MUZZLED AUDI R8 GIVES ACO SHARP LESSON

HOUR 1
The 73rd Le Mans 24 hours are under way. In total 48 cars took the start under a temperature of 32° Celsius. The #8 Dallara, refusing to fire up, will start from 49th position in the pits. The two Pescarolos - not handicapped by weight sanctions, by motor retrictions or by restrictions of their fuel tank - pull immediately away, taking 5 seconds per lap on their closest opponents. Here the Japanese Dome (#5) is keeping up the trio of Audis following (all three handicapped by 50 kg of ballast, by serious motor restrictions and by a rule that they can use only 85 per cent of their fuel tank). For any one else than a Frenchman it's obvious that this are the most falsified Le Mans 24 hours in history. Rules were made in such a way that the Pescarolos should win, because ACO doesn't wish that Audi will win for the fifth consecutive time.
The #36 Belmondo Racing Courage comes in after the first lap with a flat battery. Both Pescarolos come in for refuelling after 8 laps, just to control the fuel consumption. That offers the Frank Biela and his #2 Audi R8 during a short period the lead. But before the end of the first hour the Pescas of Bouillon (#16) and Ayari (#17) are again strong leaders, more than one minute ahead over the #2 Audi.
We have to wait the end of the first hour to see the leading GT1 cars - the two Astons and the #64 Corvette C6-R, passing the two leaders of LMP2: Didier André in the #36 Paul Belmondo Racing Courage C65 and Phil Bennett in the #30 Courage Judd. In GT2 the Alex Job Porsche leads the #77 Panoz. The sick #8 Dallara Positions can cover one lap, avoiding elimination. Positions after one hour of racing are:
1. Bouillon (#16 Pescarolo) 15 laps, 2. Ayari (#17 Pescarolo) at 12 sec, 3. Pirro (#2 Champion Audi R8) at 1 lap, 4. Montagny (Oreca Audi R8), 5. Barbosa (#18 Rollcentre Dallara), 6. Lehto (#3 Champion Audi R8), 7. Minassian (#7 Creation DBA), 8. Cochet (#13 Courage Judd), 9. Schwager (#12 Courage), 10. Kurosawa (#9 Zytek 04S),  12. Gavin (#64 Corvette C6-R, 1st GT1), 13. Kox (#58 Aston Martin DBR9), 14. Turner (#59 Aston Martin DBR9), 16. Bennett (Kruse Courage C65, 1st LMP2) at 2 laps, 21. Rockenfeller (#71 Alex Job Porsche GT3, 1st GT2) at 2 laps, etc.

HOUR 2
The Audis are terribly handicapped on the long straights, reaching 308kph as top speed (due to their implied overweight and their motor restrictions) against 325kph for the Pescas. In this very unfair combat, totally falsified by the ACO rule makers, the #17 is after 90 minutes of racing victim of a light collision with the #78 Panoz. The left front suspension has been touched and the car will loose more than a complete lap in the pits. Meanwhile the #18 Rollcentre Dallara, having passed the Audis by faster pit work, is second, one lap behind Bouillon in the leading Pesca #16. Pirro, however, attacks the Dallara, and before the end of the second hour he will conquer the second position.
A left puncture on the #64 Corvette makes it loosing its lead in GT1. Turner, in the #59 Aston Martin receives a 3 minutes stop and go penalty for having hit for the second time a cone. Thomas Enge in his #58 Aston Martin leads now again GT1, moving up to rank 10 in the overall classification, and now followed by the #63 Corvette. The Care Racing Ferraris Maranello are unable to follow the pace set by the Astons and the Corvettes. First Ferrari after 2 hours is the Larbre Compétition #50, one lap behind the class leading Aston Martin. In LMP2 the #30 Kruse Courage Judd leads always the #37 Belmondo Courage AER, headed by the two fastest GT1 cars, the #58 Aston and the #63 Corvette. Having been led during a short time by the #90 White Lightning Porsche, the #71 Alex Job Racing Porsche can reconquer the GT2 class lead before the end of the second hour. Meanwhile the sick #8 Dallara covered ...one lap at ...72 kph. Troubles too for the #25 MG Lola EX264, the TVR, the Chamberlain Synergy Lola AER (broken turbo) and the #77 Panoz. Positions after 2 hours are:
1. Bouillon (#16 Pescarolo) 32 laps,  2. Pirro (#2 Champion Audi R8) at 1 lap,  3. Short/Barbosa (#18 Rollcentre Dallara), 4. Montagny (Oreca Audi R8), 5. Lehto (#3 Champion Audi R8), 6. Kurosawa (#9 Zytek 04S) at 2 laps, 7. Helary/Ayari (#17 Pescarolo),7. Minassian (#7 Creation DBA), 8. Julian/lammers (#10 Dome), 9. FRei/Schwager (#12 Courage),  10. Enge/Kox (#58 Aston Martin DBR9) at 2 laps, 1st GT1, 16. Mitchell/Bennett (Kruse Courage C65, 1st LMP2) at 2 laps, 22. Lieb/Rockenfeller (#71 Alex Job Porsche GT3, 1st GT2) at 3 laps, etc.

HOUR 3
Despite all race falsification by the organising ACO directors, the three Audis succeed in passing the leading Pesca, victim of technological bothers (probably a failing gear selection), during the third hour. They form a train with the #2 Biela/ Pirro/McNish, leading the #3 sister car of Lehto/Werner/Kristensen and the #4 Oreca Audi R8. The #18 Rollcentre Dallara comes one lap further, together with the #17 Pesca (suffering of small direction problems and using quickly its tyres) and the #10 Racing for Holland Dome S101. The #16 Pescarolo Judd will loose 7 complete laps in the pits but will rejoin racing in 24th position. Meanwhile 7 of the 8 GT1 cars are found among the top-20, letting almost all LMP2 prototypes behind. The #58 Aston Martin DBR9 moves even up to the 9th rank in the overall ranking. In the LMP2 combat the #37 Belmondo Courage looses more and more field from the #30 Courage, being now 13th overall, headed by the Aston Martin and the two Corvettes. The #50 Larbre Compétition Ferrari F550 and the Russian #61 Ferrari F550 (despite a terrible slow Formenko) have already passed the #37 LMP2 Belmondo Courage, now defending its 17th place against the #51 BMS Italia Ferrari F550 and the severely punished #59 Aston Martin. In GT2 the American White Lightning Porsche GT3 succeeds to pass the Alex Job Racing similar machinery, and leads now its class. Shortly before the end of the third hour the pace car comes out since oil was spilled on the track. Positions after 3 hours (under yellow caution) are:
1. Biela/Pirro/McNish (#2 Champion Audi R8) 45 laps,  2. Lehto/Wer-ner/Kristensen (#3 Champion Audi R8) at 14.5", 3. Montagny/Gounon/ Ortelli (#4 Oreca Audi R8) at 1'24", 4. Short/Barbosa/V.Ickx (#18 Rollcentre Dallara) at 1 lap, 5. Loub/Helary/Ayary (#17 Pescarolo), 6. Lammers/Julian/Bosch (#10 Racing for Holland Dome) at 2 laps, 7. Michigami/Ara/Kaneishi (#5 Jim Gainer Dome) at 3 laps, 8. Schwager/ Frei/Vann (#12 Courage Judd), 9. Enge/Kox/Lamy (#58 Aston Martin DBR9) 1st GT1, 10. Hignett/Stack/Kurosawa (Zytek 04S), 11. Fellows/0' Connell/Papis (#63 Corvette C6-R), 12. Gavin/Beretta.Magnusen (#64 Corvette C6-R) at 3 laps,  16. Mitchell/Bennett/Mullen (Kruse Cou-rage C65, 1st LMP2) at 4 laps, 22. Bergmeister/Long/Bernard (#90 White Lightning Porsche GT3, 1st GT2) at 5 laps, etc.

HOUR 4
At 19h11 the 49 cars receive green light. During the following minutes the #16 Pescarolo, strong leader during the first two hours, rejoins the track, turning immediately under 3'40" per lap. The #33 Intersport Courage is the first car to be retired. At Arnage Pitto (#2 Audi) goes straight on into the tyre barrier, obliging him to make an unscheduled pit stop, costing him 4 minutes. He looses the lead to the #3 sister car. The #78 Panoz goes straight on at Arnage and is the second car to be retired. The #17 Pescarolo, hunting as hard as possible, is temporly stopped in its come back by a puncture. The #77 Panoz is in problems with a cylinder head to be replaced. On the #13 Courage Judd the clutch is replaced. In GT1 the #58 takes one lap over the #63 Corvette, having been joined by the #64. One lap further we find the LMP2 leading Kruse Courage, severly purchased by the #50 Larbre Compétition Ferrari and the penalised #59 Aston Martin. The #16 Pescarolo moved up from rank 24 to rank 16, just behind the second Aston. The Intersport Lola B05/40 AER passes the #37 Belmondo Courage and is now second in LMP2. In GT2 the combat between the #90 Porsche GT3 and the #71 Alex Job Porsche GT3 continues. The Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 360 Modena looses its fifth place in the class when the rear spoiler is to be replaced. The #8 Rollcentre Dallara-Nissan is eventually going, now realising sharp lap times, but ...42 laps down to the leading Audi. Positions after 4 hours are:
 1. Lehto/Werner/Kristensen (#3 Champion Audi R8), 2. Montagny/ Gounon/Ortelli (#4 Oreca Audi R8) at 1 lap, 3. Short/Barbosa/V.Ickx (#18 Rollcentre Dallara) at 1 lap, 4. Biela/Pirro/McNish (#2 Champion Audi R8), 5. Lammers/Julian/Bosch (#10 Racing for Holland Dome) at 2 laps, 6. Michigami/Ara/Kaneishi (#5 Jim Gainer Dome) at 3 laps,  7. Schwager/ Frei/Vann (#12 Courage Judd),  8. Hignett/Stack/Kurosawa (Zytek 04S), 9. Loub/Helary/Ayary (#17 Pescarolo Judd), 10. Enge/Kox/Lamy (#58 Aston Martin DBR9) 1st GT1,  11. Fellows/0' Connell/Papis (#63 Corvette C6-R) at 4 laps, 12. Gavin/Beretta/Mag-nusen (#64 Corvette C6-R),   13. Mitchell/Bennett/ Mullen (Kruse Courage C65, 1st LMP2) at 5 laps, 16. Collard/Bouillon/ Comas (#16 Pescarolo) at 6 laps, 19. Bergmeister/Long/Bernard (#90 White Light-ning Porsche GT3, 1st GT2) at 7 laps, etc.

HOUR 5
The Creation DBA, dropped in the standings to the 29th place after a replacement of its water pump, is now the third fastest car on the track. The two Pescas are continuously running under the 3'40 per lap so that they win each lap 5 to 10 seconds on the power-handicapped Audis. The #37 Belmondo Courage looses 8 minutes in the pits to change its fuel pump, and is now even passed by the fastest GT2 Porsches, where the White Lightning #90 and the Alex Job Racing #71 are fighting for each metre.  One lap further follows the Raymond Narrac #76 Porsche GT3, followed by two other Porsches (Luc Alphand's #72 and the #80 Flying Lizard). The Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari Modena with its new spoiler follows one lap further, 29th overall. 
At 20h23 the #18 Dallara Judd looses its third place on leaking brakes fluid. The car looses two laps in the pits and rejoins the track behind the three Audis. Thanks to a faster pit stop the #4 Oreca Audi R8 is now only 1'01" down to the leading #3 Champion Audi R8. The two Domes - the Japanese one having passed the Dutch one - are now 5th and 6th, in the same lap as the #18 Rollcentre Dallara. The #17 Pesca moves up to the 7th place at 3 laps, with the Zytek 04S and the #12 Courage Judd in the same lap. So we find 9 LMP1 prototypes at the 9 first places. The #16 Pesca is coming, now already 13th at 5 laps after a new fastest lap by Collard in 3'35"972 (lap 74).
In GT1 the #58 Aston Martin, 10th overall, has 1'16" over the #64 Corvette (11th) and one lap over the #63 Corvette. One lap further the #59 Aston Martin (14th) has passed the fastest of the four Care Racing Ferraris F550 Maranello, Larbre Compétition's. Positions after 5 hours are:
 1. Lehto/Werner/Kristensen (#3 Champion Audi R8) 75 laps, 2. Montagny/ Gounon/Ortelli (#4 Oreca Audi R8) at 1'01", 3. Biela/Pirro /McNish (#2 Champion Audi R8) at 1 lap, 4. Short/Barbosa/V.Ickx (#18 Rollcentre Dallara) at 2 laps,  5. Michigami/Ara/Kaneishi (#5 Jim Gai-ner Dome),  6. Lammers/Julian/Bosch (#10 Racing for Holland Dome) at 2 laps, 7. Loub/Helary/Ayary (#17 Pescarolo Judd) at 3 laps, 8. Hignett/Stack/Kurosawa (Zytek 04S), 9. Schwager/Frei/Vann (#12 Cou-rage Judd),  10. Enge/Kox/Lamy (#58 Aston Martin DBR9) 1st GT1 at 4 laps,  11. Fellows/0'Connell/Papis (#63 Corvette C6-R), 12. Ga-vin/Beretta/Magnusen (#64 Corvette C6-R) at 5 laps,  13. Collard/ Bouillon/Comas (#16 Pescarolo),  14. Mitchell/Bennett/ Mullen (Kruse Courage C65, 1st LMP2) at 6 laps, at 6 laps, 19. Bergmeis-ter/Long/Bernard (#90 White Lightning Porsche GT3, 1st GT2) at 8 laps, etc.

HOUR 6
During the 6th hour the Oreca Audi R8 shows a lot of smoke behind the car. It appears that the smoke is provoked by a failing brake calliper. The car looses 2 laps in the pits. The #18 Rollcentre Dallara can take no profit of it, since the car is passed by the two Domes. Meanwhile the #16 Pescarolo Judd continues its ascension in the ranking. After 6 hours the car reaches again the top-10, always 5 laps down to the leading #3 Champion Team Audi R8, having one lap over the #2 sister-car. The Japanese Dome is now 3rd at 2 laps. The Oreca Audi R8 rejoins the track and passes the Dutch Dome for the 4th place.
During the 6th hour we loose not only the #20 Pilbeam but also the #52 BMS Italia Ferrari 550 Maranello after a serious accident. The #51 BMS Maranello, is just as the #69 Ferrari 575GTC in continuous pro-blems. At a prolonged pit stop the #58 Aston Martin looses its GT1 class lead to the #63 Corvette, going like a Swiss clockwork. The first Aston is now sandwiched between the two Corvettes, since the #63 follows at only 20 seconds. The #59 Aston comes 2 laps further, the first Ferrari F550 (Larbre Compétition) 3 laps further and the Russian Ferrari F550 of Christophe Bouchut and his slow Russian co-drivers 4 laps further.
The #18 Dallara is continuously loosing ground and is even passed by the #17 Pescarolo Judd, having reduced its arrears from 3 to 2 laps. In LMP2 the #30 Kruse Courage Judd drops in the standings from rank 14 to rank 27. New class leader is the #32 Intersport Lola B05/40 AER. In GT2 the Alex Job Racing #71 Porsche is again leader. After a serious accident of the Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari Modena, the 7 first in GT2 are exclusively Porsches, with the slow Cirtek Modena 8 laps behind the class leader. Positions after 6 hours are:
 1. Lehto/Werner/Kristensen (#3 Champion Audi R8) 91 laps, 2. Biela/ Pirro /McNish (#2 Champion Audi R8) at 1 lap, 3. Michigami/Ara/ Ka-neishi (#5 Jim Gainer Dome) at 2 laps,  4. Montagny/ Gounon/ Ortelli (#4 Oreca Audi R8) at 3 laps,   5. Lammers/Julian/Bosch (#10 Racing for Holland Dome), 6. Loub/Helary/Ayary (#17 Pescarolo Judd), 7. Short/Barbosa/V.Ickx (#18 Rollcentre Dallara),  8. Hignett/Stack/Kuro-sawa (Zytek 04S), 9. Schwager/Frei/Vann (#12 Courage Judd) at 4 laps, 10. Collard/Bouillon/Comas (#16 Pescarolo) at 5 laps, 11. Fellows/0' Connell/Papis (#63 Corvette C6-R) 1st GT1,  12. Enge/Kox/ Lamy (#58 Aston Martin DBR9), 13. Gavin/Beretta/Magnusen (#64 Corvette C6-R),   15. Fisken/Halliday/Hancock (#32 Intersport Lola B05/ 40, 1st LMP2) at 8 laps, 19. Lieb/Rockenfeller (#71 Alex Job Porsche GT3, 1st GT2) at 10 laps, etc.

HOUR 7
Andy Wallace succeeds, despite a broken seat, to bring the #7 Crea-tion DBA 03S Judd back into the top 20. After their 7th pit-stop Enge/Kox/Lamy can pass the GT1 leading #63 Corvette, immediately followed by the two American works cars. The #16 Pescarolo of Collard, Bouillon and Comas realises a fastest lap in 3'35"972, moving up to rank 9 when the #12 Courage Judd runs in technical problems. The #23 WR is retired. At 22h30 the #18 Dallara Judd, until then 7th, comes into the garage with a broken power steering. The #12 Courage stands immobile in the pits and drops in the standings. In GT2 the struggle between the #71 Alex Job Racing Porsche GT3 and the #90 White Lightning Porsche GT3 continues. Difference between the two cars is less than one minute. The #4 Oreca Audi R8 closes the gap with the Japanese #5 Dome S101, always in third position. Difference between the two cars is now hardly more than one minute. The #7 Creation DBA 03S continues its progress and after 7 hours the car is already 16th. In LMP2 the #32 Lola B05/40 AER is still leading and 15th overall. Difference with the #37 Belmondo Courage, again second in its class, is down to 2 laps. The second BMS Italia Ferrari Maranello is also retired. The Scuderia Ecosse Modena Ferrari is since 15 laps in the garage for repairs. At 22h54 the #85 Spyker, having been moving up from rank 48 to rank 35 is victim of a broken oil line. The car burns out, but thanks to the open construction, its driver, Donnie Crevels, could jump out of the car. The pace car is out.  Positions after 7 hours (under yellow caution) are:
 1. Lehto/Werner/Kristensen (#3 Champion Audi R8) 106 laps, 2. Biela/ Pirro /McNish (#2 Champion Audi R8) at 1 lap, 3. Michigami/Ara/ Ka-neishi (#5 Jim Gainer Dome) at 2 laps,  4. Montagny/ Gounon/ Ortelli (#4 Oreca Audi R8),   5. Lammers/Julian/Bosch (#10 Racing for Holland Dome), 6. Loub/Helary/Ayary (#17 Pescarolo Judd), 7. Hig-nett/Stack/Kurosawa (Zytek 04S) at 4 laps, 8. Collard/Bouillon/Comas (#16 Pescarolo) at 5 laps, 9. Enge/Kox/Lamy (#58 Aston Martin DBR9) 1st GT1 at 6 laps,  10. Fellows/0' Connell/Papis (#63 Corvette C6-R), 11. Gavin/Beretta/Magnusen (#64 Corvette C6-R),    12. Short/ Barbosa/V.Ickx (#18 Rollcentre Dallara) at 8 laps,  13. Brabham/Sar-razin/Turner (#59 Aston Martin DBR9), 14. Goueslard/Dupard/Vosse (#50 Larbre Compétition Ferrari F550) at 9 laps, 15. Fisken/Halli-day/Hancock (#32 Intersport Lola B05/ 40, 1st LMP2), 18. Lieb/Rockenfeller (#71 Alex Job Porsche GT3, 1st GT2) at 11 laps, etc.

HOUR 8
The #12 Courage Judd of Schwager (a regular JGTC entrant), Vann and Frei is again on the track in 18th position, 11 laps down to the leading #3 Champion Audi R8. Lap times of both Pescarolos, still purchasing the leaders - res. 3 and 5 laps down - are now no longer 5 to 10 seconds per lap faster than those of the penalised Audis. Pescas and Audis all turn around 3'43" per lap. [At ACO they are thinking to change the rules for next year: Audi can enter its new works car, a diesel (!), under condition that it's raced without wheels, just a question to defend as good as possible the interests of Peugeot, having anounced its come-back to La Sarthe.]
At 23h22 the #72 Luc Alphand Porsche GT3, 4th in GT2, gets stuck in the sable. The #17 Pescarolo Judd is in the slip stream of the #10 Dome S101, attacking its 5th place. At 23h39 the Pesca passes the Dutch Dome. Difference between the GT1 leading Aston Martin and the two Corvettes is more than 40 seconds now. Difference between the Alex Job Porsche and the White Lightning Porsche, struggling for first place in GT2 is down to ...4 seconds. With the ultra fast Christophe Bouchut at the wheel the #61 Russian Ferrari is closing to the #50 Ferrari of Larbre Compétition, both fighting for the 15th place overall, until the #61 goes into the back of sable. The #16 Pescarolo Judd, always 5 laps down to the leaders is closing to the Zytek 04S in 7th position. The Oreca Audi R8 passes the Japanese Dome for the third place. The Scuderia Ecosse Modena is now officially retired. Positions after 8 hours are:
 1. Lehto/Werner/Kristensen (#3 Champion Audi R8) 120 laps, 2. Biela/ Pirro /McNish (#2 Champion Audi R8) at 1 lap, 3. Montagny/ Gounon/ Ortelli (#4 Oreca Audi R8) at 2 laps, 4. Michigami/Ara/ Ka-neishi (#5 Jim Gainer Dome),  5. Loub/Helary/Ayary (#17 Pescarolo Judd) at 3 laps,   6. Lammers/Julian/Bosch (#10 Racing for Holland Dome),  7. Hignett/Stack/Kurosawa (Zytek 04S) at 5 laps, 8. Collard/Bouillon/Comas (#16 Pescarolo) at 5 laps, 9. Enge/Kox/Lamy (#58 Aston Martin DBR9) 1st GT1 at 7 laps,  10. Fellows/0' Connell/ Papis (#63 Corvette C6-R), 11. Gavin/Beretta/Magnusen (#64 Corvette C6-R), 12. Short/ Barbosa/V.Ickx (#18 Rollcentre Dallara) at 8 laps,  13. Brabham/Sarrazin/Turner (#59 Aston Martin DBR9),  14. Fisken/ Halliday/Hancock (#32 Intersport Lola B05/ 40, 1st LMP2)at 10 laps, 15. Goueslard/Dupard/Vosse (#50 Larbre Compétition Ferrari F550), 19. Lieb/Rockenfeller (#71 Alex Job Porsche GT3, 1st GT2) at 12 laps, etc.

HOUR 9
Having broken its engine, the #69 JMB Ferrari 575GTC is retired shortly after midnight. It's already the fourth Ferrari being out after the retirements of both BMS 550s and the Scuderia Ecosse Modena. The #13 Courage is now also officially out after an accident. It looks as if the two Pescarolo cars - so favoured by the ACO rules - are not closing to the Audi trio out at the lead. After 6 hours of fighting they are always 3 and 5 laps behind the leaders, just as it was after 3 hours. At midnight the #17 Pescarolo waits more than 10 minutes to finish its lap. The car is passed by the Zytek, shortly after by the #16 Pescarolo which will pass the Zytek to take the 6th place. Needing to pit earlier than the Corvettes the #58 Aston Martin looses its class lead shortly after midnight. But at 0h20 positions are restored with the Aston preceeding both Corvettes by res. 43 and 54 seconds. The #17 Pescarolo drops in the standings from 5th to 10th at 0h23. Meanwhile the White Lightning #90 Porsche passed the #71 Alex Job Porsche. Difference between botyh is now 1'20". Third in the GT2 class is the Raymond Narrac Porsche (a GT3-RS!), having now passed the #37 Belmondo Courage, always 2nd in  LMP2, but already 4 laps behind the Intersport Lola AER, having now been passed by the first Care Racing Ferrari (the #50 Larbre Compétition). At 0h31, when the White Lightning Porsche has to refuel, the #71 Alex Job Porsche goes again out on the lead in GT2. When the #90 rejoins the track difference is 9 seconds. The #32 Intersport Lola runs in problems and is now also passed by the #7 Creation DBA, the #12 Courage and the #61 Cirtek Ferrari F550. At 0h34 the #17 Pescarolo rejoins the race after a 26 minutes stop in 14th position, 10 laps down to the lead. Since 22h52 Daily Sportscar disappeared from the Internet. No direct race info either on ACO's official site. At 0h44 the #17 Pesca, having made a couple of laps under the 3'40, is again in the pits. We have no info concerning its technical problems. The #32 Lola is still in the pits and will loose its first place in LMP2 to the #37 Belmondo Courage. The #58 Aston has already more than one minute over both Corvettes. 0h50: the Dutch Dome slows down. The #17 rejoins the race, always 14th, but already 11 laps down. The Oreca Audi looses its 3rd place, immobile in the pits since 5 laps. Positions after 9 hours are:
 1. Lehto/Werner/Kristensen (#3 Champion Audi R8) 135 laps, 2. Biela/ Pirro /McNish (#2 Champion Audi R8) at 1 lap, 3. Michigami/Ara/ Kaneishi (#5 Jim Gainer Dome) at 4 laps, 4. Collard/Bouillon/Comas (#16 Pescarolo) at 5 laps, 5. Lammers/Julian/Bosch (#10 Racing for Holland Dome), 6. Montagny/ Gounon/ Ortelli (#4 Oreca Audi R8) at 6 laps,  7. Enge/Kox/Lamy (#58 Aston Martin DBR9) 1st GT1 at 8 laps, 8. Gavin/Beretta/Magnusen (#64 Corvette C6-R), 9. Fellows/ 0'Connell/ Papis (#63 Corvette C6-R), 10. Hignett/Stack/Kurosawa (Zytek 04S) at 8 laps, 11. Brabham/Sarrazin/Turner (#59 Aston Martin DBR9) at 9 laps, 12. Short/ Barbosa/V.Ickx (#18 Rollcentre Dallara),  13. Minassian/Campbell-Walter/Wallace (#7 DBA) at 10 laps, 14. Loub/Helary/Ayary (#17 Pescarolo Judd) at 11 laps, 15. Goueslard/Dupard/Vosse (#50 Larbre Compétition Ferrari F550), 18. Lieb/Rockenfeller (#71 Alex Job Porsche GT3, 1st GT2) at 14 laps, 20. Belmondo/André/Sutherland (#37 Courage C65), 1st LMP2 at 17 laps etc.

HOUR 10
Eventually we are informed what made the #17 loosing nearly 30 minu-tes in the pits: the car was in for repair after a collision with the #8 Dallara. The Oreca Audi suffers a broken suspension and is in the garage to repair the right front corner.
The #34 Miracle Motorsports Courage is black-flagged after a "reversing back to the track" accident. The Kruse Courage, an early leader in LMP2 is in the pits with a broken damper. At 01h06 the Oreca Audi rejoins the race, 2 laps down to the #16 Pescarolo Judd, now 4th. Minor problems on the Dutch Dome (flat tyre) bring the #58 Aston Martin in 6th position overall, headed by five prototypes. Daily Sportscars is back on-line at 01h15.
The #59 Aston Martin receives a third stop-and-go penalty. Nobody but the ACO officials can tell why. At 01h30 Daily Sportscars is again out. The Dutch Dome is always in the pits, because the tyre puncture provoked a holed radiator. The orange car drops to rank 11. The Zytek passes the #58 for the 6th place. The #7 Creation DBA enters the top-10, 10 laps down.
The #25 MG Lola, having had a very difficult early race is now third in LMP2, preceeded by the two Belmondo Courages. Already two GT2 cars and six GT1 cars are faster than the fastest LMP2, proving once more that such cars are not reliable in endurance racing. At 1h34 the Dutch Dome is quits the garage, and rejoins the race as 14th.  At 1h45 the #31 Courage is abandoned along the track.
The Zytek looses two places on refuelling and is 8th at 1h50, preceeded by the #58 Aston Martin and the #64 Corvette. Difference between them is down to 50 seconds. The Alex Job Racing Porsche leads always in GT2, 1'41" ahead over the White Lightning Porsche. The Cirtek Ferrari Modena is always there, however, as low as 27th (7th in GT2).
After 10 hours of racing we have still 35 of the 49 cars in the race: 11 of the 13 LMP1 cars, 7 of the 13 LMP2 cars, 6 of the 9 GT1 cars and 11 of the 14 GT2 cars.
Just before the end of the 10th hour the #58 Aston Martin looses its 6th place plus the GT1 lead, rejoining the track ...one second down to the #64 Corvette. Positions after 10 hours are:
 1. Lehto/Werner/Kristensen (#3 Champion Audi R8) 151 laps, 2. Biela/ Pirro /McNish (#2 Champion Audi R8) at 1 lap, 3. Michigami/Ara/ Kaneishi (#5 Jim Gainer Dome) at 3 laps, 4. Collard/Bouillon/Comas (#16 Pescarolo) at 4 laps, 5. Montagny/ Gounon/ Ortelli (#4 Oreca Audi R8) at 6 laps, 6. Hignett/Stack/Kurosawa (Zytek 04S) at 8 laps, 7. Gavin/Beretta/Magnusen (#64 Corvette C6-R) 1st GT1, 8. Enge/Kox/ Lamy (#58 Aston Martin DBR9),  9. Fellows/ 0'Connell/ Papis (#63 Corvette C6-R) at 9 laps, 10. Minassian/Campbell-Walter/Wallace (#7 DBA) at 10 laps, 11. Short/ Barbosa/V.Ickx (#18 Rollcentre Dallara), 12. Brabham/Sarrazin/Turner (#59 Aston Martin DBR9) at 11 laps,  13. Loub/Helary/Ayary (#17 Pescarolo Judd) at 11 laps, 14. Lammers/ Julian/Bosch (#10 Racing for Holland Dome) at 12 laps, 16. Goues-lard/Dupard/Vosse (#50 Larbre Compétition Ferrari F550) at 13 laps, 17. Lieb/Rockenfeller (#71 Alex Job Porsche GT3, 1st GT2) at 15 laps, 20. Belmondo/André/Sutherland (#37 Courage C65), 1st LMP2 at 17 laps etc.

HOUR 11
At 02h04 the #24 WR, 33rd, hits the Michelin wall, but can be repaired. The #58 Aston Martin takes back its GT1 leader's place once the Cor-vettes have to come in for refuelling. The car is 21 seconds behind the Zytek 04S, being 6th. The LMP2 leading #37 Belmondo Courage C65 is now also passed by two other GT2 cars: the Raymond Narrac Porsche GT3-RS and the Flying Lizard Porsche GT3-RSR. A fifth Porsche, Luc Alphand's attacks now the Belmondo Courage, struggling in 22nd position. Lap times of the lonely vailliant Pescarolo Judd, the #16, are now 2 to 4 seconds faster than those of the three Audis, not enough to go to victory lane if the two leading Audis can avoid to be victims of mechanical bothers. At 02h30 the two GT2 leading Porsches are always in the same lap, 1'30" apart. In GT1 the Care Racing Maranello Ferraris are no match for the two Astons and the two Corvettes: fastest of them, the #50 Larbre Compétition, is already 6 laps down to the class leading Aston Martin. The Russian #61 Ferrari is even preceeded by the two GT2 leading Porsches, following them in the same lap. The #32 Intersport Lola, a long time class leader, is retired with a broken engine.
Despite their reduced fuel tank the Audis do 13 lap stint against 12 lap stints for the Pescarolos. When at 02h40 the Zytek has to made its pit stop the #58 Aston Martin can conquer the 6th place overall, 1'18" ahead over the admirable #64 Corvette having been 11 hours long in the same lap as the Aston. At 02h51 the #18 Dallara quits the track to end in the sand bank. The car can rejoin the race. The LMP2 class leading Belmondo Courage (the #36 passed the #37) is now already headed by all GT1 cars and by 5 GT2 cars.  Positions after 11 hours are:
 1. Lehto/Werner/Kristensen (#3 Champion Audi R8) 166 laps, 2. Biela/ Pirro /McNish (#2 Champion Audi R8) at 38", 3. Michigami/Ara/ Kaneishi (#5 Jim Gainer Dome) at 2 laps, 4. Collard/Bouillon/Comas (#16 Pescarolo) at 4 laps, 5. Montagny/ Gounon/ Ortelli (#4 Oreca Audi R8) at 5 laps, 6. Hignett/Stack/Kurosawa (Zytek 04S) at 8 laps, 7. Enge/Kox/Lamy (#58 Aston Martin DBR9) 1st GT1, 8. Gavin/Beret-ta/Magnusen (#64 Corvette C6-R) at 9 laps, 9. Fellows/ 0'Connell/ Papis (#63 Corvette C6-R), 10. Minassian/Campbell-Walter/Wallace (#7 DBA), 11. Loub/Helary/Ayary (#17 Pescarolo Judd) at 10 laps, 12. Brabham/Sarrazin/Turner (#59 Aston Martin DBR9) at 11 laps,  13. Short/Barbosa/V.Ickx (#18 Rollcentre Dallara) at 12 laps,  14. Lam-mers/Julian/Bosch (#10 Racing for Holland Dome), 16. Goueslard/ Dupard/Vosse (#50 Larbre Compétition Ferrari F550) at 14 laps, 17. Lieb/Rockenfeller (#71 Alex Job Porsche GT3, 1st GT2) at 16 laps, 23. Gosselin/Sharpe/Ojjeh (#36 Courage C65), 1st LMP2 at 23 laps etc.

HOUR 12
Comas is the fastest man on the track, lapping in 3:38 - but the gap to the leading Champion Audi is seemingly stuck at four laps. We are approaching mid-race. Imagine one moment that there should have been no GT cars, only prototypes: could we have had a more boring race than that? When ACO changed the rules, penalising the Audis (having won four times in a row Le Mans) the excuse was that its dirigents wished to offer the public a thrilling race. But what thrill? Even now the Pescarolos are unable to catch the five years old Audis, having been entered by privateers! If we are not all dozing off, its thanks to the great battles in GT1 - where the two Corvettes are fighting like devils with the two Astons - and in GT2 - where the Alex JOB/BAM Porsche is involved in a 12 hours combat with the White Lightning Porsche. Those famous LMP prototypes, created by ACO, contribute in nothing to suspense. The LMP2 cars are just ridiculous, even not able to follow ordinary GT3 Porsches. If ACO can offer its public no other prototypes than those [2005 pace is up to now 6 laps slower than last year, and retirements after 11 hours of racing were double from last year!], let them stop such boring formula.
At 03h21 the Oreca Audi slows down, comes into the pits, and rejoins the race with two more laps lost. In the LMP2 joke-class the #25 RML MG Lola is already at 3 laps from the class-leading Belmondo Courage. At 03h45 the Russian Ferrari F550 eventually can pass the GT2 leading Alex JOB/BAM Porsche to take 17th. But when the extremely slow Formenko (when at least will he learn it!?) takes over the wheel, the Russian Ferrari drops again past the Porsche. A prolonged pit stop of the Japanese Dome offers the #16 Pescarolo Judd a provisional podium place. Positions at mid-race are:
 1. Lehto/Werner/Kristensen (#3 Champion Audi R8) 182 laps, 2. Biela/ Pirro /McNish (#2 Champion Audi R8) at 1 lap, 3. Collard/Bouil-lon/Comas (#16 Pescarolo) at 4 laps, 4. Michigami/Ara/ Kaneishi (#5 Jim Gainer Dome) at 6 laps, 5. Montagny/ Gounon/ Ortelli (#4 Oreca Audi R8) at 7 laps, 6. Hignett/Stack/Kurosawa (Zytek 04S) at 9 laps, 7. Enge/Kox/Lamy (#58 Aston Martin DBR9) 1st GT1 at 10 laps, 8. Gavin/Beretta/Magnusen (#64 Corvette C6-R), 9. Minassian/Campbell-Walter/Wallace (#7 DBA), 10. Fellows/0'Connell/ Papis (#63 Corvette C6-R) at 11 laps, 11. Loub/Helary/Ayary (#17 Pescarolo Judd), 12. Brabham/Sarrazin/Turner (#59 Aston Martin DBR9) at 12 laps,  13. Short/Barbosa/V.Ickx (#18 Rollcentre Dallara) at 13 laps,  14. Lam-mers/Julian/Bosch (#10 Racing for Holland Dome) at 14 laps, 16. Gou-eslard/ Dupard/Vosse (#50 Larbre Compétition Ferrari F550) at 16 laps, 17. Lieb/Rockenfeller (#71 Alex Job Porsche GT3, 1st GT2) at 19 laps, 23. Gosselin/Sharpe/Ojjeh (#36 Courage C65), 1st LMP2 at 26 laps.

HOUR 13
Problem on the Japanese Dome were due to a failing battery and a hose change, having cost them 10 minutes. The #7 DBA continues its progress, having passed now both Corvettes and being already 8th. The four front-runners are now all with laps of 3'44. At 4h20 difference between the #58 Aston Martin and the #64 Corvette is always under 1'30". After more than 12 hours of racing the Alex Job/BAM Porsche has eventually one lap more than the White Lightning Porsche. The #8 Dallara is immobile in the garage since its collision with the #17 Pesca. Having done two pit stops more than the leading #3 Audi R8, the #16 Pescarolo Judd hangs always on 4 laps. The Japanese Dome, having even made one stop less than the leading Audi, fights like a devil to take its podium place back. At 04h30 the car is one lap behind the #16 Pesca. In LMP2 (who cares?) the #25 MG Lola, turning 20" per lap faster, has passed the #37 Belmondo Courage at 04h32. At 04h34 the #58 Aston Martin can lap at least lap the #63 Corvette for the first time (after a nearly 13-hour combat!). The #64 Corvette, however, follows always at striking distance, within the same lap as the #58. At 04h43 the #63 Corvette is also passed by the #17 Pescarolo Judd, making its come-back in the top-10. At 04h44 the #2 Champion Audi suffers a slow puncture and has to come in for an unscheduled stop. A prolonged pit stop makes the #25 RML MG Lola loosing its 2nd place in LMP2. The #31 Noel Debello, since more than 6 hours one but last, is retired. Still 6 out of 13 LMP2 cars are in the race.  Positions after 13 hours are:
 1. Lehto/Werner/Kristensen (#3 Champion Audi R8) 198 laps, 2. Biela/ Pirro /McNish (#2 Champion Audi R8) at 1 lap, 3. Collard/Bouil-lon/Comas (#16 Pescarolo) at 4 laps, 4. Michigami/Ara/ Kaneishi (#5 Jim Gainer Dome) at 6 laps, 5. Montagny/ Gounon/ Ortelli (#4 Oreca Audi R8) at 7 laps, 6. Hignett/Stack/Kurosawa (Zytek 04S) at 10 laps, 7. Enge/Kox/Lamy (#58 Aston Martin DBR9) 1st GT1 at 11 laps, 8. Minassian/Campbell-Walter/Wallace (#7 DBA), 9. Gavin/Beretta/Mag-nusen (#64 Corvette C6-R), 10. Fellows/0'Connell/ Papis (#63 Corvette C6-R), 11. Loub/Helary/Ayary (#17 Pescarolo Judd), 12. Brabham/Sarrazin/Turner (#59 Aston Martin DBR9) at 13 laps,  13. Short/Barbosa/V.Ickx (#18 Rollcentre Dallara) at 14 laps,  14. Lam-mers/Julian/Bosch (#10 Racing for Holland Dome) at 15 laps, 15. Gou-eslard/ Dupard/Vosse (#50 Larbre Compétition Ferrari F550) at 18 laps, 17. Lieb/Rockenfeller (#71 Alex Job Porsche GT3, 1st GT2) at 20 laps, 22. Gosselin/Sharpe/Ojjeh (#36 Courage C65), 1st LMP2 at 29 laps.

HOUR 14
At 05h05 the Japanese Dome, still in fourth position, slows down and stops then at once at the Karting Esses. At 05h13 the Oreca Audi R8 can pass it, then lap it, being back in fourth position. The #92 Cirtek Ferrari 360 Modena stands then already more than one hour in the garage. The #37 Belmondo Courage is since 04h52 in the pits. On the #16 Pescarolo Judd Emmanuel Collard turns a 3'36" lap, 10" faster than the #3 Audi, out on the lead since already 10 hours now. At 05h25 the Japanese Dome is always standing still, now being passed by the Zytek and by the #58 Aston Martin. We have still no news what is going wrong with the #5. At 05h27 the car is already 11th, now also passed by the #7 DBA, the #17 Pescarolo and the two Corvettes. Collard and Ayari are now the only drivers making laps under 3'40". The lights on the #5 Dome are still on, but it seems that the car will be abandoned. At 05h33 the second Aston Martin has also lapped the still immobile Dome Mugen S101 with the red spots (style maillot à poles in the Tour de France). The two Corvettes are now 1'40" apart, with the second Aston one lap behind. Collard continues 3'36 laps in the #16 Pescarolo and is now 3 laps behind the leaders. During its pit stop the #58 Aston Martin is passed by the #17 Pescarolo and the #7 Creation BDA. The #8 Dallara is again out on the track. The #58 Aston has now 2 minutes over the #64 Corvette. At 05h43 the #61 Ferrari F550 goes of the track, hurting a cone. The car is passed by the White Lightning Porsche GT3. At 05h48 the #5 Dome is officially withdrawn.  Positions after 14 hours are:
 1. Lehto/Werner/Kristensen (#3 Champion Audi R8) 213 laps, 2. Biela/ Pirro /McNish (#2 Champion Audi R8) at 1 lap, 3. Collard/Bouil-lon/Comas (#16 Pescarolo) at 3 laps, 4. Montagny/ Gounon/ Ortelli (#4 Oreca Audi R8) at 7 laps, 5. Hignett/Stack/Kurosawa (Zytek 04S) at 10 laps, 6. Loub/Helary/Ayary (#17 Pescarolo Judd) at 11 laps, 7. Enge/ Kox/Lamy (#58 Aston Martin DBR9) 1st GT1, 8. Gavin/Beretta/Magnu-sen (#64 Corvette C6-R) at 12 laps, 9. Fellows/0'Connell/Papis (#63 Corvette C6-R), 10. Brabham/Sarrazin/Turner (#59 Aston Martin DBR9) at 13 laps, 11. Minassian/Campbell-Walter/Wallace (#7 DBA) at 15 laps, 12. Short/Barbosa/V.Ickx (#18 Rollcentre Dallara),  13. Lammers/ Julian/Bosch (#10 Racing for Holland Dome) at 16 laps, 14. Goueslard/ Dupard/Vosse (#50 Larbre Compétition Ferrari F550) at 19 laps, 16. Lieb/Rockenfeller (#71 Alex Job Porsche GT3, 1st GT2) at 21 laps, 21. Gosselin/Sharpe/Ojjeh (#36 Courage C65), 1st LMP2 at 31 laps.

HOUR 15
At 06h00 Collard, trying to lap continuously under 3'37", goes straight on at the Chapel, loosing more than one minute on rejoining the track, so that the #16 Pescarolo is again 4 laps down to the leaders.  The sun appears over the top of the trees, with fortunately no hint of any of the predicted fog around the circuit. A split radiator made the #7 DBA dropping 3 places at the end of the 14th hour.
At 06h16 Soheil Ayari in the #17 Pescarolo Judd can pass John Stack in the Jota Zytek, being now fifth. At 06h20 Collard realises a fastest lap, now in 3'35"875, six seconds faster than Tom Kristensen in the leading Audi. For Kristensen it is his ninth Le Mans. He won already six times. If he can win today he breaks Jacky Ickx's Le Mans record (also six wins) definitively. With J-J Lehto (my F1 racer in the days of my Onyx team, after I fired Bertrand Gachot) and Marco Werner he has extremely experienced team mates. All by all Emmanuel Collard, Jean-Christophe Bouillon and Eric Comas fight now already twelve full hours to take only one lap back on the leading Audi. Without accident or mechanical problem of the leaders the #16 Pescarolo will fail to win the 73rd Le Mans 24 Hours, where ACO made the rules especially for them (and not for the public, as was pretended).
At 06h30 the #64 Corvette is pretty close to be lapped by the #58 Aston Martin, now in hands of Thomas Enge. Meanwhile the #59 Aston, having lost 3 laps on stupid stop-and-go penalties, is in the same lap of the #63 Audi, be it 2'30" behind. We have thus six prototypes followed by four GT cars, followed in their turn by four other prototypes. In GT2 the battle still rages between the #71 Alex Job Racing Porsche GT3-RSR and the White Lightning Porsche GT3-RSR, following one lap behind. In the #16 Pescarolo Bouillon continues lapping in 3'37s, taking back now 6 to 7 seconds per lap. Since the car's arrear is 15 minutes it should take still 150 laps (10 hours!) to undo the arrears of the #16. It's not impossible, but the chance that Henri Pescarolo brings his #16 home as a winner is long not so high as expected before the start.
When Bouillon starts turning in 3'36s, Kristensen increases the speed of the #3 Audi R8, turning in 3'41s. At 6h43 drama for Alan McNish and the #2 Audi, going off in the gravel. He looses more than 3 minutes and has to pit for fresh tyres. Moreover the car suffers front damages and seems on its way to loose its second place. At 06h59 the #16 Pescarolo can pass the #2 Audi, still in the garage. Bouillon improves the lap record into 3'34"968! Fantastic Pescarolo Judd, yes! Positions after 15 hours are:
 1. Lehto/Werner/Kristensen (#3 Champion Audi R8) 229 laps, 2. Collard/Bouillon/Comas (#16 Pescarolo) at 3 laps, 3. Biela/Pirro /McNish (#2 Champion Audi R8) at 4 laps,  4. Montagny/ Gounon/ Ortelli (#4 Oreca Audi R8) at 7 laps, 5. Loub/Helary/Ayary (#17 Pes-carolo Judd) at 10 laps, 6. Hignett/Stack/Kurosawa (Zytek 04S) at 11 laps,  7. Enge/ Kox/Lamy (#58 Aston Martin DBR9) 1st GT1 at 12 laps, 8. Gavin/Beretta/Magnussen (#64 Corvette C6-R), 9. Fellows/0' Connell/Papis (#63 Corvette C6-R) at 13 laps, 10. Brabham/Sarrazin/ Turner (#59 Aston Martin DBR9) at 14 laps, 11. Short/Barbosa/V.Ickx (#18 Rollcentre Dallara) at 16 laps, 12. Minassian/Campbell-Walter/ Wallace (#7 DBA), 13. Lammers/ Julian/Bosch (#10 Racing for Holland Dome) at 17 laps, 15. Goueslard/ Dupard/Vosse (#50 Larbre Compétition Ferrari F550) at 22 laps, 16. Lieb/Rockenfeller (#71 Alex Job Porsche GT3, 1st GT2) at 23 laps, 21. Gosselin/Sharpe/Ojjeh (#36 Courage C65), 1st LMP2 at 33 laps.

HOURS 16 TO 20
My youngest son, Youri, is perhaps a good soccer player and even an excellent slot-racer, but he's a very m'enfoutist as student, so I have to hear his lessons of physics and economics in view of his examinations of tomorrow. That means that I'll be absent until noon. Should you be passionated by the race, please surf to Daily sportscars. We, we see us at noon.
Despite heroic fighting the #16 Pescarolo Judd doesn't succeed to undo its 3-lap arrear during the four following hours. All what could be achieved was to reduce it from three to two laps. Although positions seemed achieved the #18 continues suffering from steering problems and will loose shortly after 09h10 30 minutes in the pits in order to sort out the problem. At 10h25 the GT1 leading #58 Aston Martin DBR9 suffers a flapping front splitter and will loose its leading position to the #64 Corvette C6-R. Meanwhile the other Aston Martin has passed the #63 Corvette. The #58 will loose 8 minutes in the pits, enough to be passed by the #59 sister car and by the #63 Corvetten so that in its class the car - outstanding until then - drops from the first to the fourth position. The #8 Rollcenter Dallara-Nissan is withdrawn. The mechanics take the steering rack out and start to install it on the #18. At 10h45 the #59 Aston Martin suffers a tyre puncture.
The #7 Creation DBA 03S is in the garage, dropping seriously in the overall ranking.
In the #17 Pescarolo Judd Soheil Ayari has a moment when at 11h27 he goes out at the Mulsanne chicanes, limping back wingless. The Larbre Compétition Ferrari, having moved up into 13th position is pushed in the garage and will drop in the standings. Repairs make the car being dropped from 5th to 10th position, and still the car is standing in the pits. Being beyond repair the car will be retired.
The advance of the #64 Corvette over both Astons is now up to a complete lap. But at the car's pitstop for refuelling we find the four GT1 cars, the two Corvettes and the two Astons, at once all four in the same lap.
In GT2 the battle royal between the Alex Job/BAM Porsche and the Petersen White Lightning Porsche continues, the difference between both being less than a complete lap. In LMP2 the MG Lola, having been during a short moment class leader, is definitively out with a holed gearbox. Now the three first ar three Courages, headed by most GT2 Porsches.  Positions after 20 hours are:
 1. Lehto/Werner/Kristensen (#3 Champion Audi R8) 308 laps, 2. Collard/Bouillon/Comas (#16 Pescarolo) at 2 laps, 3. Biela/Pirro /McNish (#2 Champion Audi R8) at 6 laps,  4. Montagny/Gounon/Ortelli (#4 Oreca Audi R8) at 8 laps,  5. Hignett/Stack/Kurosawa (Zytek 04S) at 16 laps,  6. Gavin/Beretta/Magnussen (#64 Corvette C6-R) at 17 laps 1st GT1, 7. Brabham/Sarrazin/ Turner (#59 Aston Martin DBR9), 8. Enge/ Kox/Lamy (#58 Aston Martin DBR9),  9. Fellows/0' Connell/Papis (#63 Corvette C6-R) at 18 laps, 10. Lammers/ Julian/Bosch (#10 Racing for Holland Dome) at 21 laps, 11. Schwager/Frei/Vann (#12 Courage Judd) at 28 laps, 12. Lieb/Rockenfeller (#71 Alex Job Por-sche GT3, 1st GT2) at 32 laps, 13. Bergmeister/Long/Bernhard (#90 White Lightning Porsche GT3) at 33 laps,  14. Goueslard/ Dupard/Vosse (#50 Larbre Compétition Ferrari F550) at 34  laps, 15. Fomenko/Vasiliev/Bouchut (#61 Cirtek Ferrari) at 38 laps, 21. Belmondo/André/Sutherland (#37 Courage C65), 1st LMP2 at 48 laps.

HOUR 21
Henri Pescarolo still believes that it is possible. His #16 could unlap itself from the #3 Audi, so that the difference between the two cars is now under two complete laps, let's say 6'30". With 45 laps to go that implies that his lonely surciving car should be up from now 9 seconds per lap faster to be brought home as a winner. It's hard to see how this can be achieved in a regular way, I mean without accident or without mechanical bothers of the leading #3 Champion Audi.
Great, even heroic, is the struggle for class win among the Aston Martins and the Corvettes. The #59 Aston is, with 3 hours to go, 56 seconds down to the #64 Corvette. Peter Kox in the #58 Aston follows a half minute further.
The #25 RML MG Lola EX264 is back on the track and passes the #30 Kruse Courage (an early class leader) and the #36 Belmondo Courage. Difference with the class leading #37 is, however, six complete laps. Moreover the first LMP2 is now headed by no less than five GT2 Porsches. After the withdrawal of the Cirtek Ferrari 360 Modena (accident) the TVR Tuscan T400R is the lonely surviving non-Porsche in this class. We have still 28 cars (out of 49) on the track: 9 on 13 LMP1s, 5 on 13 LMP2s, 6 on 9 GT1s and 8 on 14 GT2s.  Positions after 21 hours are:
 1. Lehto/Werner/Kristensen (#3 Champion Audi R8) 323 laps, 2. Collard/Bouillon/Comas (#16 Pescarolo) at 1 lap, 3. Biela/Pirro/McNish (#2 Champion Audi R8) at 6 laps,  4. Montagny/Gounon/Ortelli (#4 Oreca Audi R8) at 8 laps,  5. Hignett/Stack/Kurosawa (Zytek 04S) at 17 laps,  6. Gavin/Beretta/Magnussen (#64 Corvette C6-R) at 1st GT1, 7. Brabham/Sarrazin/Turner (#59 Aston Martin DBR9), 8. Enge/Kox/La-my (#58 Aston Martin DBR9) at 18 laps,  9. Fellows/0' Connell/Papis (#63 Corvette C6-R) at 18 laps, 10. Lammers/ Julian/Bosch (#10 Racing for Holland Dome) at 21 laps, 11. Schwager/Frei/Vann (#12 Courage Judd) at 28 laps, 12. Lieb/Rockenfeller (#71 Alex Job Por-sche GT3, 1st GT2) at 34 laps, 13. Bergmeister/Long/Bernhard (#90 White Lightning Porsche GT3), 14. Goueslard/Dupard/Vosse (#50 Lar-bre Compétition Ferrari F550) at 36  laps, 15. Short/Barbosa/V.Ickx (#18 Rollcentre Dallara) at 40 laps, 21. Belmondo/André/ Sutherland (#37 Courage C65), 1st LMP2 at 49 laps.

HOUR 22
Consuming seriously less fuel than the Pescarolo Judd the last named is again two laps down when the #16 has to come in for its 29th pit stop. It seems that its racers, especially Bouillon, still believe that it should be possible to beat the heavily handicapped Audis on a regular way. He turns laps of low 3'37s, seven seconds faster than Tom Kristensen in the leading Audi. But, as explained earlier, this can never be fast enough to catch the Audi.
None of the Aston Martins seems able to catch the GT1 leading #64 Corvette. Already yesterday it became obvious that the Corvettes are better adapted on hot temperature than the Astons. At 13h30 the #59 Aston is nearly a complete lap behind the Corvette. Both cars are already in the same lap as the Zytek 04S and seem able to pass it before the end of the race. David Brabham is purchasing the Gavin/Beretta/MAgnussen Corvette like a devil. After a pit stop of the #64 difference is back to 57 seconds. In GT2 the Alex Job/BAM Porsche has again a complete lap over the White Lightning Porsche. The #80 Flying Lizard Porsche is now third in its class, followed at two laps by the #76 Raymond Narrac Porsche, having been long time third until its stop and go penalty. The Luc Alphand Porsche is passed by the #37 Belmondo Courace C65 AER. Positions after 22 hours are:
 1. Lehto/Werner/Kristensen (#3 Champion Audi R8) 339 laps, 2. Collard/Bouillon/Comas (#16 Pescarolo) at 1 lap, 3. Biela/Pirro/McNish (#2 Champion Audi R8) at 6 laps,  4. Montagny/Gounon/Ortelli (#4 Oreca Audi R8) at 8 laps, 5. Gavin/Beretta/Magnussen (#64 Corvette C6-R) at 1st GT1 at 18 laps,  6. Brabham/Sarrazin/Turner (#59 Aston Martin DBR9) at 19 laps, 7. Hignett/Stack/Kurosawa (Zytek), 8. Enge/ Kox/Lamy (#58 Aston Martin DBR9) at 20 laps,  9. Fellows/0'Connell/ Papis (#63 Corvette C6-R), 10. Lammers/ Julian/Bosch (#10 Racing for Holland Dome) at 22 laps, 11. Schwager/Frei/Vann (#12 Courage Judd) at 30 laps, 12. Lieb/Rockenfeller (#71 Alex Job Por-sche GT3, 1st GT2) at 36 laps, 13. Bergmeister/Long/Bernhard (#90 White Lightning Porsche GT3), 14. Goueslard/Dupard/Vosse (#50 Larbre Compétition Ferrari F550) at 41  laps, 15. Van Overbeek/Pechnik/Neiman (#80 Flying Lizard Porsche GT3) at 44 laps, 21. Belmondo/André/ Sutherland (#37 Courage C65), 1st LMP2 at 51 laps. 

HOUR 23
With only 2 hours to go, it's now impossible that the #16 Pescarolo Judd can still beat the muzzled Audi R8, being out on the lead, in a regular fight. In order to achieve that performance the French car should go 14 seconds per lap faster. All Henri Pescarolo and his boys can do is praying the good Lord that something goes stuck on the Audi. But if the Lord is really good, he should be the very last one to do so. Indeed, the ACO-rules muzzling made the Champion Audi a full 10 laps slower than last year, whilst the Pescarolo Judd is now 7 laps faster. It seems that on all fronts the combat is finished. In GT1 the Aston should go 4 seconds per lap faster to indo its 2'10" arrear and to catch the Corvette. In reality lap speed of the Aston hardly matches that of the Corvette.   In GT2 the White Lightning needs to go 7 seconds per lap faster to catch the Alex Job Racing/BAM Porsche. That too is impossible. So, without accidents and without technical problems most positions are fixed.
The Dying Zytek 04S is now also passed by the second Aston and the second Corvette is under way to do the same. That means that of the 26 prototypes at the start, only four were able to go faster than the four works GT cars. For the Ferraris F550 Maranello and F360 Modena this year's Le Mans was a pure churchyard. At no moment they were involved in the battle for top-10 places. Only two of the seven Ferraris will reach the finish, one of them, the Russian #61, being deadly sick.
At 14h30 the difference between the #64 Corvette and the #59 Aston Martin is already up to 2'38". The Pescarolo Judd comes in for a pit stop and risks to be again two complete laps behind the leaders. Lap times are slowing seriously down, now that hunting makes no longer sense. At 14h36 the #59 Aston falls at once still (out of fuel! how is it possible?) at the Porsche Curb. The car passes no longer. Exactly the same moment the #58 sister car is pushed into the box to replace a holed radiator.
The Zytek is immobilised in the pits to repair the front suspension and will even loose its ninth place to the orange Dutch Dome S101.  Towards the end of the 23rd hour both Astons loose it thus all: the #59 passes no longer and the #58 suffers from an earlier puncture. Both cars are now passed by the second Corvette. The five surviving LMP2 cars are exactly the opposite of a race car. All five they are deadly sick, waiting in their pits until the end. 

HOUR 24
Positions starting the last hour are:
 1. Lehto/Werner/Kristensen (#3 Champion Audi R8) 354 laps, 2. Collard/Bouillon/Comas (#16 Pescarolo) at 2 laps, 3. Biela/Pirro/McNish (#2 Champion Audi R8) at 6 laps,  4. Montagny/Gounon/Ortelli (#4 Oreca Audi R8) at 8 laps, 5. Gavin/Beretta/Magnussen (#64 Corvette C6-R) at 1st GT1 at 19 laps,  6. Fellows/0'Connell/ Papis (#63 Corvette C6-R) at 21 laps, 7. Lammers/ Julian/Bosch (#10 Racing for Holland Dome) at 23 laps, 8. Brabham/Sarrazin/Turner(#59 Aston Martin DBR9) at 26 laps, 9. Enge/ Kox/Lamy (#58 Aston Martin DBR9) at 27 laps, 10. Hignett/Stack/Kurosawa (Zytek) at 29 laps, 11. Schwager/Frei/Vann (#12 Courage Judd) at 31 laps, 12. Lieb/Rockenfeller (#71 Alex Job Por-sche GT3, 1st GT2) at 37 laps, 13. Bergmeister/Long/Bernhard (#90 White Lightning Porsche GT3) at 38 laps, 14. Goueslard/Dupard/ Vosse (#50 Larbre Compétition Ferrari F550) at 45  laps, 15. Van Overbeek/Pechnik/Neiman (#80 Flying Lizard Porsche GT3) at 46 laps, 21. Belmondo/André/Sutherland (#37 Courage C65), 1st LMP2 at 61 laps. 
Starting the last hour there are nearly more cars in the pits than on the track. The Zytek and the LMP2 class leading #37 Belmondo Courage are both in with a broken suspension. In both cases reparation will take too much time so that those cars will be eliminated.  That means that the #25 MG Lola EX264 will be unexpectedly the winner in LMP2. The #59 Aston Martin is in the pits to replace a holed radiator. The car will only come out for the real last lap in order to be classified. The Larbre Compétition Ferrari too waits in its box to achieve the last lap. All surviving LMP2 Courages rest in their garages, waiting the end of the race. Eventually the unexpected winner will be headed by 7 of the 9 finishing GT2 cars, giving once more full evidence that such LMP2 cars are not well adapted for 24 hour racing.  
Tom Kristensen in the winning Audi R8 wins his seventh Le Mans 24 hours on nine entries, beating the record of Jacky Ickx. One last remark. What Henri Pescarolo expected he could win at Le Mans? He could not win, he could only loose. Even if he should have won, everybody should have said that it was not difficult to beat muzzled competitors. Now he didn't win he looses even more. We can only hope that ACO will realise at least that. Nevertheless there were 230,000 spectators for this year's edition. [JPVR]