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LE MANS: LM24 Race Blog
Follow the 80th Le Mans 24 Hours as it happens on SPEED.com...
John Dagys  |  Posted June 17, 2012   Le Mans, (FRA)
Follow the 80th Le Mans 24 Hours on SPEED and SPEED.com. (Photo: John Dagys)


Follow SPEED and SPEED.com for extensive race coverage of the 80th Le Mans 24 Hours. This race blog will be updated frequently throughout the twice-around-the-clock French endurance classic with trackside updates and information.

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PHOTOS: Practice & Qualifying Gallery
READ: LMP Preview
READ: GT Preview

2:30 p.m. Thirty minutes remain and it remains status quo up front. The battle for the GTE-Am win could get interesting as gentleman driver Anthony Pons has climbed aboard the leading IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche, presumably to meet his minimum drive time requirement. He's being charged heavily by Pedro Lamy for the top spot.

1:37 p.m.: Just over one hour remains, with the No. 1 Audi of Andre Lotterer firmly in control up front. Ryan Dalziel (LMP2), Giancarlo Fisichella (GTE-Pro) and Julien Canal (GTE-Am) lead their respective categories,

1:20 p.m.: Tom Kimber-Smith pits the LMP2 class-leading Starworks HPD for the second-to-final stop. Ryan Dalziel hops aboard to take the car to the finish.

12:45 p.m.: We're back to green with two hours and 15 minutes remaining.

12:25 p.m.: The repaired No. 3 Audi of Gene returns to action as well. Impressive work by the Audi mechanics.

12:20 p.m.: McNish is down and away after the front-end repairs had been completed. Less than five minutes later! The No. 2 Audi retains second position but is now one lap behind the No. 1 car.

12:12 p.m.: There's even more drama now for Audi, as the leading Audi of Allan McNish goes off at the exit of the Porsche Curves and damages the front-end. In the matter of 10 minutes, two Audis have suffered significant offs. The No. 1 machine of Benoit Treluyer now leads.

The safety car has been deployed for debris on the circuit.

12:05 p.m.: Marc Gene goes straight off at the first chicane, in a spiting image of what happened to co-driver Romain Dumas some 18 hours ago. Gene attempts to limp the No. 3 Audi back to the pits.

11:35 a.m.: The No. 21 Strakka Racing HPD, meanwhile, has made frequent trips in and out of the garage with overheating issues.

11:31 a.m. Ryan Dalziel gets around the No. 46 Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca-Nissan of Mathias Beche, putting the second-placed LMP2 runner one lap down. The Starworks HPD now holds a full leg up on the competition, with 3.5 hours to go.

11:15 a.m.: The battle for the lead is shrinking, with Allan McNish now within 1.5 seconds of leader Benoit Treluyer.

10:40 a.m.: Simon Dolan spins and makes heavy contact with the wall in his No. 38 Team JOTA Zytek-Nissan... Meanwhile, the No. 4 Audi gets going again and is back at full speed.

10:36 a.m.: There's drama for the third-placed No. 4 Audi R18 ultra of Marco Bonamomi, who is slow on track with some sort of mechanical issue.

10:20 a.m. David Heinemeier Hansson has a 'Control-Alt-Delte' moment in the No. 35 OAK Racing Pescarolo-Nissan, who goes off at the Mulsanne Corner and has to get dragged out.

10:15 a.m.: The No. 13 Rebellion Racing Lola-Toyota of Jeroen Bleekemolen continues to tumble down the running order as the car undergoes a clutch change. It was running sixth prior to the trip to the garage.

9:20 a.m.: There's problems for the second-placed Pecom Racing LMP2 Oreca-Nissan, as the car suffers a tire failure and goes off. It's dropped Soheil Ayari from second to fourth and gives Tom Kimber-Smith a two-lap lead now in class.

9:00 a.m.: It's an Audi 1-2-3-4 at the moment, with "best of the rest" being the pair of Rebellion Racing Lola-Toyotas, but more than 9 laps behind in fifth and sixth, respectively.

Starworks Motorsport continues to lead the way in LMP2, with the team's HPD of Ryan Dalziel holding a comfortable one-lap lead over the No. 49 Pecom Racing Oreca-Nissan.

The No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari of Giancarlo Fisichella paces GTE-Pro while the No. 50 Larbre Competition Corvette has retaken the top spot in GTE-Am.

8:55 a.m.: Fassler rejoined and held a narrow lead over Kristensen, following the Dane's most recent stop but goes straight though the gravel at the first chicane. The No. 2 Audi is now back up front.

8:50 a.m.: Retirement Updates: No. 75 ProSpeed Porsche (accident), No. 66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari (gearbox), No. 15 OAK Racing Oak-Pescarolo-Judd (engine), No. 88 Team Felbermayr-Proton Porsche (gearbox) and No. 33 Level 5 Motorsports HPD (out of fuel). Thirty-seven cars remain in the race.

8:39 a.m.: Leader Marcel Fassler pits and gets wheeled to the garage for a replacement rear deck change.

8:05 a.m.: The race-leading No. 1 Audi of Marcel Fassler hits trouble. The Swiss driver made contact with the wall (again) after avoiding a spinning Ferrari. It's given the lead to the No. 2 Audi of Tom Kristensen.

7:51 a.m.: Brian Vickers brushes the wall just prior to Tetre Rouge and pits in a blaze of flames. The AF Waltrip crew quickly extinguish the fire.

7:45 a.m.: The Level 5 Motorsports HPD ARX-03b of Scott Tucker grounds to a halt at Arnage. It appears the car has run out of fuel. The team had lost communication with the team owner/driver and attempts to signal his pitting were unsuccessful.

6:52 a.m.: The No. 59 Luxury Racing Ferrari, meanwhile, has suffered a puncture and limps back to the pit lane.

6:42 a.m.: Stefan Mucke goes off at Indianapolis and slams into the tire wall. It's dropped the No. 97 Aston Martin Vantage to third in the running in GTE-Pro.

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