Experience the unforgettable 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans — a race that delivered one of the most dramatic finishes in endurance racing history. Toyota, Porsche, and Audi fought relentlessly for 24 hours at the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe, showcasing the peak of hybrid technology, strategy, and human endurance. From high-speed battles to heartbreaking twists in the final moments, Le Mans 2016 stands as a true modern classic. Relive every lap, every duel, and every emotion of this extraordinary race.
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#LeMans2016
#24hLeMans
#EnduranceRacing
#MotorsportHistory
#ToyotaVsPorsche
#RacingDrama
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SportsTranscript
00:00:00here for the test day let's have a look at the starting grid porsche locking out the front row
00:00:04it's the two car and neil yarny that will be leading us off just behind them a row belonging
00:00:08to toyota uh the sixth car quickest fastest of the pair of them uh being handled by mike conway
00:00:14audi will lock out row three not happy about that and uh there's some curbs to be avoided for them
00:00:19we'll talk about that a little bit later on and then of course uh the rebellion racing lockout
00:00:24the privateer entry they have row four right g drive on the front row of p2 together with the
00:00:29back cdc racing alpine which david cheng crashed this morning but it is taking a start good job by the
00:00:35team cinetech alping nick lapierre roberto mary for manor motorsport there's a big store in itself gt's
00:00:45gt's uh led off by uh chip ganassi uh team as well ford having some fun but it looks like
00:00:50not too much fun when it comes to the rain in fact uh they have been hobbled ever so slightly by uh
00:00:56performance disadvantage uh they've got to carry some more weight in this race some other changes
00:01:01as well uh other teams being upped just a little bit the ferraris likewise have also had some
00:01:05amendments against them aston martin and porsche they've got a little bit of advantage what about
00:01:10the the ams yeah biggest pro field of the year here's the ams aston martin and ferrari on the front of
00:01:15that group we've got ferrari porsche chevrolet corvette that's the factory-backed labbra car
00:01:20ferrari two more porsches ferrari porsche ferrari fantastic field we've got just in total nine lmp1
00:01:28cars 23 lmp2s and here are those that are hobbled the four car here um amazing to see a p1 car so far
00:01:35back why on earth they wouldn't allow them to start uh at the back of their own class for the 110 rulers
00:01:42it's one question but that was a burnout of course for pierre kaffer and uh his car very very early on in
00:01:49in fact it was in the uh free practice session and they've rebuilt the car and they've done a
00:01:54stunning job two crashes this morning in the warm-up as well mark and a remarkable rebuild
00:01:58for panciatici's car the 35 baxi dc racing alpine yeah david chang had a big accident he caught some
00:02:04water on the uh curbs it was dry this morning but some overnight rain it was inside the curbs that car
00:02:10caught that in indianapolis and went head heavily sideways into the wall there the pull loop shop chatan
00:02:17car they crashed in the porsche curves and would you believe i hit one part of the porsche curves
00:02:22that doesn't have the new softer barriers um it just shows jeremy you ride your luck and i guess if
00:02:28you're going to get your bad luck out of the way then why not do it early on and hope that that's the
00:02:33worst of it well that's very true certainly for the russi competencia only car number 82 the ferrari
00:02:38488 gte the brand new car for this year turbocharged ferraris this year in gte and uh he did the job
00:02:45perfectly he he spun through the porsche curves on thursday here is our starting command
00:02:52which we didn't hear but uh there was a starting command so the engine are now being fired up and
00:02:56joe carlo fisichella spun through the porsche curves and he found the newly extended gravel trap
00:03:03which saved that team in a massive amount of work that was brad pitt of course giving the uh
00:03:08giving the starting order he will then be waving the tricot alert to start the cars now whether they're
00:03:12going to do that now or they're going to do it when eventually they decide it's safe to call in the
00:03:16safety car we'll have to find out well there's not going to be any a parade lamp uh here they are
00:03:22going to start the clock and we will be rolling uh behind the safety car as to how long anybody's
00:03:29guest here's your countdown however five four three two one the race will start now behind the safety
00:03:39car the race has started behind the safety car 84th edition of the 24 hours of luma starts behind the
00:03:47safety car so brad pitt then who has given a ride around the circuit by alex verts this morning i mean
00:03:53what was the insurance bill for that i wonder and what's the insurance bill for standing in the
00:03:57middle of this 60 cars as we mentioned nine lmp ones 23 p2s 14 pros and 13 gtms the biggest field
00:04:06ever at le mans and amongst those garage 56 entry we have a quad amputee frederick sasso making that
00:04:14start and that is going to be a story in itself well as the race gets underway damien faulkner's just
00:04:20jumped into the chair you've heard a lot of him this morning we know during the warm-up and during
00:04:23the road to le mans race damien you as a driver what will you be feeling now knowing that this race
00:04:29is going to start once the track conditions are good enough safe enough uh yeah well you'll just be
00:04:35itching at the bit to get to get on um you'll be fully uh you know fully tuned into it you'll be fully
00:04:43behind your team uh your teammates will be all behind you um this is one big team thing
00:04:49and uh i i think they just they're just waiting to get for the green lights really that's that
00:04:54that's the important thing and that's what they want right now in the yellow flags lap or this first
00:04:59out lap um they they're just they just want that to be over to be honest the rain i don't think we
00:05:03really care about the rain you are kidding me uh damien fogger's giving us one of those uh um
00:05:10knowing looks right now i think it's fair to say that we've become used to uh here we go then behind
00:05:15the safety car and that's no safe place ultimately to be throughout uh throughout a moment such as
00:05:21this uh damien and we've seen the safety car getting itself out of shape while we went to level
00:05:27four at the moment the rain level is between two and three but if we hit four then goodness only knows
00:05:33what's the safety car might hit yeah well we heard sorry mark we heard that the other day from one of the
00:05:39audi drivers um who said that the car was fantastic under their wet and damp conditions however when
00:05:45there was a layer just a single layer
00:05:57that's what the team is working on in the pits we saw it being wheeled in backwards the other car that
00:06:02hasn't taken the start is surprise surprise the bicollis car we think we only say we think it's
00:06:09not confirmed that that was the car that dumped its oil on part of the circuit this morning in the
00:06:14warm-up and somebody else who had a problem during a warm-up was the number 97 aston martin
00:06:20entry darren turner was telling me that they had some gear selection problems on that car this
00:06:24morning uh it was the actuator mechanism they think they've fixed it uh but even if they haven't
00:06:29he's not too concerned he said when they try to downshift they might not immediately get the gear
00:06:34they want but they he doesn't expect it to be too much of a problem moving forward the early stages
00:06:40of the race damien standing water we just saw the number five toyota going for a huge huge puzzle this
00:06:46is good this is going to be a long time isn't it okay team at the moment no need to leave no need to
00:06:52leave um just keep me updated on this first lap let me know what conditions look like and how long you
00:06:57think the safety car may be out for yeah i just listened to some team radio there and so i mean
00:07:03obviously it won't start if it's too wet that's the that's the the main factor okay so when i say they
00:07:09don't care about the rain you know a racing driver wants to win all of these guys especially at the
00:07:14front in this lmp1 field they're all professionals so they're all you know excellent in the wet they're
00:07:20all excellent in the dry uh they just want to get going and so um you know it's up to the race
00:07:27director of course the safety car drivers out there as well so they're going to call it as to you know
00:07:31when they're going to start this race if it's too wet they'll delay it a little bit longer carlton
00:07:35motor racing is dangerous but safety has to still be the prime consideration absolutely and um i think
00:07:41ever more so you're seeing the soft barriers being brought in here various regulation changes
00:07:46um of course as we uh we head down the long straight of course you you suddenly come across
00:07:50the chicanes which were one of the first sort of safety features to try and knock out a bit of uh
00:07:55pace it seems that year on year though the cars get quicker and constantly have to just be reined back
00:08:00in and as they get more they get more pace about them uh of course the the danger levels increase
00:08:08safety factors of course ever mindful of those and in fact rules have been changed for next year mark just
00:08:13announced the other day uh to enhance safety even further yeah we've got a whole raft of changes
00:08:19coming up in fact over the next two years driver survival cells in 2018 as in gt for the lmp1 cars
00:08:26we've got a 10 mega joule increase in power up from eight but we've also got other things like the hybrid
00:08:34components will be isolated from the drivers of the p1 cars big changes but we've got plenty of time to talk
00:08:39about those during the race let's get on with uh what little action we're getting and then this is
00:08:44what you're seeing if you are on board the number 68 car well that was that was almost my view from
00:08:50the safety car as well uh which i was taken out the pace car i should say by uh the great tom christensen
00:08:55will be a guest of ours a little bit later on uh nine times a winner here of course um you saw the bike
00:09:01collis um racing machine actually still in the pits it's having a timed release that was a total burnout
00:09:09of the electrical loom various uh clips and stays injectors and the like they've done a superb job
00:09:15of rebuilding it yeah pierre kaffer actually saved that car he was the one that the obviously that
00:09:21was driving it at the time but jumped out realized the scale of the problem right away um ran around
00:09:26the car and in in through the smoke couldn't see anything but unclip the bodywork ripped it off so
00:09:32that they could uh extinguish the the fire but for his intervention it would have been a lot worse
00:09:37of course while we're going to be heading to a break
00:09:42lovely on board so i can't see anything at the minute um can you keep me updated about track
00:09:47conditions please yeah lots of water lots of lots of water very poor visibility copy that understood keep
00:09:55weaving keep weaving tires currently at 32 degrees all around try using the um brakes to get some
00:10:02temperature into the front all right we're dropping down to 30 degrees right now amazing um the keep
00:10:08breathing instruction is actually just a calming instruction essentially it's a bit of physio uh
00:10:14just keep yourself calm as you possibly can in conditions which as you can see um almost require
00:10:19a periscope i thought she meant keep breathing as opposed to don't drown there's so much water
00:10:23leaner gade of course three times a lamar winner with the number seven crew and this is her last lamar we'll take a break
00:10:40a very good news
00:10:45it's so much fun
00:10:47so
00:10:48i can
00:10:49it's so much fun
00:10:51and i'll be right
00:10:52go
00:10:53it's so much fun
00:10:55to learn
00:10:57some
00:10:59and
00:11:00the
00:11:01and
00:11:02the
00:11:03and
00:11:05there
00:11:07is
00:11:07the
00:11:08okay
00:11:08but
00:11:08and
00:14:09Is this something that's been a problem before at all ever?
00:14:12Is this a completely new issue with these cars?
00:14:15No, I don't think so.
00:14:16I mean, we've been very reliable in testing, but I think we're getting ready to go, so we'll see what happens.
00:14:22But I know they had an issue like this in Daytona, but I think it's all fixed, so we're not 100% sure.
00:14:28I'm certainly not from the WEC team anyway.
00:14:30Okay, well, lots of luck.
00:14:32We hope you get out there.
00:14:33So, thank you, Liz.
00:14:35Liz Halliday, of course, our indefatigal pit lady.
00:14:38She's a Le Mans racer herself.
00:14:39She won Sebring.
00:14:40She knows how it works, just like Damien Faulkner does.
00:14:43We've had news up from the pits that the ESM car, the 51 Paul Mitchell car, as it's running this weekend.
00:14:51It's a lot of understanding water and poor visibility, really poor visibility, and we're already at 80 kmh.
00:14:57Okay, copy that.
00:14:59Your comments are making it straight back to the race director.
00:15:04So, going back to the ESM car, that's the car that won at Daytona and Sebring this year.
00:15:08They started it with Pippo Durrani.
00:15:10The team took the decision to bring the car in, change the driver.
00:15:14They said there's no point having Pippo going around in these conditions.
00:15:17We'll save him for when we really need him, when it's hard and wet.
00:15:20And, of course, it's strategy that won them, both Daytona and Sebring.
00:15:24And I'm sure Jeremy Shaw might be able to fill us in on that.
00:15:30Yeah, Ed Brown, of course, has a lot less experience than the other guys in that car.
00:15:34So, he's got to complete a minimum of six hours driving in this race.
00:15:38So, smart decision there to put the silver driver, Ed Brown, in that car while the cars are running at much reduced pace, Mark.
00:15:47So, yeah, good strategy call by Extreme Speed Motorsports.
00:15:51The rain is abating.
00:15:52We're back down to level two, which is good news because we're going from two to three.
00:15:58And if we'd hit four, possibility of a red flag being thrown for the first time here at Le Mans.
00:16:03We are racing, would you believe, all behind the safety car.
00:16:06If you're only just joining us, you haven't missed a whole lot apart from a whole lot of spray which is being kicked up.
00:16:12Now, the drivers are being requested or any of their comments, incidentally, on open radio are actually being relayed back to race control.
00:16:20I'm sure they're across absolutely everything.
00:16:22And that's the way it should be, Mark, because if anyone's going to be worried about the conditions, you want it firsthand.
00:16:28And firsthand means the drivers.
00:16:29Yeah, absolutely.
00:16:29Now, if you'd like stuff firsthand as well, we're all on Twitter this year.
00:16:33So, just keep those messages coming in.
00:16:35Mine is at Mark Cole comms.
00:16:39One S in comms.
00:16:39That's amazing, actually, that you're on Twitter at all.
00:16:42What have you done with the carrier pigeons?
00:16:44Well, we shot it.
00:16:45All of them.
00:16:45Ate it last night.
00:16:46Well, there we are.
00:16:47Mark is open for business.
00:16:48So, indeed, is Damien Faulkner.
00:16:51At Damien Faulkner.
00:16:52Damien with an E.
00:16:53And with a K in the middle of Faulkner.
00:16:54It is, yeah.
00:16:55We're at the end.
00:16:56And it's at Carlton Kirby.
00:16:59Pure and simple.
00:17:00C-A-R-L-T-O-N-K-I-R-B-Y.
00:17:02No dots, dashes, capitals, anything like that.
00:17:05And at Jeremy Shaw.
00:17:06Racer.
00:17:07Good.
00:17:07Now, Keaton coming in.
00:17:08Let's tell you, Audi Sport is very concerned that the temperature on the track has dropped from 28 degrees to 18 degrees when that rain arrives.
00:17:17The air temperature is only 15 degrees.
00:17:20And this is going to cause all sorts of problems.
00:17:22Damien, brakes particularly as well as tires.
00:17:25Well, yeah.
00:17:25But if we could just come back to that onboard footage there with the Audi.
00:17:31I think it was Andrea Lodger onto his engineer.
00:17:33And he was complaining about visibility.
00:17:35But you could see, actually, on the screen where there was condensation coming up.
00:17:40And I'm thinking it might have been on the inside.
00:17:43But it might have been between the layers of plastic, the tear-offs on the windscreen.
00:17:48And if it is, that's not good.
00:17:50They're in trouble.
00:17:50We just got an onboard shot of the Toyota.
00:17:52They have no such issues.
00:17:55There we are.
00:17:57You know, when you hear more and more about Toyota and their coping strategies for various incidents, the more impressed you get.
00:18:03They've actually got an air conditioning unit on their battery.
00:18:07There you go.
00:18:08Just to keep it at optimum temperature.
00:18:09I don't think anyone, I think everyone else is using venting.
00:18:11But they've actually got an aircon unit dedicated to that.
00:18:14Here's your 67 car.
00:18:15Gearbox pressure issues apparently resolved.
00:18:18Andy Prio, they're waiting to go out.
00:18:20He'll go down two laps.
00:18:21So this has really been a godsend.
00:18:23If they're going to have that trouble, have it before the actual full-speed racing starts.
00:18:29They might have gone two laps down, but they could pull that back over the next 24 hours.
00:18:33Maybe.
00:18:33A lot of water being dissipated by the vehicles themselves.
00:18:38I'm actually looking out on some mirror-flat puddles at the moment.
00:18:41It looks like the rain has, in fact, stopped, which is good news.
00:18:45So I'm not quite sure how long it's going to take us to get back to a racing position right now.
00:18:52But the kick-up from the vehicles here will dissipate a lot of it.
00:18:57There's also an inherent amount of temperature still within the track, and that's going to help some of the evaporation.
00:19:03Now, the big worry is that water does collect, particularly in some of the pans, can we call them that,
00:19:11where you have these what they call baguettes here.
00:19:14Basically, the rumbles on each of the corners.
00:19:17They can hold water, and that's what David Chang found this morning in the warm-up in the 35 car.
00:19:23Yeah, that was down in Indianapolis.
00:19:24And interestingly, before that happened, the race director had warned everyone there is water in those rumble strips.
00:19:32That's right.
00:19:32That was after the oil warning.
00:19:34Oh, yeah.
00:19:34We had oil as well, and it wasn't coming up through the ground.
00:19:36If you're just joining us, we're now 15 minutes into the 84th edition of the Le Mans 24 hours,
00:19:43and the cars are only just completing their second lap behind the safety car, and it's continuing.
00:19:49Well, the breeze is blowing up, and that usually, on stormy days, announces yet more inclement weather.
00:19:55It's going to be a question of coping with it.
00:19:57Coping strategies to the fore.
00:19:59A lot of teams didn't cope terribly well in qualifying.
00:20:02It almost seems unfair that so many of the major cars, particularly LMP2s, have been hobbled by 110% rule.
00:20:08The 27 S&P racing car is one of those.
00:20:11The 30 machine, the extreme speed motorsports, also towards the back.
00:20:14Krone racing plum at the back, incidentally, from the P2 cars.
00:20:19The So24 by Lombard Racing, the 22 machine.
00:20:23Capier is way at the back as well.
00:20:24So is Pegasus Racing after a spin early on.
00:20:28And, honestly, it's a big question for me is how on earth were they so cruel to these guys
00:20:37when we only had just a handful of minutes, relatively speaking, of full, dry qualifying,
00:20:43and then the rain came and went and came and went,
00:20:46and the initial times that we set in the first session of qualifying stuck,
00:20:51and it was impossible to get within 110, no matter how 110% of those times, class by class.
00:20:56And it seems very, very strict, Mark, interpretation of the rules,
00:21:01not to give them just a class relegation, but an entire field relegation.
00:21:04I agree. Normally that's what would happen, I think.
00:21:06This is Le Mans there. The ACO had their own rules.
00:21:09Now we've got a tweet coming in from Paul Dunn saying,
00:21:12I thought there were three safety cars at Le Mans.
00:21:14Yes, you're absolutely right, Paul, there are.
00:21:15But for the start, because the field was already bunched up together,
00:21:19just one safety car, and it's in the hands of a very capable driver,
00:21:23Yannick Dalmas, four times Le Mans winner.
00:21:26So the safety car being driven by Yannick Dalmas,
00:21:40four times Le Mans winner, and all those wins in different makes a car.
00:21:43Maybe he's going to win it for Audi this weekend.
00:21:45Yeah, I think he'll definitely be driving here next year, won't he?
00:21:50After that lovely control slide the other night.
00:21:53Well, we're going to be talking to Mark Webber fairly shortly.
00:22:02Expect some, the sort of laconic response that you usually get at Mark Webber.
00:22:08He used to have a pub, actually, not that far from Silverstone,
00:22:13or indeed your hacking ground, Mark.
00:22:14You can, occasionally, he would pull a pint there and kind of fill you in as to his thoughts.
00:22:21So I'm going to imagine that.
00:22:22So imagine him pulling a long brown one.
00:22:26Oh, yeah, absolutely.
00:22:27That's a staggeredment more.
00:22:30There we are.
00:22:31So, safety car then.
00:22:33I remember when I spoke to you last year after this race,
00:22:35you said it was one of the hardest races that you've ever fought.
00:22:38What are you expecting from this year's battle?
00:22:41Yeah, well, we know they don't hand the victories out around here,
00:22:43so we've got to work very hard.
00:22:45So it's going to be really, really tough on the machinery, on the material.
00:22:48I've got a big, big 24 hours ahead of us.
00:22:50And, you know, Timo, Brendan and myself, we're all absolutely ready to go.
00:22:54The car has been immaculately prepared.
00:22:57Last six months, been focused for this moment.
00:23:00So everything is gorgeous under the bonnet,
00:23:02and we just cross our fingers now that Le Mans will give us also a little bit of luck.
00:23:07Well, you are the current world champions in this car.
00:23:10You've had an incredibly successful time.
00:23:12Does that give you a little bit more confidence coming into this race
00:23:15off the back of so many great results?
00:23:17I think that, for sure, as a group, we're very happy and confident from our work in the past,
00:23:23but Le Mans is a different beast altogether.
00:23:25So we've got our eyes open.
00:23:27You know, we respect the competition, we respect the race.
00:23:30You know, I keep saying it to me, you have to beat the race, actually.
00:23:33I mean, beating everyone else is fine, but if you have fuel and tyres, no garage time,
00:23:36then for sure you're on the podium and probably the middle step.
00:23:39Okay, best of luck. Thank you.
00:23:41So that was Liz catching Mark Webber late of the stagger at Mentmore before it started raining, of course.
00:23:47And look at this. You know, it's bad enough inside the car, but look what it's looking like for our cameras
00:23:51as they come over the Mulsanne hump and down into that kink into the fearsome Mulsanne corner
00:23:57with so much sand sitting on the outside to catch anyone.
00:24:00Then, Damien, that blast down to Indianapolis, which is frightening even in the dry.
00:24:05Yeah, absolutely.
00:24:08It's caught some people out here this weekend already with the changing conditions.
00:24:12And not least one of the LMP2s this morning in the warm-up in the dry,
00:24:18but crucially, it had a wet apex.
00:24:20He caught that, tried to correct it, over-corrected it,
00:24:23pendulumed around the other way and hit the barrier.
00:24:25So, yeah, I mean, this is challenging.
00:24:28It's really challenging.
00:24:30There's so many variables, so many things that can go wrong.
00:24:34I think Mark Webber had a fantastic quote the other day.
00:24:37He said, I'm not – forget the quote now, but basically, I'm not trying to beat my rivals.
00:24:45I'm trying to beat the race.
00:24:47Right.
00:24:47Yeah, very good point.
00:24:50There's a lot of things to beat here, certainly.
00:24:52So, we've got a look in the GT LM now.
00:24:55Yeah, the race hasn't yet fully got properly underway,
00:24:57but it is cool to see a Ford GT leading at Le Mans.
00:25:01I'm not sure whether this is the first time a Ford has actually led at Le Mans
00:25:04since it won – well, not quite 50 years ago, because it won those four years in a row.
00:25:08But it's been an awful long time since the Ford has been out in front.
00:25:12It matters not now, of course.
00:25:13And what matters is about 23 hours and 40 minutes from now,
00:25:18that's when they hope to be out in front in GTE Pro.
00:25:21Yeah, there was a period, of course, between the GTE racing
00:25:26when they had the Ford C100s here, didn't they?
00:25:27I don't think that ever led here, did it?
00:25:29Never led.
00:25:29No, I was going to say, though, it hasn't all been GTE.
00:25:32They did have those Group C prototypes, which were not successful, sadly,
00:25:35but great-looking cars.
00:25:36Now, have we talked yet about the balance of performance changes that were made in GTE?
00:25:39We were waiting for when you came on air, Jeremy.
00:25:41GTE, since the qualifying sessions, there's been some changes there,
00:25:46because from the test day to qualifying on Wednesday and Thursday,
00:25:52the Fords and the Ferraris suddenly found four seconds in lap time.
00:25:58Nobody else did, but those two teams, those two manufacturers did,
00:26:01and since then, the ACO has gone through all the data on the cars.
00:26:04They've made various changes to the specifications on those cars.
00:26:08The Fords and the Ferraris carrying a little bit more weight than they were before.
00:26:12Also, the Ford has had to reduce the turbo boost on their engines a little bit,
00:26:17and also a few slight adjustments to the fuel tank capacities on various cars in GTE.
00:26:24The thinking there is to try to make sure that each of the GTE Pro cars...
00:26:30And that radio there was Anthony Davidson calling into the Tour de Gazoo Racing,
00:26:50saying that, in his opinion, it's still too wet to go racing.
00:26:54But, as I said, the various changes to the balance performance,
00:26:57and we don't really know, because the cars hardly any running this morning in the warm-up,
00:27:01to know what changes they were made.
00:27:02Also, for the Corvette and the Aston Martins,
00:27:06they'd allowed a slightly larger air restrictor,
00:27:09get a little more air into the car, a little bit more horsepower.
00:27:11So, changes there, and we're going for a quick commercial break.
00:27:14A group of tires.
00:27:38A group of tires.
00:28:08A group of tires.
00:28:09A group of tires.
00:28:10A group of tires.
00:28:11A group of tires.
00:28:12A group of tires.
00:28:13A group of tires.
00:28:14A group of tires.
00:28:15A group of tires.
00:28:16A group of tires.
00:28:17A group of tires.
00:28:18A group of tires.
00:28:19A group of tires.
00:28:20A group of tires.
00:28:21A group of tires.
00:28:22A group of tires.
00:28:23A group of tires.
00:28:24A group of tires.
00:28:25A group of tires.
00:28:26A group of tires.
00:28:27A group of tires.
00:28:28A group of tires.
00:28:29A group of tires.
00:28:30A group of tires.
00:28:31A group of tires.
00:28:32A group of tires.
00:28:33A group of tires.
00:28:34A group of tires.
00:28:35A group of tires.
00:28:36A group of tires.
00:28:37Oh my god.
00:29:07Oh my god.
00:29:37Oh my god.
00:30:07Oh my god.
00:30:09Oh my god.
00:30:11Oh my god.
00:30:13Oh my god.
00:30:15Oh my god.
00:30:17Oh my god.
00:30:19Oh my god.
00:30:21Oh my god.
00:30:23Oh my god.
00:30:25Oh my god.
00:30:27Oh my god.
00:30:29Oh my god.
00:30:31Oh my god.
00:30:33Oh my god.
00:30:35Oh my god.
00:30:37Oh my god.
00:30:39Oh my god.
00:30:41Oh my god.
00:30:43Oh my god.
00:30:45Oh my god.
00:30:47Oh my god.
00:30:49Oh my god.
00:30:51Oh my god.
00:30:53Oh my god.
00:30:55Oh my god.
00:30:57Oh my god.
00:30:59Oh my god.
00:31:01Oh my god.
00:31:03Oh my god.
00:31:05Oh my god.
00:31:07Oh my god.
00:31:09Oh my god.
00:31:11Oh my god.
00:31:13Oh my god.
00:31:15Oh my god.
00:31:17Oh my god.
00:31:19Oh my god.
00:31:21Oh my god.
00:31:23Oh my god.
00:31:25Oh my god.
00:31:27Oh my god.
00:31:29Oh my god.
00:31:31Oh my god.
00:31:33Oh my god.
00:31:35Oh my god.
00:31:37Oh my god.
00:31:39Oh my god.
00:31:41Seeing some blue sky from the commentary box looking west.
00:31:43There are patches up there, Carlton.
00:31:45It looked like an eye in the sky, did it not?
00:31:48We're just heading downstairs.
00:31:53I believe we've got with Simon is Mark Lieb from the number two Porsche.
00:32:01And, in fact, here he comes.
00:32:03We'll be dropping in with plenty of these interviews throughout, by the way.
00:32:06So do enjoy.
00:32:07Great team.
00:32:11Okay, sorry.
00:32:28We had some problems with the mic.
00:32:29Sorry about that.
00:32:29So once again, yeah, Mark Lieb.
00:32:37Okay.
00:32:37Now we're on Mark.
00:32:39So the conditions are an issue.
00:32:49Would you like to describe them for us in your fears?
00:32:53Well, the first cars, there have been cars already coming in.
00:32:59As far as tire choice is concerned, we're still on full wets.
00:33:02And obviously we're going to have to stay at least a couple of laps on those tires in these conditions.
00:33:08Interesting, Mark.
00:33:09Full wets are...
00:33:11Let's just ride with that.
00:33:36Andy Prio complaining that still some issues, Mark.
00:33:40Still some issues.
00:33:41They came in with gearbox pressure problems.
00:33:44And it seems potentially not resolved.
00:33:48Jeremy?
00:33:50Yes.
00:33:51Sorry, I thought you were putting your hand up because you wanted to answer it.
00:33:54Was that Andy Prio or was that Mike Conway on that radio?
00:33:58No, it was Andy Prio from the Ford, yeah.
00:34:00But they've got four cars here, Ford.
00:34:02And if one car's going to have bad luck, it's always going to be the same car, isn't it?
00:34:05This is what happens throughout Le Mans.
00:34:07Well, they're certainly hoping only one car has a problem.
00:34:10But the good news is, of course, they do have four cars here in the race.
00:34:13Overkill, one might say.
00:34:15But that celebrates 66, 67, 68, and 69, the years in which they won.
00:34:20And that's reflected in the car numbers.
00:34:23And as we discovered the other night, the first year they won was of a Mark II.
00:34:27The second year they won was of a Mark IV.
00:34:29And the last two years was of a Mark I again.
00:34:33Yeah, well, they kept changing the rules around about that, didn't they?
00:34:35And the seven-litre car was outlawed, isn't that correct, for the last couple of years?
00:34:38That's right.
00:34:39It went from seven litres down to 4.7.
00:34:41And John Wire, of course, ran those last two years as the golf cars.
00:34:45Scott Dixon and Ryan Briscoe there in the pits.
00:34:47Thumbs up from Dixie.
00:34:48I'm sure he always likes driving in the rain.
00:34:50He's had a fair bit of experience at the very early stages of his career in New Zealand.
00:34:56And we're certainly getting a lot brighter here now.
00:34:59And I would anticipate a restart fairly soon.
00:35:02Yeah, I heard the note on our scoring stream to say the rain level of intensity has dropped
00:35:08to what they'd describe as a level one.
00:35:11And I would say it's less than that around most of this eight-and-a-half-mile racetrack.
00:35:16Yeah, the Manor guys all sitting there in their garage.
00:35:18I bet they're glad they're here and not in Baku.
00:35:20They used to be in Formula One.
00:35:21John Booth and Graham Loudon, of course, running out team.
00:35:24We're waiting to hear from Edouard Freitas.
00:35:26He's been very, very quiet, having been talked to death over the last three or four days.
00:35:32Yeah, good point there, Mark Cole.
00:35:33Well, he's quiet to us, but I'm sure he's not very quiet.
00:35:37I've been talking to the various teams and drivers on the radio.
00:35:40He has communications just with everybody here.
00:35:42And I'm sure he's getting an awful lot of input right now as to whether this race is,
00:35:48or the race track, is a good enough condition to start this race properly.
00:35:52Talking about weather and Baku, I understand that I'm not wishing, no schadenfreude are intended,
00:35:57but apparently there are drain cover issues there, also presumably with bad weather.
00:36:03Well, I'm assuming that's what the issue is.
00:36:06Well, I think Jean Todd, who's here at the moment, better jump on a plane and get over there and sort it out.
00:36:11Cartham, safety car has been requested by race direction to pick up speed,
00:36:15so that means that conditions are obviously getting good enough that the safety car is not going to fall off the track.
00:36:21This glorious silver Ferrari that we've all been enjoying so much of,
00:36:26if you've forgotten your compact and you want to get a look at just how your hair is,
00:36:30then just stand next to this.
00:36:32It's quite absolutely remarkable.
00:36:35They've got an amazing driver line-up as well with Rob Bell, Keita Sauer and Mark Wensung.
00:36:42It's going to be a challenger.
00:36:43They won the Asian Le Mans Series, which is why they got the right to race here, Mark.
00:36:47Yeah, that's absolutely correct, and Robert Bell brought in at quite late notice to help out with that effort.
00:36:53He's got Mox Weng and Keita Sauer with him, and they're looking to do something good.
00:37:00And, of course, Robert Bell is quick enough to have put that car on pole position.
00:37:04Indeed so. That's the point.
00:37:06They've started on the pole position, and they've made that stop early in this race
00:37:09to get the lesser experienced driver in.
00:37:12Again, good strategy there.
00:37:16Well, here we are then.
00:37:17Porsche.
00:37:26No, we're just waiting to hear from the number two car of Neil Jarny there.
00:37:29It hasn't happened.
00:37:32Just some nice close-ups then of...
00:37:34How are the track conditions now?
00:37:35How are the track conditions now?
00:37:36Porsche coordinators onward.
00:37:38Opti-lactic down to Roush.
00:37:40They're quite good.
00:37:41Copy that, Neil.
00:37:42The sun is slightly, slowly coming out.
00:37:45The track should hopefully dry quickly, and we'll see how long we can go with these tyres
00:37:49and try to go to the slick.
00:37:53Gosh, that was the most laid-back series of instructions I've ever heard.
00:37:56It was almost like this race was 20 hours old.
00:37:59Yeah, and I would suggest, since the race director, Eduardo Freitas, has asked the safety car to
00:38:03pick up the speed, I would anticipate perhaps even going green at the end of this lap.
00:38:09Mark, what do you think?
00:38:10Yeah, quite possibly.
00:38:10Watch that safety car.
00:38:12Watch the lights.
00:38:12When those lights go off, if they go off as it's coming through Porsche curves, we will
00:38:16know that we are going to go green for the first time in what is now 34 minutes since
00:38:23the official start.
00:38:25There we are.
00:38:2623 minutes and 25 remaining.
00:38:29Sorry, 23 hours and 25.
00:38:30My goodness.
00:38:31Yeah, it's almost difficult to forget what's involved with this amazing race in its 84th
00:38:36incarnation.
00:38:37You've got to have a lot going for you.
00:38:40Ford certainly have got that, along with goodwill from the other teams that had to allow them
00:38:44to come here to contest the GT class, because this car, you can't buy and drive upon the
00:38:49road.
00:38:49All the others within the class, you can do.
00:38:51So very much a kind of a prototype within the GT class, but everyone's so pleased to
00:38:56have them here.
00:38:56It's brought a lot of attention, Mark, to that particular class.
00:39:00They'd rather, obviously, have them here, the opponents, that is, than not, despite the
00:39:06fact that at the moment they seem to be head and shoulders above everyone, at least on
00:39:09pace.
00:39:10Will they last?
00:39:10Yeah, but as we've heard, there's been a lot of changes in balance of performance.
00:39:17And Ford have actually hit back this morning.
00:39:20Raj Nair, who's the head of the Ford program, says the FIA knows that we ran flat out at the
00:39:26test and in qualifying.
00:39:27We feel good about how we performed.
00:39:29Test days are test days.
00:39:31We ran as we ran here.
00:39:32And that's what we do.
00:39:34That is an interesting quote.
00:39:36That was an interesting quote.
00:39:36Yeah, and, you know, yes, they were running pretty quickly, but they weren't running on
00:39:42fresh tires.
00:39:43They weren't running on low tanks of fuel.
00:39:44And I'm surprised that the data that was taken on board by the ACO technicians weren't
00:39:51able to ascertain that and will check that.
00:39:54So, you know, the fact they went four seconds quicker between the test day and here, yeah,
00:39:58you know, you can say all sorts of things.
00:40:00But if you're going to tell me they didn't do any simulation of running on fresh tires
00:40:05and or on low tank of fuel, I'd be surprised because, you know, you need to know how the
00:40:13car handles, particularly on a low tank of fuel.
00:40:15So, you know, I think they just didn't show their full hand in terms of their sector,
00:40:18completing a full lap here.
00:40:20But certainly they were running hard, but not completing a full lap at full speed, I would
00:40:24suggest.
00:40:25But, you know, that's the way it is.
00:40:27And the changes have been made.
00:40:28And the Ford guys, yeah, they're jumping up and down a bit, but not that much, frankly.
00:40:33I think they've got a good bit in hand on those cars.
00:40:35This is their focus.
00:40:36The cars are trimmed out.
00:40:38They're ready to run for Le Mans 24 hours, which is a very different racetrack to anywhere
00:40:42else.
00:40:42They are properly prepared.
00:40:44And I'm sure they wouldn't have shown that speed in qualifying if they didn't mean it.
00:40:49We understand that Liz Halliday is going to be with us with Patrick Densie in just a few,
00:40:54sorry, Dempsey.
00:40:56He'll be with us in just a few moments' time.
00:40:58Of course, funding one of his vehicles here.
00:41:00And here he is.
00:41:03Well, Patrick, it's great to see you back at Le Mans, but why aren't you driving?
00:41:08Well, in this weather, I'm very happy to be in here and in the drive.
00:41:12But, yeah, it's tough not driving this year.
00:41:15But we had a great year last year and a great run here.
00:41:18And it was nice to step back and spend some time working on my other career and my family.
00:41:22So every now and then you sort of get the, you want to be out in the car and run around,
00:41:26as you know, you know.
00:41:28No, absolutely.
00:41:29I know how you're feeling right now.
00:41:30But there's been a lot of other celebrities here this week, really different to usual that
00:41:35we see at Le Mans.
00:41:36We saw Brad Pitt was here.
00:41:38Do you think he might want to try his hand at racing at Le Mans, too?
00:41:40I think he had a good ride in the prototype.
00:41:44I think he was really surprised by the pace and also just how long this track is.
00:41:49Until you're out there, you don't really quite understand it.
00:41:51So it was good for him to have that perspective and good to see everybody here supporting the race.
00:41:55And hopefully it brings more attention to the sport and to the series.
00:41:58Well, I know you love your racing.
00:42:00Have you got any other great racing plans this year?
00:42:02Or are you just too busy at the moment?
00:42:04Not at this point.
00:42:05But, you know, every now and then get out and test a little bit.
00:42:08So we'll continue to do that and some karting.
00:42:10So we'll see.
00:42:10Next year we're talking about some things.
00:42:12We'll see what happens.
00:42:13All right.
00:42:13Well, it's great to have you back here.
00:42:14It's great to be back.
00:42:16Now keep an eye on the top of the safety car.
00:42:18Have those lights gone off yet?
00:42:20No.
00:42:21No.
00:42:22No.
00:42:22No.
00:42:22In fact, coming by our commentary position right now.
00:42:25So the sideways view at this point is exactly what we get.
00:42:28Let's just go back to the hobbling or indeed the advantage that have been handed out
00:42:33to the various GT teams to try and level the playing field, Mark.
00:42:37Yeah.
00:42:38Yes, indeed.
00:42:38So, well, I don't know.
00:42:40I can't quite remember how much Jeremy had completed on what he's saying.
00:42:44But one of the main things is that a fuel increase has been given to Ferrari and Chevrolet
00:42:48because they want everyone to run 14 laps, if possible, in normal, dry running racing conditions.
00:42:54Yeah, that doesn't really affect the performance of the cars, of course.
00:42:57What does affect the performance is the weight.
00:42:59There was 15 kilograms added to the Ferrari since the test day.
00:43:0410 kilograms added to the Fords since the test day.
00:43:07Plus those restrictor changes a little bit less on the Aston and Corvette.
00:43:12Nottingham, Anglia.
00:43:19За неделю до Уимблдона устроитесь поудобнее и наслаждайтесь красивой игрой.
00:43:25С понедельника в прямом эфире на Евроспорт 1.
00:43:28ATP Nottingham.
00:43:29В.ПУТИН riters cheesy
00:43:45В.ПУТИН
00:43:52В.ПУТИН
00:45:56Welcome back.
00:45:59We've had cars just coming in to make changes.
00:46:03Intermediates are being put on some vehicles, and this is the reason why we've still got a safety car at the moment.
00:46:07There's a perfect example of the pans or bowls, if you like, that hold the water within the curves.
00:46:13It caused incidents today.
00:46:15In fact, we had a crash in the warm-up mark specifically because of the water here.
00:46:21And here are the blowers.
00:46:22That is where it was as well.
00:46:23David Cheng went off in those very, very puddles at Indianapolis that they're now sweeping up now.
00:46:29So, well spotted, Carlton.
00:46:31We have been told that the caution is continuing for another perhaps one and a half laps to give the marshals a chance to get rid of this water.
00:46:38The rain has stopped.
00:46:39The sun is starting to break through.
00:46:41It's been a very bizarre week here in Le Mans.
00:46:43You know, we're in West France.
00:46:45You do get all the weather from the Atlantic, but it has never been so cold as people who live in Le Mans can recall.
00:46:51We've been 15, 14 degrees every day maximum, and this rain comes and goes in great waves.
00:46:57It's never been persistent, has it?
00:46:59But when it does come, my goodness, it's heavy.
00:47:01I think that's the problem, Jeremy.
00:47:03I mean, it's very difficult for them to make judgments about tires, et cetera.
00:47:07The team's stopping for intermediates at the moment, but, you know, it's a difficult call.
00:47:12It is a difficult call.
00:47:14This track does dry out fairly quickly.
00:47:16And now, if we look out to our west here or southwest, we can see the sun is actually poking through.
00:47:22So that is going to dry.
00:47:22This track tends to dry fairly quickly in any case.
00:47:25And once the sun comes out, it'll dry even more quickly.
00:47:28And, you know, there's a bit of a breeze as well out there.
00:47:30So, you know, that all helps with the drying of the track.
00:47:33And I'm not surprised.
00:47:35I'm a little bit surprised to see the marshals out there blowing bits, you know, blowing the water out of the kerbs.
00:47:40I mean, I think it's time to get going.
00:47:43But there was somebody asked us on Twitter, you know, when the decision, Joss Pickett asked,
00:47:48how will the fish will decide when to go racing?
00:47:51The drivers and teams will be biased, surely.
00:47:53Yeah, I absolutely agree with you there, Joss.
00:47:55And it's purely down to the race director and when he feels it's safe enough.
00:48:01And while he will listen to all of the teams and the drivers, he will get the, I think, his final decision will be made upon the judgment of Yannick Dalmas at the wheel of that safety car there at the front of the field.
00:48:14He was sent out on, was it Thursday night, wasn't it, last night, during the presentation where we had the heavy deluge.
00:48:22And he was out there drifting the car around.
00:48:24And he was really quite surprised how wet it was because he got the car really sideways at one point.
00:48:30And he stayed out there through that whole time.
00:48:33And when he decided the track was good enough to go back to conditions, that's when he restarted the session.
00:48:39Right.
00:48:40Now, do you notice that, guys?
00:48:41We just saw a second safety car joining in the game now.
00:48:44That's picking up some of the back markers who have obviously stopped in the pits.
00:48:48And that is two of the three safety cars that we know of out on track at the moment.
00:48:52Indeed.
00:48:52And the reason for that is, when the cars are not allowed to rejoin from the pit lane until the safety car comes around.
00:49:00So, as we saw at the beginning.
00:49:02Negative, negative.
00:49:03No more rain expected.
00:49:05That's what I'm saying until the car this time.
00:49:06I'm thinking already about for the next tire choice.
00:49:10I'm not sure.
00:49:11There's not a lot of water that could have come to it.
00:49:13Although we can say with these tires.
00:49:16No more rain.
00:49:18We're looking at a new truck to a different compound, obviously, for a different tire choice.
00:49:22We're looking at a new truck to a different type of equipment.
00:49:26Try and keep looking for water.
00:49:27Try and keep it cool after the restart.
00:49:30Try to drive through FC current and high-speed sections.
00:49:32Copy.
00:49:33It's right.
00:49:33Try quickly, not a mother down.
00:49:35Terrence, you can't in the north-west anyone at the top of the line.
00:49:39Yeah, copy that.
00:49:39Copy that.
00:49:41So, great information there.
00:49:42That was Timo Bernhard on the phone there on the radio with his team updating the track situation.
00:49:49And I forget where I was with what I was talking about there.
00:49:51But where was I?
00:49:53Do you remember?
00:49:53Not quite sure.
00:49:54But the thing I was worried about was when we got inside there, it was the mist, the steam steaming up inside, affecting visibility.
00:50:00Not necessarily spray.
00:50:01Certainly not the rain.
00:50:03Just one point, though, to dwell on.
00:50:05If they're going to start complaining about the water that's collected in these pans, first shower, they're going to fill up again.
00:50:12It can only be clean for the start, surely.
00:50:14I agree.
00:50:15I don't agree.
00:50:15I don't agree with you.
00:50:17And I don't agree with the officials on that one.
00:50:19I think you just get this race underway.
00:50:20The track is a lot drier than it was.
00:50:22And I think it's good to go.
00:50:24What I was talking about, the additional safety cars, because they do not allow the cars to rejoin from the pit lane until a safety car comes past.
00:50:31So then, as we saw at the beginning, you'd lose a complete lap.
00:50:34Now, you only lose a third of a lap.
00:50:36We will be right back.
00:50:39Actually, you yourself gave you a debut in a race car last year.
00:50:42But Le Mans is very special to you as well, right?
00:50:44Yeah, this is an old history.
00:50:46And for the machines, even.
00:50:49I mean, one thing is a racer.
00:50:51That's impressive.
00:50:51But 24 hours for the cars to last that long at maximum performance, that's impressive.
00:50:58Any chance that we see you racing in Le Mans at any time?
00:51:01I don't think so.
00:51:03I mean, it would be definitely a cool thing to do, obviously as an amateur way in the back.
00:51:07But no, I don't think so.
00:51:09It takes a lot of practice, and I'm not sure I have that kind of time right now.
00:51:12But maybe in the very distant future.
00:51:15Thank you very much.
00:51:23Well, it certainly looks like the cars are testing their own pace, as you can see.
00:51:26Just dropping back a little bit and then just trying to, well, gauge conditions, I think it's fair to say, Mark.
00:51:33And they're reporting back all.
00:51:35And it's various stories we're having, but surely we must be underway fairly soon.
00:51:40Yeah, we're just waiting then, as we say, to get the word from Eduardo Freitas, our race director.
00:51:45And as Jeremy said quite pointedly, the buck stops with him.
00:51:50And he's the one who's got to take the final decision.
00:51:53The safety of everyone depends on his final word.
00:51:56And so we've just confirmed that there are three safety cars going around.
00:52:00Jeremy and I picked up on that.
00:52:02We've got safety car A, which is leading the bunch here.
00:52:04You've got safety car C, which is ahead of middle way.
00:52:06And then safety car B.
00:52:08And they're picking up the cars, which are now more straggled around the circuit.
00:52:11And that's what will happen during the course of the race.
00:52:14So now, when you make a pit stop, you don't lose a complete lap.
00:52:17You just lose a third of a lap.
00:52:19Yeah.
00:52:19And, of course, the cars are now circulating faster behind the safety car.
00:52:23So they're also, you're not having to wait quite so long.
00:52:26But, as Jeremy says, good move.
00:52:27Here's the infamous Mulsanne Hump.
00:52:30This has been planed off over the years.
00:52:32John Nielsen famously backflipping the sort-cut Jaguar into the trees there.
00:52:37And then later in the years, both Mark Webber and Peter Dunbrick.
00:52:41Peter's flip, quite remarkable.
00:52:43I actually just said to him once, without telling him what I was going to ask him,
00:52:46I just said, how many?
00:52:47And he said, five and a half.
00:52:50That was how many times he went over, flipping backwards.
00:52:53And was extraordinarily lucky to land in an area that had just been cleared of poplar trees,
00:52:58which are the harvested trees for wood, for burning wood.
00:53:03There's another story about our abode.
00:53:05That's what I was going to mention, actually.
00:53:07The temperatures have been so bad.
00:53:08We lit the fire the other night.
00:53:10Unfortunately, in our rented cottage, we didn't know that there was an anti-bird flap halfway up.
00:53:15So we smoked the place.
00:53:17And poor Jeremy is still coughing at night.
00:53:20Windows are open.
00:53:20Yeah, so we smoked like kippers.
00:53:24There's a Dunlop, guys.
00:53:25Let's just give you some facts and figures about tyres.
00:53:27They're in the news at the moment because drivers are on the cusp of deciding,
00:53:31do we go to an intermediate sweats?
00:53:32Michelin, 6,000 tyres here, supplying 33 cars with 100 technicians.
00:53:39Dunlop, who for the first time are in P1, they've got 6,000 tyres as well,
00:53:4427 cars and 80 engineers.
00:53:47So that's the facts and figures from Robert.
00:53:50People are whistling the safety car at the moment.
00:53:53And I believe, at least my last look of it, that the safety car lights appear to be out.
00:53:59So presumably that will stop the whistling.
00:54:02But the crowd are saying, get on with it.
00:54:04And they're being led by cheerleader Jeremy Shaw here as well, and indeed myself,
00:54:10because we all agree.
00:54:12That looked very much like an old gold leaf racing colour on the 33.
00:54:16They're absolutely gorgeous.
00:54:17Lights are out on the safety car, fellas.
00:54:19They are.
00:54:19And this is it, because we don't get paid until they start racing.
00:54:22You do realise that, don't you?
00:54:23Nearly an hour gone already.
00:54:25Yeah, that's right.
00:54:26Safety car in this lap at last, guys.
00:54:28Well spotted, Carlton.
00:54:29The lights are off on that Audi.
00:54:32And the same will be happening on the other two safety cars.
00:54:41So the crowd will be delighted, Jeremy, and I'm sure you will be too.
00:54:45Indeed so.
00:54:46And Wolfram Ulrich doesn't look terribly delighted, but I'm sure he will be once the race gets going.
00:54:50He's back in the fifth and sixth place with the two Audis.
00:54:52It will be the two Porsches that lead, followed by the two Toyotas, and then the pair of Audis
00:54:57as we come now through the Porsche curves, less than half a mile from a start.
00:55:02Finally, a proper start, let's say, of this 84th Grand Prix.
00:55:07Yeah, 52 minutes after Brad Pitt waved the tricolor at these cars to start.
00:55:12We're finally going.
00:55:13There's your colour codes.
00:55:13Let's remind you, red for LMP, one on the side, blue for P2, green for Pro GT, and orange for AMGT.
00:55:21The sun is out, Le Mans, 24 hours.
00:55:23It's about to start as the Le Mans, 23 hours.
00:55:27With that view, you'd think that there was no moisture around there.
00:55:30There's still a bit being kicked up as soon as they find a puddle, and they're looking for it, don't forget,
00:55:34just to cool things down.
00:55:35Right now, the safety car is about to pull in.
00:55:38In fact, it has gone.
00:55:39So next time by, we will be racing here, and we are delighted to tell you that.
00:55:45The 84th running of the great race about to get underway.
00:55:50Safety car's gone, and it's the Porsches that will pick this up to begin.
00:55:56Yeah, and of course, they're not even side by side, of course, because the race has already started.
00:56:00So it's just like a restart after a safety car period, if you like.
00:56:04So that's all good news for the guys at the front.
00:56:06Damien, cold, wet tires, cold brakes.
00:56:08Yeah, they're just trying to get as much temperature into their brakes as they can, into their tires as they can.
00:56:15They've got to be very careful in these first few laps.
00:56:18Over Dunlop, then, for the first time.
00:56:20The rise and fall in proper racing conditions, so you can see damp all over the place here.
00:56:24The odd rooster tail being kicked up.
00:56:26Cars having to be snatched at as well.
00:56:28It's Porsche, of course, leading out.
00:56:30One and two.
00:56:31Toyota, closest at hand.
00:56:33But Audi also very much engaged here.
00:56:35Lots of questions to be asked, and over 23 hours to find the answers, Jeremy.
00:56:40Yeah, unfortunately, I didn't have a headset on because Damien had it.
00:56:47But, yeah, finally we're underway here.
00:56:48So this is, and we saw one of the top cars in LMP2 came onto Bilt Lane as the green flag came out to make his stop.
00:56:56I would presume, Mark Cole, to go onto intermediate tires.
00:57:00Yeah, and everyone else, of course, will be watching to see how good that is.
00:57:03What we're going to watch, Audi's already carving its way past Toyota.
00:57:06André Lotter, Andruat Duval have passed Sebastian Buemi.
00:57:10Push that Toyota that was in fourth place down to sixth.
00:57:14But it's still Porsche, Porsche.
00:57:15Toyota, Mike Conway fighting off André Lotter as they come down into the Forza chicane,
00:57:20the first of the two chicanes on that long, long Mulsanne Strait, the Lindoat de la Houdinière.
00:57:26Just look at the pickup as well.
00:57:28There's so much water being kicked up here.
00:57:31The defined racing line.
00:57:32And if you come around your teammate, make sure you keep it nice and clean.
00:57:36And there will be a lot of racing and bragging rights within the team.
00:57:39We're on board with both Fords here.
00:57:40And this is for position.
00:57:42It is for position here.
00:57:44And there's been a lot of shuffling going on already at the head of the field in GT.
00:57:49Perhaps it's now Sturkmuller still leading the way.
00:57:53He's actually got past one of the LMP2 cars as well.
00:57:56James Collado, Richard Westbrook and Olivier Pla in that car number 66 is under intense pressure,
00:58:03if not being passed by Sam Bird in number 71 Ferrari.
00:58:07Two cars still out there.
00:58:09It's Neil Yarny in his hands right now.
00:58:11Bernard is Porsche at one and two.
00:58:14Conway is on board the Toyota with Lotter and Duval.
00:58:17Buemi in sixth place at the moment.
00:58:19Best of the rebellions is the 13 car.
00:58:22Unlucky for some, but they've been riding absolutely beautifully here.
00:58:25Many saying that they could indeed get themselves a podium.
00:58:29And in the speed traps, they are amongst the quickest.
00:58:32Here we go then, Mark.
00:58:33The retrievals are squealing here.
00:58:35Yeah, to Mike Conway, who is the raciest of all at the moment.
00:58:38He's pushing Timo Bernhardt so, so hard.
00:58:41He's had to look to the left, had to look to the right,
00:58:43just backs off as they go through a Nash corner.
00:58:45You can't race through here.
00:58:46You just have to drive through there like you're in a car.
00:58:48Now watch that Toyota in third place.
00:58:50He's going to get hooked up right underneath that number one car.
00:58:53Well, let's see if he manages it.
00:58:55The Audis, by the way, the P1 Audis,
00:58:59have certain parts of this track that they need to avoid,
00:59:03most notably some of the humps in the latter curves.
00:59:07Yeah, it's really treacherous out there right now.
00:59:11Really easy to make a mistake.
00:59:12Let's not forget, this is Le Mans.
00:59:14We've got long straightaways we're going to go to
00:59:16during the World Endurance Championship season.
00:59:19And there's lots of straights as well.
00:59:21So the cars are running much less downforce than they would do on most tracks.
00:59:25They don't have nearly as much grip through the corners as they would usually have.
00:59:29And that just makes it extra difficult when the rain comes down.
00:59:32So this is the Fords, then it's Muller just ahead of Shinji Nakano's Areca now.
00:59:37But behind him has got the Fords of Westbrook and Pla.
00:59:41They're having a racing time as well.
00:59:43They're coming over there to complete the first racing lap at Le Mans
00:59:46as the clock gets to 3.56.
00:59:49Eight laps completed.
00:59:50One racing.
00:59:52Lots of paces of them all with the 3.51.
00:59:5460 fastest lap so far.
00:59:56And you can see he is all over the back of Bernard at the moment.
01:00:01The Toyota slotted in here.
01:00:03It's the Toyota of Conway.
01:00:05But Lothra got by and they've changed again.
01:00:07Swapping positions on the start-finish straight.
01:00:09They're about three times in that lap that has changed.
01:00:12Lothra.
01:00:14Bomya.
01:00:14Do you know, Ireland?
01:00:15Do you know, Ireland?
01:00:17Well, Ireland, first
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