Raceday at Le Castellet

The astonishing spring weather persisted into Sunday morning, and by the time the first race of the day got under way at 08:15, the sky was already a clear blue, with hardly a cloud to be seen.

A steady trickle of spectators was making its way through the entry gates to take up position in the public enclosures - limited here to a small area around the final sector and along the pit straight. The track at Le Castellet remains entrenched in its "test facility" heritage, and no major development has yet been attempted to open up what otherwise would (will?) become a popular and very effective spectator venue. With gates limited to about two thousand, we can't expect a huge crowd for Round 1, but those that do make the trip should be entertained by a memorable race.

The first event of the day fell a little short of expectations, with a non-championship race in the Speed Euroseries only drawing a grid of six cars. A high rate of attrition in yesterday's two races diminished the number of available cars, but added to that, the lack of points may have been enough to dampen the appeal of such an early-morning start for a half-hour sprint. Jono Coleman and Nigel Greensall in the #27 HGRT Ligier took the win by a clear six seconds.

Warm Up

Nine o'clock, and the Le Mans Series cars headed out for a twenty-minute warm-up session. Tommy Erdos was out and ready with a minute to spare before the green light, the team keen to make the most of the brief opportunity to establish that there would be no repeat of yesterday's fuel pump issue. A brief wind-up from the Brazilian, when he omitted to switch the pumps on, got the session off to a good start.

Bedding in new disks and pads was his first duty, and then heading out for a single flyer, and the now-traditional RML driver-change routine. Chased by the new AMR-One, Tommy then had to contend with yellow flags at Turn 3 where Collard had spun off in the #16 Pescarolo, after a strange rear-end lock-up pitched him wide onto the striped run-off. Starting from the back of the grid already, the #16 will have a new set of tyres for the race, although the ones fitted in warm-up will probably be square by now.

With advice to Mike about a soft brake pedal, Tommy returned to the pitlane amid a brief moment of glory as the RML HPD sat second on the timing screen. The team executed a full race-spec driver change, with Tommy making preparations for a swift exit as he entered the pitlane. The RML garage is right at the top end, so the drivers have little time to ready themselves before having to pull up outside the garage.

With instructions to complete one timed lap, Mike headed out along the lengthy pitlane to rejoin the session. The tyres just removed went back into the ovens, to be ready for Ben's brief stint at the end. A diffrerent set, so briefly used in qualifying, would be refitted for the race itself.

Mike returned to the pitlane with five minutes remaining, removing his drinks tube as he rounded the last sector, and then loosening his belts as he came down the pitlane. A quick exchange in the cockpit and Ben Collins climbed in - some hasty beltwork with help from Vinny, and away.

Ben fulfilled his single flyer, took the chequered flag and returned to the pitlane, where the team completed a final simulated driver change, with Tommy getting back aboard.

LMP Warm Up Times

	#	o/a	Team	Car	Drivers	Qualifying
1	12	1	Rebellion	Lola B10/60 Toyota	Jani, Prost	01:49.863
2	16	2	Pescarolo	Pescarolo Judd	Collard, Tinseau, Jousse	01:50.204
3	13	4	Rebellion	Lola B10/60 Toyota	Belicchi, Boullion	01:50.862
4	20	3	Quifel ASM	Zytek 09SC	Pla, Amaral	01:51.197
1	46	5	TDS Racing	Oreca 03 Nissan	Beche, Thiret, Firth	01:52.548
2	39	9	Pecon Racing	Lola B11/40 Judd	Companc, Russo, Kaffer	01:52.926
3	45	6	Boutsen Energy	Oreca 03 Nissan	Kraihamer, de Crem	01:53.165
1	92	16	Neil Garner M'sport	Oreca FLM	Keen, Keating, Hartshorne	01:53.477
4	44	10	Extreme Limite	Norma Judd	Rosier, Luco, Basso	01:54.157
5	41	7	Greaves Motorsport	Zytek 09S	Ojjeh, Greaves, Kimber-Smith	01:54.535
6	43	12	Team RLR	MG Lola EX-265	Garofall, Phillips, Gates	01:55.962
5	009	11	Aston Martin Racing	AMR-One	Mucke, Turner, Primat	01:56.554
7	36	19	RML AD Group	HPD ARX -01d	Erdos, Newton, Collins	01:57.067
8	40	8	Race Performance	Oreca 03 Judd	Frey, Meichtry, Ebbesvik	01:57.764
9	42	13	Strakka Racing	HPD ARX -01d	Leventis, Watts, Kane	01:58.304
2	91	14	Hope Polevision	Oreca FLM	Moro, Marroc, Shan Qi	01:58.495
3	95	17	Pegasus Racing	Oreca FLM	Schultis, Simon, Schell	01:58.655
4	99	18	JMB Racing	Oreca FLM	Rodrigues, Misslin, Mennahem	01:59.410
5	93	15	Genoa Racing	Oreca FLM	Petersen, Julian, Zugel	No Time

For most teams warm-up is simply an opportunity to check the car's readiness for the race, following any adjustments or repairs made after qualifying. For Phil Keen in the Neil Garner FLM there was a matter of proving a point. Nearly a second quicker than qualifying, and five seconds faster than his rivals in warm-up, the lanky youngster had established that the #92 Oreca FLM would be a contender in this race.

Autograph Session

There was a surprising degree of bustle and activity in the pitlane for the official autograph session, with a good milling of spectators seeking out memorabilia to take home. The three RML drivers were present to sign and hand out copies of the team's new LMS HeroCard.

AD Group has thirty guests at Paul Ricard for the race weekend, of which about half are from France, and with the rest from as far afield as Russia. As AD's Worldwide Marketing Director Pauline Norstrom explains, AD uses these events as the principal marketing platform for the high-end video technology products the company supplies. "Over the course of the season we are able to bring more than 200 of the world's leading security experts to the Le Mans Series races. They are individually selected from the upper echelons of the industry, and we hope we offer them a unique opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the top professionals in motorsport," she says. "The excitement of the race, and seeing AD's CEO Mike Newton in action on track, creates a fantastic environment for us to showcase new technology products like our latest Closed IPTV system."

AD's latest range of products includes the on-board DIR video capture system that the RML drivers use as a key element in their post-event briefings. Integrated with the car's own telemetry systems, they are able to analyse each lap second by second, assessing not only the detailed data supplied by the telemetry, but aligning that with the video replay. They can fine-tune their driving techniques and correlate the complex graphs and figures with readily understandable video images.For a 'sportsman driver' like Mike Newton, the facility to examine in detail every lap and every line through a corner, with comment and advice from his professional colleagues, has been a huge influence on his rise as an endurance racing driver.

Race Start

The pitlane opened at 11:15 and the first of the 34 confirmed starters headed out to take up their positions on the grid. The modest grandstand opposite the pits was perhaps half full, suggesting a total attendance of around 1000 for the race. Over the next half hour the remaining cars took up their stands, while mechanics, steel bands, photographers and VIPs milled around.

The whistles started to blow at 11:45, and the masses on the grid started to thin out until only the team personnel remained. Tommy was strapped back into the RML AD Group HPD, and with a quick radio-check, all was set for the start.

Please note that our coverage was originally uploaded "live", with new material added every few moments. Additional comments and driver quotes have then been added later, and this has lead to some mixing of tenses, so please forgive us any inconsistencies.

Then three-minute board is displayed. The jet trainer from the neighbouring airport completes a series of fly-pasts, and the drumming band finally ends its relentless beat. There's a kind of hush as the one minute board is held high above the front row of the grid.

11:56.15
The green flag is waved and the cars move away in formation on the parade lap. Everyone gets away without issue.

One of the GTE Ferraris manages to complete a spin on the green-flag lap. Unsure which one, although it was red!

The #40 Race Performance Oreca (Frey in the cockpit) also has a spin, and loses several positions.

The cars are rounding the final corners, and bunching up for the start.

A complete cock-up at the start. The pace car does not pull off the track, it's lights still flashing, but the gantry lights go green! The second and third rows press past the leaders, which can see what's happening, and there's chaos behind. Several cars collide, including three Porsches. There is debris and fluid all across the start straight. Some of the GT favourites are already out of the race, and they hadn't even started the race.

No doubt, the lights went green, but the lights also went out on the safety car . . . so why was it still there?.

12:00 SAFETY CAR
The race hasn't even started, and already we have a safety car. The cars that are still running are diverted through the pitlane while the marshals clear the racing line.

Hard to confirm yet which cars are damaged beyond repair, but it may be several, most of them GT cars, either Pro or Am. Tommy negotiates all the hazards without issue. The #76 IMSA Performance Porsche is certainly one of the casualties, as is #77, #67 (the other IMSA car) and one of the Aston Martin Vantage, the Jota car #79.

The rest of the field continues to circulate behind the safety car.

12:06 RACING STARTS
The race starts, for the first time. This time it's all clear, and all clean, and no further issues. Tommy can't start to overtake until he's crossed the start line - those are the rules, so he is last-but-one to begin this six-hour race. As one wag in the press room suggests - one positive note, the RML car is already 28th!!

The #13 Rebellion spins off at the last corner, so the #12 leads overall from the ASM Zytek, with the #46 Oreca third overall and leading LMP2. The #13 pits for a check up and a door refit.

Tommy is through to 20th by the end of the first lap, and going strongly through the depleted GT field. The #46 Oreca is second in P2, with the Greaves Zytek (today confirmed as a Cost Capped car) running a close third.

Tommy is closing now on the RLR MG Lola, the two red white and blue cars briefly circulating nose to tail, before the Brazilian sweeps past to begin his third lap. Simon Phillips is in the Lola.

Another car making swift progress through the massed ranks is the Pescarolo #16 - the fastest car in a straight line here - and Tinseau is already through to 9th overall, and about to take the AMR-One.

In FLM, Phil Keen has made good his promise from Warm Up this morning, and from third on the grid, has already established a good class lead from 12th overall.

12:17
Tommy continues to press onwards in the RML HPD, and has three FLM cars ahead of him, and despite the back-row start, he already has the last of these in his sights.

The Pescarolo overtakes Turner in the AMR and bears down on the tail of Jonny Kane in the Strakka HPD, 7th overall.

12:19
A blow-out for Olivier Pla on the back of the circuit. He continues at near racing speed, spitting out bits of rubber and bodywork, and making even more work for his engineers when he gets back to the garage,. A slower return might have been wiser. The #20 is therefore out of the top ten fairly rapidly, and dropping down the order.

12:20 SAFETY CAR
The safety car is deployed while the debris from the ASM Zytek is cleared from the end of the Mistral. Pla rejoins the race.

There are two safety cars on track.Pla is held in the pitlane until the second train comes round. Tommy is about sixth or seventh behind the second safety car - the one without the leader - and has mainly FLM cars ahead of him. It's not a poor position, depending upon where on the circuit he is released. There is a fair amount of debris, including small shards of carbon, to be cleared yet from the track.

Tommy is lying 14th overall. Leading the race is the #12 Rebellion Lola, from the top four in LMP2 (#45, #46, #41, #39) and then the second P1 car, the #16 Pescarolo. The Strakka HPD is then sandwiched between that and the AMR-One.

12:27 RACING RESUMES
Lights out on the safety car, and racing resumes. Tommy is in the pack that ret runs to racing along the pit straight, while the race leader is at the back of the same pack,. The second pack was being headed by the LMP2 leading TDS Oreca.

Thanks to the way that safety car period worked out, Jani now has a 35 second lead overall. We also have the strange sight of two GTE-Am cars, the CRS and an AF Corse Ferrari, catching the lead rebellion Lola along the Mistral. The leader evidently has a problem.

12:31
Tommy has made up another two places, and is now 12th overall, having passed the Pegasus Racing FLM car, and the #44 Norma LMP2. Tommy is now eleven seconds down on Frey in the LMP2 Racing Performance Oreca - his next target in LMP2.

12:33
The Rebellion pits from the lead, and we have - very briefly - a P2 leader in the form of the #46 TDS Oreca, but the moment last for less than half a lap. Tinseau sweeps majestically through in the late-starting Pescarolo to take the lead. It has taken less than half an hour for the Frenchman to work through the whole field from his back-row start.

The top ten now looks like this: #16, #46, #45, #41, #39, #42, #009, #13, #40, #92. Tommy lies 11th, having passed the #95 FLM.

The situation in GT, now that a serious chunk of the favourites are back in their garages (along with the Rebellion #13 and the Quifel ASM #20) has been sorted out, with Bruni leading in the #51 Ferrari from Allan Simonsen in the Hankook F458. Third is Vilander in the #71 and Rob bell is fourth in the JMW F458. The leading Am car is 20th overall; the #88 Felbermayr Porsche, which is also the only Porsche still running.

12:42
Tommy joins the top-ten elite, and has latched onto the tail of Phil Keen in the leading FLM car, the #92 Neil Garner Motorsport Oreca. They are nose-to-tail all the way through from Turn Four to the start of the Mistral, but when they get onto the straight, Keen is able to ease away easily. Tommy then catches up again through Signes and the Double Right, and passes for ninth overall.

12:45
There's a bit of come-back for Keen along the pit straight, but with the advantage into the first corner, Tommy is on his way and clear. The ASM Zytek has rejoined, but is now 28th. Confirmation that the prospeed Porsche (involved in the start-line incident) is retired.

The #40 Race Performance Oreca gets mixed into the battle for the GTE-Pro lead, and is tapped into a spin. The Ferraris press on without skipping a beat.

12:50
Tinseau's lead is six seconds over the leading LMP2 car, the #46. Tom Kimber-Smith in the #41 Greaves Zytek has moved through to second in class, third overall, narrowly ahead of the #45 Boutsen Energy Oreca. The Pecon Lola is fifth overall, (4th in P2) with Jonny Kane sixth, 11 seconds behind the finned Lola.

Second in P1, and proving all those who predicted an early retirement wrong, is the #009 Aston Martin AMR-One, with Frey (#40 Race Performance) in eighth, a\head of Tommy.

12:56
The first of the scheduled pitstops in LMP2 sees the TDS Oreca into the pits for fuel and tyres. The #41 Greaves Zytek is also into the pits, while the #12 Rebellion Lola has rejoined after a lengthy pitbox visit.

Tommy finds himself in the middle of the GTE-Am duel between the #61 AF Cores Ferrari and the #88 Porsche. The Ferrari takes the lead just before Tommy jostles through in the RML HPD.

12:59 PITSTOP (Tommy Erdos stays in the car. Fuel, Tyres and Mini-screen clean)
Tommy comes in for his first pitstop. He is scheduled for a triple stint today. The race leader is also in the pits. A straightforward pitstop for RML, and the Brazilian is swiftly back out on his way. The pitstop has cost a few positions, but several of those passing have yet to stop.

Hour 2 - 3 (13:00-14:00)

With a whole raft of pitstops in progress, it's hard to determine the exact order, other than the fact that the #16 Pescarolo now leads outright by a whopping 34 seconds. Several of the GT cars have still not pitted, so Tommy is currently circulating in 14th. Having also taken on tyres in the pitstop - which several others did not - the RML HPD has lost about a minute on track against those who double-stinted their rubber. If the RML intention to double-stint this set goes to plan, then that deficit will be recovered at the next pitstop.

To illustrate the pace differentials perfectly, Tommy gets himself into a three-way battle for 11th with the GTE-Pro leaders, and manages to overtake the Hankook Ferrari down the pit straight, but only just, out-braking Simonsen into Turn One, and then tagging on behind Bruni on then run down to Turn Three, where he again relies on late-braking to tuck in ahead of the red Ferrari. He does get through, but it seems bizarre that an LMP2 car - what should be one of the class-leaders - cannot make those passes look easy. They are not.

13:13
Tommy is through now to 11th overall, 7th in LMP2. Ahead of him he has the #009 AMR-One, and then Phil keen in the Neil Garner (double-stinting the Michelins) and the #13 Rebellion, now back on track after on-going problems with the right-hand door.

13:16
The Aston Martin AMR-One is into the pitlane, and backwards into the garage. Perhaps not the way he'd have wanted to gain a place, but Tommy is through to tenth.

In GTE-Pro, the AF Corse-Hankook duel, which had been very entertaining for several laps, and touchingly close, is suspended as Bruni pits the #61 and gifts the lead - at least until the Hankook Ferrari pits.

13:20
The AMR-One rejoins in 25th position.

Roundup on positions: Tinseau leads for Pescarolo by the best part of a lap, after a very speed first pitstop (no tyres). Second is the P2 class leader; the #45 Boutsen Oreca, although the #46 TDS Oreca has been trading places over the last couple of circuits, so close is their battle.

Third in P2, fourth overall, is the #39 Pecon Lola, with the Greaves Motorsport Zytek fifth, but by only 11 seconds. Jonny Kane in the Strakka HPD is next up, only four seconds behind and closing,

Second in P1, and 8th overall, is Boullion in the #13 Rebellion Lola. The red, white and shiny-gold coupé has exactly a minute over Phil Keen in the leading FLM Oreca. The gap back to Erdos has narrowed to 20 seconds - some indication of Tommy's pace after "losing" over 50 seconds at the last pitstop.

For anyone also watching the live timing on-line, and possibly confused by the number of pitstops each car is recorded as having completed, just a note to explain that the drive-through convoy after the start-line pile-up counted as one pitstop, even though none of the cars actually stopped.

13:30
Patrick Simon in the Pegasus FLM has a long-distance "off" at the final complex, and loses several places. He had been running second in FLM, and has instantly dropped several places.

One of the tightest on-track tustles at the moment is for 12th overall, where Simon Phillips in the RLR MG Lola is fending off the unwelcome advances of Shan Qi in the #91 Hope Racing FLM. The old lady has the edge through the corners, but loses out in straight-line speed.

13:38
Another nail-biter is between the JMW Ferrari and the similar Hankook F458. That's for second in GTE-Pro, and as they reach the end of the Mistral, Farnbacher in the #89 nips through ahead of Walker, now in the #66.

Such is the pace issue that Tommy has been unable to narrow the gap on Keen, ands it still stands at around 20 seconds.They are 9th and 10th overall.

13:46
The leader pits, handing the lead back to the #45 Boutsen Energy Oreca, but the #13 Rebellion Lola has powered through the P2 field to regain third overall. We are entering the second phase of pitstops, and the pitlane is fairly busy with cars coming and going. One yet to stop is Jonny Kane in the Strakka HPD, and as a result the black and silver-blue car has moved through to fourth overall, second in LMP2.

The TDS Oreca and erstwhile P2 leader is in the garage, and the team has the engine cover off.

Kane leads LMP2 after the leader, #45 Boutsen, pits. The Strakka HPD is second overall.

13:52 PITSTOP (Erdos stays in. Fuel and visor-clean only)
The second pitstop for the RML AD Group HPD. It's on time, and on schedule, and very speedy. In a matter of moments, the HPD is heading back out again.

With the TDS car still in the box, and various others making pitstops, Tommy has made up a couple of additional places and is running 8th. Kane's class lead flatters somewhat, as he's one of the few yet to stop.

13:57
Kane pits from the class lead. He hands over to Danny Watts.

Hour 3- 4 (14:00-15:00)

Most of the leaders have now completed their second round of pitstops, so time once more to consider the overall positions . . .

The #16 Pescarolo leads by a lap over the #45 Boutsen Energy Oreca, with the #41 Greaves Zytek third overall, second in P2.

Fourth overall, second in P1, is the troubled #13 Rebellion Lola, six pitstops completed, but still in the hunt. Next up is Danny Watts in the #42 Strakka HPD, ten seconds clear of Companc in the #39 Pecom Racing Lola. Seventh overall, and fifth in P2, is the #40 Race Performance Oreca - the only Judd-engined Oreca. Tommy Erdos holds 8th overall, 6th in P2, by about 20 seconds.

The leading FLM car is the #92 Neil Garner Racing car, with Keen having handed on to John Hartshorne. He's very much on his own at the moment, but largely because those chasing are the GTE-Pro leaders, and have yet to make their second pitstops.

Three hours and fifty minutes remaining. The race appears to have descended into a rut of routine, with no obvious entertainment to be drawn from any of the class leaders, and most position changes dependant upon pitstops.

14:20
More pitstops now for the GT cars, so another series of positional changes. One car actually gaining ground on track is the #13 Rebellion Lola, now through to third overall, with only the #45 P2 leader between Belicchi and the leader - oh, and about two laps.

Karim Ojjeh in the cost-capped Greaves Zytek stands second in P2, fourth overall, and enjoying well over a minute's advantage over Danny Watts in the Strakka HPD.

Tommy is running 8th overall, 6th in class, but some way short of gaining any positions at the moment, with 47 seconds between the Brazilian and Meichtry in the #40 Race Performance Oreca Judd.

14:30
Once more, Allan Simonsen is in the middle of the action. Emerging from a pitstop, he find himself just ahead of Bruni, and on cooler tyres, loses third, but then tucks in behind and follows the AF Corse Ferrari through as both cars then move ahead of the #66 Ferrari and #86 AM Vantage, which pit from first and second in GTE-Pro.

14:33
The Pecon Lola pits from 4th, and allows kane (#42) and Meichtry (#40) through. Erdos too closes on the befinned Lola, but is not near enough to gain the place. He remains 8th overall.

Simonsen regains the GTE lead.

14:36
A slow lap from the RLR MG Lola. Reason as yet unknown.

Tommy moves ahead of the Pecon Lola to gain 7th. It's an on-track gain, and the two are dicing nose-to-tail now.

The overall leader pits, but has such a massive lead that doesn't risk losing position.

Danny Watts has moved through to second in LMP2, 4th overall for Strakka.

Tommy is nearing the end of his stint and is now running a strong sixth overall, fourth in LMP2.

14:45 PITSTOP (Erdos out, Newton in, fuel, types and clean-up),
Tommy into the pitlane to hand over to Mike Newton. The team also attends to the ducting to the front brakes, where one side is running marginally hotter than the other. They achieve this with tape across the aperture, in this instance, electing to remove it all.

"To be honest, I had some fun through the traffic, but I could name 100 situations where we could have had serious contact," said Tommy after his stint. "It’s not the way to go racing, and the ACO really does have to sort this out urgently. There will be a serious accident if this isn’t addressed."

Mike resumes the track in ninth overall, and finds himself in close battle with the FLM leader - now the #91 Hope Racing car. Not sure what issue befell the Neil Garner entry, but it's now lying 21st with Hartshorne still in the car.

14:50
Car 89, the Hankook Ferrari, is issued with a one-minute stop-go penalty, apparently for having too many people working on the car during the last pitstop. Simonsen takes his penalty almost immediately.

14:52
Pitstop for danny Watts - fuel only, and brisk. Drops a couple of places - to be confirmed when others have completed their pitstops.

Mike Newton is running 8th, narrowly ahead of the FLM leader and 6th in P2.

The AMR-One, which has been circulating steadily, albeit well down the order, is back in the garage.

Mike reports that the louvre over one of the front wheels appears to be loose. The team make plans to fix it but will wait for the next pitstop to make good "repairs" unless the situation worsens. Mike is also suggesting that the car is tending towards understeer, but Phil advises him to "drive round it".

(Apologies for slight gap in coverage there - lunch break!)

Hour 4- 5 (15:00-16:00)

15:04
Warning flag (black with orange disc) for Neil Garner car, which has been seen circulating slowly.

Into the fourth hour and we have an established pattern overall, with P1 cars first and second, the Pescarolo leading by more than 2 laps over the recovering #13 Rebellion Lola.

De Crem leads LMP2 for Boutsen Energy Racing in the #45 Oreca Nissan, from Danny Watts, in the Strakka HPD. Despite the straight-line disadvantage, the HPD is making good progress through the twisty bits, and capitalising on the misfortunes of others. Quick pitstops, double-stinting rubber, and not starting from the back of the grid has helped.

Third in P2, and running 5th overall, is the #41 Greaves Motorsport Zytek, having just been passed by Watts. Frenchman Chalandon is in the cockpit.

Next up is the Pecon Lola, nine seconds clear of the #40 Racing Performance Oreca Judd, with Mike Newton 6th in class, 8th overall, and almost a full lap down.

15:13
The gap between Meichtry (#40 and Companc (#39) has come down to under 4 seconds. It was nearer ten only a few minutes ago.Not earth shattering news, but about all we can find in what is becoming a very processional race.

The penalty for the Hankook Ferrari was the result of the tyre fitters going to work on the car before the refuellers had disconnected the hoses. A salutary lesson, and one the experienced GT team should have known.

15:16
The AMR-One is back into the garage again. The car had never really completed any serious running before arriving here, and the team is evidently treating this as an extended real-life test session. They are scheduled to be staying here for several days after this weekend to complete some more tracktime.

15:17
The #46 TDS Racing car hits the barriers, with damage to the back end of the car. The car is stationary with back-end damage. The Boutsen Racing P2 leader is into the pits where the team haul the car backwards into the box.

Meanwhile, the FLM leader, the #91 Hope Racing car, is also running slowly back towards the pits.

15:22 SAFETY CAR
An Audi leads the race, with flashing lights and repeaters. Mike is two cars behind one of the two safety cars.

15:24 PITSTOP (Mike stays in. Fuel)
Phil brings Mike in during the safety car period for a quick refuel. He is held at the end of the pitlane until one of the safety cars passes the pitlane. It goes through at 15:26, and Mike is released to join the train.

The overall leader, the #16 Pescarolo, Jousse in the cockpit, also stops, and the team use this as an opportunity to do some brief remedial chores. The car joins the queue at the end of the pitlane behind the #92 Neil Garner Racing HPD.

15:30 RACING RESUMES
With the #46 recovered and the track clear, racing resumes.With everyone bunched up again, the race comes back to life somewhat,. and we have some overtaking and jostling for position.

Danny Watts now leads LMP2 in the Strakka HPD, with Mike Newton currently showing as fourth in class, 6th overall.It may take a moment to unravel who pitted and who didn't, but the call from Phil Barker appears to have paid dividends.

There's a close on-track duel developing between the overall leader, the #16 Pescarolo, and the #13 Rebellion Lola. Boullion in the Lola is looking to unlap himself, and he's now right under the rear wing of Collard in the Pescarolo.

Rob Bell has taken the lead in GTE-Pro, and has a generous lead over Bruni in second, although is a pitstop down.

The leading GTE-Am runner is still the #88 Felbermayr Porsche, flying the flag for Stuttgart now that all the other Porsches are, in effect, out of the running.

15:40
Mike has just been lapped by the leaders, ducking out of the way as the Pescarolo barrels past, followed quickly by the #13 Rebellion. Mike continues to hold fourth in LMP2 but has little chance of catching Kaffer in the #39 Lola, who's just set a new fastest lap for the Pecon Racing machine.

15:45
Rob Bell pits from the lead of GTE-Pro. He swaps places with James Walker as Gianmaria Bruni moves through to take the lead. After the pitstop, the gap between the two is over 50 seconds.

15:47
The RLR MG Lola is into the pits for a scheduled stop - Barry Gates in the cockpit and running 7th overall.

15:48
Boullion unlaps himself on the leader, with the RLR MG Lola the filling in the sandwich. As the three come up on one of the right left-handers, Collard goes left of Mike, Boullion right, and right is the clearer path. He's through and soon pulling out a "lead" over Collard. Perhaps we have a race on now?

15:51
Danny Watts into the pits for Strakka's scheduled pitstop. He stays in the car, and it's a quick pitstop of just on a minute, suggesting no tyres.

15:53
The Young Driver Aston has stopped alongside the track after a spin, but recovers. The #86 Aston is running 14th overall, third in GTE-Pro.

15:55
After his pitstop, Watts' lead is down to 34 seconds. It's then almost a minute back to Kaffer in third, and Mike Newton is the best part of a lap down in fourth.

15:57
The team manager of the Rebellion squad is called to see the race officials, to discuss matters arising from the driving of the #13 Lola.

Hour 5- 6 (16:00-17:00)

Into the fifth hour and Watts continues to lead LMP2 by just over half a minute from Chalandon in the Greaves Zytek, although the less experienced Frenchman is almost able to match Danny's lap times. There's another fifty seconds then back to Kaffer in the #39.

Analysts suggest that the Strakka Racing HPD is currently managing as many as seven laps more on each tankful of fuel than the Nissan-powered Orecas, and this factor, certainly more than speed, is determining their ability to lead the class. That, and also the fact they've not encountered any problems, while all the other P2 cars (RML excepted) have had minor (or some major) issues.

16:12
The third-placed GTE-Pro Aston Martin vantage is wheeled into the garage.

Chalandon has actually closed a little on Danny Watts, although the margin is still on the longer side of 30 seconds.

16:14
Mike loses 6th overall (fourth in class) to Kraihamer in the #45 Boutsen Oreca on the pit straight, and then is unlapped by the Norma on the run down to Turn 3.

16:15
Bruni, the GTE-Pro leader, is in trouble down the Mistral, with the red Ferrari moving slowly down the side of the track, lights intermittently flashing as he tries to re-fire the car. He makes it back to the pitlane, and refuels. The team appears to do nothing else to the car, and he resumes in third.

16:20
Mike is preparing for the next RML pitstop, and reports the low fuel warning light has flickered for the first time.

The Pegasus racing FLM Oreca current leads the class from the #93 Genoa racing example. There's only ten or so seconds between the two. The former class leader, the Neil Garner car, is holding third with Steve Keating aboard. The all-British squad is recovering ground steadily after making good a leaking fuel union.

16:23
The #45 Boutsen car heads into the pitlane for a scheduled stop. Tom Kimber-Smith has also pitted the #41 Greaves Zytek..

16:24 PITSTOP (Mike Newton out, Ben Collins in. Fuel, Tyres and attention to louvres)
The team effects rapid repairs to the louvre panels over the front wheels, taping them securely in place, while Mike and Ben swap places.

Ben regains the track in 9th place overall, 6th in class, just over 20 seconds behind Rob Garofall in the ex-RML MG Lola.

16:31
Danny Watts raises a hand in acknowledgement as the race leader, Manu Collard, sweeps by in the #16 Pescarolo. The P2 front-runner is now 4 laps down on the overall leader.

Tom Kimber-Smith is taking generous chunks out of the Strakka lead, but with only an hour and a half to go, will have to work very hard to close the gap - although Nick Leventis has yet to take his stint in the Strakka HPD.

16:35
Ben is pushing on, and his lap times are still improving, but the gap to Garofall remains 20 seconds. He has Danny Watts right on his tail though, and the two HPDs are circulating together. Now Tom Kimber-Smith is right with the two of them, so we have a fascinating scenario in focus, made more interesting when Kimber-Smith briefly slipstreams the two on the Mistral, and then drives by effortlessly.

Briefly unsighted by the passing Zytek, Ben then loses the track position to Danny Watts, who dives through on the inside into Signes, adding a lap to the deficit. Kimber-Smith, of course, is unlapping himself on Watts.

16:40
It's all rendered fairly academic when Watts immediately pits to hand over to Nick Leventis for the final stints of the race. Ben moves back to unlap himself, and Kimber-Smith narrows the gap as he presses on for another lap. Rob Garofall,meanwhile, has pitted in the RLR MG Lola, and Ben Collins moves through to reclaim 7th overall, fifth in class.

16:44
A spin for the FLM leader directly in front of Nick leventis, fresh from the pits, and Kimber-Smith is now right behind the Strakka car, by a matter of seconds.

16:45
The Greaves Motorsport Zytek takes the lead in LMP2.

16:48
Kaffer in the #39 Pecon Lola passes Nick Leventis for second in LMP2. He loses ten seconds on the Lola in the next lap.

Ben confirms Mike's earlier comments about a tendency to understeer, and says it's making for hard work, but he presses on anyway, and is posting regular sub 1:56 laps.

16:55
Approaching the start of the final hour. Garofall is now 49 seconds behind Ben, who continues to hold fifth in class. At the head of LMP2, Kaffer is just 11 seconds behind the class leader; Tom Kimber-Smith in the #41.

Hour 6- Finish (17:00-18:00)

Into the last hour of the race, and the best duel on the track is once again for the lead in GTE-Pro, where Rob Bell in the JMW Ferrari is gunning for Fisichella in the AF Corse #51. They're tight as a drum, and Bell is relentless in his pursuit, but the former Grand Prix driver is no easy egg to crack.

17:09
Kaffer pits the #39 Pecon Lola and hands over to Russo, allowing Leventis back through to second in LMP2. Nick has just set his quickest personal lap of 1:58.639. Ben has just done a 1:55.6, although this hasn't been his quickest lap. He's in the middle of the Bell-Fisichella battle for the GTE-Pro lead. Ben passes Fisichella along the Mistral - just - but then makes it stick through Signes.

17:16
Greaves Zytek into the pits for the final time, with Tom Kimber-Smith staying in the cockpit. He returns to the track without losing the lead.

The gap between Leventis (2nd) and Russo (3rd) is 25 seconds, but the Strakka HPD still has another stop to make. Ben reports the first low-fuel warning, and is told to pit on the next lap.

Elton Julien leads FLM in the Genoa Racing car - the result of Schell's spin of some time back, although the Pegasus car still holds second in the class.

17:20
The team is preparing for the imminent pitstop, and warns Ben that he will be taken into the garage so that more personnel can work on the louvres.

17:21 PITSTOP (Ben Collins remains in the car. Fuel, Tyres and Louvre repairs)
Ben heads into the pitlane aware of what's about to happen. The crew refuel the car, then rapidly haul the HPD backwards into the garage, where they then leap upon the front section, rip off the gaffer tape, replace the damaged louvres, tie-wrap and secure them in place, and then wheel Ben back out again for the restart. It is a lengthy stop by RML standards, but quicker than having to complete a forced stop after being called in by the race officials.

As always, the louvres remain a bane of contention. The rules stipulate that the surface of the tyre cannot - must not - be visible from outside the car, so the upper louvres that prevent a build-up of air pressure inside the wheelarch have to remain intact. In a long race, however, they take a hefty battering from the spent rubber thrown up by the tyres, and often sustain damage. If they break loose, then a car can be forced to pit for repairs, so better to sort out the problem at the team's convenience, during a scheduled stop.

Bell takes the lead in GTE-Pro, and on the next lap round, Fisichella pits, and changes with Bruni.

17:25
Ben resumes in 11th overall, having lost a handful of places, but Phil is confident that several of those can be recovered before the end of the race, in just over half an hour. Some of those ahead will have to make further pitstops for fuel. As if to prove the point, Garofall immediately pits the RLR MG.

Leventis is back to third and now 20 seconds down on Russo.

17:33
De Crem makes a very slow pass down the Mistral, and then pits. He is followed into the pitlane by Leventis in the Strakka HPD. De Crem is rapidly away, so could either have been fuel, or perhaps a puncture. Leventis also completes a swift pause, and both cars are back out and racing in little over a minute.

Kimber Smith's lead over Russo in LMP2 is 76 seconds. In the race, Collard leads by 2 laps over Belicchi in the #13 Rebellion Lola. Third in LMP1 is the second rebellion Lola, which has fought back from problems to lie 7th overall.

17:38
Twenty minutes to go, and the leaders in every category look fairly secure - Collard for LMP1, Kimber-Smith in LMP2, Julien Schell back in the lead of FLM, Rob Bell fronting GTE-Pro, and the #88 Felbermayr Porsche leading GTE-Am.

17:44
The long-recovering Olivier Pla in the ASM Zytek LMP1, for so long out of contention in this race after the Mistral puncture, is closing on Rob Garofall for 8th overall. Ebbesvik, in the #40 Race Performance Oreca is just behind him, with all three separated by little over 5 seconds. Could be several changes of position, and some in class, before the race is over.

Ben is running 11th overall, thanks to the extended pitstop, and holds 7th in class. Valuable points but not, perhaps, the result that the car deserves. Strakka, who got so close, should claim third at the flag if Leventis can continue to hold de Crem at bay. Without the back-row start, RML AD Group might hope to be there with them.

Pla passes Garofall for eighth.

Twelve minutes remain.

17:48
Ebbesvik passes Garofall on the Mistral, so the MG has slipped to 10th overall, but is still well clear of Ben.

17:50
Ten minutes from the flag and a puncture for the #71 Ferrari, which had been holding fourth in GTE-Pro.

17:54
The #40 Oreca pits to have a new nose section fitted after a bulb failure. It's not clear yet whether this has affected Ben's position on track, with five minutes to go. Garofall moves through to benefit, but the delay is not enough to reward Ben.

17:58
Belicchi starts another lap, with Collard right behind him on track, perhaps contemplating adding another lap before the end?

17:59 FINISH
The race enters its last lap, but ends just seconds over the six hours as the race leader backs off to take the flag at 18:00.30. Perfect judgement from Collard, or someone on the pit wall. The rest of the field presses on, but it's a memorable win for Henri Pescarolo, and a fitting return to a career which, only six months ago, looked to be over.

Ben Collins take the flag 11th overall, seventh in class.

Winners in other classes are #41, Tom Kimber-Smith in the cockpit, for Greaves Motorsport, third overall, and Julien Schell first in FLM for Pegasus Racing. Victory in GTE-Pro, after a thrilling race-long battle, to JMW (Rob Bell across the line) 14th overall. Top honours in GTE-Am, by a generous margin, to the #88 Felbermayr Porsche, although the gap between second (#61) and third (#70) was less than one tenth of a second.

Le Mans Series 2011, Round 1 LMP Results

	#	o/a	Team	Car	Drivers	Laps/Gap
1	16	1	Pescarolo	Pescarolo Judd	Collard, Tinseau, Jousse	185
2	13	2	Rebellion	Lola B10/60 Toyota	Belicchi, Boullion	184
1	41	3	Greaves Motorsport	Zytek 09S	Ojjeh, Greaves, Kimber-Smith	179
2	39	4	Pecon Racing	Lola B11/40 Judd	Companc, Russo, Kaffer	01:39.660
3	42	5	Strakka Racing	HPD ARX -01d	Leventis, Watts, Kane	177
4	45	6	Boutsen Energy	Oreca 03 Nissan	Kraihamer, de Crem	175
3	12	7	Rebellion	Lola B10/60 Toyota	Jani, Prost	41.278
4	20	8	Quifel ASM	Zytek 09SC	Pla, Amaral	174
5	43	9	Team RLR	MG Lola EX-265	Garofall, Phillips, Gates	37.534
6	40	10	Race Performance	Oreca 03 Judd	Frey, Meichtry, Ebbesvik	51.410
7	36	11	RML AD Group	HPD ARX -01d	Erdos, Newton, Collins	173
1	95	12	Pegasus Racing	Oreca FLM	Schultis, Simon, Schell	170
2	93	13	Genoa Racing	Oreca FLM	Petersen, Julian, Zugel	18.367
8	44	16	Extreme Limite	Norma Judd	Rosier, Luco, Basso	169
3	92	24	Neil Garner M'sport	Oreca FLM	Keen, Keating, Hartshorne	157
4	99	25	JMB Racing	Oreca FLM	Rodrigues, Misslin, Mennahem	142
			NOT CLASSIFIED
5	009	29	Aston Martin Racing	AMR-One	Mucke, Turner, Primat	96
5	91	30	Hope Polevision	Oreca FLM	Moro, Marroc, Shan Qi	93
9	46	31	TDS Racing	Oreca 03 Nissan	Beche, Thiret, Firth	91

Tyre Manufacturer Column:

Dunlop

Michelin

LMP1

Classes denoted by:

LMP1

LMP2

Cost Capped P2

Formula LM

First column denotes finishing position in class: LMP1, LMP2 or FLM. If cars are on the same lap at the finish, the gap between them (in minutes or seconds) is shown.

"I enjoyed my two stints today – my first in daylight!" said Ben. "It was a lot of fun with the louvres damaged, which made for an entertaining lack of grip. I was lucky then to feel the car’s true potential after the repairs, and I could go flat through Signes, which felt terrific. The car was simply great fun to drive, and I’m really looking forward now to Spa."

"The team did really well to get here at all," he added. "I’m just so impressed by these guys. We had a pretty major and mysterious problem in practice, which they fixed ahead of the race, and the car then ran faultlessly all the way to the finish."

For a race summary including comments from Team Manager Phil Barker and the three drivers, please see Paul Ricard Race Report.

For high-resolution images, please see the Paul Ricard Race Gallery.