Hour 8: Lehto Takes Over

Both Audi drivers were lapping in the low 3:42s before Kristensen pitted at 23:35 local. Only Seiji Ara in the Jim Gainer International Dome came close to their pace, lapping seconds per lap slower. The Japanese ran in fourth position due to a different pit strategy to the ORECA Audi in third.

"There were a lot of incidents, there was a car with three wheels, oil on the circuit and in the sun I was completely blind," said Kristensen after stepping out of the car. "All these things make the heart beat a bit faster. We have a great race on our hands with the other car. We are in the lead earlier than expected, if ever. We now have something very big to lose! I had yellow flags for half of the laps, so it was difficult to either gain or lose."

The Pescarolos lie in sixth and seventh positions, separated by a lap and Soheil Ayari, the leader of the two green cars, has made an extra pit stop compared to his teammate. Hiroki Kurosawa currently lies eighth overall in the Team Jota Zytek, the British team making its debut at the great race this year.

The number 59 Aston Martin again visited the penalty box, having been handed its second three-minute penalty for Darren Turner. The penalty was assessed for overtaking under a yellow flag and was taken by Stephane Sarrazin, who had taken over from his British co-driver. The Frenchman, perhaps incensed by the delay in his own progress, immediately lowered the car's fastest lap to a 3:52.2 lap, nearly three seconds faster than the ACO's recommended limit of 3:55.

Tomas Enge continues to lead the GT1 class in the lead Aston Martin, 47 seconds ahead of the Corvettes, who are all lapping conspicuously close to the ACO's limit. The Larbre Ferrari 550 Maranello of Olivier Dupard that is next up in class, is lapping in 4m11.2s!

Claude-Yves Gosselin found himself on the trolleys in the pit lane in the Gulf liveried Courage while running third in the LMP2 class, and the team has set to work undertaking repairs.

Liz Halliday continues to lead the class in the Intersport Racing Courage, lapping consistently as fast or faster than her more experienced contemporaries.

Marc Lieb and Timo Bernhard continued to lead the GT2 class in the Yokohama-shod Alex Job Racing Porsche, 18s ahead of his fellow Porsche factory driver Timo Bernhard in the White Lightning Racing entry, with Romain Dumas running third in the Raymond Narac Porsche driven by Romain Dumas.

Pos	#	Drivers	Make	Class	On Hour 8
1	3	Lehto, Werner, Kristensen	Audi R8	LM P1
2	2	Biela, Pirro, McNish	Audi R8	LM P1
3	4	Montagny, Gounon, Ortelli	Audi R8	LM P1
4	5	Michigami, Ara, Kaneishi	Dome Mugen	LM P1
5	10	Lammers, Julian, Bosch	Dome Judd	LM P1
6	17	Loeb, Helary, Ayari	Pescarolo Judd	LM P1
7	16	Collard, Boullion, Comas	Pescarolo Judd	LM P1
8	9	Hignett, Stack, Kurosawa	Zytek 04S	LM P1
9	58	Enge, Kox, Lamy	Aston Martin DBR9	LM GT1
10	64	Gavin, Beretta, Magnussen	Corvette C6-R	LM GT1
11	63	Fellows, O'Connell, Papis	Corvette C6-R	LM GT1
12	18	Short, Barbosa, Ickx	Dallara Judd	LM P1
13	59	Brabham, Sarrazin, Turner	Aston Martin DBR9	LM GT1
14	32	Fisken, Halliday, Hancock	Lola AER	LM P2
15	7	Minassian, CampbellW., Wallace	DBA Judd	LM P1
16	50	Goueslard, Dupard, Vosse	Ferrari 550 Maranello	LM GT1
17	61	Fomenko, Vasiliev, Bouchut	Ferrari 550 Maranello	LM GT1
18	12	Schwager, Frei, Vann	Courage Judd	LM P1
19	71	Hindery, Rockenfell., Lieb	Porsche 911 GT3 RSR	LM GT2
20	90	Bergmeist., Long, Bernhard	Porsche 911 GT3 RSR	LM GT2
21	37	Belmondo, Andre, Sutherland	Courage C65 Ford	LM P2
22	76	Dumas, Dumez, Narac	Porsche 911 GT3 RSR	LM GT2
23	30	Bennett, Mitchell, Mullen	Courage Judd	LM P2
24	34	Macaluso, James, Lally	Courage AER	LM P2
25	36	Gosselin, Ojjeh, Sharpe	Courage C65 Ford	LM P2
26	80	Overbeek, Pechnick, Neiman	Porsche 911 GT3 RSR	LM GT2
27	72	Policand, Campbell, Alphand	Porsche 911 GT3 RS	LM GT2
28	91	Pompidou, Blanchema., Yamagishi	Porsche 911 GT3 RS	LM GT2
29	89	Nielsen, Thyrring, Ehret	Porsche 911 GT3 RSR	LM GT2
30	35	Hillebrand, Hahn, Pickering	Courage C65 Judd	LM P2
31	25	Erdos, Newton, Hughes	Lola MG	LM P2
32	31	Amorim, Iannetta, Pillon	Courage - CG	LM P2
33	92	Macari, Eriksson, Wilson	Ferrari 360 Mo. GTC	LM GT2
34	83	Collin, Felbermayr, Shep	Porsche 911 GT3 RSR	LM GT2
35	69	Fournoux, Daoudi, Matthews	Ferrari 575 GTC	LM GT1
36	85	Coronel, Crevels, Merksteijn	Spyker C8 Spyder	LM GT2
37	24	Terada, Roussel, Binnie	WR Peugeot	LM P2
38	8	Verdon Roe, Krumm, Primat	Dallara Nissan	LM P1
39	78	Sellers, Franchitti, Bourdais	Panoz Elan	LM GT2
40	95	Hartshorne, Stanton, Johnson	TVR Tuscan 400 R	LM GT2