Tense, nervous, excitement . . . but no headache

Our coverage of the race was uploaded "live", with additional notes and comments added later. Please forgive any irregularities in tense that may have arisen as a result, as well as spelling or grammatical errors that haste could have created.

The Race
With the cars set out on the grid for almost an hour, the drivers were finally given clearance to clamber into their cockpits at quarter-to-five. Imagine sitting down inside an open-topped cockpit after that length of time, in the searing heat! Then think how those getting into the closed-cockpit cars might feel - the aircon doesn't work when the engine's not running. Even less fun.

The drivers scampered across the track to strap themselves in from the traditional "Le Mans Start" configuration, lining up across the track from their cars, and then running across (almost all walked!) to be helped into their seats. While they were doing that, a single aerobatics display aircraft went though its routine overhead. Although alone in the sky, it was an impressive effort.

There had been some changes to the grid since qualifying - the two Rebellion Lolas, #12 and #13, would both be starting from the back of the grid, one for having to fit a new set of tyres, the second perhaps in sympathy - nobody revealed the true reason at the time. The removal of both those from the sharp end of the grid lessened the impact of the start, when the pole-setting Peugeot would be much less challenge from behind, but it did move the LMP2 front-runners a row further forwards.

At just after five-to, the pace car moved off. There would be two installation laps, allowing the closed cars to get their aircon working and some modest reduction in the interior temperatures.

Coming round the long stretched-out right hander that completes the circuit, the cars tightened up as the lights prepared to go green. They were held very late, and Lapierre in the #4 strained to look up through the cockpit to see when they changed. They disappeared from view, so he gave up waiting, and went for it. Luck was on his side, and taking the Signature Plus Lola Aston with him, he blasted off down the track. A very untidy start unravelled behind them, with Danny holding third, but Tommy squeezed out as they came through Turn 1. Also some contact at the back of the field,where the Rebellion Lolas were muscling through.

End of the first lap, and Tommy was down to fifth in LMP2, with Watts leading from Pla in the #40, the two Oak Racing cars third and fourth. Although the order had changed, it's still mighty tight through the leading LMP2 pack.

The two Oak cars were nose to tail, but Watts and Pla had already eased clear a little at the head of the LMP2 field, while Tommy was playing what looked to be a waiting game, and sitting on the tail of the two pink and grey Oaks. We would subsequently learn that the reason for his relatively pace rested with his choice of tyre - a decision that would generate rewards later.

Completing lap 3 and the leading Peugeot was pulling away by a second a lap, and there was nine seconds back to Watts, where the Strakka HPD was itself a second clear of the Quifel ASM Ginetta Zytek. Tommy seemed to be struggling just a little, and had dropped further back on the two Oak Racing Pescarolos. About to get into the action is Belicchi in the #13 Rebellion Lola, already up to 8th overall.

17:06
The #47 Hope Polevision FLM is off at the exit of 12. Localised yellow flags only.

The leaders come through to complete their fifth laps. Watts leads LMP2 from a position fourteen seconds behind the leader, but has extended his advantage to 4 seconds over Pla. A similar distance separates the Portuguese car from the first of the two Oaks, which are almost nose-to-tail. Tommy, however, still appears to be at a disadvantage on his hard-compound tyres, and is almost five seconds adrift. He's also now got the first of the Rebellions behind him, and the inevitable change of position comes as they dive down into the hairpin at Seven, with the glittering gold, red and white LMP1 Lola cutting through on the inside.

In Formula Le Mans, former RML racer Warren Hughes has moved through to take the "lead" in the LMP2 sub-class, and is running 11th overall.

17:12
One of the closest battles is currently between the two Rebellion Lolas, as they fight through from the back, fresh rubber on all four corners, and making up for lost time. They are both ahead of Tommy now, and closing on the Oaks.

Tommy is now somewhat on his own, and has 22 seconds over the sixth-placed Bruichladdich Ginetta Zytek. However, he's also just set a fastest first sector for the #25 Lola. (The much harder compound tyres fitted to the #25 were taking far longer to come up to temperature, and were only now giving him the kind of grip he needed.)

17:15
The two Rebellions are through to 5th and 6th now. Watts has eight seconds over Pla for the LMP2 lead. The Oaks are running 7th and 8th, with Moreau just having the edge over Lahaye, but it's remarkably tight. There's hardly a hair's breadth between them, and as they battle through the tail enders, it may only take one error of judgement to see the positions swapped.

The Formula Le Mans battle is still going Warren Hughes' way, and he leads by twelve seconds. He started sixth in the class, so that's impressive running.

GT1 has seen a reversal of fortunes for the #66, which may have qualified ahead of the #50 Larbre S7-R, but is now twenty seconds behind. Both cars are well off the pace being set by the quickest GT2 cars, where the top seven are all ahead of the leading GT1 Saleen. Bruni leads GT2 from Vilander and Kirkaldy (#96, #95, #91), so not much change since they started.

17:25
The two Rebellion Lolas continue to force their way through towards the leaders, and Jani in the #12 has made it by Olivier Pla to snatch third, and only Watts stands between him and the 008 Aston. Andrea Belicchi will follow him through soon.

17:26
A puncture for Andrew Kirkaldy in the CRS Ferrari - left front - and he's into the pitlane. Also an off for the #66 Saleen, but it recovers the track. Kirkaldy will not recover so well, and has dropped from third to last in GT2 as he heads back to the pitlane. The tyre itself has skewed off the wheel and the carcass has been left just off the entrance to the pitlane.

17:30
Half an hour gone, and Danny Watts has built up a healthy lead in LMP2, enjoying almost 12 seconds over Olivier Pla, although next on track is the #12 Rebellion Lola. Tommy marks the occasion - of the half-hour - by setting a new fastest lap for the #25, posting a 1:38.096, which was the fastest LMP2 time on that lap. He's still 22 seconds behind Lahaye, but the gap has stopped growing.

The #76 Porsche has had two very slow laps, and has now pitted. The team refuels and fits new tyres. It remains in the pitlane for some while as the team rummage in the footwell.

17:37
Danny now has Jani on his tail, and as they run up the rise from Seven side-by-side, and they round Turn Nine, the Rebellion gets through.The second Rebellion has fallen way back on it's team-mate, and Belicchi is still in 6th overall, gunning for Olivier Pla, but not making much of an inroad on the ASM Ginetta Zytek. His times are not much better than those being set by the two Oak cars.

17:43
The #76 IMSA Matmut Porsche returns to the race, but is effectively last. Kirkaldy has handed over the CRS Ferrari to Tim Mullen, and the red and white 430 is lying 25th overall. There are 30 cars still running - the two retirements are both FLM cars, and both Hope Polevision; the #47 and the #48.

17:46
A new fastest first sector for Tommy in the #25. He's narrowed the gap to Lahaye to 17 seconds. A few seconds later and Andrea Belicchi pits the #13 Rebellion Lola, and is followed shortly afterwards by Pierre Ragues in the second-placed Lola Aston Martin. We're 30 laps into the race.

17:49
The second-placed FLM car, the Applewood Seven Oreca #49, is off the track. The FLM field has been decimated by incident, and only two are still racing in their expected position; Warren Hughes in 11th, and Barlesi in the #43 12th. The rest are languishing at the back of the race.

17:50
Olivier Pla pits the #40 Ginetta Zytek, and is the first of the LMP2 leaders to pit. With some of the P1 cars pitting even earlier than this, Pla had been running third overall.

17:52
The first of the Oak Pescarolos heads for a pitstop. It's Guillaume Moreau who makes the move, in the #35, and Lahaye presses on for another lap. Tommy is preparing for his first pitstop, and has requested a tear-off removal from the screen to improve visibility. The warm conditions makes the spent rubber that litters the track is hot and sticky, and gets smeared across the perspex of the cockpit.

17:54 Pitstop. (Thomas Erdos remains in the car. Fuel. No tyres)
Tommy into the pitlane. Without having to change tyres it's a quick pitstop - just 58 seconds. An excellent job from Phil and the boys at RML, and may account for his conservative pace earlier, looking after the tyres. Clever tactics. "The cars in front of us were all on softer tyres," confirmed Tommy. "We'd realised in practice that we were never going to be able to compete with Strakka, or even ASM, on pace alone, so I suggested to Phil that we try qualifying on the harder compound, in the hope we could double-stint. It looks to have worked out well. All the others had to change their tyres at the first pitstop, but we didn’t. That saved us more time in the pits than we could ever hope to make up on the track."

It will take a moment to work out how this has affected the order, but Tommy leap-frogs the #35 Pescarolo as a result of saving some 40 seconds in the pitstop. Lahaye has a difficult last lap before his pitstop, and gets tripped up by some tail-enders.

17:58
Pitstop for Lahaye - driver change as well as tyres, so is sure to be a lengthy pitstop. Danny Watts is also into the pitlane for his first pitstop, after 36 laps. It's almost exactly an hour since the race started.

Hour 2 - 3 (18:00-19:00)

Into the second hour, and tyre tactics have had an affect on the overall positions. Danny Watts has come out onto the track just a fraction of a second ahead of Olivier Pla in the Quifel ASM #40, and with his new tyres yet to get up to temperature, his speed is compromised, but only for a short while.

A stop-and-go penalty is issued to the 008 Lola Aston Martin for speeding in the pitlane. It will lose second place as a result.

As the pitstop unravels, confirmation that Tommy Erdos is up to third in LMP2, and the careful pace he set in the first half hour may have cost him a few seconds on track, but double-stinting the tyres has more than made up for that. Watts leads LMP2 by a second or so from Pla, but these two are just twelve seconds behind Watts.

18:08
The different strategies have really brought LMP2 back to life. Danny Watts now faces the prospect of having to re-establish his lead all over again, and at the moment he's having difficulty shaking off Olivier Pla, who's hanging onto the Strakka HPD's tail with grim determination. Tommy too is holding station well, and the gap has remained fairly static at 11 seconds, although he has Pierre Ragues (#008) between him and the Quifel #40.

18:11
The Prospeed Porsche #75 is deeply embedded in the gravel and this allows Darren Turner through to third for JMW Motorsport in the Aston Martin GT2.

Despite the fact he's still running on stint-old tyres, Tommy's laptimes are very respectable and compare favourably against Watts and Pla's times on new rubber. It's canny planning by Phil Barker.

18:19
Tommy has Andrea Belicchi looming large in his rear-view mirrors. Pierre Ragues has just got ahead of Watts for third overall.

The leader - Olivier Panis now in the #4 Oreca Peugeot - has completed 50 laps, and heads the pack by almost a full lap on Neel Jani in second. It's a great deal closer in LMP2, where Danny Watts seems unable to dominate as he did the opening hour. Pla is still within reach.

18:24
The #41 Bruichladdich Ginetta-Zytek pits from sixth in LMP2, 10th overall. This is unlikely to be a scheduled stop. It is now tumbling rapidly down the order.

18:30
Things are hotting up in GT2, where Melo still leads comfortably for AF Corse, but matters are far less settled for second. Darren Turner has fought up from the middle-regions of the pack to take second from Vilander, but the Ferrari driver hasn't given up gracefully, and they're nose to tail.

Warren Hughes is doing a sterling job in the #44 DAMS Formula Le Mans car. He's shown the way in this second-division LMP2 category. He leads by almost a lap from Barlesi now.

After half an hour of holding station, Danny Watts has started to ease away again. His lead is back up to twelve seconds now, and starting to grow steadily. Tommy Erdos is still in "conservative mode", looking after the double-stinted rubber, but holding a strong third place. His last lap (based on the leader's 60th lap) was a 1:38.724, which compares well with Danny Watts (1:38.276) and Olivier Pla (1:38.612).

18:40
The Bruichladdich Ginetta Zytek #41 resumes the race with Tim Greaves in the cockpit, but spins off on his out-lap.

18:41
The 008 Aston pits from second, and allows Danny Watts through to that overall position. It's a lengthy stop for Ragues in the #008, who needs a new steering wheel. Olivier Pla and Tommy Erdos also pass the stationary Lola Aston Martin, making it a 2nd and 3rd overall for the LMP2 leaders; Tommy Erdos, doing one of his faster laps,

18:45
Quifel ASM pits from second (third overall) and Tommy Erdos moves through to second in class, but has yet to stop. It's driver change, fuel and fresh tyres for the #40, with Miguel Amaral into the cockpit.

Tommy encounters a few recalcitrant slower cars - Tim Greaves weaving across his nose in the Bruichladdich Ginetta Zytek, and then Peter Dumbreck doing the same in the #85 Spyker. He gets by them both, but it was touch and go.

18:50 Pitstop. (Thomas Erdos out, Mike Newton into the car. Fuel. Tyres)
A slightly lengthier pitstop this time, with time needed for driver and tyres. Mike "nice and gently" out of the pits.

18:52
Warren Hughes pits from the lead in FLM, and gifts Jody Firth a two-minute lead. In GT2, the remarkable run from Darren Turner continues, and the #92 Aston is now a mere four seconds off the lead. Jaime Melo is reputed to have had a spin earlier, and lost most of the impressive lead he'd claimed.

18:56
Mike Newton has resumed the race in 7th overall, third in LMP2. He heads Nicolet in the #24 by just eighteen seconds, with the second Oak (#35) fifth in class a further minute down the road.

Update on the Michelin Green X Challenge. This award is assessed in real time, and the leaders are clocked on the timing screen as the race progresses. As a result of their efficient use of fuel, the Strakka HPD leads from RML's Lola HPD.

18:59
A major off for Miguel Amaral in the #40 Quifel ASM GZ. He looked to have had a meeting with the similar Bruichladdich car, although it 's not sure if there was any contact. Amaral spins off into the gravel, and it appears as if some element of the front of the car has become detached, and he's then driven over it! The car is seriously damaged, and it's going to be a lengthy pitstop, if he can even get it back to the pits.

Hour 3 - 4 (19:00-20:00)

As we start the third hour, Danny Watts pits from the class lead, and hands over the #42 Strakka HPD to Nick Leventis. Mike Newton has swept through to second in LMP2, and is being chased down by Nicolet in the #24 Pescarolo. The gap has closed to a matter of seconds.

The #40 has made it back to the pits, and the damage looks,if anything, even more extensive than was anticipated before. A completely new undertray may be needed, and that could be a half-hour job at the best.

19:09
Pierre Ragues bears down on Nick Leventis, but Nick resists as long as he can, but as they power through the final turn, it's Aston Martin through into third overall. He and Nick Leventis are being bullied by Boullion in the #13 Rebellion Lola, which muscles through to add a lap on them both. Then Nick finds Mike Newton on his own tail, and they're matching times lap for lap.

It's suddenly a fascinating duel between the two HPD-engined cars. Leventis has the edge down the straight, but the Lola seems quicker through the twisty bits. Only the fact they're having to negotiate tail-enders is keeping Mike Newton at bay.

There's another similar dice in progress for third overall,with Ragues having to wrestle his best out of the Aston #008 to keep J-C Boullion behind him.

19:16
The Leventis-Newton battle is resumed, and Newton is now back under the Strakka HPD's tail. There's a lap between them, of course, but unlapping himself would be a great boost for Newton. A 30-second stop-go awarded to the #24 Oak racing Pescarolo for setting a speed of 74 kph along the pitlane where the limit is 60kph. That's Lahaye in class fourth.

19:19
Lahaye pays his dues in the penalty box, and the #24 drops back a long way as a result.

19:21
Mike gets too close to the tail of the Strakka #42, and loses grip, spinning a full 360 and ending up in the gravel. He loses at least the position, and maybe 40-odd seconds. Leventis is away and safe. Mike was going so well, but now needs to get back into the groove.

“I was on my first or second lap, and I saw the Strakka car coming out of the pits," explained Mike later. "I managed to dive through on the back straight, and get by, but then he came back at me as if I was standing still!" That was the beginning of the duel that lasted several laps. "I was determined to stay with him until either he made a mistake or I did. Unfortunately, I blinked first," admitted Mike.

Newton has dropped to third now in LMP2. He's running 26 seconds behind Lahaye now.

It would appear that Amaral completed a fairly standard spin, which took him into the gravel. The damage was caused when he attempted to rejoin the track, and driving back over the kerb caused the undertray to be ripped off.

Brief resumé on the overall situation; Sarrazin leads for Oreca by two laps from the #12 Rebellion Lola (which started last) and the second Rebellion third. Pierre Ragues has just pitted the #008 Aston from fourth, and Lapierre has just set a new fastest lap for the Peugeot.

19:36
Guillaume Moreau pits the #35 from second place, and allows Mike back through to the place. It's a lengthy stop too, and out of sequence, so unlikely to be scheduled. Leventis leads from fourth overall by a lap.

19:43
Moreau - or the car he was in at least - is still static in the pitlane, and has slumped to 9th overall, and has been passed by Jody Firth in the leading FLM Oreca #44, and is being overhauled by the GT2 leaders too.

Nick Leventis seems to have settled into his stride, and is now running a strong 4th overall, heading Vanina Ickx in the #008 Signature Plus Aston by more than 44 seconds.

19:51 Pitstop. (Mike Newton remains in the car. Fuel only)
The briefest of pitstops for Mike Newton - fuel only, and no fresh tyres. It's also a short fuel too. 45 seconds is the quickest stop of the race so far. He's likely to loose the place to the #24, but the #35 is deep in the garage and with lots of parts removed and across the garage floor. The suggestion is it's a gearbox or differential issue.

Lahaye in the #24 is confirmed as the second-placed runner in LMP2, 6th overall, and on fresh tyres and renewed determination, he's flying. A 1:38.178 is the second-fastest lap to date in that car.

19:57
Leventis has a 32 second margin over Ickx for fourth overall, so a more-than-generous lap over Lahaye in the second-placed Oak Pescarolo. The excitement elsewhere is in GT2, where Henzler in the #88 Felbermayr Porsche is right on the tail of Jean Alesi in the #95 AF Corse Ferrari for second in class. It's clear that the Porsche is actually the quicker car, but Alesi is using all his guile and cunning to hold on to the position.

20:01
The #13 Rebellion is into the pits, and into the garage. J-C Boullion was lying third overall, but Nick Leventis will now inherit that place. Vanina Ickx will also move up a place, and unless the Rebellion can get back out again swiftly, the rest of the LMP2 pack will also move through. Sadly, unlike the situation at Le Mans last month, the resilience of the LMP2 class falls into question here at the Algarve, where just three remain on the first timing screen.

Hour 4 - 5 (20:00-21:00)

As we enter the fourth hour, Nick Leventis makes the Strakka HPD's third pitstop, and it's not one of the quickest. Even so, he leads by 70 seconds from Lahaye, and the gap back to Mike is almost as much again.

It's pitstop time in GT2, and half the leading six cars are in for fuel, tyres or driver changes.

Having just rejoined after a lengthy rebuild, the #40 is back into the pitlane again with a front suspension issue. Another into the pitlane is the #24 Pescarolo from second in the class, but this is scheduled, and Nicolet is soon back out again.

Anyone for GT1? Not many here, it seems. Both Saleens are still running, but in 23rd and 24th overall. The GT2 leader is 10th.

20:18 Pitstop. (Mike Newton out, Thomas Erdos back into the car. Fuel, tyres and replaced legality panel)
Mike back into the pitlane and the guys swiftly replace one of the rear legality panels as Tommy climbs into the cockpit. It was a longer pitstop than usual for RML, at nearly three minutes, but better that than be stopped for not having the legality panel in position.

"I'd been forced into making a late lunge to get by one of the GT2 Ferraris," said Mike, with reference to the replaced rear panel. "I slithered through in front of him, but then he slithered into the back of me. The guys had to change the panel, but did it in record time. I also had problems with my water bottle, which was either giving me nothing at all, or flooding into my helmet when I least expected it. Add in some cramp in my legs, and I was quite glad when my session came to the end. I knew for a fact I'd get no sympathy from Phil!”

20:24
Nick Leventis has stopped mid-track, coming out of Turn 5. The in-car suggests it's an engine problem. Tommy Erdos responds with a 1:38.460, which is fairly rapid at this stage of the race.

20:27
The Strakka HPD has been towed away from a position of "danger" by one of the snatch vehicles. If Nick can get it going again, he may be legally able to return to the pits, but if the engine won't fire, it's game over for Strakka. Jacques Nicolet moves through to take the lead for Oak, with Tommy Erdos holding second for RML, but closing by as much as six seconds every lap.

20:30
Nick walks away disconsolately from the Strakka HPD. It's race over for Strakka in a race where they looked set for an overall podium. The car is brought back to the paddock on the back of a flatbed lorry. The team would later cite a gearbox/transmission failure, and no drive from engine (still working fine) and rear wheels (not going round).

With the demise of the Strakka HPD, the Bruichladdich Ginetta Zytek moves through to third in LMP2 from 9th overall. The impressive young Norwegian, Thor Ebbesvik is in the #41 car for the first time since his frighteningly hard impact with the Armco at the Spa Bus Stop.

20:41
Tommy is advised that one of the rear light clusters is not working properly, so he switches on the rain light at the rear as a substitute. It's bright, and may do the trick. It certainly hasn't slowed him down, and he's carving great chunks out of the Oak lead, which makes one wonder how long Oak can continue to leave gentleman driver Nicolet in the #24 car.

Aside from the three leaders, the only other LMP2 car still actively involved in the race is the #36 Pegasus Courage. Woefully slow, the blue and white LC75 is 23rd overall, but thirteen laps adrift. Although technically not yet retirements, the #35 and the #40 are both in their respective garages.

20:54
Much interest at present in the battle for the lead in FLM, because it's also a battle for position with Thor Ebbesvik, who gets by Warren Hughes (now back in the #44) and then chases down Chalandon in the #43, for 6th overall. His interruption delayed Warren's regain of the sub-class lead, but that came a couple of laps later.

We now have the interesting visual of three LMP1 cars topping the screen, followed by three LMP2s, then two FLM Orecas, and 11 of the 12 GT2 cars. It's neat and tidy, and confirms that the structure works - or it would, if the two GT1 cars weren't 19th (#50) and 22nd (#66) respectively.

In GT2, Melo surges on relentlessly in the lead for AF Corse (#96), and heads the class from Vilander. Marc Lieb has just moved through to third, passing Peter Dumbreck in the Spyker. Tommy has to pass them both at almost the same time, with Warren Hughes following through in the slipstream. Once he's got ahead of the Spyker, Lieb's times improve dramatically.

Hour 5 - 6 (21:00-22:00)

21:08
Nicolet pits the #24 and stays in the Oak Pescarolo as the team refuel. Then, the car is back into the garage as they struggle to remove the rear of the ca. It is suffering a similar problem to the #35 sister car - gearbox related. Tommy moves through into the lead, and sets a new fastest lap for the #25.It's starting to get dark.

21:15 Pitstop. (Thomas Erdos out, Ben Collins into the car. Fuel, tyres and checks to the rear lights)
While the car was in the pitlane the guys replace the rear panel to resolve the failed light unit. "Phil told me the rear brake lights weren’t working, but I certainly felt nothing, no contact," said Tommy. "It‘s possible the light was damaged by a lump of rubber. Luckily we had no major delays. Another double-stint would have taken me over my time limit," added Tommy, "so I handed over to Ben for the remainder of the race."

Ben resumes in the lead, as Jacques Nicolet is still pitbound, and Thor Ebbesvik is four or five laps adrift.

We have the slightly strange situation of having a Formula Le Mans car running sixth overall, admittedly with a class-winning Le Mans driver at the wheel. Warren Hughes was not hugely impressed with his first experience of the FLM car on Friday, but is placing his reservations behind him as he wrings impressive times out of the car. He probably won't hold that position for long, with Ebbesvik bearing down on him.

21:25
Ben is soon easing into his role as anchor man in the RML Lola, and his first few laps are hovering around the one-forty mark. Ebbesvik is matching that at the moment, but Thor has been driving the #41 Ginetta Zytek for most of the season, whereas Ben only stepped aboard the Lola for the first time a week ago.

Ben is advised that his pace is excellent, and he doesn't need to go any quicker than he's doing.

21:32
Warren Hughes through to fifth for DAMS, and setting staggering times for an FLM car. His last was a 1:43.

Update on LMP1, where Lapierre leads the race for Oreca by four full laps over the #12 Rebellion Lola, itself roughly a lap clear of the #008 Lola Aston Martin. The second Rebellion Lola is still in the race, but running 24th overall.

21:37
What appears to be an "off" for Rob Bell in the #92 Aston Martin GT2, and this drops him back several positions, and he's now down to 8th in class, having been battling for a podium.

Lap 172, and 1:32.484 from Lapierre to set a new fastest race lap for the Peugeot. Ben also does a new personal best of 1:40.864 in the #25, to reassure anyone watching that he has the gap to Ebbesvik under control.

21:41
Ebbesvik has closed to within two seconds of Warren Hughes. The Norwegian flashes his headlights a couple of times, and Warren courteously allows him through. Ultimately, there was no competition, and Warren knew it. He was preparing for a pitstop anyway.

21:45
The #66 Saleen appears to have had a major off and there's serious damage to the rear of the car, with debris widely distributed. Not fun when the track is bathed in darkness, and carbon fibre shards can easily puncture a tyre. 40 laps to go.

21:47
Ben's times are impressively consistent, and he's throwing down forties time and again. Ebbesvik is five laps behind on the track, and typically a second or two slower.

21:56
The race has settled down into a more predictable rhythm, and there are no tooth-and-nail battles currently in evidence. The overall podium seems settled, barring any disasters (and look what happened at Le Mans four weeks ago!), Collins isn't under any obvious threat in LMP2, Bruni is a lap to the good in GT2, and Warren Hughes heads FLM by a similar margin. We have just one GT1 car still running, so no contest there either. The #66 did resume, but only briefly, and returned to the garage after a single tour.

Hour 6 - Finish (22:00-23:00)

22:15 Pitstop. (Ben Collins remains in the car. Fuel and tyres)
Ben into the pitlane for his final pitstop. He'd just set a 1:38 on his last lap. At the same time the #008 Signature Plus Aston eases to a halt at Turn 5. Mailleux gets back onto the track, and returns to the race. It's a routine stop for RML, slick and efficient as usual, and Ben is soon back on track for the last 20 laps.

The Signature Aston lost a minute in that spin and has now gone into the pits for a new nose, but has 8 laps in hand over Ben.

22:20
Warren into the pits in the #44. Jody Firth takes over for the last stint. Tim Greaves has also taken over the #41 Bruichladdich Ginetta Zytek, and the gap to Ben Collins in the LMP2 lead is around six laps.

22:22
Sixteen laps to the finish. Mailleux celebrates the new nose on the Aston with a new fastest first sector for the #008, and rounds it off with a new best lap for the car of 1:32.794. In GT2, Andrew Kirkaldy mimics that with a best for the #91 CRS Ferrari of 1:45.762, but Lapierre eclipses them both, comprehensively, with a 1:32.481 from the #4 Oreca Peugeot 908. It's 22:27.

22:27
More fastest laps. Bruni sets an improvement for the class-leading AF Corse Ferrari, #96. The #66 Saleen returns to the track, again

22:31
With Tim Greaves in the #41, Ben could relax, as the Bruichladdich car is possibly seven or eight seconds off Ben's pace. Third place in LMP2 is currently the #36 Pegasus Courage fourteen laps further back down the track. A podium for those guys would be a remarkable achievement, and if nothing else, just reward for persevering with a less than competitive chassis/engine package.

22:32
A lap of 1:32.375 from Lapierre, and it's a new record for the track by one thousandth of a second.

22:36
Eight laps to go . . . seven laps to go, as Lapierre completes number 208. Nicolas Prost is pedaling on fiercely in the #12 Rebellion Lola, and comfortable in second. The #008 remains third, with Ben fourth, Greaves fifth, and Jody Firth sixth.

22:37
Vilander in the #95 passes Lietz in the #77, and then they're side by side through nine. It's a battle for second place in GT2.

22:38
Final pitstop for Lapierre in the leading Peugeot.

22:39
Having got ahead, Vilander starts to ease clear. Darren Turner is back up to fourth in the GT2 Aston.

22:44
The #36 Pegasus Courage looks set not only to secure third in LMP2, but also to claim the top slot in the Michelin Green X Challenge.

Finish
A dominant win for Oreca Peugeot #4, from the #12 Rebellion second and Signature Plus Lola Aston Martin third. In LMP1. A true return to form for RML AD Group, with an LMP2 class win in the Algarve for Mike Newton, Thomas Erdos and new member of the squad Ben Collins. In his debut for the team Ben drove an excellent race. Second in class, the Bruichladdich Ginetta Zytek, and third, remarkably, the Pegasus Courage.

Perhaps the best battle of the day has come from GT2, where Bruni may have held the lead nearly all the way, but there's been nothing set in stone behind him. It's second for the #95 Ferrari, with the #77 Porsche third. Winners in FLM, Hughes and Firth, take sixth overall. Finally, and somewhat predictably, a win for Larbre Competition in the Saleen S7-R.

“So that’s third, second, and now first in the Le Mans Series this season. Not bad going!” said Mike Newton, still sopping wet, not only from a generous dousing in champagne (above), but also because all three drivers had just jumped into the circuit swimming pool. "We started the race with a tribute to Jacky Ickx," he explained "and we ended the race with a tribute to Red Bull!" This took a little more explaining . . .

Before the race, Tommy had vowed that, if they won, he'd jump into the circuit's metre-deep swimming pool, but before the race he'd also been told the story of Jacky Ickx at the 1969 Le Mans 24 Hours. " I drew inspiration from the story about how Jacky Ickx refused to run across to his car during the last ever "Le Mans Start", and instead walked across the track to get into his car for the start of the 24 Hours. He went on to win the race. I vowed to do the same, and here we are."

A round-up and short press release can be seen here.

Race Result - LMP2

Radio & On-line: The team from Radio Le Mans offered live coverage of the race in the Algarve. Click the button below for access to podcasts of the vital moments.