Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the full 2023 race in stunning HD and without cuts. This milestone edition marked the return of legendary manufacturers like Ferrari, Porsche, and Cadillac to the Hypercar class, delivering an unforgettable showdown of technology, endurance, and passion. Witness every dramatic moment, from night battles to rain-soaked strategy calls, in one of the most historic races ever held at Circuit de la Sarthe.
#LeMans2023
#24hLeMans
#EnduranceRacing
#MotorsportHistory
#HypercarEra
#FerrariVsToyota
#LegendaryRace
#LeMans2023
#24hLeMans
#EnduranceRacing
#MotorsportHistory
#HypercarEra
#FerrariVsToyota
#LegendaryRace
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SportsTranscript
00:00They've gone back out and had some transmission issues.
00:03We've had 20 cars retire from the race,
00:06which is probably a little bit more than if I had been forced to pick a number before the race.
00:12I don't think I would have picked 20.
00:15Although with 62 entries, that doesn't seem to me to be an overly large number.
00:24But I didn't think we'd see 20 retire.
00:30Yeah, there's Charles Leclerc.
00:32Hey, if you want to win this race, I'm feeling pretty fresh right now.
00:41I'm kind of light as well.
00:42I got my helmet and boots out in the trunk.
00:44Yeah, I'm pretty lean and light.
00:46Yeah, it's a bit of an advantage, which, for those of you who don't know,
00:51the car has its weight, Willemette, in Hypercar at 1,030.
00:59That's the minimum weight minimum weight.
01:01It can be higher than that, obviously, with the BOP adjustments.
01:05But that's the minimum weight target for all the cars.
01:08So you can't be under that.
01:10But the driver is just on top of whatever that weight is.
01:14Oh, really?
01:16Ah, so a guy like me would be out of luck.
01:19Unfortunately.
01:19You get to the bar first, though.
01:23So what goes around comes around.
01:26Okay, Brendan, box this lap, pick confirm, box this lap, change driver to Geo.
01:33Copy, pick confirm, copy, box to pass.
01:35All right.
01:37That's nice of it.
01:38You've got Sev there with Rio, helping him out, even getting ready.
01:43And sure, giving him every bit of advice that he can give him.
01:48I'm sure Rio doesn't need it, but nice to see that team support.
01:53Support for the sister car as well.
01:57Brendan's found himself in a bit of traffic here.
01:59He's completely boxed in.
02:00Look, you're just waving goodbye to speed on the straight.
02:05It's the worst situation.
02:06You've got the GT there and the LMP2, and you're much faster.
02:09And that's where the hypercar really makes it speed up on this track, in the straight line.
02:13So, yeah, loses a bit there.
02:14The gap grows back to 10 seconds now.
02:21Amazing stuff between these two.
02:24Lead quartet in LMP2 have all just come and gone through the pit lane as well.
02:30We're starting to get into the nitty-gritty, aren't we?
02:33Where, as both of you guys will know, on the pit wall,
02:37they know exactly how much fuel they need in the car now
02:40and how much they're going to need to get to the end of the race.
02:43Two hours to go, two o'clock Central European time.
02:4622 hours down, two hours to go.
02:49Hands up everybody who knows who's going to win this one.
02:52Yeah, us neither.
02:54Ferrari, Toyota, and just if something really screwy Kappa happens,
03:00maybe even Cadillac.
03:02I was going to come out with a really cheesy comment there.
03:04I know, I know.
03:06The fans.
03:07Yay, they win.
03:08Well, 100%.
03:10And also, an awful lot more fans than may have watched it in the last few years
03:14because of the influx of manufacturers into the hypercar class, the influx of competition,
03:20and particularly, I mean, particularly and especially the car that leads the race now,
03:26the F word, that we are allowed to say on air, Ferrari.
03:30That is going to bring eyes, has brought eyes, I'm sure, to Le Monde,
03:33that have probably barely even heard of the race and have certainly never seen it.
03:38Brendan Hartley brings in the number eight Toyota after a valiant quad stint.
03:43Riko Hirakawa will take over, the young Japanese driver who joined the team last season.
03:49And right now, this is Coke versus Pepsi.
03:53This is whoever blinks first loses this race.
03:56And right now, Toyota and Ferrari are trying desperately to think of a way of outfumbling the other guy
04:04to gain some kind of material advantage because we've heard from drivers in both cars.
04:09It's just hearing from James Collado after his last in.
04:12He said, there is nothing between us.
04:14They haven't got an advantage over us.
04:16We haven't got an advantage over them in the long run.
04:19Sometimes you're on fresher tyres.
04:20Sometimes you've got a fresher driver.
04:22But the cars are pegged exactly as the rules had hoped to produce.
04:26This is the beginning of platinum era of sports car racing.
04:31And it features the biggest name in motor racing, Antonio Giovinazzi.
04:36Most consonants, that Ferrari.
04:38Ferrari.
04:39But it does feature Antonio Giovinazzi.
04:41And what a time for this young driver to get into a top-flight Ferrari program.
04:47Wow.
04:49Yeah.
04:50So let's see how Ferrari play this one.
04:53And also, all eyes are on you, Rio Hirokawa.
04:58Now, if there's ever been a time to shine, this is your moment, boy.
05:02Well, to answer a question from somebody who said, I've just woken up after watching them on.
05:12The only question I want to know is, is Rexy still racing?
05:15Answer, yes.
05:16Rexy is still racing.
05:17Rexy is still racing.
05:18Right on cue.
05:19Right on cue.
05:20Right on cue.
05:21Exactly.
05:22Exactly.
05:23And that is the Project 1 AO Porsche, which has spent time in the lead.
05:27There will be trouble for the IDEC car that started on pole position.
05:31Left rear puncture.
05:33And that will be from Davey, probably rather than Contact.
05:36And that car with Lawrence Hur at the wheel, a multiple winner here at Le Mans in LMP3 machinery road to Le Mans with the DKR engineering team.
05:48That car will creep back.
05:49It is actually on an out lap as well, so that is double pain for them.
05:55Giovinazzi is just about to come up on that car.
05:58And this is where you don't want a tire to come off the car in front of the Ferrari.
06:02It's also exactly the corner you were talking about earlier, Guy Smith.
06:05The corner you do not want to catch your car in the Porsche curves because you're going to have a big accident if you run out on the loose.
06:13Yeah, you can see how it really compromised his entry to the Porsche curves.
06:16So, turn 19, had to go wide, get a little bit onto the marbles.
06:20And you've seen, like we said before, Guy, you're reading the body language of the other car and you think, hang on a minute, that LMP2 car, they're usually much faster than that.
06:27It's moving around a lot.
06:28Yeah.
06:29Just give that an extra wide berth.
06:32Now then, inside the final two hours, these cars will need at least another two stops to make it to the finish.
06:40Toyota will stop earlier, meaning they will need more fuel.
06:45Meaning they will spend a fraction more time stationary than Ferrari.
06:51And it's on those tiny little twists of fate through the race that sometimes very close decisions get made.
07:01Leader in.
07:02Antonio was only into the car last time round.
07:08He's seen a couple of times they've topped up the pressurized oil system in the car.
07:13There is some attention around the fuel rig.
07:18Just checking the tyre wells, getting rid of bits of build-up of tyre rubber in there.
07:23You don't want a big fist-sized piece shaking itself loose and attaching itself to your slick and then thumping its way round and round and round for lap after lap.
07:32Seems like an eternity when you're sitting in the car, leaning the race and the fuel's going in.
07:39And that man in the fuel helmet could be really critical at the end because when they're going for a full tank, it's a full tank.
07:47When they're not, it's got to be to the tenth of a second.
07:52You don't want to put in a drop more than you absolutely have to.
07:56Because this is, this is going to probably be as close a top-class finish in the real world as we have seen.
08:04I mean, this could be down to metres.
08:07And in terms of Le Mans finishes, do we know what the closest one was?
08:12We do.
08:13I think the closest, is the closest real one still 1970 when 1969, when Jackie Hicks ran across the track, started, walked across the track, refused to run, started last.
08:26And one by metres.
08:30There is a spin from the puncture tyre.
08:37But that is a brand, I don't know if it's a brand who set tyres, he is on an out lap.
08:43There's a DKR engineering car.
08:45They've been in the wars, these guys.
08:46Yeah.
08:47They've run a tough race.
08:48It's been a torrid time.
08:50Charles Leclerc watching the action from the Ferrari garage.
08:53That's an unusual position for him, isn't it?
08:55To be in the Ferrari garage watching a race.
08:58He'd never be in a good mood normally if that was the case.
09:01It's quite often the other way around, though.
09:02I see a lot of the, uh, the WEC Ferrari drivers out of the F1 event.
09:07They, they work them hard.
09:08OK, the gap is 16.0.
09:12The gap is 16.0.
09:14Let's hunt them down.
09:15Again, really calm voice in a number eight car's race engineer.
09:22There's been a change in their engineering setup.
09:25For a number of years, they've had a different engineer on the car.
09:28But this is working really well.
09:30There's the relevant positioning on this track.
09:34Antonio Fuoco in the number 50 Ferrari.
09:38What's that?
09:3826 laps ago.
09:40He set the new fastest race lap.
09:42So that car, although it's not on the lead lap, it's still going very quickly.
09:47And a really good in-lap.
09:48That's brought the gap up to 16 seconds.
09:51Really good in-lap and a good stop.
09:54And again, we've heard this all the way through, either with the eight or the 51.
10:01Doing all the right jobs.
10:03You're hitting all the right numbers.
10:04Excellent work.
10:05Keep it up.
10:05You're going great.
10:07You know, and it, as a driver, what does that mean?
10:10You know, when you're, because you are sort of isolated.
10:12You don't have all the data.
10:15You don't have the big picture inside the cockpit with you unless you're really following somebody
10:19or they're really behind you.
10:20You need that continual update of how things are progressing, right?
10:26Yeah, when it's as close as this, you need all the information because, you know,
10:30you need to know if you need to be pushing harder, if you are, you know, making inroads on them.
10:35So any information at this stage is super important.
10:39Steph Wentworth in the pit lane.
10:40Steph, the part will be getting hot for Sammy.
10:42What's going on?
10:44Well, I know the battle is super hot in Hypercar right now,
10:47but it's also going off in LMP2.
10:51The Panis, the 65 Panis racing car.
10:56Confirm box, confirm box, box, box.
11:00Okay, so.
11:02Cadillac coming your way.
11:03Thanks for that Panis, the LMP2 car.
11:05So, this has had a battery issue and it's actually been in the garage for quite some time.
11:10It's like it's getting ready to go back out.
11:12A couple of garages down as well.
11:14There is an issue with the 39 Graf car.
11:17It looks like front right axle damage, but it seems like they're immediately heading back out.
11:22Tyres are going back on the car and they should be running out very soon.
11:25Okay, one of your colleagues in the pit lane wearing a suit, white suit for L'Equipe,
11:30is the wife of driver Patrick Pille of the 39 Graf racing car.
11:35So, undoubtedly, they will have an inside line on to what's going on with that car as well.
11:38You can see Earl Bamber waiting to take over the number two caddy.
11:42Former race winner for Porsche in Le Mans.
11:46And for the number two car, his teammate Richard Westbrook has that in third place.
11:51First time at Le Mans with this program, first time at Le Mans with the Cadillac Racing Organization
11:57for GM Racing Chief Laura Wontrop-Clauser.
12:01And if they can pull off that result here for Chip Ganassi and all of the team,
12:06that's going to be an enormous result.
12:08You know, you look at guys like Chip Ganassi and Roger Penske and, you know,
12:12the big names in U.S. racing, they don't just race in single-seaters, in IndyCars.
12:17They don't just race in NASCAR, they race in the Interweathertech Series as well.
12:22And you know that they know the weight and the gravitas of Le Mans,
12:27and you know that they want to win it.
12:29And here's the first chance they've had in half a lifetime
12:32to come and do so on an equal footing with the same machinery.
12:36And look how well they've stepped up to the plate.
12:38The Porsche Penske crews, the Cadillac Racing crews
12:41have been right in there swinging from the moment they arrived.
12:44Cadillac number two comes in, stops in the pit box.
12:50We saw El Bamber limbering up, getting ready.
12:53This driver change with Richard Westbrook.
12:56You see he just unplugged in.
12:58We've got this driver helmet cooler in that car.
13:03He's having a drink there, so he's staying in.
13:06So Earl was ready in case he decided he would get out.
13:10He's obviously going for another stint.
13:17Oh, number three going very slowly.
13:20The only luck this car has had is bad luck.
13:23Now what happened there?
13:25Has he had a little moment, or did the car need a bit of a reset?
13:28Again, Sebastian Bordet at the wheel.
13:34This car set light to itself, not in a major way,
13:37but no fire in a race car is ever trivial
13:39because there's so much wiring that is potentially going to get damaged.
13:44That was in hyperpole.
13:46He didn't get to set a lap, or not a fast enough lap, but...
13:49Do you think he's run wide in Arnage?
13:51Yeah, possible.
13:52It looked like recovering from a moment.
13:55Arnage will maybe, you know,
13:58maybe just gathering it all up out of Indianapolis.
14:00No rattling from underneath the car,
14:02but then the stones will probably be long gone.
14:07Carries on going, doesn't dive into the pits,
14:08and he's back up to full racing speed.
14:10Either a transit van or the Garage 56 NASCAR
14:13going into the pit lane in front of him.
14:15Is that car running again?
14:16No, it's still in the garage,
14:17so I'm not sure quite what that was.
14:18Oh, there's a trouble.
14:19There is trouble.
14:22That is Arnage.
14:24Is there fluid down there?
14:25He's been hit in the rear, look.
14:26He has been hit.
14:27Something's hit him on the rear.
14:29Oh, he's hit the rear.
14:31Oh, my goodness.
14:33Rio Hirokawa.
14:36And now again, forwards and backwards,
14:38forwards and backwards, forwards and backwards.
14:40He does not want to put the car in the gravel.
14:42He's missed the terra firma.
14:44He has been off backwards.
14:46Where has he been?
14:47Well, we heard the information getting relayed to him via Hartley, didn't he?
14:52He's about that very corner saying, watch out for the rear, because it's tricky.
14:56That wasn't a Cadillac avoiding the stationary Toyota.
15:00No, but that was down at Arnage, where we saw the recovering Bourdais.
15:05That was coming out of Arnage before Porsche Curve.
15:07So this is a separate incident.
15:08I think it's only just happened because I saw the yellow.
15:11Here we go.
15:12She's locked the rear brakes.
15:15Yeah, it is the rear.
15:16Sorry, it is Arnage, but it was the rear.
15:19Oh.
15:20That's exactly what Hartley was talking about.
15:21That's exactly what Hartley was talking about.
15:22Off the barriers.
15:23That's exactly what Hartley was talking about.
15:25So Cadillac's up to second.
15:30You saw when the car stopped.
15:31Did it have three marker lights on or two?
15:33Charles Leclerc.
15:34This is where, you know, this is where you cannot let your emotions take it all away from you.
15:42You know, you've both been in a situation where you're getting close and you're getting closer and you're getting closer.
15:48Don't lose focus on what you're doing, because that's when it all comes unstitched.
15:53Let's hear from the Toyota.
15:57Okay, deal.
15:57Box, box, box, box, box.
16:03Yep.
16:04Ah, that's not how I thought it was going to come to an end, Toyota's challenge today.
16:10No.
16:1116 seconds behind.
16:12He was keeping the gap around 16 seconds, but clearly driving so hard to maintain that gap.
16:20And exactly as...
16:21I think they've been struggling with the rear brakes, something with that car from very, very early on in this race.
16:27And they've been managing it well.
16:29We've been chasing the balance a lot.
16:31We've heard a lot of conversations.
16:32More front, less front, more roll bar, less roll bar.
16:35Changes made, changes reversed as the track has changed.
16:39And again, we talked about this earlier, the same may well have been going on, Guy, with the Ferrari team.
16:49We're just not hearing every message from every car.
16:52So it may be that some of theirs haven't been relayed on air, and they may have been doing similar work.
16:57Yeah, the number eight car, the radio traffic has been pretty busy, hasn't it, back and forth.
17:02So they've just been struggling with the balance pretty much for the second half of this race.
17:08But they've done a good job to keep the Ferrari in, you know, in striking distance.
17:13But that's a real shame for Raya there.
17:17Now, number two caddy, on and out lap, Richard Westbrook still at the wheel.
17:24You saw Earl Bamber watching the monitors.
17:26So it's on the same lap as the number eight Toyota, but it has not yet passed it.
17:32So it is not yet up to second place, but there's Earl wondering what might happen.
17:39There is the number two car, still showing three red lights on the side.
17:43Red is the color for hypercar.
17:45That's the backing number on the illuminated panels on the nose and on the doors.
17:50And three, of course, means it's in third place.
17:52Two in second place.
17:54Rio Hero Carwood rejoins.
17:55Fresh nose, fresh tail, and hopefully nothing damaged in between.
17:59But the caddy is on the lead lap.
18:02We now have three cars on the lead lap and an hour and 40 minutes to go.
18:08So a three-car Grand Prix with the field spread out.
18:12And Davidson, this could be highly entertaining.
18:16Yeah, it's just, like I said, though, it wasn't what I expected.
18:20The team have done well to turn that car around.
18:24But, yeah, bitterly disappointing for Rio.
18:27Let's see what he says.
18:27Okay, get back to the Cadillac.
18:29It's three minutes and 18 seconds.
18:31Three minutes.
18:32More than three minutes.
18:33We're okay.
18:35So rather than the attention being forwards, it's now shifted to who's behind.
18:42And that in itself is very telling.
18:45But, you know, that's damage management.
18:48That's making sure he knows he's not under attack from behind.
18:52Get your head down.
18:54Get up to speed.
18:55Go get the leader.
18:57Did you see in the background that shot?
18:58You had Kamui Kobayashi chatting with Pascal Vassilon in the back of the garage.
19:03It's just, you know, mimicking the overseer moment with the brakes and Pascal nodding along.
19:10Okay, man.
19:11The Toyota just left pit lane.
19:13So he is almost a lap down.
19:16Again, no risk.
19:17No risk.
19:18And that, again, is a critical damage limitation message.
19:24In fact, excuse me, as the 51 car comes out of the chicane, there he is.
19:30The car in front of him is the number eight Toyota.
19:34And we talked when you're hunting.
19:36We heard Brendan Hartley going, what's the gap?
19:38Where is he?
19:39Because he'd lost, in a change of pit stops, he'd lost visual contact with the Ferrari in front.
19:45Now, Giovinazzi has eyes on the second place car.
19:51Just pace yourself with him.
19:52Make him do the work.
19:54Don't overthink it.
19:55Just relax and breathe into the rhythm.
19:59He doesn't have to think about the car in front of him.
20:02He doesn't have to think about Hirocaro.
20:04This is the best radio message he could ever wish to hear.
20:07You're almost a lap ahead.
20:10Just sail it home.
20:11An hour and a half to go.
20:13Don't do any, no heroics.
20:15He doesn't have to care about the car in front.
20:16Just bring this thing home.
20:18You've got the speed.
20:19That suddenly takes some of the fuel equations out of the picture because they've got a little margin in terms of time.
20:26So if they need to spend time doing a splash and Toyota doesn't, then they're good.
20:31Both those teams were pushing as hard as they could.
20:37That's what was so enjoyable about it.
20:38You mentioned at the time, Guy, look at their lap times compared to anyone else.
20:42They have elevated themselves.
20:44They had elevated themselves to a whole new plane.
20:48And something was going to give.
20:49Something was going to crack.
20:50But Giovinazzi can't relax now because he, you know, once you switch off, he relaxes.
20:56That's when the mistakes can creep in.
20:58So you've got to keep the focus.
20:59But then you start to listen to the car every gear shift.
21:01What was that noise?
21:03It's tricky.
21:04Well, let's get down to the pit lane and see what the temperature is amongst some of our contenders.
21:12It's been a good race for you guys so far.
21:21As you know, it's not over until it's over, is it?
21:23No.
21:24I mean, it's been a wild race.
21:26We had a really good start.
21:27We led some laps.
21:28The first ever laps here for Cadillac Racing in Le Mans.
21:31So they was kind of proud.
21:32And then we had the rain and the night.
21:34You saw a lot of incidents.
21:35A lot of cars crash out.
21:36But we've managed to survive.
21:37And still two hours to go.
21:39And it's still one-third of a normal WEC race.
21:42And we see what madness happens in that.
21:44So, you know, we just saw the Toyota have an issue.
21:47We can have our own issues.
21:48So trying to hold on there for that podium position.
21:51And you guys are on the lead lap now.
21:53Is there any chance of you guys surpassing Toyota?
21:56We saw what happened to them.
21:57No.
21:57I mean, I think the Ferrari and the Toyota have got a little bit more pace than us.
22:01But I'm going to jump in for the last two cents.
22:04All right.
22:04Well, good luck.
22:05We'll see where we end up at the end of this.
22:06It's been a crazy race.
22:08The guys behind me have done a fantastic job.
22:10You know, Cadillac's done an amazing job to develop the car in the last 18 months to arrive here.
22:16And, you know, to lead and to be fighting is great.
22:19Well, we look forward to seeing you back in the car.
22:23Thank you, Steph Wentworth.
22:25Thank you, Earl Bamba.
22:26So, yeah, they're not getting their hopes up too much.
22:29See, the garage 56th century still on the pit apron.
22:33But it's out of the garage now.
22:34Mike Rockenfella in the Henrik Motorsport Camaro.
22:38There it is.
22:39Looks like their transmission swap fix has been made.
22:43And they are ready to go back out.
22:45Out to comes the 93 Peugeot.
22:48This car currently in ninth place in the hypercar class.
22:51Ninth overall.
22:52There's Paul DiResta watching intently from the garage.
22:56Peugeot disappointing in qualifying.
22:59They didn't manage to find the pace they wanted to get anywhere in the hyperpole shootout.
23:05But as soon as the race came, the car really came alive and showed the potential that they've had shown in free practice.
23:11And unfortunately, incidents robbed them of a chance to challenge for the podium.
23:16But it's been a leader.
23:18As has Cadillac.
23:19As has Porsche.
23:20As has Ferrari.
23:21As has Toyota.
23:22I think the only brand, brands not to have led, have been Glickenhaus and the Van Roo.
23:31So all of the other main hitters in the hypercar class have been pretty much there on pace.
23:38And a number of the Porsches have led the race.
23:41Both Toyotas.
23:43Both Ferraris at one stage or another.
23:45One factor that has helped keep the hypercars together, the LMP2s together and the GTE amps together,
24:06particularly when the weather was vile, is the new set of safety car regulations where the three safety cars that we've used for a decade or more here at Le Mans
24:17are all scrambled to bring the field under control.
24:20And then once the major incident that's required a safety car is fixed, they all merge into one queue.
24:26All the cars merge into one queue.
24:28Then they're waved around.
24:30Anybody who is in the queue ahead of their class leader gets to go around and join the back of the queue.
24:35And then all three classes are organized in terms of speed.
24:40So the hypercars at the front, LMP2s in the middle and the GTEs at the back.
24:45That's helped keep the racing alive.
24:47It's stopped people losing laps unnecessarily just because of the quibbles, foibles of fate and where you get stuck in the safety car queues.
24:57Now, that could also bring our field back together if we get a safety car in the next half an hour, because in the final 60 minutes of the race,
25:07if there is a safety car, we will not have the merge, we will not have the wave around, we will not have the drop back.
25:14So we will go with three safety cars because it will take a good couple of laps to merge and drop everybody back after the danger has been passed.
25:22So that can no longer take effect after we get into the beginning of the final hour.
25:28Nicky Katzberg on board the 33 Corvette and he will do the final 90 minutes in that car.
25:33There is the current challenger in third place, Rahel Frey in the Iron Dames Porsche.
25:40They've been in the lead battle and Rexy, the Project 1 T-Rex liveried Porsche up to second place.
25:47But the Corvette of Nicky Katzberg retains the lead after that pit stop and the Oman Racing TF support Aston Martin.
25:56That's the orange car in the background of the shop.
25:58That's fourth place.
25:59So we're looking at the gap there between Matteo Cairoli in Rexy and the Iron Dames Porsche.
26:05There's the challenge though.
26:06The ORT by TF Sport.
26:08Charlie Eastwood driven Aston Martin is the challenger for the final podium spot.
26:14And Rahel Frey needs to keep that gap alive.
26:17Yeah, Charlie Eastwood's been absolutely flying all race long in that car.
26:22And he's slowly catching, catching the whole time.
26:25Good graphics there at the bottom of the screen.
26:30He put in an absolutely brilliant stint during the night.
26:34You see the bodywork still all skewed as it's taken a bit of damage at some point.
26:42Certainly not affecting the performance that much for Charlie.
26:46Yeah, he's probably finding the extra few tenths in himself that might be robbed by that aerodynamic.
26:52The only slight issue when the aerodynamics or the bodywork moves is the aerodynamics move.
26:57And things like where the low pressure areas that help suck the hot air from out under the bonnet.
27:02If that disappears, then you start to run problems with overheating.
27:06Because although you're going through the air at the same speed, if the air is trying to be rammed in by the movement of the car but can't escape significantly, then you stall the air in the radiators.
27:18And if the air is flying in your radiators, these cars don't have auxiliary fans, so you run the risk of getting into an overheating problem.
27:26So the TF Sport team watching there, the ORT by TF Sport, Oman Racing Team.
27:33Pole Citizen Spa.
27:35Last time out and looking for a first podium here at Le Mans for an Omani driver.
27:41Ahmed El-Harty is the key to that programme.
27:46Young man from Oman.
27:49Now, Harty had a pole position, didn't he, to confine pole in Spa.
27:53Yeah, we were setting up the Ben Keating-Sara Bovee battle and then, boom, there he was.
27:59Watch this, he said.
28:00Quick as he right, absolutely.
28:01Didn't quite find that pace here at Le Mans, but nevertheless, the car has been very resilient in the race.
28:12In fact, the only TF Sport car that has not been a right nut of pain all the way through.
28:18It's their only car remaining in the race out of three Aston Martins and an LMP2 car that they started.
28:26And he is closing, little by little, on Rahal Frey.
28:30All right, so the Swiss driver in the pink car.
28:34He'll have to hang on, stay ahead of Osterman Charlie Eastwood.
28:46So the Iron Lynx Iron Dames Garage.
28:50The Iron Lynx car, yellow car of Claudio Skiavone, out yesterday in the daylight hours with an accident.
28:57Claudio, the key behind a lot of this Iron Lynx programme.
29:05Effectively run by the Puccini brothers, they're the joint team managers.
29:08So it is back out of the pit lane.
29:17Well, my prediction was that we'd finished 19th.
29:20It's currently 39th, so I was even further away than that, Davidson, who reckoned 29th.
29:25And was jubilant for about two laps when it moved from 30th to 29th, only for then to move up to 28th.
29:30Have you mentioned the issue for Pannis racing car?
29:34We had a brief talk about Pannis.
29:36What else do you know?
29:37It's a master switch on the starter motor.
29:40That's not what we definitely did not get that.
29:43It's a master switch and starter motor.
29:45Can't start the car.
29:47Can't start the car.
29:48Yeah.
29:49Which means you don't stop it, which means it's part.
29:51Just a few years ago, it was the same issue for, I think it was a G-Drive car.
29:57I've got a funny feeling.
29:58The opening two was in that car as well.
30:00So it's obviously Yob's fault.
30:03That Pannis helmet's not bringing in much luck, is it?
30:06No, not really.
30:07Might have brought them a few smiles from the bus, but...
30:10Was that the one where they drilled holes in the rear deck so they could stick a stick in and hit the starter motor?
30:17The one year where they went to the P2, can I?
30:20Sorry?
30:21Sorry, you're pointing it.
30:21Sorry, no.
30:22I'm just saying pit stop for car 34 under investigation, so...
30:26That is our long-time leader in the LMP2 category.
30:30Still in front of the Inter-Europol card, despite having to serve a drive-through.
30:34It served a drive-through this morning for overtaking under the safety car.
30:41And it turns out, we find from the official notices,
30:44that the offence had been committed at 8 o'clock on Saturday,
30:50and the penalty was applied post 9 a.m., I think, on Sunday.
30:55Yeah, so that's something of a large goal.
30:57Quite a while to examine the details there.
30:59Ooh!
30:59You can see how Rahel Frey is responding to the pressure from the Aston Martin.
31:07This is for a place on the podium.
31:12And an important result this would be, come what may,
31:15because the results behind Corvette,
31:18if indeed the 43 car is present to you, as you see.
31:22Is it Rahel Frey?
31:23It is Rahel Frey.
31:25Leaping over the kerbs.
31:25Sorry, can you...
31:26What's that version here, didn't you hear that?
31:28With...
31:29Yeah, we don't know.
31:30We don't know.
31:31Coming very close indeed to the title.
31:34The Corvette won't make it
31:35if we get the cars finishing, broadly speaking, where they do.
31:39The bigger problems in terms of keeping the World Championship,
31:42the WC, alive,
31:44is that a large number of the contended cars are out.
31:46But Project One...
31:50Ah, yeah, Project One have just been in and out of the pit lane.
31:52That's why Matteo Karoli, A,
31:54looked slow going up through the Dunlop curves.
31:57I thought, ooh, is that the normal speed?
31:59And B appears now to be fourth, not second.
32:01So this is now the battle for second place.
32:04Iron Dame's Porsche versus ORT by TF Aston.
32:08Corvette Racing, number 33 car still out.
32:12History awaits here, whatever happens here.
32:14Of course, the major headline is Ferrari.
32:18And coming back 50 years afterwards,
32:22and boy, do they look happy about it,
32:23but there's all sorts of other records.
32:25One in particular about nations and drivers and winning
32:29in this 100th year of the Le Mans 24 hours.
32:33Should the 51 car win, I believe I'm right,
32:37that will put James Gladow winning,
32:40will mean that the same number of French wins per driver
32:44is equaled by the UK.
32:46Ooh, wow.
32:46Well, I bawl the living daylights out of everybody
32:52by saying every year this is Britain's biggest motor race.
32:55Yep.
32:58It has been, well, British entries, private or factory,
33:02have been a part of this since 1923.
33:07And against the advice of W.O. Bentley,
33:10a group of well-heeled enthusiasts brought their Bentley over
33:15to take on the Continental makes
33:18and fly the flag for the British motor industry.
33:22And then seeing how well they did,
33:25W.O. decided, actually, there might be something to that.
33:28Yes.
33:29He was always a man with a great view
33:33on promoting the brand being a good thing.
33:37And somehow there was just a little germ of an idea there.
33:42And that led, of course,
33:44directly to Guy Smith winning Le Mans in a Bentley.
33:46Absolutely.
33:48Eventually.
33:49In a roundabout way.
33:50Yeah, no, no, not at all in a roundabout way.
33:52It was a direct response to the history of Bentley
33:57when Bentley changed owners most recently.
34:00That generated the impetus to recreate success at Le Mans
34:07and to relive those glory years.
34:09And, yeah, you were part of it.
34:10I mean, to be a British driver,
34:12part of winning Le Mans in a British car,
34:14there's not many have done it over the years.
34:17And there's been a century of trying.
34:19Yeah, no, absolutely.
34:21There's a lot of discussion, isn't there,
34:22down at Inter-Europol.
34:23They're nervous about whatever's under investigation here.
34:26Well, if they get a drive-through,
34:28and they've got a drive-through before,
34:30it'll take 32 seconds.
34:32They're currently 26 seconds ahead
34:34of the second-place Team WRT car of Robert Kubica.
34:38Yeah, it's going to be very tight.
34:40They have got a pace advantage
34:41to have had that throughout this Ladder Park event.
34:44So if it's called now,
34:46there's an opportunity still for that battle.
34:48They do stand, by the way,
34:50to be the first ever Polish-class winners here as a team.
34:53That I don't find hard to believe.
34:55I haven't looked at everybody in the 1920s, but...
34:591933.
35:00OK, there we go.
35:0190 years ago.
35:03Wow.
35:03And that was a DNF.
35:04And here is the battle for second, then.
35:07Rahel Frey in the pink Porsche,
35:09Charlie Eastwood in the orange,
35:10Aston Martin.
35:11Oh!
35:17And this is...
35:19Well, last time round,
35:21up to Dunlop Chicane.
35:22Rahel, just too deep under braking,
35:25trying really hard to hang on to this.
35:27Really, really hard to hang on to this.
35:29This is not about second place.
35:31This may be, in fact,
35:33about any position on a podium.
35:35And Eastwood's got the speed advantage,
35:37pulls out of the slipstream guy.
35:39He's put the car exactly where it needs to be,
35:41on the racing line.
35:44He's just got to try and hang on there,
35:46run the outside.
35:46You're making a clean pass.
35:48Brave stuff there by Charlie.
35:51He's in a rich vein of fame of form, isn't he?
35:54He just seems to be driving better and better
35:56throughout this year.
35:57Whatever he's driving,
35:58whether it's a P2 car,
35:59he comes here as the overall Asian Amon,
36:01series champion.
36:03And he put his trust in Rahel Faye there,
36:05didn't he?
36:05As a fellow pro.
36:06I'm on the outside.
36:08You can tag me into a big spin,
36:10but I know you're better than that.
36:11You know,
36:11they've raced against this pink car
36:13for a number of years now,
36:15and they trust the drivers.
36:17And you have to have that trust
36:18when you are going on those outside passes.
36:21You've got to have that respect,
36:22especially at that kind of speed.
36:23And clearly that was there.
36:24But she's fighting back.
36:26She's not letting this go.
36:27She realises this is a fight for a podium finish,
36:31if not a potential win,
36:33if anything happens there to the Corvette.
36:34So she's got to keep on the back of that Aston Martin
36:38and keep the pressure on.
36:39Look at the rate of attrition in GTE Am.
36:42That's fast.
36:43I've never seen it.
36:44Nine cars running.
36:47And, okay,
36:48the weather definitely played its part.
36:50We've had lots of wet races before,
36:52but it was the sort of mostly dry,
36:55absolute delage,
36:56and dry again nature of the track.
36:58I think that really caused the havoc.
37:00It wasn't just in GTE Am,
37:02but there were cars off driven by
37:05very, very well-experienced
37:07and highly respected drivers
37:09in all three classes.
37:10Four of those GTM cars were eliminated
37:13in two separate two-car incidents,
37:15the 60 and the 60,
37:17effectively took each other out.
37:19It was the same with the 55 GMB Motorsport Aston Martin
37:22and the number 21 play, of course,
37:24at 66 car was part of a multi-car pileup as well.
37:29He was an innocent victim
37:30of somebody else checking up
37:31in a next slow rather than slow zone.
37:35Race leader goes by the class leader.
37:39There was only one car in the invitational cars.
37:41I don't think that's diluted, diluted in any way,
37:44the enjoyment of the Hendrick Motorsports crew.
37:47Jimmy Johnson, seven-time NASCAR winner.
37:49I hadn't asked and I hadn't had a chance to,
37:52but I would like to bet
37:53that Jensen's relationship with this programme
37:56didn't come because he's Jensen Button
37:58Formula One world champion.
38:00I sense that it came
38:02and I don't remember it as a fact.
38:05I know that Jimmy Johnson has done
38:06the Race of Champions.
38:08I know that Jensen Button
38:09has done the Race of Champions.
38:10I sense it's off duty in a hotel somewhere
38:13where that friendship first has started to grow
38:17and I think that was the link that brought them in.
38:21The Rocky Link, not too sure,
38:22but he's well known in North America.
38:25Good pair of hands.
38:26I'm not sure if he's done road course races
38:28for Hendrick Motorsport before now,
38:30but that was a good addition as well,
38:32a man who knows what it takes to win Le Mans.
38:35It goes through Carnage, 311 car just behind,
38:40so 16 very American cylinders circulating in close formation.
38:48One other thing to watch,
38:49we've got an hour and 20 minutes left in this race,
38:52Bergeau's in formation two.
38:54The gap on track between the lead car
38:57and the second place number eight total
39:00is opening up again in three minutes and 24 seconds.
39:04That means something like six or seven seconds
39:07on track between them.
39:08And if the 51 car pushes and overtakes the number eight,
39:14there's a lap down,
39:15then the safety car is not going to help them.
39:17No.
39:20Unless by the vagaries of making a pit stop
39:23in the next 20 minutes,
39:24somehow the Toyota stays out,
39:27the Ferrari doesn't,
39:28and then they end up,
39:28but I mean,
39:29that's all lives and buts.
39:30Again,
39:31a safety car is unlikely to be weather-related.
39:3350 on pit road,
39:36as is the team WRT car second in P2.
39:39Yep.
39:4231 Robin Fries has just been through and gone as well.
39:46That WRT car,
39:47their second car,
39:48is fourth in LMP2.
39:50Now they've got history with this track as well,
39:52having nearly had a 1-2,
39:54having had one cast off on the final lap
39:56and still claiming victory
39:57by what's probably the tightest ever margin in LMP2,
40:00one of the tightest ever winning margins in any class here.
40:04The Ferrari will obviously have to stop earlier.
40:07They've fueled the Toyota
40:09when it came in for repairs.
40:11Another car on pit road,
40:13it's one we've been quite quiet about
40:14in the last few hours,
40:15but it needs its class.
40:16It's the 45 LMP2 Pro Am car
40:19of Algar Pro Racing
40:20with attrition in the LMP2 class.
40:24The Portuguese flag team,
40:26Colin Brown at the wheel as it came in,
40:28dominates that class right now.
40:30It's in the still,
40:31what is that,
40:31four laps of the good.
40:33Over the second place cool racing car,
40:37there's the Jakobsen out there still.
40:39The young man signed,
40:41or confirmed the sign recently,
40:43as the Peugeot Junior driver.
40:46Third place in that car class,
40:48and what much further back
40:49is the DKR engineering car?
40:51Well, I was looking at the DKR car
40:53and seeing,
40:54because next on the timing screen
40:56in 35th place overall,
40:58rather than 34th,
40:59is Prima Racing's,
41:01and that's not Pro Am,
41:02is it though?
41:03No, that's a Pro car.
41:04The Graf Racing program car,
41:06Patrick Peelay,
41:07number 39 car,
41:10six laps further back.
41:10It's six laps further back.
41:12So, third place looks relatively safe for DKR.
41:16It's back out and running in the lead.
41:18It's a warning flag,
41:21by the way,
41:21for that cutting across
41:23underneath the Dunlop Bridge
41:24by Rahaf Rai.
41:25Yeah.
41:27Pleased to see that
41:28race control makes the mistake I keep making
41:32with the changes of numbers
41:33between various championships we cover.
41:3583 and 85 has been something
41:37removal piece.
41:38Yes.
41:38Here's the 85 car
41:39that gets the warning.
41:41Corvette Racing lead,
41:42a minute and 32 seconds clear.
41:45Nicky Katzberg from Charlie Eastwood.
41:48Further 3.2 seconds now
41:50to Rahaf Rai.
41:51The podium positions into Europol
41:53with a pit stop under investigation.
41:57Lead,
41:5841 car from Team WRT
42:00just out,
42:02back onto track.
42:04And that should mean
42:04they are one further full stop
42:07from home.
42:07Now,
42:08the other thing is
42:09that WRT now stopping
42:11and Interpol,
42:12Inter-Europol,
42:13not having stopped now
42:15means that
42:16if there is a penalty applied
42:19immediately,
42:20Inter-Europol take it immediately,
42:22they will emerge from the pits
42:24in the lead.
42:25How they then
42:26get to the end on fuel
42:27compared to WRT,
42:29I don't know.
42:31But the longer it goes now,
42:32the closer to the end,
42:34and we talked about this
42:35with the Ferrari and Toyota.
42:37Toyota stopping a little earlier.
42:39The earlier you are now
42:41in the fuel strategy,
42:43the more it might hurt
42:44at the end of the race.
42:46Louise Beckett in the pit lane.
42:48What do you know, Louise?
42:49I'm standing right next to the Inter-Europol 34 team now.
42:54The lollipop guy is out.
42:57He's calling the car in.
42:59They've got a fresh set of tyres for him.
43:00I'm assuming they're going to do the stop for...
43:03Oh, no.
43:03They're doing a full service right now.
43:06And there's a hopping
43:07Fabio Scherer
43:08getting it into the car.
43:10You could at least have carried him.
43:12Oh, that would be outside assistance,
43:13I suppose.
43:16So to explain why Fabio Scherer is hopping,
43:20there's foot run over by the Corvette,
43:21we believe.
43:22Yes.
43:22Yeah.
43:23I believe it was the Corvette.
43:25Louise will...
43:26Just downstream of them,
43:29towards pit in,
43:29is their sister car.
43:31The garage is down on that.
43:31What's the next one along?
43:33So they've got Eidec 48,
43:36and then the next one is the 33 Corvette.
43:39Yeah.
43:40I'm sure I read so from the Horde somewhere
43:42it was 33.
43:44He's right on the seat.
43:46He's watching the pit stop with us.
43:49Well, it's a new colour scheme,
43:50a few shades of green and yellow
43:51for the favourite green and yellow Inter-Europol team.
43:55They win this one,
43:56but they're never going to change it again, are they?
43:58No, and why would you?
43:59I mean, and the other car was a sort of mirror image
44:01with a white background
44:02and narrow yellow and green stripes.
44:04Now, what were they yelling about there?
44:05Were they high-fiving?
44:07I think they were pleased with that stop.
44:08Yeah.
44:1029 for WRT.
44:11What was that stop for at the Europol?
44:13It was exactly the same.
44:1529, so they lost nothing.
44:19Okay.
44:20So now,
44:21we wait and see
44:22whether there is a penalty coming for them
44:25in the last 75 minutes.
44:31We were told
44:36that there is an investigation,
44:38so we'll wait and see what happens.
44:40There is the second-place car,
44:43the number 41 WRT car.
44:4524 seconds is the gap
44:46and Lili Delatraz hustling now.
44:48That means that
44:51if Albert Costa has to
44:54serve a penalty,
44:56he will come out
44:57eight seconds behind
44:58as of now.
45:00It's a 32-second drive-through.
45:02That's the pit lane delta.
45:08Okay.
45:09Ferrari getting ready
45:10for driver changes.
45:12Is he on his second, Sting Guy?
45:18In the lead car?
45:20Or was he in his first?
45:21I don't recall.
45:22I think he might be in his second.
45:26I think Antonio Fuoco
45:28might also be in the second.
45:32Yeah, Fuoco was definitely on his second,
45:35possibly his third even, actually.
45:38And back home,
45:39when you're sitting on your sofa,
45:40you go,
45:40yeah, but he's in the car,
45:42leave him in,
45:43you know, leave him in.
45:45No, it's another 75 minutes to go.
45:48And if he's been in there
45:49for an hour and a half already,
45:51okay, yeah, I'm good to go,
45:52I'm good to go,
45:53except I'm going to be good to go
45:55in another hour
45:56when it might really, really
45:57come down.
45:58Absolutely.
45:58Gritty gritty.
46:00Just don't,
46:01don't change things
46:03just for sort of some
46:04emotional reaction.
46:07If it's due
46:08for him to come in
46:10and jump out of the car,
46:11then swap drivers,
46:13you're going to be on a top step
46:14of the podium anyway,
46:15or you're not,
46:17but that is unlikely
46:18to be changed
46:19for the better
46:19by not changing drivers
46:21and keeping them fresh.
46:22Sometimes as a driver,
46:23the best place to be
46:24is actually in the car
46:25because the time passes faster
46:26and you're in control.
46:27There's nothing worse
46:28than standing,
46:29watching the car
46:30with a final sort of hour
46:31or so to go
46:32and not being in control.
46:33So it's a real
46:35sort of toss-up really
46:36which way to go
46:36but yeah,
46:38Giovinazzi
46:38has driven brilliantly so far.
46:40The other advantage
46:41is with fireproof gloves
46:42on it's much harder
46:43to chew your fingernails.
46:44True.
46:45And you tend to be busy.
46:46It's only a second stint
46:46at the moment
46:47to Giovinazzi.
46:48Second stint, yeah.
46:48I thought they had both chased
46:51at the same time.
46:51So our class leaders
46:52in hypercar,
46:53Ferraris,
46:54Antonio Giovinazzi,
46:55Fabio Scherer
46:55for Inter-Europol
46:56still leading in LMP2
46:58and Corvette Racing's
47:00Nicky Hatzberg.
47:02He's got a Texan hat
47:03like everybody else.
47:04Nicky Hatzberg
47:05is leading
47:05in the Corvette car number 33.
47:09So we have a total of,
47:12do we only have,
47:13do we have still 40 running cars?
47:15I thought we might have lost
47:17another one or two.
47:18With the Jota car
47:19a long-term pick
47:21for at the moment.
47:21Yes, I suspect
47:22the finish of walking wounded.
47:25Will be a last lap wonder there.
47:27Ready to send it out
47:29but not long before the end.
47:30So whatever ails that car
47:32is clearly not going
47:33to last for long.
47:33And that should be,
47:36assuming nobody else
47:37falls by the wayside,
47:38our 40th and final finisher.
47:41At the moment
47:42we have lost 22 cars
47:44from our 62 starters.
47:46Is that a high rate
47:48a bit of nutrition
47:48that we've had in
47:50a good decade?
47:53It's been a while
47:55since I can remember
47:56seeing this many outs
47:57and a lot of it
47:58weather-related,
47:59lots of incidents,
48:00lots of the multi-car
48:01incidents at that.
48:04It's lacked for nothing
48:05in terms of drama
48:06of the welcome
48:07and unwelcome sort,
48:08has it?
48:09Well, it's been a hard one
48:11to walk away from,
48:12Guy,
48:12whenever you,
48:14somebody taps you
48:15on the shoulder
48:15and goes,
48:15all right,
48:16sunshine,
48:16off you go.
48:17You're kind of,
48:18oh, yeah,
48:18no, but I'll just watch another.
48:20And so actually,
48:21one of the great things
48:22that's happened
48:23in our commentary lives
48:24in the last few years,
48:25other than having
48:26fantastic guests
48:27in the booth like you,
48:28is that we've now got
48:29a sort of double-sized room
48:31so we've got somewhere
48:32to sit and watch
48:33and listen
48:34when we're not on air.
48:35And actually,
48:35that really helps
48:37with our understanding
48:38and living of the race
48:39because we're like those,
48:41you know,
48:41all the fans at home
48:42who are sitting
48:42in the armchair
48:43where they were
48:44at lunchtime yesterday
48:45with the wife going,
48:46are you going to sit
48:47there all day then?
48:48Well, yeah,
48:49if I can.
48:50Right, I'm off then.
48:51I'll see you tomorrow.
48:52And the screens
48:53and the iPad
48:54with the timing
48:55and the app
48:56and Ferrari's garage cam
48:57and the Corvette
48:58or the Camaro garage.
49:00It's like being at home,
49:00isn't it?
49:01You wait for the adverts
49:01to come and you make
49:02a cup of tea.
49:03Well, you know,
49:03here the adverts
49:05aren't coming.
49:05We just want to
49:06watch the show.
49:07So it's,
49:08I think whether you're a fan
49:09or you're a part of the show,
49:11it's just so exciting
49:14what we're seeing here.
49:15Yeah.
49:15I'm watching the tone
49:16on social media
49:17as well as bumping
49:18into a couple of people
49:19between commentary extents.
49:21Got 51 on the radio.
49:22Let's see what's going on
49:23for the race leader.
49:24We've got to that point.
49:25As a mark
49:36of that level
49:37of nutrition last year,
49:38eight cars
49:39plus one non-classified car
49:40this year,
49:4122.
49:42Wow.
49:4322 what?
49:44Non-classified cars?
49:4522 cars
49:46already retired
49:48in this race.
49:49Last year,
49:49it was one non-classified car
49:51and eight retirements.
49:52Wow.
49:52It's almost three times
49:54the level.
49:55Well,
49:55and I don't think
49:57that is all weather-related,
49:59but yeah,
50:00incident breeds incident
50:02breeds incident.
50:03where there's been a slow zone
50:04that has actually caused
50:06or drivers have had incidents.
50:09DKR in the pit lane as well.
50:10We've just seen them in there.
50:12Vectors porter in,
50:14Edex porter in,
50:15and so too Action Express
50:17and the 94 Peugeot team.
50:19They've come and gone.
50:21Louis Delatrasse is closing
50:22on into Europol
50:24and he's taken seven seconds
50:26out of that lead
50:27since those two pit stops
50:29just a couple of laps ago.
50:30Wow.
50:31So out is Antonio Giovinazzi
50:33and in,
50:35perhaps for the rest of the race,
50:37is their talisman,
50:39Alessandro Pierre Guidi.
50:41Three-time GTE Pro World Champion
50:43with teammate James Collado.
50:45What a great pairing they have been
50:48in terms of cohesion and success
50:50and just pure speed
50:52and aggression behind the wheel.
50:55Alessandro, by the way,
50:56together with Antonio Giovinazzi
50:57would be the 19th and 20th
51:00Italian winners
51:01of this fantastic race
51:03which would take their nation
51:05ahead of the United States.
51:08Both have 18 winners at the moment.
51:10Oh, 18 wins, sorry.
51:12And was Luigi Cianetti
51:13then counted as US or Italian?
51:18Because he was a US citizen
51:22so I'm assuming
51:23he would have raced
51:24with a US license.
51:27I'll check that for you.
51:29Luigi Cianetti won twice
51:30in Ferraris,
51:32became Ferrari's
51:33North American distributor
51:35and ran his own team,
51:36North America racing team
51:37for many years.
51:38OK, new mediums, new mediums, new mediums.
51:44OK, let's just get our free practice program
51:47underway here.
51:49We've got a 67-minute session.
51:51Let's see what we can learn.
51:55Italian.
51:56Let's get down into our lead battle
51:59in GTE-M.
52:05I'm with Ahmed Al-Harty
52:07from the 25 ORT by TF.
52:09Oh my goodness.
52:11How are...
52:12This is a terrible question,
52:13but how are you feeling right now?
52:16Honestly, this might be the first time
52:17where I don't think
52:18I can get the words out of my mouth,
52:21to be honest.
52:21It's...
52:22Wow.
52:23What a way to race
52:2524 hours of GEMON.
52:27You can see we're really,
52:28really fighting for this podium
52:30and it means so much
52:31for everybody here.
52:32The hard work that was happening
52:34throughout the last 16 years,
52:37you know,
52:38is here right now
52:39and everybody drove their heart out.
52:42The team is working
52:42unbelievable with the strategy.
52:45All the other competitors
52:47are really amazing
52:48and they've all, you know,
52:49been driving at the best levels possible
52:50and, you know,
52:51we survived
52:52the first four hours
52:53and then we survived the night
52:54and the rain
52:55and the visibility
52:56and now it's just about
52:58trying to survive
52:59this last hour and a bit.
53:00So, you know,
53:02I don't like talking much
53:04before the race finishes,
53:05but, you know,
53:06it's such a special thing
53:07and I hope...
53:08I hope everyone's watching
53:09back in Oman
53:10and I hope that, you know,
53:11we can bring it
53:12in a very, very decent position,
53:14hopefully.
53:15Summed it up perfectly.
53:16Thank you so much.
53:18Ahmed El-Harty
53:18with Louise Beckett,
53:20the newly named OMG
53:21by TF,
53:23the Amali racing team,
53:24the orange car
53:24in second place
53:25in the GTM class
53:27and you can hear
53:28he is definitely feeling
53:30very tired and emotional
53:31right now
53:32and again,
53:33like our female racing drivers
53:36in the race,
53:37you know,
53:37there's a proud history
53:38of women racing
53:39in this event.
53:40It dates right back
53:41to the very earliest days,
53:43the 1930s,
53:44but, again,
53:45if you don't see it,
53:47you can't see it,
53:48you know,
53:48he will inspire,
53:50undoubtedly,
53:51another whole bunch
53:52of young,
53:54enthusiastic kids
53:55in Oman,
53:56in the Muscat
53:57and other regions
53:58around,
53:59you know,
53:59that part of the Middle East
54:01to go out and do things
54:03because they see it happening
54:04and, Guy,
54:05you know,
54:06we're used to that
54:07in the UK,
54:08we're used to that
54:09in Europe,
54:09we've got a century
54:10of motorsport
54:11and more to draw on,
54:12we're used to seeing it,
54:13we grew up with it,
54:15there's lots of parts
54:16of the world
54:16where it's a new thing
54:18and it encourages people
54:20to get involved.
54:21Absolutely.
54:22And with this race
54:22as well being the centenary,
54:24you know,
54:24we've got eyeballs,
54:25we've got people
54:25watching the sport
54:27and hopefully we're going
54:28to create a new fan base,
54:29we're going to get new people,
54:31Ferrari fans,
54:32Cadillac fans from the US,
54:34racing fans,
54:35NASCAR fans,
54:36just racing fans.
54:37It's been an amazing event.
54:38You know,
54:39how can you not be
54:40impressed and excited
54:42by this race
54:44and this championship?
54:45I think,
54:45actually,
54:45you talked about there,
54:46racing fans,
54:47NASCAR fans
54:48who would previously,
54:50almost certainly,
54:51unlikely to have been
54:52watching them on,
54:53will have tuned in
54:54because of Hendrick Motorsport
54:56and Jimmy Johnson
54:57and gone,
54:58what's this all about?
54:59The same way
55:00that Formula One fans
55:01who are fans of Ferrari
55:02will have tuned in
55:03to see what's going on
55:04just because they know
55:05Ferrari are doing it
55:06and people who,
55:08maybe not even Formula One fans,
55:09but have heard that Ferrari
55:11is racing this crazy race,
55:13there will be
55:13all sorts of eyes on it
55:14and if you are
55:15a first-time fan
55:16and you've in any way
55:17enjoyed it,
55:19tell your friends,
55:20we race these cars
55:22several times a year,
55:23the next race will be
55:24in Monza in July,
55:25we'll race then
55:26in Fuji in Japan
55:28and we'll race in Bahrain.
55:29And then an eight-race
55:30calendar next year.
55:31Yeah.
55:32So there is a lot of this stuff
55:35on air and online,
55:36you can catch up with it all.
55:39And just a little info from James,
55:42he had a couple of times
55:44the power steering
55:45go a little hard
55:46in Fast Indy,
55:47so just take extra care there.
55:49That's not what you want to hear.
55:54Now, Graham,
55:54you were jumping up and down,
55:56getting ready to tell us
55:57something about something
55:58a little earlier.
55:58Just simply,
55:59you mentioned the NASCAR
56:00garage 56 effort
56:02and if you're watching,
56:03you're a NASCAR fan,
56:04I'm sure you're looking
56:05at the timing screens as well
56:07and you're thinking,
56:08yeah,
56:08that's a bit disappointing.
56:09Don't be.
56:10You've made friends here
56:11for your part in the sport.
56:13All the cynicism
56:16about, you know,
56:17a novelty entry
56:18melted away
56:19in a nanosecond.
56:21The technology,
56:22the team spirit,
56:23the aptitude,
56:24the aptitude,
56:25the outlook
56:26have all been
56:27warmly embraced here
56:28and you've flown the flag
56:30very proudly.
56:31And damn it,
56:32the noise.
56:32Oh, yes.
56:33You know,
56:34like I said,
56:35in the middle of the night
56:36we're talking to
56:36Mr. President John Doonan
56:38who's been sort of
56:39responsible for making sure
56:40this programme came together.
56:42There's been
56:42300 plus thousand smiles
56:45every lap that car
56:46has turned around here.
56:48Jimmy Johnson was saying
56:49early in the race
56:50when they were behind
56:50the safety car,
56:51he realised that
56:52every time he was passing
56:53a big bank of fans,
56:54you know,
56:55down at Indianapolis
56:56or Arnard's Corner,
56:57everybody was waving
56:58at him.
56:59So he waved back.
57:00Two Cadillac
57:01on pit lane now.
57:03Yep.
57:03Earl Bamba
57:04takes over
57:04from Richard Westbrook
57:05after a triple stint
57:07for Westy
57:08and that will take
57:08that car through
57:09to the end.
57:11So listen to
57:12what's going on
57:13with Ryo Hirakawa
57:14in the chasing
57:15Totokazu racing car.
57:18OK,
57:18Joe,
57:18box this lap,
57:19pit confirm,
57:20box for fuel only.
57:21You stay in the car.
57:22from Clauser,
57:25the head of GM racing.
57:28We talked about
57:29some of the women
57:30driving in this race,
57:31their proud heritage.
57:32There are more and more
57:33and more female faces
57:34and voices
57:36from the cockpit
57:37through the garage,
57:38the engineers,
57:39team bosses,
57:41corporate principles,
57:43corporate bosses.
57:44The head of Peugeot
57:45is female as well.
57:47You know,
57:47we've got race control
57:48with female race directors.
57:51Again,
57:52you know,
57:53the more
57:53young women
57:55and young girls
57:56get to see
57:57people like them
57:59in positions
58:00in motor racing,
58:01the more it encourages
58:02them to come out
58:03and do something
58:03that they might be
58:04passionate about as well
58:05and that,
58:06again,
58:06greatly helps to grow
58:07our sport
58:08in all directions.
58:09Completely correct.
58:10You were saying
58:11about female drivers
58:12here at Le Mans.
58:14Dorian Pam
58:14became the 65th
58:16female starter
58:17in this race.
58:18You will not be
58:19finishing it,
58:20sadly,
58:20with the elimination
58:21of the 63 car accident
58:23for Danny Kivier.
58:26Hearing from Louise Bonoie.
58:27Caddy on its way
58:28with a little banger
58:29at the wheel
58:29and it's a fresh set
58:30of mediums
58:30with almost precisely
58:3260 minutes to go.
58:34There are still
58:35going to be storylines
58:35to be written here,
58:36gentlemen.
58:37This is not done,
58:38but in 10 seconds' time
58:40one thing changes
58:41and that's the
58:42safety car rules.
58:43Yep.
58:43We will be into
58:44the final hour
58:45of the 24 hours of Le Mans.
58:47Right now,
58:47you just saw the Corvette
58:48that leads in GTE-AM.
58:50OMG by TF,
58:52the Omanras Racing Team.
58:54Charlie Eastwood,
58:54that's Aston Martin
58:55is in second
58:56and the Iron Dames,
58:58Rahel Frey,
58:58still in third place
59:00ahead of Rexy,
59:01the green T-Rex livery
59:03in Project One
59:04Porsche
59:04of Matteo Cairoli
59:06and he is
59:06getting on
59:07for 40 seconds behind
59:09and there it is.
59:113 o'clock
59:11Central European
59:12summertime
59:13on the Rolex clock
59:14above the
59:15start finish line.
59:16We have an hour
59:17to go
59:17in the Centenary
59:18Le Mans.
59:20Century of history,
59:2123 hours
59:22of exceptional
59:24racing so far,
59:2560 more minutes
59:26to go.
59:29Let's hear
59:30from the
59:31number two
59:32Corvette,
59:33Cadillac.
59:35So,
59:36one hour to go,
59:37one hour to go,
59:37bring it home,
59:38no risk.
59:41My good sister car,
59:43car number three,
59:44driven by
59:44Sebastian Bordet,
59:46as you can see,
59:47is two laps
59:48off the lead
59:49or two laps
59:50behind
59:50them,
59:51in fact.
59:52So,
59:52four minutes
59:5358,
59:54it's a
59:54three minute
59:5528 lap.
59:56So,
59:56four minutes
59:5758,
59:58it's a
59:58three minute
59:5928 lap.
00:00So,
00:00four minutes
00:0158,
00:01it's a
00:02three minute
00:0328 lap.
00:04So,
00:04four minutes
00:0558,
00:05it's a
00:06three minute
00:0728 lap.
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