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The 1st place #2 R10 being driven by Rinaldo Capello lost its left rear wheel on the entrance to a turn, causing the R10 to spin. The car impacted with the tire barrier very hard. Capello was out of the car and appears shaken but un-hurt, however it looks like the R10 is going to be unable to make it back to the pits for repairs, and ends its day a little over 7 hours short of victory.

Just a little under 8 hours to go until the winner of the 75th running of the 24 Heures Du Mans will be crowned. The German train of the Audi R10 continues to dominate running 1st and 2nd, with the Peugeot Total Team running 3rd and 4th.
I have Cafe in me now, and am feeling my second wind coming. As tired as I am, I can only imagine how exhausted the drivers, mechanics, and various supporting crews are. It was also pretty interesting to see in the middle of the night the crowd trickle out of the bleachers. Currently the smallest crowd I have seen since Wednesday.

The question is: will Peugeot (as seen this morning, above) turn up the heat in the last 8 hours of the race, to put pressure on Audi; The Audi Sport team has been in this position before, but in racing, anything can happen. It was also funny to walk through the press room stationed above the team garages through out the night and early morning. Counting the number of press people who had fallen working at their computers, or crawled under the desks like I did for a few hours, to grab some precious shut eye.

Current results as of 7:30 are:

1 2 Audi Sport North America LMP1 McNISH A
2 1 Audi Sport North America LMP1 BIELA F
3 7 Team Peugeot Total LMP1 MINASSIAN N
4 8 Team Peugeot Total LMP1 BOURDAIS S
5 16 Pescarolo Sport LMP1 COLLARD E
6 18 Rollcentre Racing LMP1 SHORT M
7 9 Aston Martin Racing LMGT1 TURNER D
8 7 Aston Martin Racing LMGT1 HERBERT J
9 63 Corvette Racing LMGT1 O’CONNELL J
10 8 AMR Larbre Comp. LMGT1 ELGAARD C
11 54 Team Oreca LMGT1 BELLOC J-P
12 100 AMR BMS LMGT1 MALUCELLI M
13 31 Binnie Motorsports LMP2 TIMPANY A
14 15 Charouz Racing LMP1 MUCKE S
15 72 Alphand Aventures LMGT1 GOUESLARD P
16 35 Saulnier Racing LMP2 JOUANNY B
17 67 Convers Menx Team LMGT1 PERGL R
18 87 Scuderia Ecosse LMGT2 KIRKALDY A
19 76 Imsa Performance LMGT2 LONG P
20 93 Autorlando Sport LMGT2 SIMONSEN A
21 97 Risi Competizione LMGT2 MELO J
22 73 Alphand Aventures LMGT1 ANDRE D
23 32 Barazi Epsilon LMP2 BARAZI J
24 14 Racing For Holland LMP1 LAMMERS J
25 99 Risi Competizione LMGT2 BRAUN C
26 12 Courage Competition LMP1 FREI A
27 55 Team Oreca LMGT1 ORTELLI S
28 25 RML LMP2 NEWTON M
29 59 Team Modena LMGT1 GARCIA A
30 17 Pescarolo Sport LMP1 TINSEAU C
31 33 Barazi Epsilon LMP2 KUROZAWA H
32 78 AF Corse LMGT2 MACARI J
33 6 AMR Larbre Comp. LMGT1 BORNHAUSER P
34 82 Team LNT LMGT2 TOMLINSON L
35 19 Chamberlain Synergy LMP1 EVANS G
36 24 Noel Del Bello LMP2 HALLIDAY L
37 83 GPC Sport LMGT2 ROSENBLAD C.
38 70 PSI Experience LMGT1 PETER Ph
39 20 Pierre Bruneau LMP2 ROSTAN M
D.N.F. 3 Audi Sport Team Joest LMP1 LUHR L
D.N.F. 5 Swiss Spirit LMP1 DELETRAZ J-D
D.N.F. 9 Creation Autosportif Ltd LMP1 CAMPBELL-WALTER J
D.N.F. 13 Courage Competition LMP1 GOUNON J-M
D.N.F. 21 Bruichladdich Radical LMP2 GREAVES T
D.N.F. 29 T2M Motorsport LMP2 LONGECHAL R
D.N.F. 40 Quifel ASM Team LMP2 AMARAL M
D.N.F. 44 Kruse Motorsport LMP2 BURGESS T
D.N.F. 53 JLOC Isao Noritake LMGT1
D.N.F. 64 Corvette Racing LMGT1 BERETTA O
D.N.F. 71 Seikel Motorsport LMGT2 COLLIN P
D.N.F. 80 Flying Lizard Motorsport LMGT2 van OVERBEEK J
D.N.F. 81 Team LNT LMGT2 KIMBER-SMITH T
D.N.F. 85 Spyker Squadron LMGT2 BELICCHI A
D.N.F. 86 Spyker Squadron LMGT2 JANIS J

Midnight at the Circuit, and Jet lag, combined with being awake for 18+ hours is taking its tole. Not much has happened since the last update, The Audi R10s continue to set a staggering pace, with one of the Peugeot’s following closely behind. The night moves on, and the cars keep circling. The fans are still out in force, however the bleachers are more empty then they were a few hours ago. The cars are pretty much set in a pace from now until day break, when the race will become a sprint to the end. #1 R10 driver Frank Biela has made 4 stints in a row sitting in second position, a true testament to the endurance of both man and machine.

Current results:
1 2 Audi Sport North America LMP1 CAPELLO R
2 1 Audi Sport North America LMP1 BIELA F
3 7 Team Peugeot Total LMP1 MINASSIAN N
4 16 Pescarolo Sport LMP1 COLLARD E
5 15 Charouz Racing LMP1 MUCKE S
6 8 Team Peugeot Total LMP1 BOURDAIS S
7 18 Rollcentre Racing LMP1 HALL S
8 7 Aston Martin Racing LMGT1 ENGE T
9 9 Aston Martin Racing LMGT1 TURNER D
10 12 Courage Competition LMP1 COCHET J
11 63 Corvette Racing LMGT1 O’CONNELL J
12 8 AMR Larbre Comp. LMGT1 BOUCHUT C
13 33 Barazi Epsilon LMP2 KUROZAWA H
14 100 AMR BMS LMGT1 MALUCELLI M
15 55 Team Oreca LMGT1 ORTELLI S
16 54 Team Oreca LMGT1 PROST N
17 31 Binnie Motorsports LMP2 TIMPANY A
18 72 Alphand Aventures LMGT1 POLICAND J
19 24 Noel Del Bello LMP2 PETROV V
20 59 Team Modena LMGT1 MENTEN J
21 97 Risi Competizione LMGT2 MELO J
22 35 Saulnier Racing LMP2 FILHOL A
23 93 Autorlando Sport LMGT2 SIMONSEN A
24 67 Convers Menx Team LMGT1 KOSTKA T
25 73 Alphand Aventures LMGT1 ANDRE D
26 87 Scuderia Ecosse LMGT2 KIRKALDY A
27 76 Imsa Performance LMGT2 NARAC R
28 70 PSI Experience LMGT1 PETER Ph
29 80 Flying Lizard Motorsport LMGT2 van OVERBEEK J
30 99 Risi Competizione LMGT2 JONSSON N
31 13 Courage Competition LMP1 GOUNON J-M
32 85 Spyker Squadron LMGT2 BELICCHI A
33 40 Quifel ASM Team LMP2 HUGHES W
34 14 Racing For Holland LMP1 HART D
35 78 AF Corse LMGT2 AUCOTT B
36 83 GPC Sport LMGT2 ROSENBLAD C.
37 32 Barazi Epsilon LMP2 VERGERS M
38 82 Team LNT LMGT2 DEAN R
39 6 AMR Larbre Comp. LMGT1 BERVILLE R
40 19 Chamberlain Synergy LMP1 EVANS G
41 25 RML LMP2 ERDOS T
42 17 Pescarolo Sport LMP1 TINSEAU C
43 44 Kruse Motorsport LMP2 DE POURTALES J
44 20 Pierre Bruneau LMP2 MACALLISTER CH
45 86 Spyker Squadron LMGT2 JANIS J
46 71 Seikel Motorsport LMGT2 COLLIN P
47 5 Swiss Spirit LMP1 ALEXANDER I
48 9 Creation Autosportif Ltd LMP1 CAMPBELL-WALTER J
D.N.F. 3 Audi Sport Team Joest LMP1 LUHR L
D.N.F. 5 Swiss Spirit LMP1 DELETRAZ J-D
D.N.F. 9 Creation Autosportif Ltd LMP1 CAMPBELL-WALTER J
D.N.F. 21 Bruichladdich Radical LMP2 GREAVES T
D.N.F. 29 T2M Motorsport LMP2 LONGECHAL R
D.N.F. 53 JLOC Isao Noritake LMGT1 APICELLA M
D.N.F. 64 Corvette Racing LMGT1 BERETTA O
D.N.F. 71 Seikel Motorsport LMGT2 COLLIN P
D.N.F. 81 Team LNT LMGT2 KIMBER-SMITH T
D.N.F. 86 Spyker Squadron LMGT2 JANIS J