolls out.
The No.9 Peugeot with Franck Montagny takes over the lead of the race, with the Caello No.2 Audi moving into second position.
Both are due to stop in the next couple of laps.
Both are due to stop in the next couple of laps.
The leader hits pitroad and Jacques Villeneuve takes on fuel only. No driver change and he's heading back out onto the racetrack.
At the end of the 93rd lap the gap at the front is down to 16.3 seconds.
Villeneuve - 3:26
Montagny - 3:21
Capello - 3:28.
Rinaldo Capello in the first of the Audis is now beginning to drop back.
Villeneuve - 3:26
Montagny - 3:21
Capello - 3:28.
Rinaldo Capello in the first of the Audis is now beginning to drop back.
The No.3 Audi has pitted, with Mike Rockenfeller taking over at the wheel.
Pitstops are due again for the leaders in the next few laps, and the order may change again.
Montagny continues to close on Villeneuve and the gap is down to 21.2 seconds at the end of lap 92.
Villeneuve - 3:25
Montagny - 3:24
Capello - 3:28.
Montagny continues to close on Villeneuve and the gap is down to 21.2 seconds at the end of lap 92.
Villeneuve - 3:25
Montagny - 3:24
Capello - 3:28.
It's a French one-two at La Sarthe and Franck Montagny in the No.9 machine is now chasing after the leading No.7 car.
Montagny is already over six seconds ahead of the Audi and leaving it behind.
Montagny is already over six seconds ahead of the Audi and leaving it behind.
Montagny is through. Franck Montagny makes it a Peugeot one-two and has overtaken the Audi No.2 car.
Lap 90 is complete for the leader and Villeneuve sets a 3:24.9, with Capello second setting 3:27.8, but Montagny does it yet again - 3:21.1!
The gap continues to close and the Montagny No.9 Peugeot is now within three seconds of Capello's Audi.
The gap continues to close and the Montagny No.9 Peugeot is now within three seconds of Capello's Audi.
The lead battle is very much on with Villeneuve 20.6 seconds up on Capello's Audi and setting a similar time on lap 89.
Montagny is now just eight seconds behind the Audi and is closing extremely rapidly, taking over five seconds out of the gap on that last lap.
Montagny is now just eight seconds behind the Audi and is closing extremely rapidly, taking over five seconds out of the gap on that last lap.
The Team Essex Porsche RS has pitted. They rejoin just ahead of the Van Merksteijn entry, with the No.8 Peugeot slipping by in the pair of them.
Completing the 88th lap Montagny continues to close on the front two.
Franck sets a 3:23, compared to Villeneuve's 3:24 and Capello's 3:27.
Franck sets a 3:23, compared to Villeneuve's 3:24 and Capello's 3:27.
The race is closing up at the front of the field.
With five hours gone the No.7 Peugeot continues to lead. Driver Jacques Villeneuve is running laps around the 3:27 mark. The No.2 Audi in second place is still within striking distance, now just 19 seconds behind.
But behind the front two Franck Montagny is flying in third place in the No.9 Peugeot. He just set the fastest lap of the race so far with a stunning 3:20.600, and is catching the leading duo at over seven seconds per lap.
With five hours gone the No.7 Peugeot continues to lead. Driver Jacques Villeneuve is running laps around the 3:27 mark. The No.2 Audi in second place is still within striking distance, now just 19 seconds behind.
But behind the front two Franck Montagny is flying in third place in the No.9 Peugeot. He just set the fastest lap of the race so far with a stunning 3:20.600, and is catching the leading duo at over seven seconds per lap.
The No.26 Radical SR9 has pulled up on the the side of the road with Marc Rostan at the wheel.
We continue to track the progress of Peugeot No.8 in 14th position. Far from taking a while to erode a two minute gap to the 13th placed Porsche Spyder, Lamy is lapping some 18 seconds per lap quicker, with the Rollcentre Pescarolo Judd in 12th a further 17 seconds up the road.
Outside the top five, the petrol leader is the No.5 Courage Oreca with Laurent Groppi at the wheel. The No.17 Pescarolo Judd runs seventh, followed on the same lap by a close scrap between the Dome and the No.6 Courage over eighth.
A concern for the French manufacturer in these next few laps will be the pace of the French-Canadian. Villeneuve tends to take his time getting up to the required pace.
With the race as close as it is currently, Peugeot will not want to lose any un-necessary laptime, therefore they will be anxious for the driver to get on the pace swiftly.
With the race as close as it is currently, Peugeot will not want to lose any un-necessary laptime, therefore they will be anxious for the driver to get on the pace swiftly.
The No.44 Kruse Lola Mazda, crashed heavily by Noda in qualifying, has been pulled in to the garage for attention of the team.
The No.7 changed drivers in their stop. Minassian out, Villeneuve in.
There were no position changes and so Jacques Villeneuve leads the Le Mans 24 hour race for Peugeot.
There were no position changes and so Jacques Villeneuve leads the Le Mans 24 hour race for Peugeot.
The leading No.7 Peugeot and the No.2 Audi pit together. Rinaldo Capello remains aboard the Audi.
The No.8 Peugeot has taken 14th position away from the Euskadi Judd.
Pedro Lamy is running laps consistently in the low-to-mid 3:20s on this run. The next target is the 13th placed Van Merksteijn Porsche Spyder, which runs second in LMP2 However that car is around two minutes up the road, so Lamy and the No.7 will remain in 14th for some time unless there are problems ahead of them.
Pedro Lamy is running laps consistently in the low-to-mid 3:20s on this run. The next target is the 13th placed Van Merksteijn Porsche Spyder, which runs second in LMP2 However that car is around two minutes up the road, so Lamy and the No.7 will remain in 14th for some time unless there are problems ahead of them.
The Audis, first No.3 and then No.1 have both been in for stops, without change to the drivers.
The Van Merksteijn Porsche RS has pitted, with the owner-driver handing over the car to Dutch A1GP driver Jeroen Bleekemolen.
At the front after 78 laps the No.7 Peugeot with Nicolas Minassian currently driving leads the race by an increasing margin. The gap is now up to 20 seconds over the No.2 Audi driven by Rinaldo Capello.
In third place is the No.9 Peugeot, Franck Montagny still at the wheel. He is 76 seconds behind the leader.
Alexandre Premat lies fourth in the No.3 Audi, 2 minutes 49 seconds adrift, but he is the last car on the lead lap.
The fifth placed No.1 Audi is a lap down and around 1 minute behind Premat.
It is two Peugeots versus three Audis in the diesel race as the third Peugeot continues to work its way up the order.
In third place is the No.9 Peugeot, Franck Montagny still at the wheel. He is 76 seconds behind the leader.
Alexandre Premat lies fourth in the No.3 Audi, 2 minutes 49 seconds adrift, but he is the last car on the lead lap.
The fifth placed No.1 Audi is a lap down and around 1 minute behind Premat.
It is two Peugeots versus three Audis in the diesel race as the third Peugeot continues to work its way up the order.
The troubled Creation AIM is pushed back in to the garage after a very slow lap. The team go to work on a technical problem.
We mentioned the unfortunate incident that befell Amanda Stretton in the No.19 Chamberlain Synergies car earlier. Stretton somehow managed to coax the car all the way back to the pits - no mean feat given the circumstances.
In the LMP2 class, the Team Essex Porsche RS Spyder now leads by over half a minute from the similar Van Merksteijn entry. The Team Essex car is 10th overall.
With Pedro Lamy on board, the No.8 Peugeot is continuing to climb through the field, albeit a bit slower than the pace that Alex Wurz was running a short time ago.
Lamy has the car up into 15th position and 42 seconds behind the Euskadi Judd.
Lamy has the car up into 15th position and 42 seconds behind the Euskadi Judd.
The No.14 Creation AIM car is touring slowly on the racetrack. This car has already been in the wars this week. Stuart Hall suffered a nasty crash in qualifying, halting the session. The car was rebuilt, passed for scrutineering and started the race today.
Johnny Mowlem was running in 27th position overall, but will now drop down the order as he limps back to the pits with a puncture.
Johnny Mowlem was running in 27th position overall, but will now drop down the order as he limps back to the pits with a puncture.
Minassian leads by 10.6 seconds from Capello with 74 laps now complete.
The third-placed Peugeot, driven by Franck Montagny, is now over a minute behind the best Audi after that recent stop.
The third-placed Peugeot, driven by Franck Montagny, is now over a minute behind the best Audi after that recent stop.
The No.9 Peugeot is now in the pits, with Montagny remaining onboard.
The No.7 took on fuel only and managed to sneak out of the pits just ahead of Capello.
Capello never repassed the No.7 and Minassian leads at Le Mans.
Capello never repassed the No.7 and Minassian leads at Le Mans.
By: Geoff Creighton, Emlyn Hughes
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