At 9.00 pm we went into the nineteenth hour of the Le Mans 24 Hours of 2009. The hour started with several pit stops to be completed, including that of the #1 Audi. As seen several times before this weekend the car was rolled back into the box.
With the Peugeots dominating and the #9 basically told it can win this race the gap between the two team mates Wurz and Sarrazin increases.
At the Mulsanne Corner the Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT2 braked, leaving the area in a big cloud of smoke. It returns to the pit, where it is getting a regular service and returns to the track.
Some ten minutes later the safety car returned to the track once more as the #009 smashes his Lola Aston Martin into the wall at the Porsche Curves. The back of the car was destroyed and several tyre barriers were displaced.
Almost ten minutes later race control gave the teams the message that the safety car would be in that lap…until Christian Bakkerud lost control of his Kolles Audi R10 TDI and made a frontal hit in the barrier before rolling back on the track. Bakkerud continued, but only one of the safety cars pulled in.
A strange situation developed where one part of the field was racing at full speed, whereas another part was still behind the safety car. Race control quickly allowed the entire field to go fast…with Bakkerud slow out on the track.
As Bakkerud continued his way to the pit he was nearly collected by the Aston Martin Vantage. When he got into the pit the Kolles mechanics started to work immediately in an attempt to get the car back on track.
Romain Dumas meanwhile kept having problems with the Audi R15 TDI. This time the #3 gets it all wrong at Indianapolis and slides into the gravel trap.
Just after 10 o’clock, into the twentieth hour of racing, Christophe Bouchut in the JMB Stradale Racing Ferrari came into the pit for a regular stop. Shortly after the car suffered what looked like a blowout and then while turning in at Arnage the wheel and rim decided to go their own way. On three wheels Bouchut got back to the pit.
Some drops of rain fall, but nothing serious or to worry about. At the Dunlop Chicane Alexandre Premat goes straight through the gravel, a pit stop is needed to change the damaged nose.
Top three overall after 20 hours: Peugeot 9, Peugeot 8, Audi 1
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