LM24 Hour 14: Second Rebellion entry loses ground

Neel Jani’s run in the No. 1 Rebellion was interrupted with an unscheduled stop midway through a stint as the No.1 R13 went to the garage for an unknown issue. Gustavo Menezes, now aboard the No.3 Rebellion that had issues an hour before, was soon through to take third, and Jani rejoined after a nine-minute stop.

Hour 14 results

The overall lead gap between the two Toyotas, meanwhile, shrank rapidly now with the No. 7 slowing -- tire trouble? Or team orders?

LMP2

The No.34 Jackie Chan DC Racing Ligier Gibson featuring IMSA DPi champion and current Penske Acura DPi driver Ricky Taylor, IMSA Lexus GTD driver David Heinemeier Hansson and ex-Pirelli World Challenge racer Come Ledogar was the seventh retirement, with engine trouble the diagnosis.

There was double trouble for the No.39 Graff Racing/SO24 ORECA too: a stop-go followed by a stop and 60-second hold after pit lane and then slow zone infringements.

There was a brief spell in the garage for the No.28 TDS Racing ORECA with the engine cover off, before Löic Duval rejoined and immediately set about posting very fast times to recover some of the three minutes lost, including the first LMP2 lap of the race in the 3m27s, the car running seventh.

Just behind and moving up the order,was the No.22 United Autosports Ligier with ex-F1 racer and current DTM star Paul di Resta at the wheel with the sister No.32 car also moving into contention with Juan Pablo Montoya in charge.

GTE Pro

There was a looming issue for the fourth-placed No.52 AF Corse Ferrari; the car was dealt a stop-and-go penalty for exceeding the permitted speed in a slow zone. The Ferrari should be sufficiently clear of the chasing No.67 Ford to retain its position.

GTE Am

Giancarlo Fisichella was dragging the No.54 Spirit of Race Ferrari into contention. The ex-F1 driver moved up to third and was closing in on Jeroen Bleekemolen in the No.85 Keating/Risi 488 GTE.