BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Audi dominate at Le Mans

Audi appear to be on their way to completing a clean sweep of the top three places at the Le Mans 24 Hour classic as their rivals faded.

As dawn broke over the track on Sunday morning, the defending champion Audi Sport Team Joest, with Dane Tom Kristensen at the wheel, held a two-lap lead over Audi's second and third teams.

Audi's teams, seeking their third straight victory, extended their lead overnight after starting the race in the top three grid slots.

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A victory for Team Joest would mark only the fifth time that a team had won three straight times.

Weather conditions were cool.

The main challenge for the German team came from American Butch Leitzinger of Bentley, who moved into the driver's seat after Belgian teammate Eric van de Poele spun out.

Britain's Johnny Herbert
Herbert drove a gruelling opening stint for his team

But Leitzinger's number eight Bentley was still more than five laps behind the third-place Audi, and nearly eight laps off the lead.

Frenchman Christophe Tinseau, driving a Cadillac, was in a close fifth.

The all-British MG team's event ended in disappointment after showing strongly.

Driver Warren Hughes, who was sharing with Anthony Reid and Jonny Kane, was forced to quit the race after the car suffered a broken transmission when running in fourth place.

In the pre-dawn hours, Courage driver Eric Helary of France spun out, spilling oil onto the track.

The red flag went up, prompting a 37-minute delay in the race as cleaning crews mopped up the spill.

The race, now in its 70th year, is due to end at 1500 BST.


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