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WEC 24 Hours of Le Mans

Le Mans 24 Hours – Race

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Your GTE Pro starters are: Muller, Westbrook, Calado, Priaulx, Pla, Bird, Fisichella, Makowiecki, Turner, Pilet, Stanaway, Christensen, Gavin, Garcia
Lotterer is told he's on full wets, and that the race will start behind the safety car.
In GTE Am, your starters are: R Bell, Lamy, Long, Griffin, Collard, Ragues, Mac, Henzler, T Bell, Keen, Carroll, O'Connell and Hirsch.
Rain
The grid is starting to clear. Conditions on the startline? Soaking wet.
This happened earlier when the weather was a bit better...
Flypast!
The cloud can't be that low as the jets fly over. Brad Pitt is getting ready for the flag-waving ceremonies.
He will wave them away from the middle of the startline – usually, he'd do that from the startline gantry.
Air temperature is just nudging 20C, so it's a reasonably warm day – despite the rain. Track temperature is 26.7C.
Mechanical problem
The #67 Ford GT is wheeled into its garage. A bad start to the Blue Oval's 24 Hours.
Priaulx was scheduled to start that car.
Christophe Tinseau will start the Garage 56 car of the remarkable Frederic Sausset, who lost all four major limbs due to an infection.
Mechanical problem
Frantic work in the engine bay of the #67 Ford.
If they can get it going, the safety car start won't mean it's too big a setback. Rather they fix it now than get a problem on lap one...
The grid is now clear.
Green Flag
And the 84th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is under way.
Safety car
Of course, it's not really – as we start behind the safety car.
Porsche leads, of course. Jani heads Bernhard. Conway heads the second Toyota of Buemi, with the Audis of Lotterer and Duval next up.
Rain
It's annoying, but the safety car start is a sensible decision – nobody wants a huge shunt right at the beginning of the race.
Rain
Lots of spray on the Mulsanne Straight.
Mechanical problem

It's a gearbox issue for the #67 Ford GT. That has been the bugbear of the car since its debut at Daytona.

We believe it's a gearbox issue for the ByKolles too, which appeared to dump a lot of oil in warm-up this morning.

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Bernhard is told "no need to weave". Everyone is weaving...
The ByKolles is out of its garage and is on the pit apron.
You can check out the livestream from the Ford cars, right here...

 

 

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Lotterer reports: "Lots of water, lots of lots of water." He is told to keep weaving!
The ByKolles is at the end of the pitlane right now.
Safety car
Cars coming around to complete the opening lap, still behind the safety car.
We'll give you a rundown of the order anyway: Jani laps in 8m27s to lead Bernhard, Conway, Buemi, Lotterer, Duval, Imperatori and Heidfeld.
Pit Stop
The #31 ESM Ligier pits, that's Derani.
In LMP2, Rast heads Panciatici, Lapierre and Merhi. It's a quick stop for the #31, a fuel top-off and a change to Chris Cumming, and he lines up behind the ByKolles – which has already lost a lap.
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Duval in #8 Audi: "Really poor visibility even at 80kph". He's told his comments are going straight back to Race Control.

In GTE Pro, it's Muller leading Westbrook in that Ford 1-2. Calado is in the lead Ferrari, ahead of Pla's Ford and Bird's Ferrari.

In GTE Am, Bell leads in the Clearwater (oh the irony) Ferrari from Lamy's Aston and the Porsche of Long.

Is that the actor Jason Statham in the garage? Who cares!
Cloud
The rain has more or less stopped now, at least in the pitlane, as the cars come by to complete their second lap.
Stopwatch
Two laps under the safety car now, and laptimes have tumbled to 7m54.551s.
No pitters on that lap, but the #67 has joined in.

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