The GTE Pro factory Porsche pits. The #97 Aston Martin pits. Patrick Dempsey has completed his final stint of the race. There's a Porsche in the gravel. Not sure which one. Jordan Taylor still drives the #73 Corvette C-7-R. Mark Webber will take the Porsche 919 to the finish and Brendon Hartley will not take over the car again. They don't know why the car is off the pace. They need to keep going. Porsche has track position. They run first and fifth, sandwiching the two Audi's, and the sole remaining Toyota. The Aston Martin's have continued to have power steering issues.
We're approaching three hours to go. Could Porsche win for the first time since 1998? Herbert Ampferer was Porsche boss back then. Andre Lotterer almost overshoots the Mulsanne corner as the #8 Toyota tries to dodge traffic. Now, pit stop time for Porsche. Timo Bernhard stays in the car. This is a clean stop. Three more full fuel stops will be needed for Porsche. The same is true for Audi. Will one be a short fill? The unsung heroes are the tires. They can double, triple, and quadruple stint the ,Michelin tires. That's pretty amazing.
The #35 Ligier leads LMP2. Alex Brundle. Jann Mardenborough, and Mark Shulzitsky, could win in class. The #2 Audi pits. Benoit Treluyer was waved off, even though he was suited up. Andre Lotterer continues in the Audi. Less than three hours to go. Fifty laps to go, more or less. Porsche has the #14 machine in the pits. This is going to be quite the finish. The #58 Ferrari is beached at the Ford Chicane. This is the Sofrev car. There's a local yellow flag. Also, the #90 Ferrari for 8Star Motorsport is running well, too, with Frankie Montecalvo at the controls.
If the #95 Danish Aston Martin could win in LM GTE Pro, after Allan Simonsen's death, if his car should win, the fans will go crazy. The Ferrari got tossed onto the curb. Not sure who is driving at this point. Porsche still leads the overall, but Audi is coming. The AF Corse Ferrari still leads LM GTE Pro. Soheil Ayari was able to restart the #58 Ferrari and get back into the race. Something could be wrong with the Krohn Ferrari, and also, with the #97 Aston Martin, as the #1 Audi pits. Could Lucas di Grassi be the first Brazilian to win Le Mans?
This is going to be a fuel only stop, loading the tank with diesel. The #92 factory Porsche 911 RSR of Richard Lietz is in, second in LM GTE Pro. Jordan Taylor in the #73 Corvette C7R runs third in class. Ferrari seems to be the one to beat, as both Porsche and Corvette are pushing hard. Porsche AG bought half of Team Manthey, so they also want a factory GTE program. Jan Magnussen has taken over the #73 Corvette C7R to try and push the Porsche and the Ferrari. Porsche has had a misfire, and hopefully it's electrical as opposed to mechanical.
Jota Sport is running well, with Harry Tincknell driving. Allan McNish has been a mentor to Tincknell. The Ligier's run 1-2 in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Pretty amazing. The JS, of course, is for Jo Schlesser.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Schlesser
We are coming up on just three hours to go. Will it be Audi, or Porsche, spraying the champagne? We've got 40 laps to go, roughly. The margin is a second a lap. We've got a jolly good race on our hands here, blokes. This is a humdinger. Lotterer is coming. 33 seconds separate Porsche and Audi. Mark Webber leaps out of his chair. There's something wrong with the Porsche. They need a stop. There's a panic at Porsche. Could this affect the outcome of their race?
The mechanics wheeled a stack of hot tires out. If they stop now, they will have to do three more stops, and then, something might go wrong. Maybe the car isn't feeling right. Slow puncture? Vibration? This is going to be tough. This is nine laps of a 15 lap stint. They've been running 15 lap stints. Something could be wrong with the motor, too. Uh oh. Could Porsche be in jeopardy here? Lotterer passes for the lead of this motor race. Engineers are watching the telemetry. Have Porsche thrown this away? They put new tires on. Maybe it was just a slow puncture.
Stretch it to 14 laps instead of 13 laps to save fuel and not need a splash and dash. The #88 Porsche in LM GTE Am (second in class), has been handed a 45 second penalty for speeding in pit lane. This is the #88 machine of Khaled Al-Qubaisi, Klaus Bachler, and Christian Ried. Could the #79 Porsche 911 RSR finish top six in LM GTE Am with just two drivers? That would be quite the story for Cooper MacNeil and Jeroen Bleekemolen, who had to move into the LM GTE Pro class, when their amateur driver Bret Curtis, could not start the race.
The Audi slides a shade but stays on the road. Andre Lotterer continues to drive. He has a 64 second lead. Can Porsche stretch their fuel mileage? Can they make it 14 laps or better? The top four cars in LMP2 are on the same lap. Two Ligier's, a Zytek, and an Alpine. The #61 Ferrari 458 Italia pits in LM GTE Am, with Marco Cioci at the controls. The #14 Porsche goes by the #20. It is losing efficiency through it's turbo. Could this be the kiss of death for Porsche in their return? They might have to wait until next year.
Remember, if you win here, there's double points. Also, the team that wins Le Mans, usually goes on to win the FIA World Endurance Championship. Two hours, seven minutes, remain in this race. Lotterer pits. He will stay in the car. This is a fuel only stop for Audi. No need for tires. Mark Webber cannot reel in the Audi. He's having trouble. We now watch the battle for second in LMP2. Harry Tincknell and Tristan Gommendy are in this game. Tincknell is charging. The #51 Ferrari leads LM GTE Pro. It's an all Italian team.
AF Corse have taken sports cars by storm. Oh no! Webber has a problem! He's running on the hybrid powerplant. The fuel delivery could be an issue. He's a long way from home, and this could be the final straw for Porsche. They might just have to come back next year and try again. Lucas di Grassi will move his Audi to second. Low power. He's running on the battery. Less than two hours to go. The #1 Audi closes on a P2 car, and on Mark Webber as he tries to nurse the Porsche back to the pits. This race can be cruel. He's crawling. The Audi pits. Lucas di Grassi is down three laps to Andre Lotterer.
We'll see. di Grassi might make it to second. Marc Gene is ready. But, no driver change and no tires. Now. The Porsche is into the pits. The car will go into the garage. They know they won't win this race. They wanted a podium. The car is in the garage. I mean, they need a podium. The #14 car might still be in it. Audi runs 1-3, still. Mark Webber is in the garage. There was an oil flag being waved. Now, we might have a pass for the P2 lead. The #46 whistles past the #35. This is a battle for the class lead.
Kristian Poulsen stopped on track. But, he passes Alex Brundle. There could be a misfire on that #35 machine. The #38 car sits second in class. The Porsche is still in the garage. Webber has mental toughness after a rough F1 career. But, he has to be wondering what is going on and why he may lose this race. The #8 Toyota will close up on the #20 Porsche. Porsche has to know Anthony Davidson is going for it. Sergey Zlobin in the #27 car is in the garage. No work is being done on the #20 Porsche, meaning it could very well be game over for them.
It's game over for Porsche. Webber is out of the car. But, the green retirement form, will come out and be signed. One wonders if the #14 car can pick up the pieces. No rush for the #74 Corvette C7R as it pits. We begin to watch Anthony Davidson. He'll catch the Porsche, and assume third place. The #20 Porsche, is out. It's game over. One Porsche may get home. That's the #14 car with Marc Lieb at the controls. Porsche is not out of harm's way yet, though. Something could be wrong with the #14. Corvette will be disappointed, too. They wanted to win. They wanted to beat Porsche and Ferrari.
Ferrari's have been perfect. Tristan Gommendy pitted, and Harry Tincknell led. But, Oliver Turvey will take over the #38 machine. We know that Alex Brundle and his team mates, may have a wounded bird out there, too. Less than an hour and a half to go. Lucas di Grassi is three laps behind the #2 Audi. Porsche, will have to wait. With their situation, it was the V4 motor that let them down. It wasn't a hybrid system.
Now, we have the #2 Audi R18 eTron Quattro, pitting. We are looking to see a third win at Audi for Benoit Treluyer, Marcel Fassler, and Andre Lotterer. Audi doesn't have the fastest car. But they have everything prepared and polished. Andre Lotterer is looking for a third overall win at Le Mans. Audi have executed. Tom Kristensen has won this race nine times. No number ten this year. Maybe next year. But, keep in mind, with the new rules, the floodgates have opened. The #14 Porsche is in the garage. They have another problem that might not be related to what took out car #20.
Back to my earlier point. With these new rules of running hybrid technology, and bringing back cars that are this technologically advanced (just like in the Group C days of the 1980s), we might see more automakers come in and want to fight. Think about this. Nissan will come back next year. Ferrari, says they might want to return to sports car racing and take a piece of this pie. Audi, Porsche, Ferrari, Nissan, Toyota. Yikes! Think about that, folks. That's VERY exciting. Yours truly gets excited and gets goosebumps just thinking about that prospect!
Tons of factory cars, on the grid, at the same time. That would be amazing. The #92 Porsche 911 RSR pits. Barely an hour and fifteen minutes remain in this one, folks. The fans come back to the hillsides. The track is given back to the fans at the end of the race, and they storm it. That's a sight to see. Toyota will get to the podium. They want to become only the second Japanese automaker to win Le Mans, along with Mazda who won in 1991. The Aston Martin team has had a flawless run. The #1 Audi continues.
Benoit Treluyer will finish the race in the #2 car. Will Tom Kristensen take the car to the victory? The car is in the lane now. Tom Kristensen will take the car to the checkers in this closing hour of Le Mans. The team is exhausted. But they'll make it. We're coming to the last hour. One hour remains now in the 82nd 24 Hours of Le Mans. One more hour to enjoy one of the great tracks in the world that is public roads the rest of the year. Just 55 minutes remain in this one, chaps.
The class leading LM GTE Am #95 Aston Martin Vantage has had an electrical issue. Kristian Poulsen gets new tires. It's a throttle position sensor. It's a quick, simple fix. Antonio Garcia is still in the Corvette. The #66 Ferrari 458 Italia for JMW Racing is up to it's axles in the gravel trap. This is Corvette's final pit stop of the race. They'll make it on fuel. Corvette might get a podium out of this one. If the Ferrari has a problem, Corvette could have a chance. They put bear bond over the spot where they had an air jack issue last night. Jota Sport with Oliver Turvey at the controls, is in the lead of LMP2. He was called up on Thursday to come and race.
Could he win in LMP2? If you think you have Le Mans figured out, you might not. But, Oliver Turvey could be a lucky boy today. Rebellion will finish with their new R-One prototype, in only the second race for the car, and the first endurance race. The race is in the hands of the drivers with a shade over 40 minutes to go. Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there, with 38 minutes to go at Le Mans. Marcel Fassler and Andre Lotterer will get their third win as a driving duo at Le Mans. Just over a half hour remains in the Le Mans 24 Hour race.
Tom Kristensen made a pit stop for fuel and a cleaning of the windscreen. Audi is good to go for the photo finish. The #95 Aston Martin wiggles in Mulsanne corner. But, the car will get to the finish and very likely win the LM GTE Am class. Rebellion Racing will take a fourth place finish. We're getting to the final laps. You can;t close your eyes in this race, as a fan, because if you do, you'll miss something. Finishers have really achieved something, even if they're not on the podium.
This race is better than what we had last year. More competition. A safer race. This is a new book being written with hybrid technology, and also, like I mentioned, the influx of new car makers who might enter. Ooh. A P2 car goes off the road. The new regulations really work. This is one of the most exciting Le Mans races that yours truly has ever seen. With the prototype cars, the technology will come to road cars. You can't buy an Audi eTron, a Toyota TS040 or a Porsche 919 in the showroom. But, you can buy cars with the technology in those cars.
Oliver Turvey pits once more for half a tank of fuel. Will Porsche send the #14 car to go across the line and be classified in the debut for the 919 Hybrid? They just might do that. Less than ten minutes to go. After two huge crashes, yours truly was very doubtful these guys would make it. Plus, they had turbos and fuel injectors fail. Now, LMP2 is going to come down to the wire. The #14 Porsche 919 Hybrid will get to go to the checkered flag. They will finish, but not under the checkers.
Audi will get victory number 13. Can Audi catch and overtake Porsche? Can Porsche win another one? We'll see. Can you program a dynasty? Well, it's a way of thinking. Can you teach computers to think? An organization behaves, and manages itself in a certain way, that makes them successful. It's easier to teach if you've got loads of money. Oliver Turvey is trying to hang on to an improbable class win. Give them new regulations, and they can work with them. Technology brings the speeds up on these marvelous race cars.
Fassler, Lotterer, and Treluyer, will win their third race. It will be the third win for Lena Gade, too. Porsche returns, and their rivals and sister brand from Audi, cheer. Gianmaria Bruni will get his third class win in GTE Pro. Second for Giancarlo Fisichella, and Toni Vilander. For Aston Martin, they will win in honor of their friend, and fallen team mate, another Dane, Allan Simonsen. Kristian Poulsen, David Heinemier Hanson, and Nicky Thiim.
Audi wins lucky #13! They're only three away from their on-track rivals, Porsche. 379 laps complete. 3,214 miles. Welcome to the new era at Le Mans. Checkered flag, and then, one more lap. This is the 13th Audi win at Le Mans! Benoit Treluyer, Andre Lotterer, and Marcel Fassler, do it! Put weight on the car so we don't fail tech inspection. Poor old Toyota. They're going to have to try again next year. The diesel is heavy. Maybe, Audi will switch back to gasoline power like they had with the Audi R8. Toyota gets on the podium, too.
Le Mans gives the winner a chance to do one more victory lap. Lucas di Grassi seems happy to finish second. Maybe next year will be his year. So, here are the overall and class winners:
Overall/LMP1: #2 Fassler/Lotterer/Treluyer Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18
eTron Quattro
LMP2: #38 Turvey/Dolan/Tincknell Jota Sport Zytek Z11SN-Nissan
LM GTE Pro: #51 Bruni/Vilander/Fisichella AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia
LM GTE Am: #95 Poulsen/Heinemeier-Hanson/Thiim Aston Martin Racing
Aston Martin Vantage GTE
What a race this has been! Another phenomenal Le Mans event. Every year it gets better. Audi overcame adversity and won this thing, again. Lucky 13! Porsche is going to be pushing, and so is Toyota, and Nissan, next year. Le Mans is so special. You will have goosebumps, a tear in your eye, and a crack in your voice. I can guarantee it. Lena Gade who is engineer, she gets her third win with this team as an engineer. Wow!
You could not predict this race. It was amazing. All the frantic chaos happened early, and you didn't expect it. It was a lot of fun. This is where your mind starts to open up, when you are getting your accolades. Jaguar had their moments, losing the races, and then, winning it. This was a great race. Tom Kristensen will be back to Le Mans. Two German giants with new technology came. So did Toytoa as a darkhorse. It was the first of many surprises, including rain, and cars crashed. Skies cleared, and high speed racing resumed.
The speed differential was 40 miles an hour. The long dusk blended into night, and out of the night, Porsche led, but had to dash to the finish, and they broke. Audi swept into a lead, and won. We leave wanting more. But, that will have to wait until next year, fans. Au revoir, for now, from Le Mans. Yours truly, is wiped out, and needs some sleep!
No comments:
Post a Comment