Hour 13: Prodrive Ferrari out
British hopes for glory in the Le Mans 24 Hours have taken a series of blows during the past hour
The GTS class leading Prodrive Ferrari 550 Maranello of Alain Menu caught fire after an oil leak at the Porsche Curves. A spectacular engine fire ensued, forcing the Swiss to retire on the spot.
The singleton Bentley was involved in an altercation with a backmarker and dropped from fourth to fifth place. Van de Poele stumbled upon the unidentified Porsche, which was apparently running with only on tail light, as he approached the pit entry and became beached in the gravel trap.
Fortunately, the incident only cost the British team five minutes, and a determined Van de Poele soon reclaimed fourth position and is ready to pounce on a podium position should any of the lead Audis falter.
Mark Blundell spent 21 minutes in the pits with engine difficulties on his MG. The crew had experienced cooling difficulties earlier in the race and now required a new gearbox. The former McLaren driver re-joined in 12th place, and is currently lapping at a respectable pace. The sister car retired earlier with a total loss of drive.
Both DAMS camera cars, one Panoz and one Lola, have retired. They had been filming footage for the upcoming Luc Besson-produced Le Mans film
At the front, Frank Biela leads from Christian Pescatori and Michael Krumm.
Biela/Kristensen/Pirro Audi Sport Team Joest, Audi R8, 199 laps
Krumm/Peter/Werner Audi Sport North America, Audi R8, 197 laps
Capello/Herbert/Pescatori Audi Sport Team Joest, Audi R8, 197 laps
Wallace/Leitzinger/van de Poele Team Bentley, Bentley EXP Speed 8, 192 laps *
Taylor/Angelli/Tinseau Team Cadillac, Cadillac 192 laps
Beretta/Lamy/Comas Team ORECA, Dallara-Judd LMP, 191 laps
Lammers/Hillerbrand/Coronel Racing for Holland, Dome-Judd S101, 190 laps
Sarrazin/Montagny/Minassian Team ORECA, Dallara-Judd LMP, 190 laps
Goosens/Matthews/Theys Riley & Scott Racing, Riley &Scott-Ford MkIIIC 189 laps
Ara/Dalmas/Katoh Team Goh Audi, Audi R8, 186 laps
*GTP class
**LMP675 class
Fellows/O'Connell/Gavin, Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette, 179 laps
Dumas/Maassen/Bergmeister, Fresisinger Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3-RS 171 laps
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