Le Mans 24 Hours - Race Report - Hour 16

06:00 LMP2: Additional pit-stoppers in the #49 and #35 next tour around. Meanwhile, a new fastest lap for the #42 Greaves Zytek from Gonzalez, posting a 3:43.560.

06:01 LMP1: Lotterer pits after setting that fastest sector time - and rejoins. Peter Dumbreck passes Pierre Kaffer and takes eighth overall. Just one P2 car ahead of him.

06:02 Dawn has broken, and the sun is peeking across the horizon. As it was when the daylight faded last night, the sky is clear and the threat of rain has long since receded. We can look forward to nine more hours of dry running, with any luck...

06:05 GTE Pro #97 pits from second.  Fuel only for Mucke.

06:05 LMP2: A new fastest lap from the P2 class leader, Ryan Dalziel posting a 3:41.304 as he passes the second-placed #49 Pecom Oreca. So, a full lap's lead for the #44 Starworks HPD.

06:08 GTE Pro Walker pits the JMW Ferrari.  He is rather a long time.

GTE Am Armindo pits the leading Porsche so Bornhauser takes the class lead once again.

06:09 LMP2: The P2 leader enters the pitlane and Ryan Dalziel hands over the #44 HPD to Enzo Potolicchio.

06:12 GTE Am Now it is Bornhauser's turn to pit from the lead of GTE Am and the lead swings back to Armindo as he passes the Corvette accelerating out of the pitlane.  His lead is only 4.8 seconds though.

06:13 GTE Pro Walker rejoins in the JMW Ferrari after a 7:03 stop.

06:15 GTE ProGavin pits from what is no longer last place.  He has passed the pit-bound Dome and #83 Ferrari to move to 39th overall.

06:16 Temperature is starting to climb, currently 11 degrees C.

06:23 GTE Pro Bruni and Mako, the bread in the Aston sandwich, both pit at the same time and rejoin with positions maintained - 1st and 3rd respectively.

06:24 LMP1: André Lotterer has just done a 3:26.959 - only six tenths away from the fastest lap time of the race, also set by Lotterer on lap 5. Yellow flag on the Mulsanne though for a stranded JMW Motorsport Ferrari 458.

06:25 GTE Pro Walker has stopped on Les Hunaudieres between the two chicanes.

06:28 LMP2: Tinseau completes the 20th pitstop for the #46 Thiriet TDS Oreca - running 4th in P2. Sadly, we have no close battles in the category at the moment, and none in immediate prospect either.

06:38 LMP2: Puncture to right rear on the #45 Boutsen Oreca Nissan #45. The car is making slow progress back towards the pitlane.

06:39 GTE Pro 3:56.291 for Mucke, fastest for the car and possibly fastest time in GTE so far. He has been pulling away from Mako in #59 because the gap is now nearly 40 seconds.

06:40 LMP1: Quick stop for the #1 Audi of André Lotterer. Tyres being thoroughly checked, looks like the team suspected a slow puncture. Lotterer has now done 22 pitstops, Capello has done 20.

06:43 GTE Pro Hero to zero for Mucke, he appears sideways at Indianapolis and slams right side on into the tyre wall at the outside.  This was set to be a great result for AMR to make amends for last year but it looks like being another non-finish.  Mako passes him and #71 is 3 laps down but there is a lot more than 3 laps worth of repairs needed, if indeed Mucke can return to base.

06:43 LMP2: After that slow lap, Briere in the #45 lost 9th to Maxime Martin in the #35 Oak Racing Morgan, but he did manage to get back to the piots and receive fresh tyres. The #45 is back out and racing again now.

06:44 GTE Pro Mucke is indeed underway and the car is proceeding remarkably well.

06:46 LMP1: Dumbreck now into seventh position, ahead of Potolicchio. All LMP1 in the top 7 at the moment.

06:48 GTE Pro Mucke is back to the pits and it actually doesn't look anywhere near as bad as it should.  He had been going even faster on that lap, perhaps a little too fast.  A quick check of the 15th hour classification results shows Mucke was the fastest in GTE.

06:50 GTE Am We didn't notice it but Jonsson has taken over #57.  This has been a very solid performance for Krohn Racing.

06:51 GTE Pro: Makowiecki with a puncture - but the Luxury Racing Ferrari is back in the pit now.

06:51 LMP2: Martin was the next to pit, but retained his position over Briere. Pitstops also for the class leading Starworks HPD and the #41 Greaves Zytek.

06:56 LMP2: Pitstop for the #33 Level 5 HPD. As we mentioned some hours ago, the black HPD has been plodding on steadily, doing nothing particularly remarkable along the way, but largely keeping out of trouble, setting modest but consistent laps, and steadily picking up places. Scott Tucker himself is now in the car and running 6th in LMP2, 14th overall.

06:58 GTE Pro: Fernandez in the #97 Aston is back on track. Lots of time lost as the gap to the fourth placed Ferrari of Marco Cioci is now just 37 seconds.