23hrs: Herbert guns it

It appears that each Audi will need to make just one more stop in the last hour, but with the Team Goh car on a later cycle it should need to take on less fuel at its halt. Ara will remain in the car for the penultimate stint, as does Herbert.

Herbert has been taking up to four seconds a lap away from Ara, getting the time gap down to just 45 seconds going into the last hour. It will be a monumental feat for Herbert to catch him, but if anybody can do it, it will be the fast and experienced Briton. Team Goh also has the option to replace Ara with Tom Kristensen or Dindo Capello in the final stint.

There have been few developments further down in the field, except that Ralph Firman landed up in a gravel trap after a moment with another car. He went hard into the tyres, but did manage to chug back to the garage without its front bodywork. The team will try to get the car out for the finish.