Le Mans 24 Hours Qualifying 1

We have a 20 minute delay as work is carried out on the Tertre Rouge armco, following earlier damage.

Meanwhile, a little birdie tells us that Peugeot will not be bolting on qualifiers and that the nominated drivers have been told to stand down. There is the outside possibilty that Sarrazin will be sent out later in the session in the #8 on qualifiers, but that would be the only factory car to give it a shot.

Hugues de Chaunac confirms to RLM that ORECA has not protested the Aston Martin direct injection engine, but has asked for clarification from the ACO on its legality.

The session finally gets under way at 19:25 local time, with the clock still showing a two hour session. Presumably, this means a reduced 'lunch break' rather than the second session running past midnight.

Thomas Biagi's session doesn't get off to the best of starts, as the Racing Box Lola stalls in the pitlane and has to be pushed out of the way.

Darren Turner kicks things off in the #008 Lola Aston Martin with a 3:32.412 and then sets the fastest first sector on his next lap.

Benoit Treluyer posts a 3:34.572 in the #17 Pescarolo Peugeot, while Dindo Capello pits the #1 Audi R15, but manages a 3:39.874 on his inlap.

Currently, British drivers are on provisional pole in all four classes - Turner, Guy Smith, Oliver Gavin and Jonny Cocker.

Montagny sets the fastest middle sector and appears to be heading off of the third timing screen - indeed, a 3:25.608    for the #8 Peugeot. Allan Simonsen sets a 4:11.148 in the Hankook Ferrari to take provisional pole in GT2. Collard heads the P2 times with a 3:40.796 in the Team Essex Porsche. 

Jonny Kane takes second fastest in P2 in the Speedy Lola, but is six seconds off the Essex car. 

Andrea Belicchi sets a fourth quickest 3:33.564, despite going airborne at the Ford Chicane. All four Peugeots are now in the top six.

In GT2, Paolo Ruberti goes fastest on 4:08.038, ahead of Nic Jonsson in the #83 Risi car and Cocker's Aston.

Meanwhile, The Don is going faster again in the #13 Speedy Lola - 3:30.552 - but is pipped by Lucas Luhr; 3:29.920 in the #2 R15.

Collard improves again to below 3;40 before pitting and now Sascha Maassen is challenging in the Team Goh Porsche - 3:33, but going faster on his next lap. 

Pedro Lamy leapfrogs Luhr to go second on 3:28.698 - Peugeot 1-2.

Top 11 after 25 minutes - 8, 7, 2, 13, 1, 008, 17, 9, 007, 16, 009. That means all four Peugeots, all four Aston martins, two Audi R15s and the Speedy Lola Aston Martin in the top 11. 

Giorgio Mondini moves the #15 Kolles R10 into the top ten with a 3:35.262 - ten seconds off pole. Panis is currently the faster of the two ORECA cars in 13th, but speeding up. The sister car is 15th and in the garage with the engine cover off. 

Improvement from Capello gives us a Peugeot 1-2 and an Audi 3-4. the gap from first to fourth is currently 4.6s. 

Bruni goes fastest in GT2 - 4:07.7 - two hundredths quicker than Melo in the Risi Ferrari #82.

Tommy Erdos leapfrogs Guy Smith to go fourth in P2 in the #25 RML Lola Coupe.

Brake-change for the #10 ORECA AIM.

Alexandre Premat and David Brabham have just set their fastest laps and look to be going faster on the next lap - Brabs go fifth with 3:30.450; Premat seventh with 3:30.838. this leaves the three factory Audis and three factory Peugeots in the top seven, with the only interloper being the privateer P1 Lola Aston Martin.

darren turner improves to 3:31.100 to consolidate eighth, ahead of the Pesacrolo Peugeot; but Lamy is on a real flier - faster than the car has gone in the first sector and fastest of all in the second. 3:27.622 leaves the #7 still in second place and still two seconds off pole.

Raymond Narac improves to head Jonny Cocker in the #76 IMSA Performance Porsche; fifth fastest and first non-Ferrari in GT2.

Brabham and Premat both had slower laps last time around, but are now going faster again and are running together.

Marc Lieb takes the #77 Felbermayr-Proton Porsche to provisional pole with 4:05.854. 

Brabs and Jan Charouz in the #007 Lola Aston look set to improve. Nope for Brabham, but yes for the Czech - up to tenth with 3:34.036. Premat moves ahead of Brabs by 14 thousandths of a second.

Bouillon moves up to third in the Pesca 908 - 3:28.736. Premat going quicker again in the #3 Audi.

Strakka have cycled Hardman and Leventis through - three laps each - and Danny Watts is now getting in for a longer run, so we can expect the Ginetta-Zytek 09S to improve.

Melo goes second in GT2 - 4:06.986 - just over a second off Lieb's time. Guy Smith improves to fourth in P2. Premat goes third overall with 3:27.722 - a tenth off Lamy. 

Top five are now under 3:30.

In GT1, Oliver Gavin has led from the start, but Johnny O'Connell has just leapfrogged the #72 Luc Alphand C6.R to trail Gavin by a second; although the American is going quicker this time around. He grabs provisional GT1 pole - 3:57.114.

LAA refugee, Guillaume Moreau, is going well in the #35 Oak Racing Pescarolo Mazda; sixth fastest in P2 on 3:46.1

We still have a Porsche leading the way in GT2, with Lieb heading a train of five Ferrari; the top eight completed by the #76 IMSA Porsche and the Drayson Aston.

In LMP2, Erdos - fifth fastest in the RML Mazda Lola - improves his time, but not his position; 3:34.432.

54 of the 55 cars have so far taken part in the session, with still no sign of the JLOC Lamborghini.

Montagny sets two reds in the first part of his lap and ends it on........3:26.398. He hit traffic at the end of the lap.

Danny Watts takes two seconds off the Strakka car's best, but stays in 16th.

Allan McNish reckons Montagny was blocked all the way from the Porsche Curves on his last lap, losing three seconds in the process. The Frenchman goes quicker again in the first two sectors and this time it is a 3:28.750 after extraordinary scenes.

Montagny came up on Lamy in the Porsche Curves, but was blocked by the #7. A clearly furious Montagny brake-tests his teammate at the Ford Chicane.

In GT2 Kirkaldy brings the #92 JMW Ferrari up to 5th in class.

The JLOC Lamborghini - now in possession of a functional driveshaft for the first time in over 24 hours leaves the pits!

David Brabham is on the attack just now, the #9 car improving on consecutive laps - now 5th and breaking the 3:29 mark

Ortelli gets the #'10 Oreca AIM amongst the Lola Astons, 10th fastest overall now - 3:33.7, He's leapfrogged almost immediately by Tinseau with a 3:32.0, Pesca vs Oreca lovely stuff.

In GT2 Pierre Kaffer (#82 Risi) and Christophe Bouchut (#99 JMB) are both flying just now.  Kaffer though stays second quickest in class.  Bouchut grabs 4th in class - 4:07.1 but he's bettered by Simonsen, the Hankooks lacking nothing in speed, 4:06.612 good enough for second.

Ara drags the Goh Porsche closer to the Essex car, less than half a second now the gap but Elgaard is responding, he shaves a few thousandths of the Danish car's time - 3;39.938 the new LMP2 benchmark.

Brabham is still pushing, he improves again by a tenth but spins (and recovers) at the Dunlop Chicane.

Premat, still second fastest, improves again 3:27.106 drops the gap below 1.5 seconds 

Jan Magnussen stretches the GT1 benchmark significantly, 3:55.096  

Seemingly from nowhere the provisional pole time is stretched too - Montagny taking just over a tenth off the #8 car's best, 3:25.498.

Off into the Indianpolis gravekl trap is Narain Karthikeyan in the #14 Kolles Audi R10.

Montagny posts a 3:24.852 - further stretching the advantage - 2.2 seconds to the good now.

Lamy meanwhile closes the gap to Premat, 3:27.4 - three tenths off second.

Malucelli posts a 4:06.820, third fastest for BMS in GT2 - Michelin leads Hankook and Pirelli!

Brabham finally gets a clean lap together - 3:27.026 - second fastest, a Peugeot 1,2 again

There'll be an autopsy at Advanced Engineering as Patrick dempsey puts the car into the gravel at Post 96

After an uncharacteristically lacklustre opening period for the Lizards Porsche, Bergmeister bangs in a lap that grabs 5th fastest for the #80 997.

Aljani spins in the #35 Oak Racing Pesca Mazda - he's back underway though. 

Alex Muller splits the factory Vettes in the JetAlliance Aston - 3:56.1

McNish moves up to fifth overall, 3:27.9 and Davidson becomes the first man to get a petrol car under 3:30 - 3:29.522 for the #008 Lola Aston

Bouchut grabs GT2 pole by two thousandths of a second but is immediately bounce by Malucelli - 4:05.412

It's that golden time when faster times are possible

Beretta puts Muller back in his place - 3:55.942 for the #64 car

Lamy improves - 3:26.992 though still more than 2 seconds off the provisional pole

Bouillon improves too - 3:28.212 in the Pesca Pug, 6th fastest  - Improvements in time but not position too from McNish (still 5th and Rocky (7th)

In GT2 Bruni Improves to second - but his lap time seems to be in question - It's irrelevant in any case as Lieb powers round in 4:03.232 - 2 seconds to the good in the #77 Porsche

McNish bangs in a 3:26.362 - Second fastest - Not for long though, Rocky betters it by a hundredth of a second, Audis now 2,3

Magnussen improves further - a 3:54.762 stretches the GT1 pole gap to over a second

Bouillon rocks the factory boys - The Pesca Pug second fastest overall 3:25.062 just 2 tenths off provisional pole! Bourdais is responding though, a fastest middle sector of all but no improvement (traffic)

Danny Watts takes the Strakka Ginetta Zytek into the top ten - 9th fastest, second fastest petrol car with a 3:29.798

Pat Long grabs grabs 5th in GT2 for IMSA Performance - 4:06.0 - He's quicker next time around, so is Malucelli and so is Bergmeister - Long goes 3rd (4:05.442), Malucelli consolidates second (4:04.260 but not for long as Bergmeister grabs pole in GT2 4:03.202 - Porsches 1,2,4

Elgaard posts a 3:38.110 - 2.3 seconds now to the good in LMP2

McNish looked very quick out there - a 3:25.960 despite being baulked by a Lola Aston in the Porsche Curves good enough for third

The Kolles Audis meanwhile lie 13th and 16th

Tinseau into the top 10 in the #16 Pescarolo Judd

The Drayson racing Aston Vantage has stopped out on track (at the exit of Mulsanne - The #17 Pesca Pug meanwhile is coming in with the front left front wing missing - contact with the Vantage perhaps? 

Magnussen improves again 3:54.230 - respondong to an improvement from team mate Beretta - the two Vettes finish the session1,2 - 3 tenths apart

McNish crosses the line seconds before the chequered flag is shown, the timing screen shows the #1 car not beating its own sector times but the TV picturse seem to tell a different story - The TV is right - McNish crosses the line in a stunning 3:23.650 - Provisional pole for Audi and the R15 - McNish's team mates look amazed - Peugeot look gutted - An amazing lap, fantastic timing from Audi Sport, putting the Scot out on an almost empty track.