H17: McNish maintains the gap
The No.2 Audi retained its lead during a quiet 17th hour at Le Mans, with Allan McNish holding his advantage over the chasing No.7 Peugeot
Marc Gene had been catching the lead car when the sun started to come up, but McNish had started to respond. The gap extended to more than 40 seconds during the first pitstops of the hour, but it was reduced to around 20 when the Audi took tyres just before the end of the hour.
While the rain has eased off around the circuit, teams are still opting for wet tyres as the cool temperatures mean the track is not drying very quickly.
Behind the lead battle, Franck Montagny holds a margin of more than a minute over the No.3 Audi, while the No.1 Audi is still fifth.
The No.8 Peugeot is still a distant sixth, and the car was given a bodywork change at around 7:15 local time.
The Peugeot mechanics had prepared new front and rear bodywork and a new rear wing for all three cars, but after a lengthy stop to change the parts on the No.8 car, they have not yet made similar changes to the two frontrunning cars.
The No.17 Pescarolo continues to run in seventh as the top petrol LMP1 car, while the Van Merksteijn car has a very big lead in LMP2.
The No.009 Aston Martin extended its GT1 lead as the chasing No.63 Corvette had its front brake pads and discs changed at a scheduled pitstop, while the No.82 Ferrari remains in the GT2 lead with Mika Salo at the wheel.
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