The Gene – Rockenfeller order kept steady throughout the first half of the third hour, but the real story now comes from the “quiet ones”—what some might consider low end LM P1 entries that are doing well. These include the somewhat heralded Lola-Aston Martin, but the much less noted No. 6 Courage-Oreca and the works No. 16 Pescarolo. No. 6 (Lapierre driving) and No. 16 (Collard up) are holding a steady 4th and 5th. The Creation had also been doing reasonably well for most of the first two hours but is now behind Primat in the No. 17 Pescarolo. Only the No. 5 Courage has not featured in all of this, a long stop with a starter motor problem.

The GT contest has been extremely hot this hour. Bell began the hour setting the class’ fast lap, 17 seconds down in third place. In front of him Simonsen was holding off a very strong charge by Lieb. The two leaders came up on a gaggle at one of the chicanes and Simonsen briefly spun, having to avoid the Essex Porsche that had just slowed for turn and also for the spinning No. 85 Spyker further ahead. This allowed Lieb into the lead, but not without some slight damage to the rear of the No. 77 Porsche. It’s resulted in a meatball for the Felbermayr car. The Virgo Ferrari has benefited from all this, retaking the class lead at the 2:40 mark. Further back in the class, Mauro Casadei takes his first stint in the JMB Ferrari and promptly sets the car’s fastest lap. Ten laps later he spins rather luridly. The last place GT1 car, the No. 73 Corvette, had a slight off.

The strong run of the Creation also came to an end then with a slipping clutch. The Horag Porsche has stopped with zero oil pressure. They’re not sure if it’s a sensor or the real thing. Didier Theys on the puncture, “I pulled out to go by a GT car. There were a lot of marbles and perhaps a piece of carbon fiber amongst it. It was a very big blow out.”

The second half hour has featured a gradual spread in the lead margin as Gene is pulling away from Rockenfeller at about 0.8-0.9 seconds per lap.

Earlier, the No. 75 IMSA Porsche had a three-minute penalty because Balandras had violated the red light at pit out.

At the 2:50 mark the lead Peugeot makes a routine stop, putting Rockenfeller into the lead, but only for a lap as the Audi then makes its scheduled halt.

Pierre Kaffer, “The traffic is unbelievable. It’s good for me after driving Prototypes back in 2004. What a big challenge it is for the GT drivers. I was used to find my way through traffic, but here you have to use your eyes to look both ways at once. You only have two small mirrors because the rear camera is broken. It is unbelievably busy out there.”

Martin Short, “Engine temperature is getting a bit warm, but Vanina is doing a terrific job. We’re in the top ten and I hope that we can stay there. I’m going in next and then Joao will finish the race.”

Jonathan France, “I decided to retire the second car immediately so that we can go and assess the steering problem away from any pressures to finish the race. It’s obviously disappointing not to finish, but our pace was good and we were keeping up with, or reeling in, several of the other LM P2 cars.”

Jos Verstappen, “I lost time at the start. It’s almost impossible to overtake the P1 cars. You come up on them under braking and through the turns but they easily pull away from you. You have to wait for them to make a mistake.” Regarding his stop-and-gos, “It’s very difficult. You’re sitting low down with a GT car in front of you, which you usually do, and it’s easy to miss a flag.”

Michael Vergers, “I came through a twisty section in a mass of cars, possibly as many as 20 of them. One of the Porsche Spyders came by me and I let him go. Then I got baulked by a GT2 car and the Horag car jumped me. Next we got to a very tight section and there was an Audi alongside me. I tried to give him room. We went around the turn with me on the outside, still behind another GT2 car and I’d seen in my mirror a Peugeot and a Lola Coupe catching up. When I next looked to my right the Peugeot was actually in the air heading straight for the side of my car. I actually ducked. It hit the side of the car and damaged the radiator. The engine has overheated, so we’re draining and replacing all the fluids, letting it cool down and see if we’re going out again.”

Hour 3 Positions
1 7 Team Peugeot Total GENE Marc MINASSIAN Nicolas Peugeot 908 Hdi-FAP LMP1 ==104== 1:34.188 3 3:43.909
2 2 Audi Sport Team Joest PREMAT Alexandre ROCKENFELLER Mike Audi R10 TDI LMP1 1:04.250 1:35.297 3 3:18.545
3 10 Charouz Racing System MUCKE Stefan CHAROUZ Jan Lola Aston Martin LMP1 ==103== 1:35.531 3 3:44.808
4 6 Team Oreca Matmut PANIS Olivier LAPIERRE Nicolas Courage-Oreca Judd LMP1 ==102== 1:36.750 3 3:41.969
5 16 Pescarolo Sport COLLARD Emmanuel BOULLION Jean-Christophe Pescarolo Judd LMP1 51.766 1:37.578 3 3:54.818
6 31 Team Essex ELGAARD Casper NIELSEN John Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 ==101== 1:37.985 3 3:12.266
7 17 Pescarolo Sport PRIMAT Harold TINSEAU Christophe Pescarolo Judd LMP1 47.563 1:37.469 3 3:52.852
8 34 Van Merksteijn Motorsport VAN MERKSTEIJN Peter VERSTAPPEN Jos Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 55.719 1:37.360 4 4:14.420
9 33 Speedy Racing Team Sebah BELICCHI Andrea POMPIDOU Xavier ZACCHIA Steve Lola Judd LMP2 ==100== 1:37.688 3 4:06.982
10 18 Rollcentre Racing BARBOSA Joao ICKX Vanina SHORT Martin Pescarolo Judd LMP1 ==99== 1:39.313 3 4:30.553
11 35 Saulnier Racing RAGUES Pierre LAHAYE Matthieu Pescarolo Judd LMP2 1:15.781 1:40.688 3 4:20.852
12 1 Audi Sport Team Joest CAPELLO Rinaldo McNISH Allan Audi R10 TDI LMP1 ==98== 1:34.953 3 12:07.218
13 25 RML ERDOS Tommy NEWTON Mike Lola MG LMP2 1:24.235 1:39.531 3 3:29.038
14 4 Saulnier Racing NICOLET Jacques FAGGIONATO Marc HEIN Richard Pescarolo Judd LMP1 1:33.547 1:40.266 2 3:20.064
15 19 Chamberlain Synergy EVANS Gareth BERRIDGE Bob Lola AER LMP1 ==96== 1:40.297 3 5:42.554
16 72 Luc Alphand Aventures ALPHAND Luc MOREAU Guillaume GOUESLARD Patrice Corvette C6.R LMGT1 ==95== 1:45.766 2 2:36.188
17 20 Epsilon Euskadi BURGUENO Angel DE CASTRO Miguel-Angel Epsilon Euskadi Judd LMP1 ==94== 1:39.375 3 10:10.615
18 8 Team Peugeot Total LAMY Pedro SARRAZIN Stephane Peugeot 908 Hdi-FAP LMP1 1:40.297 1:33.515 3 21:05.508
19 59 Team Modena GARCIA Antonio ENGE Tomas Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 1:46.875 1:45.141 4 4:51.498
20 27 Horag Racing LIENHARD Fredy THEYS Didier LAMMERS Jan Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 2:22.500 1:37.532 3 13:18.576
21 50 Larbre Competition MAKOWIECKI Frederic BORNHAUSER Patrick BOUCHUT Christophe Saleen S7R LMGT1 ==93== 1:46.125 2 2:48.047
22 55 IPB Spartak Racing RUSINOV Roman KOX Peter Lamborghini Murcielago LMGT1 33.891 1:46.734 3 3:49.525
23 26 Bruichladdich Radical ROSTAN Marc PETERSEN Jens LUEDERS Jan-Dirk Radical AER LMP2 35.344 1:41.859 4 5:28.182
24 96 Virgo Motorsport BELL Robert BRUNI Gianmaria Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 ==92== 1:48.937 3 3:17.430
25 76 Imsa Performance Matmut NARAC Raymond LIETZ RIchard Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 21.531 1:49.907 2 2:36.253
26 77 Team Felbermayr-Proton LIEB Marc DAVISON Alex Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 ==91== 1:50.297 3 4:11.888
27 73 Luc Alphand Aventures BLANCHEMAIN Jean-Luc DUMEZ Sebastien BERVILLE Roland Corvette C6.R LMGT1 14.218 1:46.969 2 2:49.217
28 90 Farnbacher Racing EHRET Pierre KAFFER Pierre BELTOISE Anthony Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 1:27.421 1:50.516 2 2:32.225
29 41 Trading Performance OJJEH Karim GOSSELIN Claude-Yves SCHROYEN Julien Zytek 07S LMP2 ==90== 1:41.984 3 4:36.201
30 99 JMB Racing AUCOTT Ben DAOUDI Stephane Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 54.985 1:51.844 3 2:33.549
31 85 Snoras Spyker Squadron DUMBRECK Peter KELLENERS Ralf VASILIEV Alexei Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2R LMGT2 ==89== 1:52.734 2 2:30.757
32 95 James Watt Automotive DANIELS Paul PALTALLA Markus FORTSEN Mikael Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 22.188 1:52.344 2 2:55.434
33 14 Creation AIM CAMPBELLWALTER Jamie HALL Stuart ORTIZ Felipe Creation Aim LMP1 ==88== 1:37.094 5 13:46.910
34 75 Imsa Performance Matmut BALANDRAS Richard LECOURT Michel BELLOC Jean-Philippe Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 12:34.328 1:51.547 3 6:15.279
35 3 Scuderia Lavaggi LAVAGGI Giovanni Lavaggi AER LMP1 ==87== 1:42.094 6 13:38.560
36 88 Team Felbermayr-Proton RIED Christian FELBERMAYR Horst Jr FELBERMAYR Horst Sr Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 6:55.844 1:53.234 3 4:50.075
37 98 JMB Racing BASSO Maurice McCORMICK Bo CASADEI Mauro Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 ==86== 1:52.375 2 3:48.934
38 40 Quifel ASM Team AMARAL Miguel PLA Olivier Lola AER LMP2 ==85== 1:39.610 3 14:12.747
39 91 Farnbacher Racing NIELSEN Lars Erik WESTBROOK Richard SIMONSEN Allan Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 11.563 1:50.734 3 15:04.896
40 30 Racing Box DIDAIO Marco FRANCIONI Filippo SAVOLDI Mirco Lucchini Judd LMP2 ==81== 1:45.532 3 7:29.920
41 5 Team Oreca Matmut ORTELLI Stephane AYARI Soheil Courage-Oreca Judd LMP1 ==79== 1:38.484 2 38:08.948
42 44 Kruse Schiller Motorsport de POURTALES Jean NODA Hideki Lola Mazda LMP2 ==70== 1:39.750 7 50:14.247
43 37 WR / Salini SALINI Stephane SALINI Philippe ROUSSEL Patrice WR Zytek LMP2 ==64== 1:47.109 3 52:11.563
44 32 Barazi Epsilon BARAZI Juan VERGERS Michael Zytek 07S LMP2 ==55== 1:39.296 2 1:04.019
45 45 Embassy Racing HUGHES Warren HABERFIELD Mario WF01 Zytek LMP2 ==43== 1:40.031 2 3:03.022
46 46 Embassy Racing KANE Jonny FOSTER Joey WF01 Zytek LMP2 ==41== 1:40.312 1 2:28.652
47 94 Speedy Racing Team CHIESA Andrea LEUENBERGER Benjamin Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2R LMGT2 ==17== 1:53.703 1 9:19.555