17:00
#10 Team Oreca crashes (in the Porsche Curves, I think). A wee bit too wide, touches the grass and off he goes. Trying to limp back to the pits. #4 Creation Judd (driven by 6-time winner Jacky Ickx’ daughter Vanina Ickx) goes off as well. Maybe there’s a bit of oil on the tracks.
PS: She’s kinda cute.
EDIT: The #10 driver is genetically predisposed as well. Bruno Senna’s uncle is the late F1 legend Ayrton Senna.
17:31
Whatever damage the #10 car suffered in the crash, it wasn’t terriby bad. It just overtook the #16 Pescarolo Judd, which is currently running 10th overall.
17:56
Dindo Capello (Audi R15 #1) reports that the Audi team is rather surprised at how much faster the Peugeots are. The Audis suffer from understeer and can’t really go any faster than they’re doing now. They’ll have to put their faith in better fuel and tire economy and perhaps better track conditions when it gets colder at dusk.
The #14 Kolles Audi R10 will be driven throughout the race by Andre Lotterer and Charles Zwolsman Jr. The third driver, Narain Karthikeyan, fell off the pit wall and inured his shoulder. No, seriously.
18:45
#40 Ginetta Zytek is limping back with a broken front suspension. The pit crew has a long evening ahead of them.
19:00
Audi #1 got a new front section, and a few minutes later Audi #2 as well. It may be related to the understeer problems Dindo Capello (Audi #1) reported earlier. It’ll be interesting to see the Audi laptimes in this stint.
19:09
#12 Signature Plus Lola Judd stalls on the straight, right after the pit entry. Holds still for a minute or so, then starts again and drives on. Odd.
#009 Aston Martin is in the garage, mechanics swarming over it.
19:17
Rinaldo “Dindo” Capello in the #1 Audi R15 is pushing hard, and is currently the fastest car on the track (though still not matching the fastest Peugeot times, set earlier). Maybe the front section replacement has improved handling?
Essex Porsche #31 switching to Le Mans virgin Kristian Poulsen with a 1 minute lead over the Team Goh Porsche #5. The Essex Porsche is doing an extra stint on each set of tires, compared to the Team Goh Porsche. Apparently, the cooperation with Michelin is paying off.
19:25
The leading Peugeot #8 replies to Capello’s faster pace: It’s 2 seconds faster than the Audi #1. As the air gets cooler, the turbo charged diesel engines perform better, hence the faster lap times. Probably.
19:39
Aston Martin #009 nudges the #26 Radical AER off the track, right at the pit entry. And the Radical goes flying into the tire wall. Miraculously, the #26 crawls downt he pitlane to the garage. Safety Car is out, which means lots of activity in the pit lane.
19:59
#3 Audi R15 goes into the garage. Yet another front section change, but it has to be more than that or they wouldn’t pull it into the garage.
#5 Team Goh Porsche takes the LMP2 lead for the first time in the race. The #31 Essex Porsche lost it’s lead during the safety car session, and the current driver, Kristian Poulsen, is also the weakest link in the drivers trio.
Direct link:
http://stream.speedtv.com/24-hours-of-le-mans/
The stream just cut out and is making me FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
20:17
Tom Kristensen (Audi R15 #1) confirms that the frequent front section changes on the Audis is about adjusting the setup, adding downforce to combat the understeer problems. He also explains that the lenghty garage session for Audi #3 is to replace a turbo charger. Questions the durability of the leading Peugeot #8.
20:50
#8 Peugeot is in the garage and the engine cover is off. Maybe it’s paying the price for pushing so hard. I guess Tom Kristensen was right.
Edit: Looks like the Peugeot #8 needs major work on the gearbox or rear suspension. It’ll take time. And the #3 Audi is still in the garage for a turbo charger replacement.
21:01
#8 Peugeot is back on the track and completes the first lap. Looks OK. But it’s down in 6th position. It lost about 9 minutes. Last year, Peugeot lost 9 minutes total to Audi in the pit.
21:05
Dr. McDreamy is in Ferrari #81, doing decent laptimes for an amateur (but pretty much shit by Le Mans standards).
21:09
In case anyone’s wondering, three cars have called it quits so far. Including the #68 JLOC Lamborghini Murcielago, having completed one (yes, just one) lap.
21:19
Mr. Le Mans, 8 time winner Tom Kristensen is on the track in Audi #1.
We’re now 6 hours into the race, the first quarter completed. Time for a recap:
LMP1: The breakneck speed of Peugeot #8 proved costly, and after spending 9 minutes in the garage, it’s now running 6th. Peugeot #9 is in the lead, chased by Audi #1 and #2. It looks to be a very close race.
Aston Martin #008 is 4., ahead of both Peugeot #8 and the Pescarolo Peugeot Diesel #17, as well as the Kolle Audi R10 diesels. Very respectable performance.
LMP2: As expected, it’s a battle between the two Porsche RS Spyders, and they’re neck-and-neck.
GT1: Not surprisingly, it’s the two factory Corvettes fighting for the class lead, with #63 leading #64 by a lap. The private Luc Alphand Corvettes are left to fight over the final podium position.
GT2: The Porsche vs. Ferrari battle has so far favored the latter, with three Ferrari F430’s in front, and not surprisingly the #82 Risi Competizione leading the pack. The utterly uncompetitive Spyker #85 is a very respectable 7th in class.
21:34
Lucas Luhr puts Audi #2 into the wall! Game over. Audi is now down to a single car, the #3 ending the race in the garage with a dead turbo.
07:03
Heh, I was just going to take a wee nap and then watch some night racing. And here I am, after a full nights sleep. I’m getting too old for this shit.
I guess this is as good a time as ever for a recap.
LMP1: The Peugeots have managed to compensate for their additional pit stops by being insanely fast. Peugeot #9 is leading #8, with Audi #1 one lap behind. Aston Martin #007 hang on to the fourth place, biding their time, ready to spring for a podium position if any of the leading cars get in trouble.
LMP2: The Essex Porsche #31 leads the Team Goh Porsche #5 by two laps. Both cars spent about five minutes in the garage during the night, possibly after colliding with each other.
GT1: In the battle of the factory Corvettes, #63 leads the #64 by a lap. But interestingly, the private Luc Alphand Corvette #73 is only one minute behind the #64.
GT2: The Porsches are getting pwned this year, with three Ferraris leading, and only one Porsche left in the game. As per schedule, it’s the #82 Risi Competizione Ferrari in the lead. Dr McDreamy and the Ferrari #81 is still in the race, albeit the slowest car of all.