Porsche problems hand GT2 lead to LNT.

Lawrence Tomlinson's Team LNT Panoz outfit could be on the verge of a historic GT2 class victory after mechanical problems stranded the class leading Seikel Porsche out on the track with just 90 minutes of the Le Mans 24 Hours remaining.

LNT drivers Tomlinson, Tom Kimber-Smith and Richard Dean were holding a safe second place in GT2 some six laps behind the Dominik Farnbacher driven #83 Porsche when the German vehicle ground to a halt on the side of the track just past the old signalling pits.

Farnbacher and co-drivers Pierre Ehret and Lars Erik Nielsen had been reporting gear selection issues for some time and while the British privateers had been lapping consistently quicker than the class leaders throughout the mid morning hours the Porsche still seemed to have an insurmountable advantage.

However there was consternation in the Seikel pit with 90 minutes to go when Farnbacher stopped on the run out of Mulsanne corner and was pushed behind the barriers.

With Farnbacher working feverishly to try and get the car in gear the orange Panoz rumbled on, clipping lap after lap out of its deficit while at the same time holding a ten lap advantage over their nearest class rivals, the Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari.

As the race entered its final hour to Panoz moved within two laps of the Porsche as the erstwhile class leading car, which Farnbacher managed to coax back to the pits after watching his six lap lead eroded.

A broken gear shifter was found to be the problem and the Seikel crew was able to replace the unit and return Farnbacher to the track with some 50 minutes of the race remaining.

However by this point the Panoz was ahead by nearly three minutes...