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Hour 16: Two thirds and two Audis

Battle for the lead

A mysterious double pitstop in the space of two laps for the second-placed number two works Audi was the talking point during hour 16 of 24 at Le Mans, but despite the delay, the top two spots are still very much Audi's at two thirds race distance.
With eight hours, or an average working day, still to run of the race, anything is still possible, but Frank Biela continues unabated at the head of the field with a lead that looks ever more comfortable following closest rival Aiello's double trip to the pits.

Aiello came in seven minutes before the end of the 16th hour and took on slick Michelins compared to the intermediates of the number one car, implying the Frenchman may have been set to attempt to reduce the gap to the leader. But the yellow-nosed Audi came in again two laps later for what is thought to have been a vibration problem.

The glimpse of a potential problem for the Aiello/Pescatori/Capello car will have been a glimmer of hope for the Bentley team which otherwise continues all alone 12 laps down in third place with Andy Wallace behind the wheel.

Olivier Beretta continues in fourth place in the Chrysler-Mopar, ahead of the Tinseau/Taylor/Angelelli Cadillac in fifth a further three laps down.


The LMP675 class leading ROC car has hit problems. It has been afflicted with a coolant leak for several hours but this seems to have become more serious and the car has been in the pits for more than 20 minutes, dropping it to eighth place overall and 22 laps behind the head of the field.

The ROC's misfortune has allowed the Fellows/O'Connell/Pruett Corvette through into sixth place overall, 20 laps down. The sole remaining Saleen of Borcheller/Gavin/Redon is second in class, 10th overall and five laps behind.

The GT class continues to be led by Jeannette/Dumas/Hazebrouck Porsche 911 GT3, who are a lap ahead of the resurgent Rosa/Babini/Drudi 911 in what is shaping up to be a titanic scrap for class laurels.


1 (900) F.Biela/T.Kristensen/E.Pirro, Audi R8, Joest Audi Sport, 214 laps
2 (900) R Capello/L Aiello/C Pescatori, Audi R8, Joest Audi Sport, + 2laps
8 (GTP) A.Wallace/B.Leitzinger/E.Vande Poele, Bentley EXP Speed 8, Team Bentley, +12 laps
16 (900) O.Beretta/K.Wendlinger/P.Lamy, Chrysler-Mopar LMP, Team Playstation, +17 laps
6 (900) W.Taylor/M.Angelelli/C.Tinseau, Cadillac Northstar LMP, DAMS, +20 laps
63 (GTS) R.Fellows/J.O'Connell/S.Pruett, Chevrolet Corvette C5-R, Corvette Racing, + 20 laps
17 (900) J C. Boullion/S.Bourdais/L.Redon, Courage-Peugeot C60, Pescarolo Sport. +21 laps
38 (675) J.D. Deletraz/P.Farbe/J.Gene Reynard-Lehmann 01Q ROC Competition, +22 laps
14 (900) S.Ara/N.Amorim/M.Kondo, Chrysler-Mopar LMP, ORECA Chrysler, +22 laps
60 (GTS) T.Borcheller/O.Gavin/F.Konrad Saleen-Ford S7R, Saleen-Allen Speedlab, +27 laps

Aiello/Capello, Audi R8, Team Joest Audi Sport, 3m39.046s

38 (675) J.D. Deletraz/P.Farbe/J.Gene
Reynard-Lehmann 01Q ROC Competition, +22 laps
63 (GTS) R.Fellows/J.O'Connell/S.Pruett,
Chevrolet Corvette C5-R, Corvette Racing, +27 laps
77 (GT) G Jeannette/R Dumas/P Haezebrouck, Porsche 911
GT3-RS, Freisinger Motorsport, + 28 laps

I McKellar/B Lambert/J Mowlem, Saleen S7R, RML, engine
J Lammers/V Hillebrand/D Crevils, Dome-Judd, Racing for Holland, electrics
W Lupberger/B Collins/H Toivonen, Ascari, Team Ascari, engine
(900) Y.Dalmas/F.Montagny/S.Sarrazin, Chrysler-Mopar LMP, ORECA Chrysler, engine
B Mazzuccola/V Rice/C Wagner, Callaway Corvette, Aspen Knolls, engine
(675) D.de Radigues/S.Maassen/H.Matsuda, Reynard-Judd 01Q, Dick Barbour Racing, unknown
c Hurtgen/R Fairbanks/C Gleason, Lola Nissan, Roock-Knighthawk Racing, engine
K McGarrity/M Blundell/J Bailey, MG, MG Sport, engine
(900) K.Graf/J.Davies/G.Formato, Panoz LMP 07, Panoz Motorsports, engine
(900) D.Brabham/J.Magnussen/F.Lagorce, Panoz LMP 07, Panoz Motorsports, unknown
(900) J.Herbert/R.Kelleners/D.Theys, Audi R8, Champion Racing, engine
(900) J.Nielsen/H.Katoh/C.Elgaard, Dome-Judd S101, Den Bla Avis, engine
(GTS) V.Vosse/C.Rosenblad/V.Ickx, Chrysler Viper GTS-R Paul Belmondo Racing, accident
(GTP) M.Brundle/S.Ortelli/G.Smith, Bentley EXP Speed 8, Team Bentley, gearbox
(900) E.Collard/M.Goossens/E.Bernard, Cadillac Northstar LMP, DAMS, stopped
(900) S.Johansson/T.Coronel/P.Lemarie, Audi R8, Johansson Motorsport, accident damage
GT R Donovan/T Lingner/C MacAllister, Porsche 911 GT3, Racing Engineering, unknown
(675) A.Reid/W.Hughes/J.Kane, MG-Lola EX257, MG Sport, engine
(675) M.Duno/J.Graham/D.Murry, Reynard-Judd 01Q, Dick Barbour Racing, accident
(GTS) T.Seiler/W.Brun/C.Slater, Saleen-Ford S7R, Konrad Motorsport, accident
(GTS) D.Terrien/J.Cochet/J.P. Dayraut, Chrysler Viper GTS-R, Equipe de France FFSA, accident
(675) W.Carway/M.O'Connell/F.Migault, Pilbeam-Nissan MP84 Rowan Racing, accident



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