History Made by Audi at Le Mans
Starting from pole position the nr1
Audi R18 e-tron quattro made Le Mans history by becoming the first hybrid car
to win the 24 Heures du Mans. Andre Lotterer took the chequered flag
after 378 laps to retain the title he won with Benoit Treluyer and Marcel
Fassler last year and also secured maximum points for both the manufacturers
and drivers titles in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
240,000 people travelled for the 80th
edition of the world’s greatest endurance race and were treated to a classic
race that was action packed from start to finish. The main challenge to
the nr1 Audi came from the second hybrid Audi driven by Tom Kristensen, Allan
McNish and Dindo Capello but also from the two Toyota TS030 hybrids, which ran
comfortably in the top three and led for some of the race. However a big
accident destroyed the nr8 Toyota driven by Anthony Davidson and the second
Toyota eventually retired with engine failure in the 11th hour.
With the Toyotas out of the frame it
was a straight fight between the four Audis but which Audi would be on the top
step of the podium? The nr3 Audi Ultra had problems when Romain Dumas
went off at the first chicane and destroyed the front of the car. The
Frenchman managed to get the car back to the pit for repairs. Then Marc Gene
did exactly the same thing at the same corner on Sunday morning and this
effectively dropped them out of contention.
The two hybrid Audis were evenly
matched and the result was certainly not clear cut until McNish in the nr2 car
went off at Porsche Curves and had to spend six minutes in the pits while the
damaged parts were replaced. However a safety car was deployed so he only
lost 1 lap to the nr1 car. This was how the result looked at the end of 24
hours, with the nr4 Audi R18 Ultra in 3rd place, which isn’t entered
for the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The private team’s LMP1 battle was
dominated by the Rebellion Racing Lola-Toyotas with the nr12 Lola of Nicolas
Prost, Neel Jani and Nick Heidfeld triumphing at the end of the grueling race
and finishing 4th overall at the flag. The nr 13 Rebellion
Lola of Harold Primat, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Andrea Belicchi ran a close second
to the sister car until a problem forced the car into the garage dropping it
back to 3rd. The nr22 JRM HPD-Honda was a distance 2nd
and the Strakka Racing HPD came back out at the end after also spending a lot
of time in the garage.
The LMP2 class was won by the nr44
Starworks Motorsport HPD-Honda with Enzo Potolicchio and Ryan Dalziel adding a
second class victory to the one they scored in Sebring and give the team a
strong advantage in the LMP2 FIA Endurance Trophy. Tom Kimber-Smith, who
replaced Stephane Sarrazin in the team for this race, scored his second Le Mans
victory in consecutive seasons. The nr49 Pecom Racing Oreca Nissan
of Pierre Kaffer, Soheil Ayari and Luis Perez-Companc were the second WEC car
in LMP2, while the nr 41 Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissan scored a bumper 30
championship points for third for the British team.
The LMGTE Pro category turned into a
classic Ferrari versus Aston Martin battle with the nr51 AF Corse Ferrari 458
Italia of Giancarlo Fisichella, Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander holding off
the challenge of the nr59 Luxury Racing Ferrari of Frederic Makowiecki, Jaime
Melo and Dominik Farnbacher and the nr97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8 of
Darren Turner, Stefan Mucke and Adrian Fernandez. The Luxury Racing Ferrari
had a long pitstop towards the end of the race, dropping the car down two laps
but still 1 lap ahead of the Aston Martin.
The LMGTE Am class was equally close
with the nr50 Larbre Competition Chevrolet Corvette of Pedro Lamy, Julien Canal
and Patrick Bornhauser have a very close battle with the nr67 IMSA Performance
Matmut Porsche. This battle continued for a couple of hours before the
Corvette got the upper hand. The second WEC car in the LMGTE Am class to
cross the line was the nr57 Krohn Racing Ferrari of Tracey Krohn, Niclas
Jonsson and Michele Rugolo.
The next round of the FIA World
Endurance Championship is the 6 Hours of Silverstone on the 26th
August before the championship heads to South America for the 6 Hours of Sao
Paulo three weeks later.
RESULT – 17 JUNE 2012
1
1 Audi Sport Team Joest Fässler / Lotterer / Tréluyer Audi R18 e-tron quattro
378 laps
2
2 Audi Sport Team Joest Capello / Kristensen / McNish Audi R18 e-tron quattro
LMP1 377 laps
3
4 Audi Sport North America Bonanomi / Jarvis / Rockenfeller Audi R18 Ultra LMP1
M 375 laps
4
12 Rebellion Racing Prost / Jani / Heidfeld Lola B12/60 Coupe - Toyota LMP1 M
367 laps
5
3 Audi Sport Team Joest Dumas / Duval / Gené Audi R18 Ultra LMP1 M 366 laps
6
22 JRM Brabham / Chandhok / Dumbreck HPD ARX 03a - Honda LMP1 M 357 laps
7
44 Starworks Motorsports Potolicchio / Dalziel / Kimber-Smith HPD ARX 03b -
Honda LMP2 D 354 laps
8
46 Thiriet By TDS Racing Beche / Thiriet / Tinseau Oreca 03 - Nissan LMP2 D 353
laps
9
49 Pecom Racing Perez Companc / Ayari / Kaffer Oreca 03 - Nissan LMP2 D 352
laps
10 26 Signatech Nissan Panciatici / Ragues / Rusinov
Oreca 03 - Nissan LMP2 D 351 laps
17
51 AF Corse Fisichella / Bruni / Vilander Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Pro M 336
laps
18
59 Luxury Racing Makowiecki / Melo / Farnbacher Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Pro M
333 laps
19
97 Aston Martin Racing Fernandez / Mücke / Turner Aston Martin Vantage V8 LMGTE
Pro M 332 laps
20
50 Larbre Competition Bornhauser / Canal / Lamy Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 LMGTE
Am M 329 laps
21 67 Imsa Performance Matmut Armindo / Narac / Pons
Porsche 911 RSR (997) LMGTE Am M 328 laps
CLICK HERE for full results from the 24 Heures du Mans
Marcel Fässler
(Audi R18 e-tron quattro #1): "This was an incredible race. There were so many
highs and low - especially for me. I had a great team. The mechanics gave
everything after the accident to repair the car as quickly as possible. As
always, my driver colleagues did a fantastic job too. For Audi, this is a great
day. Clinching not just victory but a one-two result with the new technology of
the e-tron quattro is a brilliant feat."
André Lotterer
(Audi R18 e-tron quattro #1): "The new Audi R18 e-tron quattro is very strong and
gave us a lot of confidence. It’s brilliant to have won yet again! That’s an
incredibly nice feeling. It was a really strenuous race. A year ago, we were
battling against Peugeot and this year against Toyota at the beginning of the
race. Unfortunately, our rival retired. But we contested a very fierce race
against car number ‘2’ in our team as well. Audi Sport allowed all of us to
give everything. It was real racing, and in your own team that’s particularly
interesting. Last year, we were running against Peugeot by ourselves after two
major accidents. This year, the trust among the entire squad has grown even
further. Competing with Audi continues to be very special."
Benoît Tréluyer
(Audi R18 e-tron quattro #1): "It was a very tough race because traffic on track
was particularly heavy this year. You had to be extremely careful not to leave
the racing line while lapping as the track was extremely slippery there. There
were a number of critical maneuvers. In the morning hours, we had a thrilling
and fair duel with our ‘sister car.’ The duel between the two Audi R18 e-tron
quattro impressively proved the potential of the hybrid car. I’m happy to be on
the top spot of the podium again."
Dindo Capello
(Audi R18 e-tron quattro #2): "Up until the accident it was a great race. When it
happened we were in contention for victory. As we could see last year, you’ve
got to take risks if you want to win. Without those risks, Audi wouldn’t have
won at that time. That’s why we took risks this year too. The result is a bit
disappointing for the whole team and especially for Allan (McNish). As a racer,
I know how he’s feeling at the moment. Tom (Kristensen) and I know that
something like that can happen to any driver anytime, especially when you’re
battling for victory. Here at Le Mans, you can’t afford to give away even a
tenth of a second anymore. Sometimes it works out and at others it doesn’t. For
us, it didn’t work out this time. But next time we’ll have better luck again."
Tom Kristensen
(Audi R18 e-tron quattro #2): "The race gave me a lot of pleasure because it
offered everything. I particularly enjoyed the three stints at night. I was
supposed to drive as fast as possible and complete twelve laps with each fuel
tank filling. I managed this every time. Especially in the morning when we’d
made up a lot of time and even taken the lead we were very confident. I’m sad
that I wasn’t able to battle with André (Lotterer) for victory anymore on the
final laps. But I’m even sadder about the fact that Dindo (Capello) didn’t win
on his last run at Le Mans. He would have deserved it. We gave everything for
that. ‘Well done’ to car number ‘1.’ They did a great job and deserve this
success as well. Audi’s performance and reliability are impressive when you
look at the challenges to be mastered in the race. At Le Mans, you’ve got to
expect anything at any time."
Allan McNish
(Audi R18 e-tron quattro #2): "I’m devastated. I’m sorry for our team: Dindo,
Tom, the engineers and the mechanics. They did a perfect job throughout the
race. Despite a few problems we were in contention for victory up to my
accident. I caught a slower GT vehicle in the Porsche corners and expected the
driver to stay on the right-hand side. But he didn’t. I haven’t got a clue why.
I spun and crashed into the guard rail with the right front. That damaged the
front bodywork and the suspension - the necessary repair cost us two laps. That
was a very, very big disappointment."
Enzo Potolicchio, nr44 Starworks Motorsports HPD ARX 03b-Honda (1st
LMP2): “This is an amazing result. We run in Grand Am, in United-States, that
to me doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. Last October, we decided to do
something else while having dinner together and we ended up in the WEC. We won
at Sebring and we now win at Le Mans. I’ve watched these two races on TV for so
long and it’s a great feeling to win at these fabulous circuits.”
Tom Kimber-Smith, nr44 Starworks Motorsports HPD ARX 03b-Honda (1st
LMP2): “I would like to thank Enzo, Ryan and Peter Baron. We followed our plan.
I won last year with a Zytek and I now win with a Honda. For me, a fast and
winning car is just perfect. Any winning car is perfect.”
Ryan Dalziel, nr44 Starworks Motorsports HPD ARX 03b-Honda (1st
LMP2): "At Sebring we had a brand new car and we won. At Spa, we had
to do some work on the car but the Honda Performance Development chassis is
perfect. We haven't got the pace of the Oreca chassis but we could do
triple stints. I think that was the key to our success."
“A clean car is generally the car which ends up in victory lane. Our
car has got a couple of batters and bruises on it but HPD have built a really
strong chassis. We had a couple of small, strange things go wrong
during the race – the ECU fell into the tub, for example, but they were small
things and nothing that anyone could see from the outside.”
Giancarlo
Fisichella, nr51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (1st LMGTE Pro):
“It’s been a fantastic race, amazing. It didn’t start very well on
Wednesday when I crashed the car. Fortunately we changed the chassis and
it was bad. The mechanics did a fantastic job and build a new car in less
than ten hours and it was great to get out in the last 20 minutes of qualifying
on Thursday. I have to say thank you very much to them, to AF Corse and
Amato Ferrari because without them we couldn’t win this race.
“I’ve won a
few races in Formula One but this is a great victory and it’s very
special. Winning this race was my dream and it came true. Thank you
too to Gianmaria and Toni – they are professional drivers who did a fantastic
job. All together we had a great season already last year and now this year.”
Toni Vilander,
nr51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (1st LMGTE Pro):
“As Giancarlo said we had some issues in practice but we never lost the
faith. We knew when the team put the new car together we’d have the
speed. Last year we were very close and came second in the end after
leading by one lap with six hours to go. This year we believed we could
win from the beginning but it was a nerve-wracking last few hours as it feels
like they’ll never end. The team did a very special job in the
preparation – taking 10 hours instead of two weeks – and then it was our job to
finish it and we did it in the right way. I enjoyed the race a lot. The
start was interesting to see how a 24 hour race can be like a one hour
sprint. Drivers were going for positions from the green flag or start of
the race and I’m happy with the weather. I don’t really enjoy driving at
night with the bad weather so overall it was a good Saturday and Sunday.”
Gianmaria
Bruni, nr51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia (1st LMGTE Pro):
“Obviously it’s a great feeling, especially like Giancarlo and Toni have said,
last year we were so close and we missed it. This year we knew we could
win the race, even when something happened like it did in free practice and we
didn’t run at all with our car. We were a bit down, for sure, but we knew we
were all together as a team and we could win. We have a very good package.
To win this race means everything; it’s my second time but I hope to be up here
more and more and still doing a good job. I’m happy for Ferrari and the
factory. We’ve worked so hard from last year with testing and everything
and it’s great we’re able to take this trophy back to Maranello.”
RACE FACTS – HOUR
BY HOUR
HOUR 1
End of the first hour at Le Mans.
Andre Lotterer leads after starting on Pole from Allan MacNish in 2nd. The two
Toyotas are 3rd and 4th with Alex Wutz ahead of Stephan Sarrazin. Nick Heidfeld
is the top privateer. In LMP2 Olivier Pla is leading in 10th overall.
In GTE Pro Stefan Mucke was leading
in the nr97 Aston Martin before he came in for a pitstop, handing the lead to
the nr51 AF Corse Ferrari of Toni Vilander. The nr81 AF Corse Ferrari of Matt
Griffin is the current leader in GTE Am.
HOUR 2
End of the second hour and the nr1
Audi of Benoit Treluyer is leading from the nr2 Audi of Tom Kristensen.
Problems encountered in this hour - nr99 Aston Martin into pits with
intermittent traction control problems (Allan Simonsen). The nr71 AF Corse
Ferrari (Olivier Beretta) span off into the gravel at Dunlop. The nr 29 Gulf
Racing Lola Nissan hit the wall at MP129.
LMP2 leader is still Olivier Pla in
the nr24 Oak Racing Morgan-Judd. The top WEC car is LMGTE Pro is the nr97 Aston
Martin (Darren Turner), 0.836s behind the nr74 Corvette who is leading the
class.
HOUR 3
Third hour and the nr1 Audi is still
in the lead with the nr7 Toyota of Nicolas Lapierre in second after the nr2
Audi pitted and was pushed into the garage with a problem. Nr8 Toyota (Buemi)
is now 3rd. The two Rebellion Racing Lolas are leading the private teams with
Neel Jani in the nr12 car in the lead.
Olivier Pla continues to dominate
the LMP2 class in the nr24 Oak Racing Morgan-Judd with teammate Bas Leinders in
the nr35 Oak Racing Morgan-Nissan second.
The battle between Corvette and
Aston Martin continues in LMGTE Pro with the nr74 Corvette of Tommy Milner
ahead of the nr97 Aston Martin of Darren Turner. In LMGTE Am it is three
Porsches covering the top three places with the top WEC car, the nr88 Team
Felbermayr Porsche of Gianluca Roda, in 3rd place.
HOUR 4
At the end of the fourth hour the
two Toyotas continue to run in the top 3 behind the nr1 Audi of Benoit
Treluyer, who is just 10 seconds ahead of the nr8 Toyota TS030 of Sebastien
Buemi.
HOUR 5
Safety car on track following a
collision between the nr8 Toyota and nr81 Ferrari with both cars spinning off
and hitting the barriers hard. Up to that point the nr1 Audi and nr7 Toyota had
been fighting for the lead of the race. Oak Racing still hold top two places in
LMP2. The nr51 AF Corse Ferrari is the top WEC car in LMGTE Pro, second behind
the nr74 Corvette. The nr50 Larbre Competition Corvette is leading GTE Am.
Also in the 5th hour, the nr3 Audi
of Romain Dumas went straight on at the first chicane and hit the barriers,
severly damaging the front of the car. Dumas got the car back to the pits and
Audi made the repairs in quick time to get the car back on track in 23rd
overall.
Safety car period continues while
repairs to the barriers are made.
HOUR 6
9 O'clock in Le Mans and it is an
Audi 1-2-3 after the nr7 Toyota is pushed back into the garage with a problem.
Marcel Fassler is 1m16s ahead of Dindo Capello. Nico Prost in the nr12
Rebellion is the top private LMP1 entry in 4th, 3 laps down.
The nr24 Oak Racing Morgan is the
leading WEC car in LMP2 but now 1 lap behind the nr48 Murphy Prototypes Oreca.
In GTE Pro the nr51 AF Corse Ferrari
is still the lead WEV car but is still behind the nr74 Corvette of Oliver
Gavin.
The nr50 Larbre Corvette of Pedro
Lamy is the top GTE Am car.
Toyota have issued statement
regarding the condition of Anthony Davidson, the driver of the nr8 Toyota that
crashed earlier. Anthony is reported as suffering from shock and backpain but
is walking and talking OK. http://www.toyotahybridracing.com/toyota-racing-statement-anthony-davidson/
HOUR
8
11 O'clock and darkness has fallen
at Le Mans, the sky is clear and there is little sign of rain. The nr7 Toyota
remains in the garage after an abortive attempt to get back on track. The car
stopped at the end of the pitlane before the line and the Toyota mechanics had
to push the car back down the pitlane. The nr99 Aston Martin was also declared
as abandoned in the pits and will take no further part in the race.
The two Audi hybrids continue to
lead with the nr1 Audi of Andre Lotterer completing 125 laps. The nr4 Audi is
in 3rd ahead of the two Rebellion Racing Lola-Toyotas who continue to head the
LMP1 privateers, three laps behind the leader.
The top WEC LMP2 car is the nr24 Oak
Racing, 2nd in class behind the nr48 Murphy Prototypes Oreca, but there nr35
sister car was reported as slow on track and had dropped down the order. This
promoted the nr44 Starworks Motorsport HPD-Honda into 3rd in class and 9th
overall.
The GTE Pro class was still being
led by the nr74 Corvette with the nr51 AF Corse of Gianmaria Bruni in 2nd. The
leading WEC car in LMGTE Am is still the nr50 Larbre Competition Corvette of
Patrick Bornhauser.
HOUR 9
Midnight and the top 3 are still the
same with the nr1 Audi (Andre Lotterer) completing 139 laps, 1 lap more than
the nr2 Audi of Allan McNish in second. The best of the rest in LMP1 is still
the nr12 Rebellion Lola of Nick Heidfeld in 4th, with the sister car of Andrea
Belicchi in 5th. The nr21 Strakka Racing HPD-Honda had a drive stop-go penalty
for speeding in the pitlane. The nr7 Toyota eventually got back on track with
Kazuki Nakajima coming out of the pitlane in 47th place and 29 lap behind the
leader.
No change in either LMGTE classes
and the best WEC car in the Pro class continues to the nr51 AF Corse Ferrari of
Jimmy Bruni in 27th overall. The nr50 Larbre Competition Corvette of Patrick
Bornhauser is 34th overall and the leading WEC car in the GTE Am class ahead of
the nr57 Krohn Racing Ferrari with team owner Tracey Krohn at the wheel.
HOUR 10
1am and 10 hours into the race and
the Audis are still 1-2-3 with the two R18 e-trons out front. The big news this
hour is the nr35 Oak Racing Morgan-Judd and the nr24 Oak Racing Morgan-Nissan
both had long stops and finished the hour in 32nd and 29th overall
respectively. The LMP2 lead is now held by Sebring class winners Starworks
Motorsport with Ryan Dalziel 49 seconds ahead of the nr49 Pecom Racing Oreca of
Pierre Kaffer.
The nr74 Corvette is leading GTE Pro
with Jimmy Bruni in the nr51 Ferrari in 2nd ahead of the nr59 Luxury Racing
Ferrari in 3rd. However the Corvette is slow on track after suffering a
puncture and is limping back to the pits. The top WEC GTE Am car is still the
nr50 Larbre Corvette which is 3 minutes behind the nr67 IMSA Performance
Porsche.
HOUR 12
12 hours and the half way point of
the race. The nr1 Audi R18 e-tron has completed 187 laps and Marcel Fassler is
41 seconds ahead of the nr2 R18 Audi driven by Tom Kristensen. The nr4 Audi of
Marco Bonanomi is in 3rd place 2 laps behind the lead car.
The Rebellion Racing Lola-Toyotas
are still the lead privateers, with the nr12 car of Neel Jani in 4th, 6 laps
behind and the nr13 Lola of Jeroen Bleekemolen in 5th two laps further back.
The Starworks Motorsport HPD-Honda
is still in the lead of LMP2 in 7th overall, Tom Kimber-Smith lying 12 laps
behind the leader and 2minutes ahead of the nr49 Pecom Racing Oreca-Nissan and
1 lap ahead of the nr26 Signatech Nissan Oreca.
The nr59 Luxury Racing Ferrari is in
the gravel at MP96 and is being dragged out by the recovery vehicles.
The nr51 AF Corse Ferrari of Toni
Vilander is the current leader in the LMGTE Pro class, 2 minutes, 20 seconds
ahead of the Luxury Racing Ferrari of Jaime Melo, with the nr97 Aston Martin of
Darren Turner in 3rd.
The nr50 Larbre Corvette is still
the lead WEC car in GTE Am, 39 seconds behind the nr67 IMSA Performance
Porsche. The nr57 Krohn Racing Ferrari is currently 3rd in class, 3 laps behind
the nr67 Porsche.
HOUR 13
With 11 hours to go, the top three
cars are still three Audis, with nr1 leading the field and Marcel Fässler has completed
208 laps. Allan McNish is second with the nr2 Audi, more than one minute behind
the leader and Oliver Jarvis with the nr4 Audi is third.
The two Rebellion Racing
Lolas-Toyotas are still leading the private teams. Starworks Motorsport
(nr 44 HPD), PeCOm Racing (nr49 Oreca)and Signatech-Nissan (nr26 Oreca) are
still the top three cars in LMP2
In LMGTE Pro as well, the ranking
hasn't changed: the nr51 AF Corse Ferrari driven by Toni Vilander, ahead of
nr59 Luxury Racing Ferrari and nr97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage. In LMGTE
Am, the nr 50 Larbre Compétion is still second behind the nr67 Porsche, but
Pedro Lamy is catching up on the leader.
HOUR 14
The nr1 Audi spins off in the
Karting curve. Marcel Fässler had to go back to the pits for a quick checking.
Allan Mc Nish takes the lead with the nr2 Audi at 4:22. André Lotterer
took over from Marcel Fässler in the nr1 Audi when the Swiss driver stopped for
checking.
Safety car at 4:51 after nr75
Prospeed Porsche (LMGTE Am) went off in the Porsche curves.
HOUR 15
After 15 hours, the nr1 Audi driven
by André Lotterer is leading again after the nr2 Audi pitted. Dindo
Capello, who turns 48 today, took over from Allan McNish.
The 2 Rebellion Racing Lola-Toyotas
still leads the private teams in LMP1.
In LMP2, the top three leaders are
still the same: nr44 (Starworks) ahead of n49 (Pecom Racing) and nr26
(Signatech-Nissan).
HOUR 17
8am and drama in the pits when the
front left tyre of the nr61 AF Corse-Waltrip Ferrari caught fire. The front
left had seized on the circuit and Brian Vickers was attempting to get back to
the garage but on the entrance to the pitlane the tyre caught fire. The
marshals extinguished the blaze quickly and Vickers got the car to the AF Corse
mechanics.
The nr88 Felbermayr Porsche of
Gianluca Roda stopped at MP44 and was pushed back behind the barriers by the
marshals.
The lead Audi (nr1 Audi R18 e-tron)
collided with the wall while avoiding a slower back marker. There was damage to
the left rear of the Audi but Fassler kept the car on track until the schedule
pitstop.
Loic Duval set the fastest lap of
the race so far on Lap 256 with a lap time of 3:25.165
The nr44 Starworks Motorsport
HPD-Honda of Tom Kimber-Smith is still leading the LMP2 class in 8th overall, 1
lap ahead of the nr49 Pecom Racing Oreca-Nissan.
The nr51 AF Corse Ferrari of
Giancarlo Fisichella is in 19th overall and is leading the LMGTE Pro class by 2
laps.
The top WEC car in the LMGTE Am
class is the nr50 Larbre Corvette of Julien Canal, 45 seconds behind the nr67
IMSA Performance Porsche.
HOUR 18
9am and more drama on track after
the nr2 Audi pits for fuel and rejoins just ahead of the nr1 Audi of Marcel
Fassler. Fassler passes Kristensen but missed his braking point at the chicane
and went across the gravel trap, rejoining the track behind the nr2 R18.
nr42 Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissan
(Martin Brundle) has an extended pitstop and rejoins after a few laps in the
garage.
Loic Duval in the nr3 Audi sets a
new race lap record three times during the past hour, once on lap 266, then on
lap 268 and then set a 3:24.189 on lap 269.
The nr23 Signatech Nissan of Franck
Mailleux went straight on at the first chicane on Mailleux's out lap. The car
was pulled out of the gravel by the snatch vehicles.
The nr35 Oak Racing Morgan-Nissan
spun and rolled backwards at MP121. Car rejoined the track after a small delay.
The nr12 Rebellion Racing
Lola-Toyota is still the lead private LMP1 entry with Nick Heidfeld 9 laps
behind the leading Audi.
The nr44 Starworks HPD is still the
leader in LMP2 in 8th overall, with Tom Kimber-Smith 1 lap ahead of Soheil
Ayari in the nr49 Pecom Racing Oreca-Nissan.
In LMGTE Pro the nr51 AF Corse
Ferrari is still the class leader in 17th overall, Toni Vilander is 1 lap ahead
of the nr59 Luxury Racing Ferrari of Jaime Melo and 3 laps in front of the nr97
Aston Martin of Darren Turner.
HOUR 19
Five hours to go to the end of the
race and the nr2 Audi of Dindo Capello is leading after completing 298 laps as
the the nr1 Audi pits. Audi are currently 1-2-3-4. The nr12 Rebellion is still
the lead privateer but the nr13 Rebellion Lola-Toyota hit trouble on circuit
and is currently in the garage, promoting the nr22 JRM HPD of Karun Chandhok
into 6th overall and the second LMP1 private entry, 9 laps behind Nick Heidfeld
in the lead car.
The nr17 Pescarolo Team Dome Judd is
back in the garage with engine problems and the nr21 Strakka Racing HPD had a
spin at the second chicane, with Danny Watts rejoining the track.
Ryan Dalziel is now at the wheel of
the nr44 Starworks HPD in 7th overall and leading LMP2, 1 lap ahead of the
nearest rival. The nr49 Pecom Racing Oreca went off into the gravel at
Indianapolis and the car had to be recovered by the marshals before Soheil
Ayari could rejoin the track 3rd in class, having lost a place to the nr46 TDS
Racing Oreca-Nissan.
In LMGTE Pro It is still a Ferrari
1-2 with the nr51 AF Corse 458 of Toni Vilander still 1 lap ahead of the nr59
Luxury Racing 458 of Jaime Melo. Darren Turner, in the sole remaining Aston
Martin, is a comfortable 3rd three laps behind Vilander.
The nr71 AF Corse Ferrari of Andrea
Bertolini is in the garage and has been for a while and reports are suggesting
it might be the end of the race for the Bertolini, Beretta and Cioci.
The battle of the race at the moment
is between the nr50 Larbre Competition Chevolet Corvette C6-ZR1 driven by Pedro
Lamy and the nr67 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 911 RSR of Raymond Narac,
with the gap just 6.2 seconds between the two cars.
The nr55 JWA-Avila Porsche had a
long pitstop with the mechanics stripping the rear brake assembly in the pits.
After a pitstop for the nr67 IMSA
Performance Porsche, Pedro Lamy is now leading the LMGTE Am class in the nr50
Larbre Competition Corvette in 23rd overall.
HOUR 20
11am and the nr4 Audi is in trouble,
Marco Bonanomi stopped by the side of the track at MP8. The Italian got the car
going again and got back to the pits to hand over to Oliver Jarvis. However
just as the hour finished the nr4 Audi was seen to be slowing on the entry to
the first chicane.
The nr1 Audi with Benoit Treluyer at
the wheel is now leading the nr2 Audi of Allan McNish by 2.5 seconds. The
nr12 Rebellion Lola-Toyota of Neel Jani is currently 4th, 9 laps ahead of the nr22
JRM HPD and 11 laps ahead of the nr21 Strakka Racing HPD.
Starworks continue to hold the upper
hand in LMP2 with Ryan Dalziel 1 lap ahead of Sohiel Ayari in the nr49 Pecom
Racing Oreca. The nr26 Signatech Nissan, driven by Roman Rusinov, had a puncture
which spun the Oreca at the first chicane. The Russian driver recovered the car
to the pits to hand over to Nelson Panciatici and rejoin in 4th in class and
11th overall.
A long stop for the nr59 Luxury
Racing Ferrari allowed the nr51 AF Corse Ferrari to open a 3 lap advantage in
the LMGTE Pro class. Stefan Mucke in the nr97 Aston Martin is now just 1 lap
behind the nr59 Ferrari on the road.
The nr50 Larbre Competition Corvette
is still in charge in the LMGTE Am class and is now 40 seconds ahead of the
nr67 Porsche.
HOUR 21
Three hours to go and it is still a
great battle for the lead between the two hybrid Audis with no team orders
getting the way of this great race. Benoit Treluyer in the nr1 Audi is leading
Allan McNish by 18.7 seconds following the latest pitstops. The nr4 Audi is 3rd
3 laps behind, with seemingly no repetition of the electrical problems the car
had in the previous hour. Marc Gene is a further 5 laps back in 4th in the nr 3
Audi Ultra, but as the hour finished the Spanish driver runs off the circuit at
the first chicane and hits the barriers causing a lot of front end damage in an
almost carbon copy incident of Romain Dumas earlier in the race. Gene is attempting
to get back to the pits but the front left wheel is vibrating badly.
Rebellion are still on track to take
50 points in the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP1 Private Teams, with the nr22 JRM
HPD of Karun Chandhok in 6th overall 9 laps further back. The nr21 Strakka
Racing HPD is in the garage with engine problems caused by cooling issues.
In LMP2 it is still the nr44
Starworks HPD now with Tom Kimber-Smith back in the driving seat and holding a
1 lap advantage over his nearest rival.
In GTE Pro the situation hasn't
changed in the last hour with the nr51 AF Corse Ferrari of Jimmy Bruni 2 laps
ahead of the nr59 Luxury Racing Ferrari of Fred Makowiecki and a further lap in
front of the nr97 Aston Martin of Stefan Mucke.
In GTE Am Julien Canal in the nr50
Larbre Corvette is under severe pressure from Nicolas Armindo in the nr67 IMSA
Performance Porsche. Armindo took the place on the hour but Canal is staging a
fight back.
HOUR 22
Two hours remaining and the nr1 Audi
of Andre Lotterer is one lap ahead of the nearest rival following a trip to the
wall at the Porsche Curves by the nr2 Audi of Allan McNish and the safety car
was deployed. The Scot managed to get the car back to the garage and a six
minute pitstop by the Audi mechanics to replace damaged bodywork got McNish
back on track still in second place. The nr3 Audi is also back on track
following its visit to the tyre wall at the first chicane with Marc Gene now in
5th 1 lap behind the the nr12 Rebellion Lola of Neel Jani, which is still the
leading LMP1 private entry.
The nr44 Starworks Motorsport HPD
continues to set the standard in LMP2, Tom Kimber-Smith 2 minutes 30seconds
ahead of the nr46 TDS Racing Oreca of Christophe Tinseau.
In LMGTE Pro the top three places
are unchanged but the nr97 Aston Martin of Stephane Mucke is now on the same
lap as the nr59 Luxury Racing Ferrari in 2nd place. Jimmy Bruni continues to
control the race with a 3 lap gap to the nr59 Ferrari and is in 17th overall.
The top WEC car in GTE Am is still the nr50 Larbre Corvette in 22nd overall, 1
lap behind the nr67 IMSA Performance Porsche.
HOUR 24
Chequered Flag and Audi take a historic 1-2-3 and Andre
Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel
Fassler.
Jeff Carter/Media Delegate-FIA/WEC.
Photos: MacLean Photographic.
Fassler.
Jeff Carter/Media Delegate-FIA/WEC.
Photos: MacLean Photographic.
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