New Zealander Brendon Hartley, driving Porsche 919-Hybrid No.20, was leading the Le Mans 24 Hours race on Saturday after torrential rain forced the safety car to slow the cars on two occasions.

Stephane Sarrazin in Toyota TSO40-Hydrid No.7 was 12 seconds back four hours after the world’s most celebrated endurance race began under sunny skies and with 54 cars on the starting grid.

Violent rainfall flooded the circuit and made visibility almost impossible as the race organisers twice sent out the safety car.

Defending champions Audi were badly hit by the weather which forced one of their three cars, driven by Marco Bonanomi, out of the race following an accident.

The 82nd version of the legendary race, over a road circuit in western France, was sent on its way by former Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso earlier on Saturday.

The field was led by the Toyota TS040 hybrid driven by a team headed by Alexander Wurz of Germany, ahead of the Porsche 919 hybrid of Switzerland’s Neel Jani.

On the second row was a Toyota driven by Nicolas Lapierre of Switzerland, just ahead of a Porsche which featured another former Formula One ace, Mark Webber of Australia, returning to the race for the first time in 15 years.

Webber’s last appearance was marred by a famously spectacular accident on the Hunaudieres straight, when his Mercedes took off like an aeroplane on the warm-up, prompting to factory to withdraw all their entries.