The Audi-Peugeot duel at the 75th Le Mans evened itself out after 90 minutes of the 24 hours following a heavy smash involving Mike Rockenfeller.
The German, in the third of the Audi R10 TDis, had only minutes previously replaced Lucas Luhr and was running fifth at the time of his accident.
The 23-year-old obliterated the back of the end of the car after catching a damp part of the 13.629km circuit, smashing into a barrier at Terte Rouge.
Each of the Audi drivers carries a mobile phone with them in the car, with the team then instructing Rockenfeller how to make repairs in the hope he might return to the garage.
Head of Audi Motorsport, Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, said: "The car is quite clearly damaged, but the good thing is he is unhurt.
"Mike is still trying to find a gear in the hope of making a comeback."
But the damage, in particular to the gearbox, looked terminal, seemingly leaving just two Audis fighting with two Peugeots in the more technically-advanced LM P1 class.
Heavy showers led to a flurry of pitstops. Initially, the safety car was on track for 15 minutes, shaking up the order - although not affecting the lead Audi.
The team took the opportunity to replace Dindo Capello with record seven-times winner Tom Kristensen, and the Dane was comfortably in control when Rockenfeller suffered his smash.
Kristensen was handed the second stint ahead of Allan McNish due to the Scot waking today with a stomach bug problem.
When the safety car reappeared it toured the circuit for a remarkable 72 minutes as a crew worked on replacing a section of the barrier at Tertre Rouge, such had been Rockenfeller's impact.
The weather was also playing havoc as a torrential downpour soaked one part of the circuit, while in other areas it was dry.
When the safety car finally exited the scene after two-and-three-quarter hours of the race, Kristensen led by one minute and 27 seconds from the Peugeot driven by Pedro Lamy, who had replaced Sebastien Bourdais.
The Frenchman, reigning three-times Champ Car winner in the United States, made a mistake at the first Dunlop Chicane just moments after starting the race on pole.
That led to Capello comfortably taking the lead, and the Italian handed over to Kristensen who then enjoyed an easy first stint under safety car conditions.
Running third was the second Peugeot of Marc Gene, followed by the Pescarolo-Judd driven by Jean-Christophe Bouillon, with the second Audi of Emmanuele Pirro fifth.
Newcastle's Warren Hughes continued to lead the LM P2 class in the Lola-AER, while another Briton in Camberley's Darren Turner headed the GT1 category having taken over from David Brabham, son of the legendary Sir Jack.
In GT2, Dane Allan Simonsen led in a Porsche 911.
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