"This race lives in the blood..." "Blood, blood... decade to decade... century to century... past to future... father to son... chasing the same dream, always chasing." "Le Mans is a car race like no other." "It's an endurance test for drivers and cars that literally takes 24 hours to complete." "55 cars will start, but many fewer will reach the checkered flag." "With unprecedented access to six of the teams and the event itself, this is the story of a race that pushes technology to the limit but where the ghosts of the past are never far from the present." "Well, it's been a blistering start to the race, and at the front of the grid," "Timo Bernhard in the number 17 Porsche already trying to stretch his lead." "In third place, reigning champion Andre Lotterer's Audi is about eight seconds off the leader." "We are at the moment, really, six cars hunting for the lead or even starting to hunt for the lead." "We are for sure that two Toyotas following us at a very short distance, so there's really eight cars in the game." "And down in sixth place," "Sebastien Buemi in the Toyota number 1." "Sebastien, of course, comes from a racing family." "His grandfather Georges raced here 55 years ago." "Voilà." "15 minutes into the race." "The 23 Nissan of Jann Mardenborough is still stuck in the pits." "Are you hearing me okay?" "Yeah, I can hear you." "So Mardenborough now has the engine running again." "Rolling forward, forward, forward, forward, forward, forward, forward... need to get... second gear is off." "It's the 55th car into the race." "Excellent." "So we do have the full complement." "Jann Mardenborough, not originally a racing driver, started on his sofa in front of the PlayStation." "It's painful for me." "I'm a racer, and, and to just do this..." "Just to test effectively in public and not be fast is painful." "I couldn't stay on the grid." "To be that far back is just painful for me." "So I went under a bridge..." "Like some troll, maybe..." "And I phoned all of my family members and just said, "We're doing our best." "We'll see what happens at the end of the race."" "He's not going to be happy where he is." "But he will have his own personal challenge now." " Yeah." " He'll be looking for better time." "He'll be looking to try and better the previous lap and just claw the time back." "It's a new car, things happen, so we just gotta get on with it, really." "It is what it is." "He's not a second place man." "He's not a third place man." "He doesn't like anything below first." "I am the gamer." "I did come from games." "It's just a cool feeling to have that you're now recognized as a professional driver." "This is where I am." "This is where I belong." "I think in a long time, there'll be a moment when something will happen, and it will be magical, so starting from the back, if we can get all the way to the top wherever," "that will be some story, won't it?" "One hour into this race, and it's Porsche 1 and 2, but only a second behind is the number 7 Audi." "Okay, Timo..." "What a dog fight this is between the two teams." "You have to wonder just how critical the different technologies each are using are going to be." "So Audi have a diesel engine, turbo charged, powering the back wheels directly." "The electric motors drive the front wheels." "It's the same basic technology as they used last year, but they've updated the engine and the hybrid system, and that's a serious increase in power." "We have an improved engine which gets more power out of less consumption." "We've doubled the amount of energy that we can boost on the front axle on the electric side." "The Audi is using 2 1/2% less diesel per lap than last year, but they're still going quicker." "Amazing efficiency." "Porsche's engine is also behind the driver, but they're using a little 4cylinder petrol engine." "Porsche's major difference comes from how the electric hybrid on the front wheels are driven." "Their rivals use a conventional method of recovering kinetic energy under braking, but Porsche is showcasing new technology here that uses thermal energy from the spent exhaust gases from its turbo chargers." "This means they can harvest while accelerating and gives them a little advantage in straightline speed, but the Audi R18 is still quick around the corners." "Teams with deep pockets..." "Porsche, Audi, Toyota..." "Of coursethey're out in front, but the privately run Rebellion team, with a budget maybe a fifth of the big teams, are hanging on to the leaders' coattails, their two cars in 9th and 10th position." "It's an amazing achievement, considering they didn't even have a car five weeks ago." "Is it this one?" "That's got the oil tank crack." "A privateer team doesn't have the support of a manufacturer." "Rebellion are a team that's born out of a passion to go racing, particularly at Le Mans, and not being afraid of stepping up and pitching ourselves against the guys that have the huge budgets." "Our reason for existing is more for going racing rather than trying to sell cars." "Yeah, he's not a Monaco man." "He has a pick of saloons." "Then he's coming back a career man." "Yeah." "It started off as a kind of a hobby business for my father." "He took early retirement, and he needed something to keep him occupied." "It was actually the day of our wedding when Bart's dad came to us." "I think it was the end of the day." "We were in the bar and it was like," ""You know, he'd had a few drinks."" "He had an idea." "Does that remind you of anything?" ""We're gonna buy a racing car," ""and we're going to race at Le Mans, and we're going to win."" "After a period of time in the UK, we stepped up into international motor sport and started to race in America and then in the European series, which was around 2001." "Unfortunately, Dad died in 2010." "He actually had a heart attack as he was doing karting." "My way of dealing with that loss was to throw myself completely at the sport." "Part of me, I guess, has had this feeling of wanting to make sure that I lived up to his expectation." "Well, what a result for Rebellion." "They've been coming here for a few years now, and their number 12 car comes across in fourth position..." "Their bestever finish." "Fourth place overall in 2014 was really the reward for that faith and that belief." "That led to us wanting to change the engine to try and strive to be ever more competitive." "Dad was never satisfied with near enough is good enough." "He might be saying if he was sat here," ""You might be pleased with fourth, son, but that's not good enough for me."" "Our goal, really, is to try and win the race as a private team." "Success at Le Mans is really key each year for us to keep things alive." "Big trouble for one of the factory GT Porsches at the first chicane after an incident with another car." "Looks to be..." "It's the 13 Rebellion." "Patrick Pilet is out of that works 991 specification car." "So the GT car spins out." "The Rebellion is stuck in the gravel." "That's a big blow for Bart and the team." "There's an element of "Shit."" "Your first thought is just to assess the driver's situation." "Is he okay?" "Is he hurt?" "We're hearing they are going to try and get that car at the garage under its own power, just trying to keep it in the race." "The good news is that Alex Imperatori in the Rebellion made it out in one piece." "As for the car, well, they've managed to get the engine started, but it won't be until Bart and the team have a chance to look at it and assess the damage that they know they can patch it up" "and get it back in the race." "Crikey, we've now got another three quarters of the race to run." "A lot of catching up to do now for that Rebellion." "At the front of the field, the pace is relentless." "Over 20 laps completed, no letup." "Porsche first and second, just about holding off the Audis." "It's really a question now of who's going to blink first." "My goodness, that's absolutely fantastic from Andre Lotterer, going up the outside of the black Porsche number 18 and into second place." "And now what a guy!" "He's snapping at the heels of leader Timo Bernhard." "Look at that Audi go!" "It looks like he's hit the afterfurnace." "Totally audacious from Andre Lotterer." "He's snatched it away from both of the Porsches." "An Audi lead Le Mans." "Okay, it's early in the race." "This is just one hour into the race, but it's on." "I knew it was going to start a dogfight." "You think, Okay, how much do I push actually?" "Because I know it's 23..." "Something hours to go." "Do I really go 100%, or is it okay to go 99.5?" "I don't even think so much about the competition." "Something can always happen, a human error or something on the track giving you a puncture." "You just have to go through the race as fast as you can without any mistakes." "Big move by Audi." "I wonder what kind of response we'll see from Toyota." "A long way from the medals..." "Jann Mardenborough's Nissan." "In fairness, the 23 car is making some progress now, up to 40th position overall, but they will need a major setback from the teams ahead of them if they've got any hope of reaching the top 10." "Back at the front, it's a real tussle between Porsche and Audi." "This could go down in history alongside the great battle between Ford and Ferrari in the 1960s." "Ferrari's impressive domination of the 24hour since World War II had attracted the amorous glances of one Henry Ford, who set out to buy the Italian manufacturer but was personally rebuffed by its founder Enzo Ferrari." "Not a man to take a slight lightly," "Ford planned his revenge in 1966." "He bought the Ford GT40 to Le Mans in a bid to overturn Ferrari's straight run of five consecutive victories." "Throwing everything at the race in his determination," "Ferrari simply couldn't match the pace of Ford's car." "And over the next few years, the Americans dominated this course." "But of course the rivalry today is more sporting than personal, and here it looks like we're gonna see Porsche make a tactical switch in an attempt to wrestle back that lead." "There's always a few butterflies in the stomach, getting myself psyched up, but knowing that I need to be pretty calm as well." "Outside of the cockpit, yeah, the mind starts to wander." "Probably I'm a bit young." "Still haven't done enough endurance races to be calm and just completely switch off." "We're all nervous." "No one wants to be the one to make a mistake." "Timo Bernhard out and Brendon Hartley into the Porsche 17." "When I take off down that pit lane, the adrenaline kicks in." "I'm in my little world, and it's just pure focus on the job at hand." "It's gonna be interesting to see how young Brendon Hartley tries to wind in the lead of the champion Lotterer." "Lotterer into the pit lane early." "Must be some kind of problem." "He drove over debris from another car's accident." "That's an extra tire change for Audi, an extra minute in the pits." "And, in a race this close, that's going to cost them." "The 7 Audi came in." "The body language from the crew..." "They know that this is a race not just out on the track." "Absolute tenths of secondsto be gained from every single pit stop." "Strap yourselves in, boys and girls." "So Porsche, with Brendon Hartley at the wheel in the 17 car he shares with Mark Webber, are back in the lead," "And for Audi, they'll need to see some pressure applied by their second car, the number 8." "My goodness!" "Horrific!" "Problems all over the place for Audi!" "Audi had been hit by a few problems." "Well, it's the moment we've all been waiting for." "Mark Webber is getting ready to get into the Porsche number 17." "Being in the car at night, it's an incredible experience for the driver in the cockpit." "It doesn't happen in any other race." "Patrick Morisseau:"