Mercedes Lead After 12 Hours at Le Mans
From Staff and Wire Reports
Two Mercedes pulled away from the field Saturday after half of the Le Mans 24 Hours auto race.
The Mercedes of Frenchmen Jean-Louis Schlesser and Alain Ferte and German Jochen Mass had completed 184 laps, or 1,554 miles, at an average speed of about 130 m.p.h. Germany’s Michael Schumacher and Fritz Kreutzpointer and Austria’s Karl Wendlinger drove the second Mercedes.
A Mazda with Volker Weidler of Germany, Johnny Herbert of Britain and Bernard Gachot of Belgium was third, more than three laps behind the leaders. Jaguars were fourth and sixth with a Porsche fifth.
A third Mercedes driven by Jonathan Palmer of Britain, Stanley Dickens of Sweden and Kurt Thiim of Denmark dropped from second place to 12th after a 35-minute pit stop.
