24 Hours of Le Mans LIVE Ferrari and Porsche battle for the lead ...

It's spitting drops of rain in parts of the track. Nothing significant yet though.

The two Toyota are looking very decent at this point of the race with better pace than their rivals. Mind though that they are on a slightly different pit stop strategy.

Glance over to LMGT3 again where Valentino Rossi has taken the lead.

The #83 Ferrari, still steered by Shwartzman, is still well in control in the lead, the advantage over the #50 Ferrari now on around 40 seconds.

The #4 Porsche, currently running fourth, will need to serve a drive through penalty due to an offence committed under one of the FCYs.

• 1. #83 Ferrari
• 2. #50 Ferrari
• 3. #5 Porsche
• 4. #4 Porsche
• 5. #38 Jota Porsche
• 6. #8 Toyota
• 7. #51 Ferrari
• 8. #12 Jota Porsche

A number of cars come in for their next standard stops. With that, it's a Ferrari duo of the #83 and #50 at the front again followed by the #5 Porsche.

It's the #50 Ferrari versus the #5 Porsche again and Molina wins the battle. This time it's "only" for P5 though. The Ferrari immediately pulls away from his opponent.

And there's the stop now from the leading #83 Ferrari. They rejoin the track still in P1.

Quick glance over to the LMGT3 class where Valentino Rossi has just taken over in the #46 car. His team is currently running second.

There's the #5 Porsche in the box now. They too are going for a driver change and it's Matt Campbell at the wheel. He joins the field in sixth.

And indeed the #50 Ferrari comes in for a pit stop. They're making a driver swap as well, Miguel Molina taking the wheel. They rejoin the field in seventh.

The top three cars are projected to be down on fuel and, on paper, should be coming in soon.

Fuoco in the #50 Ferrari claims Christensen in the #5 Porsche for runner-up spot.

The FCY is cleared and we're back underway racing.

Another full course yellow is called. The reason is unclear, likely to clear the track of any gravel or other damage left from a previous incident.

The #83 Ferrari has around 21 seconds of an advantage in the lead, but things are heating up for second as Fuoco in the #50 Ferrari is inching in ever closer to the #5 Porsche.

Yellow flags are retired and we are racing again.

The #34 LMP2 car is returning to the box with a missing tyre at front left, presumable to reason for the FCY.

We have the first full course yellow of the race so far - reason to be confirmed.

Meanwhile, the rain looks to have stopped again.

And there is the rain, but it remains light for now.

The current consensus is that rain could fall any time now, but there's uncertainty around how heavy it will be. Most teams are expecting to be staying out on slicks.

The #51 Ferrari comes in - fuel only, no new tyres. The #8 Toyota, the #12 Jota Porsche and #6 Porsche too go for a stop.

The #8 Toyota with Buemi at the wheel has made the best of its emptying tank, reeled in the leading #83 Ferrari and now claims the lead. However, they will need to pit soon while the Ferrari has done their standard stop.

We have some more showers forecast to hit soon. The consensus is that it shouldn't be too heavy.

The leading #83 Ferrari comes in for a standard pit stop and they rejoin the track still in P1.

• 1. #83 Ferrari
• 2. #8 Toyota
• 3. #5 Porsche
• 4. #51 Ferrari
• 5. #50 Ferrari
• 6. #12 Jota Porsche
• 7. #7 Toyota
• 8. #4 Porsche

The #5 Porsche too comes in from P2. The rejoin the field in third with the #8 Toyota now second.

And there's the #50 Ferrari pitting from third. More fuel but no new tyres.

Great job by the #20 BMW crew who get the car - previously put into the barrier by Frijns - back up and running and out onto the track.

The #35 Alpine and the #2 Cadillac kick off the next set of pit stops.

Shwartzman is chipping away in the #83 Ferrari at the front and has increased the lead to 21 seconds, the biggest it's been all race so far, to the #5 Porsche, currently steered by Christensen. The #50 Ferrari is roughly another 20 seconds behind.

The most exciting battle on track currently is for 15th as Jack Aitken in the #311 Cadillac is shadowing the #93 Peugeot and seeking a chance to strike.

Likewise, it's on for P10 between former F1 drivers Romain Grosjean and Kamui Kobayashi.

The forecast light rain shower looks to have moved on after all without hitting the circuit.

Frijns indeed nurses his BMW back to the pits and is wheeled into the garage. This gives the #20 team a chance to stay in the race.

With the bulk of stops done, here is your running order:

• 1. #83 Ferrari
• 2. #5 Porsche
• 3. #50 Ferrari
• 4. #4 Porsche
• 5. #8 Toyota
• 6. #38 Jota Porsche
• 7. #12 Porsche
• 8. #51 Ferrari

With multiple slow zones, a number of hypercars are coming in for stops. Among them the #51 Ferrari, #12 Jota Porsche and #8 Toyota.

Robin Frijns has found the barrier at the final corner after hitting the kerbs. We have a slow zone and the track needs to be tidied, but, astonishingly, Frijns can get his car moving. He looks to be having a puncture though and he has to do a full lap as he crashed past pit entry.

We are expecting the next rain shower is 15 minutes from now, but it's forecast to be a very light one.

The #83 Ferrari holds on to the lead, seven seconds ahead of the #5 Porsche. The #50 Ferrari follows another 20 seconds back.

Kubica heads to the pits and that's the end of his stint. Robert Shwartzman is taking over at the wheel.

The yellow flag is out again after an incident in the LMGT3 class.

And there's the stop from the leading #50 Ferrari. Fuel, soft tyres, and a driver change to Antonio Fuoco.

The cars that opted to stay out will need to pit for fuel soon; the #12 Jota Porsche is kicking off the next series of stops.

The cars that opted to stay out on slicks currently hold around a second of an advantage over those that swapped for wets. Ferrari definitely won the strategy gamble here.

• 1. #50 Ferrari
• 2. #83 Ferrari
• 3. #12 Jota Porsche
• 4. #5 Porsche
• 5. #19 Lamborghini
• 6. #63 Lamborghini
• 7. #20 BMW
• 8. #8 Toyota

As the track continues to dry, Nielsen claims Kubica and puts the #50 Ferrari back in the lead.

With the rain getting lighter, it seems that gambling and staying out on slicks was the better strategy - the safer wet tyres were quicker for only a short time and the rain never quite got heavy enough for the time sacrificed to swap tyres to pay off.

The #8 Toyota gets more fuel and slick tyres. The #51 Ferrari also swaps back to slicks.

Nielsen wants the lead back, but Kubica is holding firm for now.

The rain looks to be getting lighter again and the gamble to stay out looks to have paid off.

The current top 6 are still out on slicks.

Having just taken the lead, Lotterer surrenders to the conditions and comes in for wet tyres. The Ferraris stay out though - Kubica in the #83 leading - which looks like a brave decision at this point.

Lotterer in the #6 Porsche is having a great outing in the wet and claims Nielsen in the #50 Ferrari for the lead. It's going backwards for Nielsen who is also claimed by Kubica in the #83 customer Ferrari.

Mind all three of them are still on slicks.

The #51 Ferrari comes in for a tyre swap, the #50 and #83 stay out. So does the #6 Porsche who moves past the #83 into the lead.

It's properly wet in parts of the track now.

Ferrari now have a trio at the front with the #51, #50, and #83. They are on slicks though and the rain is getting heavier.

The #8 Toyota is coming in and gambling on full wet tyres. So do two of the Cadillacs.

The track has now officially been declared wet, meaning tyres can be swapped to inters or wets. At the moment, there's only a couple of spots of really light rain, not enough to warrant a tyre swap yet. There's conflicting info on whether there's heavier rain to come at this point.

Nielsen is told to push and attack the #8 Toyota for second.

It's now the biggest lead at the front we have seen so far with the #51 Ferrari leading the #8 Toyota by more than seven seconds.

• 1. #51 Ferrari
• 2. #8 Toyota
• 3. #50 Ferrari
• 4. #3 Cadillac
• 5. #35 Alpine
• 6. #83 Ferrari
• 7. #18 Jota Porsche
• 8. #6 Porsche

The inherited race leader #6 Porsche and runner-up #51 Ferrari come in for stops. A couple more cars do the same - no one looks to be chancing staying out until the rain hits.

Posche are also making a driver swap with Andre Lotterer taking over.

We are expecting rain in 10 minutes from now.

The leader comes in and, first of all, serves their 10-second penalty. They rejoin the race in P10, none of their direct rivals having pitted.

The #12 Porsche comes in for a surprisingly early stop. They don't seem to have an issue, indicating they are looking to break the rhythm.

The #50 Ferrari continues to lead the race ahead of the #6 Porsche.

Bourdais is finding some form in the #8 Toyota as he claims the #3 Cadillac for fourth.

Vanthoor lets his box know that the #50 Ferrari ahead of him is spilling oil.

Interesting one from Paul di Resta and the #94 Peugeot who head for a pit stop. It's unclear if they have an issue or if they're trying to beat the rhythm.

The #99 Proton Porsche is wheeled into the box again and looks out of proceedings for now. The #20 BMW too is in for an unscheduled pit stop.

With one hour in the books, here is you current order:

• 1. #50 Ferrari (Nielsen)
• 2. #6 Porsche (Vanthoor)
• 3. #51 Ferrari (Giovinazzi)
• 4. #3 Cadillac (Bourdais)
• 5. #8 Toyota (Buemi)
• 6. #35 Alpine (Milesi)
• 7. #83 Ferrari (Kubica)
• 8. #36 Alpine (Lapierre)

The #50 Ferrari is indeed deemed to have committed an unsafe release and will have to serve a 10-seconds penalty.

With the leaders forced to slow down under the yellow flag, the rest of the hypercars were able to close back in and the field is separated by only 17 seconds.

Having lost P1 in the pits, Nielsen pulls off a tight overtake on the #6 Posche and the #50 Ferrari is back in the lead.

We're back underway with the #23 recovered.

A slow zone has been called after Ben Keating stranded his #23 LMP2 car in the gravel near the Dunlop curve.

The #99 Proton Porsche is wheeled into the garage.

The #6 Porsche is the best out of the pits and jumps into the lead. The #50 Ferrari follows, but Giovinazzi in the #51 Ferrari had to serve a 10-seconds penalty for an offence in free paractice and is down in fifth.

There has also been a potential unsafe release between the #50 Ferrari and #3 Cadillac.

The top 4 hypercars come in for their first pit stops. Moments later, the next 10 in the order follow.

The #311 customer Cadillac is the next hypercar in the box, the first one to come in for a scheduled stop after the spinning #15 BMW.

It initially looked like an attack from the #51 Ferrari on its sister car, but it's in fact Nielsen slightly missing it's braking marker at Mulsane and letting Giovinazzi past. They swap back and it's the #50 ahead of the #51 again.

It's still the #50 and the #51 Ferraris close together at the head of the race. A two-second gap has opened to the #6 Porsche in third.

Less than half an hour in, the hypercars are starting to lap the lower classes. Some close ones here and there, but no incidents so far with the overtakes.

Some damage for the #15 BMX after all as Wittman heads to the pits. He gets new tyres (fearing a possible puncture from the incident) and a full tank of fuel.

Marco Wittman and his BMW have found the barriers at La Chapelle but are able to continue - looks like a spin that fortunately only cost time, but their seventh place is gone.

The #8 Toyota in the hands of Sebastien Buemi is up into sixth, but the cars behind them look to have some smudges on their windscreen, indicating the Toyota might be losing oil.

What a start for the Italians and Giovinazzi claims Vanthoor to take second and make it a Ferrari double at the front.

After a frantic start, things have settled down for now and here is your running order:

• 1: #50 Ferrari
• 2. #6 Porsche
• 3. #51 Ferrari
• 4. #3 Cadillac
• 5. #83 Ferrari
• 6. #15 BMW
• 7. #8 Toyota
• 8. #35 Alpine

The field complete the first lap without any incidents.

Nicklas Nielsen is the driver of the lap in the #50 Ferrari, going from fifth on the grid into the lead. The #6 Porsche, currently steered by Laurens Vanthoor is hanging on to second, while Antonio Giovinazzi in the #51 Ferrari too had a good start and is up into third.

Nicklas Nielsen means business in the #50 Ferrari and takes the lead on the opening lap.

Zinedine Zidane waves the race go and we are underway.

The #6 Porsche holds the lead, but it's the #50 Ferrari that is on the attack from the get-go and up into second.

After showers this morning, the rain has stopped for now, but it looks like there may still be some damp patches on track. The weather should remain dry at least for the first hour of racing.

We are expecting rain showers throughout the 24 hours.

The hypercars are out on track for their warm-up lap and ready for the flying start.

The following drivers will be tackling the first stint for their respective teams:

#2, Cadillac Racing (Cadillac Factory): Alex Lynn

#3, Cadillac Racing (Cadillac Factory): Sebastien Bourdais

#4, Porsche Penske Motorsport (Porsche Factory): Felipe Nasr

#5, Porsche Penske Motorsport (Porsche Factory): Frederic Makowiecki

#6, Porsche Penske Motorsport (Porsche Factory): Laurens Vanthoor

#7, Toyota Gazoo Racing (Toyota Factory): Nyck de Vries

#8, Toyota Gazoo Racing (Toyota Factory): Sebastien Buemi

#11, Isotta Fraschini (Isotta Fraschini Factory): Jean-Karl Vernay

#12, Hertz Team Jota (Porsche Customer): Will Stevens

#15, BMW M Team WRT (BMW Factory): Marco Wittman

#19, Lamborghini Iron Lynx (Lamborghini Factory): Andrea Caldarelli

#20, BMW M Team WRT (BMW Factory): Rene Rast

#35, Alpine Endurance Team (Alpine Factory): Charles Milesi

#36, Alpine Endurance Team (Alpine Factory): Nicolas Lapierre

#38, Hertz Team Jota (Porsche Customer): Phil Hanson

#50, Ferrari AF Corse (Ferrari Factory): Nicklas Nielsen

#51, Ferrari AF Corse (Ferrari Factory): Antonio Giovinazzi

#63, Lamborghini Iron Lynx (Lamborghini Factory): Edoardo Mortara

#83, Ferrari AF Corse (Ferrari Factory): Robert Kubica

#93, Peugeot TotalEnergies (Peugeot Factory): Nico Muller

#94, Peugeot TotalEnergies (Peugeot Factory): Paul di Resta

#99, Proton Competition (Porsche Customer): Neel Jani

#311, Whelen Cadillac Racing (Cadillac Customer): Pipo Derani

Post retiring in 2021, MotoGP icon Valentino Rossi took to four-wheel racing and will be making his Le Mans debut this year in the GT3 class. The Italian is hoping to realise a "dream" and claim victory:

“It was always in my mind because I started my career with go-karts,” he told Eurosport. “So I started as a car driver. I started with the go-karts when I was very young and I started to race when I was five and six.

“My way was more the cars because Graziano, my father, was worried about motorcycles. Graziano raced with motorcycles and he had a lot of crashes, a lot of injuries, so he was scared.

“For me, the switch from bikes to cars is more easy, because you drive a car in your life even if you are not a [racing] driver. It’s [part of] normal life. A motorcycle, if you are not a rider, maybe you never drive. And for me, at the top of motorcycling, you need to start when you are very young.

“For example, I did a test with Lewis [Hamilton], we swapped and I drove the Formula 1 car and he rode my M1. He was fast but you know, the position on the seat is something you learn when you are very young. After, it is difficult.

“The 24 Hours of Le Mans was my target from the beginning because it’s the most famous race in the world. From motorcycle side, we always followed the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the paddock, but after you understand the race, it is incredible and you are always very fast. The dream is to try and win or try to arrive on the podium.”

Le Mans rookie Mick Schumacher says he is fully focused on a new adventure as he pilots the #36 Alpine:

"It is a great pleasure to be here as part of Alpine, a great French team. We're very excited for it. It's going to be a great event," the former F1 driver said.

"I think it is a great race and it's my first time so I'm experiencing everything for the very first time. It really shows that people are here because they're passionate about racing and that's a very, very nice thing to see. Personally, I'm just excited to get to the race, to see how that feels, 24 hours on edge, the longest I will have done that. One of the big points here is there's always something happening. We always have traffic, we always have to think about strategy. You always have to make sure you can get to the end of your stint. There are a lot of cars out there, and if you happen to be in the wrong spot at the wrong time, it can be very costly. You know, it just adds to the challenge.

"Honestly, I didn't think it was that difficult. We had a test in Jerez that I think was by far much more difficult than this. I really enjoyed it. It's a different feeling and gives a different vibe. I think it's going to be an exciting race for sure."

A total of 17 former F1 competitiors will be on the grid for this year's 24 hours of Le Mans, among them Romain Grosjean who'll be steering the #19 Lamborghini. While relishing his return to the prestigious endurance race, the Frenchman is keeping expectations in check:

“It's only year one, so, you know, we have to keep our expectations under control for sure," he told Eurosport about racing for Lamborghini. "And Le Mans is such a tough race.

"I was lucky to compete in a lot of great races in my life but I was speaking with my wife earlier this season to say 'Hey, I'm going to do Indy 500 and three weeks later, I'm going to go to Le Mans with Lamborghin,' and she said 'that is pretty badass!'

“The cars are a very big mix of a single seater and a GT cars, you know, they're pretty heavy," he said. "But we also have some good downforce from the wings that's more like a single-seater car. So I think it is a really good mix between the two and I enjoy driving them.

“I'm excited for the race and I'm excited for the whole week with the fans," he added. "Now I live in the US so I don't get to see the French fans as much as I would love to, but here we are and I will make sure I spend some time with them.

“It is a challenge with traffic at night. It's very different from everything I've done. But I like it. It's a different vibe, a different environment.

“Well, I know how great the last time I came here was, it's a long time ago [2010], it was the GT1 championship, it was a lot of fun. We had to retire the car through the race, but I had a really good time here."

The cars were out on track earlier today for their 15-minute warm-up which took place in light rain. While the #83 Ferrari (Kubica/Shwartzman/Ye) set the fastest time ahead of their #51 sister car (Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi) and the #35 Alpine (Chatin/Habsburg/Milesi), it's been trouble already for Toyota as Nyck de Vries collided with a slower GT3 car. There was some damage to the #7 Toyota, but it should be an easy enough fix.

A number of teams chose to not go out in warm-up.

Kevin Estre stole the show in the dying seconds to take Hyperpole victory for Porsche Penske Motorsport. Dries Vanthoor was favourite to take top spot after some impressive runs in practice, but his hopes were dashed when he put his BMW into the barriers.

The defending champions Ferrari qualified in P4. It's been a frustrating outing so far for Toyota who missed the Hyperpole session.

• P1 #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport
• P2 #2 Cadillac Racing
• P3 #3 Cadillac Racing
• P4 #51 Ferrari AF Corse
• P5 #50 Ferrari AF Corse
• P6 #35 Alpine Endurance Team
• P7 #15 BMW M Team WRT
• P8 #12 Hertz Team Jota

The following line-ups will be racing for the 23 factory and customer hypercars (racing number, team name (manufacturer): driver line-up):

#2, Cadillac Racing (Cadillac Factory): Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Alex Palou

#3, Cadillac Racing (Cadillac Factory): Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon, Renger van der Zande

#4, Porsche Penske Motorsport (Porsche Factory): Mathieu Jaminet, Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy

#5, Porsche Penske Motorsport (Porsche Factory): Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen, Frederic Makowiecki

#6, Porsche Penske Motorsport (Porsche Factory): Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer, Laurens Vanthoor

#7, Toyota Gazoo Racing (Toyota Factory): Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez, Nyck de Vries

#8, Toyota Gazoo Racing (Toyota Factory): Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa

#11, Isotta Fraschini (Isotta Fraschini Factory): Carl Bennett, Antonio Serravalle, Jean-Karl Vernay

#12, Hertz Team Jota (Porsche Customer): Callum Ilott, Norman Nato, Will Stevens

#15, BMW M Team WRT (BMW Factory): Raffaele Marciello, Dries Vanthoor, Marco Wittman

#19, Lamborghini Iron Lynx (Lamborghini Factory): Matteo Cairoli, Andrea Caldarelli, Romain Grosjean

#20, BMW M Team WRT (BMW Factory): Robin Frijns, Rene Rast, Sheldon van der Linde

#35, Alpine Endurance Team (Alpine Factory): Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg, Charles Milesi

#36, Alpine Endurance Team (Alpine Factory): Nicolas Lapierre, Mick Schumacher, Matthieu Vaxiviere

#38, Hertz Team Jota (Porsche Customer): Jenson Button, Phil Hanson, Oliver Rasmussen

#50, Ferrari AF Corse (Ferrari Factory): Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

#51, Ferrari AF Corse (Ferrari Factory): James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi

#63, Lamborghini Iron Lynx (Lamborghini Factory): Mirko Bortolotti, Daniil Kvyat, Edoardo Mortara

#83, Ferrari AF Corse (Ferrari Factory): Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman, Yifei Ye

#93, Peugeot TotalEnergies (Peugeot Factory): Mikkel Jensen, Nico Muller, Jean-Eric Vergne

#94, Peugeot TotalEnergies (Peugeot Factory): Paul di Resta, Loic Duval, Stoffel Vandoorne

#99, Proton Competition (Porsche Customer): Julien Andlauer, Neel Jani, Harry Tincknell

#311, Whelen Cadillac Racing (Cadillac Customer): Jack Aitken, Pipo Derani, Felipe Drugovich

Another big name to keep an eye out for is MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi who will be racing the #46 Team WRT BMW in the LMGT3 series alongside Ahmad Al Harthy and Maxime Martin.

Defending champions Ferrari are back in the competition with three teams, one of them the line-up that lifted the trophy a year ago, as well as Toyota who will be keen to regain the title with one of their two factory line-ups. Porsche too are back in the mix with six teams, Cadillac are lining up three, and Peugeot two teams.

Additionally, BMW (two teams), Lamborghini (two teams), Isotta Fraschini (one team) and Alpine (two teams) have joined the field this year.

The endurance race runs continuously over a 24-hour period. The team that covers the most distance over the course of the race will clinch the trophy.

Each team has three drivers that alternate over the 24 hours - no driver can race for more than 14 hours in total.

There are three different classes of cars: Hypercar, LMP2 and LMGT3. The hypercars are the fastest cars in endurance racing.

You can watch all the action from Le Mans 24 in the UK with discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.

Good afternoon and thank you for joining our live text coverage of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2024. It's T-minus one hour for the 101st edition of what is widely considered the biggest race in motorsport and it comes with a stacked hypercar field. Twenty three hypercars, seven more than in 2023 with four additional manufacturers, will take to the Circuit de la Sarthe and battle it out for the coveted trophy. Defending champions Ferrari have stuck with the same driver line-up that took them to the title last year, but with bolstered competition will they be able to defend it? We're about to find out!