Le Mans 24 Hours - Race Report - Hour 19

09:00 LMP1: Interesting developments at the front. Fuel only stop for Kristensen puts him in the lead - immediately followed by Fässler. At the first chicane Fässler retakes the lead, but then outbrakes himself and goes straight through the gravel. Kristensen also wide, but manages to get back ahead of Fässler to keep the lead. Audi seems to let them fight for the win.

09:00 LMP2: Thiriet is getting increasingly agitated as he attempts to unsettle Ragues, weaving from side to side and flashing his headlights, but Ragues is perfectly justified in holding his position and defending third in P2.

09:02 LMP2: Thiriet finally gets through on the run down towards the first Mulsanne Chicane, drawing alongside Ragues, and then holds the racing line through the chicane.

09:04 GTE Pro Fisichella pits, Vilander takes over

09:05 LMP2: Even though he's got by, Thiriet is not getting everything his own way, as Ragues latches on to the tail of the #46 and remains close as the two cars head off on their 265th lap.

09:10 GTE Am The two-way battle for the lead continues, but now with Pedro Lamy leading Raymond Narac by 14.797s. This one isn't over by a long way!

09:10 LMP2: It is pointed out that only one car in the top six in LMP2 does not have the Nissan engine, and that's the leader. Tom Kimber-Smith is 100 seconds clear in the #44 Starworks HPD and holds 8th overall.

09:15 LMP2: Soheil Ayari runs wide at Indianapolis in the #49 Pecom Racing Oreca and gets buried in the gravel, and Pierre Thiriet sails serenely by to take ther position. Ayari regains the track with the help of an extraction vehilce and heads off in pursuit.

09:16 LMP2: Pierre Ragues pits the Signatech Oreca Nissan, #26, after passing Ayari, and the latter then follows him down into the pitlane after his Indianapolis excursion.

09:17 GTE Pro Jaime Melo sets a 3:56 in the #59 Ferrari, and on the same lap Darren Turner goes three-tenths quicker.

09:21 GTE Am Michele Rugolo takes over the #57 Krohn Racing Ferrari from the team owner. It is now a case of holding station for the lime-green car - it being four laps down on Narac in second and nine laps up on Bourret in fourth - and being healthy should either of the leaders stumble.

09:24 GTE Am The #55 JWA Porsche is being worked on in the pitlane - attention being paid to the rear suspension. Markus Palttala is waiting patiently in the driver's seat and the car looks unlikely to lose its sixth place.

09:26 GTE Pro DArren Turner sets a new fastest lap for the class - 3:56.287 in the #97 Vantage.

09:26 LMP2: Official confirmation of a sixth retirement from LMP2, with the addition of the #33 Level 5 HPD to the list of "abandons". Pending any other information, we must assume this was a simple case of running out of fuel.

09:26 LMP1: After pitstops the gap between Kristensen and Fässler now upto 58.879s again.

09:27 GTE Am Palttala misses the Forza Chicane on his outlap, suggesting that the braking or handling issues affecting his Porsche are not yet fully resolved.

09:29 GTE Pro Bertolini pits the #71 Ferrari 458 from fourth in class. The stop is clearly more than a regular service and the car goes into the garage.

09:29 LMP2: After eighteen hours of racing, the top group in P2 is still battling for position. While T K-S has a secure lead, the next three are all within sight of one another, and the podium is far from decided - although, with over five hours still to go, almost anything may yet happen.

09:32 LMP2: A routine pitstop for Pierre Thiriet in the #46 - the car's 24th. Rusinov closes down in the #26, but the stop eases any pressure on Tom Kimber-Smith in the lead #44.

09:35 GTE Pro Darren Turner pits the Aston from third. The English driver stays in the seat as the car rejoins.

09:37 LMP2: The margin between second and fourth in P2 is roughly 45 seconds, with Ragues (#26) and Ayari (#49) separated by just ten seconds.

09:37 GTE Pro Jan Magnussen is back in the #73 Corvette, with fourth place getting ever nearer as the Bertolini Ferrari remains in its garage. The change for position should take place in the next couple of minutes.

09:40 LMP2: Tom Kimber-Smith brings the Starworks HPD back to the pitlane for fuel. A straightforward stop but inclusive of a driver change, and Ryan Dalziel is back aboard the #44.

09:42 GTE Pro The #71 Ferrari is about to return to the race after a lengthy stop. The car went into the garage for new brakes, but an engine problem was discovered in the process. The car has dropped to fifth.

09:44 LMP1: Kristensen pits from the lead - Capello climbs aboard and away they go, RLM note that this marks a change to the driver order with McNish having been due to take the wheel

Danny Watts is attacking but outbrakes himself in the Strakka HPD - no real harm done and he continues after losing around 10 seconds - JRM meanwhile pit the #22 for a regular stop but Chandhok struggles to get the car away, stalling several times before it finally fires.

09:44 Capello emerges 22 seconds behind the leader

09:46 GTE Am Narac pits from second, having dropped more than half a second back from Lamy. Is the momentum swinging towards Larbre?

09:47 LMP1; The #13 Rebellion Lola Toyota pits from 6th, the car is garaged, clutch failure

09:48 GTE Pro A trouble-free stop for Melo, who stays in the driving seat of the #59.

09:50 GTE Am Lamy pits from the lead, but no dramas are noted.

09:51 GTE Am After the latest stop, the Corvette and Porsche are separated by just 5.251s!

09:52 GTE Pro The #71 AF Corse 458 finally returns to the race, with Olivier Beretta at the wheel. It's podium chances are now greatly diminished, however, and it is three laps adrift of the fourth-placed Corvette.

09:58 GTE Am Despite its recent crash and conflagration, Rui Aguas sets the #61 Ferrari's fastest Sector 1 time with just over five hours of the race remaining. He goes on to set a 3:58.821 by lap's end, the car's best of the race.