Porsche now to the lead after the Toyota's have pitted. BMW in second owing us a pit stop. Porsche, BMW, Porsche. German cars 1-2-3. Everyone apart from the two Toyota's and one Ferrari, needs to stop. Porsche judging strategy well. It is tricky out there on slick tires and the #8 Toyota went off the road into the gravel over the gravel trap! I am flabbergasted that Ferrari has not split strategy and #51 passes Toyota #8. It is not the lead Ferrari. #50 still owes us a stop. They have more energy remaining as the track dries out. #83 passes Porsche #5 and speaking of Porsche's, the #99 Proton Competition Porsche 963 in the Fat Turbo livery is off, again. Julien Andlauer and company were having a great race but now it is truly gone to ashes. Andlauer looks like he has had a mechanical failure.
Toyota are tiptoeing on slicks with Ferrari #50 with more energy. Kevin Estre in for slick tires in Porsche #6. The track is not drying quickly enough with cold ambient temperatures and no wind. So, the order has changed. Matt Campbell takes Porsche #5 to the top while Antonio Fuoco runs second in Ferrari #50 which owes us a pit stop and is almost 23 seconds down to the leader. This is anybody's race currently! It is a mix of choices, reliability, fortune, accidents. Toyota #8 off again! Yikes! That is the second time Brendon Hartley has dropped it off the road on slicks. Minimize the amount of tire stops you do. I think we are going Full Course Yellow and that will need the Manitou crane to rescue it, the low loader.
Matt Campbell is now the leader. The man who started the season with a pole in Qatar is now leading. He just whistled by the #83 Ferrari as Full Course Yellow has been called. #99 is stuck in the mud and needs the Manitou crane to move him. We will remove the Full Course Yellow. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Full Course Yellow removed. So, we are now back to green flag racing. Porsche #5 locks it up and smokes it inot the lane! Those treads on the wet Michelin tires have vanished! He is choosing slicks and within his fuel window and can safely get home from here. Ferrari #50 has now put 174 laps in the book, 531 miles. Ferrari go back to the lead with Kamui Kobayashi now in second place. He is 1:25 back from the Ferrari.
This will be a a grandstand finish! Get ready, everyone. Have one more cup of coffee and join us for a grandstand finish. Uh oh. BMW #20 is off the road in the gravel trap, again! This is the car that was in the top four. Maybe Sheldon van der Linde kept a place. Porsche struggling for tire temperature. Jenson Button brings the #38 Jota Sport Porsche 963 to the lane and his wet Michelin tires are absolutely trashed as well. Everyone has to go onto slicks or choosing to do so. Race leader in the lane cycling Kamui Kobayashi in the Toyota to the top of the pile and it has begun raining, again! Slicks ready for the Ferrari. This could be a move for them to lose the race! Oh my!
He has a minute in time. The Toyota is on slicks and up to speed. If the rain returns, being on slicks won't do any good. 46 minutes to go. 85% energy left for Toyota vs. 100% for Ferrari. That is #50 with a full tank and the sister #51 is at 73%. 45 minutes to go. #50 is almost walloped by a 296 GT3! Oof! That was close! Kevin Estre in Porsche #6 is only 9.4 seconds down to the Toyota and has slightly better pace. Only slightly. Kobayashi puts a lap on the #38 Porsche 963 with Jenson Button on slicks. It is still raining. There was no tire change for Ferrari #51. He is still on those Michelin wets we saw that are absolutely cream crackered by now.
Toyota leads and can win. Porsche can win. The gap is down to 7.3 seconds and the two factory Porsche's run side by side! #6 is two seconds quicker than the race leader as Yifei Ye charges across the gravel after being hit by one of the Porsche's. We need to see a replay there. That shemozzle happened at the Villeneuve corner, turn six. Cadillac #2 has remained on wets. Matt Campbell tried the inside on Yifei Ye and sent him across the gravel. The stewards don't like seeing contact between the cars, for good reason.
In the GT3 class the WRT BMW's run 1-2 nearly three seconds apart, still #31 ahead of #46. The #12 Jota Porsche 963 is 13th and will score nil points. We're also keeping an eye on the GT3 lead. Right now, it is an on-screen battle, look, between Marco Sorensen, the Dane, in the #777 D'station Aston Martin, and the #77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 in the hands of Ben Barker. Maxime Martin though is beginning to reel in Augusto Farfus. So, the scrum at the top of the shop in GT3 between the BMW boys is not over.
Third spot belongs to the #92 Pure Racing Porsche 911 GT3R which gambled on wet tires. It didn't work and the #92 is 53 seconds behind. 42 minutes to go in Imola, and a titanic battle in Hypercar and GT3. Farfus has completed 162 laps, 494 miles. Kamui Kobayashi has just under ten seconds in hand in the lead in Toyota #7 over Kevin Estre at the wheel of Porsche #6. Sean Gelael says anything can happen and they are praying for no more rain and no more yellows. Matt Campbell has made the pass on Alessandro Pier Guidi for third place.
Toyota #7 has run 178 laps, 543 miles. Toyota followed by the two Penske Porsche's. The gap in GT3 between the two BMW's is a second and a half. Martin chasing down Farfus. Uh oh. We see another off course excursion for the #6 Porsche. Four or five seconds gone when you are constrained to a single line through the corner. Brendon Hartley in Toyota #8 has caught the #51 Ferrari in a battle for fourth place. One small mistake, you are on the wet stuff, and it will pull the car into the gravel trap. Ferrari still haven't changed off those used wet tires? Really? Blimey! You blokes have now completed torpedoed any good strategy through this race! Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?
Ferrari #50 went to medium compound Michelin slicks. The pit lane is very wet and the corners that are deceptive are the final sequences of the course. Acqua Minerale, Variante Alta, and downhill to Rivazza. So, now, the #51 team might just be making the right call and going with slicks until the end of the race with just under 39 minutes on the board. Those wets have been thrashed! Kamui Kobayashi in Toyota #7 is told he must save fuel. The crew of Toyota #7 have driven a great race today including Mike Conway and Nyck de Vries.
Trouble for the championship leading #6 Porsche Penske Motorsports Porsche 963, five second time penalty added to their next pit stop for overtaking under safety car conditions. So too has the #81 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Charlie Eastwood, the Irishman. Alessio Rovera is still charging in GT3 behind the Aston Martin #27. Both Ferrari 296 GT3's #54 and #55 cop time penalties for disrespecting safety car procedures. Kobayashi is driving but studying the dashboard as well for the energy levels.
We are looking at the energy levels in the tanks, but there is someone off the road, look. Ah. The #35 Alpine is indulging in a spot of rallycross and skidding across the gravel trap. Well, Alpine used to rally. So, this might be their new rallycross capable, four-wheel drive, Hypercar. Maybe not. Let's not wish for anything too far into the future. Boy, these chaps have had a rough go of it today, so let's go easy on them for a wee moment. Both Toyota's and both Porsche's have less petrol onboard right now. BMW M4 GT3 #46 drive throigh penalty for not respecting Virtual Safety Car Procedure. Oh boy. This will ruin the race for Maxime Martin, Valentino Rossi, and Ahmad Al Harthy. Ferrari #51 just stopped.
Maxime Martin will be fuming! He has caught Augusto Farfus for the lead. #60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini and #777 D'station Aston, drive through penalties for not respecting blue flags and so will both Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3's. Fuoco is told to go with maximum push on his tires. The Toyota's are fuel saving. Therefore, Ferrari believes their rivals will have to go for splash and dash towards the end of the motor race. Well, well, well. Ferrari's saving grace could be topping up with fuel when they swapped to wet weather Michelin's. Toyota #7 leads Porsche #6 by 8.1 seconds with 182 laps, 555 miles completed.
BMW #46 serving the penalty and their race win hopes have been dashed. It could very well be that #46 shall concede the win today to their sister car. #83 doing a kamikaze move on the inside of #51! Oy yoy yoy yoy! Argy bargy between those two. Yifei Ye inside Alessandro Pier Guidi. They definitely had contact. Pier Guidi is mad! He just biffed the tail of the Jota Porsche 963. He's driving with the fire! Or if you prefer colloquialism, he is driving with the FiYah! The red mist has come down! That Jota car was the #12 I think/
Pier Guidi sounds like he questions his banzai move back there. Maybe he's not angry. Maybe he is the introspective driver. Estre is turning it on. The gap is now down to six and a half seconds. Oh blazes! Estre cops a track limits penalty! See, what did I tell you? It's that classic final push in the race and everyone is using their toy whirly brain, launching their brains out of their heads here for the finale of the motor race and driving on instinct. The stone last running BMW #15 is now under investigation for track limits. What next? What next? Estre has a car ahead saving fuel, but he still has the penalty. The sword of Damocles still hangs over him. Matt Campbell in third in the #5 sister Porsche 963 for Penske.
Campbell has a bit of a chance as his speed is rising. Porsche Racing head honcho Thomas Laudenbach looking on. Porsche is leading the championship with their cars finishing first and third in Qatar last time out. They are currently second and third. Antonio Fuoco is told to push at the wheel of the #50 Ferrari. At the same time, the South African, Sheldon van der Linde in the BMW, the #20 M Hybrid V8, he is beginning to pour on the steam as well, look. Half an hour remaining here at the Autodromo Enzo E Dino Ferrari here in Imola. Maxime Martin has served the penalty and remains in second in the GT3 class some 26 seconds ahead of Klaus Bachler in the #92 Manthey Pure Racing Porsche.
So here are the top eight runners in each class as we bring it home.
Hypercar:
GT3:
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