LM24: Fire claims CLM P1/01 in FP1

The first red flag of the 24 Hours of Le Mans practice flew as a result of Pierre Kaffer's CLM P1/01 LMP1 prototype catching fire on exit of the first Mulsanne chicane. The German leapt from his AER twin-turbo V6-powered car, which lost power as fire raged within the engine bay, and initially attempted to help resolve the problem on his own.

The stoppage came at 5:50 p.m. in France, almost two hours into the four-hour session, and once track marshals extinguished the fire, the total cleanup required an additional 15 minutes. The green flag flew again at 6:05 p.m.

In other news and notes from Wednesday's action at Le Mans:

• IndyCar stars Scott Dixon and Sebastien Bourdais

  saw immediate seat time

  as practice began. The pair of four-time Indy car champions are the only two drivers from the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Le Mans program without experience in the twin-turbo V6 GT chassis around the 8.5-mile circuit, which has led the four-car squad to shuffle its driver rotation to accommodate the open-wheelers.
• Wednesday marks Bourdais' return after a four-year hiatus. He expects it to be

  an emotional experience

  .
• Bobby Rahal is at Le Mans for a "busman's holiday," but he is

  exploring opportunities

   to compete at next year's Le Mans 24 Hours in the LMP2 category.
• Visit Florida Racing team owner Troy Flis

  speaks with RACER

  about an anticipated 2017 Le Mans debut with his IMSA Prototype team with a P2 chassis.
• The U.S. DragonSpeed LMP2 team

  will expand

  its European Le Mans Series assault to two cars in 2017 as it bids to contest the Le Mans 24 Hours for the first time.