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WEC
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 79th Le Mans 24 Hours
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7h04m Nicolas Minassian hands over to Franck Montagny and this is routine service. Montagny is down, away and off into the late evening light.
7h04m Meantime, the leading #2 Audi is continuing to pull away from Marc Gene. The #7 Peugeot is now 21 seconds back.
7h06m Mike Rockenfeller in the #1 Audi is closing down on Gene quickly. The battle may well develop into the #7 Peugeot defending second, rather than attacking the leader.
7h09m The #56 BMW M3 is back underway after a long stop in the pits. It has fallen to eighth place in GTE Pro.
7h10m Marc Gene is continuing to fall away from the leading #2 Audi, with the gap now over half-a-minute. Mike Rockenfeller in the #1 Audi is pulling four seconds and more per lap on the second placed car.
7h11m Oliver Gavin brings the #74 GTE Pro leading Corvette into the pits for service.
7h13m Into the pits come both the #7 and the #9 Peugeots.
7h14m This releases the #2 Audi into a sizable lead and Mike Rockenfeller will take second in the #1 Audi.
7h15m The #10 Team Oreca Matmut Peugeot is also in and out of the pits from sixth place.
7h15m Lamy stepped out of the #9 Peugeot, handing over to Sebastien Bourdais.
7h16m Now the #1 Audi is in for routine service. Mike Rockenfeller stays at the controls and he's away again.
7h18m The #73 Corvette - running second in GTE Pro - pits as darkness descends over La Sarthe.
7h22m The #64 Lotus has endured a spin at the Porsche Curves. That car is some way down the GTE Pro classification.
7h23m The #79 JOTA Aston Martin has retired.
7h25m Up front, the #2 Audi comes into the pits with a 52 second lead.
7h26m Lotterer gets routine service and rejoins still holding a small lead over the #7 Peugeot.
7h29m Full darkness descending over the circuit and the temperature will begin to cool considerably.
7h31m Weatherwise, a clear night is expected with temperatures cooling to around six or seven degrees. Rain was forecast for the last few hours of the race. We will take another look to see if that still holds true in the next few minutes.
7h34m Over the last few laps Mike Rockenfeller has whittled down the gap to the #7 Peugeot. It was over one minute an hour ago, then down to 30 seconds during the last round of stops.
7h35m But now the #1 Audi is right on the tail of Marc Gene and the battle for second is on.
7h38m Rockenfeller has taken the #1 Audi past Marc Gene's Peugeot #7 and Audi runs first and second.
7h39m Gene went straight on at Arnage and lost 30 seconds.
7h40m The safety car has been deployed.
7h42m A huge crash and there is debris strewn all over the edge of the circuit.
7h43m But as yet it impossible to identify which car has crashed from the circuit security cameras.
7h44m Safety and medical teams are arriving on the scene. It is car #1 that has crashed.
7h44m Mike Rockenfeller was in the #1 Audi at the time and was flying, turning consistent laps in the 3m30s bracket.
7h46m Replays show that Rockenfeller was slicing past one of the Ferraris at full speed and contact was made between them.
7h46m The pack is forming up behind the multiple safety cars once again.
7h47m The #1 hit the side of the slower Ferrari and speared sharp right into the Armco, triggering a massive crash.
7h48m Race control identifies the scene as marshals' post 88, which is a kink in the road between Mulsanne and Indianapolis.
7h50m The medical team is at the crash site as the host broadcaster continues to show replays of the incident. An ambulance is on the scene.
7h53m Dr Wolfgang Ullrich has told reporters that Mike Rockenfeller got out of the car under his own steam.
7h54m The second heavy Audi crash of the race has again caused extensive damage to the barriers.
7h57m There is a collective shrap intake of breath as the huge accident is replayed on the press room screens.
7h58m Audi team members are glued to the monitor ... as we see a different replay of the incident. The #1 car hit the Armco at full speed and disintegrated on impact.
8h01m Medical vehicles are heading back to take up their stand-by positions as Rockenfeller is transported to the medical centre by ambulance.
8h01m Race control estimates a 50 minute repair to the barriers.
8h05m The widespread belief is that the #71 AF Corse Ferrari was the other car involved in that accident, but that's yet to be confirmed.
8h07m While the extensive barrier repair is carried out, we will take a good look at the standings.
By: Emlyn Hughes, Geoff Creighton, Simon Strang
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