7hrs: Herbert in control
Johnny Herbert continues to lead after the seventh hour as darkness falls on Le Mans. The Veloqx Audi R8 crew of Herbert, Guy Smith and Jamie Davies has led since the first lap of the race and continues to hold more than a lap's advantage over its nearest challenger, the Team Goh Audi
Seiji Ara has not lost any ground to the leader in the second placed Audi, but equally the Japanese driver appeared unable to make up any ground as the hour ended behind the safety car following a large accident on the approach to Indianapolis involving Ron Fellows' Corvette and Paul Belmondo's Courage.
The Fellows/Johnny O'Connell/Max Papis car had been recovering well from a shunt early-on at Arnage when it picked up a puncture that pitched it into the barrier. Fellows brought the car to a halt, but in the darkness and with clouds of dust kicked up by the American car, Belmondo was completely unsighted and hit the Corvette square in the rear.
The GTS car has returned to the pits and Pratt & Miller have set to work on it, but the Belmondo team has confirmed that the impact punctured the tub of its Courage which has been retired from the race.
Another French team, Pescarolo, is still doing well in third. The Soheil Ayari/Eric Comas/Benoit Treluyer car has consolidated its position despite Joao Barbosa putting on a charge in the fourth placed Rollcentre Dallara.
The sister Corvette of the Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen squad is now fifth overall as it continues its intense battle for the lead of the GTS category with the Peter Kox/Tomas Enge/Alain Menu Prodrive Ferrari that is less than 30s back.
The Champion Audi continues to make extraordinary progress back through the field after its second hour 170mph crash at the Porsche Curves and lies seventh overall ahead of the Kondo Dome, the petrol-fuelled Taurus Sports Lola and the Zytek in tenth.
Jan Lammers has had another set-back, this time a puncture, with his Racing for Holland Dome. The Dutchman is now 14th three places behind the team's sister car being driven by Justin Wilson, Ralph Firman and Tom Coronel.
Sascha Maassen now commands a lead of nearly two laps in the White Lightning Porsche over Stephane Ortelli's Freisinger Motorsport 911 GT3 in the GT category, while the Intersport Racing Lola leads the LM2 division.
Davies/Herbert/Smith Audi R8 LM1 109 laps completed
Ara/Capello/Kristensen Audi R8 LM1 +2m35.937s
Ayari/Comas/Treluyer Pescarolo-Judd LM1 106 laps
Short/Barff/Barbosa Dallara-Judd LM1 105 laps
Gavin/Beretta/Magnussen Corvette GTS 103 laps
Enge/Kox/Menu Ferrari 550 GTS 102 laps
Lehto/Werner/Pirro Audi R8 LM1 101 laps
Katoh/Michigami/Fukuda Dome-Mugen LM1 100 laps
Andre/Leuenberger/Vanni Lola-Judd LM1 99 laps
Wallace/Brabham/Shimoda Zytek LM1 97 laps
Coronel/Wilson/Firman Dome-Judd LM1 97 laps
Maasen/Bergmeister/Long Porsche GT 96 laps
Bosch/Sullivan/Biagi Ferrari 575 GTS 96 laps
Lammers/Dyson/Kaneishi Dome-Judd LM1 96 laps
Bouchut/Goueslard/Dupard Ferrari 550 GTS 95 laps
Collard/Bourdais/Minassian Pescarolo-Judd LM1 95 laps
Kelleners/Ortelli/Dumas Porsche GT 95 laps
McRae/Rydell/Turner Ferrari 550 GTS 95 laps
Fellows/O'Connell/Papis Corvette GTS 94 laps
Rosa/van Merkstein/Caffi Porsche GT 94 laps
Melo/Daoudi/de Fournoux Ferrari 360 GT 93 laps
Hindery/Lieb/Rockenfeller Porsche GT 92 laps
Kurosawa/Nishizawa/Oriodo Porsche GT 92 laps
Alphand/Laveille/Almeras Porsche GT 92 laps
Wilson/Montain/Hugenholtz Ferrari 360 GT 92 laps
Burgess/Collin/Bagnall Porsche GT 92 laps
Berridge/Caine/Stockton TVR GT 91 laps
Binnie/Field/Sutherland Lola-Judd LM2 91 laps
Donaldson/Fisken/Nielsen Porsche GT 90 laps
Frei/Gounon/Hancock Courage-AER LM2 89 laps
Nielsen/Elgaard/Moller Lister LM1 88 laps
Hezemans/Deletraz/Barde Ferrari 575 GTS 86 laps
Biela/Kaffer/McNish Audi R8 LM1 86 laps
Khan/Smith/Sugden Porsche GT 85 laps
Stirling/Lupberger/McGarrity Nasamax-Judd LM1 85 laps
Jeanette/Pickering/Derlot Courage-Willman LM2 84 laps
Tomlinson/Greensall/Evans TVR GT 83 laps
Belmondo/Gosselin/Saviozzi Courage-AER LM2 80 laps
Maurylaribiere/Boulay/Besson Reynard-Lehman LM1 78 laps
Newton/Erdos/Kinch Lola-MG LM1 68 laps
Sharpe/Hyde/Cunningham Morgan 67 laps
Terada/Roussel/Porta WR LM2 60 laps
Bouvet/Gommendy/Briere WR LM2 52 laps
Vasiliev/Fomenko/Nearn Porsche GT 65 laps
Bourdais/Blanchemain/Berville Panoz LM1 54 laps
Andrews/Lockie/Kumpen Lola-Caterpillar LM1 35 laps
Field/Dayton/Connor Lola-Judd 29 laps
Warnock/Matthews/Daniels Porsche 27 laps
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