Le Mans 24 Hours - Race Report - Hour 21

11:01 LMP1: McNish has taken over the wheel of the #2 Audi - but is passed on the pit exit by Benoit Tréluyer in the #1 Audi. The #4 of Oliver Jarvis is slow again - they can't keep that up for four hours, can they?

11:04 LMP1: Audi's #1 and #2 really up for it. Quickest sector 1 time for Treluyer, quickest sector 2 time for McNish. Jani meanwhile laps the track in 3:30.730 - fastest time of the #12 Rebellion Lola this race.

11:05 LMP2: A new fastest lap from Matthias Beche of just over 3:40, pushing hard in the #46 Thiriet TDS Oreca, but it's his final lap before the pitstop. With an advantage of just 5 seconds over Ayari, the Frenchman steers the #49 Pecom Oreca through to take the place as soon as Beche takes to the pitlane.

11:06 GTE Pro A pathetic 3:56.831 from Mücke is nevertheless good enough to unlap himself from both Vilander and Makowiecki. The #51 Ferrari pits four minutes into the 21st  hour. Bruni gets onboard and brings the AF Corse car back into the lead.

11:09 GTE Am A 3:59.412 - the car's best - is testament to Armindo's efforts in the #67 Porsche to get back on terms with Lamy. The lap brings the gap to the leader back down to 44s. A 3:58.747 on his next lap trims four seconds more off the deficit.

11:10 LMP1: McNish is still right behind Treluyer - 2.415s is the gap with just under 4 hours remaining. Qualifying pace by the two Audi's at the moment.

11:14 LMP2: The pace is picking up again. While Allan McNish is back on what might be a qualifiying run, others too are coming through with new fastest laps, including several in P2. Elton Julian has posted an improvement for the #41 of 3:43.188, and Nakano posts a 3:40.491 for the #45 Boutsen Oreca. The timing screen is littered with blue sectors, and when McNish is on form, purple ones too. Hard to believe that we're 20 hours into this race and drivers are still pushing so hard.

11:16 LMP1: Fast laps by both Audi R18 e-tron quattro...but McNish is just a bit quicker. Gap down to 1.7s after 320 laps.

11:18 LMP2: Pierre Kaffer now back in the #49 Pecom Racing Oreca, and gunning for Matthias Beche in the #46. The gap's 50-odd seconds at the moment, but Kaffer's got the edge on pace and should start eroding that fairly swiftly.

Confirmation on the screen that the #38 Jota Zytek has been retired, after Simon Dolan's rear-ender in the Porsche Curves not many minutes ago.

11:18 GTE Am The lengthy stop for Belloc left the Lizard Porsche three laps clear of the Corvette, but also brought the JWA Porsche to within a lap of fifth. Camathias cannot compete on pace with the Larbre car, however.

11:19 LMP1: Treluyer pits from the lead. McNish stays out and takes the lead again. Some daring moves whilst overtaking backmarkers just before diving into the pit lane.

11:20 LMP2: Picking up on the theme, Panciatici improves the best lap for the #26 Signatech Oreca. At 3:42.735 it's not exactly a class record, but is still indicative of how hard these remaining drivers are pushing as we enter the final hours of this race.

11:20 GTE Pro Fred Makowiecki pits from second and rejoins, but a routine stop for the #73 has turned out to be longer than anticipated and Beretta is suddenly within striking distance of reclaiming fourth for the #71 Ferrari. Mücke pits a lap after the #59.

11:23 LMP2: Pitstop for Elton Julian in the #41 Greaves Zytek; fifth in P2 and looking fairly secure in that slot at the moment.

11:24 GTE Pro The #73 rejoins in the hands of Antonio Garcia. Beretta is now just 96 seconds adrift in fifth.

11:25 LMP1: Strakka Racing's HPD ARX-03a pushed back into the garage - mechanics scrambling over the back of the car. Meanwhile the chief of the stewards has been summoned to race control immediately....hmm?

11:25 GTE Am Armindo continues to chisel away at Lamy's advantage and has reduced it to 31s after 279 laps.

11:28 GTE Am Nic Jonsson is obviously bored in third place and so posts the #57 Ferrari's fastest lap of the race - 4:00.608.

11:29 GTE Am After 280 laps, Lamy's lead is exactly 30 seconds (to the thousandth)

11:32 LMP1: Strakka car back in the pit and wheeled back into its garage again after just one lap - team is not convinced they will make it to the end.

11:33 GTE Am Another fastest lap from Armindo - 3:58.579 - shaves three more seconds off the gap to Lamy.

11:34 LMP2: After a string of quick laps, Panciatici brings the #26 into the pits for a scheduled pitstop for fuel. Out on track we have the intriguing view of three of the P2 class leaders running in convoy; the #44 Starworks HPD with Ryan Dalziel on board having just added a lap to his lead over Pierre Kaffer in the Pecom Oreca and then Julian in the #41 Greaves Zytek. They're some distance apart on paper, but tight as a drum on track.

11:37 As the race approaches its final three hours, the weather could not be in greater contrast to the way Saturday started. Bright sunshine and the smell of sunscreen drench the grandstands, with bodies on display that really would be better off covered. There's no deterring the Brit abroad from a wanton exposure of flesh.

11:41 LMP1: Strakka Racing is having a water pressure system problem on their HPD ARX-03a. As it loses pressure the engine overheats. They've been repressurising it at every pitstop recently, but that has now stopped working. Looking at options to go back out.

11:41 GTE Am Lamy pits from the lead and hands over to Julein Canal. Armindo pits soon afterwards  and stays in the car but rejoins still behind the Corvette.

11:41 LMP1: McNish pits - Tréluyer takes the lead.

11:47 GTE Am The gap at the end of Lap 284 is 6.117s between Canal and Armindo.

11:49 GTE Pro Garcia sets a 3:56.423 in the #73 Corvette as he pushes to maintain hsi davnatage over Beretta.

11:50 LMP2: Tom Kimber-Smith takes over the #44 Starworks HPD, and next time around Beche brings the second-placed #46 Thiriet TDS Oreca in for a routine pitstop. Tom K-S had a full lap's lead before the pitstop.

11:50 GTE Pro The #74 Corvette hasn't moved for a long, long time but has not bben officially retired. Is it being kept for the photo ops at the end of the race?

11:52 GTE Am Armindo closes to within four seconds and a challenge for the class lead looks imminent.

11:52 LMP2: Briefly Pierre Kaffer moves through to second, but he too pits on lap 307 to return second place to the '#46, Tinseau having taken over from Beche in the Thiriet TDS Oreca.

11:56 GTE Am Armindo is reeling the #50 Corvette in and has started to flash his lights at the leader.

11:56 LMP2: Eight confirmed retirements for LMP2 now, with the Jota Zytek joining the official listing. Looking at those we've lost, nearly all have gone through accident damage, and the #33 (fuel) and #30 (battery) aside, physical contact with immovable objects has typically been the root cause of each retirement. P2's history of "inherent fragility" seems a distant memory these days.