The 78th Le Mans 24 Hours

The Circuit de la Sarthe

The Circuit de la Sarthe © Sutton
Every year in early June, the focus of the motor racing world switches to a small town in north-west France.

This is no ordinary race - it is a supreme test of skill, strategy, reliability and engineering. For almost everyone involved - be it team bosses, mechanics, drivers or the millions of fans watching around the globe, it's a test of stamina.

Since 1923 the world's premier car manufacturers have pitted their wits against each other, racing for hour after hour around the hallowed 13.6km Circuit de la Sarthe. Great marques such as Audi, Peugeot, Ferrari, Porsche, Corvette, Ford and Lamborghini will face off against each other in one full day of combat.

At the end of the race, the best sportscar drivers and teams in the world will celebrate on the podium, while others will face setbacks and disappointments, but will keep the desire to come back and have a crack at the world's most prestigious race next year.

Welcome everyone to the 78th 24 Heures du Mans.

The Beechdean Mansell Ginetta-Zytek

The Beechdean Mansell Ginetta-Zytek © Sutton
There are so many stories to get excited about and follow at Le Mans this year:

We have Audi bidding to wrest the trophy back from Peugeot. Further down the grid 'Red five' is back, but this time Nigel Mansell will be making history by driving alongside his sons Greg and Leo in the Ginetta Zytek.

The 24 hours throws up every combination of racer you can think of and so much more. The BMW 'art car' #79 is a firm fan favourite and has on its driving strength ex-WTCC champion Andy Priaulx. We've got the amusement and intrigue of the #69 JLOC entry, the Matech Competition all-girl crew, the Flying Lizard Motorsport Porsche and much, much more.

On the driver front, the field is bolstered by more than 20 ex-Formula 1 drivers this year. Some of them, like Sebastien Bourdais, could be set for one of the moments of his racing career, while the unfortunate Mika Salo won't even get the chance to race as his #96 AF Corse Ferrari F340 was withdrawn following a severe accident in qualifying.

The ingredients are all in place, ready to be mixed together over the next 25 hours. The race itself will begin as the cars cross the start-finish line at precisely 13:00 GMT, but before then we will set the scene with a review of the track sessions so far this week, a look at the weather forecast for the race and an invitation to all of you to join in with your comments during the race.

Team Oreca Matmut Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP

Team Oreca Matmut Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP © Sutton
Peugeot versus Audi is once again the big show in terms of outright victory in the LMP1 class. The last two years have seen fantastic duels between them for supremacy and we hope for more of the same this year, but so far the form looks heavily in favour of the French manufacturer and the four teams it has lined up for the 2010 event.

A healthy LMP2 field from the outset looks to be a fight between the HPD ARX-01C cars run by two different teams - Highcroft Racing and Strakka Racing. These two have been inseparable in practice and qualifying and now it's time for the real fight to commence. Should they falter, there are many including RML and OAK Racing who will be more than willing to pick up the gauntlet.

LM GT1 may be a dying breed, but six cars have made it for the category's last hurrah. The #52 Young Driver AMR squad has been the best of the bunch and is looking to end the GT1 era with victory.

LM GT2 is as chaotic and possibly even more exciting than ever. Defending champion team Risi Competizione has got many quality cars up against its Ferrari F340 GT this year and of the four classes this is where we expect the closest racing to take place.

The BMW 'Art car' is a fan favourite

The BMW 'Art car' is a fan favourite © Sutton
On the right of the screen we have a panel of features to keep you informed throughout the race. Flags denoting the track status, class leaders and current weather at the circuit will all update live as the race unfolds.

We would also like you to join the fun throughout the event and post your thoughts and opinions on the action, via the red 'SHOW LIVE FORUM' bar at the bottom of the screen.

• Will it be Peugeot or Audi that takes the honours this time tomorrow?

• Who are you cheering for in LM GT2? There are so many competitive teams to choose from.

• In both 2008 and 2009 the weather played a part. Would you like to see the same happen this year?

• How do you plan to 'attack' the race? Will you be watching the event from start to finish or looking in on the action now and again?

Tell the world what you think.

Two Le Mans Series events have taken place in 2010. In April the teams headed to the Paul Ricard test track for an eight hour endurance event, with many outfits using the race as a test session for the big one.

No works Peugeots ran at Le Castellet but Audi debuted its R15 plus TDI and romped to a five-lap victory with McNish and Capello ahead of the Lola Aston Martin #009 entry.

New Audi scores debut Paul Ricard win

A chaotic Spa 1000 kms took place in May and was billed as a full dress rehearsal for the Le Mans 24 Hours. Three works Peugeot 908s joined three Audis at one of the world's best circuits.

Rain, many off-track incidents and even a power cut created havoc, but Pedro Lamy, Sebastien Bourdais and Simon Pagenaud came through to claim the honours in the #3 machine by over a minute.

#3 Peugeot wins bizarre Spa 1000 kms

The #3 Peugeot set the pace

The #3 Peugeot set the pace © Sutton
Free practice took place on Wednesday afternoon in cloudy but dry conditions, with Peugeot setting down its marker good and early.

The three full factory 908s were joined by the #4 Team Oreca Matmut entry at the front of the field, adding weight to the pre-race thoughts of this year's event being an all-French affair.

Stephane Sarrazin set the quickest time of the four-hour session, with 3m20.034s in the #2 machine, and while it was a cracking start for the French marque, all eyes turned to Audi to see what challenge it could provide.

The fastest of the German challengers was fifth - almost four seconds down on the quickest time, with a 3m23.935s. Indeed, the trio of R15 TDIs occupied places five to seven, followed by the two Lola Aston Martin entries.

LMP2 favourites Highcroft Racing took the early advantage with the #26 HPD ARX-01C, but the battle in class was tight with the #42 Strakka Racing HPD and the #25 RML Lola HPD Coupe both in range.

The six-car LMGT1 field was headed by the #52 AMR Young Driver Aston Martin squad, but the closest battle in the entire field was seen in GT2, where the #64 Corvette set the practice pace with a best lap of 4m00.888s, closely followed by Team Felbermayr Porsche 997 GT3 and the #64 Corvette. Defending champion Risi Competizione was fourth in class with the #82 Ferrari 430 GT.

Peugeot dominant in practice

The ‘Herringbourne’ start has been re-introduced to the pre-race ceremony this year as a poignant mark to a bygone era.

Between 1925 and 1969, the drivers would run across the track, quickly jump into their cars and speed off into the distance to signal the beginning of the race.

All drivers and team members in this year’s edition have walked over to the grandstand side of the track to recreate this magical moment. Firstly, the two non-starting drivers and the team members walked across the track to the pitlane to be with the cars.

Then, a short time ago, the 55 starting drivers proudly walked across the circuit to immense applause and cheers from the crowd. The drivers now have seven minutes to get bolted into their cars before the pitlane opens.

Peugeot continued its practice form into the first of three qualifying sessions on Wednesday evening, with Sebastien Bourdais setting a searing 3m19.711s benchmark in the #3 machine.

He was supported well by the other two factory 908s with the Team Oreca Matmut #4 entry in fourth position.

It appeared as though Audi simply didn't have an answer, especially as its fastest car - the #9 R15 Plus driven by Mike Rockenfeller, Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas - was almost four seconds away from Bourdais' scorching pace.

Bourdais fastest in first qualifying

Audi fared better in changeable conditions

Audi fared better in changeable conditions © Sutton
Thursday saw heavy rain in the afternoon and so the early evening second qualifying session began with a damp and drying circuit.

Many drivers did come out for a run to continue race set-up work and here Audi showed that it may be a force to contend with if conditions are changeable. All three R15s were able to run at the same pace or slightly quicker than the factory Peugeots, but with the track not fully dry, the order at the front remained unchanged.

Some improvement did however take place further down the list in the other categories. The most notable of these was from Toni Vilander, who moved the #95 AF Corse Ferrari F340 GT into second place in GT2 - much to the delight of team-mate Jean Alesi.

Peugeot still dominant in qualifying

The pitlane is now open, allowing the 55 starting drivers to come out onto the circuit for a reconnaissance lap to the dummy grid.

At the pitlane exit, the clerk of the course gives successive green lights to each car to signal that the driver is allowed to join the racetrack.

Pole celebrated in the #3 garage

Pole celebrated in the 3 garage © Sutton
The third and final qualifying session followed on Thursday night and provided further action at La Sarthe.

Allan McNish improved the pace of the #7 Audi R15 Plus TDI with a lap of 3m22.176s to be fifth for a time, before Mike Rockenfeller knocked a further two-tenths of a second off that to retake the place as fastest Audi.

Danny Watts hurled his #42 Strakka Racing machine round in 3m33.079s to grab the pole in LM P2 ahead of Highcroft Racing, while in LM GT2 Gianmaria Bruni upstaged Corvette in his #82 Risi Competizione Ferrari to take pole in class with a lap of 3m59.233s.

With half-an-hour remaining and the clock fast approaching midnight, it looked as though that was that in terms of interesting action. But suddenly, out came the four Peugeots in a supreme display of dominance - sending a clear message to Audi.

Sebastien Bourdais, Alex Wurz, Stephane Sarrazin and Nicolas Lapierre all lapped the track in the low 3m20s. It was wonderful to watch as the sheer speed of the Peugeot 908 diesel was unleashed.

Ultimately, the grid is made up of the three factory Peugeots, followed by the Team Oreca Matmut Peugeot and then the three Audi R15s behind that, but with a smaller gap to the front than we saw at the end of the first qualifying session.

Bourdais clinches pole for Peugeot

Allan McNish took his Audi to the top of the timesheets in this morning's warm-up. Conditions proved tricky throughout the 45-minute session after overnight rain left the track wet.

McNish clocked a 3m51.404s in the closing stages to top the order ahead of the #1 Peugeot in the hands of Marc Gene and Franck Montagny in the #2 car.

Marco Werner set the pace in LMP2 with Highcroft Racing's HPD, Bas Leinders was quickest in GT1 with his Ford and Jean Alesi topped GT2 in the AF Corse Ferrari.

McNish tops wet warm-up

Weather-wise, we could be looking at a race with two distinct phases.

A slow-moving band of rain crossed over Le Mans overnight, giving the circuit a thorough soaking. The band fizzled out shortly before the warm-up session, and conditions have steadily improved since that time. There is still a shower risk for the daylight hours with a top temperature of 23 degrees Celsius.

Any thundery showers will die away during the evening to leave a clearing night with dry conditions and a minimum temperature dropping to only seven Celsius.

Sunday morning will dawn dry with some sunshine but also patches of cloud around. It will remain dry throughout the day with a maximum temperature of 20 degrees.

So we have a risk of rain for the first six hours of the race, but after that we should be dry all the way until the end of the race.

The #2 Peugeot is making a very slow tour around to the grid.

A packed crowd is camped all round the circuit as the tension builds towards the start of the race.

The cars are on their way towards the grid, but there are problems for the Flying Lizard Porsche. It's coming back to the pits with a left rear puncture.

The pitlane is now closed. Most of the cars are now on the grid.

The #2 Peugeots pulls into position at the front end of the grid. The latest update on the #80 Flying Lizard Porsche is that there was no bodywork damage following the left rear puncture.

Pedro Lamy will start in the #3 Peugeot from pole. He receives good luck wishes from team boss Olivier Quesnel.

There is a fantastic buzz down on the grid, with the cars in position ahead of the start of the race. In less than 10 minutes time, the cars will peel away for the parade lap, ahead of the rolling start past the pits at precisely 13:00 GMT.

FIA president Jean Todt is at the circuit today. He takes a stroll down the grid and wishes good luck to his former driver at Ferrari, Jean Alesi.

Team Oreca Matmut boss Hugues de Chaunac chats with Peugeot factory boss Olivier Quesnel on the grid. Time will tell if the #4 entry can keep pace with the three factory cars.

The French Air Force performs the traditional flypast over the track as the atmosphere builds. The cars will leave the grid very shortly.

The engines fire with the formation lap about to get underway.

The flag is waved and the safety car peels away with those 55 machines in tow. The cars are rolling at Le Mans.

Round Tertre Rouge come the leading cars and down the long Mulsanne straight. We are looking forward to a great race.

The Peugeots round the second Mulsanne chicane and now it's the run down towards Mulsanne corner. The start of the race is just four minutes away.

Pedro Lamy leads the pack round Indianapolis and into Arnage, with just under two-and-a-half minutes to go until the start.

Into the final portion of the parade lap now and they sweep through the Porsche curves on their way to the final chicane with one minute to go.

The fever builds and we are about to get underway once again. Here they come into the Ford chicane at the end of the lap.

Standby for action ...

0h00m 24 hours of racing at Le Mans is underway!

0h00m The three factory Peugeots get away in formation with the Oreca Matmut #4 maintaining fourth ahead of the Audis in the opening exchange.

0h01m Allan McNish is on it already on the opening lap and he is climbing over the back of Nicolas Lapierre in the Oreca car.

0h01m There is jostling through the pack as they steam down the Mulsanne for the first time.

0h02m Lapierre just holds his position in the first of the Mulsanne chicanes but here comes McNish once again. It's a fantastic battle for position in just the first couple of minutes.

0h04m Audi team boss Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich is smiling as he sees his #7 car fighting for position with the Oreca Matmut Peugeot in the early stage.

But up front it's still #3 Peugeot leading with Pedro Lamy at the controls.

0h04m The #19 Autocon Motorsport Lola has stopped on the circuit.

0h07m Lamy leads in the #3 Peugeot by just over one second ahead of the #1 entry and the #2 car right on its tail.

The Oreca Matmut Peugeot is a further couple of seconds back.

0h09m Then in fifth place Allan McNish is driving the #7 Audi with the #9 in sixth spot.

The Lola Aston Martins come next behind the three Audi but are already dropping back to the tune of ten seconds.

0h10m Down in the classes, there's no change in the grid order with the Jonny Kane in the #42 HPD car leading LMP2.