Porsche closing on overall 1-2 at Le Mans in hour 20

The #1 car of Andre Lotterer, Nick Tandy and Neel Jani has held the lead for the last 10 hours and is now 13 laps ahead of the LMP2 runners.

But over the last hour the second Porsche has started to rise up the order and is now fifth in the hands of Brendon Hartley.

It remains just over two laps down on the second-placed #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECA-Gibson 07 but is on course to claim the position with time to spare if its current pace continues.

The other LMP1 car still in the race has not made much further progress - Kazuki Nakajima is 13th overall in the sole remaining Toyota.

LMP2 LEADER EXTENDS ADVANTAGE

Everything is running smoothly for the #38 car of Oliver Jarvis at the head of LMP2.

That car has been making its pitstops bang on schedule and without problem and currently holds a lead of a lap over the #13 Rebellion ORECA of Mathias Beche, which had a four-minute pitstop for a hose replacement.

The #35 Signatech ORECA driven by Pierre Ragues holds third place, although the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECA of Tristan Gommendy and the # 32 United Autosports Ligier of Hugo de Sadeleer are not far behind.

Also in contention in that part of the field is the under-the-radar #40 Graff ORECA of Franck Matelli, which holds seventh ahead of former World Cup winning goalkeeper Fabian Barthez's Ligier.

The #31 Rebellion finally returned to the track after a 90-minute stay in the garage that included changing the gearbox cluster. That car runs 26thoverall with Nicolas Prost at the wheel.

CHEVROLET LEADS GTE PRO - FOR NOW

Antonio Garcia moved into the lead of the GTE Pro class during the second half of the 20th hour on account of a scheduled pitstop by the Makowiecki/Pilet/Lietz #91 Porsche 911 that appears to be homing in on victory in the 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours.

Garcia has maintained the 16-second advantage #63 Corvette holds over the #97 Aston Martin, currently driven by Darren Turner, over the course of an impressive morning stint.

The #91 Porsche is currently third with Patrick Pilet at the wheel, but it will resume the lead when the Corvette and Aston make their next scheduled stops, and is expected to need to make one less pitstop than its rivals to get to the end

Ford's quickest car, the #67 Priaulx/Tincknell/Derani entry, is fourth and still on the lead lap, albeit a minute behind. Davide Rigon is a distant fifth in the #71 AF Corse Ferrari, a minute further adrift.

The #84 JMW Ferrari still has a lap in hand over its nearest GTE Am rival, which is now the similar #55 Spirit of Race entry.

POSITIONS AFTER 20 HOURS