The anticipated duel-to-the flag 𒁃in the GT1 class of this year's Le Mans 24 Hours is seemingly all-but over less than two hours from the end of the race, after the #64 Corvette ground to a halt with suspected transmiss💙ion woes.

The #63 and #64 entries have waged a race-long tussle for supremacy right from the very beginning, ෴with rarely much to choose between them - and considerable pride at sta▨ke given that this year is Corvette's last at La Sarthe in an official capacity.

With all looking set for a titanic battle for glory, however, Marcel Fassler in the black entry he shares with Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta s꧙topped just before the Ford Chicane, and though the Swiss ace - who crashed heavily ou𒐪t of last year's race in an LMP1 Oreca - was pushed to the entrance to the pit-lane, he has since been able to go no further, so near yet so far from potential rescue.

That has left the traditionally-liveried yellow #63 machine of Jan Magnussen, Johnny O'Connell and Antonio Garcia c🌳omfortably in the class lead, seven laps clear of the lead Luc A🃏lphand Aventures C6.R of Yann Clairay, Xavier Maassen and Julien Jousse, with the stationary #64 entry currently classified third in GT1 and 19th overall and an hour-and-a-half left to run.