As it happened: The 82nd Le Mans 24 Hours
By Geoff Creighton, Edd Straw, Glenn Freeman, Gary Watkins, Scott Mitchell and AUTOSPORT staff
The live commentary has ended. No further updates will be posted.
Sat 12:02 Bonjour! Welcome to AUTOSPORT's live coverage of the 2014 edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
The atmosphere is building very nicely here at the Circuit de la Sarthe. So let's get to it...
Sat 12:05
The grandstand on the start-finish straight is already (AUTOSPORT would estimate) about 95 per cent full.
The cars are on the grid, fever is at bursting point for all present and the build up is in full flow.
Sat 12:08 It's another hot day at Le Mans, although for the first time this week there is quite a lot of cloud around. Some locals are predicting rain this evening - let's see how well they know their area!
Sat 12:10 On the grid the Michelin Man is currently handing out American-style handshakes and chest bumps with the Chevrolet mechanics. It's a scene that wouldn't be out of place in the NFL.
Sat 12:12 French national anthem time...
Sat 12:13
While that plays, let's trumpet some British success.
Earlier, we witnessed a stellar Porsche Carrera Cup encounter – with respect, not too many times that can be said. In that, Ben Barker fittingly secured victory as his Parr Motorsport squad celebrates 30 years of competition.
His win came after long-time leader Kevin Estre – briefly pitched into the air early on during a wheel-to-wheel battle with Earl Bamber, which ended the New Zealander’s race – suffered a blowout halfway round the final lap.
GP2 race winner Tom Dillmann was second, with Lonni Martins third. Among the British championship frontrunners, Porsche rookie Josh Webster charged from 18th on the grid to finish with seventh overall after besting points leader Michael Meadows in a straight.
Sat 12:18 We'll have much more pre-race info to come on all of the classes, but to kick us off here are the starting drivers for the manufacturer cars in LMP1:
#7 Toyota – Alexander Wurz
#14 Porsche – Neel Jani
#8 Toyota – Nicolas Lapierre
#20 Porsche – Timo Bernhard
#3 Audi – Marco Bonanomi
#2 Audi – Andre Lotterer
#1 Audi – Tom Kristensen
Sat 12:21 In addition to our as-it-happens text coverage, you can watch live video of the build-up (and the race itself) on AUTOSPORT courtesy of Nissan's NISMO.TV service.
Just click here to view the coverage provided by Nissan's motorsport and performance division.
Sat 12:21 The grid is clearing now, with just the last few (essential) team personnel and officials still with the cars.
Sat 12:22
Shaun Lynn, father of Red Bull junior driver and GP3 ace Alex Lynn, won this morning’s Le Mans Legend Group C race. Driving a Sauber Mercedes C11, he took the lead when the similar machine of Bob Berridge, which was dominating, suffered a puncture and retired.
Tom Kimber-Smith, who is racing the #42 Greaves Motorsport Zytek the 24 Hours, finished second, just over 90 seconds down driving an Aston Martin ARM1.
“I take my hat off to the people that drove them in the day,” said Kimber-Smith after the race. “They are physical compared to today, and the [modern] P2 is quite simple to drive. The technology is so advanced.”
Sat 12:23 The cars are setting off for their first installation laps. The pitlane is open until 14:37 local time.
Sat 12:24 The Nissan ZEOD pulls away from the grid with some sort of cable still attached to its left rear corner, but after a few seconds it drops it and carries on undisturbed.
Sat 12:27
Look closely at the #73 Corvette and you'll see that Antonio Garcia's name has been erased – but for a good reason.
Garcia, who is back now and ready to join Jan Magnussen and Tommy Milner in a bid for GTE Pro victory, flew home on Friday morning after his wife gave birth to their baby girl Maria.
In celebration, "Maria's dad" now takes pride of place in between Magnussen's and Milner's names on the second-placed CR.7.
Sat 12:27 Here are the drivers who will be starting the race in the secondary prototype class - LMP2:
Sat 12:31 The leading GT class is the smallest in terms of number of cars. Here are the starting drivers in GTE Pro:
#51 Ferrari - Bruni
#73 Chevrolet - Magnussen
#97 Aston Martin - Turner
#74 Chevrolet - Gavin
#52 Ferrari - Griffin
#92 Porsche - Makowiecki
#91 Porsche - Pilet
#71 Ferrari - Rigon
#79 Porsche - Bleekemolen
Sat 12:32
A personal note from AUTOSPORT – GARY WATKINS is celebrating his birthday today (which one remains a secret).
Dunlop, forever on his case for his choice in headwear, has marked the occasion with this wonderful personalised cake.
If you want to wish the world's foremost sportscar journalist many happy returns, you can do so on Twitter.
Sat 12:35 The #1 Audi which Duval crashed earlier this week - an accident that ruled him out of the race - was accompanied on the pre-grid by a sign wishing the Frenchman a speedy recovery.
Sat 12:36 The cars are returning to the grid now, lining up in a more conventional two-by-two after initially sitting in the traditional 'Le Mans-style' one-by-one next to the pitwall before the installation laps.
Sat 12:37 Confirmation that the pit exit is now closed. Just over 20 minutes to the start now.
Sat 12:39 The secondary GT class has a packed entry of 18 cars. Here are the starting drivers in GTE Am:
#81 Ferrari - Bird
#98 Aston Martin - Lamy
#95 Aston Martin - Thiim
#61 Ferrari - Cioci
#72 Ferrari - Bertolini
#88 Porsche - Bachler
#77 Porsche - Long
#90 Ferrari - Ruberti
#60 Ferrari - Gianmaria
#66 Ferrari - Pumpelly
#63 Ferrari - Mowlem
#76 Porsche - Armindo
#75 Porsche - Collard
#58 Ferrari - Ayari
#57 Ferrari - Jonsson
#70 Ferrari - Nakano
#67 Porsche - Helary
#62 Ferrari - Mallegol
Sat 12:42 There's one other starting driver who we haven't yet named. Starting the Garage 56 (for experimental machinery with green credentials) Nissan ZEDO RC is Wolfgang Reip.
Sat 12:44 The #79 ProSpeed Porsche almost had a third driver after all. Bleekemolen and MacNeil share the car after Bret Curtis was ruled out following his shunt in qualiyfing and the team's replacement, Sebastien Crubile, was vetoed by the race stewards.
Darryl O'Young, who is kicking his heels after the withdrawal of the #99 Aston, was touted as a possible replacement. Apparently, Bleekemolen and MacNeil decided that they would prefer to do the race as a twosome.
Because there is no longer a bronze driver in the car, it has been reclassified from GTE Am to GTE Pro.
Sat 12:45
Speaking of GTE Am, what can we expect from the fourth division in the race?
Ferrari leads the way, closely followed by the pair of Aston Martin Vantages.
The 18-car affair will be heavily influenced by the performances of its bronze-rated drivers, and it’s the pole-claiming #81 AF Corse 458 Italia – which single-seater convert Sam Bird planted third overall – that looks strongest.
You can never rule out the Aston Martins, with the #98 car leading the #95 to complete the top three, but this one looks like it might be beyond Porsche.
The IMSA squad’s had a nightmare week so far and the highest 911, Proton’s #88 car, is sixth.
Here is a full rundown of the grid:
1 #81 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (Wyatt/Rugolo/Bird)
2 #98 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage (Dalla Lanna/Lamy/Nygaard)
3 #95 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage (Poulsen/Heinemeier Hansson/Thiim)
4 #61 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (Perez Companc/Cioci/Venturi)
5 #72 SMP Racing Ferrari 458 Italia (Bertolini/Shaitar/Basov)
6 #88 Proton Copmetition Porsche 911 RSR (Ried/Bachler/Al Qubaisi)
7 #77 Dempsey Racing-Proton Porsche 911 RSR (Dempsey/Foster/Long)
8 #90 8Star Motorsports (AF Corse) Ferrari 458 Italia (Montecalvo/Roda/Ruberti)
9 #60 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (Mann/Case/Gianmaria)
10 #66 JMW Motorsport (Al Faisal/Neiman/Pumpelly)
11 #53 Ram Racing Ferrari 458 Italia (Mowlem/Patterson/Hamilton)
12 #76 IMSA Performance Porsche 911 GT3-RSR (Narac/Armindo/Hallyday)
13 #75 ProSpeed Competition (Perrodo/Collard/Palttala)
14 #58 Team Sofrev Ferrari 458 Italia (Barthez/Pons/Ayari)
15 #57 Krohn Racing Ferrari 458 Italia (Krohn/Jonsson/Collins)
16 #70 Team Taisan Ferrari 458 Italia (Nakano/Ehret/Rich)
17 #67 IMSA Performance Porsche 911 GT3-RSR (Maris/Merlin/Helary)
18 #62 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (Mallegol/Bachelier/Blank)
Sat 12:47 IndyCar driver Sebastien Bourdais was knocking around in the pitlane earlier. He had a test scheduled with KV Racing earlier this week, so couldn't commit to racing at Le Mans again, but says he'll be back when the scheduling allows.
Sat 12:48 The formation lap will start at 14:52 local time.
Sat 12:48
Calling a favourite in GTE Pro is incredibly difficult, let alone a winner.
The factory offerings from Ferrari, Corvette, Aston Martin and Porsche could, and should, all challenge for GT victory.
Ferrari led the way in qualifying thanks to a stunning effort from Gianmaria Bruni (which drew rave reviews from GT newbie Sam Bird), but its closest challenger was the #73 CR.7 driven by Jan Magnussen.
The feeling is that Aston has kept its cards close to its chest in the build-up to the race, while Porsche – despite winning last year’s edition – is definitely not the favourite this time around (though more on that in a moment).
The #52 Ram Ferrari has been there or thereabouts, but a victory bid for that, the #71 AF Ferrari or the hastily-repaired, would-be Am ProSpeed Porsche entry is unlikely. In reality this is between six cars – the lead Ferrari, the sole Aston, and the Corvette and Porsche pairs.
In addition to reliability, not getting cut adrift under safety cars will be crucial. As John Gaw from AMR put it: “It will come down to being on the lead lap when the sun comes up.”
Here's the grid:
1 #51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (Bruni/Vilander/Fisichella)
2 #73 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R (Magnussen/Garcia/Taylor)
3 #97 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage GTE (Turner/Mucke/Senna)
4 #74 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R (Gavin/Milner/Westbrook)
5 #52 Ram Racing Ferrari 458 Italia (Griffin/Parente/Leo)
6 #92 Manthey Porsche 911 RSR (Holzer/Makowiecki/Lietz)
7 #91 Manthey Porsche 911 RSR (Pilet/Bergmeister/Tandy)
8 #71 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (Rigon/Kaffer/Beretta)
9 #79 ProSpeed Competition Porsche 911 GT3-RSR (MacNeil/Bleekemolen)
Sat 12:49
The secondary prototype class could produce a classic battle, with Ligier, Zytek, Morgan and ORECA machinery all in contention at the front of the LMP2 class.
The Ligier JSP2 makes its competitive debut and starts from class pole thanks to Gommendy’s lap in the #46 TDS Racing-run example. But the #35 OAK Racing run example driven by Brundle, Mardenborough and Shultzhitskiy should be the stronger contender. But is the Ligier reliable?
The OAK Morgan-Nissan LMP2 driven by Pla, Rusinov and Canal, should also be a strong contender to repeat the team’s 2013 victory.
The leading ORECAs – the #48 Murphy car, the #36 Alpine-badged Signatech example and the #47 KCMG entry – should also be strong. The ORECA has an improved low-drag specification that ensures there’s no repeat of last year’s straightline speed deficit.
Also watch out for the #38 Jota Sport Zytek, which starts second in the hands of Dolan, Tincknell and Turvey.
Here’s the grid:
1 #46 TDS Racing Ligier-Nissan JSP2 (Gommendy/Thiriet/Badey)
2 #38 Jota Sport Zytek-Nissan Z11SN (Dolan/Tincknell/Turvey)
3 #35 OAK Racing Ligier-Nissan JSP2 (Brundle/Mardenborough/Shulzhitskiy)
4 #26 G-Drive Racing (OAK) Morgan-Nissan LMP2 (Rusinov/Pla/Canal)
5 #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA-Nissan 03R (Chatin/Panciatici/Webb)
6 #48 Murphy Prototypes ORECA-Nissan 03R (Berthon/Chandhok/Gonzalez)
7 #47 KCMG ORECA-Nissan 03R (Howson/Bradley/Imperatori)
8 #43 Morand Racing Morgan-Judd/BMW LMP2 (Klien/Hirsch/Brandela)
9 #34 Race Performance ORECA-Judd/BMW 03R (Frey/Mailleux/Lancaster)
10 #42 Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissan Z11SN (Kimber-Smith/McMurry/Dyson)
11 #24 Sebastien Loeb Racing ORECA-Nissan 03R (Rast/Charouz/Capillaire)
12 #37 SMP Racing (AF Corse) ORECA-Nissan 03R (K Ladygin/Minassian/Mediani)
13 #27 SMP Racing (AF Corse) ORECA-Nissan 03R (Zlobin/Salo/A Ladygin)
14 #29 Pegasus Racing Morgan-Nissan LMP2 (Schell/Leutwiler/Roussel)
15 #33 OAK Racing Asia Morgan-HPD LMP2 (Cheng/Tung/Fong)
16 #50 Larbre Competition Morgan-Judd/BMW LMP2 (Ragues/Taylor/Ihara)
17 #41 Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissan Z11SN (Munemann/Latif/Winslow)
Sat 12:51 Engines have fired up on the grid with less than a minute to go now until the start of the formation lap.
Sat 12:51
With three manufacturers going to war for outright victory this year, the battle in LMP1 is going to be fascinating from the off.
In qualifying, Toyota claimed it wasn’t that interested in going for pole, while Porsche admitted that it was gunning to start its comeback race from the front. The result was that they contested the fight almost exclusively, as Audi – rocked by Loic Duval’s car-wrecking shunt in practice – took its customary race-focused approach to the evening sessions earlier in the week.
But there have been hints all week that the R18s might have some pace they’ve not shown so far, including Filipe Albuquerque aborting a potential session-topping lap in the warm-up this morning.
Porsche’s presence on the timing screens was noticeably quieter in the warm-up, suggesting that it has switched its attention from speed to survival now it’s race time.
The first stint of the race will give us some crucial answers about how the cars really stack up against each other, and watch out for how long the Toyotas can go on a tank of fuel.
The team has been weighing up stretching fuel milage to save pitstops versus going faster and stopping more often. Audi is convinced that it is fighting a losing battle on the stint-length front, so the die for the race could be cast early on.
LMP1 GRID 1 # 7 Toyota Racing Toyota TS040 Hybrid (Wurz/Sarrazin/Nakajima)
2 #14 Porsche Team Porsche 919 Hybrid (Dumas/Jani/Lieb)
3 #8 Toyota Racing Team Toyota TS040 (Davidson/Lapierre/Buemi)
4 #20 Porsche Racing Team Porsche 919 Hybrid (Bernhard/Webber/Hartley)
5 #3 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro (Albuquerque/Bonanomi/Jarvis)
6 #2 Audi Sport team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro (Fassler/Lotterer/Treluyer)
7 #1 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro (Di Grassi/Gene/Kristensen)
8 #12 Rebellion Racing Rebellion-Toyota R-One (Prost/Heidfeld/Beche)
9 #13 Rebellion Racing Rebellion-Toyota R-One (Kraihamer/Belicchi/Leimer)
Sat 12:52 The formation lap is underway!
Sat 12:53 For the first time all week, the sun has gone in behind some clouds just ahead of the start.
Sat 12:55 The cars are now weaving their way down the Mulsanne straight.
Sat 12:55 Light rain is being reported on the run to Mulsanne corner.
Sun, funnily enough, is breaking through on the start-finish straight!
Sat 12:56 An onboard shot from one of the LMP1 cars confirms those reports with a few spots of rain on the windscreen.
Sat 12:57 Fernando Alonso is ready with the French flag at the starting gantry...
Sat 12:57 GT cars have been told, politely, to pick up the pace.
Sat 12:57 Now specific messages have gone out to the #53 Ram and #71 AF Corse Ferraris.
Sat 12:59 The train of cars now snakes its way through the Porsche Curves.
Sat 12:59 Mark Webber is spotted with a beaming smile in the Porsche garage.
Sat 12:59 The field is getting into two-by-two formation now. Almost ready to go as they run towards the Ford chicane.
Sat 13:00 The 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours is underway!
Sat 13:01 The leading cars slot into single file, although Bernhard attacks Lapierre and comes under attack from Bonanomi through the first couple of corners.
Sat 13:01 Tincknell has made a good start in the #38 Jota Zytek and passed Gommendy for the lead of LMP2.
Sat 13:02 Lotterer passes Audi team-mate Bonanomi for P5 on the first part of the Mulsanne straight. Wurz (Toyota) leads Jani (Porsche) out front.
Sat 13:02 There's already a small gap developing between the top three (Wurz, Jani, Lapierre) and the rest of the LMP1 cars, lead by Bernhard's Porsche as the cars head to the Porsche Curves for the first time.
Sat 13:03 It's as-you-were in GTE as Bruni leads Am leader Bird, Magnussen and Turner.
Sat 13:04 Lotterer passes a defending Bernhard for fourth into the Ford chicane, while Lapierre passes the other Porsche of Jani for second at the start of lap two. We have a Toyota one-two out front, and Porsches slipping back.
Sat 13:04 Further back, Makowiecki has already got the #92 Porsche ahead of the #52 Ram Ferrari for sixth overall and fifth in class.
Sat 13:05 Bonanomi and Kristensen have passed Bernhard as well, so the #20 Porsche is seventh and at the back of the 'factory' pack.
Sat 13:06 In GTE Am, Lamy has held station ahead of Thiim as the Astons hold second and third behind the main Pro group.
Sat 13:06 This is a racy start - you wouldn't think there were 23 hours and 53 minutes still to go. Bernhard has had a couple of looks at the back of Kristensen, who has moved across to defend at Mulsanne Corner, and had things covered into Indianapolis as well.
Sat 13:07 The lead Audi (Lotterer) in fourth is closing on Jani's Porsche, as the Toyotas of Wurz and Lapierre edge away out front.
Sat 13:08 Lapierre - chasing leader Wurz - sets the fastest lap. He trails his Toyota team-mate by 2.6s.
Sat 13:08 Tincknell holds the lead in LMP2 in the #38 Jota Zytek, but Gommendy is closing in in the #46 TDS Ligier. Mardenborough is third in the #35 OAK-run G-Drive car.
Sat 13:09 The Toyotas and Lotterer are already down to a pace of 3m23s. Jani is in the 3m24s, while Bernhard is struggling (comparatively) in the 3m28s.
Sat 13:10 Bruni's lead is pegged at 1.3s by Bird on the second lap while further back Griffin has been demoted by the #92 Porsche, which Pilet now has sixth in class.
Sat 13:11 Wurz monsters the kerbs at the final chicane in the leading Toyota, while third-placed Jani has a queue of Audis developing behind him: Lotterer; Bonanomi; Kristensen.
Sat 13:11 Magnussen has got ahead of Bird in the Am-class Ferrari, and has just under 2s between him and leader Bruni.
Sat 13:12 The Audis close up on Jani in the corners, but the R18 cannot stay with the 919 on the long straights.
Sat 13:12 The #27 SMP ORECA, driven by Salo, has become the first car to pit. That car had a crash late in the warm-up.
Sat 13:12 The Corvettes are on the move – Gavin's nailed Turner for P4 and is now on Bird's case as well.
Sat 13:14 The #27 SMP ORECA, running in LMP2, has been wheeled back into the garage.
Sat 13:14 Wurz and Lapierre are trading fastest laps at the front. The Toyotas are currently separated by 2.1s.
Behind them, Lotterer finally passes Jani for third on the run to the first corner. Now the lead Audi has clear track, let's see how his pace compares to the Toyotas out front.
Sat 13:14 Griffin's now fallen behind the Am Astons of Lamy and Thiim.
Sat 13:16 It's tight up front in LMP2. Tincknell (#38 Zytek), Gommendy (#46 Ligier), Mardenborough (#35 Ligier), Panciatici (#36 ORECA), Imperatori ('47 ORECA) and Pla (#26 Morgan) are all covered by just four seconds.
Sat 13:16 Jani gives Audi a scare by pulling alongside Lotterer on the run to the second Mulsanne chicane, and again towards Mulsanne corner. Both times he decides against making the move.
Lotterer defends on the run to Indianapolis, and once again with the inside line he is able to prevent Jani completing the pass. He'll be hoping to make a gap through the twistier final sector.
Sat 13:17 Sure enough, the Audi's downforce allows Lotterer to pull clear through the Porsche Curves, and now Jani is defending from the R18 or Bonanomi.
Sat 13:17 Thiim's taken second in Am from Lamy – and has also got ahead of the #91 Manthey Porsche as well to snatch seventh overall.
Sat 13:20 Now Lotterer has cleared Jani, he's 10 seconds down on the Toyotas. The Audi is a couple of tenths faster through the first sector, but he loses a full second to the TS040s on the straights of the middle sector.
Sat 13:20 GARY WATKINS: Does Bernhard have a problem in the #20 Porsche? He's six seconds off the back of the Kristensen in the last of the three Audis and hasn't gone below 3m25s yet.
Sat 13:20 The leaders are already lapping the tail of the GTE field.
Sat 13:21 Traffic may have played a part, but Lotterer's first clear lap in the Audi is a 3m25.9s - faster than both of the Toyotas. The gap is now 9.7s to leader Wurz.
Sat 13:21 Gavin's the fastest car on track – he takes 0.5s out of team-mate Magnussen to close to just a second behind the #73 car.
Bruni's gap stands at just under two seconds. He's got breathing space, but hasn't checked out at the front.
Bird has Turner and Makowiecki right behind him now, while Griffin's fall continues – The #61 AF and #72 SMP Ferraris are now ahead of the Pro car.
Sat 13:23 The #76 IMSA Porsche has gone straight on at the first Mulsanne chicane. The leaders were lapping some of the GTE Am backmarkers so that could have played a part.
Sat 13:24 Kristensen takes fifth from Bonanomi as they pass traffic on the Mulsanne straight. The backmarkers have already split the leaders a bit - with Jani getting away.
Heart-stopping moment in the Audi pits as Bonanomi re-passes Kristensen and they nearly touch at Mulsanne Corner. Kristensen has another look into Indianapolis but backs out at the last moment.
Lapierre has been delayed somewhere and lost second to Lotterer, and Jani is now closing on him as the other Audis do battle behind.
Sat 13:24 The Nissan ZEOD RC has slowed right down on the run out of Arnage.
Sat 13:24 That's brought out localised yellows.
Sat 13:24 Imperatori in the #47 KCMG ORECA is having a decent first stint. He started seventh and is now up to third in LMP2.
Sat 13:25 The ZEOD's now stopped, having barely made any progress down the straight out of Arnage. It's on the right-hand side of the track.
Sat 13:26 Bird's dropped back behind Turner now – Makowiecki the next Pro car up to try and demote the Am leader further.
Sat 13:26 Replays show that Lapierre spun at the second Mulsanne chicane, getting out of shape on the entry and then spinning into the gravel.
Sat 13:26 Race control is preparing to implement a slow zone to clear the gravel at the second Mulsanne chicane.
Sat 13:27 Not that it's relevant now, but Magnussen had closed the gap to Bruni to just a second. He'll be primed for an attack after the slow zone, surely.
Sat 13:27 Minassian has brought the #37 SMP ORECA into the pits.
Sat 13:27 Wurz is having a better run through the traffic at the moment. He was 3s quicker than Lotterer on the previous lap and now leads by 14 seconds.
Sat 13:28 And the slow zone is now active at the Mulsanne chicane.
Sat 13:28 Kristensen pits the #1 Audi at the end of lap eight...
Sat 13:28 Marshals are now clearing up the gravel in the slow zone.
Sat 13:29 We have a change of lead in LMP2. Imperatori has gone into first place in the #47 KCMG ORECA, jumping ahead of Tincknell and Gommendy. He's gone from seventh to first in this stint.
Sat 13:30 Kristensen rejoins from that early stop 1m15s off the lead.
Sat 13:31 In LMP2, the #26 Morgan (Pla), the #48 ORECA (Berthon), the #24 ORECA (Rast) and the #42 Zytek (Kimber-Smith) are all in the pits.
Sat 13:31 There's a lead GT group formed now, as Makowiecki has dropped back from Bird.
Bruni has Magnussen, Gavin, Turner and Bird for close company at the front. No change behind.
Sat 13:32 The #14 Porsche is crawling on the run from Arnage! Jani has slowed dramatically, and a cockpit shot shows he is busy with the buttons on the steering wheel.
Sat 13:33 Telemetry graphics show Jani is at full throttle but can't get above 60km/h. He's just coming out of the Porsche Curves.
Sat 13:34 Magnussen is attacking Bruni for the lead. The Corvette draws right up behind the Ferrari, but then they reach the slow zone...
...battle neutralised.
Sat 13:34 Jani makes it back to the pits, and the #14 car is wheeled back into the garage.
Sat 13:35 Bird has dropped back from the lead quartet but the Am leader has a comfortable class lead over Thiim, who is almost 7s back.
Sat 13:35 Slow zone cleared.
Sat 13:36 Bonanomi pits in the #3 Audi from fourth place, with 10 laps in the books.
Sat 13:36 Magnussen almost gets alongside Bruni as they approach the Porsche Curves. He slots back in behind the #51 Ferrari for now.
Sat 13:37 Wurz leads Lotterer by 25s now, with Lapierre just 2s behind the Audi in third.
Sat 13:37
A look at the moment the field rounded the Ford chicane – that was only 40 minutes ago, and a lot's happened since!
Sat 13:37 GARY WATKINS: The slow zone appears to have played to Toyota's strengths. Wurz increased his lead over Lotterer dramatically during that phase - a result of the TS040's superior acceleration thanks to its greater hybrid punch perhaps?
Sat 13:39 Matt McMurry has become the youngest driver to take to the track in the Le Mans 24 Hours. He has taken over the #41 Greaves Zytek from Kimber-Smith. He is just 16 years, 202 days.
Sat 13:40 First stop for a Toyota - Lapierre brings the #8 car in after 11 laps.
Sat 13:40 Change for the GTE lead!
Magnussen gets alongside Bruni on the run out of Mulsanne corner and slips past the Ferrari as they sweep through the right hander before it tightens for Indianapolis.
It's been a few laps in the making, but the Corvette leads.
Sat 13:40 Lapierre was closing on Lotterer in second, so perhaps Toyota is hoping to jump the Audi in this first sequence of stops.
Sat 13:42 The #27 SMP ORECA, driven by MInassian, had a lengthy pitstop earlier and did rejoin, but has just returned to the pits and been wheeled into the garage. The sister #37 car, driven by Salo, did get going again but was in the pits for almost half-an-hour.
Sat 13:43 12 laps in the books and race leader Wurz is in the Toyota pit for another tank of fuel. He rejoins just as Lotterer is entering the pits, and the Audi makes a point by not backing out and nearly collecting the Toyota. If this was Formula 1, that would be classed as an 'unsafe release', surely.
Bernhard pits the #20 Porsche as well.
Sat 13:44 Imperatori has built up a has built up a lead of five seconds in LMP2 in the #47 KCMG ORECA. Gommendy is second in the #46 TDS Ligier with Tincknell third in the #38 Zytek.
Sat 13:45 Lotterer has just stayed ahead of Lapierre during the stops to hang onto second, but he's only 1.3s ahead of the second Toyota now.
Sat 13:46 The Nissan ZEOD RC has become the first car to retire officially from Le Mans after suffering a suspected gearbox problem. The car, driven by Reip, stopped on track early in the race.
@NissanZEODRC: "Request went to race control to bring the car back - we have freedom in technical regulations, but not sporting regulations"
Sat 13:46 We have the first pitstop among the GT leaders – Gavin's in at the end of the 11th lap. Turner moves up into third, so we have three different makes in the top three.
The GTE mob can eke out a good 14-lap-stint, just for reference.
Sat 13:47 GARY WATKINS: Panctiatici has dropped out of the lead P2 gaggle in the Signatech Alpine ORECA. The pit-in to pit-out times suggest that he took tyres - unlike any of his rivals.
Sat 13:47 Lapierre is climbing all over the back of Lotterer for second as they pick their way through some GTE traffic.
Sat 13:47 @NissanZEODRC: "Amazing week. We hit 300km/h on electric, did a full electric lap but our race was short. Thanks to the fans for all their support."
Sat 13:47 Kristensen has picked off Bernhard's Porsche for P5.
Sat 13:49 As the #14 Porsche is wheeled back out of the garage, the #20 car re-passes Kristensen. The nine-time winner is straight back past in the next braking zone though.
Action everywhere in LMP1 as Lapierre attacks Lotterer again, and Bernhard and Kristensen swap places twice on the run to Indianapolis. Kristensen emerges ahead - for now.
Sat 13:49 Bird pits the leading GTE Am car, and Makowiecki follows him in as well.
That means it's an Aston one-two in Am as Thiim (13 seconds clear of Lamy) assumes the lead.
Sat 13:50 Imperatori has now pulled out a lead of over 10 seconds in LMP2 in the #47 ORECA, with Mardenborough second in the #35 Ligier.
Sat 13:51 Wurz leads by 32s, and the next three cars are nose-to-tail. It's currently Lotterer, Lapierre, Bonanomi - covered by just one second!
Lapierre has a little look at Lotterer into the second Mulsanne chicane, but he thinks better of it.
Sat 13:52 Bruni has repassed Magnussen for the GTE lead. We didn't see it happen, but it was in the first sector.
Sat 13:52 Lapierre passes the Audi for second into Mulsanne corner. Lotterer attacks on the outside into the right of Indianapolis...and makes it stick! Brilliant racing here from the big guns.
Sat 13:54 Now there is a flock of GTE cars in the pits. Bruni, Magnussen, Turner, Thiim, Lamy, Bertolini, Pilet, Ruberti and Cioci all come in.
Sat 13:54 Lapierre is baulked by a backmarker and Bonanomi pounces through the new esses towards the start of the lap. From fighting for second, Lapierre is now fourth after a mugging by two Audis.
Sat 13:55 It would appear that Bruni's rejoined ahead, but Gavin jumped Magnussen by virtue of stopping two laps earlier and is now second in the #74 Corvette.
Well, in theory. Technically he's third because Nicolas Armindo leads in the #76 IMSA Porsche – which is yet to stop.
Sat 13:56 The release of the #7 Toyota is under investigation, race control confirms.
Sat 13:56 The #61 AF Ferrari is off in the gravel at Mulsanne corner.
Sat 13:57 Unsurprisingly, that's brought out the yellow flags at that corner. Looked like Cioci was tagged by a P2 Ligier.
Sat 14:00 Jani is back in the action, but he's 51st overall and five laps down in the Porsche.
Sat 14:02 GARY WATKINS: Rast's pace in the Loeb ORECA suggests that the Michelin tyre might be significantly better over a stint than one lap. The prototype rookie has just lost sixth in class to Tincknell, but he's on the pace of the Dunlop-shod frontrunners in class.
Sat 14:04 The #37 SMP ORECA is out thanks to an engine problem.
Sat 14:05 Wurz continues to lead comfortably, and things have settled down a bit behind him. Lotterer, Bonanomi and Lapierre are covered by 3s now.
Sat 14:05 Rast in the #24 ORECA, has been through the gravel at Mulsanne Corner and continued
Sat 14:06 Did we say settled down in LMP1? Bonanomi has just passed Lotterer for second. Will the Audis fight each other and allow Lapierre's Toyota to close up again?
Sat 14:06 Rast has pitted after that trip through the gravel.
Sat 14:06 HOUR 1 ORDER:
1 #7 Toyota
2 #2 Audi
3 #3 Audi
4 #8 Toyota
5 #1 Audi
6 #20 Porsche
Leading LMP2 runners:
1 #47 KCMG ORECA
2 #35 G-Drive OAK Ligier
3 #46 TDS Racing Ligier
Leading GTE Pro runners:
1 #51 AF Ferrari
2 #74 Corvette
3 #73 Corvette
Leading GTE Am runners:
1 #81 AF Ferrari
2 #95 Aston Martin
3 #72 SMP Ferrari
Sat 14:07 Imperatori now leads LMP2 by 20 seconds in the #47 ORECA.
Sat 14:07 It's incredible how fiercely these Audi team-mates are fighting each other. Perhaps they fear that if they cede ground to each other early in the race they could lose first choice on strategy later on?
Sat 14:09 @PorscheRaces: #14 had fuel pressure issue, we had to change some fuel system components - took 9 mins
Sat 14:09 GARY WATKINS: Imperatori's pace in the KCMG ORECA is impressive. He's throwing in the odd 3m42s lap, allowing him to pull away from Mardenborough in the OAK Ligier. And then he bangs in a 3m41s - not bad for a race rookie.
Sat 14:09 The #24 Sebastien Loeb Racing ORECA is back out, Rast having handed over to Capillaire.
Sat 14:10 After being investigated for that unsafe release, the #7 Toyota (the leader) has been reported to the stewards. That's surely not a good sign...
Sat 14:11 While we wait to hear what the stewards make of the pitstop incident with the Toyota and the Audi, Wurz leads Bonanomi's R18 by 37s.
Lotterer is still right on his team-mate's tail, while Lapierre is 2s back.
Sat 14:12 Having led LMP2 after taking the lead from Gommendy's #46 TDS Ligier, Tincknell in the #38 Jota Zytek has not been able to keep the car right at the front. It's down to fifth in LMP2, having been passed by Mailleux in the #34 Race Performance ORECA.
Sat 14:12 The Audis are side-by-side down the Mulsanne Straight (again) and Lotterer re-takes P2 on the outside of Bonanomi.
Sat 14:13 Pla brings the OAK-run G-Drive Racing Morgan into the pits. The car was running a quiet eighth.
Sat 14:15 Traffic has brought Lapierre back into the battle for second, and Lotterer has to take a risk on the exit of the Porsche curves to pass a couple of backmarkers. There's nothing between the #2/#3 Audis and the #8 Toyota in this battle for second.
Wurz leads by 36 seconds.
Sat 14:15 Ruberti's had a minor off at Indianapolis in the #90 Am-class 8Star Ferrari and is back running again, although a bit slowly.
Sat 14:15 Panciatici is on the move in LMP2 in the #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA> He's up to fifth ahead of Tincknell now.
Sat 14:15 Kristensen had pulled a long way clear of Bernhard after their earlier scrap for P5, but the Dane is in for his second stop on lap 21.
Sat 14:17 GARY WATKINS: Kristensen makes his second stop after 13 laps - exactly what we expected the Audi turbodiesels to do on a tank of fuel. The question mark is over the number of laps the petrol P1s will do. The answer is coming shortly.
Sat 14:17 The top five in LMP2 have all hit the pits simultaneously. So the #47 ORECA, the #35 Ligier, the #46 Ligier and the #34 ORECA are all in at the end of their 20th laps.
Sat 14:17 In the battle of the Rebellions, the #12 car is 1m40s clear of the #13 R-One, with both cars having pitted twice.
Sat 14:19 Thanks to a bit of clear track, Lotterer has pulled a small gap on Bonanomi, who is yet to shake off Lapierre since the Toyota caught back up during the scrap a couple of laps ago.
Sure enough, it all changes as soon as they catch traffic, and the two Audis are almost joined together again. There's no end in sight for this battle at the moment, while Wurz remains 36 seconds up the road in the lead for Toyota.
Sat 14:19 This means Tincknell is back in the lead of LMP2 in the Jota Zytek, but he will have to stop shortly, as will second-placed Klien in the #43 Morand Morgan.
Sat 14:20 The Audis try to go either side of a pack of cars on the Mulsanne Straight, briefly making it four-wide! Bonanomi has to back out on the outside, so he slots in to retain his third place.
Sat 14:21 LMP2 lead Tincknell brings the #38 Zytek into the pits.
Sat 14:21 Bonanomi pits the #3 Audi from third place, leaving Lapierre (who lost out in that pack of traffic) to hunt Lotterer.
Sat 14:23 Magnussen's the lead Corvette again after passing Gavin a couple of laps ago. He's about 2s behind Bruni, but the lead trio is clear of Turner – 13-odd seconds behind after a longer first stop.
Sat 14:23 Klien also pits, so the #47 KCMG ORECA, now driven by Bradley, cycles back into the lead of LMP2.
Sat 14:25 Light rain reported at Tertre Rouge
Sat 14:25 Race control has declared "wet race" so that must be more than light rain now.
Sat 14:26 The #47 KCMG ORECA's lead in LMP2 has been cut to just a couple of seconds, chased now by the #34 Race Performance ORECA driven by Mailleux.
Sat 14:26 Yes, the track is clearly wet in the first sector. We have rain...
Sat 14:26 It's not raining at the pits, but the Mulsanne Straight is soaked.
Sat 14:27 While we switched to weather watch, Lapierre pitted the #8 Toyota.
Sat 14:27 It is now raining at the pits – and quite hard, too. Cue a mad dash to stop?
Sat 14:27 Wurz pits. What do Toyota do about tyres?
Sat 14:28 Yellow flag just after the Dunlop Chicane.
Sat 14:28 The #2 Audi is in as well. Toyota changed tyres, possibly onto cut slicks?
Sat 14:28 Magnussen, who had caught right up to Bruni again, has retaken the lead in the Corvette.
Sat 14:29 It's the #42 Greaves Zytek. McMurry lost the rear and spun. Yet to get going again.
Sat 14:29 Bernhard pits the #20 Porsche, while Bonanomi stays out in the #3 Audi. And it's really chucking it down here now.
Sat 14:29 GARY WATKINS: KCMG switched to Bradley and gave him new tyres, while the second-placed Race Performance ORECA with Mailleux driving is on the tyres he started. Hence the reason the gap closed after the stops, but Bradley on fresh rubber is extending his lead.
Sat 14:29 Makowiecki's cleared the Am Ferrari of Bird, while Gavin's dropped right back from the lead two now.
Turner's just 7s behind Gavin's Corvette.
Sat 14:30 McMurry has got back going again.
Sat 14:30 Wurz - the leader - goes straight on at the first Mulsanne Chicane. The straight looks flooded now.
Sat 14:30 A little while after passing Bird, Makowiecki went straight on at the Dunlop chicane. We don't blame him.
Sat 14:31 In LMP2, Bradley in the KCMG ORECA and Panciatici in the Signature Alpine ORECA have stayed out. Most of those chasing have pitted.
Sat 14:31 Safety car. Big shunt - it's Bonanomi in the #3 car. He's backed into the barriers somewhere.
Sat 14:32 Lapierre is out too! The Toyota collided with the Audi and the GTE Am #81 car of Bird on the Mulsanne Straight.
Sat 14:33 The replays aren't completely clear, but clearly the torrential conditions played a part in all of those cars coming together and doing very different speeds.
Sat 14:33 Lapierre is off on one side of the straight, and Bonanomi on the other. Both are facing the wrong way.
Sat 14:35 Bird's out of the car – that car is ruined at the front. His involvement in that race, and by extension that of the #81 Ferrari, is over.
That means the Dempsey Porsche, driven by Patrick Long, will take over the lead of the GTE Am division.
Sat 14:35 On boards from Bonanomi show that he was going slowly and tucking in behind Bird. He was hit from behind - surely by Lapierre - but there were other GTE cars around them at the time as well.
Sat 14:36 Lapierre is trying to rejoin. With the help of the marshals he's trying to get the Toyota turned around - but it's pretty heavily damaged.
Sat 14:37 Just seen a replay - the #47 KCMG car that was leading LMP2 class, but still on slicks, has also been off and hit the tyres at the first Mulsanne chicane. Aquaplaned off. It's crawling back to the pits but there will be damage.
Sat 14:38 Bonanomi hasn't given up yet either. He briefly emerges from the cockpit of the R18 but is now back in the seat.
Toyota mechanics are getting ready to head out to Lapierre - but now the Toyota is on the move down the straight. Can he make it back? The steering doesn't look well on the TS040.
Back with Bonanomi and he's got his head in his hands. Is it game over?
Sat 14:38 Bradley has made it back to the pits in the #47 KCMG car.
Sat 14:39 Bonanomi looks devastated. He's yet to get out of the car, but his crew have arrived on the scene so it's probably all over for the #3 car.
Sat 14:39 A flatbed truck has arrived on the scene to retrieve the Audi.
Sat 14:40 Lapierre has made it through both Mulsanne Chicanes and is still on the move, but he's going very slowly and has a long way to go to get back to the pits.
Sat 14:41 Leaders in GTE Pro Magnussen and Bruni have pit, so Gavin's now at the head of that class.
Sat 14:41 Bonanomi walks away and climbs into the truck. The #3 Audi is out.
Sat 14:43 Lapierre is at the Porsche Curves now, and he's picked up the pace a bit. Who knows, maybe the majority of the damage is cosmetic?
Sat 14:44 Panciatici now leads LMP2 in the #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA ahead of Mailleux in the #34 Race Performance ORECA. Bradley has rejoined in the KCMG car after his off and is in third.
Sat 14:44 We've had our first driver changes among the GTE leaders.
Garcia's in for Magnussen in the #73 Corvette, Vilander's taken over the #51 Ferrari and Turner's made way for Mucke in the #97 Aston.
Sat 14:45 Lapierre pits the damaged #8 Toyota. He's two laps down on the lead. The team refuels, and then wheels the TS040 into the garage. The main damage appears to be to the front of the car, but it has all four wheels still on it and nothing major appears to be hanging off.
Sat 14:45 Nakano's been told to speed up to join the safety car line. We reckon caution is understandable given all that chaos!
Sat 14:48 A replay from on-board a GTE Porsche that was struggling on the right-hand side of the Mulsanne Straight gives us a better idea of what happened with that crash.
It was basically two separate accidents. Lapierre spun into the wall on his own, having arrived on a pack of cars that were going slowly.
Bonanomi was in that pack of cars, and he was slammed into from the rear by an unsighted Bird in the Ferrari.
Sat 14:48 GARY WATKINS: In all the excitement, it is easy to overlook the first evidence we have in the 'will they, won't they' question of the extra lap for the petrol P1s. The Toyotas did 13 laps and so did the #20 Porsche, but their strategy was quite likely to have been influenced by the rain shower. Nothing conclusive yet.
Sat 14:51
The #8 Toyota is up on its stands in the garage and the crew is frantically going to work.
...and now the sun comes out.
Sat 14:53 The LMP2-leading Signatech Alpine ORECA has been in, with Panciatici handing over to Chatin. This hands the class lead to the #34 Race Performance ORECA, with Bradley's KCMG car back up to second.
Sat 14:58 We've got more rain on the pits straight again...
Sat 14:59 Under this safety car, Makowiecki's cried enough and pit the #92 Porsche – that was 13 laps compared to 12 previously, though obviously the last few were at a reduced pace.
Sat 15:00 Further review of the replays of that crash show that the spinning Lapierre did clip Bonanomi - just before Bird arrived on the scene and hit the Audi hard.
Sat 15:01 A road-sweeper is clearing up the scene of the accident.
Sat 15:05 Lots of shots of the Toyota garage, where repairs are taking place at the front of the #8 car crashed by Lapierre. Naturally, we can't see exactly what is going on, but mechanics are working on the front end from above and underneath.
Sat 15:06 Fernando Alonso might not have picked the best time to turn up in the Audi garage as the team comes to terms with losing one of its three cars so early in the race.
But he gets a warm welcome from fellow Spaniard Marc Gene, and a pat on the back from Allan McNish.
Sat 15:07 Thought that it was probably too good to be true for the #47 KCMG ORECA. Bradley did rejoin second in LMP2 after hitting the tyre stacks at the first Mulsanne chicane, but he has pitted and been pulled into the garage for repairs.
Sat 15:07 HOUR 2 ORDER:
1 #7 Toyota
2 #2 Audi
3 #20 Porsche
4 #1 Audi
5 #12 Porsche
Leading GTE Pro runners:
1 #74 Corvette
2 #91 Manthey Porsche
3 #73 Corvette
Leading GTE Am runners:
1 #77 Dempsey Porsche
2 #53 Ram Ferrari
3 #57 Krohn Ferrari
Sat 15:10 The left-front suspension is removed from the #8 Toyota.
Sat 15:12 Due to the split of the safety cars, Wurz's group is touring round three minutes ahead of its main pursuers - the #2 Audi of Lotterer and #20 Porsche of Bernhard.
Sat 15:12 Safety cars in this lap.
Sat 15:13 Green flag. We're racing again. Let's see how the race order looks when the gaps update.
Sat 15:13 After an absolutely manic first two hours – yes, we're two hours in already! – we've had a bit of time to catch our breath because of that extended safety car period.
So, as we go racing again, here are our reports for you to catch up with what's happened so far:
Sat 15:14 Pla brings the #26 OAK-run G-Drive Morgan into the pits.
Sat 15:15 Wurz crosses the line and has lots of clear track to play with. He was the second car in his safety car group, and naturally moved to the front of it immediately. Now we wait for Lotterer and Bernhard to cross the line.
Sat 15:15 The #52 Ram Ferrari, driven by Matt Griffin, has spun off at the Ford chicane.
Sat 15:15 That's prompted localised yellows.
Sat 15:16 Brundle passes Badey for fourth in LMP2.
Sat 15:16 LMP1 gaps are up to date now: Wurz leads Lotterer by 1m33s and Bernhard by 1m39s.
Sat 15:16 The leading #74 Corvette has pit and that means the #91 Manthey Porsche moves to the head of GTE Pro.
Sat 15:17 Bradley did rejoin for the restart in the #47 KCMG ORECA. He's now down in 11th in class.
Sat 15:18 Kristensen is fourth in the #1 Audi, but he's a lap down having made an extra stop so far.
Sat 15:18 Garcia's brought the #73 Corvette into the pits again. That's the third time – this can't be scheduled.
Sat 15:20 Proper gaps mean we can gauge where the GTE cars are.
Pilet leads, but has only stopped once after 28 laps – Mucke's now second, having stopped twice, and is about 1m30s behind.
Holzer is third in the second Manthey Porsche, just over a second behind the Aston.
Sat 15:20 Lotterer's first flying lap after the restart is 3s quicker than Wurz, and he's two second faster through the first sector of the next lap. So the Toyota's lead is down to 1m27s.
Sat 15:21 Bernhard doesn't have the pace of the top two, so he's now 1m42s off the lead and slipping back in third.
Sat 15:21 Garcia pit for a bit of fuel and a return to slick tyres – the track's drying quickly.
Sat 15:23 Kristensen (P4) is on the lead lap after all. He's 2m43s adrift of Wurz. Sorry, TK fans, we didn't mean to cause alarm earlier.
Sat 15:23 So far, we have three cars officially retired. The #3 Audi, the #37 ORECA and the #0 Nissan ZEOD RC.
Sat 15:23 It's drying, fast. Mucke stops in the Aston as Milner in the #74 Corvette flies past Holzer's wet-shod #92 Manthey Porsche for second.
Sat 15:23 Lotterer takes another 2s out of Wurz that lap. The leader is 1m28s clear of the chasing Audi.
Sat 15:24 LMP1 laptimes:
Wurz 3m43.4s
Lotterer 3m41.3s
Bernhard 3m51.1s
Kristensen 3m55.6s
Sat 15:25 And, just after the last retirement updates a few minutes ago, the #81 AF Corse Ferrari, unsurprisingly, was officially retired.
Sat 15:26 Rain reported from Tertre Rouge to the first part of the Mulsanne straight. That's the same place it came in from before.
Sat 15:27 "Heavy rain" now reported, and we have a safety car. Visibility is non-existent on the Mulsanne - it's a huge storm.
Sat 15:27 Amazingly, the sun is out on the pits-side of the track.
Sat 15:28 Rain falling in the sunshine at the pits, and the Mulsanne straight is flooded again.
Sat 15:28 The GT leader's in – and is that unfortunate timing for the #91 Manthey Porsche? Pilet makes way for Bergmeister but surely they stayed on slicks – a few seconds later and they could have gained a big advantage.
Sat 15:28 Howard Blank's spun the #62 Krohn Ferrari, which had just pit.
Sat 15:29 Heavy rain has hit the start-finish straight now.
Sat 15:29 Last time the leaders crossed the line Wurz's lead was up to 2m05s over P2 Lotterer, and 2m24s over Bernhard.
Sat 15:30 Two LMP2s have gone off together. One is Chandhok in the #48 Murphy ORECA and the other is Munemann in the #41 Greaves Zytek. They've had a coming together early on the Mulsanne Straight. Both have suffered damage but are rolling again.
Sat 15:30 Race control warns of debris exiting Tertre Rouge, where the two LMP2 cars collided.
Sat 15:30 The #41 car has right-front damage.
Sat 15:31 #8 Toyota latest: it looks like new front bodywork is about to be put on the car, suggesting the repairs may almost be complete.
Sat 15:32 The #47 KCMG ORECA that starred in the first 90 minutes of the race by leading LMP2 is back in the pits.
Sat 15:32 Lapierre is back in the #8 Toyota and drives to the end of the pits, where he is held to wait for the next safety car group. He is eight laps down on leader Wurz.
Sat 15:33 Confusing, but the GTE order is as follows:
Bergmeister retains the lead after that stop, ahead of Long (Am), Milner, Holzer, Vilander, Garcia, Mowlem (Am), Mucke and Lamy (Am).
Sat 15:34 Marshals are trying to sweep away huge areas of standing water at one of the Mulsanne chicanes.
Sat 15:35 @MurphyPrototype: "Unfortunately we have damage to our right front. @karunchandhok makes his way back to the pits for repairs."
Sat 15:36 Porsche reveals that Bernhard was struggling with "a problem with the boost" in the opening phase of the race - explaining his lack of pace compared to the rest of the lead pack.
Sat 15:37 Bergmeister needs to hurry it up a bit, so says race control.
Sat 15:39 Now the JMW Ferrari gets a hurry-up from race control. Come on Abdulaziz Turki Al Faisal!
Sat 15:40 Race leader Wurz's safety car group is on the Mulsanne straight. Lotterer and Bernhard - who are in the same group - are exiting the Porsche curves. They cross the line 5m30s after Wurz.
Lotterer pits, which means he will fall back into the next safety car group.
Sat 15:41 Chandhok has managed to get the #48 ORECA back to the pits. The #41 Greaves Zytek has also had it back.
Sat 15:41 Treluyer replaces Lotterer in the #2 Audi. The crew are changing tyres as well.
That stop - of course - means the #20 Porsche is up to second in the hands of Bernhard.
Sat 15:44 Unsurprisingly Bergmeister has stopped again, for wet tyres.
That's put the #77 Am-class Dempsey Porsche into the overall GTE lead.
Sat 15:44 LMP1 gaps behind the safety car: Wurz is 5m50s ahead of Bernhard, and 8m02s ahead of Treluyer.
Sat 15:48 Wurz pits from the lead. And the safety car will come in this lap.
Sat 15:49 The leading #7 Toyota - with Sarrazin now at the wheel - is being held at the end of the pitlane, waiting for the next safety car group which is on its way to the final chicane.
Sat 15:49 The #34 Race Performance ORECA still leads LMP2, with the #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA second and the #35 OAK Ligier third.
Sat 15:49 The race is back underway.
Sat 15:50 Bernhard is in the first safety car group to pass the Toyota in the pits, meaning the #20 Porsche now leads the race - by just four seconds.
Sat 15:52 Treluyer, third in the #2 Audi, is 1m13s off the leader.
Sat 15:52 So Long leads GTE, a minute and a half or so ahead of the two Pro Porsches which are just six seconds apart.
Sat 15:53 Yellows at the first Mulsanne.
Sat 15:53 Bradley has had a spin in the #47 KCMG ORECA and continued.
Sat 15:53 Bradley's spin happened as Kristensen went around the outside of him at Porsche Curves.
Sat 15:53 Kristensen is back on the lead lap - 2m27s off the lead in P4.
Sat 15:54 A spin for the #67 IMSA Porsche at the first chicane, but it carries on despite a brief trip into the gravel.
Sat 15:54 Bernhard pulls away from Sarrazin on that lap. The #20 car leads the #8 Porsche by 7.1s now.
Sat 15:59 Seems Chandhok's off was as a result of aquaplaning. The Murphy ORECA has suffered floor damage.
Sat 16:00 Mailleux has an advantage over 1m24s in LMP2 in the #34 Race Performance ORECA over the #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA of Chatin. Klien isn't far behind in the #43 Morand Morgan.
Sat 16:01 HOUR 3 ORDER:
1 #20 Porsche
2 #7 Toyota
3 #2 Audi
4 #1 Audi
5 #12 Rebellion
GTE Pro leading runners:
1 #92 Manthey Porsche
2 #91 Manthey Porsche
3 #74 Corvette
GTE Am leading runners:
1 #77 Dempsey Porsche
2 #98 Aston Martin
3 #53 Ram Ferrari
Sat 16:03 Bernhard is doing a good job out front - his lead over Sarrazin's Toyota is up to nine seconds.
Sat 16:04 The #38 Jota Zytek has lost time in LMP2 replacing a number panel. It is currently 10th in class in the hands of Turvey.
Sat 16:04 Third-placed Treluyer is +1m04s; Kristensen in P4 is +2m02s
Sat 16:06 Fong has spun in the #33 OAK Racing Asia Ligier and is in the gravel at Indianapolis. It was running sixth in class.
Sat 16:07 There's a yellow flag covering Fong's stricken car, which is being attended to by a recovery vehicle.
Sat 16:08 Traffic for the leader on that lap. Bernhard's lead in the #20 Porsche drops to 6s over the #7 Toyota of Sarrazin, and it looked like we'll have a 919 in the pits shortly for a driver change.
Sat 16:08 It's a Porsche one-two at the front of GTE now after Holzer and Bergmeister got past Patrick Long in the Dempsey Porsche.
Long has also dropped behind Milner's #74 Corvette and lost the Am lead to Pedro Lamy. Long, who is on slicks, is 30s off the pace but (probably wisely) is not pitting.
Sat 16:09 Chatin is closing in on LMP2 class leader Mailleux. Mailleux is lapping in the 4m24s bracket, with Chatin six seconds faster. That suggests a difference in tyre choice.
Sat 16:10 Fong has rejoined after his spin.
Sat 16:10 Badey brings the #46 Ligier, third in LMP2, into the pits for fuel.
Sat 16:11 Bergmeister has a very narrow lead over the second Manthey car, in fact less than a second separates the two 911s.
Milner's 25s back in the Corvette, with Am leader Lamy a few seconds further behind.
Early frontrunners AF Corse (the #51 car) and Aston Martin have slipped back in all this. Vilander's currently fifth in the Ferrari, one minute off the lead, with Mucke 18s further back.
Sat 16:13 The gap continues to fluctuate at the front between Bernhard and Sarrazin. Since we last updated you it's been as high as 9s, and is now back down to 6.9s.
Sat 16:14 Bernhard is baulked badly by two LMP2 cars scrapping through the Ford Chicane. He still extends his lead over Sarrazin's Toyota on that lap, taking it past 7s.
Sat 16:15 GARY WATKINS: The leading Porsche has just started its 17th lap on this tank of fuel. That's not as strange as it might sound given that much of this stint had been run behind the safety car.
Sat 16:15 The frontrunning LMP1 cars have broken the 3m50s barrier as the track continues to dry. They're all in the 3m48-49s bracket.
Sat 16:17 The #1 Audi pits. Kristensen out, di Grassi in.
Sat 16:17 One of the AF Ferraris has gone off at Indianapolis.
Sat 16:17 Mailleux has brought the #34 Race Performance ORECA into the pits, losing the LMP1 lead to Chatin's #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA. Frey has taken over the Race Performance car.
Sat 16:18 The Signatech Alpine ORECA might have taken the lead in P2, but there has been a breakage within the team - Marie-Helene, the pr girl, broke a finger trying to keep photographers away from Gérard Depardieu on the grid. Not sure the giant French actor needs much protecting.
Sat 16:18 It's the #60 Am-class car that's gone off, bringing out yellow flags.
Sat 16:18 The #20 Porsche pits from the lead. Hartley takes over from Bernhard, meaning Webber will be last to get his first taste of today's race.
Sarrazin now leads by 54s from Treluyer.
Sat 16:20 The Signatech Alpine ORECA is now in the pits. Fuel and tyres. This will give the LMP2 lead back to the #34 Race Performance ORECA.
Sat 16:21 Another driver change – Bruno Senna's now in the #97 Aston, which has cycled through all drivers now.
Sat 16:21 The two Manthey Porsches pit from the GTE lead.
Sat 16:22 Cars are switching back from wets to slicks now as the track dries.
Sat 16:22 The order in LMP2 is now: 1 #34 ORECA, 2 #35 Ligier, 3 #43 Morgan; 4 #36 ORECA; 5 #46 Ligier; 6 #26 Morgan.
Sat 16:22 The #41 Greaves Zytek has been officially retired. That's as a result of damage sustained in that crash on Mulsanne with the #48 Murphy ORECA.
Sat 16:22 Nicolas Lapierre on his crash in the #8 Toyota: "It was very heavy rain on the first part of the straight. I saw some cars – they were very slow but no-one had the rain light on. I tried to brake and then I’m not sure if someone hit me first – I don’t know what happened.
"Then I went on the right, into the wall, and the Ferrari took everybody out. That’s all I can remember from the crash, but honestly there was nothing I could see and nothing I could do."
Sat 16:24 Brundle, in the #35 Ligier, is rapidly closing in on the LMP2 class-leading #34 Race Performance ORECA. Expect a change of lead soon. He was four seconds faster last lap.
Sat 16:25 The #50 Larbre Morgan has been reported for a possible pitlane speeding offence.
Sat 16:25 LMP1 order: 1 Sarrazin (Toyota); 2 Treluyer (Audi) +52s; 3 Hartley (Porsche) +1m17s; 4 di Grassi (Audi) +2.56s
Sat 16:26 Brundle is right with Frey and looking to take the LMP2 lead.
Sat 16:27 Treluyer brings the #2 Audi in from second place. That moves Hartley up to second in the #20 Porsche.
Sat 16:28 Brundle takes the LMP2 lead from Frey after boxing the Race Performance ORECA in behind a GT car on the Mulsanne Straight. Frey tries to fight back, but Brundle is away. The #35 OAK Ligier leads.
Sat 16:28 Hartley trails race leader Sarrazin by 1m06s, with both cars having stopped three times so far.
Sat 16:29 Sarrazin pits from the lead in the #7 Toyota to get rid of his wets.
Sat 16:30 It's been quiet at the front of GTE, but three and a half hours in this is the state of play:
1 #91 Manthey Porsche
2 #74 Corvette +2.61s
3 #92 Manthey Porsche
4 #51 AF Ferrari
5 #95 Aston Martin (Am leader)
Sat 16:30 Milner now has Bergmeister in his sights – having taken out 3.5s of his lead on that last lap!
There could be a change of leader very soon.
Sat 16:30 Frey was able to reclaim the LMP2 lead from Brundle after the Ligier driver ran wide moments after taking the lead.
Sat 16:31 Hartley whizzes by as the Toyota tours down the pits, so the #20 Porsche is back in the lead. Sarrazin is 14s back in second, with P3 Treluyer +59s.
Sat 16:31 Bradley pits in the #47 KCMG ORECA.
Sat 16:33 Milner's right with Bergmeister now as they hammer the Ford chicane and cross the start-finish line.
Sat 16:34 @neeljani: Nice fight at 340kph @Andre_Lotterer ;-)!
Sat 16:35 Milner looked like he might be trying to nose up the inside of Bergmeister to take the lead into Dunlop chicane, but he backed out of it. Still together down the Mulsanne straight.
Sat 16:35 We've had six official retirements so far. They are:
#0 Nissan ZEOD RC (Garage 56)
#3 Audi R18 e-tron quattro (LMP1)
#37 ORECA-Nissan 03R (LMP2)
#41 Zytek-Nissan Z11SN (LMP2)
#71 Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE Pro)
#91 Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE Am)
Sat 16:36 LMP1: 1 Hartley; 2 Sarrazin +19s; 3 Treluyer +54s; 4 di Grassi +1m38s.
Sat 16:36 Frey is doing an excellent job in the LMP2-leading #34 Race Performance ORECA to keep the #35 Ligier of Brundle behind him.
Sat 16:36 Change for the lead! Brave move from Milner through the right-hand kink on the long run from Mulsanne to Indianapolis.
Sat 16:37 Darren Turner, talking about his early stint in the Aston, said: "It was a good battle between the two Corvettes, AF Ferrari and Sam Bird. The rain came down but we're still very much in the pack. It was a fairly exciting first couple of hours."
Since he said that Senna's taken over from Mucke, and is running sixth overall – about a minute off the lead.
Sat 16:39 GARY WATKINS: Hartley appears to have a narrow edge over Sarrazin on pace, but Treluyer is lapping quicker than both of them. That doesn't mean the Audi is the quickest car on the track - Buemi is fastest of all in the delayed #8 car.
Sat 16:39 Patrick Long FINALLY pits the Dempsey Porsche after a terrific stint. He made the most of choosing slicks while others went for wets, rode out the difficult patch as he dropped down the order slightly, and had actually taken back the GTE lead before that stop.
Milner/Bergmeister were catching him but still, great effort. He relinquishes the lead with a good stint behind him – and with Dempsey still leading GTE Am.
Sat 16:41 Well, the Dempsey Porsche was still leading GTE Am – Nygaard's swept pass while the Porsche was stationary in the pits.
Sat 16:42 Andre_Lotterer: @neeljani yes mate! Good stuff! Too bad you lost 5 laps already.
Sat 16:42 Bergmeister's not letting Milner go. He's fallen about a second behind the Corvette but was barely half that distance behind before the final sector.
Holzer's dropping back and is being caught by Vilander now.
Sat 16:43 Frey is now inching away from Brundle in the lead of LMP2.
Sat 16:45 Badey in the #46 TDS Ligier takes fourth in LMP2 from the #43 Morand Morgan of Hirsch.
Sat 16:46 LMP1: 1 Hartley; 2 Sarrazin +20s; 3 Treluyer +52s; 4 di Grassi +1m44s.
That means Sarrazin has lost a little bit of time, Treluyer has gained a bit, and di Grassi is falling back.
Sat 16:50 Brundle pits the #35 Ligier from second place in LMP2.
Sat 16:50 Milner's checking out at the front now in GTE, pulling 5.5s clear of Bergmeister.
Sat 16:51 The #12 Rebellion is running fifth behind the leading factory cars. Prost is two laps down on Hartley out front.
Sat 16:51 Brundle stays in the Ligier and gets new Dunlops.
Sat 16:55 Badey pits from third in LMP2 in the #46 Ligier.
Sat 16:57 And Frey brings the LMP2-leading Race Performance ORECA-Judd/BMW into the pits. This will hand the lead to Chatin in the Signatech Alpine ORECA.
Sat 16:57 GARY WATKINS: The balance has changed in the battle up front. It is now Sarrazin who is setting the fastest times - and is edging towards Hartley.
Sat 16:58 Hartley's lead is down to 10s, after he held it around the 19-20 mark for so long. Now Sarrazin is taking chunks of time out of him.
Sat 17:01 Alex Wurz on his first stint out front in the Toyota: "At the start everything was fine and under control; the car was running well. The balance was pretty good and I was able to pull away from the cars behind and extend our lead.
"Then it started raining and it was extremely difficult to survive out there. I had really a lot of aquaplaning on the straight. Thankfully the car stayed straight and I could stay on track.
"From the road safety training I do, I know that in these situations you have to drop the clutch in order stay straight and that’s what I did."
Sat 17:03 Chatin has now pitted in the Signatech Alpine ORECA, so Frey has retaken the LMP2 lead in the #35 Ligier.
Sat 17:03 Di Grassi pits the #1 Audi from fourth place - taking on diesel only.
Sat 17:05 The #72 SMP Ferrari's had an off at Mulsanne, going through the gravel, but continued. Shaitar's in that car, which is fourth in GTE Am.
Sat 17:05 Hartley pits in the #20 Porsche, so Sarrazin now leads from Treluyer.
Sat 17:06 With the latest round of pitstops complete, here's how it stands in LMP2: 1 Frey (#34 ORECA); 2 Brundle (#35 Ligier); 3 Chatin (#36 ORECA); 4 Badey (#46 Ligier); 5 Hirsch (#43 Morgan); 6 Canal (#26 Morgan).
Sat 17:07 Brundle, who took fresh tyres at the last stop, is scything into Frey's lead in LMP2.
Sat 17:08 Lieb - having recovered to 10th after the #14 Porsche's earlier fuel pressure problem - pits the car for the fourth time.
Sat 17:10 The #43 Morand Morgan is in the gravel. Hirsch is at the wheel. Was fifth in LMP2.
Sat 17:10 Sounds like the Murphy Prototypes crew is making progress with repairing the #48 ORECA. @MurphyPrototype: "Repair work on our Fairlane Flyer continues as our #MurphysMen prepare the flat patch in the garage."
Sat 17:11 The #52 Ram Ferrari, which was some way down the GTE Pro order, has stopped on the exit of Arnage.
Sat 17:11 LMP1: 1 Sarrazin; 2 Treluyer +33s; 3 Hartley +55s; 4 Di Grassi +2m24s.
Sat 17:11 That's Parente, and he's out of the car. Yellows.
Sat 17:12 A little later, this one, to accommodate a late Porsche pitstop.
HOUR 4 ORDER:
1 #7 Toyota
2 #2 Audi
3 #20 Porsche
4 #1 Audi
5 #12 Rebellion
Leading LMP2 runners:
1 #34 Race Performance ORECA
2 #35 G-Drive OAK Ligier
3 #36 Signatech ORECA
Leading GTE Pro runners:
1 #74 Corvette
2 #91 Manthey Porsche
3 #92 Manthey Porsche
Leading GTE Am runners:
1 #98 Aston Martin
2 #77 Dempsey Porsche
3 #53 Ram Ferrari
Sat 17:13 Brundle is now just 10.462s behind the LMP2-leading #34 Race Performance ORECA. He's around six seconds a lap faster and has fresher rubber.
Sat 17:13 Treluyer pits the #2 Audi from second, while Buemi (38th) brings the #8 Toyota in as well.
Sat 17:16 GARY WATKINS: Sarrazin pits after 13 laps, so it seems that that is the Toyota strategy for this race. The #20 Porsche also went 13 laps on its tank of fuel.
Sat 17:17 Milner pits the #74 Corvette from the GTE Am lead. Holzer assumes control in the #92 Manthey Porsche. Bergmeister (#91 Manthey Porsche) and Vilander (#51 AF Ferrari) have also pit.
Milner rejoins second, Nygaard (Am leader) is up to third.
Sat 17:18 Sarrazin pits the #7 Toyota, and this time he emerges ahead of Hartley in the Porsche. During the last few sequences of stops the 919 had always got ahead before the TS040 rejoined the track.
There are just five seconds between the top two. Before Hartley stopped a few laps ago, Sarrazin had been around 10s behind him.
Sat 17:18 And in comes Holzer in the #92 Porsche.
Sat 17:19 GTE Am leader Nygaard is in the pits now.
Sat 17:20 Canal brings the #26 OAK-run G-Drive Morgan into the pits from fifth in LMP2.
Sat 17:21 Sarrazin's Toyota leads Hartley's Porsche by 3.4s, with Treluyer +36s to the leader in third.
Sat 17:23 Looks like a swift pitstop from the AF Corse crew has bumped Vilander up into second.
Milner's regained the lead, ahead of the Ferrari, Holzer, Bergmeister and Senna.
The timing screens haven't been particularly friendly, but it looks like a very long stop for its rivals has handed Corvette a very healthy lead – 37s in fact.
Sat 17:25 It's close at the front in LMP2. Frey leads in the #34 ORECA by just half-a-second from Brundle in the #35 Ligier. Chatin, in the #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA, is just nine seconds off the lead.
Sat 17:25 A slow 3m32s lap for Hartley helps Sarrazin extend his lead to 8.6s.
Sat 17:25 Brundle takes the LMP2 lead.
Sat 17:26 Frey tried to hang on around the outside into the first Mulsanne chicane, but had to take to the escape road.
Sat 17:27 The two Manthey Porsches are line astern as they fight over third in GTE. Vilander's only just ahead of them, too.
Sat 17:27 When Brundle was attacking Frey, you could clearly see the straightline disadvantage of the Ligier compared to the ORECA. He closed on him, but started to lose out once he was out of the slipstream and had to contest the braking zone to make the move stick.
Sat 17:29 Brundle now has a five-second lead in LMP2. Frey will soon be passed by Chatin in the ORECA for second.
Sat 17:31 The #29 Pegasus Morgan, 12th in LMP2, is slow on the Mulsanne Straight. Possibly has a puncture.
Sat 17:31 Vilander's put a bit of daylight between his Ferrari and the two Porsches. That gap's 3.5s now, with Milner 37s ahead.
Senna, meanwhile, is catching the two Porsches at quite a rate of knots.
Sat 17:32 GARY WATKINS: Sarrizin's pace in comparison to Hartley's – the gap is now up to over 10s – backs up what we learnt from the first two WEC rounds: that the Porsche doesn't look after its tyres quite as well as its rivals.
Sat 17:33 Brundle pits from the LMP2 lead in the #35 Ligier. This should be just fuel.
Sat 17:34 Parente's problem in the #52 Ferrari was caused by a telemetry unit fire.
Sat 17:34 Frey is just keeping hold of the LMP2 lead, although Chatin is only a second behind.
Sat 17:34 Hartley comes in for a stop with the #20 Porsche, and he's taking new tyres.
Sat 17:37 GARY WATKINS: That was only an eight-lap stint from the #20 Porsche. The car gets tyres, so that's not even a full double. If Toyota and Audi manage to triple as planned, that's going to be a major problem for the 919 boys if they are to stay in contention.
Sat 17:37 15-second stop-go penalty for the Larbre Morgan. Taylor is at the wheel. It's 11th in class.
Sat 17:37 Sarrazin leads Treluyer's Audi by 43s. Hartley is 52 behind Treluyer now.
Sat 17:38 Milner's driving superbly at the moment. He's comfortably the quickest GTE car on track and his lead stands at 41s now.
The two Porsches are nose-to-tail again after briefly being split by some warring LMP2s, while Senna's closer than ever – 2.8s behind.
Sat 17:39 In GTE Am, it's as you were. Nygaard leads, and he's pulling away from Dempsey all the while. Hamilton's some way behind the American actor in third.
Sat 17:39 Things are looking rosy for Sarrazin and Toyota at the moment. The Porsche appears to be unable to make its tyres last, and Treluyer's Audi is slipping back in second.
Sarrazin leads by 46s over Treluyer now.
Sat 17:39 The Manthey cars have lost two seconds in the final sector and Senna's right with them now as they head onto the Mulsanne straight.
Sat 17:40 LMP1: 1 Sarrazin (Toyota); 2 Treluyer (Audi) +47s; 3 Hartley (Porsche); 4 di Grassi (Audi).
Sat 17:41 The #20 Porsche's early pitstop was in fact because of a puncture.
Sat 17:42 Senna gets past one of the Porsches – Bergmeister – and is now attacking Holzer's #92 911 RSR.
Sat 17:43 Senna goes again, he's attacking Holzer – and he's through! The Aston moves into third, with 10s between himself and Vilander in second.
Sat 17:44 As expected, Chatin brings the #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA into the pits from the lead of LMP2. That hands the advantage back to Brundle in the #35 OAK Ligier.
Sat 17:44 Holzer got too deep into the Ford chicane and Senna nailed the pass on the exit. Easy work.
Sat 17:44 Di Grassi has caught Hartley. There's less than a second between them as they battle for third place.
Sat 17:48 GARY WATKINS: The way di Grassi out-accelerated Hartley out of the Ford Chicane doesn't appear right. The Porsche should pull away initially thanks to its greater hybrid punch.
Sat 17:48 The troubled #48 Murphy ORECA is back in the pits.
Sat 17:49 @RamRacingCom: "The #52 is back in the garage. The team confirm an electrical issue was the cause."
Sat 17:49 Driver change imminent for the #20 Porsche. Mark Webber is ready to go - helmet on.
Sat 17:49 Di Grassi pits the #1 Audi, so his spell ahead of the #20 Porsche is short-lived.
Sat 17:51 Bergmeister takes fourth in GTE from Holzer with a brave move down the inside of the right before Indianapolis.
Sat 17:54 Brundle is extending the lead in LMP2 for the #35 OAK Ligier. He now has 18 seconds over the #34 Race Performance ORECA driven by Frey.
Sat 17:59 Hartley goes straight on at the first Mulsanne Chicane in the #20 Porsche, losing around four seconds.
Treluyer pits the #2 Audi from second place.
Sat 18:02 Perrodo just had a quick spin in the #75 GTE Am Porsche at the Dunlop chicane.
Sat 18:03 Sarrazin pits the #8 Toyota from the lead. Pretty soon we'll get a gap between him and Treluyer in second now they've both been in.
Hartley is 22s behind Treluyer in third, with di Grassi 44s behind Hartley.
Sat 18:03 The new gap at the front is 56s - so Toyota gained a little bit over Audi during that sequence of stops.
Sat 18:04 Brundle is now struggling in the LMP2-leading Ligier. The age of his tyres will be starting to hurt him and both Frey has closed the gap down to 13.687s and was two seconds faster on the 67th lap.
Sat 18:04 GARY WATKINS: Sarrazin and Treluyer in first and second have both just started a third stint on their Michelin tyres. Neither Toyota nor Audi made any secret of their intention to run triples. The quadruples of old, however, are probably going to be consigned to history with the narrower tyres demanded by the new regulations.
Sat 18:05 LMP1: 1 Sarrazin; 2 Treluyer +58s; 3 Hartley +1m22s; 4 di Grassi +2m49s.
Sat 18:05 Sam Bird, whose #81 Ferrari was eliminated in the crash involving the #3 Audi and the #8 Toyota earlier, isn't sure of the exact order of events in the shunt. @sambirdracing: "Gutted about what happened today. Such a shame for all the cars involved. Really unsure as to what happened."
Sat 18:07 Buemi in the recovering #8 Toyota has got one of his (many) laps back on the #2 Audi of Treluyer, which remains 56s adrift of the race-leading #7 Toyota of Sarrazin.
Sat 18:11 NISMO global head of brand, marketing and sales Darren Cox on the retirement of the Nissan ZEOD early in the race: "They say that life is a rollercoaster but certainly motorsport takes this to the next level. Just today we’ve had massive highs followed by a temporary low.
"This morning the team did a brilliant job in achieving the electric lap. We only tried it once and we completed it. That is an amazing accomplishment for Nissan and electric vehicles.
"We were very confident in starting the race and earlier in the week we had already exceeded 300km/h. We were looking forward to doing some more electric laps throughout the race but a traditional part of a gearbox broke.
"It is a real shame because we were really looking forward to showcasing the EV technology in the race.
"It has been an amazing experience for everyone that has been involved. I hope everyone who was worked on the project and put in so many hours will remember the high when the car completed its electric lap of Le Mans."
Sat 18:11 Charouz just had a brief off in the #24 Sebastien Loeb Racing ORECA. That car is seventh in class.
Sat 18:12 Brundle pulling away again in the LMP2-leading #35 OAK Ligier. He's now 21 seconds clear of Frey in the #34 Race Performance ORECA.
Sat 18:13 Laptime update in LMP1: Sarrazin and Treluyer are doing 3m26s, Hartley and di Grassi 3m28s.
Sat 18:14 A few pitstops to tell you about in GTE. The #74 Corvette's out of the lead, and Milner's out of the car – making way for Richard Westbrook.
Holzer has taken over the lead while the C7.R was in the pits, but the Manthey Porsche is due in shortly. Senna's jumped Fisichella, who has taken over the AF Ferrari from Vilander.
Sat 18:17 Brundle pits in the LMP2-leading OAK Ligier. He hands over to Shulzhitskiy. Expect Thiriet in the #46 TDS Ligier in from third place next lap.
Sat 18:19 Yellow flag at Arnage.
Sat 18:19 It was Venturi in the #61 Ferrari that went off. He's rejoined.
Sat 18:21 Hartley pits in the #20 Porsche from third place. He'll rejoin in P4 behind di Grassi.
Sat 18:22 Frey heads into the pits in the #34 Race Performance car. New tyres. This will allow the Signatech Alpine ORECA into the lead, but it should pit next time around and put the #35 Ligier back up front.
Sat 18:23 The pitstops have all shaken out again now and the #74 Corvette regains its lead. Westbrook leads Senna by 27.7s – so that gap has come down quite a bit.
The data shows AMR's pitstop was some 22s quicker than Corvette's, which would be tyres, we think.
Fisichella is third, with Bergmeister and Lietz gapped out behind. That's how we expected it to be.
Sat 18:23 Hartley has rejoined 19s behind di Grassi after that stop for the #20 Porsche.
Sat 18:24 Lietz actually has the second Corvette, which led early on but lost out because of an added pitstop, right on his tail now.
Sat 18:24 The #8 Toyota's lead goes above one minute. Treluyer's Audi trails Sarrazin by 1m01s now.
Sat 18:24 Lancaster heads out having taken over the #34 ORECA from Frey.
Sat 18:24 Chatin leads in LMP2, but he'll be in this lap.
Sat 18:26 And Chatin is in. That will promote Shulzhitskiy to the lead in LMP2 driving the #35 OAK Ligier.
Sat 18:27 Interesting that Webber still hasn't taken over the #20 Porsche. We saw him with his helmet on and ready a long time ago, but Hartley is still going in the 919.
Sat 18:28 Chandhok has set a few quick laptimes in the #48 Murphy ORECA. Unfortunately, it's out of contention in LMP2, 30 laps down.
Sat 18:28 The #13 Rebellion pits, allowing the recovering #8 Toyota to pass it for 17th overall.
Sat 18:29 LMP1: 1 Sarrazin; 2 Treluyer +1m00s; 3 di Grassi +2m12s; 4 Hartley +2m40s.
All four cars have stopped six times.
Sat 18:29 We've had a change of cast in the leading cars in LMP2. Shulthitskiy has taken over the #35 Ligier, Webb is in the #36 ORECA and Lancaster in the #34 ORECA. Thiriet has stayed on in the #46 TDS Ligier.
Sat 18:31 Parente has rejoined in the #52 Ram Ferrari.
Sat 18:32 Brandela just lost the #43 Morgan under braking for Arnage in a gaggle of traffic. He spun and recovered. That car has now dropped down to eighth in LMP2.
Sat 18:36 GARY WATKINS: The two Manthey Porsche 911 RSR have picked up pace and are now regularly doing 3m58s. That's significant because they were struggling to break the four-minute barrier earlier. We know the Porsche is more temperature sensitive than its rivals, but what we don't know is whether it is enough to keep them in the GTE Pro battle.
Sat 18:37 Chandhok has brought the #48 ORECA into the pits and handed the car over to Gonzalez. The car is 30 laps down, but Chandhok set the fastest LMP2 time after rejoining, showing what might have been possible.
Sat 18:37 The #26 OAK-run G-Drive Morgan is making up some ground. It's currently fifth in LMP2 but setting quick times with Rusinov at the wheel. But it's almost two minutes behind fourth-placed Lancaster.
Sat 18:37 And, right on cue, Rusinov just set that car's fastest lap of the race.
Sat 18:38 Di Grassi pits the #1 Audi from third, slipping behind Hartley in the #20 Porsche again.
Sat 18:38 The Porsches might be picking up their pace in GTE, but that hasn't stopped Jordan Taylor splitting them and taking fifth.
The Corvettes have been superb in the opening quarter of this race, justifying the pre-race hype.
Sat 18:39 Since Sarrazin was able to gradually get his lead up from around 50s to 1m00s, he's been unable to make any more progress over Treluyer. On the last lap the margin was 1m00.7s between the top two.
Sat 18:40 Lieb pits the #14 Porsche from sixth, having just got back on the same lap as the #12 Rebellion he's chasing for P5. The 919 takes on a new set of slick tyres.
Sat 18:41 Kazuki Nakajima is getting ready for a stint in the race-leading Toyota. While he limbers up, Sarrazin sets a personal best time through the first sector.
Sat 18:45 Treluyer brings the #2 Audi in from second, takes on fuel only and heads back out. We're expecting the race-leading Toyota of Sarrazin in next time round.
Sat 18:46 Nakajima heads to the front of the garage holding a seat insert, ready to take over from Sarrazin in the #7 Toyota.
Sat 18:47 Rusinov brings the #26 OAK-run G-Drive Morgan into the pits from fifth in LMP2.
Sat 18:48 The leading Toyota gets a new set of tyres for the start of Nakajima's stint.
Sat 18:48 In LMP2, Shultzhitskiy has extended his lead in the #35 Ligier to 36 seconds over the #46 TDS Ligier of Thiriet. That's impressive, as the new Ligier JSP2 has never raced before and first turned a wheel on March 7.
Sat 18:48 GARY WATKINS: The leading Toyota tripled its tyres as the team stated it would. Audi, which was less certain (or less inclined to let us know), has sent Treluyer on his way on tyres that are now into their fourth stint.
Sat 18:50 That tyre information on the top two cars means Toyota spent 1m21s in the pitlane to the Audi's 57s, and the lead is down 35s having been around the minute-mark before the stops.
Sat 18:51 The fastest LMP2 machines on track right now are the leading #35 Ligier, driven by Shulthitzkiy, and the #48 Murphy ORECA, with Gonzalez at the wheel.
Sat 18:55 We're about due the next wave of GTE pitstops. Westbrook leads Senna by 29.3s, with Fisichella a couple of seconds further back.
Sat 18:56 Right on cue, a 458 is in. Fisichella's first to blink in the AF Corse Ferrari.
Sat 18:59 Shulzhitskiy pits in the #35 Ligier. That's bang on schedule. The #46 TDS Ligier has taken the lead, but Thiriet is due to bring it into the pits at the end of the next lap.
Sat 19:01 Fabio Leimer reports that it "doesn't look good" for the #13 Rebellion, which is in the garage at the moment.
Sat 19:01 GARY WATKINS: Audi's decision to go for a quadruple isn't paying dividends. Nakajima, on fresh Michelins, is pulling away from Treluyer by at least four seconds a lap.
Sat 19:04 Anthony Davidson has the recovering #8 Toyota - which was crashed by Lapierre in an early rain storm - up to 12th overall, still eight laps off the lead.
Sat 19:05 Treluyer started this stint 35s behind Nakajima. However, thanks to the fresh tyres on the Toyota that gap is already back up to 51s.
Sat 19:07 Hartley has gone straight on at Arnage in the #20 Porsche. He's not rejoining immediately...
Sat 19:08 The Porsche was due in for a stop this lap. Hartley appears to be trying to reset something in the car, and he's now getting pushed backwards by the marshals - before getting back on his way.
Sat 19:08 Replays show what looks like a pretty straightforward lock up - of the outside front wheel - sent Hartley down the escape road at the slow right-hander.
He's now in the pits, surely to hand over to Webber.
Sat 19:08 Webb brings the LMP2-leading #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA into the pits for a scheduled stop. This hands the lead back to the '35 OAK Ligier of Shulzhitskiy. Interestingly, during that round of pitstops for the leading three LMP2 cars, the #34 Race Performance car went one lap shorter than expected.
Sat 19:09 That incident cost Hartley nearly two minutes on his inlap. Sure enough, he hands over to Webber for the Australian's first stint in this year's Le Mans 24 Hours.
Sat 19:13 Lietz had risen to second after Porsche's rivals stopped, but he's now brought the #92 car in so will drop back down the order.
Crucially, Fisichella has got back ahead of the Aston – which Senna's vacated now for Mucke.
Sat 19:14 The #79 ProSpeed Porsche, which has had a difficult race even before you consider Cooper MacNeil and Jeroen Bleekemolen are driving as a twosome, is limping back to the pits with a puncture.
Sat 19:16 Timo Bernhard on his opening stint in the #20 Porsche and leading the race: "In the opening phase the car felt quite tricky to drive but that improved after a few laps. We were really fast in the rain and employed the right strategy. My experience from several years at Le Mans helped me a lot during this stage of the race, but it was still extremely difficult.
"We had all kinds of conditions out there that you could imagine, from zero vision to completely dry track, and everything in between. All this within one single lap. That was absolutely crazy, I have never experienced anything like it.
"To put a Porsche in front of this race for the first time after the comeback was definitely a great moment. Now we have to make sure that we keep doing a zero-error job."
Sat 19:17 GARY WATKINS: Mark Webber has just completed his first racing lap of Le Mans. He has never actually raced here before: in 1998, his Mercedes was out with engine failure before he was due to drive and we all know why his car didn't start 12 months later.
Sat 19:18 Now that Lietz is back out, here are the leading GTE Pro positions: 1 Westbrook (#74 Corvette); 2 Fisichella (#51 AF Ferrari); 3 Turner (#97 Aston Martin); 4 Lietz (#92 Manthey Porsche); 5 Taylor (#73 Corvette).
The #98 Aston Martin continues to lead its sister #95 car in GTE Am.
Sat 19:20 The #79 Porsche is back in the pits but, in addition to plenty of damage to left rear, has a small fire at the back of the car as well.
That gets treated by a fire extinguisher pretty quickly, and the car is wheeled into the garage.
Sat 19:22 Di Grassi pits the #1 Audi from third place. He was 2m25s off the lead before coming in, and is handing over to Gene.
Sat 19:22 After Hartley's off on his in-lap, the #20 Porsche (now in Webber's hands) is one lap down in fourth place.
Sat 19:23 GARY WATKINS: The times have pretty much leveled up between Treluyer and Nakajima, now the Toyota driver's tyres are the best part of a stint old. The net loss in 10 laps has been 21s. If it remains at that amount, there will have been a small net gain for Audi.
Sat 19:26 The #7 Toyota's lead over Treluyer in the Audi is back up to 1m00s, as it was before the last round of stops where Audi made up a chunk of time when it didn't take fresh tyres.
Sat 19:27 Turner's absolutely flying – 3m56.259s is comfortably the quickest of the GTE cars right now. He's 22s behind the Ferrari of Fisichella having taken on new tyres in his stop – as did Nick Tandy, who is in the #91 Manthey Porsche for the first time in the race.
Sat 19:30 Imperatori has shunted the #47 KCMG ORECA on the run out of the Porsche Curves. Safety car deployed
Sat 19:31 That's a shame for Imperatori, who drove a superb first stint to get that car up into the lead of its class.
Sat 19:31 Audi pits the #2 car, which prior to that had been tough to pass for the recovering Davidson, who was trying to get a lap back in the #8 Toyota to no avail.
Sat 19:32 Dalla Lana had a quick spin in the GTE Am-leading #98 Aston. We'll assume that was before the safety cars were called out.
Sat 19:34 Nakajima is in the pits for Toyota, as the #2 Audi - now with Fassler at the wheel, is released from the end of the pit lane to join the first SC group to pass by.
Sat 19:35 Imperatori got back into the KCMG ORECA in the hope of getting back to the pits. But it's being wheeled back behind the wall. Looks like that will be it.
Sat 19:38 GARY WATKINS: Audi ended up losing time to the leader with its quadruple stint. The gap between Nakajima and Treluyer went out from 36s to over a minute over the course of the stint. Maybe Audi will see it as a gain, because the Toyota would have been quicker even if Treluyer had had new Michelins.
Sat 19:40 Looks like the safety car has done the LMP2-leading OAK Ligier a favour. Seems to in the next safety car group up the road from its pursuers. So should give it an increased lead.
Sat 19:42 Imperatori is out of the car, and explaining his off to various marshals/photographers.
Sat 19:45 The #1 Audi of Gene (third) is just about on the lead lap still after the shuffling in this safety car period. He's in the same safety car group as the leading #7 Toyota, but the Audi is at the front of the queue and Nakajima's TS040 is at the back of it.
Sat 19:46 Safety car in this lap.
Sat 19:46 Chandhok is bitterly disappointed by the off he had while crawling in the heavy rain, with the #48 Murphy ORECA spinning into the wall. The car has rejoined and is showing its pace, but is out of contention in LMP2. Chandhok set fastest LMP2 lap after rejoining.
Chandhok's summary: "The car turned into a canoe - no steering or brakes. Nightmare..."
Sat 19:47 Apparently the #66 JMW Ferrari has gone off. That's driven by Pumpelly.
Sat 19:47 Seems that Pumpelly has got back going again fortunately.
Sat 19:48 Second-placed Fassler crosses the line 2m52s behind the lead Toyota of Nakajima.
Sat 19:49 That new gap between the leaders means Audi lost out - to the tune of well over a minute - during that safety car period.
Sat 19:50 Turner has just taken second in GTE Pro.
Sat 19:52 LMP2 leader Shulzhitskiy is in. The car gets fuel and tyres and Mardenborough takes over.
Sat 19:52 GARY WATKINS: The safety car has closed up the first three - Westbrook, Turner and Fisichella - in GTE Pro. There is now 2.5s between them, But the second Corvette and the two Porsches have been dropped, courtesy of the three safety-car set-up.
Sat 19:53 Lancaster has pitted in the #34 ORECA. He rejoins and should retain emerge in LMP2, as the #46 TDS Ligier pitted under the safety car and lost time.
Sat 19:53 The #88 Proton Porsche has taken a trip up an escape road with Al Qubaisi at the wheel.
Sat 20:00 Turner nails Westbrook to take the GTE lead!
Sat 20:00 Meanwhile, Tandy is pressuring Lietz for fourth having passed Taylor's Corvette.
Sat 20:02 Pla just set the #26 OAK-run G-Drive entry's best lap of the race. He's fifth in LMP2 but has close to two minutes to make up on the fourth-placed #46 Ligier.
Sat 20:03 Webb brings the #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA into the pits. That will give the lead to Mardenborough in the #36 Ligier.
Sat 20:04 Fassler is eking back some of those seconds lost to the leader in the safety-car period. On new tyres, he's a couple of seconds a lap quicker in the Audi than Nakajima, who is on stint-old Michelins.
Sat 20:04 Turner's opened up a 1.4s lead now over Westbrook, while Fisichella has pitted from third.
Sat 20:04 Mardenborough sets a best for the #35 Ligier and is back in the lead of LMP2 ahead of the #34 Race Performance ORECA of Lancaster.
Sat 20:05 The #42 Greaves Zytek is reported to have no lights either at front or rear.
Sat 20:06 Mardenborough certainly enjoying the fresh tyres he got when he took over the #35 Ligier. He's lapping 3.5s faster than the second-placed #34 ORECA.
Sat 20:07 Gene's running well in third, two seconds quicker than Nakajima and Fassler on that last lap. Not bad for the stand-in.
Sat 20:08 Westbrook pits from second. Will he rejoin ahead of Fisichella?
Sat 20:09 It's been a close fight in LMP2 during the first seven hours of the race. Here's how they stand: 1 #35 Ligier (Mardenborough); 2 #34 ORECA (Lancaster); 3 #36 ORECA (Webb); 4 #46 Ligier (Gommendy); 5 #26 Morgan (Pla); 6 #24 ORECA (Rast); 7 #38 Zytek (Tincknell); 8 #33 Ligier (Cheng); 9 #43 Morgan (Klien); 10 #60 Morgan (Ihara).
Sat 20:09 Westbrook out of and Gavin into the #74 Corvette...which has been passed by Fisichella's Ferrari. Meanwhile, Tandy's passed Lietz to take fourth.
Sat 20:11 Tincknell has just moved up to sixth in LMP2 ahead of the #24 ORECA driven by Rast.
Sat 20:13 Davidson's not far off returning the #8 Toyota to the back of the LMP1 pack. He's eighth overall, 16s behind the #35 G-OAK Ligier of Jann Mardenborough.
Sat 20:14 Turner makes his scheduled stop in the Aston Martin.
Sat 20:14 Stephane Sarrazin on leading the opening portion of the race for Toyota: "It was a tough start for me. I did four stints and my first in the wet was really on the edge. When I came out of the pits after the safety car I was behind 20 or so cars and I couldn't see the track; there was so much water on the straight.
"I had to take a lot of time to overtake all those cars and avoid any problems. After that the track dried up and it was very good. The car has a good balance so I kept pushing to increase the gap between me and the rest of the field."
Sat 20:15 When Turner rejoins, he finds himself in the middle of a quartet of mixed-class cars that get a little bit too close together – fortunately the Aston isn't collected.
Sat 20:16 Mardenborough still flying. He's just improved the #35 G-Drive-backed OAK Ligier's personal best and is now 34 seconds clear in LMP2.
Sat 20:16 GARY WATKINS: Gene's pace through his first stint has been impressive - he's been consistently faster than Fassler and both are on fresh rubber.
Sat 20:16 Turner's rejoined behind Fisichella as well, so the Ferrari takes the class lead – courtesy of another sub-60s pitstop. Gavin's was a good 30s longer because of the driver change, so he's a lonely third now.
Sat 20:16 Gene brings that impressive stint to an end by pitting the #1 Audi.
Sat 20:17 Joe Foster's #77 Dempsey Porsche is under investgiation. More specifically, its pitstop.
Sat 20:18 Pla brings the #26 OAK-run G-Drive Morgan into the pits from fifth LMP2.
Sat 20:18 Turner's right on Fisichella's case now as the Aston bids to regain the GTE Pro lead. The Briton's right up for this.
Sat 20:20 Tincknell is showing good pace in the #38 Jota Sport Zytek. Currently sixth in class.
Sat 20:20 Turner pulls alongside the Ferrari almost on the run out of Arnage but he's the wrong side as they head towards the Porsche Curves and pulls back. Fisichella's driving well – Gavin, further back, is catching these at about 2s a lap.
Sat 20:21 Tandy's pit in the #91 Porsche, handing back a position to Lietx but staying ahead of the #73 Corvette now being pedalled by Magnussen.
Sat 20:21 Turner gets right under the rear wing of the Ferrari down the Mulsanne straight, pulls out and dives past into the first Mulsanne chicane. Great move, and that's the GTE Pro lead.
Sat 20:23 Lietz pits the #92 Porsche and Makowiecki takes over. Tandy, 1m48s off the lead, retakes fourth.
Sat 20:23 The gap is pretty much stable between Nakajima and Fassler at around 1m49s.
Sat 20:24 Gommendy pits in the #46 Ligier. He stays in the car.
Sat 20:26 Fassler pits at the end of his first stint. Just fuel for the #2 Audi.
Sat 20:29 Nakajima pits, too. Fuel only for the Toyota.
Sat 20:29 Car #67, the IMSA Porsche, has been reported to the stewards for speeding in the pitlane.
Sat 20:31 The top two have completed their pitstops and the gap is back to 1m49s.
Sat 20:33 The #34 Race Performance ORECA has been in for fuel, tyres and a driver change. Mailleux takes over from Lancaster.
Sat 20:34 Mardenborough brings the LMP2-leading #35 Ligier into the pits for a fuel stop.
Sat 20:35 Makowiecki's got new tyres – and he's loving them. It's a personal best for the #92 car, a 3m56.085s. Tandy, 18s up the road, is on the second stint for his rubber and is struggling to dip below the 4m barrier.
Fisichella's having similar struggles in second, and has dropped 5s behind Turner now. Gavin's 22s behind the Italian and closing fast.
Sat 20:36 Mardenborough still leads LMP2 in the #35 G-Drive-backed OAK Ligier. Thanks to his pace on fresh rubber in his first stint, he rejoins still in the lead ahead of the #36 Singatech Alpine ORECA, which still has to make its 10th stop.
Sat 20:37 Yellow flag at Porsche Curves.
Sat 20:37 It's the #48 Murphy ORECA driven by Berthon which has apparently stopped.
Sat 20:38 Davidson, still eight laps down in the #8 Toyota, pits and hands over to Lapierre.
Sat 20:40 @CorvetteRacing: "The #73 #Corvette lost a lap due to a broken valve stem that prevented the car going up on the air jacks. Jan now in."
Sat 20:41 That explains why Magnussen's dropped to eighth in GTE, with the Am-leading Astons ahead of him now.
Sat 20:41 The yellow flag at Porsche Curves has been cleared. Timing screens suggest the Murphy ORECA isn't moving so that could be it for the #48 car.
Sat 20:42 Mardenborough's laptimes aren't as eye-catching on this stint as he continues to lead LMP2. But, bearing in mind his tyres are older, he's still doing a fine job.
Sat 20:44 The #60 AF Corse Ferrari's had a trip through the gravel. He's continued.
Sat 20:45 The #13 Rebellion has been officially retired. It's the seventh retirement from this race.
Sat 20:46 Nakajima is eking out his advantage over Fassler - it's now up to 1m55.
Sat 20:47 Webb brings the Signatech Alpine ORECA into the pits. He's taken fuel and tyres and handed over to Panciatici.
Sat 20:49 Berthon is still trying to get the #48 Murphy ORECA, which has stopped in the vicinity of the Porsche Curves, back to the pits. @MurphyPrototype: "@natberthon is currently reporting a steering issue with the car and is working with the team to resolve it."
Sat 20:53 Good stint this from Turner, having eked out 11s on Fisichella. Gavin's cut the Italian's advantage to just 6.6s on new rubber, while Tandy has 7.5s over Makowiecki now.
Sat 20:55 The overall lead is almost up to a full two minutes.
Sat 20:56 The #52 Ram Ferrari, which has been in and out of the pits this evening, is slow again – this time on the run through Porsche Curves.
Sat 20:57 Apparently the Murphy Prototypes team has sent some of its mechanics out to the Porsche Curves to give Berthon some advice on how to get the car back. They can offer verbal assistance, but nothing more.
Sat 20:57 The #47 KCMG ORECA, which Imperatori crash on the run out of the Porsche Curves a few hours ago, has been officially retired.
Sat 20:59 Fisichella pits the Ferrari, with Bruni jumping into the car in place of the ex-Renault F1 driver. Gavin takes hold of second.
Tandy's pit the #91 Porsche and moved aside for Patrick Pilet, so Makowiecki's now fourth.
Sat 20:59 That's eight retirements now. They are:
#0 Nissan ZEOD RC (Garage 56)
#3 Audi R18 e-tron quattro (LMP1)
#13 Rebellion-Toyota R-One (LMP1)
#37 ORECA-Nissan 03R (LMP2)
#41 Zytek-Nissan Z11SN (LMP2)
#47 KCMG ORECA 03R (LMP2)
#71 Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE Pro)
#91 Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE Am)
Sat 21:04 Gene pits in the #1 Audi and leaves with a full tank of diesel. He's now heading off into a triple of this set of Michelins.
Sat 21:05 Gavin pits in the #74 Corvette. A slick stop should get him out ahead of Bruni.
Sat 21:06 Yellow flag at Indianapolis.
Sat 21:06 Gommendy brings the second-placed LMP2 Ligier into the pits for a scheduled stop. He has taken fuel and tyres.
Sat 21:07 Yellow flag at Indianapolis has cleared.
Sat 21:07 Lapierre is back in the pits aboard the #8 Toyota. This is unscheduled and the car is pushed back into the garage.
Sat 21:10 The #67 IMSA Porsche has been hit with a 15-second stop-go penalty for speeding the pitlane. That car's mid-pack in GTE Am.
Sat 21:11 Mailleux pits in the #34 ORECA that's in the thick of the LMP2 fight. He just takes fuel and returns to the track in fourth.
Sat 21:12 Makowiecki sets a new personal best, a 3m55.696s, as he chases down the top three. That's some way quicker than Bruni ahead of him or Pilet behind.
Sat 21:12 The #12 Rebellion has lost a wheel, according to official reports. Heidfeld had just left the pits after taking over from Beche.
Sat 21:13 Now the Rebellion is being reported as going slowly. Probably a good idea if Heidfeld only has three wheels.
Sat 21:14 Panciatici is lapping quickly in the second-placed LMP2 car, the #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA. That car got fresh rubber at the last stop.
Sat 21:15 Fassler pitted last lap, Nakajima this. Fassler continues, but the Toyota is taken over by Wurz.
Sat 21:16 Mardenborough brings the LMP2-leading #35 Ligier into the pits.. Looks like he took new tyres.
Sat 21:17 @Toyota_Hybrid: The #8 TS040 HYBRID leaves the pits after that stop to look at aero balance issues
Sat 21:18 Heidfeld brings the #12 Rebellion back, minus that wheel it lost at the start of its outlap. The crew wheel the car into the garage - time to investigate how much damage that lap on three wheels has done.
Sat 21:19 Good news from Murphy Prototypes. Berthon has got the #48 ORECA rolling again. The bad news is that it is now over 40 laps off the LMP2 lead. @MurphyPrototype: "@NatBerthon has managed to repair our @Oreca Nissan and is about to bring the car back to the pits"
Sat 21:19 Mucke's bringing Gavin's lead down a touch, it's 7.1s now. Bruni's just 3s behind Mucke, but there's not a lot (if anything) between their times in general.
Sat 21:20 LMP1 lead battle gap update: Wurz (#7 Toyota) is 1m38s ahead of Fassler (#2 Audi).
Sat 21:23 @Toyota_Hybrid: Balance issues on #8 TS040 HYBRID car likely caused by damage from the earlier accident
Sat 21:25 If the #8 Toyota isn't handling well - hardly a shock after the size of Lapierre's shunt in the rain earlier - then it's going to be a tough remaining 15+ hours for them. Hopefully that recent extended stay in the garage to look into the problem can yield some results.
The car is currently 13th overall.
Sat 21:27 AMR boss John Gaw on how strategy is proving key in both the GTE Pro and Am battles: "We're starting to see the things that make a difference – who can single stint, double stint or triple stint the tyres/fuel.
"The key thing that's made the difference in the Am class is the silver drivers have managed to triple stint the tyres. Triple stinting the tyres [in the Pro class] has also helped us move back up the leaderboard."
Sat 21:27 Yellow flags are back out at the Porsche Curves, seemingly for the Murphy car that Berthon has been trying to salvage. Could the return of yellows mean that he's stopped again on the track?
Sat 21:28 Heidfeld returns to the race in the #12 Rebellion after spending nine minutes in the pits after losing that wheel.
Sat 21:30 Rebellion also performed a radio change in that stoppage for Heidfeld.
Sat 21:31 LMP1 lead gap: Wurz (Toyota) leads Fassler (Audi) by 1m33s. Fassler was two seconds faster last time around.
Sat 21:32 Gavin's had a terrible lap – 4m02.117s – and with Mucke just 1.4s behind we could be about to see a lead change in GTE Pro.
Sat 21:34 Gavin's responded to that poor lap and actually gone 1.2s faster than Mucke, which means his lead is 1.6s at the end of it.
Sat 21:35 Fassler is on a charge at the moment in the fight for the lead. He's taking 3-4 seconds per lap out of Wurz, and the Toyota's lead is cut to 1m27s.
Sat 21:35 Mardenborough, who got fresh rubber at his last stop, is again flying at the front of LMP2. Fifth-placed Pla is also rapid.
Sat 21:36 Mucke's got the Aston back ahead of Gavin's Corvette in the middle sector. It did seem inevitable as the Vantage slashed the C7.R's lead.
Sat 21:37 Mardenborough's LMP2 lead in the #35 OAK Ligier is now one minute over the #46 TDS Ligier of Gommendy. The Signatech Alpine ORECA is still running well in third, 1m17s behind the leader, with the #34 Race Performance ORECA still in the hunt 80 seconds off the lead.
Sat 21:38 Bruni's going to be on Gavin's case soon, with the Italian just under 5s behind and closing in on the Brit.
Sat 21:39 Jani has been off at Arnage and continued. It's cost him around 9s based on the pace he's been running at in the #14 Porsche, which currently sits fifth.
That makes Jani the third Porsche driver (after Hartley and Webber in the #20 car) to go straight on at Arnage in similar fashion.
Sat 21:40 "Emmanuel Collard, please turn both headlights on." That's pretty much race control's message to the #75 Porsche.
Sat 21:40 Yellow flags at the second Mulsanne chicane.
Sat 21:41 GARY WATKINS: Fassler's pace right now is bloody impressive. He is on tyres approaching the end of their third stint and closing in Wurz, who is on fresh rubber.
Sat 21:41 Howard Blank's had an off at the second Mulsanne. Not the first time he's erred in this race.
Sat 21:43 The #26 OAK-run G-Drive Racing Morgan of Pla, currently fifth in P2, seems to have hit trouble. Might have been the car that stopped at the second Mulsanne chicane. That's a real blow for that car - Pla has been setting some quick times.
Sat 21:43 Webber brings the #20 Porsche in for a scheduled stop. No tyres; just fuel.
Sat 21:46 GARY WATKINS: Webber is now on the third stint on his Michelins. What affect this will have on his pace, which wasn't a match for the top three anyway, will be interesting to see.
Sat 21:47 Patrick Long's been given a three-minute stop-go penalty for spinning his wheels in the pitlane. Hoon.
Sat 21:47 Gommendy brings the second-placed LMP2 car, the #46 TDS Ligier, into the pits for a scheduled stop.
Sat 21:47 Wurz appears to be responding to those quick laps from Fassler - he's put in a couple of 3m26s to negate the recent inroads the #2 Audi had been making.
The gap is up to 1m36s now.
Sat 21:49 Gene pits the #1 Audi, which will be taken over by nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen.
Sat 21:50 The #91 Porsche is tumbling down the order – but that's because of pre-planned brake change.
Sat 21:51 Kristensen doesn't get into the #1 Audi - Gene stays in, keeps the same set of tyres...and has a minor off at the first Mulsanne chicane on his outlap.
Sat 21:52 That's it for the #48 Murphy Prototypes ORECA. After trying to get the car, which had a steering problem, back to the pits for several hours, Berthon has had to give up the fight.
@MurphyPrototype: "Sadly we cannot safely bring the car back to the pits from that part of the circuit. We would like to thank EVERYONE for their support!"
Sat 21:53 Fassler responds to Wurz out front, taking four seconds out of the Toyota's lead. It's now 1m34s. Those two are trading blows at the moment, but Toyota will be pretty satisfied with the fact that they are fighting with a cushion of around a minute and a half.
Sat 21:55 Bruni pits, and is back out in the Ferrari. No tyres.
Sat 21:58 Mardenborough pits in the LMP2-leading #35 Ligier.
Sat 21:58 Fassler pits the #2 Audi from second.
Sat 22:00 Mardenborough just took fuel, so retains the lead in LMP2 over the Signatech Alpine, which is due in three laps after the LIgier.
Sat 22:01 Now the leading #7 Toyota comes in, right on schedule. Let's see how the gap shakes out between the top two.
Sat 22:03 We've passed midnight here at Le Mans. Here's the LMP1 order:
1 Wurz
2 Fassler
3 Gene
4 Webber
5 Jani
Sat 22:04 The first gap has come in at the front. Fassler appears to be 1m40s back from Wurz, meaning he lost a little bit of time during that pit sequence.
Sat 22:04 Gavin pits and moves aside for Tommy Milner in the Corvette – which rejoins behind Bruni. The Ferrari moves into second. Makowiecki's just a few seconds back, but a pitstop behind.
Sat 22:05 Gene (third) is 1m18s behind his Audi team-mate in second.
Sat 22:08 Anthony Davidson on the problems for the #8 Toyota, and the need for the car to recover a good result for the sake of its WEC hopes: "The task now for the #8 is to score as many points as possible for the World Championship. We are pushing as hard as we can and we will try to get the best result possible.
"My stint was cut short a bit; after my second stop I felt something wasn't right on the left rear so we had to pit early."
Sat 22:09 Confirmation from Porsche that it's more than a brake change keeping the #91 car in the garage.
@PorscheRaces: 911 RSR #91 still in garage. Repairing a fuel pressure problem.
Sat 22:10 Fassler is slipping back from leader Wurz at the moment. The gap is up to 1m44s between the top two - perhaps the Audi's tyres are giving up in the closing stages of this quadruple stint.
Sat 22:11 P3 Gene is 2m58s behind the leading Toyota.
Sat 22:20 Bruni's bringing Mucke's lead down. This GTE Pro fight is epic, only now it's Aston vs Ferrari, not Aston vs Corvette!
That said, Milner's only 33s behind Bruni – though the Porsche challenge seems limited to fourth. It's basically like last year's race, only Corvette and Porsche have switched places.
Sat 22:20 The #48 Murphy Prototypes ORECA has now posted its retirement officially. That's the ninth car that has officially retired from the race.
Sat 22:21 Yellow flag at the second Mulsanne chicane.
Sat 22:22 The #46 TDS Ligier, third in LMP2, has been reported for pitlane speeding.
Sat 22:23 Mailleux brings the #34 Race Performance ORECA into the pits for a routine stop.
Sat 22:23 Mucke leads Bruni by 6.7s. That's come down bit by bit over the last few laps, and Mucke's last was a 4m00.867s – 2.7s slower than Bruni's.
Sat 22:24 All of the leading LMP1 runners are lapping around the 3m30s bracket, although third-placed Gene has just popped in a 3m27s. Fassler then follows suit, outpacing leader Wurz for the first time in a while during this stint.
Sat 22:26 Wurz responds to the pace of the Audis with a 3m26s.
Sat 22:28 Bernhard is getting ready in the Porsche garage, looks like he'll be taking over from Webber soon.
Then again, over at Audi, Kristensen has been ready and had his helmet on for a very long time...
Sat 22:29 Mucke's responded to Bruni's pressure and the gap's up to 8.7s now. Milner and Holzer are lapping slightly faster than the lead duo but far too far behind to make a difference at the moment.
Sat 22:30 LMP2 continues to be a close fight. While Mardenborough has been gradually building a lead of over 2 minutes in the #35 Ligier, the #46 TDS Ligier, the #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA and the #34 Race Performance ORECA are all well in the hunt.
Sat 22:30 Webber brings the #20 Porsche in, and hands over to race-starter Bernhard in the car that is running a lonely fourth at the moment.
Up ahead, Gene has been chipping away at second-placed Fassler for a while now, and has the gap down to 1m10s.
Sat 22:35 Kristensen makes his way to the front of the Audi garage. Maybe this time he'll actually get in when the #1 car comes to a stop.
Sat 22:36 The #26 OAK-run G-Drive Morgan is still missing, stopped on track. It's now over 15 laps down in LMP2, so the team/car combination that won the class last year won't be doing it again. Good job that the leading Ligier is also an OAK-run car!
Sat 22:37 Indeed, this time Gene does get out and Kristensen takes over the #1 car. The Spaniard - drafted in at short notice to replace Loic Duval after his crash - did a good job in that stint, keeping the #1 car on the lead lap and making sure the leaders stayed on their toes.
Sat 22:39 GARY WATKINS: Congratulations to Marc Gene on a brilliant quadruple stint. Remember that on Wednesday, he was driving an LMP2 car and he's only had four days in the new R18.
Sat 22:39 The GTE Am-dominating #98 Aston Martin Vantage is in the pits, smoking, and being wheeled into the garage!
Sat 22:40 Bonnet's up, furrowed brows...the AMR mechanics get to work.
Sat 22:40 The #33 OAK Team Asia Ligier is slow at the Porsche Curves. It's cruising back to the pits with Tung at the wheel.
Sat 22:42 The #98 car has now dropped out of the GTE Am lead as Poulsen gets the lap back and powers into top spot.
Sat 22:45 The #2 Audi pits from second place, and Fassler hands over to Lotterer
Sat 22:45 Brundle is now out in the LMP2-leading #35 Ligier.
Sat 22:47 Wurz pits in the #7 Toyota. All looks fine, and he's back out in the lead. The Austrian had a good back-and-forth laptimes battle with Fassler - now he's got to deal with Lotterer snapping at his heels and trying to make inroads.
Sat 22:51 Bruni pits, the AF Corse making its customary early stop compared to the rest. Milner, whose pace looks very strong at this stage of the stint, is 38s behind Mucke.
Sat 22:53 The #46 TDS Ligier, currently third in LMP2, has been slapped with a 35-second stop/go penalty for pitlane speeding.
Sat 22:53 The driver change at the last stop for the #2 Audi has allowed Wurz to extend Toyota's lead. The top two are now covered by 2m15s - the biggest the TS040's lead has been all race.
Sat 22:56 The #91 Porsche, briefly on track, has been brought back into the pits with Jorg Bergmeister.
Sat 23:04 Lotterer - on fresh tyres - is taking chunks out of Wurz at the moment. It was six seconds last time round, and the gap is down to 2m08s.
Kristensen is still third for Audi, ahead of the two Porsches.
Sat 23:04 Senna's back in the leading #97 Aston Martin – and he's only 2s clear of Vilander behind. Milner's third in the Corvette, but didn't take on new tyres in his stop – the leading two did.
Sat 23:07 The #12 Rebellion picks up a stop and go penalty for an unsafe release - referring to when Heidfeld lost a wheel as he left the pits. That one has taken a while to come back around.
Sat 23:08 Vilander's cut Senna's gap to half a second now and has the Vantage in his sights. Amazing GTE Pro scrap.
GTs. The gift that keeps on giving.
Sat 23:12 The #60 AF Corse Ferrari has now officially retired.
Sat 23:13 Milner's right with the lead two now, superb effort for the man double-stinting these tyres.
It's Aston Martin vs Ferrari vs Corvette. British beef vs Italian style vs American muscle.
And Vilander is RIGHT up the back of Senna down the Mulsanne straight. He's flashing his lights – get out of the way Bruno! – and tries to get his nose up the inside.
Senna's having none of it, and brutally slams the door.
Sat 23:15 The best laid plans o' mice and Tony Vilander...
Milner crashes the party and gets in between the Aston and the Ferrari. Now the Corvette is harrying Senna for the lead!
Sat 23:16 Brundle still leading in LMP2. The last time there was a Brundle running so well up in an international race in a Ligier was in the 1995 Belgian Grand Prix, when Martin finished third.
Sat 23:18 Bernhard pits the #20 Porsche, taking on fuel only and staying in fourth.
Sat 23:19 There's nothing to choose between the laptimes of the top three, which is good news for Wurz and Toyota. The Audis of Lotterer and Kristensen are giving chase and hanging onto their lead lap status, but they can't make any significant gains on the leading car.
Sat 23:20 Senna's just about clear of an imminent attack from Milner. There's two seconds between them now – good work from the Brazilian.
Vilander's also slipped back a similar distance from the Corvette.
Sat 23:20 The #75 ProSpeed Porsche is running slowly at the Porsche Curves.
Sat 23:22 Garcia has just unlapped himself from Holzer's Manthey Porsche. Think that goes some way to exemplifying the pace levels of the Corvette and the 911 here – they're now on the same lap, despite the Corvette make two more pitstops, and getting stuck in the pits at one point with a jack problem.
Sat 23:23 Kristensen pits the #1 Audi from third, taking on just fuel.
Sat 23:24 Milner's eaten into Senna's lead again – just 0.6s between them now.
Sat 23:25 Wurz's Toyota leads Lotterer's Audi by 2m11s. The German cars are doing just about enough to keep the race alive at the moment, but they need something to happen because they are ever-so-gradually slipping away from the #7 car out front.
Sat 23:27 Brendon Hartley on his stint with Porsche, including that unscheduled pitstop for a suspected puncture: "This was my first turn at Le Mans with Porsche and I had a great time out there. We made one early stop because something felt a bit strange on the car. We weren't sure if it wasn't a puncture, so we pitted and the guys investigated it.
"The car is running fine and we are still close. We even led for a little while. Toyota had a little bit more pace so we couldn't maintain it. But still everything is running smooth."
Sat 23:30 The #12 Rebellion is wheeled into the garage.
Sat 23:32 Milner's still within a second of Senna but unable to make a passing attempt yet.
Sat 23:32 Lotterer brings the #2 Audi in for fuel only. That means we should see the leading #7 Toyota in next time round.
And sure enough, there he is. Jani has also brought the #14 Porsche in.
Sat 23:34 Buemi takes over the recovering #8 Toyota from Lapierre, with the sister car of Wurz having rejoined after taking on fuel only.
Sat 23:35 The #36 Signatech Alpine is in the pits. It's currently second in LMP2.
Sat 23:37 The #12 Rebellion returns to the track with Prost having taken over from Heidfeld, after a short visit to the garage. The car spent six minutes in the pits, and was passed by the leading LMP2 Ligier for seventh overall during that stop.
Sat 23:38 The #41 Greaves Zytek, which retired as a result of damage picked up in an accident with the #48 Murphy Prototypes ORECA. Munemann was on slicks at the time and was powerless to avoid aquaplaning in the wet and collected the ORECA, which was having its own off.
Munemann got the car back, dragging the Murphy ORECA's splitter with it, but it was discovered that there was damage to a front suspension pick-up point, forcing the car's retirement.
Sat 23:39 Toyota extended its lead again during that latest sequence of pitstops. Wurz now heads Lotterer's #2 Audi by 2m20s.
Kristensen is third in the #1 Audi and still on the lead lap, with the Porsches of Bernhard and Jani completing the top five.
Sat 23:40 Senna and Milner cranking it up now. Both set personal best laps the previous time around – 3m55.076s and 3m55.496s respectively – and just a second separates them still. Ace fight. Vilander's six or so seconds back.
Sat 23:40 The #42 Greaves Zytek is still going after suffering several delays, notably to repair rear suspension damage after being hit by an OAK car while bearing down on slower traffic.
Sat 23:42 The #26 OAK-run G-Drive Morgan has been official retired. It stopped out on track several hours ago while being driven by Pla. That's effectively the defending LMP2 winner, as OAK Morgans took a one-two last year.
Sat 23:43 That's the closest these two have been – 0.3s between Senna and Milner over the line.
Sat 23:45 Ouch - a 3m36s for Lotterer means he loses nine seconds to the leading Toyota on that lap.
We're not even at halfway yet, but right now this is Toyota's to lose. Audi has won races as the 'tortoise' against the 'hare' in the past, but right now all it can do it make sure that at least one R18 achieves the maximum that the car is capable of. Then it's over to Toyota.
Sat 23:46 Lotterer bounces back with a 3m28s, but that means he's lost another second to Wurz, putting the gap up to 2m27s. Kristensen is losing time in third, too.
Sat 23:47 Vilander brings his AF Ferrari into the pits. Milner's back to around a second behind Senna.
Sat 23:48 Brundle has a lead of 2m41s in LMP2 over the #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA. The #46 TDS Ligier is 3m18s down. There are 12 cars still running in the class.
Sat 23:51 Here's the full LMP2 order: 1 #35 Ligier (Brundle); 2 #26 ORECA (Chatin); 3 #46 Ligier (Badey); 4 #34 ORECA (Frey); 5 #38 Zytek (Dolan); 6 #43 Morgan (Hirsch); 7 #24 ORECA (Charouz); 8 #33 Ligier (Tung); 9 #29 Morgan (Roussel); 10 #42 Zytek (Dyson); 11 #50 Morgan (Ragues); 12 #27 ORECA (Ladygin).
Sat 23:52 The top three in LMP2 are all lapping at similar pace. Leader Brundle pits in.
Sat 23:54 It's another trip into the garage for the troubled #8 Toyota. That car has been a handful ever since it was repaired following Lapierre's big shunt, with the drivers reporting strange handling.
Sat 23:55 Senna's back in control of this now. His lead was pushing two seconds even before Milner peeled into the pits in his Corvette.
Sat 23:55 That was a very short garage visit - Buemi heads back out in the #8 Toyota after the mechanics took a quick look at the car while the wheels were off and then sent it back on its way.
Sat 23:56 The #45 TDS Ligier is in the pits from third in LMP2. It's getting fuel and tyres.
Sat 23:57 Wurz currently leads Lotterer by 2m26s out front.
Sun 00:02 The #91 Porsche is back in the game. Bergmeister back on track after what seems like an eternity in the pits.
Sun 00:04 Bernhard pits the #20 Porsche from fourth place.
Sun 00:09 Kristensen is the next LMP1 runner to come in. Fuel only for the #1 Audi, which is running third.
Sun 00:09 Holzer brings the #92 Porsche into the pits. He's running fourth, very much on his own. It's a quiet shift.
Sun 00:15 Chatin is on the move, lighting up the timing screens in second in class. The #36 Signatech ORECA sets personal bests in sectors one and two but has an average final sector. It's about a minute behind the #36 OAK Ligier.
Meanwhile, the #67 IMSA Porsche has spun at the second Mulsanne and continued.
Sun 00:16 Senna's keeping Milner about 5s behind but can't add any more to his advantage than that. All this would take it the Aston having to get out the way of traffic, or catch a slower Am car, and the Corvette would be on its tail...
Sun 00:17 Things are very quiet in LMP1, much to the delight of Toyota.
1 Wurz (#7 Toyota) 2 Lotterer (#2 Audi) 3 Kristensen (#1 Audi) 4 Bernhard (#20 Porsche) 5 Jani (#20 Porsche)
Sun 00:18 Brundle responds to Chatin's personal best sector times by setting the leading Ligier's best opening split. This is a very, very good showing by the new car – which has had a fair amount of testing mileage, but has put it to stellar use so far.
Sun 00:18 Lotterer brings the #2 Audi in. Looks like it's fuel only again.
Sun 00:19 Just before the #2 Audi is sent on its way, two mechanics make what appears to be a small adjustment around the front splitter area. An aero/balance tweak, perhaps?
Sun 00:21 Sarrazin takes over the leading #7 Toyota from Wurz, and gets fresh tyres as is standard. The lead car's stop is 20s longer than the Audi's: Lotterer didn't change tyres but he did have to wait a few seconds while his team made those front-end adjustments.
Depending on outlaps, that probably means that Toyota's margin of over two minutes is still safe for now.
Sun 00:22 The #98 Aston has reappeared again, though it is 11 laps down now on the lead GTE. That car's running proof that, even when things look like they're all in order, Le Mans can bite.
Sun 00:22 Holzer made way for Lietz in the #92 car earlier, just in case we didn't mention.
Sun 00:24 Lieb looks ready to go in the Porsche garage, and here comes his #14 919 into the pits in the hands of Jani. The second Porsche is currently fifth and five laps down - three behind its sister car in fourth.
Sun 00:26 Mika Salo, in the last of the running LMP2 machines, will have to serve a 45-second stop and go penalty. The #27 SMP ORECA has been collared for speeding in the pitlane.
Sun 00:28 Alex Imperatori comments on the crash that put the KCMG ORECA out of the race in LMP2 - caused by a driveshaft failure: "We had the car to win today so I'm really disappointed. We showed that by leading over the first two stints after moving up through the field, only for the weather to disrupt our progress.
"That was bad luck, but we were still fighting hard when the car failed. I'm thankful to be OK because it could have been a much bigger accident. Sometimes that's how it goes. There's always next year.”
Sun 00:30 Really bad lap for Milner has dropped him right back from Senna – and now Vilander's all over the Corvette for second.
The Ferrari gets right, right up behind the C7.R under braking for the first and second Mulsanne chicanes...but the Corvette holds on.
Sun 00:33 Vilander not letting Milner get away though. He attacks again on the run down the Mulsanne.
Sun 00:33 Lotterer has crept back under the two minute mark in terms of the gap to the race-leading Toyota - he's now 1m58 behind Sarrazin in the #7 TS040.
Sun 00:35 P2 leader Brundle brings the Ligier into the pits for a scheduled stop.
Sun 00:38 The top three are still on the same lap in LMP1:
Sun 00:41 Prost takes the #12 Rebellion back on track after spending 12 minutes in the pits. The car is down to 13th overall, so it has plenty of LMP2 cars to fight its way through if it can put a clean run together from here.
Sun 00:42 Milner's gapped Vilander now, so the GT race has cooled somewhat.
Sun 00:43 Sarrazin outpaces Lotterer over a lap for the first time in a while. It's only by a few tenths, but it stabilises the #7 Toyota's lead at 1m55s.
Sun 00:43 Vilander pits and trundles towards the Ferrari garage, where Gianmaria Bruni waits to take over.
Sun 00:45 That's Fisichella, not Bruni, who has taken over from Vilander.
Sun 00:47 @Jannthaman [Mardenborough]: So after my quad stint I had a massage, cryotherapy food and a 25 min sleep. In the car at 3am
Sun 00:52 The #73 Corvette changes hands, Taylor in for Garcia, and the young American's enthusiasm gets the better of him as he spins (and continues) at the Dunlop chicane.
The #74 Corvette is now in the pits, incidentally.
Sun 00:53 The #20 Porsche pits, and Bernhard stays at the wheel of the fourth-placed car.
Sun 00:56 Kristensen pits the #1 Audi, while Treluyer is ready to go in the garage so should be taking over the #2 car from Lotterer shortly.
However, Audi have made us (and their drivers!) wait a long time for changes in the cockpit at times in this race, so let's wait and see.
Sun 00:58 Drama for Audi. Kristensen is reported to be going slowly on the Mulsanne straight, between the two chicanes.
Sun 01:00 We get an onboard shot of the the #1 Audi coasting to a halt. Kristensen clearly performs some sort of reset (as all the lights briefly go out) and he's able to get some throttle response back - but the car is still not up to full speed.
Sun 01:01 Kristensen is still limping back - he's now at the Porsche Curves. His speed doesn't appear very consistent, it's as if he's only getting power intermittently.
Sun 01:02 The #1 Audi makes it back to the pits, having lost nearly four minutes with all those problems.
Sun 01:04 The Audi is wheeled into the garage. Kristensen gets out, and di Grassi hops straight in as the mechanics get to work around them on the third-placed car. Audi Sport boss Wolfgang Ullrich stands over the car towards the rear, looking concerned (obviously).
Sun 01:05 While all that drama is taking place in the #1 Audi garage, the #2 car comes in and Lotterer gets a tank of fuel.
Sun 01:07 A Porsche occupies a podium position again - Bernhard takes the #20 919 back ahead of the #1 Audi while it is being worked on in the garage. Most of the focus seems to be towards the rear of the R18, after a brief look at the front to begin with.
Sun 01:08 The rear bodywork is off - and Audi mechanics start doing their best impressions of a human shield to prevent anyone getting a view, even though all we can see from the front is a bunch of engineers peering into a part of the car that is already out of our sight.
Sun 01:09 On track, the #2 Audi continues to make gains. Lotterer has the Toyota's lead down to 1m43s - with five seconds gained in the pits last time through.
Sun 01:09 During the last round of GTE stops, Senna did not take on a set of tyres but Fisichella, Westbrook and Lietz did.
Only two of those drivers are likely to make an impression on Senna's lead, which stands at 27s and 49s over his pusuers, but they are lapping quicker.
Sun 01:10 The #1 Audi rejoins with di Grassi at the wheel, after a stay of nearly six minutes in the pits. Coupled with the time Kristensen lost touring back, that's a loss of close to 10 minutes with this problem.
Sun 01:13 Brundle pits from the lead in LMP2, while in the big class Lieb brings the #14 Porsche in.
Sun 01:14 There's a problem around the cockpit of the #14 car - the mechanics appear to be replacing one of the doors. Lieb is sent back on his way.
Sun 01:17 Lotterer is still chipping away at Sarrazin's lead. It's down to 1m41s now for the Toyota.
Sun 01:18 Audi confirms that it carried out a fuel-injector change on the #1 car - and that the job took 5m20s. Speedy work.
Sun 01:21 More progress for Lotterer - he brings Sarrazin's lead down to 1m38s. The #2 Audi needs to keep this up - with the cushion the Toyota has, even a single off-the-boil lap from Lotterer can take the pressure off very quickly.
Sun 01:23 No sign of Lotterer letting up - he takes another two seconds out of Sarrazin so the lead is down to 1m36s.
Sun 01:26 Another two seconds for Lotterer - now the gap to the leader is 1m34s.
Sun 01:27 Buemi pits the #8 Toyota - running sixth - for fuel only.
Sun 01:29 A new personal best for Fisichella as he hunts down Senna. Fisichella, whose last lap was a 3m55.705s, is 20s behind the Aston now. Westbrook's 38s back and struggling for pace.
Sun 01:30 Sarrazin's lead is still coming down - it's 1m33s back to Lotterer's Audi now.
Sun 01:32 Hartley is getting ready in the Porsche garage, so he'll be taking over #20 from Bernhard soon.
Sun 01:34 A bit of respite for Sarrazin, he stems the tide and increases his lead over the chasing Audi ever-so-slightly.
Sun 01:38 Bernhard in the pits, with Hartley seemingly ready to take over. He is. He's in. He's out.
Sun 01:38 A slower 3m32s lap from Lotterer allows Sarrazin to increase his lead again - now it's up to 1m36s. For a while there it looked like the Toyota had no answer to the pace of the Audi, so it's somewhat fortunate for the #7 car that Lotterer has had a couple of tricky laps.
Sun 01:41 Di Grassi pits the #1 car and gets the new tyres he'd normally get at the start of his stint - obviously those plans were interfered with by the fact that Audi made its driver change earlier while the car was being worked on in the garage.
Sun 01:42 Pitstop for Fisichella, which should promote Westbrook into second, and it does.
Sun 01:44 Another LMP1 runner is in trouble. This time the #14 Porsche is crawling on the way to Mulsanne corner.
Sun 01:45 The #1 Audi's most recent stop for tyres was the result of a puncture.
Sun 01:46 The Jota Sport Zytek, which Simon Dolan has just brought into the pits, has been warned by race control that it was sparking at the rear.
Sun 01:47 Lots of discussion going on in the Porsche garage as Lieb works his way (slowly) through the Porsche Curves.
Sun 01:48 The gap between the two leaders has stabilised at around 1m36s for now, as Lotterer tries to regain the momentum he had earlier in this stint.
Sun 01:49 The #14 Porsche is back in the pits, straight up on the jacks and wheeled into the garage. Lieb stays in the car as the mechanics take the bodywork off front and rear.
Sun 01:51 Westbrook and Lietz are in. Fisichella regains second.
Sun 01:51 The lead battle is paused for a moment as the #2 Audi comes in and Treluyer takes over from Lotterer. Toyota appear to be readying a driver change of their own for the race-leading car, with Nakajima and his seat insert in position at the front of the garage.
Sun 01:53 All of the attention on the #14 Porsche in the garage is at the rear of the car, where several mechanics are leaning over it now the bodywork is off.
Sun 01:53 Sarrazin pits the #7 Toyota from the lead - but there's no driver change. Nakajima will have to wait, and the car gets back on its way having spent 40 seconds less than the chasing Audi in the pits that time.
Sun 01:55 Turner stops and takes on tyres, which has put Fisichella into the lead of the GTE element. There's 14s between them but you'd expect the Aston to close that swiftly, given the AF Corse is on used rubber.
Sun 02:03 That driver change for the #2 Audi means Sarrazin's lead in the Toyota is back above two minutes - 2m11s, in fact. But with fresh tyres, Treluyer should be able to chip away at that margin much like Lotterer did on older rubber in the previous stint.
Sun 02:04 As Buemi takes fifth from the #14 Porsche, the German car emerges from its garage and rejoins the action around a minute down on the Toyota that has just passed it.
Sun 02:06 LMP1 order:
1 #7 Toyota
2 #2 Audi
3 #20 Porsche
4 #1 Audi
5 #8 Toyota
6 #14 Porsche
Sun 02:09 Treluyer is getting to work on bringing Sarrazin's lead down again. He's already got it down to 2m08s.
Sun 02:10 Yellow flags at Indianapolis, the #67 Porsche is in the gravel.
Sun 02:12 @PorscheRaces Team principal Andreas Seidl: "Same problem with car #14 as before - fuel pressure low."
That's what caused the latest delay for the Porsche resolved then.
Sun 02:15 Turner is just six seconds behind GTE Pro leader Fisichella now, having made up four seconds on the previous lap. He's got him in his sights...
Sun 02:21 Westbrook's in the garage in the #74 Corvette. It's a brake change – not uncommon – but a frustrating wait nonetheless. They'll be hoping others need to do the same.
Sun 02:22 The #74 Corvette's back in the race.
Sun 02:24 Treluyer has the gap to the race-leading Toyota down to 2m00s. The #2 Audi really seems to have the measure of Sarrazin for pace during this night running.
Sun 02:25 Gavin's in the C7.R now and the #74 car is now fourth, promoting the #92 Manthey Porsche into the podium positions for now.
The #74 Corvette is therefore still ahead of the sister #73 car, which has had a number of niggling little things add up to compromise its race.
Sun 02:26 The #20 Porsche pits from third with a noticeably scuffed-up left front corner. The team has a new nose section ready, but decides against using it and just gives the car an oil top up.
Sun 02:27 Di Grassi - running about 2 minutes behind the #20 Porsche, brings the #1 Audi into the pits.
Sun 02:29 There we go – Turner's on the back of Fisichella for the lead.
Sun 02:30 It's a shame this gap had developed between the #7 Toyota and the #2 Audi, because there's been little to choose between them for pace for the last few hours. If they were close to each other on track we'd be watching a thriller right now.
Sun 02:32 Turner's done it – for the umpteenth time in this race, the Briton has taken the GTE Pro lead for Aston Martin.
Sun 02:32 Treluyer gets the gap between the leaders under the two minute mark again, picking up where Lotterer left off and giving Sarrazin a hard time.
Talking of the leading car - Nakajima is warming up again. Maybe this time he'll actually take over from Sarrazin.
Sun 02:37 The #72 SMP Ferrari's had a bad hour. It's tumbled out of second in class, and has just had a spin.
Sun 02:38 Treluyer brings the second-placed #2 Audi into the pits, while behind him Mardenborough brings the LMP2-leading #35 Ligier in as well - and the car is having some attention paid to the left sidepod.
Sun 02:39 The reason for the erstwhile Am runner-up dropping like a stone is that it was being fettled in the SMP Racing garage for a while. Tough luck.
Sun 02:39 It looks like that stop for Mardenborough cost the #35 car about 30 seconds. That means it should still lead by about that margin, but it's a significant dent into a gap that the drivers and team had been managing well up to this point.
Sun 02:40 PItstop for Fisichella, who hands over to Bruni.
Sun 02:41 Nakajima takes over the leading #7 Toyota, with a stop that was 26s longer than the #2 Audis. The Japanese driver will have fresh rubber at his disposal though, so let's see if he can reverse the trend of the last couple of hours and extend his car's lead over the Audi.
Sun 02:43 The new gap between the leaders is 1m31s. Can Treluyer take it to the man who set the pole position lap earlier this week?
Sun 02:45 Mardenborough still has a comfortable LMP2 lead of 1m12s over the Signatech entry, currently driven by Webb. Gommendy is on the fringes of that fight in the TDS Ligier, but he's just made his way into the pits.
Sun 02:46 Now the #72 SMP Ferrari is back in the garage being looked over quite meticulously by the mechanics.
Sun 02:47 Nakajima's first flying lap of this stint is a 3m27s. That's decent pace that will require the #2 Audi to be on top of its game if it wants to get on terms with the leading Toyota.
Sun 02:49 Turner was comfortably clear after Bruni took on new tyres in that last stop – no new tyres for the Aston though, just fuel.
Sun 02:50 A slow lap for Treluyer means he loses five seconds to Nakajima in one fell swoop. The gap at the front is up to 1m36s.
Sun 02:56 The #29 Pegasus Morgan-Nissan has received a 45-second stop and go penalty for speeding in the pitlane.
Sun 03:00 The leader hits trouble! The #7 Toyota has stopped on the track at Arnage - the #2 Audi leads!
Sun 03:05 Dejected mechanics watch the TV screens in the Toyota garage, but so far the screens have shown nothing of Nakajima's stricken car.
Sun 03:06 The #7 Toyota officially still sits second on the timing screens, but it will lose that position to Hartley in the #20 Porsche this lap.
Sun 03:10 Mardenborough sets a new personal best at the head of the LMP2 field.
Sun 03:11 Hartley and di Grassi have now passed the stopped Toyota in the standings, so that's #20 Porsche second, #1 Audi third.
The #2 Audi is well clear of both of them, with a lead of two laps.
Sun 03:12 Hartley pits from second place in the #20 Porsche, as we get the first glimpse of the sun starting to rise around the circuit.
Sun 03:14 Now di Grassi is in the pits too, so Hartley hangs onto second as he heads back out.
Sun 03:17 We've had our first glimpse of the stricken Toyota - a replay from a passing GTE car that showed Nakajima pulled over to the left of the track on the straight before the Porsche Curves - but it wasn't a particularly clear shot and certainly didn't show anything untoward.
Sun 03:19 LMP1
1 #2 Audi
2 #20 Porsche
3 #1 Audi
4 #7 Toyota (stopped)
5 #14 Porsche
6 #8 Toyota
Sun 03:20 Right-hand side door change for the #74 Corvette. That's a shame because it's been a frontrunner throughout and that's a delay it could have done without having changed the brakes already.
Other cars could, maybe should, have to change their brakes as well, so all is not lost.
Sun 03:22 A few hours ago we declared this race was Toyota's to lose. That was hardly a ground-breaking statement, but we certainly didn't expect the Japanese firm's challenge for victory to be over with nearly 10 hours still to run.
The reality seems to be setting in down at the Toyota garage, where despondent mechanics are hugging and shaking each other's hands, seemingly in disbelief that this race has got away from them again.
Sun 03:23 One man who is obviously gutted is driver Alex Wurz, who makes no effort to hide his emotion on Twitter:
@Alex_Wurz: "I am devastated and want to cry! Leading the LeMans 24h race for 14h... pushing every inch along the way... and now technical breakdown :-("
You can't help but feel for them in a moment like this.
Sun 03:24 Treluyer pits the race-leading #2 Audi (we haven't quite got used to saying that after so many hours of Toyota leading). Fuel, no tyres, and away he goes, still comfortably ahead.
Sun 03:29 The #7 Toyota - the car that led this race for so long - is now officially retired. We still don't know exactly what the problem was that caused Nakajima to stop at the side of the road.
Sun 03:31 The #2 Audi continues to lead the #20 Porsche by two laps. The Porsche has a 60-second cushion over the #1 Audi in third.
Sun 03:34 Turner still leads by a comfortable margin in GTE Pro, more than half a minute clear of Bruni.
Bruni's setting some excellent lap times – personal bests no less – but give credit where it is due, Turner's been excellent.
His last two laps have been a 3m55.8s and a 3m56.2s, despite double stinting the tyres.
Having said all that, Bruni's now pit.
Sun 03:36 Gavin brings the #74 Corvette back into the pits for fuel and new slicks.
Sun 03:37 The #92 Manthey Porsche is slow into the Porsche Curves.
Sun 03:38 Toyota confirms that an "electrical problem with the loom" forced Nakajima's retirement from the lead of the race.
Sun 03:39 Lietz gets the #92 Manthey Porsche back to the pits. Is this its change of a podium over? It had been a drive of real grit and determination to get into that position in the first place.
The car's not quick enough in the dry here, that much is obvious. It's heavy and hard on its tyres – no wonder Porsche's top brass decried the BoP pre-race, it's had a tough one!
Sun 03:40 Well, Makowiecki takes over the Porsche and gets straight down to business – the #92 car is back out straight away.
Yellows at Porsche Curve for the #61 AF Corse Ferrari, which was second in GTE Am but has suffered contact and has stopped.
Sun 03:41 The shutters have been pulled down on the #7 side of the Toyota garage. The manufacturer's focus now is on the #8 car's battle with the #14 Porsche for fourth place. That's surely as good as it can get for Toyota, with the top three a long way ahead.
Sun 03:41 Race control adds that there is "small debris" on the left-hand side of the first part of the Porsche Curves.
Sun 03:41 We will soon get a slow zone procedure - in the Porsche Curves.
Sun 03:42 The class-leading #97 Aston Martin has been wheeled backwards into the garage. This could be a change of brakes...
Sun 03:43 The slow zone is now active in the Porsche Curves.
Sun 03:44 Lieb pits the #14 Porsche, allowing Davidson to take fourth in the remaining Toyota.
Sun 03:45 The #97 Aston is back out of the garage and into the race. Swift work from AMR, and clever to do it when there's a slow zone.
Sun 03:45 Drivers are being told to "keep right" on the entry to the Porsche Curves, suggesting the debris that is being cleared up is on the outside of the right-hander.
Sun 03:46 One AF Corse car – the #51 – takes the GTE lead, another – the #61 – is pushed into the garage. Contrast.
Sun 03:47 Webb pits the Signatech ORECA from second in LMP2, while the #35 OAK Ligier continues to control the class in the hands of Mardenborough.
Sun 03:49 Davidson pits, so fourth place goes back to the #14 Porsche with Lieb at the wheel.
Sun 03:50 The #74 Corvette is back in. This one looks to be getting away from it now.
Sun 03:51 Di Grassi is 37s behind the second-placed #20 Porsche of Hartley, and he's catching the 919.
Sun 03:52 It's a long stop for the Corvette. This isn't good. Lots of work over the back, looks like it's the engine.
Sun 03:57 The slow zone will end imminently.
Sun 03:59 The #14 Porsche is off at Indianapolis!
Sun 04:01 Replays show Lieb ran wide before getting onto the gravel and coming to a stop just before the tyre wall.
Sun 04:01 Lieb's back going again now, so the track is clear.
Sun 04:02 @CorvetteRacing: "Heartbreaking. Lost three laps sorting alternator issue on 74. Replaced the belt. Gavin back out P5."
Sun 04:09 It's an Audi one-two. Di Grassi has moved ahead of the #20 Porsche, which took tyres and changed from Hartley to Webber at at its last stop.
Sun 04:14 Treluyer pits and hands over to Fassler in the leading Audi.
Sun 04:16 Di Grassi is extending the advantage of the #1 Audi over Webber in the #20 Porsche by at least a couple of seconds a lap.
Sun 04:17 Ruberti pits out of fifth place in GTE Am aboard the 8Star Ferrari.
Sun 04:18 ... and is quickly on his way.
Sun 04:20 Panciatici bangs in the Signatech ORECA's fastest lap of the race in his chase of Brundle in the OAK/G-Drive Ligier in Brundle's hands.
Sun 04:22 Mucke bangs in the quickest lap for the #97 GTE Pro Aston Martin. He's chasing leader Bruni's #51 Ferrari.
Sun 04:24 Webber is losing ground in the #20 Porsche in third place. On the last lap, he did a 3m30.909s, while the leading #2 Audi did a 3m29.477s and the #1 Audi a 3m29.131s.
Sun 04:26 Capillaire brings the #24 Sebastien Loeb Racing ORECA into the pits. He jumps out and the car, with Charouz getting in. The car also looks set to get fresh Michelins.
Sun 04:29 The #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA is in the pits, with Panciatici staying at the wheel.
Sun 04:30 Here's the order in LMP1 up at the front: 1 #2 Audi (Fassler); 2 #1 Audi (Di Grassi); 3 #20 Porsche (Webber); 4 #8 Toyota (Davidson); 5 #14 Porsche (Dumas).
Sun 04:30 Di Grassi continues to edge away from Webber - the gap is up over the 40-second mark.
Sun 04:30 Brundle has just put in the fastest lap produced by the LMP2-leading #35 Ligier, a 3m38.032s.
Sun 04:32 The GTE Pro-leading #51 Ferrari is in the pits. Bruni hands over to Vilander and the team bolts on fresh Michelins.
Sun 04:34 The #52 Ram Ferrari is back in the pits yet again. That car is the last classified runner and has been battling plenty of problems.
Sun 04:35 Davidson brings the remaining Toyota in for fuel only.
Sun 04:35 Brundle's advantage in LMP2 in the #35 Ligier is not far off a lap now.
Sun 04:36 Mucke has just set his fastest lap of the race in the Aston of 3m34.606s. That's a couple of tenths faster than the Vantage went in qualifying!
Sun 04:39 Judging by the pitstop time, Brundle just took fuel at that stop.
Sun 04:42 Mucke brings the second-placed GTE Pro Aston Martin into the pits.
Sun 04:43 Tung puts in the best lap for the #33 OAK Racing Asia Ligier. That car is eighth in LMP2.
Sun 04:43 Mucke stays on board the #97 Aston Martin.
Sun 04:43 The #12 Rebellion stops. Fuel and tyres for Beche.
Sun 04:48 The lead in LMP2 for the #35 Ligier is now 2m15s over the #36 ORECA.
Sun 04:48 That was a longish stop for Beche, up over the two-minute mark.
Sun 04:49 The #34 Race Performance ORECA has been reported to the stewards for pitlane speeding. That car is fourth in LMP2.
Sun 04:50 Di Grassi pits the second-placed Audi and Webber follows him in. Gene takes over the controls of the R18 and beats Webber out of the pits.
Sun 04:52 The #62 GTE AM Ferrari is wheeled into the garage. It's one of the class stragglers. Blank gets out and there seems to be no great urgency in the garave.
Sun 04:54 Dumas brings the fifth-placed #14 Porsche into the pits for a fuel stop.
Sun 04:54 Gavin brings the #74 Corvette into the pits for fuel and tyres and a driver change, with Milner taking over.
Sun 04:56 Fassler brings the leading #2 Audi into the pits for fuel.
Sun 04:56 But the leading car is wheeled into the garage!
Sun 04:57 The front bodywork is off the #2 Audi and there's some also work at the rear of the car.
Sun 04:58 The nose goes back onto the front of the #2 Audi. It had a three-lap advantage, so there is a little cushion to play with. The rear bodywork looks like it's going back on.
Sun 04:59 The #2 Audi is wheeled back out of the garage.
Sun 04:59 But no, the #2 Audi is wheeled back in again. This looks more serious. The front bodywork is coming back off again, as is the rear bodywork.
Sun 05:00 The #2 Audi still leads, but the sister #1 car is now closing in. There's significant work going on at the rear of the car now.
Sun 05:02 We have a Ferrari off at the Porsche Curves.
Sun 05:02 It's the #72 Ferrari, which took a heavy rear-end impact. The driver, Shaitar, is out of the car.
Sun 05:03 Radio Le Mans confirms that the #2 Audi is having its turbo changed.
Sun 05:05 Race control is prepping a slow zone at the Porsche Curves. That will buy a little time for the #2 Audi.
Sun 05:08 Gene takes the lead in the #1 Audi, with the sister car that was leading still in the garage.
Sun 05:09 Webber has just gone into second place, while repairs continue on the #2 Audi.
Sun 05:13 Panciatici pits in the second-placed P2 car.
Sun 05:15 The nose is back on the #2 Audi and Fassler is getting some instructions, but repairs are still on-goin. It's been in the pits now for over 15 minutes.
Sun 05:19 The #2 Audi is back out - the total lost of time is about 20 minutes. It was two laps up and now it is two laps down.
Sun 05:20 The safety car is out - there has been intense examination of the damaged barriers in the Porsche Curves after Shaitar's accident.
Sun 05:21 The slow zone in the Porsche Curves has to be respected during the safety-car procedure, says race control.
Sun 05:21 So, with the field neutralised by the safety car, here's how things stand in LMP1: 1 #1 Audi (Gene); 2 #20 Porsche (Webber); 3 #2 Audi (Fassler); 4 #8 Toyota (Davidson); 5 #14 Porsche (Dumas).
Sun 05:22 The #74 Chevrolet has been pulled into the garage. The car has been suffering with an oil leak.
Sun 05:22 There's some grinding work being done on the barriers at Porsche Curves.
Sun 05:24 Gene and di Grassi are behind different safety cars.
Sun 05:25 In LMP2, the #35 Ligier continues to dominate. 1 #35 Ligier (Brundle); 2 #36 ORECA (Panciatici); 3 #46 Ligier (Badey); 4 #34 ORECA (Frey); 5 #38 Zytek (Turvey); 6 #24 ORECA (Charouz).
Sun 05:26 There's some mother of a piece of equipment being brought around the circuit to aid the barrier repairs in the Porsche Curves.
Sun 05:27 The GTE Pro battle has been fierce. Here's how things stand: 1 #51 Ferrari (Vilander); 2 #97 Aston Martin (Mucke); 3 #92 Porsche (Holzer); 4 #73 Chevrolet (Magnussen); 5 #74 Chevrolet (Milner); 6 #79 Porsche (MacNeil).
Sun 05:28 #8 is into the pits for a driver change and new tyres - and fuel, of course.
Sun 05:29 Race control warns that when the safety car period ends, the slow zone at Porsche Curves will continue to be in place.
Sun 05:30 The #42 Greaves Zytek is in the pits. It had some trouble earlier in the race but is still going down in ninth place. Matt McMurry has already become the youngest driver to start Le Mans and, currently, is on course to become the youngest to finish it too.
Sun 05:32 The LMP2-leading #35 Ligier has been in. Shulzhitskiy is now at the wheel.
Sun 05:35 We've got 13 official retirements so far. They are:
#0 Nissan ZEOD RC (Garage 56)
#3 Audi R18 e-tron quattro (LMP1)
#7 Toyota TS040 HYBRID
#13 Rebellion-Toyota R-One (LMP1)
#26 G-Drive (OAK) Morgan LMP2 (LMP2)
#37 ORECA 03R (LMP2)
#41 Zytek-Nissan Z11SN (LMP2)
#47 KCMG ORECA 03R (LMP2)
#48 Murphy Prototypes ORECA O3R (LMP2)
#52 Ram Racing Ferrari (GTE Pro)
#60 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE AM)
#71 Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE Pro)
#91 Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE Am)
Sun 05:35 The green flags fly, but the slow zone remains at the Porsche Curves.
Sun 05:36 And now it's up to 14 official retirements as, to no great surprise, the #72 SMP Ferrari that crashed at the Porsche Curves has been officially retired.
Sun 05:37 The #70 Taisan Ferrari is in the gravel having locked up at the second part of Indianapolis.
Sun 05:39 The #35 Ligier's lead in LMP2 stands at 90 seconds after the safety car.
Sun 05:43 The #34 Race Performance ORECA of Frey has been given a 35-second stop/go penalty. It runs fourth in LMP2.
Sun 05:46 The #1 Audi has a lead of 1m51.447s over the #20 Porsche. Gene and Webber are at the wheel of the two cars.
Sun 05:46 Panciatici in the #36 Signatech ORECA is closing the gap to Shulzhitskiy#s LMP2-leading #35 Ligier.
Sun 05:47 The #74 Chevy returns to the track but it has lost a lot of ground. Mucke leads GTE Pro in the #97 Aston Martin.
Sun 05:48 The slow zone at Porsche Curves is still in place. This is why the laptimes are so slow.
Sun 05:50 Mucke brings the #97 GTE Pro-leading Aston Martin into the pits. This allows Fisichella to reclaim first place in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari.
Sun 05:50 The slow zone has been deactivated. So now we have green flag conditions for the whole lap and the pace will pick up.
Sun 05:51 Gene brings the race-leading #1 Audi into the pits.
Sun 05:52 The #1 Audi gets fresh rubber and rejoins but it wasn't the quickest stop.
Sun 05:55 The #1 Audi has come a long way. During free practice on Wednesday, Loic Duval suffered this horrendous crash and Gene, currently leading, was preparing to race the #38 Jota Sport Zytek in LMP2.
Sun 05:57 The #2 Audi is setting a decent pace after its turbo change. Fassler is in third place, three laps off the lead.
Sun 05:58 And remember the #8 Toyota, which crashed early on in the rain? Well, it's up to fourth place. The car is eight laps down, but if one of the three cars ahead hits trouble, could salvage a podium. Davidson is at the wheel.
Sun 05:58 Fassler sets the best first sector of the race in sector 1.
Sun 05:59 Webber pits in the #20 Porsche and rejoins. He should just have had fuel.
Sun 06:00 Fassler has just set fastest sector of the race in sector one.
Sun 06:04 Mucke is closing down on Fisi in the Ferrari at the head of the GTE Pro field. He's banging in the 3m57s, while Fisichella is a second or two shy of that every lap.
Sun 06:05 Slow lap from Fassler after that fastest sector - at least according to the timing screens.
Sun 06:06 That was a glitch - it was actually a super-fast 3m25s!
Sun 06:07 The #27 AF Corse-run SMP ORECA has been reported to the stewards for speeding in the pits. It is 12th and last runner in LMP2.
Sun 06:07 Problem for the #75 ProSpeed Porsche at a pit-stop. The driver's door seems to have fallen off, much to the bafflement of the team.
Sun 06:08 Panciatici has pitted in the #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA that runs second in LMP2. Looks like he's taken tyres as well as fuel unless it was a very slow stop.
Sun 06:09 And now a 3m24s from Fassler. Or to put it another way, nine seconds faster than Webber in the Porsche ahead of him.
Sun 06:09 Things are hotting up in the GTE Pro Class. Fisichella leads in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari, but Mucke's #97 Aston martin is right on his tail.
Sun 06:10 In GTE Am, things aren't quite so close. The #95 Aston Martin has a big lead over the #88 Porsche.
Sun 06:10 Mucke is lining up Fisichella for a pass on Mulsanne...
Sun 06:10 It's a drag race to the first chicane...
Sun 06:11 And Mucke makes it stick, taking the inside line into the first chicane and taking the GTE Pro lead on lap 239.
Sun 06:12 Fassler follows it up with a 3m25s - 10s faster than Webber that time.
Sun 06:12 Not satisfied with only having the driver's door not attached properly, the #75 Prospeed Porsche has taken to the track with its left-rear wheel loose. The wheel has come off on Mulsanne.
Sun 06:13 Mucke is pulling away rapidly from Fisichella.
Sun 06:14 The #98 Aston Martin, 10th in GTE Am, is in the pits.
Sun 06:14 The Prospeed Porsche is still parked to the side of the track on Mulsanne.
Sun 06:15 Up at the front, Gene is extending the lead for the #1 Audi over the #20 Porsche.
Sun 06:16 The recovering #14 Porsche driven by Dumas has just unlapped itself from the #20 sister car.
Sun 06:17 Badey has set the fastest lap for the #46 TDS Ligier. It's third in LMP2.
Sun 06:18 The #75 Prospeed Porsche is being craned off the track. Seems that's it for the GTE Am car.
Sun 06:19 Fassler brings the third-placed #2 Audi into the pits. He takes fuel and rejoins.
Sun 06:19 The GTE Am-leading #95 Aston Martin driven by Poulsen is in the pits.
Sun 06:20 The #92 Manthey Porsche is in the pits for fuel. It's third in GTE Pro.
Sun 06:24 Frey is in the pits in the #34 Race Performance ORECA. It's fourth in LMP2 and having a decent race.
Sun 06:25 The #34 Race Performance ORECA is still in the pits. There must be a problem with that car, which has now slipped down to fifth in LMP2 behind the Jota Zytek of Turvey.
Sun 06:26 Fassler has plonked in another 3m25s - six seconds quicker than Webber that time. An Audi one-two has to be on the cards here.
Sun 06:32 Webber is going to go a lap down sometime in the next two laps. He's 3m19s down and Gene is lapping five seconds a lap faster.
Sun 06:35 Badey is in the pits in the third-placed LMP2 #46 TDS Ligier. The #34 Race Performance ORECA is still in the garage and dropping down the order having led the class earlier in the race.
Sun 06:35 Fisichella has pitted in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari that lies second in GTE Pro and, surprisingly, handed over to Bruni.
Sun 06:35 Gene puts Webber a lap down into the Dunlop Chicane. The lead Audi is still flying: he's put in a 3m25.5s, quicker than Fassler's 3m25.9s.
Sun 06:38 Shulzhitskiy's lead in LMP2 in the #35 Ligier is now 2m40s over the #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA.
Sun 06:38 The leading #1 Audi is in the pits. Gene takes fuel and rejoins.
Sun 06:39 20-second stop/go penalty for the #27 AF-run SMP ORECA that runs last in LMP2.
Sun 06:45 The second-placed #20 Porsche is back in the pits. Just fuel and Webber heads back out.
Sun 06:46 The #34 Race Performance ORECA is now circulating again, but it has dropped to seventh in class. Lancaster is at the wheel.
Sun 06:48 Panciatici brings the #36 ORECA into the pits from second in LMP2.
Sun 06:49 Senna is now in the GTE Pro-leading Aston Martin, with Bruni in the #51 Ferrari just six seconds behind and closing.
Sun 06:52 It's all eyes on the GTE Pro lead battle. Bruni is now just 2.5s behind Senna.
Sun 06:52 The fifth-placed #14 Porsche pits and Dumas continues.
Sun 06:53 Bruni is pushing hard, using all the exit kerb at Mulsanne Corner. Senna is trying to respond and there's traffic to deal with.
Sun 06:56 Bruni took 1.2s out of Senna in the first sector of this lap. He will be within striking distance soon.
Sun 06:57 The LMP2-leading Ligier is in the pits.
Sun 06:58 Bruni is attacking. Senna manages to keep the Aston martin ahead on the run to Porsche Curves.
Sun 06:58 Shulzhitskiy is out of the #35 Ligier and Mardenborough takes over.
Sun 06:59 Senna defends into the first Mulsanne chicane. That cost him momentum at the exit and Bruni is right on his tail.
Sun 07:00 Bruni thinks better of trying to pass on the outside of the second Mulsanne chicane, but has a run on Senna off the corner.
Sun 07:01 The pair ran side by side but Bruni made it stick into Mulsanne Corner up the inside. That gives the #51 AF Corse Ferrari the lead in GTE Pro on its 251st lap.
Sun 07:03 Chatin is reported to be going slowly in the Signatech Alpine ORECA - and drops to third in P2 on the timing screens.
Sun 07:04 Bruni has the legs of Senna and has pulled a second on him in a lap.
Sun 07:05 Chatin is on his way back to the pits - he's not up to race pace, but he's not crawling along.
Sun 07:06 The Signatech Alpine ORECA is pulled back into its garage. The left front wheel doesn't look right.
Sun 07:08 Bruni has just set the Ferrari's fastest lap of the race - a 3m55s - but Senna was actually quicker that last lap, putting the Aston in the 3m54s again.
Sun 07:09 The problem for the Signatech Alpine ORECA means that Ligier now has a one-two in LMP2 on the marque's first appearance at Le Mans since 1975. Mardenborough leads by pushing three minutes in the #35 OAK-run example, with Badey's TDS machine second.
Sun 07:10 The #75 Prospeed Porsche has now officially retired. It was last seen without a left-rear wheel being craned off the track.
Sun 07:14 Here's how things stand early in the 19th hour:
Sun 07:15 Senna is coming back at Bruni in the GTE Pro battle. Bruni leads, but has been pushed into setting a personal best for the #51 AF Corse Ferrari.
Sun 07:16 Badey brings the second-placed LMP2 TDS Ligier into the pits. The #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA is still in the pits.
Sun 07:17 Looks like the Signatech Alpine ORECA is about to rejoin.
Sun 07:19 Up front, Gene still has a lead of over a lap in the #1 Audi over Webber in the #20 Porsche. He was four seconds faster than Webber last time round.
Sun 07:19 Fassler in the #2 Audi puts another lap on the #8 Toyota, which runs fourth.
Sun 07:21 Senna is still pushing Bruni hard in the GTE Pro lead battle.
Sun 07:22 The sole remaining Rebellion, the #12 car, runs eighth overall and is closing on the two Ligiers that lead LMP2 and hold sixth and seven overall.
Sun 07:24 Senna retakes the lead in the GTE Pro battle. He drag-raced his way past Bruni's Ferrari on the run to the first Mulsanne chicane.
Sun 07:25 Gene brings the #1 Audi into the pits. He takes fuel and stays on board, although team-mate Tom Kristensen was ready to take over.
Sun 07:26 Barthez has handed the #68 Ferrari over to Ayari. Yes, that's Fabian Barthez, the retired World Cup-winning French international goalkeeper and former Manchester United player.
Sun 07:28 Mardenborough now has a lead of over a lap in LMP2 over the #46 TDS Ligier.
Sun 07:29 Senna, who just passed Bruni for the lead of GTE Pro, has banged in the fastest lap the #97 Aston Martin has done so far in the race.
Sun 07:32 Webber brings the second-placed #20 Porsche into the pits.
Sun 07:33 The problem for the #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA was a front-left upright. The car is now down in fourth in LMP2 with Chatin at the wheel.
Sun 07:34 Webber took tyres at that stop.
Sun 07:35 Senna brings the #97 Aston Martin into the pits. There's some concerning smoke coming from the bonnet and it's wheeled into the garage. That is a break for the #51 AF Corse Ferrari, which will now have an unchallenged lead in GTE Pro.
Sun 07:39 The timing screen has just updated and revealed that Webber handed over to Bernhard at that last stop, which is logical.
Sun 07:40 Mardenborough has made a stop in the #35 Ligier, which rejoins in the lead of LMP2.
Sun 07:41 Gene's lead in the #1 Audi is still over a lap from the #20 Porsche.
Sun 07:43 Dumas brings the #14 Porsche into the pits from fifth place.
Sun 07:43 Jani takes over the #14 Porsche.
Sun 07:49 The #97 Aston Martin of Senna is still in the pits with some kind of power steering-related problem.
Sun 07:50 The #2 Audi of Fassler pits from third place.
Sun 07:51 Aston Martin Racing confirms that it was a loose power steering pipe that has forced the #97 car into the garage.
Sun 07:53 The #8 Toyota is in the pits.
Sun 07:55 The #35 Ligier, which has led LMP2 for so long, is in the garage. Mardenborough jumps out and Shulzhitskity jumps in. The rear bodywork is off.
Sun 08:00 Smoke is reported to be coming from the back of the #97 Aston after its first lap back on track following a 23-minute stop.
Sun 08:01 The fifth-place P2, the Signatech Alpine ORECA, is back in the pits after its earlier upright change.
Sun 08:03 The OAK/G-Drive Ligier is back out after a nine-minute delay.
Sun 08:05 There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with the Aston - Turner has just done a 3m56s.
Sun 08:06 A lead of nearly two laps for the OAK/G-Drive Ligier has turned into a one-lap deficit to the TDS team's JSP2.
Sun 08:08 Lotterer has banged in a 3m25s, but the Porsche has picked up the pace in Bernhard's hands. He's just done a 3m28s.
Sun 08:09 The #29 Pegasus Morgan, which is 11th in LMP2, has been reported to the stewards for speeding in the pits.
Sun 08:09 The problems for the #97 Aston Martin have dropped it to fourth place in class, five laps off the lead.
Sun 08:10 The leader is in the pits, and Gene hands over to TK.
Sun 08:13 Heidfeld is doing some decent times in the remaining Rebellion. He's just done a 3m29s - or to put it another way, only two tenths off Bernhard's last lap.
Sun 08:13 In LMP2, the #46 TDS Ligier has a lead of over a lap over the #35 OAK Ligier that led for so long.
Sun 08:14 The #92 Manthey Porsche, which runs second in GTE Pro, is in the pits for fuel. Leitz is driving.
Sun 08:15 Stewards are investigating contact between the #57 Krohn Ferrari and the #70 Taisan Ferrari.
Sun 08:15 Lotterer has just posted fastest lap of the race. Should we be surprised? Probably not, but his 3m22.881s is quicker than any Audi went in qualifying.
Sun 08:16 We haven't seen the collision in question but both cars are still circulating normally. The drivers were Nakano and Krohn.
Sun 08:17 Lotterer is also coming up behind Kristensen and getting ready to regain a lap.
Sun 08:17 And he makes the move on the run from Arnage to the Porsche Curves.
Sun 08:18 A few personal bests from LMP2 cars on the last lap. The #42 Zytek in the hands of Kimber-Smith, the #27 SMP ORECA of Mika Salo and the #50 Larbre Morgan have all set quick laps.
Sun 08:19 Unfortunately, the GTE Pro battle that enlivened the race for so long, is no longer playing a starring role in the race. Bruni in the #51 Ferrari has a two-lap advantage over the #92 Manthey Porsche of Lietz.
Sun 08:20 Since its long stop for repair work, the second-placed LMP2 Ligier of Shulzhitskiy has been lapping relatively slowly. Could well be carrying a problem.
Sun 08:23 A stop for Bernhard bring Lotterer onto the same lap as the Porsche, though artificially so. Lotterer's pace is relentless - its 3m25s after 3m25s.
Sun 08:25 The #36 Ligier, in second in LMP2, is lapping at a good turn of pace again.
Sun 08:31 Here's Mardenborough on the problems that cost the #35 Ligier the lead in LMP2, with team-mate Mark Shulzhitskiy now in second. @Jannthaman: "Lack of power and a fractured rear brake disc. Marky boy trying to regain P1!"
Sun 08:34 Jani pits the #14 Porsche, which runs fifth at the moment.
Sun 08:34 Lietz pits the #92 Manthey Porsche from second place.
Sun 08:36 Lotterer pits the #2 Audi, having got to within two minutes of the second-placed #20 Porsche.
Sun 08:39 Vilander's running at a good pace out in front, not that the AF Ferrari particularly needs it. Lietz is two laps behind after that stop, during which took new tyres. The #73 Corvette is 1m13s behind the Porsche now in the race for second.
Sun 08:42 Webber's verdict on his and Porsche's Le Mans return: "We always said we wanted to get to Sunday morning. If we could see the sun, it would be an achievement. We've done that, and we're really pleased."
The #20 Porsche continues to run second, a lap clear of the #2 Audi.
Sun 08:43 Gommendy has taken over the LMP2-leading TDS Ligier. He's chased by Shulzhitskiy in the #35 OAK example.
Sun 08:45 That stop for the LMP2 leader has moved the #12 Rebellion ahead of it and into the top six overall.
The #42 Greaves Zytek is still going and in ninth place. The team plans to let Matt McMurry finish if it makes it that far as after becoming the youngest driver to start Le Mans at 16 years and 202 days, he will obviously become the youngest ever to finish. @ChrisDyson16 "Going to crank in another #double soon. We are changing driver sequence so that @mcmurrymatt can bring it home."
Sun 08:50 Fifteen of the 54 starters have now officially retired from the race. They are:
#0 Nissan ZEOD RC (Garage 56)
#3 Audi R18 e-tron quattro (LMP1)
#7 Toyota TS040 HYBRID
#13 Rebellion-Toyota R-One (LMP1)
#26 G-Drive (OAK) Morgan LMP2 (LMP2)
#37 ORECA 03R (LMP2)
#41 Zytek-Nissan Z11SN (LMP2)
#47 KCMG ORECA 03R (LMP2)
#48 Murphy Prototypes ORECA O3R (LMP2)
#52 Ram Racing Ferrari (GTE Pro)
#60 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE AM)
#71 Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE Pro)
#72 SMP Racing Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE Am)
#75 ProSpeed Porsche 911 GT3-RSR (GTE Am)
#91 Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE Am)
Sun 08:52 Turner, whose pace was supreme during that stint, pits in the #97 Aston. It's a shame for that team that fourth looks like its maximum today after controlling proceedings for so long.
Worse still, it's a bit smokey at the front. But it continues...
Sun 08:55 The most significant battle at the front of the field is for second place. Bernhard's #20 Porsche currently holds an advantage of 2m14s over the #2 Audi of Lotterer.
And on that lap, the Audi was eight seconds quicker...
Sun 08:55 The #43 Morand Morgan has got a stop/go penalty for pitlane speeding, as has the #29 Pegasus example.
Sun 08:57 Kristensen pits the lead Audi with a little over four hours to go, and a decent lead of more than a lap. Fuel only.
Sun 08:58 If you want to keep abreast of all the action from the Barcelona MotoGP race day alongside your enjoyment of Le Mans, AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live's coverage of the two-wheeled Catalunya Grand Prix action is just beginning too:
Sun 09:00 The LMP2-leading TDS Ligier has a problem. Looks like it has a puncture. It's cruising back and is in the region of Indianapolis.
Sun 09:00 Lots of attention at the rear of the #12 Rebellion as Heidfeld pits, and the rear bodywork is briefly removed. After a delay of a couple of minutes he gets new tyres and his back on his way.
Sun 09:02 Gommendy brings the #46 Ligier into the pits. The second-placed LMP2 car is in sector two at the moment and closing.
Sun 09:03 It's not going to be a simple job for the #46 crew. The Ligier is wheeled into the garage and the #35 OAK Ligier will be in the lead momentarily.
Sun 09:04 Lotterer takes another five seconds out of the #20 Porsche in second, bringing the gap between the cars fighting for second down to 2m02s.
Sun 09:05 The leading #1 Audi stops coming out of the first Mulsanne chicane!
Sun 09:07 Kristensen - bidding for a 10th Le Mans victory - pulls over to the side of the tack, appears to perform some sort of reset on the car and then gets going again. Let's see how fast he is. Before this happened the #1 car had a lead of a lap and a bit over the #20 Porsche.
Sun 09:08 Audi's Twitter feed says that was a reset of the electronics.
Sun 09:09 Kristensen stays out, registering a 4m01s laptime. So that's a loss of half a minute, at least.
The #20 car pits for fuel, so (for now) there's no huge gain that will be noticeable on the timing screens.
Sun 09:10 The #46 TDS Ligier is back out on track but has lost the lead in LMP2 to the #35 G-Drive-backed OAK Ligier.
Sun 09:11 Thanks to that stop for the #20 Porsche, the #2 Audi is now 54s behind the second-placed car.
Sun 09:12 For a number of reasons, it's a shame the Corvette and Aston hit problems. Nothing against Ferrari, but the three-car dice we witnessed for hours on end was spectacular.
Vilander's in cruise control at the moment, two laps to the good. Lietz and Taylor are quicker, but it doesn't matter really.
Sun 09:13 The #1 Audi pits, takes on fuel...and is then released dangerously close to the #50 Larbre car in the pitlane.
The LMP2 runner passes the race leader into the first corner, and Kristensen seems off the pace as he runs down the esses and towards Tertre Rouge.
Sun 09:14 Rapid lap from Gavin's Corvette, a 3m54.652s – if only, if only...
Sun 09:14 The #42 Greaves Zytek has slowed. Dyson is trying to get the car back.
Sun 09:16 Lotterer keeps taking chunks of time out of the #20 Porsche in second place - the gap between the two cars is now 45s.
And that could become really significant in the fight for the overall win, because the leading #1 Audi is still off the pace and being overtaken by GTE runners.
Kristensen is only capable of reaching #200km/h, and he returns to the pits for the second consecutive lap.
Sun 09:17 The race leader - the #1 Audi - is wheeled into the garage for repairs. The car had a lead of over a lap to the #20 Porsche before these problems struck.
Sun 09:18 The #35 Ligier now leads the LMP2 class by almost a lap from the #46 TDS machine.
Sun 09:18 Right now it may look like this could hand the race to Porsche, but even if the #20 car - Mark Webber's car, no less - does get ahead of the stricken Audi, it's got its hands full to keep the #2 Audi at bay.
Lotterer takes 10 seconds out Bernhard, and he trails the Porsche by 35s now.
Sun 09:20 Lotterer's charge includes a new fastest lap of the race - a 3m22.567s - and then he pits.
Sun 09:21 The #20 Porsche leads the race, as Bernhard passes the pits while the #1 Audi is being worked on in the garage.
Sun 09:22 The Rebellion is sixth. That is all.
Sun 09:25 Jordan Taylor's really hunting down the #92 Porsche in the fight for second in GTE Pro. His last lap before pitting was a 3m54.632s.
He's pit now, though, having closed the gap to about 1m10s.
Sun 09:25 Lotterer takes new tyres, and he now trails the race-leading Porsche - that he was as much as 10s a lap quicker than towards the end of the previous stint - by 1m39s.
Sun 09:26 Buemi pits the #8 Toyota from fourth, while Jani has been in for a stop in the #14 Porsche from fifth.
Sun 09:28 The #1 Audi is still in the garage, and is now two laps off the lead. It looks like this race is now #20 Porsche vs #2 Audi...
Sun 09:29 @Audi__Sport: No.1 turbocharger has to be changed
Sun 09:30 #20 Porsche leads #2 Audi by 1m34s. Lotterer took another four seconds out of Bernhard's lead on that lap.
Sun 09:32 The TV cameras are loving the fact that Webber's car is leading the race. We're getting plenty of shots of him with his stare fixed on the monitors in the garage.
Sun 09:32 Three more seconds in Lotterer's favour as the chase at the front continues. The #2 Audi cuts the #20 Porsche's lead to 1m31s.
Sun 09:34 The #1 Audi rejoins the race - still in a podium position. Di Grassi is at the wheel and nearly four laps down on the leading #20 Porsche, which crosses the line shortly after the Audi takes to the track.
Sun 09:36 Lotterer takes five seconds out of the leading Porsche that lap. The lead is now down to 1.26s.
Sun 09:37 The #1 Audi, which pitted from the lead to have that turbo changed, spent 17 minutes in the pits - dropping it from P1 to P3.
Sun 09:38 GARY WATKINS: There are somewhere just over 60 laps of this race still to run, presuming it stays green. That means at Lotterer's current rate of gain, Audi should win with relative ease.
Sun 09:45 Just nothing new to tell you about in GTE we're afraid.
Vilander leads comfortably. Lietz is clear of Taylor. Thiim is controlling Am.
Sun 09:49 Update on the gap in the lead battle: Lotterer has closed to 1m14s behind Bernhard's Porsche.
Sun 09:49 Yellow flag at the end of the Porsche Curves. It's the #67 IMSA Porsche, which spins into the gravel while being lapped.
Sun 09:51 Slowly but surely, Taylor's reeling in Lietz's Porsche in the battle for second in GTE Pro. Maybe this one's not dead yet.
Taylor was 1.8s quicker on that last lap, cutting the gap to 1m01s.
Sun 09:51 It's still looking very good for the Audi, which has taken more than four seconds out of the lead on the most recent lap.
Sun 09:52 Turner's had an off in the Aston, running wide at Mulsanne and skating across the gravel. He's back on it again now.
Sun 09:53 'Only' a three-second gain for Lotterer on that lap. He trails the #20 Porsche by 1m11s.
Lotterer is slower than the leader on that lap. It's a 3m28s for the Porsche, and a 3m30s for the chasing Audi.
Sun 09:59 Small moment for Lotterer as he keeps pushing, and nearly runs on at Mulsanne Corner after missing the apex.
The leading #20 Porsche pits for fuel only.
Sun 10:01 Inside the final three hours here at Le Mans, and who'd have thought we'd have a Porsche in the lead. Not our sportscar expert GARY WATKINS (we asked him).
Sun 10:03 The gap at the front is just eight seconds now, but Lotterer will pit soon as the two leading cars are a slightly out of sync. Still, that's as close as it has been, and is much closer than it was at this stage in the last sequence of pitstops - showing how much ground the Audi has made up.
Sun 10:04 More gains for Lotterer as the gap comes down to five seconds, much to the excitement of the French circuit commentator.
Sun 10:05 The #91 Manthey Porsche was running quite slowly there coming out of Indianapolis. A lock up forced him wide slightly and he just touched the gravel.
Sun 10:05 Treluyer is kitted up and ready to go in the Audi pit. The #2's victory chase will be his responsibility soon.
Sun 10:06 The #88 Proton Competition Porsche, second in GTE Am, has been reported to the stewards for speeding in the pitlane.
Sun 10:07 The gap is down to three seconds, and the two leading cars (Porsche/Audi) are well and truly in the same shot now.
Lotterer pits before he can make a pass on track, and if there's a driver change (and tyres) here then this will be a longer stop, so the Porsche is safe for a little while longer.
Sun 10:08 No driver change, no tyres. The #2 Audi takes on fuel and picks up the chase once again, having spent 57s from pit in to pit out. That should mean the gap is back up to around the minute mark.
Sun 10:09 Early indications are that Lotterer now trails Bernhard's Porsche by 54s.
Sun 10:11 Traditionally the LMP1 teams have been spending 57-58s in the pitlane (including entry and exit) for fuel-only stops. So with Lotterer now 52s behind the leading Porsche, even if it's just a short stop the lead is likely to change hands when the #20 919 comes in.
Sun 10:12 In LMP2, the #35 Ligier still leads ahead of the #46 Ligier. Impressive, given that this is the racing debut for the Ligier JSP2.
Sun 10:13 Ayari spins into the gravel at the last corner in the #58 Ferrari.
Sun 10:18 We were assuming Webber's work might be done in this race, but the latest shot of him in the Porsche garage show he has put his race gear back on.
His car leads the #2 Audi by 50s at the moment.
Sun 10:18 The #57 Krohn Ferrari heads to the garage. That car was chasing third place in GTE Am.
Sun 10:19 The #97 Aston Martin is back in the garage with the bonnet off. It is fourth in the GTE Pro class.
Sun 10:19 Di Grassi pits the #1 car from third place. It's three laps down thanks to that turbo change earlier this morning, which cost it the lead when Kristensen was at the wheel and hunting a 10th Le Mans win.
Sun 10:20 The #35 Ligier's LMP2 lead is being whittled away by the #46. Brundle is in the lead car, which appears to be struggling for power.
Sun 10:26 @Sebastien_buemi: "We’ve tried to push hard to the end. We know anything can still happen so we don’t give up."
Sun 10:28 Down in the Corvette pits, SCOTT MITCHELL spots some very happy crew members on the #73 car which is currently running third: "Just witnessed a very American amount of fist-bumping and back-slapping for the #73 Corvette guys after the car's last stop. They know they nailed it. A podium would be a great result given the early problems for that car."
Sun 10:28 The #27 SMP (AF Corse) ORECA has been wheeled into the garage. It was already last of the runners in LMP2.
Sun 10:29 The #35 Ligier's LMP2 lead is now down to 1m18.442s over the #46 car.
Sun 10:29 McLaren Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen is cheering on his Dad Jan in that #73 Corvette: @KevinMagnussen: "Now last stint daddy! You deserve your fifth win at Le Mans. Go ;-) Go #KevinsDad ;)"
Sun 10:30 Lotterer has kept chipping away at the Porsche's lead. 37s now separates the chasing Audi from the leading 919 #20.
Sun 10:33 3m27s for Lotterer in #2 Audi - 3m35s for Bernhard. There's frantic action in the Porsche garage, including Webber charging out the back. Perhaps he's getting in slightly earlier than expected?
Sun 10:35 Webber is in position on the pit apron, waiting to take over the #20 Porsche. This stop will hand the lead to the #2 Audi. Bernhard comes in.
Sun 10:36 Lotterer passes the pits as the Porsche takes on a new driver (Webber) and new tyres. 2h23m to go and the race has come back to Audi at this stage.
Sun 10:37 The #88 Porsche of Bachler has been hit with a 45-seconds stop/go penalty for speeding in the pits. It's second in GTE Am.
Sun 10:38 Webber claimed earlier in the race that he drove to a pace he felt comfortable with rather than pushing too hard - because Porsche didn't particularly have anything to race for at the time due to the gaps to the cars around it.
Well, now he has something to race for, because his 919 is on the same lap as the race leader on Sunday afternoon. Let's see if he goes for it.
Sun 10:45 Webber's first flying lap of this stint is a 3m31s. Lotterer - with a 3m26s - now leads by 1m05s. GARY WATKINS points out that a couple more laps like that and the lead Audi will have a pitstop in hand - including time to take on new tyres.
Sun 10:48 This time it's a 3m33s for Webber, while Lotterer rattles off another 3m26s to extend the #2 car's lead to 1m13s.
Sun 10:50 The Audi crew (and Treluyer) are stood up in the garage and ready for action. #2 must be in soon from the lead.
Sun 10:51 Brundle's lead is down to 53.550s in LMP2 over the #46 Ligier. His car is still struggling for power.
Sun 10:51 Another 3m33s for Webber, who lets the sister Porsche of Jani through just before the end of the lap. Jani is lapping 6s per lap quicker than his team-mate at the moment, but is down in fifth.
Sun 10:52 Lotterer's lead is up to 1m16s now, and it looks like he'll be in this lap to hand over to Treluyer.
Sun 10:55 Well, the #2 Audi comes in, but Lotterer doesn't get out, and doesn't take on new tyres. That's a quick turnaround then, which maintains track position for the leader over Webber's Porsche.
The gap between the top two is now 26 seconds.
Sun 10:55 A pitstop for Stefan Mucke drops the Aston behind the #74 Corvette, which means the Chevys are now third and fourth.
Richard Westbrook, who led in the #74 car for a long time until various issues struck it, was pleased with the car's Le Mans debut but couldn't hide his disappointment that a single podium is all the C7.R will have to show for a very impressive turn of pace.
"It was great fighting for the win for so long," he said. "It was a really interesting race. We were not as quick in the night as the Aston, so it was important for us to survive the night...but’s been a good showing. I’m proud of everyone in the team."
Sun 10:58 GTE leader Fisichella pits in the #51 Ferrari.
Sun 11:00 The #20 Porsche is slowing! Webber's crawling down the Mulsanne straight.
Sun 11:02 Webber is busy in the cockpit, probably trying to reset any systems that could have contributed to this problem. The leading #2 Audi is well on its way to victory up ahead now, and Audi can smell a one-two as well.
Sun 11:04 It's looking bad for the #35 OAK Ligier that has starred in LMP2. While the car, driven by Brundle, still leads, it's down on power and losing time hand over fist to Gommendy's #46 TDS Ligier.
Sun 11:05 Webber makes it back to the pits, while di Grassi brings in the #1 car that is now chasing the #20 Porsche for second.
Sun 11:06 Replays show Webber went straight on at the second Mulsanne chicane before slowing. The #20 car is in the garage.
Sun 11:07 Brundle now has only an 12-second lead in LMP2. At the current rate, Gommendy will be right with him by the end of the lap.
Sun 11:08 Also, Tincknell is flying the Jota Zytek and is only a few seconds behind Gommendy. Top three in LMP2 covered by 15 seconds after 22 hours!
Sun 11:09 Thats a scare for Aston Martin – runaway GTE Am leader Kristian Poulsen stops at the exit of the pitlane having taken over from Nicki Thiim.
He gets going again, but that's a bit too dramatic for the team that was looking a certainty for Am-class honours. It lost a couple of minutes with that issue – but led by several laps before.
Sun 11:11 Inevitably, there's a change of lead in LMP2. Gommendy passes the similar Ligier of Brundle. Nothing Brundle could do about it.
Sun 11:11 Tincknell is now bearing down on Brundle.
Sun 11:12 Makowiecki pits the #92 Manthey Porsche, which lifts the #73 Corvette into second.
Jordan Taylor, who drove that car before handing over to Jan Magnussen, reckons it's touch-and-go whether the C7.R can nail the 911 RSR for second by the flag.
"That was the best stint I’ve ever driven at Le Mans," he declared. "We’re able to triple stint the tyres and the Porsche is struggling even to double stint. It's going to run right to the end."
Sun 11:12 And Tincknell takes second in LMP2 from Brundle.
Sun 11:13 Di Grassi moves into second with the #1 Audi, passing the #20 Porsche which is still being worked on in the garage.
Sun 11:14 Brundle is now down to third in LMP2. And he's destined to lose that at the current rate. Panciatici is in fourth and 10 or more seconds per lap faster. The gap is 2m30s, so it will take a while, but the #35 Ligier doesn't have the pace thanks to its lack of power.
Sun 11:14 Gommendy heads into the pits, so Tincknell takes the LMP2 lead. Brundle also in.
Sun 11:15 The #35 Ligier is being rolled into the garage.
Sun 11:17 Tincknell led in the first stint in the #38 Jota Zytek, and he's back up in the lead again now.
Sun 11:18 The #20 Porsche currently has two laps in hand on the #8 Toyota. Could the car that crashed so heavily during the early stages of the race salvage a podium here in the closing stages? If Porsche doesn't get its car back out soon - the answer to that will be yes.
Sun 11:20 The urgency has disappeared from the Porsche garage, and Webber gets out of the car. This could be it for the #20...
Sun 11:21 The mechanics walk away from the car. Porsche led into the closing stages of its top-class Le Mans comeback, but it won't be celebrating a result when the 24 hours are up.
Sun 11:21 Over in GTE Pro, with the #73 Corvette having stopped Garcia's taken over from Magnussen with just 27s between the C7.R and the Manthey Porsche of Makowiecki.
Sun 11:24 Davidson moves the #8 Toyota into third, at the expense of the halted #20 Porsche. He's six laps off the lead with just over an hour and a half to go.
Sun 11:26 Makowiecki – 3m58.449s.
Garcia – 3m54.754s.
The gap's now 21.6s – just over an hour and a half left.
Sun 11:31 Garcia gets the gap down to 17.7s now with a 3m57.109s compared to Mako's 4m00.4s.
Sun 11:32 @PorscheRaces: "Team is analyzing problem on car #20"
Sun 11:33 In LMP2, Gommendy now has a lead of just over 30 seconds over the Jota Sport Zytek driven by Turvey.
Sun 11:35 Lotterer has finally handed the #2 leading Audi over to Treluyer to finish the race.
Sun 11:37 Now the #14 Porsche is wheeled back into the garage. Could it be that neither 919 is going to make the finish after both getting so close?
Porsche says "team is checking".
Sun 11:38 Harry Tincknell's done after that stint: "I'm absolutely finished, couldn't have given it anymore... Come on #Mighty38!"
Sun 11:39 The #14 Porsche is up on its stands with the wheels and front bodywork removed.
Sun 11:41 Back to Garcia-watch, and the Corvette's within 10s of Makowiecki now. Mako decides he's had enough, and pits.
Garcia finishes the lap, which is a new best for that car – a 3m53.869s.
Sun 11:43 The #92 Manthey Porsche is stationary in the pits as mechanics work under the bonnet. Now it's given the all-clear to leave, but that will drop it behind the Corvette for sure.
Sun 11:45 Toyota gives Davidson a new set of tyres for the final 75 minutes of the race, as he heads towards a comfortable podium finish behind the two Audis.
Sun 11:50 Gommendy holds a 33-second lead in LMP2 over the #38 Zytek of Turvey, with Panciatici third and 2m37s down in the Signatech Alpine ORECA.
Sun 11:51 Makowiecki's got a new set of boots as well on his Porsche, but Garcia's probably out of reach after that delay.
Sun 11:52 Kristensen's in for di Grassi in the #1 Audi, which pits from its comfortable second position.
Time for the Dane to enjoy the final hour, even if a 10th win is beyond him.
Sun 11:53 Porsche is still working on the #14 car, and Lieb has kept his helmet on, so perhaps one of the 919s will return to the action before the finish.
Sun 11:57 Lots of hand-shakes, fist-bumps and hugging going on in the Audi pit. That's about as close as you'll get to the team tempting fate with just over an hour to go.
Sun 11:58 Gommendy brings the LMP2-leading #46 Ligier into the pits. That hands the lead to the #38 Jota Zytek.
Sun 12:02 This could be a really close finish in LMP2.
Sun 12:04 Turvey heads into the pits. Just fuel for the Zytek.
Sun 12:05 And Turvey rejoins in the lead of LMP2 ahead of Badey.
Sun 12:06 The #95 Aston Martin is wheeled into the garage. It is four laps in the clear in GTE Am, so this isn't of huge concern yet – especially as reports suggest it's planned.
Sun 12:06 Badey has fresher rubber, but Turvey is a seriously quick driver so should have the edge.
Sun 12:07 Yellow flags at Indianapolis.
Sun 12:08 It's the JMW Ferrari, which has been beached in the gravel.
Sun 12:09 Amazing that Turvey is leading LMP2 in the final hour. Remember, a week ago he was on the sidelines.
Sun 12:11 Turvey is fractionally quicker than Bady in the Ligier so far. The gap is just over 2.5s.
"A whopping 262,000 spectators here at Le Mans over the weekend. The biggest since 1989! We hope everyone one of you has enjoyed it!"
Sun 12:12 Turvey now 3.019s clear in LMP2.
Sun 12:12 Seems after a lengthy, lengthy wait (possibly similar to the power-steering problems that afflicted the other two?) the #95 Aston is back underway and resumes the lead of the GTE Am race.
Sun 12:14 @JotaSport: "Gosh this is going to be a long 50mins."
Sun 12:17 Prost takes the #12 Rebellion past the two Porsches, which are both still in the garage. That's fourth overall for the privateer team.
Sun 12:17 Rast is pushing on in the fourth-placed #24 LMP2 ORECA. Set the car's best lap of the race.
Sun 12:23 @PorscheRaces: "Car no 14 with gearbox issue. Repair work going on. Team principle Andreas Seidl hopes to send it back into the race."
Sun 12:35 Formation flying for the Audis - an image that epitomises the marque's dominance of this race in the 21st century.
Sun 12:38 The #46 Ligier, second in LMP2, makes its final stop for fuel.
Sun 12:40 This is the top three in both GTE Pro, which hasn't changed in the last hour: 1 #51 AF Ferrari; 2 #73 Corvette; 3 #92 Manthey Porsche.
It's a similar story in GTE Am: 1 #95 Aston; 2 #88 Proton Porsche; 3 #61 AF Ferrari.
Sun 12:40 The fourth-placed LMP2 #35 Ligier makes its final stop with a very second-hand looking rear wheel coming off.
Sun 12:41 So, to confirm, in LMP1 it's the #2 Audi leading the #1 Audi by three laps. The #8 Toyota is a further three laps down in third, with the sole remaining Rebellion (#12) in fourth ahead of the leading LMP2 runners.
We're inside the final 20 minutes here, and there's a chance we'll see a Porsche 919 (#14) return to the track to take the finish.
Sun 12:45 Turvey makes his final stop in the LMP2-leading Jota Zytek.
Sun 12:45 Turvey takes fuel and rejoins still leading.
Sun 12:47 After his stop, Turvey has a comfortable advantage of 24s over the #46 Ligier of Badey. No chance he will be caught, so just needs to keep out of trouble now.
Sun 12:48 There doesn't appear to be much activity around the #14 Porsche that we're expecting to rejoin the race for the finish. All the mechanics are stood around the car, but nobody appears to be working on it. Perhaps it's ready to go and the team is just waiting for the right time to send it out to take the flag...
Sun 12:52 Seven minutes to go and the #14 Porsche is wheeled out of the garage. It's time to join the formation finish.
Sun 12:52 AMR brings the #97 Aston back out as well to ensure it's running at the flag.
Sun 12:54 Credit to the ProSpeed Porsche team, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Cooper MacNeill on grabbing fifth in GTE Pro – with two drivers, and having had a busy Thursday night/Friday sorting out the replacement car.
Sun 12:57 The #14 Porsche leaves the pits, as the Audis cross the start/finish line with three minutes to go. That makes this the last lap.
Sun 12:57 Matt McMurry is behind the wheel of the #42 Greaves Zytek. It's only 11th, but at 16 years and 202 days he is the youngest driver ever to start the Le Mans 24 Hours, breaking the record set by Ricardo Rodriguez. Obviously, he will also break the record for youngest finisher, set by Gunnar Jeanette in 2000.
Sun 12:58 This has been a highly professional performance from AF Corse. The Ferrari 458 was the car to have in qualifying but there were doubts over whether it had the race pace to challenge the Aston Martin.
But Bruni, Fisichella and Vilander all went wheel-to-wheel with the Aston and the lead Corvette at times during the race, and ultimately it was the only car to have a run without any serious delay. That's what it takes to win at Le Mans – obviously it's a lot tougher than it sounds.
Sun 13:00 The #14 Porsche slows, waiting for the Audis so it can slot in behind and not have to complete another lap. The 919 - with Lieb at the wheel, is currently running 11th overall.
Sun 13:00 And speaking of professional GT performances, a hat tip to Aston Martin and the #95 crew. This has been about as dominant as it gets – four laps to the good at one stage and almost three laps clear at the finish.
Sun 13:01 Superb victory for the Jota Sport Zytek in LMP2. Harry Tincknell has been a star in this car, with Oliver Turvey doing a great job after being given a late call-up to stand in for Marc Gene, who was drafted into the #1 Audi. Simon Dolan, the silver rated driver, also did a good job.
The #46 TDS Ligier finishes second after running strongly at the front of the field throughout, but losing time with a puncture and resulting suspension damage, with the #36 Signatech Alpine also running strongly until it suffered a broken left-front upright and finishing third.
But the star turn has been the #35 OAK-run G-Drive-liveried Ligier of Alex Brundle, Jann Mardenborough and Mark Shulzhitskiy, which led for so long but lost ground with a rear brake problem and then a loss of power before finishing fifth.
Sun 13:02 That's the flag...
It's victory for Audi in the Le Mans 24 Hours!
Sun 13:03 The #2 Audi, driven by Benoit Treluyer at the end, leads the train of cars running in formation over the line as the flag falls.
Top, top work from Audi as the #1 car makes it a one-two. A masterclass in how to win when all is not in your favour.
Confirmation that the Jota Sport Zytek wins LMP2, AF Corse Ferrari triumphs in GTE Pro and the #95 Aston clinches GTE Am.
Sun 13:12 As the leading cars complete their lap of honour, that's it from AUTOSPORT's Live coverage of the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours.
Keep up with all of the post-race reaction on autosport.com, and look out for GARY WATKINS' expert analysis of the race online tomorrow morning.
Thanks to everyone who followed the race with us this year, we hope you enjoyed is as much as we did. Same time next year?
The atmosphere is building very nicely here at the Circuit de la Sarthe. So let's get to it...
The cars are on the grid, fever is at bursting point for all present and the build up is in full flow.
Earlier, we witnessed a stellar Porsche Carrera Cup encounter – with respect, not too many times that can be said. In that, Ben Barker fittingly secured victory as his Parr Motorsport squad celebrates 30 years of competition.
His win came after long-time leader Kevin Estre – briefly pitched into the air early on during a wheel-to-wheel battle with Earl Bamber, which ended the New Zealander’s race – suffered a blowout halfway round the final lap.
GP2 race winner Tom Dillmann was second, with Lonni Martins third. Among the British championship frontrunners, Porsche rookie Josh Webster charged from 18th on the grid to finish with seventh overall after besting points leader Michael Meadows in a straight.
#7 Toyota – Alexander Wurz
#14 Porsche – Neel Jani
#8 Toyota – Nicolas Lapierre
#20 Porsche – Timo Bernhard
#3 Audi – Marco Bonanomi
#2 Audi – Andre Lotterer
#1 Audi – Tom Kristensen
Just click here to view the coverage provided by Nissan's motorsport and performance division.
Tom Kimber-Smith, who is racing the #42 Greaves Motorsport Zytek the 24 Hours, finished second, just over 90 seconds down driving an Aston Martin ARM1.
“I take my hat off to the people that drove them in the day,” said Kimber-Smith after the race. “They are physical compared to today, and the [modern] P2 is quite simple to drive. The technology is so advanced.”
Garcia, who is back now and ready to join Jan Magnussen and Tommy Milner in a bid for GTE Pro victory, flew home on Friday morning after his wife gave birth to their baby girl Maria.
In celebration, "Maria's dad" now takes pride of place in between Magnussen's and Milner's names on the second-placed CR.7.
#46 Ligier - Gommendy
#38 Zytek - Tincknell
#35 Ligier - Mardenborough
#26 Morgan - Pla
#36 ORECA - Panciatici
#48 ORECA - Berthon
#47 ORECA - Imperatori
#43 Morgan - Klien
#34 ORECA - Mailleux
#42 Zytek - Kimber-Smith
#24 ORECA - Rast
#37 ORECA - Minassian
#27 ORECA - Salo
#29 Morgan - Roussel
#33 Ligier - Tung
#50 Morgan - Ragues
#41 Zytek - Winslow
#51 Ferrari - Bruni
#73 Chevrolet - Magnussen
#97 Aston Martin - Turner
#74 Chevrolet - Gavin
#52 Ferrari - Griffin
#92 Porsche - Makowiecki
#91 Porsche - Pilet
#71 Ferrari - Rigon
#79 Porsche - Bleekemolen
Dunlop, forever on his case for his choice in headwear, has marked the occasion with this wonderful personalised cake.
If you want to wish the world's foremost sportscar journalist many happy returns, you can do so on Twitter.
#81 Ferrari - Bird
#98 Aston Martin - Lamy
#95 Aston Martin - Thiim
#61 Ferrari - Cioci
#72 Ferrari - Bertolini
#88 Porsche - Bachler
#77 Porsche - Long
#90 Ferrari - Ruberti
#60 Ferrari - Gianmaria
#66 Ferrari - Pumpelly
#63 Ferrari - Mowlem
#76 Porsche - Armindo
#75 Porsche - Collard
#58 Ferrari - Ayari
#57 Ferrari - Jonsson
#70 Ferrari - Nakano
#67 Porsche - Helary
#62 Ferrari - Mallegol
Darryl O'Young, who is kicking his heels after the withdrawal of the #99 Aston, was touted as a possible replacement. Apparently, Bleekemolen and MacNeil decided that they would prefer to do the race as a twosome.
Because there is no longer a bronze driver in the car, it has been reclassified from GTE Am to GTE Pro.
Ferrari leads the way, closely followed by the pair of Aston Martin Vantages.
The 18-car affair will be heavily influenced by the performances of its bronze-rated drivers, and it’s the pole-claiming #81 AF Corse 458 Italia – which single-seater convert Sam Bird planted third overall – that looks strongest.
You can never rule out the Aston Martins, with the #98 car leading the #95 to complete the top three, but this one looks like it might be beyond Porsche.
The IMSA squad’s had a nightmare week so far and the highest 911, Proton’s #88 car, is sixth.
Here is a full rundown of the grid:
1 #81 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (Wyatt/Rugolo/Bird)
2 #98 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage (Dalla Lanna/Lamy/Nygaard)
3 #95 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage (Poulsen/Heinemeier Hansson/Thiim)
4 #61 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (Perez Companc/Cioci/Venturi)
5 #72 SMP Racing Ferrari 458 Italia (Bertolini/Shaitar/Basov)
6 #88 Proton Copmetition Porsche 911 RSR (Ried/Bachler/Al Qubaisi)
7 #77 Dempsey Racing-Proton Porsche 911 RSR (Dempsey/Foster/Long)
8 #90 8Star Motorsports (AF Corse) Ferrari 458 Italia (Montecalvo/Roda/Ruberti)
9 #60 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (Mann/Case/Gianmaria)
10 #66 JMW Motorsport (Al Faisal/Neiman/Pumpelly)
11 #53 Ram Racing Ferrari 458 Italia (Mowlem/Patterson/Hamilton)
12 #76 IMSA Performance Porsche 911 GT3-RSR (Narac/Armindo/Hallyday)
13 #75 ProSpeed Competition (Perrodo/Collard/Palttala)
14 #58 Team Sofrev Ferrari 458 Italia (Barthez/Pons/Ayari)
15 #57 Krohn Racing Ferrari 458 Italia (Krohn/Jonsson/Collins)
16 #70 Team Taisan Ferrari 458 Italia (Nakano/Ehret/Rich)
17 #67 IMSA Performance Porsche 911 GT3-RSR (Maris/Merlin/Helary)
18 #62 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (Mallegol/Bachelier/Blank)
The factory offerings from Ferrari, Corvette, Aston Martin and Porsche could, and should, all challenge for GT victory.
Ferrari led the way in qualifying thanks to a stunning effort from Gianmaria Bruni (which drew rave reviews from GT newbie Sam Bird), but its closest challenger was the #73 CR.7 driven by Jan Magnussen.
The feeling is that Aston has kept its cards close to its chest in the build-up to the race, while Porsche – despite winning last year’s edition – is definitely not the favourite this time around (though more on that in a moment).
The #52 Ram Ferrari has been there or thereabouts, but a victory bid for that, the #71 AF Ferrari or the hastily-repaired, would-be Am ProSpeed Porsche entry is unlikely. In reality this is between six cars – the lead Ferrari, the sole Aston, and the Corvette and Porsche pairs.
In addition to reliability, not getting cut adrift under safety cars will be crucial. As John Gaw from AMR put it: “It will come down to being on the lead lap when the sun comes up.”
Here's the grid:
1 #51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (Bruni/Vilander/Fisichella)
2 #73 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R (Magnussen/Garcia/Taylor)
3 #97 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage GTE (Turner/Mucke/Senna)
4 #74 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R (Gavin/Milner/Westbrook)
5 #52 Ram Racing Ferrari 458 Italia (Griffin/Parente/Leo)
6 #92 Manthey Porsche 911 RSR (Holzer/Makowiecki/Lietz)
7 #91 Manthey Porsche 911 RSR (Pilet/Bergmeister/Tandy)
8 #71 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (Rigon/Kaffer/Beretta)
9 #79 ProSpeed Competition Porsche 911 GT3-RSR (MacNeil/Bleekemolen)
The Ligier JSP2 makes its competitive debut and starts from class pole thanks to Gommendy’s lap in the #46 TDS Racing-run example. But the #35 OAK Racing run example driven by Brundle, Mardenborough and Shultzhitskiy should be the stronger contender. But is the Ligier reliable?
The OAK Morgan-Nissan LMP2 driven by Pla, Rusinov and Canal, should also be a strong contender to repeat the team’s 2013 victory.
The leading ORECAs – the #48 Murphy car, the #36 Alpine-badged Signatech example and the #47 KCMG entry – should also be strong. The ORECA has an improved low-drag specification that ensures there’s no repeat of last year’s straightline speed deficit.
Also watch out for the #38 Jota Sport Zytek, which starts second in the hands of Dolan, Tincknell and Turvey.
Here’s the grid:
1 #46 TDS Racing Ligier-Nissan JSP2 (Gommendy/Thiriet/Badey)
2 #38 Jota Sport Zytek-Nissan Z11SN (Dolan/Tincknell/Turvey)
3 #35 OAK Racing Ligier-Nissan JSP2 (Brundle/Mardenborough/Shulzhitskiy)
4 #26 G-Drive Racing (OAK) Morgan-Nissan LMP2 (Rusinov/Pla/Canal)
5 #36 Signatech Alpine ORECA-Nissan 03R (Chatin/Panciatici/Webb)
6 #48 Murphy Prototypes ORECA-Nissan 03R (Berthon/Chandhok/Gonzalez)
7 #47 KCMG ORECA-Nissan 03R (Howson/Bradley/Imperatori)
8 #43 Morand Racing Morgan-Judd/BMW LMP2 (Klien/Hirsch/Brandela)
9 #34 Race Performance ORECA-Judd/BMW 03R (Frey/Mailleux/Lancaster)
10 #42 Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissan Z11SN (Kimber-Smith/McMurry/Dyson)
11 #24 Sebastien Loeb Racing ORECA-Nissan 03R (Rast/Charouz/Capillaire)
12 #37 SMP Racing (AF Corse) ORECA-Nissan 03R (K Ladygin/Minassian/Mediani)
13 #27 SMP Racing (AF Corse) ORECA-Nissan 03R (Zlobin/Salo/A Ladygin)
14 #29 Pegasus Racing Morgan-Nissan LMP2 (Schell/Leutwiler/Roussel)
15 #33 OAK Racing Asia Morgan-HPD LMP2 (Cheng/Tung/Fong)
16 #50 Larbre Competition Morgan-Judd/BMW LMP2 (Ragues/Taylor/Ihara)
17 #41 Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissan Z11SN (Munemann/Latif/Winslow)
In qualifying, Toyota claimed it wasn’t that interested in going for pole, while Porsche admitted that it was gunning to start its comeback race from the front. The result was that they contested the fight almost exclusively, as Audi – rocked by Loic Duval’s car-wrecking shunt in practice – took its customary race-focused approach to the evening sessions earlier in the week.
But there have been hints all week that the R18s might have some pace they’ve not shown so far, including Filipe Albuquerque aborting a potential session-topping lap in the warm-up this morning.
Porsche’s presence on the timing screens was noticeably quieter in the warm-up, suggesting that it has switched its attention from speed to survival now it’s race time.
The first stint of the race will give us some crucial answers about how the cars really stack up against each other, and watch out for how long the Toyotas can go on a tank of fuel.
The team has been weighing up stretching fuel milage to save pitstops versus going faster and stopping more often. Audi is convinced that it is fighting a losing battle on the stint-length front, so the die for the race could be cast early on.
LMP1 GRID
1 # 7 Toyota Racing Toyota TS040 Hybrid (Wurz/Sarrazin/Nakajima)
2 #14 Porsche Team Porsche 919 Hybrid (Dumas/Jani/Lieb)
3 #8 Toyota Racing Team Toyota TS040 (Davidson/Lapierre/Buemi)
4 #20 Porsche Racing Team Porsche 919 Hybrid (Bernhard/Webber/Hartley)
5 #3 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro (Albuquerque/Bonanomi/Jarvis)
6 #2 Audi Sport team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro (Fassler/Lotterer/Treluyer)
7 #1 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro (Di Grassi/Gene/Kristensen)
8 #12 Rebellion Racing Rebellion-Toyota R-One (Prost/Heidfeld/Beche)
9 #13 Rebellion Racing Rebellion-Toyota R-One (Kraihamer/Belicchi/Leimer)
Sun, funnily enough, is breaking through on the start-finish straight!
Behind them, Lotterer finally passes Jani for third on the run to the first corner. Now the lead Audi has clear track, let's see how his pace compares to the Toyotas out front.
Lotterer defends on the run to Indianapolis, and once again with the inside line he is able to prevent Jani completing the pass. He'll be hoping to make a gap through the twistier final sector.
Bruni's gap stands at just under two seconds. He's got breathing space, but hasn't checked out at the front.
Bird has Turner and Makowiecki right behind him now, while Griffin's fall continues – The #61 AF and #72 SMP Ferraris are now ahead of the Pro car.
Heart-stopping moment in the Audi pits as Bonanomi re-passes Kristensen and they nearly touch at Mulsanne Corner. Kristensen has another look into Indianapolis but backs out at the last moment.
Lapierre has been delayed somewhere and lost second to Lotterer, and Jani is now closing on him as the other Audis do battle behind.
Bruni has Magnussen, Gavin, Turner and Bird for close company at the front. No change behind.
...battle neutralised.
Magnussen gets alongside Bruni on the run out of Mulsanne corner and slips past the Ferrari as they sweep through the right hander before it tightens for Indianapolis.
It's been a few laps in the making, but the Corvette leads.
Bernhard pits the #20 Porsche as well.
@NissanZEODRC: "Request went to race control to bring the car back - we have freedom in technical regulations, but not sporting regulations"
The GTE mob can eke out a good 14-lap-stint, just for reference.
1 Wurz (Toyota)
2 Lotterer (Audi)
3 Lapierre (Toyota)
4 Bonanomi (Audi)
5 Bernhard (Porsche)
6 Kristensen (Audi)
7 Heidfeld (Rebellion)
8 Belicchi (Rebellion)
Action everywhere in LMP1 as Lapierre attacks Lotterer again, and Bernhard and Kristensen swap places twice on the run to Indianapolis. Kristensen emerges ahead - for now.
That means it's an Aston one-two in Am as Thiim (13 seconds clear of Lamy) assumes the lead.
Lapierre has a little look at Lotterer into the second Mulsanne chicane, but he thinks better of it.
Well, in theory. Technically he's third because Nicolas Armindo leads in the #76 IMSA Porsche – which is yet to stop.
1 #7 Toyota
2 #2 Audi
3 #3 Audi
4 #8 Toyota
5 #1 Audi
6 #20 Porsche
Leading LMP2 runners:
1 #47 KCMG ORECA
2 #35 G-Drive OAK Ligier
3 #46 TDS Racing Ligier
Leading GTE Pro runners:
1 #51 AF Ferrari
2 #74 Corvette
3 #73 Corvette
Leading GTE Am runners:
1 #81 AF Ferrari
2 #95 Aston Martin
3 #72 SMP Ferrari
Lotterer is still right on his team-mate's tail, while Lapierre is 2s back.
Wurz leads by 36 seconds.
Sure enough, it all changes as soon as they catch traffic, and the two Audis are almost joined together again. There's no end in sight for this battle at the moment, while Wurz remains 36 seconds up the road in the lead for Toyota.
Turner's just 7s behind Gavin's Corvette.
That means the Dempsey Porsche, driven by Patrick Long, will take over the lead of the GTE Am division.
Toyota mechanics are getting ready to head out to Lapierre - but now the Toyota is on the move down the straight. Can he make it back? The steering doesn't look well on the TS040.
Back with Bonanomi and he's got his head in his hands. Is it game over?
Garcia's in for Magnussen in the #73 Corvette, Vilander's taken over the #51 Ferrari and Turner's made way for Mucke in the #97 Aston.
It was basically two separate accidents. Lapierre spun into the wall on his own, having arrived on a pack of cars that were going slowly.
Bonanomi was in that pack of cars, and he was slammed into from the rear by an unsighted Bird in the Ferrari.
...and now the sun comes out.
But he gets a warm welcome from fellow Spaniard Marc Gene, and a pat on the back from Allan McNish.
1 #7 Toyota
2 #2 Audi
3 #20 Porsche
4 #1 Audi
5 #12 Porsche
Leading LMP2 runners:
1 #34 Race Performance ORECA
2 #47 KCMG ORECA
3 #36 Signatech ORECA
Leading GTE Pro runners:
1 #74 Corvette
2 #91 Manthey Porsche
3 #73 Corvette
Leading GTE Am runners:
1 #77 Dempsey Porsche
2 #53 Ram Ferrari
3 #57 Krohn Ferrari
So, as we go racing again, here are our reports for you to catch up with what's happened so far:
Pilet leads, but has only stopped once after 28 laps – Mucke's now second, having stopped twice, and is about 1m30s behind.
Holzer is third in the second Manthey Porsche, just over a second behind the Aston.
Wurz 3m43.4s
Lotterer 3m41.3s
Bernhard 3m51.1s
Kristensen 3m55.6s
Bergmeister retains the lead after that stop, ahead of Long (Am), Milner, Holzer, Vilander, Garcia, Mowlem (Am), Mucke and Lamy (Am).
Lotterer pits, which means he will fall back into the next safety car group.
That stop - of course - means the #20 Porsche is up to second in the hands of Bernhard.
That's put the #77 Am-class Dempsey Porsche into the overall GTE lead.
1 #20 Porsche
2 #7 Toyota
3 #2 Audi
4 #1 Audi
5 #12 Rebellion
LMP2 leading runners:
1 #34 Race Performance ORECA
2 #36 Signatech ORECA
3 #43 Morand Morgan-Judd
GTE Pro leading runners:
1 #92 Manthey Porsche
2 #91 Manthey Porsche
3 #74 Corvette
GTE Am leading runners:
1 #77 Dempsey Porsche
2 #98 Aston Martin
3 #53 Ram Ferrari
Long has also dropped behind Milner's #74 Corvette and lost the Am lead to Pedro Lamy. Long, who is on slicks, is 30s off the pace but (probably wisely) is not pitting.
Milner's 25s back in the Corvette, with Am leader Lamy a few seconds further behind.
Early frontrunners AF Corse (the #51 car) and Aston Martin have slipped back in all this. Vilander's currently fifth in the Ferrari, one minute off the lead, with Mucke 18s further back.
Sarrazin now leads by 54s from Treluyer.
"Then I went on the right, into the wall, and the Ferrari took everybody out. That’s all I can remember from the crash, but honestly there was nothing I could see and nothing I could do."
1 #91 Manthey Porsche
2 #74 Corvette +2.61s
3 #92 Manthey Porsche
4 #51 AF Ferrari
5 #95 Aston Martin (Am leader)
There could be a change of leader very soon.
#0 Nissan ZEOD RC (Garage 56)
#3 Audi R18 e-tron quattro (LMP1)
#37 ORECA-Nissan 03R (LMP2)
#41 Zytek-Nissan Z11SN (LMP2)
#71 Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE Pro)
#91 Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE Am)
Since he said that Senna's taken over from Mucke, and is running sixth overall – about a minute off the lead.
Milner/Bergmeister were catching him but still, great effort. He relinquishes the lead with a good stint behind him – and with Dempsey still leading GTE Am.
Holzer's dropping back and is being caught by Vilander now.
That means Sarrazin has lost a little bit of time, Treluyer has gained a bit, and di Grassi is falling back.
"Then it started raining and it was extremely difficult to survive out there. I had really a lot of aquaplaning on the straight. Thankfully the car stayed straight and I could stay on track.
"From the road safety training I do, I know that in these situations you have to drop the clutch in order stay straight and that’s what I did."
HOUR 4 ORDER:
1 #7 Toyota
2 #2 Audi
3 #20 Porsche
4 #1 Audi
5 #12 Rebellion
Leading LMP2 runners:
1 #34 Race Performance ORECA
2 #35 G-Drive OAK Ligier
3 #36 Signatech ORECA
Leading GTE Pro runners:
1 #74 Corvette
2 #91 Manthey Porsche
3 #92 Manthey Porsche
Leading GTE Am runners:
1 #98 Aston Martin
2 #77 Dempsey Porsche
3 #53 Ram Ferrari
Milner rejoins second, Nygaard (Am leader) is up to third.
There are just five seconds between the top two. Before Hartley stopped a few laps ago, Sarrazin had been around 10s behind him.
Milner's regained the lead, ahead of the Ferrari, Holzer, Bergmeister and Senna.
The timing screens haven't been particularly friendly, but it looks like a very long stop for its rivals has handed Corvette a very healthy lead – 37s in fact.
Senna, meanwhile, is catching the two Porsches at quite a rate of knots.
The two Porsches are nose-to-tail again after briefly being split by some warring LMP2s, while Senna's closer than ever – 2.8s behind.
Sarrazin leads by 46s over Treluyer now.
1 Sarrazin; 2 Treluyer +48s; 3 Hartley +1m51s; 4 di Grassi +1m52s
1 #35 Ligier (Brundle), 2 #34 ORECA (Frey) +10.582s; 3 #36 ORECA (Chatin) +18.353.
Treluyer pits the #2 Audi from second place.
Hartley is 22s behind Treluyer in third, with di Grassi 44s behind Hartley.
"This morning the team did a brilliant job in achieving the electric lap. We only tried it once and we completed it. That is an amazing accomplishment for Nissan and electric vehicles.
"We were very confident in starting the race and earlier in the week we had already exceeded 300km/h. We were looking forward to doing some more electric laps throughout the race but a traditional part of a gearbox broke.
"It is a real shame because we were really looking forward to showcasing the EV technology in the race.
"It has been an amazing experience for everyone that has been involved. I hope everyone who was worked on the project and put in so many hours will remember the high when the car completed its electric lap of Le Mans."
Holzer has taken over the lead while the C7.R was in the pits, but the Manthey Porsche is due in shortly. Senna's jumped Fisichella, who has taken over the AF Ferrari from Vilander.
This should be perfect for those of you who need filling in on the happenings of the previous hour:
And our reports from the opening four hours as approach quarter-distance already:
The data shows AMR's pitstop was some 22s quicker than Corvette's, which would be tyres, we think.
Fisichella is third, with Bergmeister and Lietz gapped out behind. That's how we expected it to be.
All four cars have stopped six times.
The Corvettes have been superb in the opening quarter of this race, justifying the pre-race hype.
He's now in the pits, surely to hand over to Webber.
Crucially, Fisichella has got back ahead of the Aston – which Senna's vacated now for Mucke.
"We had all kinds of conditions out there that you could imagine, from zero vision to completely dry track, and everything in between. All this within one single lap. That was absolutely crazy, I have never experienced anything like it.
"To put a Porsche in front of this race for the first time after the comeback was definitely a great moment. Now we have to make sure that we keep doing a zero-error job."
The #98 Aston Martin continues to lead its sister #95 car in GTE Am.
That gets treated by a fire extinguisher pretty quickly, and the car is wheeled into the garage.
Chandhok's summary: "The car turned into a canoe - no steering or brakes. Nightmare..."
"I had to take a lot of time to overtake all those cars and avoid any problems. After that the track dried up and it was very good. The car has a good balance so I kept pushing to increase the gap between me and the rest of the field."
Fisichella's having similar struggles in second, and has dropped 5s behind Turner now. Gavin's 22s behind the Italian and closing fast.
Tandy's pit the #91 Porsche and moved aside for Patrick Pilet, so Makowiecki's now fourth.
#0 Nissan ZEOD RC (Garage 56)
#3 Audi R18 e-tron quattro (LMP1)
#13 Rebellion-Toyota R-One (LMP1)
#37 ORECA-Nissan 03R (LMP2)
#41 Zytek-Nissan Z11SN (LMP2)
#47 KCMG ORECA 03R (LMP2)
#71 Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE Pro)
#91 Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE Am)
The car is currently 13th overall.
"The key thing that's made the difference in the Am class is the silver drivers have managed to triple stint the tyres. Triple stinting the tyres [in the Pro class] has also helped us move back up the leaderboard."
That makes Jani the third Porsche driver (after Hartley and Webber in the #20 car) to go straight on at Arnage in similar fashion.
The top three are all on the same lap.
The gap is up to 1m36s now.
@MurphyPrototype: "Sadly we cannot safely bring the car back to the pits from that part of the circuit. We would like to thank EVERYONE for their support!"
1 Wurz
2 Fassler
3 Gene
4 Webber
5 Jani
"My stint was cut short a bit; after my second stop I felt something wasn't right on the left rear so we had to pit early."
@PorscheRaces: 911 RSR #91 still in garage. Repairing a fuel pressure problem.
That said, Milner's only 33s behind Bruni – though the Porsche challenge seems limited to fourth. It's basically like last year's race, only Corvette and Porsche have switched places.
Then again, over at Audi, Kristensen has been ready and had his helmet on for a very long time...
Up ahead, Gene has been chipping away at second-placed Fassler for a while now, and has the gap down to 1m10s.
Kristensen is still third for Audi, ahead of the two Porsches.
GTs. The gift that keeps on giving.
It's Aston Martin vs Ferrari vs Corvette. British beef vs Italian style vs American muscle.
And Vilander is RIGHT up the back of Senna down the Mulsanne straight. He's flashing his lights – get out of the way Bruno! – and tries to get his nose up the inside.
Senna's having none of it, and brutally slams the door.
Milner crashes the party and gets in between the Aston and the Ferrari. Now the Corvette is harrying Senna for the lead!
Vilander's also slipped back a similar distance from the Corvette.
"The car is running fine and we are still close. We even led for a little while. Toyota had a little bit more pace so we couldn't maintain it. But still everything is running smooth."
And sure enough, there he is. Jani has also brought the #14 Porsche in.
Munemann got the car back, dragging the Murphy ORECA's splitter with it, but it was discovered that there was damage to a front suspension pick-up point, forcing the car's retirement.
Kristensen is third in the #1 Audi and still on the lead lap, with the Porsches of Bernhard and Jani completing the top five.
We're not even at halfway yet, but right now this is Toyota's to lose. Audi has won races as the 'tortoise' against the 'hare' in the past, but right now all it can do it make sure that at least one R18 achieves the maximum that the car is capable of. Then it's over to Toyota.
Meanwhile, the #67 IMSA Porsche has spun at the second Mulsanne and continued.
1 Wurz (#7 Toyota)
2 Lotterer (#2 Audi)
3 Kristensen (#1 Audi)
4 Bernhard (#20 Porsche)
5 Jani (#20 Porsche)
Depending on outlaps, that probably means that Toyota's margin of over two minutes is still safe for now.
"That was bad luck, but we were still fighting hard when the car failed. I'm thankful to be OK because it could have been a much bigger accident. Sometimes that's how it goes. There's always next year.”
The Ferrari gets right, right up behind the C7.R under braking for the first and second Mulsanne chicanes...but the Corvette holds on.
1 Sarrazin (Toyota)
2 Lotterer (Audi) +1m57s
3 Kristensen (Audi) +2m59s
The #74 Corvette is now in the pits, incidentally.
However, Audi have made us (and their drivers!) wait a long time for changes in the cockpit at times in this race, so let's wait and see.
Only two of those drivers are likely to make an impression on Senna's lead, which stands at 27s and 49s over his pusuers, but they are lapping quicker.
1 #7 Toyota
2 #2 Audi
3 #20 Porsche
4 #1 Audi
5 #8 Toyota
6 #14 Porsche
That's what caused the latest delay for the Porsche resolved then.
The #74 Corvette is therefore still ahead of the sister #73 car, which has had a number of niggling little things add up to compromise its race.
Talking of the leading car - Nakajima is warming up again. Maybe this time he'll actually take over from Sarrazin.
The #2 Audi is well clear of both of them, with a lead of two laps.
1 #2 Audi
2 #20 Porsche
3 #1 Audi
4 #7 Toyota (stopped)
5 #14 Porsche
6 #8 Toyota
Other cars could, maybe should, have to change their brakes as well, so all is not lost.
The reality seems to be setting in down at the Toyota garage, where despondent mechanics are hugging and shaking each other's hands, seemingly in disbelief that this race has got away from them again.
@Alex_Wurz: "I am devastated and want to cry! Leading the LeMans 24h race for 14h... pushing every inch along the way... and now technical breakdown :-("
You can't help but feel for them in a moment like this.
Bruni's setting some excellent lap times – personal bests no less – but give credit where it is due, Turner's been excellent.
His last two laps have been a 3m55.8s and a 3m56.2s, despite double stinting the tyres.
Having said all that, Bruni's now pit.
The car's not quick enough in the dry here, that much is obvious. It's heavy and hard on its tyres – no wonder Porsche's top brass decried the BoP pre-race, it's had a tough one!
Yellows at Porsche Curve for the #61 AF Corse Ferrari, which was second in GTE Am but has suffered contact and has stopped.
#0 Nissan ZEOD RC (Garage 56)
#3 Audi R18 e-tron quattro (LMP1)
#7 Toyota TS040 HYBRID
#13 Rebellion-Toyota R-One (LMP1)
#26 G-Drive (OAK) Morgan LMP2 (LMP2)
#37 ORECA 03R (LMP2)
#41 Zytek-Nissan Z11SN (LMP2)
#47 KCMG ORECA 03R (LMP2)
#48 Murphy Prototypes ORECA O3R (LMP2)
#52 Ram Racing Ferrari (GTE Pro)
#60 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE AM)
#71 Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE Pro)
#91 Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE Am)
LMP1: 1 #1 Audi; 2 #20 Porsche; 3 #2 Audi; 4 #8 Toyota; 5 #14 Porsche; 6 #12 Rebellion.
LMP2: 1 #35 Ligier; 2 #46 Ligier; 3 #36 ORECA; 4 #38 Zytek; 5 #24 ORECA; 6 #43 Morgan.
GTE Pro: 1 #51 Ferrari; 2 #97 Aston Martin; 3 #92 Porsche; 4 #73 Chevrolet; 5 #74 Chevrolet; 6 #79 Porsche.
GTE Am: 1 #95 Aston Martin; 2 #88 Ried; 3 #61 Ferrari; 4 #57 Ferrari; 5 #90 Ferrari; 6 77 Porsche.
The #20 Porsche continues to run second, a lap clear of the #2 Audi.
#0 Nissan ZEOD RC (Garage 56)
#3 Audi R18 e-tron quattro (LMP1)
#7 Toyota TS040 HYBRID
#13 Rebellion-Toyota R-One (LMP1)
#26 G-Drive (OAK) Morgan LMP2 (LMP2)
#37 ORECA 03R (LMP2)
#41 Zytek-Nissan Z11SN (LMP2)
#47 KCMG ORECA 03R (LMP2)
#48 Murphy Prototypes ORECA O3R (LMP2)
#52 Ram Racing Ferrari (GTE Pro)
#60 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE AM)
#71 Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE Pro)
#72 SMP Racing Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE Am)
#75 ProSpeed Porsche 911 GT3-RSR (GTE Am)
#91 Ferrari 458 Italia (GTE Am)
Worse still, it's a bit smokey at the front. But it continues...
And on that lap, the Audi was eight seconds quicker...
The #20 car pits for fuel, so (for now) there's no huge gain that will be noticeable on the timing screens.
Vilander's in cruise control at the moment, two laps to the good. Lietz and Taylor are quicker, but it doesn't matter really.
The LMP2 runner passes the race leader into the first corner, and Kristensen seems off the pace as he runs down the esses and towards Tertre Rouge.
And that could become really significant in the fight for the overall win, because the leading #1 Audi is still off the pace and being overtaken by GTE runners.
Kristensen is only capable of reaching #200km/h, and he returns to the pits for the second consecutive lap.
Lotterer takes 10 seconds out Bernhard, and he trails the Porsche by 35s now.
He's pit now, though, having closed the gap to about 1m10s.
Vilander leads comfortably. Lietz is clear of Taylor. Thiim is controlling Am.
Taylor was 1.8s quicker on that last lap, cutting the gap to 1m01s.
Lotterer is slower than the leader on that lap. It's a 3m28s for the Porsche, and a 3m30s for the chasing Audi.
The leading #20 Porsche pits for fuel only.
Lotterer pits before he can make a pass on track, and if there's a driver change (and tyres) here then this will be a longer stop, so the Porsche is safe for a little while longer.
His car leads the #2 Audi by 50s at the moment.
Well, now he has something to race for, because his 919 is on the same lap as the race leader on Sunday afternoon. Let's see if he goes for it.
The gap between the top two is now 26 seconds.
Richard Westbrook, who led in the #74 car for a long time until various issues struck it, was pleased with the car's Le Mans debut but couldn't hide his disappointment that a single podium is all the C7.R will have to show for a very impressive turn of pace.
"It was great fighting for the win for so long," he said. "It was a really interesting race. We were not as quick in the night as the Aston, so it was important for us to survive the night...but’s been a good showing. I’m proud of everyone in the team."
He gets going again, but that's a bit too dramatic for the team that was looking a certainty for Am-class honours. It lost a couple of minutes with that issue – but led by several laps before.
Jordan Taylor, who drove that car before handing over to Jan Magnussen, reckons it's touch-and-go whether the C7.R can nail the 911 RSR for second by the flag.
"That was the best stint I’ve ever driven at Le Mans," he declared. "We’re able to triple stint the tyres and the Porsche is struggling even to double stint. It's going to run right to the end."
Garcia – 3m54.754s.
The gap's now 21.6s – just over an hour and a half left.
Porsche says "team is checking".
Garcia finishes the lap, which is a new best for that car – a 3m53.869s.
Time for the Dane to enjoy the final hour, even if a 10th win is beyond him.
There are very, very dark skies overhead, and Marc Marquez is not on pole...
"A whopping 262,000 spectators here at Le Mans over the weekend. The biggest since 1989! We hope everyone one of you has enjoyed it!"
It's a similar story in GTE Am: 1 #95 Aston; 2 #88 Proton Porsche; 3 #61 AF Ferrari.
We're inside the final 20 minutes here, and there's a chance we'll see a Porsche 919 (#14) return to the track to take the finish.
But Bruni, Fisichella and Vilander all went wheel-to-wheel with the Aston and the lead Corvette at times during the race, and ultimately it was the only car to have a run without any serious delay. That's what it takes to win at Le Mans – obviously it's a lot tougher than it sounds.
The #46 TDS Ligier finishes second after running strongly at the front of the field throughout, but losing time with a puncture and resulting suspension damage, with the #36 Signatech Alpine also running strongly until it suffered a broken left-front upright and finishing third.
But the star turn has been the #35 OAK-run G-Drive-liveried Ligier of Alex Brundle, Jann Mardenborough and Mark Shulzhitskiy, which led for so long but lost ground with a rear brake problem and then a loss of power before finishing fifth.
It's victory for Audi in the Le Mans 24 Hours!
Top, top work from Audi as the #1 car makes it a one-two. A masterclass in how to win when all is not in your favour.
Confirmation that the Jota Sport Zytek wins LMP2, AF Corse Ferrari triumphs in GTE Pro and the #95 Aston clinches GTE Am.
Keep up with all of the post-race reaction on autosport.com, and look out for GARY WATKINS' expert analysis of the race online tomorrow morning.
Thanks to everyone who followed the race with us this year, we hope you enjoyed is as much as we did. Same time next year?