Porsche Holds Position at Half Way Point

14/06/2015

At the half way point of the 24 Hours of Le Mans the no19 Porsche of Nick Tandy is holding a comfortable 61 second lead after 193 laps of racing. The British driver’s nearest rival is Marco Bonanomi in the no9 Audi R18.

The no17 Porsche of Mark Webber, which had been in the lead at the start of the 7^th hour, had to serve a 1 minute Stop and Go penalty for an earlier infringement for overtaking under yellow flags, dropping the Australian down to 4^th by the end of the 12^th Hour. The no18 Porsche also hit problems when Neel Jani went straight on a Mulsanne, hitting the tyre wall. The Swiss driver was able to recover the car back to the pits for repairs.

The no47 KCMG Oreca still holds a 56 second lead in the LMP2 class despite a drive through penalty and a long pitstop in the 12^th hour of the race. The second ORECA 05 is second in class with Pierre Thiriet at the wheel of the Thiriet by TDS Racing Nissan-powered car and the no26 G-Drive Racing Ligier of Roman Rusinov in 3^{rd -}one lap adrift.

The no64 Corvette Racing Chevrolet of Tommy Milner is leading by just 3 seconds in the LMGTE Pro class after 12 hours of racing, with the no99 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8 driven by Richie Stanaway keeping the American team on its toes. Reigning World GTE Champion Toni Vilander in the no51 AF Corse Ferrari is 3^rd 92 seconds behind the lead Corvette. The no97 Aston Martin was also a casualty in the second quarter when the engine blew on the run into Mulsanne corner.

The reigning LMGTE European Le Mans Series Champions SMP Racing are currently leading the LMGTE Am class with Victor Shaytar holding a 17 second lead over Mathias Lauda in the no98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8.

CLICK HERE for the Result from Hour 12

RACE FACTS

02h41 : Aston #98 leads GTE Am from #72 Ferrari and #77 Porsche
02h39 : Aston #99 leads GTE Pro from #64 Corvette and #51 Ferrari
02h37 : Morgan #43 stopped at exit of Arnage
02h35 : KCMG Oreca #47 leads P2 from #46 Oreca and #26 Ligier
02h33 : Tandy in #19 leads by 13 seconds from Lotterer In Audi #7
02h31 : Track clear
02h30 : Tyre wall at Porsche curves inspected by marshals but appears ok
02h26 : #29 'bump started' with help from marshals and rejoined
02h21 : #29 Morgan Nissan into the gravel at the end of the Porsche Curves
02h21 : Slow zone at Porsche curves
02h19 : #27 BR-01 lost a tyre when it came off the rim
02h10 : #18 Porsche Team Porsche 919 - Hybrid team manager being summoned to race control immediately
02h06 : #40 Krohn Racing Ligier JS P2 - Judd driven by Tracy Krohn in pits, engine cover off - back out on track
02h01 : #7 A very quick pit stop just for fuel. No driver change
01h58 : Krohn Ligier #40 has only one rear light
01h47 : 7 Retirements now: #92,#88,#41,#50,#97,#36,#21
01h46 : #19 very fast pit stop ..only 51 seconds so fuel only.
01h44 : Nissan #21 has retired
01h44 : #21 Nissan has officially retired
01h36 : #9 Audi pit stop routine,
01h33 : #31 slowly into pits after spin and barrier contact.
01h30 : #30 Ligier driven by Heinemeier has a 55 second stop/go penalty for speeding in pit lane.
01h23 : Lieb now in Porsche #18
01h23 : #18 pits, driver change, tyres and fuel plus a new front.
01h22 : Track green again
01h20 : #18 Porsche went off into gravel at Mulsanne. Recovery Manitou lifts it back to circuit and rejoins
01h15 : #83 damage looks more serious than a puncture
01h12 : #83 Ferrari running slowly smoking badly from front right puncture
01h03 : #21 Nissan now being towed away out of danger
00h58 : #21 Nissan spins at Arnage. Driver trying to start it contrary to advice from Marshals. Then after 50 yards it stopped again some flames from underneath.
00h44 : #21 Running slowly along Mulsanne. Front suspension failed.
00h33 : #27 running slowly driven by Mediani
00h27 : #7 Audi in for routine pit stop Fassler stays in car. Fuel plus Tyres changed as well.
00h20 : #12 Rebellion making its way slowly back to the pits.
00h14 : #19 Porsche pits. Hulkenberg out of car Tandy in. Fuel and tyres
00h12 : #23 has rejoined having locked up brakes coming into Arnage.
00h10 : #23 Nissan has stopped at Arnage . Pla driving.
00h05 : #22 Nissan has lost engine its cover and has damage to front left corner after hitting something
00h05 : Nissan #22 has lost some front bodywork
00h03 : 4 official retirements: #92 #50 #41 #88
00h01 : BR #27 slow between Mulsanne and Indianapolis
23h59 : Jan Magnussen told Radio Le Mans that he was fine after his accident. He was a bit stiff and sore but nothing serious
23h53 : Aston #99 leads GTE Pro and Aston #98 leads GTE Am
23h45 : #17 Porsche back in the pits again but this time for a routine stop. Webber out of car Bernhard in. Fuel and new set of tyres.
23h40 : #7 Audi routine pit stop
23h39 : Corvette #50 has been retired with gearbox failure
23h37 : #47 is not a drive throughpenalty but a one minute stop go penalty
23h34 : #47 drive through penalty for a pit stop infringement
23h33 : #17 Stop Go penalty for Webber for overtaking under yellows.
23h32 : All the yellow zones are now cleared.
23h29 : #19 Very fast pit stop fuel, no tyres.
23h16 : #97 Aston Martin pulled off at Mulsanne
23h15 : #18 Porsche routine pit stop.
23h12 : Circuit workers at making repairs at Mulsanne are protected by Slow Zone
23h07 : #35 with Maris driving spin at Ford Chicane
23h05 : Safety Car in. Green light
22h58 : #22 Nissan pitted with problems with GPS beacon and other electronic issues. #21 gearbox problems
22h49 : #36 being lifted out of gravel trap with driver still on board. Debris being cleared.
22h42 : Safety Car
22h41 : #36 went off hard at Mulsanne. Major damage.
22h40 : #17 Porsche routine pit stop
22h38 : #7 Audi routine pit stop Fassler stayed on board.
22h36 : At 22:34 hrs it is now getting dark. No sign of rain. Track temp: 26C Air temp: 22C Humidity: 56%
22h30 : #18 Porsche Jani tells us the Porsche is short of straight line speed
22h23 : #19 Porsche Team Porsche 919 - Hybrid driven by Nico Hülkenberg goes into the pits - probably just for fuel
22h15 : Leading Audi #9 into pits - Webber retakes lead
22h14 : Krohn Ligier #40 stopped after Tertre Rouge
22h12 : Morgan #29 has puncture
22h12 : Audi #8 into pits Fuel only
22h09 : Jani now in Porsche #18
22h07 : Morgan #29 reported smoking heavily
22h05 : Front end damage for Porsche #18
22h05 : Porsche #18 into barriers at Mulsanne
22h00 : Larbre Corvette #50 back out after 17 minute stop
21h55 : Leading Porsche #17 pits Fuel only
21h51 : Stop for Audi #7 Fuel only
21h50 : Leading P2 car #47 pit stop under investigation
21h47 : The driver of Gibson #41 has abandoned the car
21h42 : Porsche #19 pits and drops to 5th
21h37 : Porsche #19 takes 3rd from Audi #9
21h30 : Leading Audi #9 into pits Rast gets in
21h28 : Audi #8 stops Jarvis takes over
21h26 : Corvette #64 retakes lead in GTE Pro
21h13 : Aston #99 leads GTE Pro and Aston #98 leads GTE Am
21h10 : Albuquerque in Audi #9 takes lead
21h06 : Leading Audi #7 into pits - Fassler gets in
21h03 : #7 Treluyer takes lead from #17 Webber

24 Heures du Mans 2015