Brundle slips into lead

Martin Brundle led the Le Mans 24-Hour Race for Bentley after a heavy rain shower just 15 minutes into the event caused chaos.  

The ITV Formula One commentator, who qualified seventh on the grid, made a timely pit-stop for wet tyres.

And he benefited as some of his principal rivals encountered problems.

Three of the four Audi cars, which had been expected to dominate the gruelling French marathon again after their one-two-three finish in 2000, went off the slippery track and tumbled down the leaderboard.

Laurent Aiello, who was ahead in the works Audi which started from pole position, hit a barrier and his car needed repair work in its garage.

The two privateer Audis, including the one Ralf Kelleners was driving before handing over to Britain's Johnny Herbert, also crashed and had to have bodywork replaced.

Their troubles handed the initiative to Brundle, who was piloting the first Bentley to lead the famous endurance test for 71 years on the company's long-awaited return.

On a drying circuit, the 42-year-old from Norfolk was in front by 15 seconds an hour into the race with Frank Biela second in the other works Audi.

Martin O'Connell, another of the 22 British competitors, was involved in a six-car pile-up when the downpour was at its worst and his badly-damaged Pilbeam returned to the pits on a breakdown vehicle.