H22: Audi ahead as Porsche slows

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Audi retook the lead of the Le Mans 24 Hours from Porsche in the 22nd hour of the event, as Mark Webber's 919 hit trouble.

The #20 Porsche inherited the lead from the #1 Audi when Tom Kristensen hit trouble in the previous hour, but even at that stage the car had been losing ground to the chasing #2 Audi.

Andre Lotterer continued that pursuit, closing to three seconds off the lead before a pistop early in the 22nd hour.

The Audi then set about slashing the Porsche's lead again after that stop, and by the time the next pitstop cycle began it was inevitable that the #2 car would assume the lead.

Lotterer came close to building up a big enough lead to allow for a driver change and a new set of tires, but Audi opted against doing that just before the end of the hour and kept him in the car.

Porsche did change drivers - slightly ahead of schedule due to a slow puncture for Timo Bernhard - with Webber taking the #20 car over in second place.

However, Webber was not running at the same pace as the Audi, and just before the top of the hour he slowed dramatically on the Mulsanne Straight.

The #35 OAK Ligier driven by Alex Brundle still leads LMP2, but the car is down on power and its lead was rapidly being whittled away by the #46 TDS Ligier of Tristan Commendy.

At the current rate, the lead will change in the next hour.

Harry Tincknell, in the #38 Jota Zytek, is also in contention and runs a strong third in class.

Giancarlo Fisichella continues to lead the GTE Pro class for AF Corse, as the factory Ferrari squad edges ever closer to victory.

The Italian is still comfortably clear of Frederic Makowiecki's Manthey Porsche in second, which is gradually being caught by the #73 Corvette.

A triple stint for Jordan Taylor, which the young American described as "the best stint I've ever driven here", slashed the gap between the two cars to 40sec over the course of the hour.

Tommy Milner has moved into fourth in the #74 Corvette, as the Aston Martin Vantage dropped to fifth.

Nicki Thiim consolidated Aston's GTE Am advantage further though, with Klaus Bachler's Proton Porsche several laps behind.