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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#EnduranceRacing
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#ToyotaVsPorsche
#RacingDrama
#LegendaryRace
#LeMans2016
#24hLeMans
#EnduranceRacing
#MotorsportHistory
#ToyotaVsPorsche
#RacingDrama
#LegendaryRace
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SportsTranscript
00:00Is that, it's not driver driven, there is a button to press to get them into the correct mode.
00:06It's just how late they hit it, I guess.
00:08Yep.
00:09So, hitting their marks, it's Audi, the eight car right now, being serviced.
00:13Having trouble opening that door.
00:14Oh dear, we've got a problem there.
00:16Can't get in to get Ollie Jarvis's bottle changed and things.
00:20Wow.
00:21So what they're doing there, actually, that's the safe release if the car gets into an accident
00:25and they seem to be taking it off at the hinges where the door is fulcrumed.
00:30Lovely slow-mo here, replay of the...
00:32That was our AM leader, this is our pro leader.
00:35Well, we're going to art and what we want is info and we'd like to see the eight car, to be honest,
00:40just out of a view of our commentary position at the moment.
00:42You're live here at Le Mans with Eurosport, of course.
00:46Mark Cole, myself, Carlton Kirby and, of course, Damon Faulkner on air with you for the time being.
00:51We've got Sam Hancock, of course, Jeremy Shaw and Martin Haven,
00:55along with Sir Neville of Hay, who will be in this evening.
00:59Unfortunately, can't get this man out.
01:02Have they done a driver change?
01:04Got the driver, I've done it.
01:05That's cost them time they couldn't really afford.
01:08Well, there we are, shakes of heads.
01:13And that's what comes of putting child-proof locks on out.
01:17Well, somebody didn't press the red button.
01:20That's how they opened that.
01:21They opened that from the hinges down, so there's a quick release there if the car is involved in an accident.
01:26It's the car 22, apparently.
01:39Oh, is it position?
01:40No, it's car 1.
01:41Oh, we were hearing from Mark Webber being told you that's your final warning,
01:45so don't do it again.
01:46But he's been told to come in anyway, so this is going to be exciting.
01:50There we are.
01:51Well, it will be even more so if he gets any kind of penalty.
01:54We'll see.
01:55Those warnings are worth heeding, Mark.
01:58Yeah, and it's still maximum attack, Damien, the whole way into the pits, isn't it?
02:01Well, of course it is, and we're just going to see him right now in front of our booth.
02:05But you can see there, Mark's a wily old fox.
02:08He slows it down.
02:09He's not going to take a chance and get a penalty for speeding.
02:12The line is completely in our eyesight right across from us here,
02:16so we can get a good view as to who's pushing the limits and who's not.
02:21And it's interesting, isn't it?
02:22This year, all the penalties that are going to be given for going off the track are at 33 again.
02:28That's in Porsche curves because you told us this morning, Damien,
02:31they've widened the track there and people are now taking advantage of that.
02:35That's right, yes, a lot safer, especially if there's a lot of traffic,
02:40so people will just run wide to avoid a collision with another car.
02:44So a quick look around the car.
02:45The Michelin and Porsche guys just checking.
02:49Everything looks right.
02:49They're not going to change tires, are they?
02:51They're not going to change Mark Webber?
02:52They're going to just refuel.
02:54Kobayashi into the lead with Mark Webber in the pits.
02:59Brief check, and away he goes.
03:01So Kobayashi takes over at the head for Toyota.
03:06Anthony Davison in P4 at the moment in the 5 car, and here we are.
03:10This is the door problem.
03:12Had to take the door off entirely and be replaced.
03:15It was a slow stop and not what Audi need at all.
03:19All he stays in the car,
03:21but what they need to do is refurbish having his drinks bottle and just check things.
03:25Car 2 pit stop under investigation.
03:28Mark Lieb?
03:29Yes, indeed.
03:31Not quite sure.
03:32Too many attending to the vehicle?
03:34There may have been too many hands upon it.
03:36We will wait and see what sanction comes, but they'll be looking at the replay.
03:40Very, very much.
03:53So, let's go.
04:25It sounds like a sport car.
04:32It gives a feeling of a sport car.
04:35It gives a feeling of a sport car.
04:38And the name of a sport car.
04:41Porsche Macan.
04:42For those who believe that every Porsche Porsche is a sport car.
04:55Right, up to the last corner.
05:11Yeah, Chas has made a mess of it.
05:13He's outbraked himself into the final corner.
05:15The only mistake Chas Davies has made all race.
05:18But Leon Haslam wins this race.
05:21What a ride from the bucket rocket.
05:23Oh, and he blocks the line there.
05:26Experience from Jonathan Ray.
05:27He doesn't allow them to do it.
05:29It's going to be a race to the line.
05:31And keep an eye on the finish line, folks.
05:33We could have it.
05:34Oh, Leon Haslam around the outside.
05:37Here we go.
05:38It will be Jonathan Ray that just goes across the line to win the opening race.
05:45He's got to go for the inside line.
05:47He got past Tom Sanks like this.
05:49Can he hold the line?
05:50Solve.
05:50Jonathan Ray comes right back inside.
05:52What a turn.
05:54What an exit by the Noah Saki.
05:56Maybe he's good for the line.
05:57Inside him.
05:58It's a fight left in.
05:59And across the line.
06:00Jonathan.
06:01Chip in 2015.
06:10He's going to go right into the heaven again.
06:12Try and touch that gun today.
06:14Oh, they touch.
06:15They do touch.
06:17And Chas dome is here.
06:18And Jonathan will race to the line.
06:19Who will get it?
06:20It's going to be close.
06:22It's going to be Chas who just toes it.
06:25Oh, it was close that moment.
06:29It was close to the mark.
06:30But it's racing.
06:32Haslam's going to have to get in the slipstream.
06:34I'm not sure if he's going to have enough here to do it.
06:37Let's find out.
06:38Across the line we go.
06:39Haslam's got the slipstream.
06:40Across the line.
06:41It's going to be close.
06:43It's going to be Haslam.
06:45And he wins his first race since 2010.
06:50And I will guarantee you there will be tears of joy.
07:00Welcome back to Eurosport Live at Le Mans here.
07:03We've just gone past 8 o'clock in the evening.
07:05This is Mark Lieb in the number two Porsche
07:07who was lying in second place briefly
07:09while his teammate Mark Webber made his stop.
07:13He just went out before this car came in.
07:15But at the moment it's Kobayashi leading Ford Toyota overall.
07:20And it's another Japanese leading LMP2 as well.
07:23So that's looking very good for Ryo Hirokawa.
07:26He's driving in the Tyriere by TDS Racing Reiko
07:29which is entered by Pierre Tyriere himself.
07:32He drives it along with Matthias Besch.
07:34And out comes the number two car
07:35after a nice trouble-free stop there, Damien.
07:39Yeah.
07:39And just looking back to GTE Pro
07:41it's a Ford 123 at the moment
07:45with IndyCar's Scott Dixon
07:47sitting in third position there.
07:50It's great to see Scotty Dixon actually
07:51just thriving and doing such a good job.
07:54He's entertained us for so many years.
07:55I know he's one of Jeremy Shaw's pet drivers.
07:59Is that fair to say?
08:00Jeremy's kind of nodded.
08:01Yeah, that's good.
08:02Yes, very, very quick man.
08:06Indeed, it's Joey Hand at the moment though.
08:08Yeah.
08:08And Ford, I guess with a four-car challenge, Mark,
08:13something was bound to go wrong
08:14but they're one, two, and three at the moment in pro.
08:16Yeah, with safety and numbers of course.
08:18So put enough cards in the race.
08:20One of them is going to finish
08:21and hopefully one will finish ahead.
08:23Joey Hand, I mean, I remember him from his BMW days
08:26for a long, long time in America
08:27but he's made the change now
08:29and been a very, very good addition to Ford's crew.
08:32Stefan Rucker, just right behind him
08:34and as you say, Dixon in third
08:36and then the other Ford,
08:38the one that had the troubles,
08:39it's going to spend the whole race
08:41trying to catch up, isn't it?
08:43I'm not sure exactly where it is at the moment
08:45but it's off our screens on page three
08:47but here's Chris Hoy then, Sir Chris Hoy.
08:50Let's get that right.
08:51Edibus Finest and Carlton, over to you on that.
08:53Multiple Olympic track medalist, of course.
08:56The man who, if you've ever seen Kieran Racing
09:01you will be thrilled by that.
09:05It's the only motorsport element of track cycling, incidentally.
09:09There's a Derny, I think it's about 35 cc's
09:12and it paces the riders up
09:15and then releases them with two and a half,
09:17three and a half laps to go
09:18and Chris Hoy, absolute master of it.
09:22You've got to have some extremely strong legs.
09:24He's got a strong head on him as well
09:25as Auri continues just to thread it through the field right now.
09:30Just looking at the seven car.
09:32That's Marcel Fasler, by the way,
09:35running in 14th place after difficulty earlier on today.
09:38Anyway, Chris Hoy is back out and on track
09:40having managed to get some night laps in.
09:43Of course, he's turned his attention to motorsport
09:46and is prepared to take advice
09:48from just about anywhere he can get it
09:49and he's using that advice brilliantly.
09:52This is a threading manoeuvre, I think it's fair to say.
09:55A bit of a dirty line,
09:56but honestly, any available, Anthony Davidson will take.
10:00And he's up into third place at the barbie.
10:02Yeah, and the reason he chose to do that
10:06is because that's where he has maximum boost
10:08out of the chicane.
10:09So that's where he has a thousand brake horsepower
10:11almost twice what everybody else in front of him had just there.
10:15Yeah, Sebastian, I think they're looking really good
10:22for you guys at the moment.
10:24Anything you worry about?
10:26I mean, you know, it's obviously 18 hours to go
10:29or 19 hours to go, so things are looking pretty good.
10:33The car is quick.
10:34The guys have done a great job so far.
10:36Dirk took a great start
10:37and then Joey has been putting on some really,
10:39really strong stints.
10:41He's going to triple stint this one
10:43and then I'll hop in the car after that.
10:44But yeah, it's been pretty flawless so far.
10:48Your sister car had some problems.
10:49Have you guys talked about that as well?
10:52I mean, yeah, it's just a stupid little problem, you know,
10:56just it wouldn't build pressure in the gearbox system
11:00and so you couldn't ship.
11:02And they saw they had it fixed this morning,
11:04which was already there, and then they didn't.
11:06And, you know, they couldn't take the start of the race.
11:08So very disappointed for the 67 sister car,
11:11but it's still three standing strong.
11:13So hopefully, you know, we'll keep it that way.
11:16Thank you very much, Sebastian.
11:19Thank you, Sebastian and Edith Simon,
11:21who's asking the questions.
11:23Seven car doing a great job of moving back through the field.
11:27Currently running in 14th place
11:28after some desperate troubles earlier on.
11:30Maybe they are behind them now.
11:33Sebastian Loeb, incidentally, was, I believe,
11:36I'll just ask Mark Cole in a few moments' time.
11:38Somebody asked whether the race had ever finished under the safety car.
11:44And I think the last time that it did,
11:46Sebastian Loeb, I believe, was on board the Peugeot
11:50and did not complete the final lap.
11:53Said he was waiting up to offer up his congratulations
11:56to the winning Audi team at the time.
12:01I'll have to repeat that for Mark Cole,
12:03who's just come back to us.
12:05Mark, quick question for you while you're away.
12:09Last time that the race finished under a safety car,
12:15was it Sebastian Bordet, I beg your pardon,
12:18I think I said Loeb a few moments ago,
12:19was it Sebastian Bordet that was on board the Peugeot
12:21who held it back and didn't complete the final lap
12:25when the Audis won?
12:26Was that about 2012, something like that?
12:28Does that ring a bell?
12:29Can't remember.
12:30I'd need notice of that question, Carl.
12:32Consult the oracle.
12:33He needs to open the line, essentially.
12:35Somebody will tell us.
12:36But yes, indeed, it has finished behind the safety car.
12:39In the past.
12:40But let's hope not this time by.
12:42And it looks like we're going to be blessed with the weather.
12:45It apparently is going to stay fine
12:48for much of the rest of the race.
12:50Not that we're discounting showers entirely.
12:53What about Ford?
12:54They come here to celebrate those magnificent wins in the 60s.
12:58Every single one of the numbers that they are carrying
13:00represents a victory for the GT40 back in the 60s.
13:04And you're looking at the 66 car at the moment.
13:07That's Stefan Mukher.
13:08Joey Hand and the 68 is leading this class.
13:11And a bit of harrying going on as Mukher is asked to move to one side.
13:18Couldn't quite see who that was that was just coming through.
13:21One of the P2 cars, incidentally.
13:22But it's about a mixed class.
13:24And here is the gentleman that we were all talking about a little bit earlier on.
13:28He is a quadruple amputee due to a rather vicious virus.
13:35And he is racing here.
13:37He's already done a stint.
13:38Freddy Soce, incidentally.
13:40And it looks like he's going to be coming back out.
13:42A specially adapted car.
13:44It is.
13:45And he's just heading.
13:47He will be coming back out.
13:48He steers the car with an extension to his right arm, which is the least damaged of his limbs.
13:57There is, indeed, an inflation system underneath the seat, underneath his seat.
14:02So if he has an accident and there happens to be a fire, then the car can help him to eject and roll, essentially, away from the vehicle.
14:11So the safety issues have been dealt with.
14:13But also, Tanso and Bouvet, who will be driving that car as well, the entire adaptation which has been imposed upon the vehicle, the SRT41, for Freddy Soce, can be removed.
14:26And it becomes a regular car.
14:27It's an amazing piece of engineering.
14:29There are a lot of companies that are involved to make this effort possible.
14:34And we salute them.
14:35It's Garage 56, essentially.
14:37It used to be 55.
14:38And the 56 Garage was kind of just tagged on the end.
14:41And it was for new technology.
14:42And the technology is eminently exchangeable.
14:45And that's what makes that vehicle so, so special, Mark.
14:49Here we are, Ford, then.
14:51Pride of America here.
14:52Just refielding driver changes.
14:55And one of the big things about this has been the number of Americans here at Le Mans.
14:59And we've got one sitting between us at the moment, John Favre.
15:01We're just going to come back to you in a moment.
15:03Yeah, we're just going to take ourselves a break.
15:05And then we'll be back with John.
15:06And feast in a moment.
15:12We're back on EuroSport 2.
15:16Road to Sud.
15:175th the main WWE tournament.
18:28We're not the quickest, but the pace is good.
18:32There is still 19 hours to go, so there's a lot of road ahead.
18:36We can be confident that we have a good team behind.
18:39You mentioned the small problem.
18:41What was wrong?
18:43Something that could occur again?
18:45No, there was something wrong with the door.
18:47They changed it.
18:48So now the car is running perfectly again.
18:50You heard, you saw the problems with the other car.
18:53Did you guys talk about that in your group as well?
18:56Sorry, I didn't get it.
18:58The problems with the other car you had with the turbo?
19:01Is that something you discussed on the number eight car as well?
19:05No.
19:06Okay.
19:07Thank you very much.
19:08Thank you for that.
19:09Simon Lucas Degrassi then just putting us in on how progress is going.
19:11This morning before we came on air.
19:13Sorry, Jeremy, just a...
19:15Yeah, just one very, very quick note there.
19:17Kamui Kobayashi is leading a race right now in car number six.
19:21Has just turned his best lap of the race.
19:24Three minutes, 21.831s.
19:26We see the number 57.
19:28That is a GTE Am Corvette, Mark Patterson, well, the wheel and then the gravel.
19:34The oldest driver here, of course, is Mark.
19:36Yes, indeed he is.
19:37And an American, which is never...
19:38Oh, it's South African, actually.
19:39It's South African, actually.
19:40It's South African, yes, sorry.
19:41It's an American base South African.
19:43No reflection on that next guest.
19:45This morning before we had the big race, we had the road to Le Mans, which was a new thing.
19:50It's GT3 and LMP3.
19:52And finishing up on the podium, John Fowle been the Graf Felicia.
19:55John, congratulations on that podium.
19:57Thanks, Mark.
19:58And who gave you the trophy, was it?
20:00Jackie Chan.
20:01Wow.
20:02If you'd won it, it would have been Brad Pitt, would it?
20:04Yeah, I know.
20:06John, you're well known.
20:08You make your name for yourself in Europe anyway, the LMS series.
20:12But what did this mean to you today, being on the podium at Le Mans, in fact, even racing
20:15at Le Mans?
20:16Well, I mean, it was definitely a part of my decision making to go to the LMS series.
20:21The fact that we had the organizers made the road to Le Mans race, giving the P3 cars and
20:28the GT3 cars the opportunity to race at the biggest race and the best racetrack, you know,
20:34in the world.
20:35the world.
20:36So it is.
20:38It was so much fun.
20:39I mean, I could just talk forever about about the experience.
20:44And then the fan base here is is so excited.
20:49And in fact, many guys on our team were telling me stories about how they've been coming to
20:55this race.
20:56And Graf being a French based team have been coming to this race since they were young
21:01children.
21:02And so it was a dream of theirs to run in the road to Le Mans.
21:07And even more so to have have a car on the podium.
21:10It was.
21:11It was great experience.
21:12That's great.
21:13I mean, you must look around you, particularly in this race.
21:15Look at this.
21:16We've got four cars abreast.
21:17How exciting is that?
21:18But you look around you.
21:19You've got all the Fords here.
21:20You've got Indy car drivers, and you've got so many American privateers.
21:24And that was our race leader there, Barker, forcing his way on the dirt.
21:29Did you get on this red gravel stuff on the side of the road on the mall side, John?
21:33What does it feel like when you get on there?
21:35Or do you manage to steer clear of that?
21:38I've done both.
21:39I've done both.
21:40The center of the road is quite nice.
21:41But that kind of reddish, it's more like bumpy gravel.
21:46Yes.
21:47Yeah.
21:48And it upsets the car quite a bit and kicks up a lot of gravel and dirt.
21:51And that's, I think, a good source of punctures as well.
21:54Absolutely.
21:55And that was exactly the point I was going to make, because that was our race leader
21:58who has just turned.
21:59I talked about it a few minutes ago.
22:01He set his best lap of the race.
22:03He's now set the fastest lap of the race, a new fastest lap of the three minutes, 21.445,
22:08as we see the number 31 car that is currently in the sixth position, seventh position perhaps.
22:16Chris Cumming, the Canadian at the wheel of that car, for extreme speed motorsports.
22:21He's had to spin there as well.
22:22So all sorts of dramas here all of a sudden.
22:24And we're seeing on the screen here.
22:26Prepare for a slow zone at through the.
22:32Here he comes.
22:33Well, he comes around the corner.
22:34Finds two slow cars in front of him, doesn't he?
22:36Yeah.
22:37And then it's a panic a bit.
22:38Doesn't it really?
22:39Wow.
22:40That's going to be a slow zone.
22:41So we're now going to see much slower lap times now for several, for at least a lap or so.
22:46While that car hopefully can resume and get back.
22:49And so you can see the cars coming through very, very slowly in the background at just 80 kilometers an hour.
22:55Because I'm either struggling to fire it up or find reverse.
22:58It's a Silesia, of course, which you drive, but you drive the LMP3 version.
23:01Yep.
23:02Yeah.
23:03It's been a solid car.
23:05I tell you, a lot of people have their doubts about the P3 program, but that is a real race car.
23:10We've had several pros on the team testing with us and Sean Rahal, who I race in the LMS with.
23:17You know, we can't say enough good things about, about that car.
23:21It's been, it's been great.
23:22And it's been great.
23:23And in fact, we got a little sneak peek at the Lige P2 car, which, you know, a taste of
23:30Le Mans, a taste of the podium and a taste of a P2 Lige in the 2017 configuration has got
23:37me thinking a lot.
23:38Race leader Pitts, just while you're saying that, in comes Kobayashi-san having just set,
23:42as Jeremy said, that fastest lap of the race so far, 321.4.
23:46That's impressive.
23:47A bit quicker than you guys this morning, but have you, you've seen a sneak preview of the
23:50LMP2.
23:51Have you actually driven an LMP2?
23:53Tested it, or?
23:54Not a current P2, no.
23:56Right.
23:57The closest is the FLM09.
23:59So, John, just tell us something about your background in the States.
24:02Obviously, Jeremy knows you well from the States.
24:05Your racing there has all been in GT, or?
24:07No.
24:08No, mainly prototypes.
24:09Wow.
24:10In fact, in my early 20s, I rode race motorcycles through California, and that's kind of where
24:15I got most of my racing experience.
24:17Respect.
24:18In early days, at some point I decided I should probably take a break from that if I wanted
24:25to maintain my good track record of health and lack of hospital stays.
24:31But, yeah, you know, I got started really in prototypes in the radical, and I did that for a couple
24:38of years and had success there.
24:41And then, for the last two years, I was driving prototype lights in the IMSA series, development
24:47series, and won the Masters championship there both years along with some drives.
24:54Red puncture or something broken at the back.
24:58Yeah, that was a car.
25:01That's the one that spun, wasn't it?
25:03Yeah, it looks like maybe his right rear suspension had broken.
25:06That was coming.
25:07Yeah.
25:08Maybe when I had that spin, maybe it was over the curb, or?
25:11So, Chris has got a whole lap to do, of course.
25:13Yeah.
25:14Well, yeah, I was surprised because at the incident, it was over at the Porsche curves,
25:17but he's driven past the pit entrance now, and he's going down through the donut curves
25:22down through the four recesses down there towards turn through.
25:25So, yeah, he's got a long, long way to go.
25:27And that was that car was running in the top six in the class.
25:30So that's going to be a lot of time lost for that car number 31.
25:34So, John, you've been watching the progress in this race.
25:37I mean, obviously, you know what they're doing, these big boys up the top, because
25:41you've raced to yourself in prototypes now.
25:43But who are you putting your money on for three o'clock tomorrow afternoon?
25:48Wow.
25:49I mean, the number one car is obviously very strong.
25:52You know, if you'd asked me before the race started, that's where I'd put my money.
25:56So living in Las Vegas, you know, you can't make your bets necessarily after the green
26:01flag drops, but that's my guess.
26:03So do you have to commute here from Las Vegas every time you're racing in Europe?
26:07Yep, that's right.
26:09There's a direct flight from Las Vegas to Heathrow.
26:11So I appreciate that one.
26:13Take a nice nap on the way over, a late-night flight.
26:16And then wake up, have a couple cups of coffee, and try to go back to sleep.
26:22John, you've raced a couple of years now in the Coupetage Prototype Lights Championship
26:26powered by Mazda, which is kind of the road to 24, one of the Mazda ladder systems in America.
26:32They also have a great open-wheel ladder system as well, the Mazda Road to Indy.
26:35But, you know, you've also done some races in PC.
26:38Now you're racing over here in LL and P3.
26:41You know, what's your kind of goals here from now, from here on?
26:45Yeah, I mean, we've been talking a lot about that the last couple of days, given all of the drivers and teams that are here.
26:54You know, at the start of the season, I wanted to do two years of P3 and learn the car, and that's still the plan.
27:01And then look to do some P2 drives and either an LMS, ELMS, or maybe even do some WEC races.
27:10So in comes then the Dismiss 2 that was coming in.
27:15Oh, this is the Frederic Sosay car.
27:17This is the quadrupleet driver just going out, in fact.
27:20Jeremy talking about him before the last break.
27:23This really has been a story, hasn't it?
27:25A guy who's got no legs, no arms.
27:27And when he did his six laps the other night, they were all bang on four minutes, which was his target.
27:33Yeah, Frederic is, he's unbelievable.
27:36He's joined us in ELMS for the first two rounds, and he's just done a fantastic job.
27:41It's unbelievable to watch them put him in the car, and he's done a fantastic job.
27:46Hey, John, thank you so much for joining us tonight, and all the best for the rest of your ELMS campaign.
27:51And again, congratulations on the podium today.
27:54Thank you very much.
27:55Cheers.
27:56A nice trophy to take home from Le Mans.
27:59Cheers.
28:00Cheers.
28:01Cheers.
28:29Cheers.
28:30Cheers.
28:31Cheers.
28:32Cheers.
28:33Cheers.
28:34Cheers.
28:35Cheers.
28:36Cheers.
28:37Cheers.
28:38Cheers.
28:39Cheers.
28:40Cheers.
28:41Cheers.
28:42Cheers.
28:43Cheers.
28:44Cheers.
28:45Cheers.
28:46Cheers.
28:47Cheers.
28:48Cheers.
28:49Cheers.
28:50Cheers.
28:51Cheers.
28:52Cheers.
28:53Cheers.
28:54Cheers.
28:55Cheers.
28:56Cheers.
28:57Cheers.
28:58Oh, my God.
29:28Oh, my God.
29:58Oh, my God.
30:28Oh, my God.
30:58Hey, you have to nurse it, though.
30:59Mark Webber not doing that at the moment.
31:01He's been called for not respecting track limits on a number of occasions.
31:04Mike, eclectic Mick, apparently.
31:11Not sure why, but anyway, Mike, he said how far over the line is considered exceeding the track limits.
31:17So, Mark, car 88 is on track with a blue light.
31:20Car 88, 84, car 84.
31:22So, Damien?
31:26Yeah, on the track limit, it's four wheels over the white line.
31:30So, the track is defined by two white lines, one at either side of the track, and they don't like you going four wheels over.
31:37However, on the, like, for example, the Maltzahn straight, you can see loads of times where the LMP1, especially the hybrids, go off onto the, there's a donut white line, because that's a public road during the day, normally.
31:51You see them going into what is the hard shoulder.
31:54Now, they don't go in, they go in there by choice.
31:56They don't really want to go in there, but, of course, when there's a gaggle of GT cars and even the LMP2s in front of them, and they have no, really have no choice, but there's no available lane, because that's the time where they have double the power just when they're coming out of one of the chains.
32:12Well, just looking at the Signatech Alpine, qualified third quickest.
32:16And some issues here, not quite sure what the, what the issue was, Mark, but slow change for them so far, anyway.
32:28All right, just here we go.
32:30That's the second, second-placed LMP2 car there, I think, for a scheduled stop.
32:35What's it, Dave?
32:36My mistake, beg your pardon.
32:37I thought there was a delay, but black and white warning flag for 38 car, again, for abusing track limits.
32:45Zone 6, extraordinarily specific.
32:50And the marshals are the ones that are reporting those cars which are abusing the track limits.
32:56Mark Webber did so.
32:57Whether he did so in setting the fastest lap, not quite sure.
33:00His last lap, a second slower than Kobayashi.
33:03And, in fact, a 321.445 for Kobayashi on lap 81.
33:10That was three laps ago while you were busy doing your interview.
33:13Oh, no, no, we talked about it, right?
33:14We talked about it there, eh?
33:15Yeah.
33:16We've got some more news on Porsche GT, the factory GT cars.
33:20This race really is going away from them.
33:22We talked about Kevin Estrey's car having a stone through the radiator.
33:25Now we're told that Fred McVickey has lost 12 minutes having the rear left upright replaced due to sheared off-drive pegs, Damien.
33:34Wow.
33:35Yeah, that's unusual.
33:38You don't often see, you know, both Porsches having such poor luck.
33:43But, obviously, there's another 18 and a half hours to go.
33:48It may be going the wrong way for them at the moment, but at least there's a bit of time still to go.
33:52Yes, indeed, just looking at Porsche, they are 1 and 2 in the GT AM class.
33:59Camathias is leading with Alkabaisi in second place.
34:04Terrific for them, to be fair, that a design which is, we mentioned earlier on, is coming to the end of its life.
34:11Still, clearly, alive and kicking, Mark.
34:14Yep.
34:14Yes, very much so.
34:15I mean, that's going to run and run, isn't it?
34:18Dunlop Motorsport telling us some of our teams have now quadruple stinted their soft and medium tyres.
34:24That's around three hours per set.
34:26Feedback on the tyres when you can.
34:28Feedback on the tyres when you can.
34:30Can they do one more stint?
34:32I'm not sure.
34:33I don't know.
34:33I don't know.
34:34High speed stuff is still OK.
34:36Low speed stuff.
34:37I have less grip for sure.
34:39There's a tyre there.
34:40But I think we have to wait until the end of the stint to see the repair.
34:44Copy Mark.
34:44Copy Mark.
34:45Five laps to go, this is it.
34:47Five laps to go.
34:48He's asking about tyre longevity down to the driver, whether it's his call as to what grip levels he's got.
34:54He saw as well the insect life.
34:56It takes flight about this time.
34:59It's when the swifts come out and the fast vehicles as well, collecting what can only be described as many, many tens of thousands of little life forms, I'm afraid.
35:09They dare not use the wipers at the moment such as this, but visibility, you can understand why they build in so many tear-off strips.
35:18And in fact, it's insect life that is the most problematic issue, particularly around about this time.
35:25Well, absolutely.
35:26Also, there's oil and other sorts of fluid that comes up and bits of rubber that actually bounces off the windscreen and cause it just a little rubber mark.
35:36So all of that sort of stuff.
35:37But this particular point in the evening as well with the sun setting is particularly difficult.
35:43Now, Mark Lee, it's just being given a warning on the screen for not respecting track limits.
35:48Guess where?
35:4933.
35:50That's Porsche curves again.
35:51Eventually, eventually, surely someone's going to be pulled into the...
35:55I think they're going to have to.
35:57If they really are, they can't...
35:59At last, it happens.
36:02Lead car, LMP2, 26.
36:05Well, Stevens in the Orica has...
36:08In fact, he's been called in.
36:10He was leading.
36:11He's been called in.
36:11He's got a drive-through penalty.
36:12And guess what?
36:14It's starting to happen.
36:16Yeah, but that was for refueling of the engine on.
36:18Nothing to do with pit limits.
36:20So...
36:20The guy who is in Zone 33, I think his clipboard is full of crosses next to various vehicles.
36:27And they are imposing it.
36:29Here we are.
36:29Car 26 getting on to his marks.
36:32He's sponsored by BIC, I think.
36:35Well, he's had a close shave, I see.
36:38There we are.
36:39Mark Webber is our leader for the time being.
36:41Komoyashi running in second place.
36:43And it's Mark Leib.
36:44So it's Porsche, Toyota, Porsche.
36:47And Oli Jarvis has control of the 8 Audi.
36:51Update on the other Audi, the 7 car.
36:53It's up to 8th place.
36:55It just shows you the kind of retrieval pace with a focus team and a determined one as well, Mark.
37:01They're making good progress in that second Audi.
37:03Yes, they are indeed.
37:04And we're still watching the 26 car, then the GM, the G-Drive car, which, of course, Will Stevens was parachuted into.
37:12Will in Formula 1 last year.
37:13Sorry, I mentioned that word, Damien.
37:15In Formula 1 last year with Manor.
37:17And, of course, then he had to come across into sports car racing.
37:20He's loving every moment of it.
37:21But he has been loaned to G-Drive for this weekend.
37:24There's been some changing going on there.
37:26That car will have to come back in again and take that penalty for refueling with the engine on.
37:31And so, not served just for the time being.
37:36Cowboy actually still with the fastest lap.
37:38As we said, that was four laps ago.
37:41As we actually get into full night, just as we get into full night, some drivers really enjoy it.
37:50There are some that actually believe you get more vision at night.
37:53It's almost like you're acclimatized to it.
37:55And, of course, the lights, the illumination here are absolutely sensational.
37:58It's the twilight areas going into the night and, indeed, coming to dawn that can be problematic.
38:04Well, absolutely.
38:05But, personally, on the factory, the lights that they use these days are incredible.
38:13They're just beyond belief.
38:16They're designed, actually, in a way that there's no dips or heads.
38:19They're just on.
38:20They do have a flash system that they can flash and warn drivers that they're about to lap
38:25or, indeed, about to try and pass to try and put them off.
38:29But, Audi have, they use some sort of a laser technology, which is really, really good.
38:37Almost sounds offensive.
38:39But, yeah, we wish them well with it.
38:42Ford leading the pro class with Hand and Mocha 1 and 2 at the moment.
38:47Malicelli.
38:50Dixon.
38:51All over his.
38:54Just having a look further down the.
38:56Yeah.
38:58Dixon.
39:01Dixon.
39:03Dixon.
39:03Studies.
39:04Dixon.
39:05Dixon.
43:35There he is.
43:36Great job.
43:37I mentioned the fact that he was a multiple medalist, but I used to enjoy him in Kiran racing more than just about anything else.
43:45It's a proper battle.
43:47And of course, as a result, it's a Japanese form of racing and he's found very much a home with Nissan.
43:54And one of their favorite sons, I think it's fair to say, Mark.
43:57Yes, very much.
43:58Yes, very much.
43:59Yes, very much.
44:00And the Nissan Academy, of course, now in its seventh year, and it's been such a successful operation that hasn't thrown up some great champions.
44:07But for some reason, Damien, they dumped their champions at the end of last year.
44:11The people who won the Blanc Pan Series, two of the three of them, who were there along with Alex Buncombe, they were dropped.
44:19Well, of course, Nissan went through a big change, didn't they?
44:23I mean, they were here last year in LMP1s, and, you know, they stopped that program early as well.
44:31And we just saw Darren Cox, who was the Nissan team leader, if you like, and he's also moved on to Pastures News.
44:40So a lot of change in Nissan for this year.
44:42Yep.
44:43And, of course, the one thing that's missing is the Nissan LMP1 cars, nor do we have any Nissan GT cars.
44:49So, of course, they haven't built a GTE car as such, but that's made up for with all the engines we've got there, which have got the badge of Nissan on them.
44:57Yeah, of which there are quite a few, aren't there?
45:00Any LMP2?
45:01Actually, if you're into your Nissans, there is a secret museum.
45:04I don't know why it's secret, actually, but it is.
45:08You're not supposed to tell them that.
45:10Oh, yeah, it's a secret.
45:11But Mark Cole has been there, and has had several strolls about it, and enjoyed himself roundly, Mark, I think it's fair to say.
45:21Oh, very much so, yeah, roundly.
45:23Roundly, indeed.
45:24The original Skylines are there, and the Sylviers, the Cedrics.
45:28I mean, how can you call a Nissan a Cedric?
45:31Well, and get away with it.
45:33Yeah, I don't know.
45:34But anyway, no, great manufacturer Nissan.
45:37They've always been very proactive.
45:38And it's only two years ago that Andy Palmer, who was then boss of Nissan UK, said we will win Le Mans outright in two years.
45:45And he's been eating those at worst ever since.
45:48He's now moved on to Aston Martin, said nothing to do with me.
45:51There we are.
45:52And I'm just enjoying some pictures from earlier on today.
45:56It was a miserable and indeed a wet start, Mark, but when we finally got underway and going, a joy to behold.
46:04Yes, it was.
46:05And so many Hollywood heroes here.
46:07Brad Pitt, Jackie Chan.
46:08We had Kevin Kino Reeves.
46:11We had Pat Dempsey himself.
46:13And, of course, the star of the ball, John Todd.
46:15Why is he not in Baku?
46:16He put the Baku Grand Prix on him to Clash of Le Mans, but it turns up at Le Mans.
46:21How do you get around that one?
46:22Baku life, Baku reality.
46:23He is French, isn't he?
46:24Who?
46:25Who are you talking about?
46:26Who are you talking about?
46:27Who are you talking about?
46:28You've lost us, David.
46:32I have Nick here.
46:33You've lost us, David.
46:34The only fell spot.
46:35Oh.
46:36You've lost us, David.
46:37Oh, it's looking to get this way to take.
46:39Oh.
46:40Oh, oh, oh.
46:41Oh.
46:42One, punch it close.
46:43Oh, oh.
46:44Oh.
46:45Is he going to continue?
46:46The losing spot was following on the net of the car.
46:49You've lost us, David.
47:02so service for Audi that's the Jarvis car back in the pits and again number eight car
47:31like running currently in fifth position best place to the Audis but muscle fastler
47:36let's now move that number seven car up to seventh overall Damien so that a problem they
47:42had earlier on today the turbo failure and change will that cost some quite a few laps
47:47yeah there's what are these six laps and change behind they've actually come up through the whole
47:54of the GT and the LMP two fields now sitting at the back of the the top seven LMP ones and that's
48:00a good example isn't it that the difference the golf if you like in performance between LMP twos
48:08the GTs and the LMP ones of course there's a huge you know they have twice the horsepower with the
48:16hybrid systems they have a lot more huge huge performance advantage if you like so 88 laps
48:25completed now here at Le Mans we are 20 45 8 45 at night here in France we've still got a good
48:33hour and a half of daylight to go before it gets properly dark provided the crack cloud doesn't
48:38come back over and we're just picking up now with the Porsche that Mark Webber yeah the Mark Webber car which is still
48:46number one car he's just put uh 89 laps behind him Kobayashi-san for Toyota in second Mark Leap for Porsche in third
48:53in the just leaving the pits now Luca Degrassi in the Audi taking over from Oli Jarvis and Matteo Tusha who is the youngest driver here this year 19 years old and he is second overall in the World Drivers Championship in the River
49:07driver change going on at the moment somebody asking what these purple lights are on the interior is it just
49:17illumination as simple as that I missed it I just missed it but yeah they do have uh they will be illuminated at night oh yeah but yeah their LEDs just to light up the cabin
49:29to class that's a class yeah it looked like an 80s disco they're probably very expensive they forget nothing at all and you mentioned about the LED headlights of course the big factors about these headlights is they are incredibly light and I mean light in weight
49:44they take very very little power and they're incredibly bright so you know you're you're saving weight you're saving a drain on the electric power of the car and you're also improving what you see and of course that will translate from Porsche
49:59and Audi from the race cars into the road cars you've got to see another big step in headlights in the near future well of course that just goes along with the whole theme isn't it of being more efficient um you know in in the whole sort of concept of racing the way they go racing to to try and retrieve energy and uh and use that energy as propulsion um so even with the fuel that they're using this year is seven and a half percent less per lap um yet they're uh
50:29still fairly fast aren't they um we've had such a an amazing almost conundrum of a race here it's it it's hard to fathom how this one's going to pan out especially with the retrieval of Audi to my mind to be honest and in fact we're heading for our 16th lead change after the next pit stop for a leader
50:46it's just one of those races which continues to fascinate which is why we love it so much with over 18 hours of racing still to go um i guess the most difficult well i don't guess but i've heard that the most difficult uh thing to actually factor into your own mindset as a driver is when you've still got nine hours remaining
51:07this is there we are inquiries of the pit stops of car two and eight no further action to be taken and what we saw there
51:28kobe actually was unable to get by those two lmp2 cars for the best part of about 300 meters big problems for him there damien
51:35anyway we'll be back after the break
51:38so
51:46so
51:50so
51:54so
51:58so
54:30In fact, just on the outlap right now is Reid in the second-placed Porsche with Al-Kabaishi taking over the lead.
54:37Aston Martin of Meri-Lauda is in third place ahead of the Ferrari of Seagal.
54:44As far as the pros are concerned, it's Ferrari and Ford.
54:48No surprise there, I think you might say.
54:51But Ford leading with Joey Hand.
54:53Malocelli keeping him honest.
54:55Malocelli himself under tremendous pressure from Scott Dixon and Johnson also in the 66 car.
55:02So it is busy.
55:04That's how it was designed to be.
55:06And it's nice to see that there has been a little bit of an equalization.
55:09In fact, Darren Taylor is on his outlap for the Aston Martin running in fifth place.
55:15Nice to see that they are going well.
55:18Taylor and the Chevrolet running as well in the top six, Mark.
55:22Yeah, and just while you're looking at that screen there, look at Johnny Adam down there in 33rd place.
55:26His first time at Le Mans, his first in the Aston, putting in some very, very respectful times.
55:32Well done, Johnny, there.
55:33Big problems for Kobayashi, race leader just before we went to the break.
55:37He was blocked almost the whole of the way down the run to Indianapolis by two NMP, two cars.
55:43And Damian, he lost six seconds on that lap.
55:463.23 the previous lap.
55:483.29 just then.
55:49He's now back to 3.24.
55:51But this is what traffic can do.
55:53It can even cost him the race.
55:54Well...
55:55Good news, he said, I haven't got long left here.
56:05Yeah, that's the leading forward of Joey Hand, whose Jewish schedule stopped this lap.
56:11Yeah, that's right, Mark.
56:12I mean, what you saw there was the second part of the straight where the LMP1 is out of hybrid power at that stage.
56:20Just has about as much power as the LMP2.
56:24But crucially, it was in the draft.
56:26But there was two cars wide, so they had nowhere to go.
56:29So, you just have to play the traffic, don't you?
56:32Thread the needle.
56:33And Kobayashi, keeping out of trouble, but costing time.
56:36Bernard in second place.
56:38Kobayashi owes us a pit stop at the moment.
56:40That's going to come in a moment, I'm sure.
56:41The Porsches and the Audis have now all made seven.
56:45So has Aunt Davidson and the other Toyota.
56:47So Kobayashi eking out that fuel.
56:49Still only six stops.
56:51So, Joey Hand just about to hit his marks.
56:54I think he was actually running on vapors.
56:57He basically said, good news, it's getting a bit close.
57:01That could mean anything.
57:02Tyres, you name it.
57:04Or indeed, even his own fatigue levels.
57:06But these guys are all indeed athletes.
57:09This is the changeover.
57:10Our laps for Malicelli, Dixon and Johnson.
57:13This will be an important change.
57:15Yeah, absolutely.
57:16There's Sebastian Bourdais getting in with those glasses.
57:20Very easily spotted, isn't he?
57:23Great driver, safe pair of hands.
57:25He'll be just chomping at the bit to get out here.
57:28It's always lovely to jump into a class-leading car.
57:30When he was racing in the United States, champ car, they used to call him the Seabass.
57:36Do you know why that is?
57:38Because apparently when he won his first race, he came back and said, I am Seabass.
57:44And they all fell about laughing.
57:46You're a Seabass?
57:47And it stuck.
57:48That was his nickname.
57:50It went about 400 races, didn't he?
57:51I know, he didn't mean he was the boss.
57:53But anyway, so the Seabass is about to swim off.
57:56And of course, still winning races in IndyCar.
57:58Then Ford just going out then as one of the Corvettes comes in ahead of it.
58:02Yeah, just briefly held up there by that Corvette.
58:05It's the Seabass.
58:07That's Jordan Taylor has just arrived there.
58:09And of course, they have that win in Detroit a couple of weeks ago in the Weather Shield series.
58:15Nice to get an exterior shot of young Sebastian on his out-lap here, but I'm sure we'll be provided with one family soon.
58:21So at home here, Carlton, you know, he's born here in Le Mans.
58:24His father, Patrick, raced here at Le Mans.
58:25Sebastian, if you cut through his arm, you'll find it's like rock.
58:30It says, yeah, Le Mans, Riet, yeah, eat me now.
58:33So you can just see a nice onboard shot of him there looking down at the dash.
58:36And what he was probably doing there is doing something like changing the page on the dash to his preferred page.
58:42Because there's many different pages and different drivers prefer different pages.
58:48But also, he'll be crucially asked to, as he runs wide at Ted Rouge there, you know, we're wanting to do that too often.
58:55As the sun sets, your favorite page?
58:57Crucially, the team will be requesting him to reset the fuel.
59:02Right, there we are.
59:03A lot to do, particularly on the out-lap.
59:06And you better make sure it's a quick one.
59:08Well, absolutely, yeah.
59:09I mean, you're getting, he's going from the pits, obviously out into this traffic, into the race.
59:14You know, he'll be well prepared for it, of course.
59:17But, yeah.
59:2018 hours remaining.
59:22Is that Joe?
59:23No.
59:25There.
59:26One of the chicane's designed to slow everyone down here.
59:31Remind me, what is the speed record down here from Werner Racing?
59:35Oh, Veltor Racing.
59:36Sorry, Veltor.
59:37Yeah, Veltor Racing, that was something, 252 miles an hour in the WR.
59:44Over 400 kilometers an hour.
59:46They wanted to break 400, yes.
59:48And that was an absolutely bonkers effort.
59:50After that, they put the chicane in, so enough of that man.
59:53Yeah, they taped it, they taped it.
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