Le Mans 24 Hours - Final Hour

So its Minassian chasing Kristensen - Peugeot Chasing Audi -  #7 chasing #2 and possibly most importantly Slicks chasing Inters.

The gap has widened a little, Minassian managing outstandingly well on the sopping wet parts of the circuit.

40 minutes remaining and the gap is 2 minutes 32 seconds.  Last lap, lap 370, Minassian took 8 seconds out of Kristensen.

Roman Rusinov almost collects the leader into Mulsanne Corner but all is well.

Minassian went straight on at the first chicane - makes his way around the tyre walls and continues.

Catching up elsewhere the order behind the lead pair remains unchanged - the #1 Audi takes some radical looking intermediates.

The order in LMP2, GT1 and GT2 looks set,

LMP2 looks like the arrival with a vengeance of the Porsche RS Spyder in 24 Hour racing - a 1,2 for the #34 and #31 cars with the LMP2 Pescarolo third.  Pescarolo keep up a sequence of Le Mans podiums via a different team and a different class.  It should be a debut podium for the new Judd LMP2 engine and a very welcome prototype podium for Dunlop (on the Essex Racing Porsche).

GT1 is an astounding defence of their title here by the #009 Aston Martin ahead of the #63 and #64 Corvettes.

The retirement of the Virgo Ferrari means that the order of provisional podium spots is #82, #97, #90, Risi, BMS, Farnbacher - Michelin, Pirelli, Dunlop and more importantly here and for history, Ferrari, Ferrari, Ferrari.

Biela has an off from 6th place, harmlessly, at the first chicane, but rejoins - No way those inters will be fitted to the leader then!

Minassian completes his out lap in a tad over 4 minutes. The gap is at 2:40. Then going through the Dunlop Chicane Minassian loops it, not once but twice. On the second 360 he’s very nearly collected by Seth Neiman, the Lizard Porsche driver masterfully avoids the Peugeot.

Minassian continues to struggle through the wet section but maintains the pace and even with the spin completes a 3:54 to the Audi’s 3:56.4. The gap is at 2:40.5. A lap later and another spanner is tossed in front of Minassian as he’s balked by Roman Rusinov in the Lamborghini.

Nevertheless, the French driver remains on his mission. The gap is down to 2:32.6 with a 3:58.149 by the leading Audi and the Peugeot crossing the beam at 3:50.297. There is drama behind too as Frank Biela stops to put cut slicks on the No. 1 Audi. Indeed it is getting a bit drier and Minassian’s gamble of the moment is working. Still, Minassian makes it difficult. He goes straight through at the first chicane, yet loses little time. Meanwhile Biela spins and stalls at the first chicane.

Next time around the gap drops to 2:27, yet again Minassian struggles, locking up at Dunlop. Yet again he gains on Kristensen. The next lap the gap is 2:22, but there is now under 30 minutes left. More drama to follow, surely. But it looks right now as if the Peugeot tyre gamble has been a busted flush.

Villeneuve, pacing in the Peugeot pit has given up this race as lost - Minassian is unlikely to concur but he is not making the ground up that he needs to.

Time for Plan B - Nic pits again, wets onto the #7 car, Kristensen needs to stop before the end too - Minassian though seems to be in trouble, the car weaving out of Corvette Curve and he is fighting the car, he's missed the pit entry, the car is barely controllable, Minassian off the circuit at Tetre Rouge, back on, but almost crabbing down the Mulsanne - 15 minutes to go.

All of this effectively puts the overall result beyond doubt.

Montagny pits from third, Kristensen makes his stop on his way for his 8th win, for Audi's 8th win, Capello's third and McNish's first win for Audi, his second win overall, on the tenth anniversary of his 1998 win for Porsche.

Kristensen leaves pit lane with 13 minutes to go. Down at Peugeot Michel Barge's expression is one of stunned acceptance as the Audi has now lapped the #7 908 after Minassian pitted again for a further set of wets, Loose Wheel? we'll find out later.  Wolgang Ulrich is pacing the pit apron with a furrowed brow - Have any of his wins been harder fought?

The #8 Peugeot pits, there's nobody there to meet it and belatedly tyres are brought out, is it a tactic to get a wounded lion home?

The late night safety car period and overnight rain have removed the possibility of a distance record this year but the Peugeot/ Audi contest lived up to its billing and then some.

The GT1 'battle' is going to finish with the winner and the leading #63 Corvette on the same lap, albeit 3 minutes 50 seconds behind.

The RS Spyders also broke a recent record of the 'junior' LMP category finishing behind the leading GT1 cars, In Saulnier Racing's #35 Pescarolo we have the first starter, finisher and podium finisher from the Peoples Republic of China. Pescarolo Sport of course also 'win' the honour of first petrol driven car home.

Lets not forget that LMP2 saw a victory from a team having their first run here, and from a nation that has firmly added itself to the short list to whom this place is all but holy ground.  Jos Verstappen, and Gianmaria Bruni both win in their rookie years here.

Minassian unlaps himself from Kristensen as the formation finish forms up, he dashes around to finish on the winning lap, some 4 minutes 31.094 seconds away, one of the closest finishes ever.

Janos Wimpffen lists the previous same lap finishes:

1966, non-competitive 20 meters (Ford / Ford)

1969, Ford vs. Porsche, 120 meters

1983, non-competitive, 3.3 km. (Porsche / Porsche)

1988, Jaguar vs. Porsche, 2:36 minutes

2004, Goh Audi vs. Velox Audi, 41.354 seconds

All of this in front of a record crowd, the ACO say 258,500 over the weekend

And its time for the usual thanks:

To the Radio Le Mans crew for their excellent coverage once again, John, Eve, Paul, Graham, Carl, Nick, Joe, Bob, Bob, Bruce, Roger, Chuck, Jim, Tim, Johnny and Toby.  This extraordinary event would be infinitely more difficult to cover without them.

To David Downes, Peter May, Regis Lefebure, Jake Ebrey, Marcus Potts and David Legangneux for their wonderful images of the week.

To Janos Wimpffen and our Pit Reporter Martin Little for their tireless efforts in putting together the words on site for the site.

Thanks too to Robin Whitehead for keeping dsc ticking over nicely on the technical front over the weekend..

A particular thank you to Mark Howson and Pippa Nielsen for their magnificent support back at base – We literally could not have got through an enormously taxing week without all of you.

And finally to everyone in the paddock, in the press room (especially our super-sub Fiona Miller) and on the spectator banks that has stopped to ask about our Editor in Chief, and in particular to the teams running the 29 cars that carried 4MCC stickers throughout the 24 hours – Malc will be getting to hear just how many people missed him as much as we did this year.