24 hours: The No. 18 Audi R3 TDI already on the ground

The departure of 24 Hours of Le Mans took place without incident. The R18s took the leading positions in front of the Peugeot 908. But after only an hour of racing, the safety car came out on the Le Mans track after an impressive exit from Allan McNish (see video here), who had just overtaken Benoît Tréluyer to gain second place.

The Briton tried to take a trick on Anthony Beltoise (Ferrari n°58) just after the Dun Chicane, but he came into contact with the Ferrari and crashed violently into the tire wall. Allan McNish fortunately escaped unhurt.

Timo Bernhard (Audi no. 1) is now leading the race ahead of Benoît Tréluyer (Audi no. 2). Franck Montagny (Peugeot n°8) is third ahead of Alex Wurz (Peugeot n°7) and Sébastien Bourdais (Peugeot n°9). Nicolas lapierre (Peugeot Oreca n°10) is sixth. Christophe Tinseau (Pescarolo n°16) occupies 12th place.

Franck Mailleux (No. 26 Signatech) was the first leader in the LMP2 category. But a puncture on the left rear of the Oreca 03 forced the Frenchman to pit. Alexandre Prémat (Oreca n°48) is now in charge of the category.

Chevrolet leads the GTE Pro category with Oliver Gavin (Corvette #74) ahead of Olivier Beretta (Corvette #73). Darren Law (Flying Lizard #81) leads the race in GTE Am.