Le Mans 24 Hours - Race Report - Hour 22

12:00 GTE Am The gap is 2.265s at the end of S2 and 1.272s at the end of Lap 287. The overall race leader and several other cars lap the dueling pair but the gap continues to reduce.

12:00 LMP2: Picking up on that last theme, twelve P2 entries are still running, with the #43 Norma bringing up the rear, 31st overall, but still circulating.

12:00 LMP1: Moment of drama for the #1 Audi as of Benoit Treluyer spins into the pit entry. That will have cost him some seconds - could be crucial in the end, although Treluyer was lapping quicker than McNish in the laps before.

12:04 GTE Am Canal hangs on to the lead as it falls to a third of a second. The lead changes in the second sector of Lap 288.

12:04 LMP2: A triumvirate of P2 mid-fielders head through the pitlane; #25 (6th), #35 (6th) and #42 (7th) passing through in sequence. Only the pitstop for the #42 Greaves Motorsport Zytek may have any bearing on position, as Olivier Lombard in the #23 Signatech Oreca was only a few seconds behind Ordonez - next time by we'll know if positions have changed.

12:05 LMP1: Oliver Jarvis has just posted a 3:25.514.

12:05 GTE Am Canal isn't giving up and is trying to come back at the Porsche. The lead change came at the entrance to the Michelin Chicane.

12:08 LMP1: At the exact same spot, Mulsanne chicane 1, where Dumas crashed earlier Marc Gené puts the Audi R18 ultra into the wall. Severe damage to the front of the Audi. Gené continues, but that #3 car has suspension damage.

12:10 LMP2: Lombard did gain position after Ordonez made that pitstop for Greaves, and the #23 is now listed 8th in P2, ahead of the #42 by a mere five seconds.

12:10 GTE Pro Bruni pits from the lead. Completely straightforward stop for the Ferrari.

12:12 LMP1: And now we have Allan McNish off into the barriers!! What is happening here!

12:13 Safety car deployed!

12:16 LMP1: Both McNish and Gené are back in the pit - severe damage to both Audi's. McNish tried to pull away from the barrier, but climbed the barrier instead. Looked like there was damage to the car before he actually hit that barrier.

12:16 GTE Pro As the SC takes to the track, Mücke and Garcia are ending their latest scheduled stops.

12:18 GTE Pro Makowiecki pits under caution

12:21 LMP1: The #2 Audi R18 e-tron quattro already rolled out into the pit lane again and on its way out onto the circuit after just 8 minutes. Obviously lost a lot of ground on the #1 of Benoit Tréluyer, but still second. Marc Gené has dropped behind the #12 Rebellion Racing Lola of Neel Jani. The #3 is still in the pit being worked on.

12:23 GTE Am Armindo pits during the caution. Canal stays out and regains the Am lead. Narac is back in the IMSA car.

12:26 LMP2: All the P2 runners content to stay in the queue behind the safety car. Always risky making a pitstop under the Le Mans system, where three safety car groups can cost even more time than a conventional pitstop for any driver held at the exit.

12:26 LMP1: Marc Gené also back out in the pit lane - but held at the end of the pit. Might as well held it in the box a bit longer and double-check for damage.

12:31 GTE Pro Bruni completes the #51 Ferrari's 300th lap of the race behind the Safety Car.

12:33 Safety car estimated to continue until 12:40

12:37 Safety car in this lap - as Krohn Racing Ferrari is held at pit lane exit.

12:41 LMP2: Olivier Lombard pits the #23 Signatech Oreca at the last possible moment - hoping to be released again before the next safety car group comes through.

12:42 Lights are out now on the safety cars

12:42 LMP2: Tresson has stepped aboard the #23 and managed to get out ahead of the restart.

12:43 Racing Resumed

12:44 LMP2: Pierre Kaffer (#49) and Lucas Ordonez (#42) pit on the restart.

12:45 GTE Am With the two leaders split by 1:50 during the SC period, the #50 Corvette immediately stops in an effort to regain the advantage. However, the Porsche goes past before Canal can rejoin and no enjoys a 7.466s lead.

12:46 GTE Am The #70 Corvette is serving a 30s stop/go for speeding in the pitlane.

12:50 LMP2: The safety car period has not served P2 well, and the close contests we were set to relish in these final hours have evaporated. The remaining runners are now all well separated by whole laps, not seconds. The closest margin is the gap between Jordan Tresson and Lucas Ordonez for 8th, and even that's more than a minute.

12:51 GTE Am Narac is pulling away rapidly from Canal. His lead is already up to 20s.

12:52 LMP1: Tom Kimber-Smith brings in the class-leading #44 Starworks HPD for a swift pitstop for fuel only.

12:57 LMP1: Gené and McNish are the quickest Audi drivers at the moment

12:59 LMP2: A couple more pitstops - #46 from second (Tinseau for Thiriet TDS) and #43 (Rosier in the Norma), but no impact on class order.

12:59 2 hours left - Audi still 1-2-3. Rebellion is 4th.