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WEC
24 Hours of Le Mans
Le Mans 24 Hours - Second Qualifying
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Chequered Flag
But we will be back within the hour for the final qualifying session that will set the grid for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
See you in a short while.
Trophy
We're going to take a quick break, which may or may not involve a cheeky glass of vin rouge and some soft cheese.
But little change in the overall order as you can see.
And the #88 Porsche was head and shoulders clear of the GTE Am opposition in that session, to move up from P7 to P3 in class.
Results after second qualifying:
| Pos. | No. | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Porsche | 3m19.733s |
| 2 | 1 | Porsche | +0.470s |
| 3 | 6 | Toyota | +1.004s |
| 4 | 5 | Toyota | +2.170s |
| 5 | 7 | Audi | +3.047s |
| 6 | 8 | Audi | +3.090s |
| LMP2 | 26 | Oreca | 3m36.605s |
| GTE Pro | 68 | Ford | 3m51.185s |
| GTE Am | 61 | Ferrari | 3m56.827s |
The #51 Ferrari topped GTE Pro from the #69 Ford in Q2.
The #5 Toyota was 1.092s slower than Hartley in that session.
Rain
And right now it is raining.
Rain
Question now is this: Will it dry out for the final qualifying session? Only an hour to find out.
So props to Hartley in that session, who didn't get to challenge Jani for pole yesterday as many had hoped.
Chequered Flag
And the chequered flag is out.
No harm done, and he successfully negotiates the second one – but gets a huge slide on the exit!
Crash
And Ricky Taylor sails off, quite literally, down the Mulsanne Chicane escape road.
Rain
Well it certainly rained on our parade in this session. The track was too green early on for super-fast times, and then it poured down.
But it's one of only half a dozen cars doing so.
The #63 Corvette is one of the few cars on track, with some different Michelin rain tyres fitted.
From our polesitter...
Stopwatch
For the record, Hartley was fastest overall with 3m22.307s in Porsche #1. That would qualify him fifth, if the car wasn't already second from yesterday's times.
Stopwatch
We had the ByKolles CLM shooting up from last to ninth overall.
And in GTE Am, the Abu Dhabi-Proton Porsche jumped from P7 to P3 in class.
So Q2 draws to a close. These session times, even though it started dry, are pretty meaningless apart from two improvements.
Quote
Bourdais in #68 Ford GT: "This is ridiculous, the car has a lot of grip but you aquaplane as soon as you hit anything."
Crash
A wild spin from the Krohn Ligier, with team chief Tracy Krohn at the wheel. That was, er, a spin in a straight line well after the exit of Tertre Rouge.
No stranger to off-track adventures, our Tracy...
Crash
Take that 50-metre board, says the Ligier.
Crash
Off! It's the #22 SO24 by Lombard Ligier. He tests the gravel and continues at the Dunlop Chicane.
Yellow Flag
We have another yellow flag, hardly surprising in these horrible conditions.
We caught up with Aston Martin Racing's Darren Turner earlier, and although his car is only ninth in GTE Pro qualifying so far, he's upbeat about its chances in the race after some disappointments here in recent years...
But as Porsche runs scared, Audi refuses to be put off and sends out the #7 with Lotterer at the wheel.
Pit Stop
The sun is lighting up the spray, making for some pretty dazzling conditions.
"Heavy rain in Porsche" Dumas is told in Porsche #2. He pits too.
Quote
Hartley in the #1 Porsche says: "I couldn't see a thing, pretty dangerous."
Rain
Really hammering down with rain again now.
Video
Let's get some insight into the LMP2 pecking order going into Le Mans with current pole sitter Rene Rast.
Quote
Lapierre laps in 4m12s, he's fastest of the LMP2 cars right now, and is told to "Box for a driver change."
Sun
But the sun is out...
Rain
Raining hard in the Porsche Curves.
LMP2 top speed maxing out at 300kph on the approach to Indianapolis, we're being treated to an onboard lap by Nicolas Lapierre right now.
Crash
The #23 was chasing the #99 Aston and got a bit greedy with the wet kerbs.
Crash
Spin! It's the Panis-Barthez Ligier with Chatin at the wheel. He's spun at the final corner. He gets going again.
Clearly some sort of shunt or recovery process going on at Mulsanne there, but couldn't see what it was.
Green Flag
Slow zones gone at Mulsanne now.
The ByKolles is back out for the first time since its opening salvoes.
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