Hour 23: Victory in sight for Audi
The victory line is almost in sight for the Audis which have comprehensively dominated this year's Le Mans 24 Hours. The two lengthy Safety Car periods mean that the race is unlikely to break any speed or distance records, but the performance of the R8 has been supreme
Victory is destined for the number one car, which continues to hold a one-lap lead over the sister number two machine. The number three car is still three laps down in third.
With the Bentley matching the metronomic consistency of the Audis, but not their pace, the highlight of the closing stages has been the battle for fifth between the two ORECA Dallaras. The pair have changed places throughout the race, but it is currently the Beretta/Lamy/Comas car that holds around a 30-second advantage over the number 14 car. The battle could well develop into a three-way fight as the number five Goh Audi is close to working its way onto the same lap as the duelling Dallaras.
The Dome's race looked to be over after Jan Lammers brought the car into the pits with smoke wafting from the right exhaust, However, the team went straight to work on the car and managed to get it back out without losing eighth place, although its pace has dropped by around 20 seconds a lap.
Biela/Kristensen/Pirro Audi Sport Team Joest, Audi R8, 360 laps
Capello/Herbert/Pescatori Audi Sport Team Joest, Audi R8, 359 laps
Krumm/Peter/Werner Audi Sport North America, Audi R8, 358 laps
Wallace/Leitzinger/van de Poele Bentley EXP Speed 8, 347 laps *
Beretta/Lamy/Comas Team ORECA, Dallara-Judd LMP, 344 laps
Sarrazin/Montagny/Minassian Team ORECA, Dallara-Judd LMP, 344 laps
Ara/Dalmas/Katoh Team Goh Audi, Audi R8, 343 laps
Lammers/Hillerbrand/Coronel Racing for Holland, Dome S101, 338 laps
Taylor/Angelli/Tinseau Team Cadillac, Cadillac 331 laps
Bouillon/Lagorce/Bourdais Pescarolo Sport, Courage-Peugeot C60 328 laps
*GTP class leader
Fellows/O'Connell/Gavin, Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette, 321 laps
Daoudi/Defournoux/Bouvet, Welter Racing, WR-Peugeot, 308 laps
Buckler/Lohr/Bernhard, The Racers Group, Porsche 911 GT3-RS, 308 laps
Share Or Save This Story
What does the future behold for M-Sport and partner Ford in the WRC?
Aprilia opens new development path in MotoGP at Jerez test
Formula E to keep the 'biggest asset' of its races for Gen4
The "breath of fresh air" in Hyundai's fight against Toyota in WRC
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments