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00:00Hello, welcome to Le Mans, we're ready for the start of the 2009 Vanquatre du Mans.
00:25It's the centenary of the ACA, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, that organises the world's greatest endurance festival.
00:33And for this weekend, we are, of course, in the southernmost county of Great Britain, the Departement de la Salle.
00:41Hello, everybody. Welcome to live, uninterrupted and exclusive coverage of the Le Mans 24 Hours on Eurosport, Eurosport 2 and Eurosport Player.
00:50For those of you that do not get Eurosport 2, Eurosport Player is your option when we move off to do other things on the main Eurosport network.
00:59It is hot and sunny here in Le Mans for the first time this weekend, and it's a Peugeot that sits on pole.
01:07For Stéphane Sarrazin, the man who set the fastest time in practice, even though, apparently, neither Peugeot nor Audi teams were actually shooting for pole position.
01:18We had a chance to catch up with Stéphane Sarrazin and the amiable Frenchman, race driver, rally driver and now hopeful Le Mans expectant.
01:28Welcome in the starting grid of Le Mans, we have the chance to be with the poleman Stéphane Sarrazin.
01:37Stéphane, you had a great time yesterday, Paul, I'm rather happy, I imagine.
01:43Yeah, it's clear, it makes me happy to be in pole.
01:45Justine talking to Stéphane Sarrazin, saying a great time, you're very happy, yes, the car's been very good, we're well prepared for this race.
01:53We're going to start in front of the Audis.
01:56We're ready.
01:56Obviously, for 24 hours, we will try and stay there.
02:02The big question, why aren't you starting?
02:07Well, we've got three good drivers.
02:09I did the qualifying lap, so it's somebody else's turn.
02:13Frank Montani will be the man who starts.
02:16Pit lane is now closed, there are no cars remaining in the garage, so everyone is on the grid.
02:22What about the battle, it's going to be tough to beat Audi, do you think you can win it?
02:29Oh yeah, it is going to be a hard fight, no question, it'll go all 24 hours.
02:37We'll be fighting 100%.
02:39So, if luck is with us, we'll catch up with Stéphane Sarrazin during the weekend.
02:48We'll be with Sébastien Thieffer with us during all the weekend, trying to get the most interviews of all the drivers.
02:55Enjoy the weekend of Les 24 heures du Mans.
02:57So, Justine and Sébastien will be with us on the grid and through the 24 hours in the pit lane as well.
03:11We've got a lot of coverage to get through.
03:13We'll take a quick commercial break, the first of this, first broadcast of 24 hours of Le Mans 2009.
03:21Stay with us.
03:21Welcome back to Le Mans, we're building up to the start of the great race at 3 o'clock Central European time, 2 British summer time, 1 GMT.
03:38And, of course, the defending champions are here, Audi, with last year's winning team, Dinder Capello, Alan McNish, and the most successful driver ever at Le Mans in terms of victories, Tom Christensen.
03:50He's going for win number nine here.
03:53Audi have won eight times in the last ten years, and one of those missing years was their first, the other, of course, they won with Bentley.
04:02Audi have won the race, and they won the race, and they won the race, and they won the race, and they won the race, and they won the race.
04:08So, I'm sure it's always an exciting moment to get this start.
04:09Yeah, it's another Le Mans is starting, and obviously that's the highlight of any motorsport year.
04:15So, it's another one, and it's great.
04:20So many fans, so many people, so many TV, so a lot of focuses now on the motorsport world here in Le Mans again.
04:27It's always very emotional, even if you won already eight times, so you're going for the nine one.
04:34Yeah, I mean, this year the approach is different.
04:37We have a new Audi R15, so the previous years we have run with something we know which was very reliable, but not necessarily fast enough.
04:45Now, we for sure have something faster, but we haven't yet tackled Le Mans.
04:50So, in that sense, we are, of course, very focused on hopefully we can get this job done again.
04:57When are you going to drive?
04:59Just before it gets dark, I think.
05:02Thank you, Tom. Mr. Le Mans.
05:05Merci. Thank you.
05:07Well, we've got the other Mr. Le Mans next door to us, Mark Cole, starting the race with our French colleagues.
05:14Jackie Eaks, of course, and we'll hope to have a word with him later.
05:18Mark Cole and Liz Halliday ready here to start the great race.
05:23If we ever get through these pre-race interviews, good grief.
05:26Patrick Dempsey, of course, part of the line-up here in this Seattle Racing Ferrari, raising money for charity.
05:33And Patrick Dempsey, for those of you like us that don't watch the television, apparently it's a thesp.
05:39Patrick, first time in Le Mans, the race is starting.
05:42Oh, it's unbelievable.
05:44We were just talking about what an unbelievable week it's been.
05:46It's been a long week in many ways.
05:48In many ways, it goes by so quickly.
05:50It was an extraordinary day in the parade to be a part of that.
05:53And the response from everyone here, from the town of Le Mans, my fellow drivers, the support and goodwill has been overwhelming.
06:02Yeah.
06:03Before you, we had Steve McQueen doing this, so it's such a legend.
06:07You're going to be a legend, I'm sure.
06:09That's very nice.
06:10I mean, we're just starting the race, so I had a good practice this morning.
06:13It's the best I felt in the car.
06:14I'm starting to get a rhythm with the car.
06:16I'm starting to feel really comfortable with the car.
06:18Hopefully, in the first stint, that continues, and we have a good, safe race.
06:21Yeah, and I'm sure now it's more quiet for you because the race is starting, and the most pace where it's quiet is the car.
06:29Yeah, it's starting to calm down a little bit, and it's much easier when you're in the car.
06:34You have some solitude, which is really nice, but it's been such an incredible experience.
06:39It's one of those things that you're never the same after it, I think, in many ways, so I'm very grateful.
06:44Thank you, Patrick, and have a good race.
06:46Thanks very much.
06:48Well, Patrick Dempsey, arch car fan, but also from our heat correspondent, Liz Halliday, we believe he's in some medical drama of some kind, is he?
06:57Yeah, yeah.
06:58For our older commentator here that doesn't watch TV.
07:01Is he in a popular beat combo?
07:03I'm quite confident that every single person probably watching Eurosport right now has seen him in Grey's Anatomy.
07:08Anyway, Patrick's a lovely guy, really, really dedicated to his motorsport, and he just wants to be here to focus on driving and doing the best that he can, really.
07:17And I think he'd really like to make this a big part of his career, his motorsport, so we wish him all the luck, and I think he's going to have a wonderful time in his first Le Mans.
07:25Well, he's certainly, as you know, if you can remember from your first Le Mans, he's had a bit of a baptism, hasn't he?
07:32There's no easy way of easing yourself into Le Mans, it's just such a big thing for a driver to do first time.
07:37Yeah, it's just such a huge experience, and you're so aware of the history of what Le Mans is, and you sort of first set out onto the straight, onto the malls on straight,
07:44and you think, my God, I've arrived, it's really happening, and it's just incredible.
07:48You know, just thinking back to my first stint at Le Mans, I'm feeling the excitement for the 30 rookie drivers that we have here today.
07:55I think they're going to have an amazing time, and the sun is shining, which always makes it easier for their first stint out,
08:01and hopefully, as the race goes on, they're all going to settle in and get used to the traffic and what Le Mans is.
08:07So, Mark, for us, it's the 70, well, not for us, it's the 77th, it's the 77th running of this race,
08:14and after last year's absolute epic race between Persia and Audi, it does not look as though this is going to be any less exciting.
08:22No, it feels like the 77th, doesn't it, for us, but 258,000 spectators last year, more this year, the ACO is telling us.
08:30All the tribunes, the grandstand seats, were sold out in March, they've built more tribunes.
08:34One little thing, Tom Christensen we heard from a few minutes ago, he was invited to one of the Danish enclaves the other night,
08:40campsite, 9,000 Danes in that campsite, but 25,000 Danes in all, and 75,000 British, that's the figures we're getting.
08:48That shows just the scale of this race. This is a global event.
08:51Jack Eakes, as you say, next door to us in the cabin, he's the man who, not grudgingly, gave up his crown to Tom Christensen.
08:56Can Tom make it nine?
08:58Well, there's not much Jacky could have done unless he started racing again, was there?
09:02Six times a winner at Le Mans in three different manufacturers' entries,
09:06but Tom Christensen is certainly the man with the charm here at the moment. More in a moment.
09:13Welcome back live to Le Mans. You're looking at the Peugeot HDI on the grid.
09:18They are dominant in terms of pace here. Audi struggling to stay with the Peugeot,
09:24but there is a good battle behind the diesel engine cars as well.
09:28The petrol engine cars, the Orica AIM chassis.
09:31Ugde Shonak bought up Courage and has got AIM engines from Japan in the back of the car.
09:37And they are facing up to, of course, the Lola Coupes, the Lola Aston Martins,
09:42the Junetta Zytex and a whole host of others. Let's catch up with Bruno Senna on the grid.
09:46Bruno, I'm sure it's one of the most exciting moments in your career, maybe.
09:51I guess it's amazing. I was in the grid just before the formation laps and the environment is amazing.
09:59Everybody is cheering, everybody is so excited about the race.
10:03So, well, I'm looking forward to my time to drive the car and see what I can do to make the team go forward.
10:10So, when are you going to drive?
10:12I'm on the second stint. So, Stefan does the first part of the race.
10:17I do the second, Tiago comes third, and then we repeat that sequence until the end of the race, if nothing goes wrong.
10:23Do you feel confident now with the car, with the track, everything?
10:27I think so. We have a great team. Technically, Eureka is extremely competent and we have been analyzing the data
10:36and I think the circuit is going to come to us nicely from what we predict in terms of setup.
10:41So, you know, just wait and see. We can play by the rules a little bit and hopefully we can overtake a few cars in front of us.
10:48Thank you, Bruno. Good luck and I hope next year you're going to have a French interview.
10:52Okay, thank you very much.
10:5455 cars then lined up on the grid here for the start of the 77th Le Mans, but we've got a problem already.
10:58The number 14 Collis Audi, which was qualified in 14th place.
11:02That car was qualified by new team draftee Andre Lotra.
11:07Nathen Karthikeyan, the Indian driver who dislocated his shoulder before the first race at Barcelona.
11:12Couldn't take part after a karting accident. We've just heard, Martin, he's dislocated his shoulder again
11:17and will not be taking the start. Whether or not that means he's not going to race, we don't know.
11:22Well, I'm sure that the Audi team physios, not necessarily Collis Audi,
11:27but certainly Jurst Audi physios will be working on him if they can.
11:31But anybody who's had a dislocated shoulder, and Liz, you've had shoulder surgery from equine accidents,
11:37it's not exactly the quickest thing to get out.
11:39You could pop it in, but that doesn't make it strong and it doesn't stop it hurting.
11:43So, in terms of being able to sit in a prototype and hustle it round Le Mans, I think that's a pretty tall order, wouldn't you?
11:49Well, I think the difficult thing is going to be, you know, is the G-forces he's going to be dealing with,
11:53the extreme braking forces you have at Le Mans, which is much more than you would find at any other circuit.
11:58So I think that's going to be a big question for him, whether or not he's going to be able to have the belts across his shoulders,
12:03you know, causing that strain on him, and also whether or not he's going to be able to hold the car.
12:07I mean, granted we have power steering, but there's a lot of G-force being generated by these cars,
12:11sort of through the Porsche curves and a lot of the corners on this track.
12:13So, it's going to be a big question, no doubt, I'm sure he'll do everything he can as well with Audi to try and get him on circuit.
12:19And I trust that he will do the sensible thing if he feels he can drive, but we'll just have to wait and see.
12:23Well, of course, there are three drivers in each car, and the basic rules are that no driver may drive more than 14 hours in total.
12:31But that does allow, obviously, if they go to the ACO and say, look, this guy is properly injured, there are no reserve drivers,
12:38no other drivers have been qualified by any teams, that's not the way it works.
12:41As the cars are rolled away...
12:43This is the last appearance, by the way, by race director Daniel Poissonot.
12:47He moves, changes jobs, will be going to Asia to run the Le Mans Asian Series.
12:52So, this is his final appearance as race director at Le Mans.
12:54It's an emotive moment for him as the Peugeot of Stefan Sarrazan.
12:58On-board camera we have with him leads the field off.
13:01This is the number two Audi on-board camera with that.
13:03And the starting driver for this car is...
13:06That's Rocky.
13:07Mike Rockefeller starting that one.
13:09Alex Premar starting the number three car.
13:11Alan Bucknish on the front row of the Gros starting row number one.
13:15Yeah, Liz is just rubbing her arm.
13:17We've all got goosebumps.
13:18It's not just in the race suits in the heat of the afternoon that you get that chill.
13:24It's everywhere here.
13:25The car's rolling around and, well, over 200,000 spectators.
13:29And Liz, you were talking to me earlier about when you come out of the Ford Chicane on the first lap.
13:33And what do you see?
13:34Oh, it's just, I mean, it's just incredible.
13:36I mean, doing the start of Le Mans is probably the best thing I've ever done in my entire life.
13:40I mean, you come round the Ford Chicane and you just see a wall of people.
13:43All screaming and cheering and it just goes on forever.
13:46And you think, my God, I'm really starting Le Mans.
13:48And it's just, it's an incredible feeling.
13:50And I think, I mean, I'm getting excited here just watching it from up here in our little skybox.
13:54Wishing I was in a car, obviously.
13:55But, you know, it's the next best thing and it's just really cool.
13:58Well, there's our starter of honour waving to the crowd.
14:01The president of Ferrari, SPA, of course, Luca de Montezemolo.
14:04And 60 years since Ferrari won here at Le Mans for the first time.
14:09So, no, not for the first time, were they won in 1949?
14:12Yeah, that was the first win, yeah.
14:14And, of course, again this morning, those who saw the legends race saw Ferrari win that outright.
14:18So that was a big fillet for Luca de Montezemolo.
14:21Can they now beat Porsche in GT2?
14:23That's the question.
14:24But leading the field, that Audi pace car, that's a bragging right thing.
14:27And last year's winners get the chance to provide the safety car for the next year's race.
14:31So, will it be Audi or Peugeot next year?
14:33Oh, I wonder how Cadillac managed to provide a safety car.
14:36That must have been a recent rule today.
14:37Yeah, at three o'clock we'll find out tomorrow afternoon, won't we?
14:40It certainly will.
14:41So, this year it's an Audi R8.
14:43Next year it could be a 309 diesel.
14:45Who can say?
14:46So, the field rolls around then and we are anticipating with very great eagerness the sort of titanic clash that last year's race produced with one of the closest genuine racing finishes ever.
14:59There have been closer finishes between cars, more often than not staged between two mates.
15:05Luca de Montezemolo, the President of Ferrari, the Prime Minister of France there with him on the podium.
15:10So, they are wheeling out the various big guns.
15:13And Luca, well, never really came racing here.
15:16He was much more always concerned with Ferrari's Formula One team, of course, through the 70s, 80s, and still to the present day.
15:23But you can't be involved in racing without having just some feeling for what Le Mans is all about.
15:29Yeah, let's just pick up on what you said about the French Prime Minister, François Fillon.
15:32Of course, he is a Ferrari racer in his own right in the classic.
15:35He is the MP for this region, has a Welsh wife, and he is very, very much a Le Mans 24-hour supporter.
15:41And I think his input into the French government is ensuring this is still the principal event in France.
15:46I can't really think of a parallel in the UK of what sporting of Wimbledon.
15:52It would be like somebody saying, do you know what, I don't think we'll bother with Wimbledon anymore.
15:55That sort of thing. Or we won't bother having, you know, the ashes test with Australia.
15:59That's the sort of prestige that it conveys.
16:02There are really only three motor races anybody knows of.
16:05Monaco Grand Prix, Indy 500, 24 hours of Le Mans.
16:09You can go to almost any street in any country.
16:12And if, you know, you say Le Mans, they'll know the name, even if they don't really see the race or grasp the concept.
16:18So, Liz, you know, sitting here on the grid, you are every year a part of a phenomenal history.
16:24And that's not lost on anyone, particularly in this last few minutes of build-up,
16:29when all of that nervous energy is just knotted inside everybody's stomach.
16:33Well, I think that's what makes Le Mans so special is the history that goes with it
16:36and the extreme fans that you get with it.
16:38I mean, the fans that you see at Le Mans are not like what I've seen at any other racetrack in my life.
16:42I mean, they are truly dedicated to being here and to loving the motorsport
16:46and just loving the circuit for what it is.
16:48And I think that's a big part of what makes Le Mans so special.
16:51Big banners that we just saw for Luca de Montezamolo, it said,
16:55forget Ferrari, forget Formula One, come back to Le Mans.
16:59Well, you see him playing to the crowd, don't you?
17:01Unfortunately, of course, this week,
17:03Ferrari have unconditionally entered next year's Formula One World Championship.
17:06It remains to be seen exactly whose entries are finally confirmed.
17:10But look at the weather, Mark.
17:12Wednesday, for those who were watching, six hours of wet, dreary, cold, miserable running told everybody nothing.
17:18Thursday, it was a bit warmer, and here we are on Saturday morning.
17:21Last night, we sat outside.
17:23Nobody really thought we were going to get temperatures in the mid to high 20s,
17:27and yet here we are.
17:28It looks as beautiful as ever.
17:3030 degrees on the grid just before I came up.
17:32That's how warm it is down there, just standing in that concrete cabin.
17:35The track, of course, even longer.
17:37Liz, the other thing about Le Mans, it's the longest track in the world for road racing.
17:41I mean, look how long this formation lap's taking.
17:43How can you learn every corner of this track as a race driver?
17:47I think a lot of these drivers this week, especially because they've not had the previous test weekend.
17:52We've got a lot of rookie drivers.
17:53A lot of these drivers are going to be learning this track throughout their stints.
17:57That's going to be a big part of it.
17:58I think the more you go, the more you settle in to how you need to drive the track.
18:02But it is a very long circuit.
18:03It takes some getting used to.
18:04But the one good thing is at least you get a bit of a rest.
18:07And as a driver, for you, which is the most difficult part of the circuit?
18:10I think the most difficult place to gain time and the easiest place to lose it is the Porsche curbs.
18:14That's what everyone else says.
18:15Yeah, absolutely.
18:16And that is where I've found the most time.
18:19So we are getting ready for the start of this race at 3 o'clock.
18:24We're just moments away.
18:26Cars on the warm-up lab at Le Mans, the evocative sight as they win their way down through the countryside.
18:41As they have done for nearly a century from Arnage back towards the city of Le Mans.
18:47In the early days they drove right down into the city around a hairpin, a poignure and back out on public roads.
18:55Now that run through the traffic has fairly wisely been diverted around part of the Bugatti circuit, the permanent facility here.
19:03But for the greater part, it is still a public road race.
19:08White lines, drains, trees, ditches, grass verges, cambers, all sorts of hazards to trap the unwary.
19:16And that is why Le Mans is still the tough race that everyone wants to win.
19:22And this year as last, it is the two behemoths of diesel racing, of sports car genius at the moment.
19:29Audi and Peugeot that sit atop the field.
19:33Behind them we have got a plethora of cars from constructors like Pescarolo, Lola and Courage.
19:40We have got the Orica chassis, a petrol engine class of LMP1 cars, LMP2 cars and GT cars from Porsche, Ferrari, Corvette, Aston Martin, Lamborghini and the rest.
19:5324 hours is about to start here in Le Mans for the 77th time.
20:00They will come to the line at three o'clock and then the race is on.
20:05And it is unlikely in the extreme that it will be settled within much of that 24 hours.
20:13Yeah, the time is absolutely perfectly.
20:15Look, there's just 10 seconds to go to the actual bang on three o'clock.
20:18Everyone ready.
20:19Everyone extremely tense.
20:20They've got to watch out on the track though.
20:22Oil dropped by a lot of cars this morning in the legends race.
20:25So they've got to feel their way through these opening laps, Liz.
20:28Yeah, they will have been looking at this all the way around the recon laps and around this green flag lap.
20:32And this is what it all comes down to.
20:34We're about to throw the green flag.
20:36Luca de Montezemolo waves away the 2007 Le Mans 24 hours.
20:41The pole sitting Peugeot and Frank Montagne races into the Dunlop curve.
20:46Alan McNish looked inside, looked outside.
20:49From the first corner to the last of this race,
20:52it is going to be an epic duel between Peugeot and Audi for outright honours.
20:58Down into the S's they plunge.
21:01And already the battle is on.
21:06Montagne knows without a doubt that Peugeot would love him to lead the first lap.
21:11We have our first pit call of the Cruz Schiller Lola Master team in trouble all weekend.
21:17But as the Peugeot and the Audi stream out onto the circuit,
21:21their teammates are behind them.
21:23Yeah, it's Montagne, McNish, Lamy, Bouillon, Wurtz, Rockenfeller, Premat, Mucha, Turner and Balicci.
21:29And leading down in LMP2, it's Manuel Collard.
21:34He's starting for Team Essex.
21:35Jan Magnussen for the Corvette pole position car.
21:38And Jörg Bergmeister for the Flying Lizards Porsche GT2 pole setter.
21:43And at the moment, we've got Peugeot, Audi, Peugeot, Peugeot, Peugeot, Audi, Audi.
21:47So it's definitely still in the mix.
21:49But it's looking like Peugeot has really taken a good run off the start.
21:52Well, we wondered a little bit how well prepared Audi are.
21:55There's no question they have rehearsed what they're doing.
21:58But is everything running according to plan?
22:00Certainly, practice was very truncated compared to any other year already though.
22:05The number two Audi, Rockenfeller, looking to make a move on the man in front, Alex Wurtz.
22:10Wurtz, of course, a former winner. He's been here twice.
22:13Won his first ever race fifth last year.
22:16He's looking to try and up the average a little.
22:19And in the petrol engine class, it is Stefan Mucha, the first of the Lola Aston Martins.
22:24But I saw one of the Colles Audi's moving up.
22:28That'll be Christian Albers moving ahead of Christoph Tanso.
22:31So from the first moment to the last, battle is joined.
22:35And in fact, it looks like the third of the Audi's number three, Alex Premat,
22:39has dropped behind Stefan Mucha.
22:41He's in 007, right behind 008.
22:44We're onboarding car number three.
22:46Yeah, but just look at the speed these Peugeots are carrying.
22:48They're first and second now.
22:49They're about to come third and fourth, if you don't look out.
22:52Christoph Bouillon started ahead of Wurtz in the number nine Peugeot,
22:55but he's been pushed back.
22:57And I think we're going to have three factory Peugeots leading by the end of this first lap.
23:00Magniche is defending hard at the moment.
23:05So Montagne and Lamy first and second.
23:08Magniche holds onto third at the moment, but Wurtz is menacing.
23:12And right behind him, Jules Bouillon, that lighter blue and green Pescarolo colored Peugeot.
23:19It's one of last year's cars updated.
23:21And we hear that Peugeot are already starting to complain that the Audi was too close to the Peugeot at the start.
23:28Well, it's supposed to be alongside it, so I'm not sure how that could be a problem.
23:31I thought this was a motor race as well.
23:33It is a motor race, but Peugeot seem to be spitting the dummy at every available opportunity.
23:37We are a couple of minutes into this race already and already having complaints between Peugeot and Audi.
23:42Could this be a very long 24 hours?
23:44They will get a lot closer than that before the chequered flag comes out, that's for certain.
23:49I think definitely, you know, what we're seeing from Audi right now,
23:51they're not panicking about the fact that maybe the Peugeot's gone in front or they've let the odd car forward,
23:56because it is a 24-hour race and that is what Audi does best.
23:59And you're not going to win that in the first three laps of the race.
24:02So it really doesn't matter.
24:03You know, by the time things settle in and, you know, the pit stops start happening,
24:07I don't think they're panicking yet.
24:08So it's still Peugeot 1-2.
24:10They couldn't quite make it 1-2-3.
24:12McNish has really got into the groove now and he's holding off first.
24:15Bouillon, Rockenfella in sixth.
24:17Mucca in the first of the Lola Aston Martins in seventh.
24:22Well, a huge roar from the crowd.
24:24I'm sure there are a lot of Peugeot flags waving.
24:26And you saw there Alex Prema looking inside.
24:29Stefan Mucca's Lola Aston trying to take that place back.
24:33This is not an endurance race anymore.
24:35It is a 24-hour sprint.
24:37The days of the hair like Sterling Moss did in 1959 for Aston Martins,
24:43setting off at a furious pace to try and break the rivals.
24:46Those are gone.
24:47If you don't set off at a furious pace, Mark, you spend the entire race trying to catch up.
24:51Yeah, and Montagne's opening lap would have been good enough for tenth on the grid.
24:55And that was from the start.
24:56I mean, how good is that?
24:57And that's a rolling start on full tanks of fuel as well.
25:00Full tanks of fuel and tires that definitely would not have been warming up after sitting on the grid.
25:05We have to keep in mind.
25:06Fair enough. When they go straight on, they're warm out of the oven.
25:08After sitting on the grid, they will hold off.
25:10Alan's still resisting the pressure there from Alex Vertz.
25:12He's just doing all he can to keep the tall Austrian off his back.
25:16But I think inevitably, Alex with that coupe, that's the crux of it.
25:20He's in a coupe. It's so much more slippery.
25:23Well, the theory is possibly that it should be more slippery.
25:26But again, Audi with a chance to completely revise the car last year went once more for the open car.
25:32So it may not be the aerodynamics. It may just be the gearing and the grunt.
25:37Might partly be that Peugeot are playing the speed game and Audi might be playing the fuel game.
25:44We'll have to wait and see how long they go on a tank of, I was going to say gas, but obviously I mean oil.
25:50I think we'll find that Audi is definitely pushing hard, but I don't think they're panicking.
25:54That's the best thing I can say.
25:56I think Alan is pushing that Audi very hard, but he's not going to be panicking quite yet if they're in front.
26:02Let them find their pace and Audi will just follow, just keep in sight.
26:06Settle in and quietly work their way towards a win.
26:08That's always been the plan.
26:10So Frank Montagny leading for Peugeot, Pedro Lamy second and Alex Vertz now up to third place.
26:16And already Lamy on another faster lap than Montagny's first.
26:20And indeed that Montagny is at the moment the second place car.
26:24Peugeot number seven is closing on the leader.
26:27It is eight, seven and nine in that order with Alex Vertz in third.
26:32And then Jean-Christophe Bouillon in fifth position was a second behind Magnichen Vertz a lap ago.
26:39I have to wait and see what he can produce.
26:41There he is in that Pescarolo colored Peugeot.
26:44You'll be able to identify it easily.
26:46It's got a Dayglo version of the P green helmet that Henri Pescarolo won in 33 Le Mans starts,
26:51including three consecutive wins for Mazda.
26:55One with Graham Hill and two with Gerard Larousse.
26:58So the first of the open cars here this afternoon at the moment is that little Stracca,
27:04Junetta Zytek, Peter Hardman at the wheel of that, 23 car running in 12th.
27:08All the cars ahead of him are Coupes, Peugeots, Audis, lower Aston Martins.
27:13The Audi is an open car as well.
27:15Sorry, the petrol cars I meant.
27:16Yes indeed.
27:17The word petrol escape.
27:18We haven't seen the Aston Martin gulf cars yet.
27:20And I know millions of you are waiting just for a glimpse of these gorgeous evocative gulf cars.
27:25Let's have a look again, view of the start.
27:28What?
27:29Oh, what?
27:30He's saying that McNish was ahead at the line because the Peugeot was so slow out of the chicane.
27:34Okay.
27:35Obviously compromised their race, didn't it?
27:38Well, luckily, 23 hours and 59 minutes ago.
27:41I'm not sure there actually is a rule about the start line at Le Mans.
27:45I think if he'd been miles ahead, that might have been a problem.
27:47But since Peugeot had the lead into the first turn, I'm not sure it particularly is.
27:51I think once the flag has dropped, go.
27:53I'll just update you on what's happening elsewhere.
27:55LMP2, Manuel Collard is leading in the Essex Porsche Spyder.
27:59That car's green this year, not blue.
28:01The reason for that is they are supporting the Michelin green challenge.
28:04We'll talk more about that later.
28:06That's due for the colour.
28:07Jan Magnussen in the factory Corvette.
28:09He's running in 29th, leading GT1.
28:12And GT2 Ferrari, much to Luca de Montes de Memelo's pleasure,
28:16is led by some invisible aim, Jaime Melo.
28:19And they've just gone ahead of Jörg Bergmeister's visit Porsche.
28:25We're hearing that there are electrical problems on one of the Aston Martins.
28:29The 66 car, that's the Jet Alliance GT1 car.
28:32So that's one less rival for Corvette to worry about in the GT1 category in the first hour.
28:38The other car that is in problem still is the Cruise Schiller motorsport car.
28:44They pulled an all-nighter yesterday.
28:46The crew arrived here on Friday morning and have not left.
28:49So an all-nighter the night before the Le Mans 24 hours all-nighter.
28:53Jean de Portales started that car.
28:55Hideki Noda has got food poisoning and may not be fit to drive.
28:59So Jean de Portales leaving the pit lane now, sharing with Matthew Marsh.
29:05And I spoke to Matthew earlier and the Hong Kong-based Englishman saying it might be a long race.
29:12What am I talking about?
29:13It's already a long race.
29:14And that was only at 10 this morning.
29:16Let's just put Hideki Noda's food poisoning problem perspective.
29:191959, 60 years ago when Aston Martin won.
29:23Roy Salvadori was feeling pretty rough, but Carroll Shelby was even worse.
29:27He had dysentery.
29:28The two of them drove the whole race, both feeling very, very unwell.
29:32Still managed to take off the win.
29:37Now we're also hearing there's a puncture for the Drayson, Aston Martin.
29:40Johnny Cocker was starting that one, sharing with Paul Lord Drayson
29:44and Marino Franchitti.
29:46Lord Drayson, of course, this week in the Cabinet reshuffle in Great Britain,
29:50appointed not only as the Minister for Defence,
29:53but also for technology and innovation.
29:57So, two portfolios and a racing career.
30:00Liz, you would think at least one of those would be more than enough for a mere mortal.
30:04Well, I think he'd actually like to be doing more of his racing career, if I'm being honest, but yes.
30:09Oh, and one of the collies out. He goes off in a big way.
30:13Let's see if he's missed the wall.
30:15That's at Indianapolis.
30:17Just missed his braking point completely there, didn't he?
30:19In fact, that's not that.
30:20That's Marco Werner.
30:21Yeah, Werner.
30:22Is he in the R15?
30:23Yep, it's Werner.
30:24And looks, has he hit the tyres hard?
30:25It looks like he has.
30:26Oh, sorry. No, it's the car number three.
30:27That is Alex Premat.
30:29Premat.
30:30Stay in the car, Alex.
30:31You're French.
30:32You're in France.
30:33He will be towed out of there.
30:34It is a dangerous gravel trap.
30:36It's very short.
30:37They're going to tow him out onto terra firma.
30:39Dr. Wolfgang Ulrich watches.
30:41He's not looking happy.
30:42Something must have broken shortly.
30:43Let's have a look.
30:44On board with three.
30:45Into Indianapolis.
30:46This is an extremely fast corner as well.
30:47Brakes. Okay.
30:48Just as soon as he gets the apex list, it goes off to his left.
30:51Something, something must have gone wrong there.
30:53He wasn't in control, was it?
30:54No, and he didn't see, on that corner you would have held it tight to the right to have
30:59braked in a straight line and he went.
31:00Now remember, this is exactly the same spot at which Dindo Capello lost the wheel while
31:04leading two years ago.
31:05Cost him the win.
31:06And we've seen a lot of outies off here this weekend, haven't we?
31:08The Collis cars going off backwards, frontwards, everywhere.
31:11I definitely think something must have gone wrong there because he never would have been
31:14that far left on that corner.
31:16As soon as he got to the apex, it just swerved out to the left on him.
31:19Yeah, as if he changed his mind about going through the corner.
31:22And that's not something a driver of Premat's experience would do.
31:25And he's looking quite confident, almost as if he was ready to get out, like something
31:29had broken.
31:30Yeah, because there wasn't a big impact with the tire wall.
31:33No, it wasn't.
31:34The car will survive that.
31:35Let's have a look again.
31:36Going by slower traffic.
31:38Oh, that's just from the other angle.
31:40It's quite hard to see that.
31:41But certainly he never would have been that far to the left on that corner.
31:44Wolfgang Ulrich has looked more concerned about things this Le Monde than I have ever seen
31:50him at any race track.
31:52And things are not going well.
31:54Now, they will always tow the cars out here at Indianapolis because it is such a fast approach.
31:59That turn into Indianapolis, you're coming at the fastest speed of anywhere on the circuit.
32:04And there's very little room for errorless, as you know.
32:07So they will always tow you out.
32:09Never get out of the car when you're at Indianapolis.
32:12It's a straightforward rule.
32:13Yeah, it's such an incredibly fast approach there.
32:15I mean, it's going to be fairly a lift, I would have thought, for some of these cars.
32:18You know, you're approaching in sort of sixth gear into that, with a heavy braking down to third gear
32:22to make the left-hand turn.
32:23He's still got his steering, hasn't he?
32:25Yeah, he's checking his steering.
32:26He's checking everything.
32:28I wonder if something on the suspension broke, possibly?
32:31Yeah, just while we're looking at that, Richard Dean in the factory, Janetta Zytek.
32:35He's in the pits at the moment, the number six car.
32:37That started in 15th place, is currently in 18th, but they're in the pits.
32:42320 km an hour, fifth gear approach to Indianapolis in the Audi.
32:48So it is as flat out as they get around here.
32:51And, what, 100 metres on is that gravel trap.
32:54He got round most of that right-hander, but just carrying so much speed.
32:58Now, our colleague Chris Parsons has just pointed out to us
33:01that Tom Christensen had a jammed throttle this morning
33:04when a cable got caught up in the pedal box.
33:06One just had to wonder, could anything like that have repeated itself?
33:10Well, he's back on track at the moment, rejoining and wending his way back.
33:15Peugeot, one, two, three, and five.
33:19So, four HDI 908s, right up at the top of the timesheet.
33:25So, at the moment, Alan McNish lies fourth for Audi, but this is our race leader, car number eight, Frank Montagnier.
33:31Now, we've already, of course, talked a little bit during qualifying about the ACO making changes,
33:36particularly to the diesel cars, to try and slow them down.
33:39They wanted a lap time no faster than three minutes 30.
33:44We are already lapping three minutes 25, just three laps into the race.
33:49So, they have singularly failed to slow the diesels down very much in race pace.
33:54Qualifying was a lot slower than the three minutes 18 of last year,
33:59but the race pace barely any difference at all.
34:03And we hear the KSM Lola is again on its way into the pit.
34:06So, they're not having a good start to the race.
34:08We're only a few laps in, and they've already, this is their second pit, really.
34:11Engine cover has now come off. They have not completed a flying lap at all.
34:15Geron de Portales went out, came right back in.
34:18So, yes, it's going to be a very long week, a very long weekend.
34:23It already has been.
34:24They haven't slept since Thursday night, and it doesn't look like...
34:27Well, actually, if they can get the car fixed, they won't get much sleep.
34:30If they can't get the car fixed, they may be gone to bed before supper time.
34:34And into the pits, finally, comes the number three Audi.
34:39Riding on board again, down to Indianapolis, 250 miles an hour almost.
34:45And, Liz, the way it twitched away from him, no question, that was not driver error.
34:50I mean, in that particular corner, you stay right because you have to make the left.
34:54So, you would stay right, brake in a straight line before making the left.
34:57So, there's no way he ever would have been off to the left.
34:59Minimal damage on the car from that biff with the wall.
35:02They will change that.
35:04They're fueling it now. It'll be up on the little jacks and wheeled back into the garage.
35:08The reason for that is in the pit lane here, you can only have four people touching the car in the garage.
35:14You can have 400 if you can get them around it.
35:17So, major surgery required, we're thinking.
35:20The nose is the first thing. Off it comes.
35:23Now, the mountings will have stood up to that bump, hopefully, without too many dramas.
35:28This is where we will see the scale of Audi and see how fast they can decipher what's happened, get the car back on the track.
35:35This is what they do best. They will have trained for this.
35:37They will have gotten ready for any eventuality that could happen.
35:40So, I'm confident they'll be as fast as they can be.
35:43I mean, we talked to Audi about how quickly they can change an engine, for instance.
35:47It's massively complex. One hour they could do it.
35:49It's incredible. It truly is. So, they will be ready for this.
35:52Okay, let's get down to the pit lane, see if we can find out what happened.
35:56Our report is with Roman Dumas.
35:58Can you tell us what happened?
36:01Alex complained about something, wasn't sure. He's obviously not on a headset.
36:08So, checking car out in the pits.
36:14Sounds like a bit of power steering was causing problems.
36:17So, not sure exactly what it is at the moment.
36:20Might have been a bit of pick-up on the tyres, he's suggesting.
36:27Peugeot quick, is that a surprise? No, not for me.
36:30They were quick in qualifying, so we're not surprised at all.
36:35But it is a long race. 24 hours to sort it out.
36:41The race is barely started.
36:43But Roman says, no, if you stop every three laps, you're going to be in real trouble.
36:51We'll see how it works out with the strategy, teams and so on, with the tyres.
36:56We'll see how it works out with the tyres.
36:58Thank you very much, Roman. Thank you.
36:59It's a 24 hour race. We'll have to wait and see where we are tomorrow.
37:02Well, I think, Mark Cole, you can say without question, this will not be the only car that has a problem.
37:06One of the factors of having such stiff competition for Audi and Peugeot is that mistakes happen and accidents happen.
37:13The other.
37:14And things break that they don't if you're taking it a little bit less frenetically.
37:19And the problem with the Audi is on the power steering systems, if it is a power steering failure, is that it's buried so deep under all the front end there.
37:26Difficult to get to. It's not a part you'd even imagine you're going to have to change or look at during the course of the race.
37:31But of course, this is the secrets of Audi's success. They don't just think about the things you're likely to need to change.
37:37They rehearse changing everything. And out the back of their three garages, the workshop area they've got there is exactly to the millimetre the same as the workshop area in the race shop.
37:47Everybody knows where everything is. There is no possible failure on the car that is not rehearsed.
37:53It might not be quick, but they know how to do it and they will go and get the steering rack box if that's what it takes.
37:59Car is out. So they are content that there is not a major drama with it.
38:06With electric power steering, you have to worry that it might just have been a little glitch that twitched him offline.
38:12It may easily have been dirt and pick up on the tyres, they're saying, but we'll have to wait and see.
38:16It could have been the power steering actually failing mid-corner as well, mixed with a bit of pickup.
38:20The minute he's gone offline, he's gotten some pickup, mixed with the power steering failing.
38:24You know, I've had that happen before in a car and it's very difficult to hold your line when you're holding one set.
38:29Just looking at the LMP2 leaders, the Team Essex Porsche.
38:32This is the Team Go Porsche, the two Porsche RS Spiders leading comfortably in LMP2.
38:39We'll take a quick commercial break, be back with more in just a second.
38:42Welcome back live to Le Mans where the early minutes of the 24 hours have been anything but trouble-free.
38:54Looking there at one of our LMP2 contenders.
38:57Fourth in class, Tommy Erdus, car number 25.
39:00Third in class, right in front, Johnny Kane.
39:03Two long-time rivals and both very experienced Le Mans drivers.
39:07Johnny Kane in one of the speedy Sabah Lola Coupes and behind him in the RML car.
39:12They've had a pit lane crash with one of the Golf Aston Martins in this morning's warm-up and damaged its floor.
39:17That is Tommy Erdus in fourth place now.
39:20The two Porsche Spiders out front, talking to Marino Franchetio here on, who's with the Drayson Racing Corvette in GT2.
39:27He's saying that the LMP, the LMP2 Spiders have got such a comfortable cushion here that they're not even using the brand new direct injection engine that they used towards the end of last year's American Le Mans series.
39:40So the LMP2 cars, the turbo cars particularly, have been struggling, Mark, with fuel quality.
39:46And so they've had to retire the ignition of the engine, bring the power levels down to try and make sure they'll survive the 24 hours.
39:53Yeah, now this is very interesting, isn't it?
39:55Because we're watching Tommy Erdus following Johnny Kane.
39:58Johnny's got the Judd, which is going absolutely flat out.
40:01500 horsepower, probably.
40:02Tommy is probably down to something like 475, maybe 470.
40:06But he's staying with him all the time.
40:08That is very, very impressive.
40:10So AER have obviously got on top of that fine balance between saving the engine and losing power.
40:16They've had no problem at all this time throughout qualifying, throughout the practice nights.
40:20Yet they go to the Le Mans series, had two failures immediately.
40:23So it's all in the luck of the draw.
40:26Some of that might just be a testament to Tommy Erdus' driving as well.
40:29Because, you know, with the turbo cars, if you need to dial them down a bit at the mall, you've really got to work very, very hard.
40:35I mean, when I drove a turbo car here, a lot of the time, you know, we had to take the anti-lag off and not use first gear and things like that.
40:41And you've really got to work to keep the revs up through the corners.
40:43And it's very difficult to pass things like the GT1 cars and such because you don't have so much push out of the corners.
40:49So I think that's a testament to Tommy Erdus' driving as well.
40:52We were just on board there for a moment with Jan Magnussen, our GT1 class leader.
40:56Team-mate Oli Gav was right behind.
40:57First scheduled-ish pit stop after 24 minutes.
41:01That is for Christian Albers, that number 15 Audi R10 TDI.
41:06One of last year's fleet of Audis run by the Yerst factory team.
41:10And Colin Collins and the team running two cars here.
41:13That car came in from 16th position.
41:16And a new team, six rookie drivers and a changed R10 TDI.
41:22Without the experience of racing here at Le Mans several times, they're certainly up against it with that car.
41:27But they have been getting quicker and quicker through the shortened practice days.
41:32Now, going past the Luc Alfond Aventure Corvettes, they're third and fourth in the GT1 class.
41:37Jan Clare ahead of Luc Alfond himself, the Crystal Globe winner in the second of those white cars.
41:43You saw the leaders going through.
41:45Meanwhile, GT battle.
41:47Now, our GT2 leader is on the different pages.
41:51The timing screen, the flyer.
41:52You're looking at Flying Lizard's car there.
41:54And that is Jörg Bergmeister, car number 80.
41:57That's fifth and sixth, Jammeria Bruni behind him.
41:59But look how close this GT1 battle, a GT2 battle is.
42:03Ferrari, Porsche, Porsche, Ferrari, Porsche, Porsche.
42:06It's going to be a long and tough race for every single one of those.
42:10I think we could see this go on all the way right to the checkered flag.
42:13I mean, this is the very best of the drivers and the best of the cars right at the front that we're seeing here.
42:18And I think they will all be pushing.
42:20This will be like a qualifying round for all of them, every single lap.
42:23Well, that is the podium there, Mark.
42:25All covered by less than half a second.
42:27Jaime Melo leads from Mark Lieb and Patrick Long in the two Porsches.
42:30Let's just update you on the Christian Albers Collis Audi.
42:33It was not a routine stop.
42:34They're changing the nose on the car.
42:36There's a lot of work going on, a lot of running around.
42:38They're losing a lot of time down there.
42:40So, Jaime Melo leading in that Ferrari.
42:43That's the Ricci Competizione car, engineered by Dave Beakey-Sims.
42:47He shares with Pierre Caffer and Mika Salo.
42:50In second place, Mark Lieb in the 77 Felbermeyer Proton Porsche.
42:54That blue car he shares with fellow factory drivers, Richard Leitz and Wolf Hensler.
42:59And the third car, also a Porsche, Pat Long, the factory driver in that IMSA Matmut Porsche
43:05with two very quick privateers, Raymond Narak and Patrick Pillay.
43:09They're not going to be much off his pace, but it might be enough to make the difference with the lead group.
43:14Now, I spoke to Patrick Long earlier today and he said they've really had a very trouble-free week.
43:18He said they're extremely relaxed.
43:20They've had so few problems, it's almost a bit worrying.
43:23And he said they can't quite match the pace, but they're very confident in the car
43:27and they're just going to keep ticking along, you know, banging in consistent times
43:30and hopefully the race is going to come to them.
43:32Yeah, it is coming to them, isn't it?
43:33Here we go.
43:34Look at this.
43:35Great slipstreaming battle going on down here.
43:37But Porsche is faster in a straight line, but Jaime Melo really has the measure, doesn't he, today?
43:42Using the brakes to his advantage, wasn't he?
43:45He's a fierce driver, Jaime Melo.
43:47Whenever you put him in the car, you know, I don't think he has anything but one speed
43:50and that is absolutely flat out and completely in control.
43:53That's what you need here now, isn't it?
43:55I mean, there is no pussyfooting about.
43:57There are some cars, and Cruise Schiller is going to be one,
44:00where just now getting it to the end of the race is going to be a moral victory
44:04of enormous and incalculable, you know, dedication.
44:07But for anybody that's got a healthy car hoping to get on the podium,
44:11there is no 99% running.
44:14Unless the safety car's out, you're either hard on the throttle or hard on the brakes.
44:18There is nowhere in between.
44:20Don't forget, our coverage on Eurosport International finishes in a moment or two.
44:25We will be going directly over to Eurosport 2.
44:29We will switch between our two networks throughout the weekend.
44:33If you are not receiving Eurosport 2 wherever you are, you can go to the Eurosport.com website and sign up.
44:404.95 I think is the cost for the weekend for Eurosport player.
44:44We will be broadcasting the entire race throughout the weekend on Eurosport player.
44:49So we'll be concluding for a brief period our coverage of Le Mans here on Eurosport.
44:55We're going over to Belgium for the Dauphin Libere, to France for the Dauphin Libere.
45:00And at the end of today, of today's seven states, we will be returning live for an update at Le Mans.
45:08We will be on Eurosport 2 and returning to our main Eurosport coverage at seven Central European time, six British time.
45:17Peugeot lead one, two, three. First crack already in the Audi armoury.
45:22Much, much more to come.
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