As the 83rd Le Mans 24 Hours rolls towards its final quarter – the 6 hours being the distance of a regular round of the World Endurance Championship – there have been incidents throughout all four classes which have had an effect on the overall classification.
Porsche, Audi and Toyota have continued to run strongly through the night into the second turn of the clock, and it is the No.19 Porsche 919 Hybrid which leads the way after completing 291 laps. Nick Tandy is now at the wheel, replacing Nico Hulkenberg who drove through the dawn to the new day, and holds a lap lead over Mark Webber in the red, No.17 Porsche. The No.9 Audi R18 e-tron quattro of René Rast is holding third position at the moment, ahead of the three Audis (Nos.9, 7 and No.8 in that order), the No.18 Porsche and the two Toyota Racing TS040 HYBRIDS. Marcel Fässler’s No.7 Audi was running second in the early hours of the morning but lost part of its engine cover, and the place, just before 07h00 as it had to make a slightly longer stop than normal for rapid repairs.
Both Rebellion Racing R-One AERs have run into problems, the most serious being to the No.12 of Prost-Heidfeld-Beche which had an ‘off’ at Indianapolis and needed a new nose, and then returned to the pits with an apparent engine issue and lost over 1.5 hours for repairs. The No.13 was delayed but currently holds 16th position overall.
In LMP2 KCMG is still running strongly at the head of the class, 9th overall, and the No.47 ORECA 05 now has a lap in hand over the No.26 G-Drive Racing Ligier which is being pursued by the No.38 of 2014 class winner JOTA Sport. The SARD Morand Morgan Evo was a retirement just after the mid-race mark with a mechanical problem but the bigger news in LMP2 was the exit of the Thiriet by TDS Racing ORECA 05 after contact with LMGTE class challenger, the No.99 Aston Martin Vantage of Fernando Rees.
With the Aston Martin delayed for repairs in the pits, it was left to the No.64 Corvette and WEC class leaders AF Corse to battle it out in LMGTE Pro and there is barely a . After simultaneous pit stops, the two toughed it out down the pit lane and it was the American car which just managed to exit the pit lane ahead of the Italian stallion. They are running nose to tail, with the No.91 Porsche Team Manthey in third place.
The biggest incident of this quarter was a huge accident for the No.96 Aston Martin Vantage of Roald Goethe at the exit of the Porsche Curves at 07h40 in the morning. The German has been taken to the medical centre and was reported by Aston Martin Racing to have been alert and conscious but complaining of back pain.
Despite a small excursion through a gravel trap, the No.98 of Dalla Lana-Lamy-Lauda has not yielded its place at the head of the LMGTE Am class and the British car now holds a lap in hand over the No.72 SMP Racing Ferrari 458 Italia. Third in class is the ever-popular No.77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR of Patrick Dempsey, Patrick Long and Marco Seefried.
All results for each hour can be found HERE
Race Facts:
08h59 : Ferrari #55 running slowly then stopped at Indy
08h56 : Leader #19 into pits - also Audi #7
08h49 : Audi #9 in pits - Fuel only
08h45 : Track clear
08h39 : Slow zone at 2nd chicane
08h38 : Ligier #40 in gravel at 2nd chicane
08h27 : Pit stop for Webber in #17 Fuel only
08h15 : 15 seconds stop/go for #35 Ligier for speeding in pit lane
08h14 : 35 seconds stop/go for #37 BR for speeding in pit lane
08h10 : Safety Car in we are back racing
08h02 : #19 Porsche into pits driver change .rear wing being replaced and back out
07h54 : #2 Toyota for quick pit stop during safety car period.
07h44 : #37 front left puncture heading for pits.
07h42 : Safety Car
07h41 : #96 crashes heavily at exit Porsche Curves Goethe was driving
07h37 : #8 Audi routine pits
07h36 : #35 Ligier spins and rejoins at Forza Chichane.
07h30 : #47 Currently leads LMP2..#61 LMGT Pro and LMGT Am led by #88
07h28 : #18 Porsche pits driver change now Jani , fuel tyres as well.
07h23 : #2 Audi is now running 9th OA after difficult pit stop
07h18: #22 and #23 in pits for work on brakes
07h03: #12 in garage, working on brakes and an engine issue
07h03 : #19 race leading Porsche pits, routine and fast.
07h01 : #13 Rebellion slow between the chicanes after brief off, now heading back to pits.
06h55: #7 Audi in garage for work on right rear and replacement bodywork
06h54 : #7 Audi has lost its engine cover at Porsche Curves.
06h52 : #8 Audi pit stop new tyres and oil top up and Jarvis is behind the wheel
06h41 : #12 Rebellion repaired and back out
06h41 : #12 Rebellion repaired and back out
06h35 : It is now fully daylight, track is dry currently no sign of rain
06h33 : #12 Rebellion lifted out of gravel , fired up and on its way back to pits
06h30 : Faster now in Audi #7
06h29 : Slow zone at Indy
06h28 : #12 Rebellion went off and hits tyre wall at Indianapolis
06h28 : Rebellion #12 into barriers at Indy
06h27 : Tréluyer in #7 into pits
06h25 : Ferrari #51 retakes lead in GTE Pro
06h21 : Audi #7 of Tréluyer into lead
06h16 : Leading Porsche #19 into pits - Hulkenberg in
06h09 : Audi #9 stops - Fuel only
06h08 : 1 minute stop and go for #62 Ferrari for not respecting slow zone speed
06h06 : Di Grassi brings Audi #8 into pits - fuel only
06h01 : ORECA #46 has been retired
06h00 : 9 hours to go
05h56 : Rain reported on circuit
05h48 : Webber into Porsche #17
05h45 : Corvette #64 retakes lead in GTE Pro
05h43 : Fuel only stop for Tréluyer in Audi #7
05h36 : Aston #98 leads GTE Am by 67 seconds from #72 Ferrari
05h33 : Tréluyer takes lead by 2 seconds
05h31 : Leading #19 Porsche into pits
05h19 : 75 second penalty for #40 Krohn Ligier for speeding in pit lane
05h10 : ORECA #46 has made it back to pits having lost over 15 minutes
05h03 : Ferrari #51 now leads GTE Pro
05h01 : Aston #99 into garage with front damage after collision with #46
05h00 : Corvette #64 having new front discs fitted
