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As it happenedended

Le Mans 24 Hours live: Porsche snatch victory away from Toyota on final lap after heartbreaking breakdown

Follow the latest news and hourly updates from the Le Mans 24 Hours

Jack de Menezes
Le Mans
Saturday 18 June 2016 02:40 EDT
Comments
The two Toyotas drive line astern during the Le Mans 24 Hours
The two Toyotas drive line astern during the Le Mans 24 Hours (Getty)

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Follow live updates from the Le Mans 24 Hours as Porsche look to record back-to-back victories at the Circuit de la Sarthe, with Audi and Toyota set to push them all the way as well as fierce battles throughout LMP2, GTE Pro and GTE Am. Keep up to date with the latest updates here.

  • No 6 Toyota led throughout the night
  • No 2 Porsche fights back to challenge for overall lead
  • Other Toyota in close company in three-way battle for lead
  • No 1 Porsche taken out of contention due to water pump failure
  • Audi struggle after early turbocharger failure
  • No 36 Alpine leads LMP2 battle
  • No 82 Ferrari and No 68 Ford GT exchange GTE Pro lead throughout the night
  • Ferrari leading GTE Am class with No 62

Follow live updates below...

Please allow a moment for the blog to load...

Full grid:

1 LMP1 R.Dumas, N.Jani, M.Lieb Porsche Team Porsche 3m19.733s -

2 LMP1 T.Bernhard, M.Webber, B.Hartley Porsche Team Porsche 3m20.203s 0.470s

3 LMP1 S.Sarrazin, M.Conway, K.Kobayashi Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota 3m20.737s 1.004s

4 LMP1 A.Davidson, S.Buemi, K.Nakajima Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota 3m21.903s 2.170s

5 LMP1 M.Fassler, A.Lotterer, B.Treluyer Audi Sport Team Joest Audi 3m22.780s 3.047s

6 LMP1 L.di Grassi, L.Duval, O.Jarvis Audi Sport Team Joest Audi 3m22.823s 3.090s

7 LMP1 M.Tuscher, A.Imperatori, D.Kraihamer Rebellion Racing Rebellion/AER 3m26.586s 6.853s

8 LMP1 N.Prost, N.Heidfeld, N.Piquet Jr. Rebellion Racing Rebellion/AER 3m27.348s 7.615s

9 LMP1 S.Trummer, O.Webb, P.Kaffer ByKOLLES Racing Team CLM/AER 3m34.168s 14.435s

10 LMP2 R.Rusinov, W.Stevens, R.Rast G-Drive Racing ORECA/Nissan 3m36.605s 16.872s

11 LMP2 D.Cheng, H-Pin Tung, N.Panciatici Baxi DC Racing Alpine Alpine/Nissan 3m37.175s 17.442s

12 LMP2 G.Menezes, N.Lapierre, S.Richelmi Signatech Alpine Alpine/Nissan 3m37.225s 17.492s

13 LMP2 T.Graves, M.Rao, R.Merhi Manor ORECA/Nissan 3m38.037s 18.304s

14 LMP2 J.Pew, O.Negri, L.Vanthoor Michael Shank Racing Ligier/HPD 3m38.837s 19.104s

15 LMP2 R.Dalziel, L.Derani, C.Cumming Extreme Speed Motorsports Ligier/Nissan 3m39.366s 19.633s

16 LMP2 P.Thiriet, M.Beche, R.Hirakawa Thiriet by TDS Racing ORECA/Nissan 3m39.375s 19.642s

17 LMP2 N.Leventis, D.Watts, J.Kane Strakka Racing Gibson/Nissan 3m39.394s 19.661s

18 LMP2 T.Matsuda, M.Howson, R.Bradley KCMG ORECA/Nissan 3m39.436s 19.703s

19 LMP2 F.Barthez, P-L.Chatin, T.Buret Panis Barthez Competition Ligier/Nissan 3m39.470s 19.737s

20 LMP2 P.Jun Jin, T.Gommendy, N.de Bruijn Eurasia Motorsport ORECA/Nissan 3m40.631s 20.898s

21 LMP2 S.Dolan, J.Dennis, G.van der Garde G-Drive Racing Gibson/Nissan 3m40.685s 20.952s

22 LMP2 R.Gonzalez, B.Senna, F.Albuquerque RGR Sport by Morand Ligier/Nissan 3m40.899s 21.166s

23 LMP2 N.Minassian, M.Mediani, M.Aleshin SMP Racing BR Engineering/Nissan 3m41.132s 21.399s

24 LMP2 I.Taittinger, R.Striebig, L.Roussel Pegasus Racing Morgan/Nissan 3m41.285s 21.552s

25 LMP2 S.Sharp, E.Brown, J.van Overbeek Extreme Speed Motorsports Ligier/Nissan 3m41.406s 21.673s

26 LMP2 V.Petrov, V.Shaytar, K.Ladygin SMP Racing BR Engineering/Nissan 3m41.776s 22.043s

27 LMP2 M.Munemann, C.Hoy, A.Pizzitola Algarve Pro Racing Ligier/Nissan 3m42.088s 22.355s

28 LMP2 M.Rojas, J.Canal, N.Berthon Greaves Motorsport Ligier/Nissan 3m42.570s 22.837s

29 LMP2 B.Keating, J.Bleekemolen, M.Goossens Murphy Prototypes ORECA/Nissan 3m43.508s 23.775s

30 LMP2 N.Leutwiler, S.Nakano, J.Winslow Race Performance ORECA/Judd 3m43.590s 23.857s

31 LMP2 V.Capillaire, E.Maris, J.Coleman So24 ! By Lombard Racing Ligier/Judd 3m44.347s 24.614s

32 Innov F.Sausset, C.Tinseau, J-B.Bouvet SRT41 By Oak Racing Morgan/Nissan 3m45.178s 25.445s

33 LMP2 T.Krohn, N.Jonsson, J.Barbosa Krohn Racing Ligier/Nissan 3m45.213s 25.480s

34 GTE Pro J.Hand, D.Muller, S.Bourdais Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA Ford 3m51.185s 31.452s

35 GTE Pro R.Briscoe, R.Westbrook, S.Dixon Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA Ford 3m51.497s 31.764s

36 GTE Pro G.Bruni, J.Calado, A.P.Guidi AF Corse Ferrari 3m51.568s 31.835s

37 GTE Pro M.Franchitti, A.Priaulx, H.Tincknell Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford 3m51.590s 31.857s

38 GTE Pro O.Pla, S.Mucke, B.Johnson Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford 3m52.038s 32.305s

39 GTE Pro D.Rigon, S.Bird, A.Bertolini AF Corse Ferrari 3m52.508s 32.775s

40 GTE Pro G.Fisichella, T.Vilander, M.Malucelli Risi Competizione Ferrari 3m53.176s 33.443s

41 GTE Am F.Makowiecki, E.Bamber, J.Bergmeister Porsche Motorsport Porsche 3m54.918s 35.185s

42 GTE Am N.Thiim, M.Sorensen, D.Turner Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin 3m55.261s 35.528s

43 GTE Am P.Pilet, K.Estre, N.Tandy Porsche Motorsport Porsche 3m55.332s 35.599s

44 GTE Am R.Stanaway, F.Rees, J.Adam Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin 3m55.380s 35.647s

45 GTE Pro R.Lietz, M.Christensen, P.Eng Dempsey Racing - Proton Porsche 3m55.426s 35.693s

46 GTE Pro O.Gavin, T.Milner, J.Taylor Corvette Racing Chevrolet 3m55.848s 36.115s

47 GTE Am W.Sun Mok, K.Sawa, R.Bell Clearwater Racing Ferrari 3m56.827s 37.094s

48 GTE Am P.D.Lana, P.Lamy, M.Lauda Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin 3m57.198s 37.465s

49 GTE Am K.Al Qubaisi, D.Hansson, P.Long Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing Porsche 3m57.513s 37.780s

50 GTE Am D.Cameron, M.Griffin, A.Scott AF Corse Ferrari 3m57.596s 37.863s

51 GTE Am F.Perrodo, E.Collard, R.Aguas AF Corse Ferrari 3m57.742s 38.009s

52 GTE Pro J.Magnussen, A.Garcia, R.Taylor Corvette Racing Chevrolet 3m57.967s 38.234s

53 GTE Am Y.Yamagishi, P.Ragues, J-P.Belloc Larbre Competition Chevrolet 3m58.018s 38.285s

54 GTE Am J.Laursen, M.Mac, C.Nielsen Formula Racing Ferrari 3m58.760s 39.027s

55 GTE Pro C.Ried, W.Henzler, J.Camathias KCMG Porsche 3m59.034s 39.301s

56 GTE Am B.Sweedler, T.Bell, J.Segal Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 4m00.008s 40.275s

57 GTE Am C.MacNeil, L.Keen, M.Miller Proton Competition Porsche 4m00.107s 40.374s

58 GTE Am M.Wainwright, A.Carroll, B.Barker Gulf Racing UK Porsche 4m01.046s 41.313s

59 GTE Am J.O'Connell, O.Bryant, M.Patterson Team AAI Chevrolet 4m02.326s 42.593s

60 GTE Am A.Howard, L.Griffin, G.Hirsch Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin 4m03.148s 43.

Good morning! welcome to our live coverage of the Le Mans 24 Hours, where the pit lane has already come alive as the field make their way towards the exit for morning warm-up. All 60 teams will get a final 45 minutes to prepare for this afternoon's main event. As I type, the green light is on at the end of the pit lane, and the warm-up is underway!

Jack de Menezes18 June 2016 08:00

Actio already out on the track as the No 91 Porsche of Patrick Pillet loses the rear, with reported oil on the track at Indianapolis. Pillet just keeps it out of the wall, but that could prove a problem for the entire field.

Jack de Menezes18 June 2016 08:06

RED FLAG: The No 23 Panis-Barthez Ligier has gone off at the Porsche Curves and the session is halted. After losing the rear, the car thumped the barrier with the right-rear corner before going off into the gravel trap. Looks like the Ligier boys have plenty of work to do before race start. The cars are making their way back to the pits.

Jack de Menezes18 June 2016 08:10

There's another queue already formed at the end of pit lane, with the race director confirming that the session will restart on a short call.

Jack de Menezes18 June 2016 08:22

GREEN FLAG: The warm-up resumes with 22 minutes remaining in the session.

Jack de Menezes18 June 2016 08:23
Jack de Menezes18 June 2016 10:00

There's enough rain now to question whether the race will start on time at all. The possibility of a safety car start is a very possible outcome, but it's hammering it down through the Ford Chicane and onto the start-finish straight.

Jack de Menezes18 June 2016 13:37

CONFIRMED: The race will begin behind the safety car.

Jack de Menezes18 June 2016 13:41

**FIVE MINUTE KLAXON**

The tension down in pit lane is incredible, with all teams uncertain with how this race start will unfold. The entire field is on extreme wets, though some teams did discuss the possibility of going with inters behind the safety car in the hope that it dries out quickly.

Jack de Menezes18 June 2016 13:55

The grid is being cleared as the engines fire into life for the second time today. Here we go...

Jack de Menezes18 June 2016 13:58

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