The 79th Le Mans 24 Hours
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0h16m #007 Aston of Turner is now running again and trundling slowly back to the pits.
0h15m They are side-by-side down the Mulsanne, but once again the Peugeot outpowers the Audi in to the first chicane.
0h15m McNish now all over Montagny as the Peugeot is slowed lapping the #83 Ferrari GTE in to the Dunlop Chicane.
0h14m Farfus tries again with a bold move at the second chicane but Gavin keeps the door closed as the top three in GTE Pro lock in battle.
0h14m The other BMW is on the move as Farfus tries to challenge Gavin in the Corvette down the Mulsanne.
0h13m The #89 Ferrari has been for a minor exploration of the gravel trap, falling down behind Priaulx in the BMW.
0h13m Treluyer now 2.3s ahead of the #1 Audi at the front of the field, with Montagny now 4s off the lead as he contains McNish in fourth. Bourdais is further 2s back with Wurz still sixth.
0h11m Standing next to David Richards or George Howard-Chappel would be an unwise decision right now.
0h11m Could it be that Adrian Fernandez's AMR-One has dropped something slippery for Darren to trip over.
0h10m At the same the #009 car has stopped on the Mulsanne.
0h10m #007 Aston Martin has spun at the first chicane, and Darren Turner is in the gravel.
0h09m As predicted the factory turbodiesels are disappearing in to the distance.
0h08m Treluyer records a 3m28.617s lap as he extends his lead to over 2s. Just over 7s cover the top six.
0h07m Franck Mailleux is in the LMP2 lead by the way in the Signatech Nissan.
0h06m After a rather racey first lap things are slightly calmer this time around as focus falls on McNish's chase of Montagny for the third.
0h05m Marco Cioci has kept the #61 Ferrari in an early GTE AM lead, with a couple of Pro cars sandwiched between the chasing pack.
0h05m At the end of the opening lap Treluyer leads by 1.5s from Audi team-mate Bernhard. Montagny is the leading Peugeot in third ahead of McNish, Bourdais (Peugeot) and Wurz (Peugeot). Nicolas Lapierre is seventh in the Oreca Peugeot.
0h04m Oliver Gavin is giving chase to the #51 in his Corvette, with Farfus in the BMW down to third in class by the end of the first lap.
0h03m The #51 AF Corse Ferrari has an early lead in GTE Pro with Gianmaria Bruni at the wheel.
0h02m Treluyer has a gap to Bernhard in the lead, but McNish has gone around the outside of Monatagny for third out of the second chicane. Doesn't have the power to pull off the move though and dips in behind the Peugeot.
0h02m The JMB racing Ferrari has been in the pits for a top up on fuel and resumes some distance behind the pack.
0h01m Three abreast through the first three corners.
0h01m The pack thundering into the first racing lap down the Mulsanne with 24 hours of racing ahead.
0h01m Treluyer leads into the Dunlop Chicane. With McNish up to fourth, after a frenetic start.
0h00m Jean Todt drops the French flag and we are racing at Le Mans!
Heading to the Ford Chicane now...
Cars heading into the Porsche Curves with under two minutes to go. What an incredible atmosphere on the start/finish straight.
AUTOSPORT's Kevin Turner: 'This is what it is all about'. One has to agree.
The #2 Audi leads the field around the lap, with the snake heading through Mulsanne corner.
FIA president Jean Todt is standing by with the flag on the starter's gantry.
Particularly in the French media's corner.
A hush of anticipation has descended over the press room.
All cars now safely on their pace lap.
#5 hybrid struggling to get away. Hope Racing's Oreca does finally get going though.
Marshals walking down the track with the engines on boards. And now a cacophony of varied rev notes as the 2011 event fires into life.
All drivers now in their cars and we are moments away from the pace laps.
Team members now leaving the grid as we go into the final countdown to the start of the 79th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Our very own pitlane reporter is now suiting and booting and putting his light blue tabard now. So hopefully we will be bringing you news from there too...
The #79 Jota Aston Martin is still up on its jacks at the moment. Shiny new Dunlops being fitted to the V8 Vantage.
#2 Audi
On the Audi side pole-winner Benoit Treluyer will start the #2 car, with last year's winner Timo Berhard on the other side of the front row in the #1 R18 TDI. Allan McNish will start from fifth in #3 turbodiesel.
By: Emlyn Hughes, Geoff Creighton, Simon Strang
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