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Hulk heads Le Mans - but where is Audi?

LE MANS, France - Nico Hulkenberg strengthened Porsche's lead in his first Le Mans 24 Hours race on Sunday morning while champion team Audi ran into trouble when its quickest car shed bodywork with seven hours remaining.

The Force India Formula 1 driver in the No.19 Porsche, led the No.9 Audi by just over two minutes at the 17-hour mark with the pace cars deployed for a fourth time.

Hulkenberg, sharing the car with Briton Nick Tandy and New Zealand's Earl Bamber, had arrived in Le Mans straight from the 2015 Canadian F1 GP and will be heading to Austria for its GP after the weekend.

FLYING BODYWORK

There had been little to separate the two German manufacturers, each a member of the VW stable, as dawn rose over the Sarthe circuit this morning (June 14 2015).

However Marcel Fassler had to pit the No.7 Audi just before 7am (French time) after a large part of bodywork flew off the car without warning.

That cost seven minutes for repairs and pushed the Swiss, who is chasing a fourth win with team mates Benoit Treluyer and Andre Lotterer, down to fifth.

Australian Mark Webber, a former Red Bull F driver, was third in the No.17 Porsche shared with New Zealander Brendon Hartley and Germany’s Timo Bernhard after leading at the quarter-distance.

Webber was handed a one-minute 'stop/go' penalty after the eight-hour mark for overtaking under yellow flags through a slow zone imposed around the Mulsanne corner after the third pace car interlude.

LIGHTNING ONE-LAP PACE

The pace cars came out for a fourth time around the 17-hour mark when Roald Goethe's Aston Martin crashed and spread debris across the track.

Porsche had qualified 1-2-3 thanks to their lightning one-lap pace but Audi looked just as quick in race trim.

The pace cars, three of them to cope with the 13.6km Le Mans lap on which cars are at full power for about 85% of the distance, made their first appearance after the first hour when a three-car collision dumped oil in the first chicane.

There was a much longer interlude at the end of the third hour when Frenchman Loic Duval spun and hit the barrier in the No.8 Audi at the Indianapolis corner.

Duval nursed the car back to the pits and it resumed the race only four minutes later but a pace car led for 45 minutes.

AUDI AFTER 14th WIN

Denmark's retired nine-times winner Tom Kristensen had waved the 83rd edition of the race away – the first was in 1923 – in bright sunshine on Saturday, watched by a crowd of around 250 000 spectators enjoying the festival atmosphere.

Audi is chasing a 14th win in 16 years with its diesel hybrid car but faces a tough battle from 16-times winner Porsche, which returned with a full factory effort in 2014.

Porsche last won the race in 1998.

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