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WEC 24 Hours of Le Mans

Le Mans 24 Hours – Race

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Toyota are now talking about saving tyres. Less than three hours to go.
As that latest round of stops at the front shake out, it's the #5 leading the #2 by 17 seconds, with the #6 another six seconds back.
Penalty
Drive-through penalty for the #49 Shank Ligier for causing a collision - that'll be the incident with the #40 Krohn car a while ago.
The #8 Audi is still in the pits. Just four laps to go until the #7 car moves into P4.
Pit Stop
Menezes pits the class-leading LMP2 #36 Alpine, still with a lap in hand over the #26 Oreca.
Richelmi back in the #36, which is nearing the 300 lap mark now.
Worth noting too that the #36 is in P6 overall, following dramas for  the #1 Porsche and the entire LMP1-L contingent.

Not sure DRS will do much for their chances, if that comes in for 2018.
Crash
Spin for the #6 Toyota of Kobayashi!
That was at the Porsche Curves, the Japanese has it going again but there seems to be some light damage on the left sidepod.
That cost that car around 25 seconds - but the #5 car still leads by 21.5s from the #2.
Photo
Nearly 2,000 photos in our Le Mans photo gallery now, check them all out HERE:
GTE Pro update, Hand with 6.5s in, er, hand from the #82 Ferrari, now with Toni Vilander at the wheel.
Lieb is now 23 seconds behind leader Davidson. Kobayashi is 51s off the lead after his spin.
Meanwhile, the #8 Audi is heading back out. Will just hold on to P4 ahead of the #7 car.
Breaking news
Time for a FACTOID: If things stay as they are, this will be the first overall Le Mans podium to not feature Audi since 1998.
Audi, by the way, entered Le Mans in 1999 with the R8R, the predecessor to the all-conquering R8.

This will be a tough pill for them to swallow.
Crash
Matt Rao has binned the #44 Manor Oreca in spectacular style!
That was at the Porsche Curves, the former F3 driver having previously enjoyed a little off-track excursion at Indianapolis.
Yellow Flag
Replays show major front bodywork damage to the Oreca already when Rao simply went straight and piled into the armco.

Slow zone time.
Pit Stop
More LMP2 stops, as Stevens, Petrov (now Shaitar in the #37) and Leventis all dive in the pitlane.
Ferrari still in the GTE Pro game, as Vilander follows Hand by 3.8s. Briscoe pits in the third-placed Ford.
For the first time in a long time, the Top 3 are covered by more than a minute. Only just, though; Kobayashi is 61 seconds behind Davidson.
Yellow Flag
Slow zone still in operation at Porsche Curves, there was a lot of debris from that crash.
Green Flag
Now it's finally been cleared, but the #44 hasn't made it back to the pits just yet.
Pit Stop
The #7 Audi makes another stop.
The #95 Aston Martin - fourth in GTE Pro - has a puncture and is going slowly.
Crash
Spin for the #82 Risi Ferrari of Vilander!
The #7 Audi has been pushed into the garage.
The Finn gets it all wrong in the final part of the Porsche curves, and loses a bucket-load of time to Hand in the class-leading Ford. 

Now there are 48 seconds separating them.
Pit Stop
Vilander brings in the #82 to the pits. Now he'll be more concerned by the #69 Ford breathing down his neck than the #68 ahead.
The #68 car of Hand now enjoys a two-minute lead over the #82, with the #69 now within striking distance of the Risi Ferrari.
Treluyer has jumped in the #7 Audi. But it's still sitting in the garage with mechanics working on it.
Pit Stop
Both the #2 Porsche and #6 Toyota pit.
There are some running repairs happening to the #6 after that spin earlier. Sarrazin replaces Kobayashi in the driver's seat.
The leading #5 is about to pit too.
Pit Stop
And in it comes.
Neel Jani has taken over the #2 Porsche, by the way. Will he stay there until the end?
Davidson stay on board the #5 Toyota.

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