This is the greatest sports car endurance race in the world. The 24 Hours of Le Mans. This year, Audi, Toyota, and Porsche, will battle for overall supremacy.
Some drivers and cars will not start the race. In qualifying, it was a crash fest, and Loic Duval, Bret Curtis, and James Calado, were three drivers, replaced on their respective teams. You race here by invitation only, risking millions, and facing competition. At night, each dark cockpit is it's own universe. But, as you get closer to the finish, it's more devastating. Audi and Porsche will fight with their new energy efficient racing cars. Tom Kristensen has nine wins here. Mark Webber, might be fastest, as he comes from Formula One. Watch out for Toyota, too.
The GT class has Corvette, Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Porsche. 24 Hours from now, the clock will signal the end of racing's longest day. To finish you first start, and we start, now. "Racing is life, everything before or after, is just waiting" as Steve McQueen's character Michael Delaney, said in the movie, "Le Mans". This is a glorious track. Former driver Allan McNish is the grand marshal. He is a new member of the Le Mans Hall of Fame. He's also driving the safety car, an Audi R8.
Formula One champ Fernando Alonso will wave the French flag to start the race. Alex Wurz is the starting driver for Toyota, and there's a Porsche on the grid. Two of them. Yours truly wants to put the race on his bucket list, and you should, too. The motto is "the future is on track". These race cars, are rocket ships. Nissan is coming back, and of course, Ferrari might come back soon. With the new hybrid technology and energy systems, the manufacturers are coming back.
Audi has their turbo diesel. Toyota has a normally aspirated V8. Porsche has a four cylinder that recovers energy under braking, and acceleration. But, in practice, Loic Duval had a monstrous crash of course, and destroyed the car. Marc Gene is the driver./ Lucas di Grassi had a big crash, too. Toyota and Porsche are in this one, and Kazuki Nakajim becomes the first Japanese driver to be on pole. At the track, there's new curbing, new pavement, new guard rails etc.
Last year, we had five yellow flags. Allan Simonsen was killed last year, and the guardrail has been moved back, with tires set up there. Rest In Peace, Allan Simonsen. We have the integrity and the spirit of this event, still. Corvette Racing has their new C-7-R- in this race. Two of them will race. The new Corvette could be a winner this weekend, after winning seven times in class. Corvette technical director, Doug Fehan, has won the Spirit of Le Mans award for this year.
In LM GTE Pro, Porsche won last year, and the Ferrari 458 Italia won two years ago. Porsche is not happy with their pace. But, four makes in the top six in LM GTE Pro. Ditto for improvements in LM GTE Am. Toyota has raw speed. Will Audi win for the 13th time? Will Porsche return to glory? Traffic and closing rates will be monstrous, as always, but especially on this track. So many stories yet to tell as we get closer to the start of the great race.
The cars are on track. They are running down the Mulsanne straight. We also have the Nissan ZEOD electric car. It will run one lap on electric power. The youngest driver is Matt McMurry, who is only 16 years old. McMurry says that he'll stay focused and keep the car on the road. McMurry is from Phoenix, Arizona. The LMP2 cars, many have Nissan power. We saw that massive wreck from Audi. Two of them happened to Audi. Other teams also had crashes. 39 drivers are starting their first Le Mans race.
This track is about speed. Four times on this 8.5 mile loop, you hit 200 miles an hour. Watch out for the curbs. Here we go. Finally, it is time. Go! Fernando Alonso waves the flag and we are green! The Toyota takes the lead off the start. Porsche and Audi are already after each toher. The crowd here is huge! Now, we run through Tetre Rouge and onto the Mulsanne Straight. Once, it was a three mile flyer, but now has chicanes. These monstrous cars have 1,000 horsepower.
The chicanes may be on the straight now, but these cars still can run 210 miles an hour, at least. The mechanics are tired already. Tom Kristensen is th starting driver in the #1 Audi R18 eTron Quattro. The Rebellion Coupe's are the only cars sans the hybrid power. Arnage is one of the slowest corners on this track, and it's part of the public roads. These cars have seven speed transmissions. They are not designed to go slow. Timo Bernhard and Andre Lotterer battle. Lotterer has won twice at Le Mans.
Tom Kristensen takees a spot away. Will Audi let one of their cars become a rabbit, for the hounds to chase? We have Mark Webber, and Brendon Hartley. The Porsche uses acceleration and braking for it's hybrid car. The Audi and Toyota only do it under braking. The Porsche has a 2.0 liter four cylinder. You will hear a whirring sound under braking. That sound, is the energy regenerating through the braking system, and sounds like a plane landing.
The drivers run through Indianapolis, a banked corner, and through Arnage, into the Porsche curves, skirting the old, and very dangerous, Maison Blanche corner. The cornwering speeds are very high here. There's no zone for energy recovery. It happens whenever you step on the brakes. Watch the GTE Pro battle. Ferrari vs. Corvette vs. Aston Martin vs. Porsche. Gianmaria Bruni leads in the Ferrari 458 Italia. The new Chevrolet Corvette C7R is running well. Jan Magnussen at the controls. Antonio Garcia has to sleep. His wife had a baby.
Timo Bernhard slides th Porsche. The tires are still cold. Pictures come to TV from the French television feed. Alex Wurz and Nicolas Lapierre run 1-2. Porsche is third, with Audi behind. Toyota is sending a rabbit out front right now, trying to get Audi and Porsche to overuse their energy. The weather at Le Mans is beautiful, and there could be rain in the forecast. There's only seven hours of darkness and plenty of light, compared to the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Forests once covered Le Mans, and fog used to bee an issue. Not anymore. Now, Andre Lotterer moves ahead of Neel Jani. Lotterer is going to have a big future. he's got two wins at Le Mans, looking at three. Now, the FIA World Endurance Championship, is running it's third race of the season, here at L eMans. It's the crown jewel. The drivers are working very hard to manage the cars. It's not easy. These boys are still pushing, going to their maximum.
We're watching a great battle between Porsche and Audi. Manage the traffic. But also, you have to minotor an energy threshold, otherwise, there will be penalties handed down by the A.C.O. and the FIA. In the old days, you had to worry about the transmission and the motor. But now, it's focusing on driving, and monitoring the energy. Marco Bonanomi in the third Audi, is trying to get past Neel Jani. Porsche doesn't have data at Le Mans. But, the Porsche 919 has been tested. It's faster on the straights, but doesn't corner or brake as well. The tires will degrade faster.
Tom Kristensen has the most wins, with nine. He's very, very experienced. Poor Loic Duval had that big crash. Fortunately, he's OK. Lucas di Grassi also crashed the car. So, Tom Kristensen is aeasing his way into the car. Rebuilding the car is much harder than it used to be. We're working lapped traffic six laps into this one, folks. It takes two hours to synchronize the mechanical protocols before building a new car. They went through every part of the car, according to team manager Brad Kettler. Two crewmen go through ALL the electronic parts.
Local yellow at the second Mulsanne chicane. Who went off? The gravel traps here, are stones, and they are real sharp. marco Bonanomi flies by Kristensen. Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Audi team boss), won't want to see this mess. Now, Neel Jani is running well, but you've got to stop this. It's fun to see. But, there's not reason to do it. OK. The Nissan ZEOD is having issues in reaching their goals. The transmission has not done well. But, the cool thing about that car, is a 90 pound, three cylinder motor that makes 400 horsepower!
Holy cow! It's probably game over for the Nissan ZEOD. That's a shame for Lucas Ordonez, Wolfgang Reip, and Satoshi Motoyama. Now, Nicolas Lapierre has gone off the road. He had a major off into the gravel. But, he's OK. Now, there are new slow zones due to the length of the lap. The entire field will have to slow to the pit lane speed under yellow, (37 miles an hour, or 60 kilometers an hour). This way, there will be fwer yellow flags.
The Nissan ZEOD team is resetting the car. They're still having problems. They had a new battery, but the paperwork was not there. Now, with the double waving flag, if you hit the slow zone too fast, you will be penalized. The #1 car is pitting now, for strategy. Tom Kristensen stays in the car. The windshield is cleaned, and fuel is added. No tires. The drinks bottle and the windshield washer fluid is replenished. Alex Wurz slows down, hitting the speed limiter. It's kind of fun, because you coast through the zone, and then, bang! Hit the throttle, and drive away as fast as you wish.
Neel Jani has now lost some drive in his Porsche. He's stuck in a low gear. The car is purely running on electric power. Corvette and Ferrari battle for the LM GTE Pro lead, through the slow zone. Slow down, guys, or you'll be penalized. The Porsche, loses power from it's four cylinder motor. It was in a taller gear. The car is reversed back into the garage. This is the #14 car of Romain Dumas, Neel Jani, and Marc Lieb. Now, Gianmaria Bruni and Jan Magnussen are still battling for position in LM GTE Pro.
The Aston Martin is also in it. No yellow. We're green all the way around e track. We're also into the Bugatti circuit, where there's motorcycle racing (MotoGP), and big rig truck racing. Watch out for the massive curb at the Ford chicane. We're 45 minutes into this race. The second LM GTE Am Ferrari for AF Corse, was put on pole by open wheel standout, Sam Bird. Stephen Wyatt of New Zealand, and Michele Rugolo of Italy, are Bird's team mates.
Alex Wurz still leads this race. The #37 Oreca Nissan is back in the garage. They were on track, but now back in the garage. This is under another AF Corse team, which has ten cars in this race. The leader is in the pits, the #7 Toyota. Alex Wurz stays in the car. Audi also pits. The silent takeoff of these hybrid sports cars from pit lane, is wild. There are no issues with restarting a hot engine, with the hybrids. Audi, Porsche, and Toyota, have all pitted.
We watch the new Ligier which is returning to Le Mans. It's the Ligier JS P2. JS stands for Joe Schlesser. The new LMP cars have a raised position for the drivers. A bollard (cone) has been knocked over, and will be picked up. The #14 Porsche is back on track. Roll the car out into the pit lane. You can't drive it out. But, the Porsche is now back on track. Neel Jani is ninth and last in the Prototype 1 category. Nicolas Lapierre wants to make a move on Marco Bonanomi.
Anthony Davidson had a huge crash a few years ago in a Toyota. The Audi, Toyota, and Porsche, are right there. Krohn Racing is here, after a big saga about just getting into the race. The #73 Corvette pitted, for fuel only. Jan Magnussen stays in the car. They cannot move the barrier, or the old poplar trees back, because there's an embankment going to another road. Problems again for the #79 Weatertech Porsche 911 RSR that was withdrawn. They had to switch classes, and have just two drivers. Bret Curtis didn't start, and they could not get a third driver.
So, going old school, this team, is running just two drivers at Le Mans, which used to be quite common. Cooper MacNeil and Jeroen Bleekemolen, are the dynamic duo. We now have a local yellow in Mulsanne. The #7 Toyota, leads with Alex Wurz at the wheel. The KCMG Oreca 03 Nissan leads P2. There was a Ferrari that spun. Marco Cioci was taken out in Mulsanne. The #79 car is back in the pit lane, in the garage. No real damage to the car. Use bear bond to reinforce the fender. Other than that, the dynamic duo will be back at it.
The problem with some of these drivers, is if you can find a bronze driver, you will. But, there's an issue, because no one could get into the simulator, and be ready to race. Now, a car has dumped loads of oil someplace. It just went straight like it couldn't turn. The car ran outside and didn't turn, as he hit the gravel trap. Oil is being chucked out of the car. Yours truly cannot tell which car dumped the oil. We see Marco Bonanomi running well. Watch the oil, as the JMW Ferrari 458 goes off track. Spencer Pumpelly is in that car.
Clouds overhead at Le Mans now. The skies will stay light until 10:30 at night. Now, we see more battling from Audi. Watch your step. Don't take anyone out. You've got three bullets in the gun. Don't take two out. Now, Alex Wurz, will have to pit for an unsafe pit release. He might have a penalty. Wurz swung out in front of Andre Lotterer, and it's not necessary. The stewards will have something to say. Yellow flags are waving in one of the slow zones as the 8Star Ferrari is having issues. That's Enzo Potolicchio's team. More drivers are going off the road, witn the leaders coming up.
After a couple hours, the clag buildup will be insane! Ooh! More argy bargy. Thankfully, the Toyota backs off. It's Lotterer vs. Bonanommi vs. Lapierre. Tom Kristensen is pitting. This is the end of a 13 lap run. He was right behind Matt McMurry. Tom Kristensen gets fuel and no tires. No point in replacing the driver. Lucas di Grassi, will have to wait. Now, the Nissan ZEOD is still on track with Wolfgang Reip at the wheel. The transmission is busted. They're out of it.
At least the Nissan ZEOD can run one lap on electric power. But, it's au revoir Le Mans, for them, this year. Next year, Nissan will be back with an LMP1 car. They will run in Japanese Super GT competition for the rest of this year. Satoshi Motoyama is a great driver in Japan, but he'll have no further racing this year. He is a legend though. The first time he came to Le Mans with the Nissan Deltawing, he crashed, and the fans urged him on to fix the car. He couldn't, and openly wept in disappointment. Who wouldn't? This is Le Mans. The biggest race in the world. Having to retire, is devastating.
Andre Lotterer, Marco Bonanomi, and others, have still been battling away. Bonanomi made a scheduled pit stop. There was conjecture about Porsche or Toyota stretching their fuel window to 14 laps, cutting pit stops out, which means the competition has to be faster. Filipe Albuquerque is running well, now that he has a chance at the top level of sports car racing. Toyota has pitted. They are at the back end of the pits, past the entrance. Oh no! It's raining at Le Mans. Now you need to find the grip. Watch the white line on turn in.
It's like ice on the painted curbs. It always rains at Le Mans. It's raining on one side, but not on the other. Don't get misting on the screen or smear it. Otherwise, you won' see. These cars are amazing. There is an adjustable wfront wing on the prototypes. The #7 Toyota TS040 pits. Andre Lotterer pits for intermediate tires. You can smell the rain. Now, Matt McMurry, has spun out. He did because it's raining, and hie's on cold tires. Go soft on intermediate tires. It's too dry for full wet, treaded tires. Now, it's starting to bucket down with rain. One of the factory Porsche GT cars slides througha corner.
Go full wets. Fred Makowiecki pits. The safety car is on track. Tom Kristensen is pitting for full wet tires. Now, we have another Audi that's crashed! Marco Bonanomi has crashed, and aquaplaned off the road on the first chicane on the Mulsanne straight. That's fast. You can't go slow enough. There was a lot going on. It's a three car crash including the Audi, the #8 Toyota, and a P2 car. Nonanomi has major damage. The rain is letting up.
Nicolas Lapierre looks like he's the instigator of the wreck, as he was sideways, and then it was a chain reaction. The Ferrari involved was the #81 8Star Ferrari, leading in class in LM GTE Am. Nicolas Lapierre needs a new nose on his car. Also, the leading LMP2 car #47 has crashed. It's shared by Brits Richard Bradley, and Matthew Howson, along with Switzerland's Alexander Imperatori. But, sadly, the #3 Audi, is out. Marco Bonanomi, got out of the car, and was told to. At Le Mans, once you've walked ten meters away from the car, it's game over.
Richard Bradley is back to the pits. But another retirement will be Sam Bird in the #81 Ferrari. Marco Bonanomi was a victim in this crash. We're barely an hour into this thing. Suck it up, and get back to it. The Audi boys are down to two cars. Toyota, is probably down to one. The #3 car could be put back out as a guinea pig. But, that remains to be seen. We watch the #8 Toyota get pushed back into the garage to try and fix it. The mechanics are going to fly all over this car.
Nicolas Lapierre, in replay from a GT car's camera, clobbered the Armco barrier! Whoa! Right now, it's two Audi's, two Porsche's, and one Toyota. We are sans one Audi, and sans one Toyota, at this stage. Has Alexander Wurz been penalized? Now, the skies are beginning to clear up. The last time a two driver team won Le Mans was in 1984 with a Porsche 956 shared by Henri Pescarolo and Klaus Ludwig, while the last class win for a two driver team was in 1986, in GTX. Frenchmen Rene Metge and Claude Ballot-Lena drove a Porsche 961, to seventh place overall.
More rain could be on it's way, according to racing driver and team owner, Tracy Krohn. The front of the pit lane is wet, while the other part, is dry. It's going to get slick in pit lane. The track is beginning to dry, but, rain is not out of the picture by any means. Could Nicolas Lapierre have been tagged? Possible. We are under yellow. Because the lap is so long, there are three safety cars. Think fo the track as a clock. One is released at 12 o'clock, one at 4 o'clock, and one at 8 o'clock. Alex Wurz is ahead. Corvette is pitting. There are anomalies for pit lane under these safety car porocedures. Pitting under green is better.
Wait at pot out to get the next group. This will be a two minute wait. We're back to green. It's sunny and dry. But there's standing water around. Now, all the cars a re split. Wurz is on his own planet. The #14 Porsche of Neel Jani is still trying to make up laps. Ooh! Another spin. It's the #52 Ferrari 458 Italia beached in the Ford chicane. This is the #52 RAM Racing Ferrari 458 Italia of Matt Griffin, Alvaro Parente, and Federico Leo.
One of the Aston Martin's pitted. If anyone has switched to wets, they'll be looking for water to cool the tires. Patrick Dempsey takes over the #77 Porsche 911 RSR on this pit stop. Patrick Dempsey shares with Patrick Long and Joe Foster. Watch out for the Porsche curves in the damp and in traffic. The #73 Corvette pits with Antonio Garcia at the controls. More storm cells might come by soon, after spending 53 minutes under yellow. One of the Porsche's is looking for water, or, maybe, the radio isn't working.
Andre Lotterer will stay on track, and, we've got another downpour on the back of the ciurcuit! The safety cars appear. Howard Blank spins the #62 Ferrari 458 Italia for AF Corse that he shares with French drivers Yannick Mallegol and Jean-Marc Bachelier. We've got two LMP2 cars that have crashed. The #41 and #48 cars were hooked together and went into the wall. Karun Chandhok was driving, a former Formula One driver.
The #41 Greaves Motorsports Zytek Nissan shared by three Brits. Michael Munemann, Alessandro Latif, and James Winslow. The #48 machine, is shared by Nathanael Berthon of France, Rodolfo Gonzalez of Venezuela, and the aforementioned, Karun Chandhok, hailing from India. The point of grooves in a rain tire, is so the car doesn't lift off the ground. A thin film of water on a slick tire, can spin a car out. It's the same for someone who is trying to move on a wet floor with tennis shoes on. Toyota, Audi, and Porsche run 1-2-3 right now.
Moments ago, the #2 Audi pitted. Benoit Treluyer takes over the car, and some loose bodywork was fixed. There's a lot of conflict, though, because of the movable bodywork on the Porsche. Audi, Porsche, and Toyota, also had flexible floors, and the A.C.O. said, "no, no, no. You can't use that system." The #41 and #48 P2 cars are still having issues, while the team is actually servicing the #48 at the moment. It's in for a lengthy repair. This is a time now, when you can fix the car before you are in play for the rest of the race.
Murphy Prototypes has a lot of broken suspension parts to deal with. We are now back to green flag racing. The #7 Toyota was held at pit out waiting for the safety cars. Ah. Another spin for the #47 car. It's slick, as the #67 Porsche spins. That's the #67 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 911 RSR of Erik Maris, Jean-Marc Merlin, and Eric Helary, all Frenchmen. Porsche, Toyota, Audi. Portsche leads Le Mans for the first time in 16 years. Timo Bernhard drives the leading car.
Stephane Sarrazin chases the Porsche as yours truly is having some trouble with the satellite TV signal. Stay tuned, and the coverage during this next hour might be a shade intermittent. We see Porsche, Toyota, and Audi, continuing to lead. We're coming up to the end of four hours, and the start of hour five. 38 laps have been run. Car #33 for OAK Racing is running well. This is the all Chinese squad of David Cheng, Ho-Pin Tung, and Adderly Fong. Christian Klien, has pitted the #43 Morgan Judd he shares with Swiss driver Gary Hirsch, and Frenchman Romain Brandela. This car is under the Newblood by Morand Racing banner.
Oh no. Car #43 is out of this one, folks. Their race, is run. Correction. Sorry for the heart attack, folks. It could be that #43 is just released from the pits. The car is not abandoned, which is French, for retired. Nicolas Prost is up to fifth in one of the Rebellion LMP1-L machines. The Porsche blows by one of the GT LM Corvette C7R's. The #33 Ligier went off at Indianapolis. Alpine and Toyota have both been into a few excursions it seems. Running on the French feed right now, folks. Satellite signal is off, due to rain.
Right now, the race continues. The #1 Audi runs fourth overall while Toyota #7 leads. #7 is pitting, changing to rain tires. Brendon Hartley is at the controls of the #20 Porsche. Pit stop done and dusted for Toyota. Since 1960, there's been at least one Corvette at Le Mans, and now, they've got their new car, after winning a number of races in the past. The last two races have been won, by Corvette in the GT LM class in Tudor Championship competition.
Michel Frey is now leading LMP2. This is the #34 Race Performance Oreca Judd with Swiss driver Michel Frey, Frenchman Frank Mailleux, and Jon Lancaster of England. Now, we see a real battle and Corvette has overtaken the factory GTE Pro Porsche. Is Jorg Bergmeister having trouble? Marco Holzer is the sister car is running consistent 3:58 lap times. Car #26 pits. The G Drive Oreca Nissan being driven by Roman Rusinov of Russia, and French drivers Olivier Pla and Julien Canal. The Dempsey Racing Porsche pits with Patrick Dempsey taking over from Patrick Long.
Porsche leads, with the #20 out front. Brendon Hartley at the controls. He's wickedly fast, and actually got a good ride in prototypes last year, while also testing Formula One cars. He came from New Zealand to race Formula 3. Murphy Prototypes and Starworks picked him up as a young phenom, and he's now, a Porsche factory driver. Brendon Hartley has a wild hairdo. So does Jordan Taylor, and Nicky Thiim. As for yours truly, no mullet for me. The Corvette's have a stiffer chassis, and the components were moved down to lower the center of gravity. Plus, the wicker bill was taken off the car because of the high speeds.
Alex Brundle pits the #35 OAK Racing Ligier JS P2 Nissan he shares with Jann Mardenborough and Mark Shulzhitsky. Plus, we should give a shout out to the team mates of young Matt McMurry. Driving with him in the #42 Caterham Racing Zytek Nissan are Chris Dyson and Tom Kimber-Smith from England, who is a former Le Mans class winner. Pit stops are coming soon. Porsche, Toyota, Audi, 1-2-3. The #46 Thiriet By TDS Racing entry pits for fuel. This is another Ligier JS P2. This is another French team with Pierre Thiriet, Ludovic Badey, and Tristan Gommendy.
Watch out for the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia, too. This car is sorted, and reliable. The driver's strength is solid. Former F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella of Italy, shares with countryman Gianmaria Bruni, and Toni Vilander from Finland. Michel Frey leaves the pits and still leads LMP2 as Bruno Senna passes. He's driving the #97 Aston Martin Vantage. Senna shares with Stefan Mucke and Darren Turner. The #1 Audi pits for fuel and dos not change tires. The #14 Porsche 919 Hybrid is now piting. Marc Lieb is in the car now.
As far as fuel tanks, a company called ATL builds the bulk of them for each team. But for each team, the fuel tanks are all designed differently. The Ferrari is stopped on track. Now, this is the car with Alvaro Parente behind the wheel. It's the #52 RAM Racing Ferrari 458 Italia. A corner worker ran across the track, which is something we won't see in the states. There was another slow zone/local yellow. Now, both the Audi and the Toyota, pit. Benoit Treluyer is driving the #2 Audi at the moment. The prototype cars can now run an adjustable aerodynamic device, as we see Corvette and Porsche pit in LM GTE Pro. Two factory teams of course.
Stephane Sarrazin has taken over the lead for Toyota, and now, at this stage, all the teams are double stinting their tires. Fuel only for the #7 Toyota. One of the factory LM GTE Pro Porsche's pits. This is the #92 Porsche of Marco Holzer, Frederic Makowiecki, and Richard Lietz. The #57 Krohn Racing Ferrari 458 Italia slides in the second chicane on the Mulsanne straight, but keeps going. Tracy Krohn pits the #57 Ferrari, handing over to Nic Jonsson. Ben Collins is the third driver, who is "The Stig" on the BBC show Top Gear. They probably would have called Andrea Bertolini. But, Bertolini isn't running at Le Mans. Just in the Tudor Championship.
Another driver to keep an eye on is Archie Hamilton. He's driving the RAM Racing Ferrari #53 Ferrari. We watch Gary Hirsch battling Julien Canal, for LMP2 honors. Archie Hamilton's dad Duncan Hamilton, won Le Mans in 1953, with Tony Rolt, in a Jaguar C Type. Now, there's a problem with the #52 team car with RAM Racing, as one of the electrical boxes, shorted out. It was a telemetry box, and the trouble is, it was the A.C.O. mandated telemetry recorder. That's not good. Brendon Hartley pits the #20 Porsche for fuel and tires.
The #2 Audi leads. The Audi and the Toyota have fully electric launch control, so they sound like golf carts leaving the pits. The other great safety feature is a sensor in the wheel rims to monitor tire pressure for safety. But, it doesn't work for a blown tire. Marco Holzer, Jorg Bergmeister, and Bruno Senna, all battle in LM GTE Pro. David Heinemeier-Hanson is also in this scrap. Patrick Dempsey brings the #77 Porsche into pit lane. Bruno Senna has run really well with the Gulf Aston Martin.
Also, the #36 Alpine Oreca Nissan pits. Renault and Nissan have collaborated. They are using the Alpine and Caterham names. It's run by Signatech. Sharing the car are Frenchmen Paul Loup-Chatin, and Nelson Panciatici, as well as Oliver Webb from England. In P2, you've got a really close race between the Oreca's, the Morgan's, and the Alpine. Now, Lucas di Grassi has passed Brendon Hartley. Brendon Hartley has not been able to challeng Lucas di Grassi.
Something might be wrong with the Porsche. One system for regenerating power is off the turbo and the other, is off the electric motor. They can't chatge the hybrid system as much. If you lose the charge, you'll cook the brakes, as we saw with the Mercedes Formula One cars in Canada last weekend, if you follow my other blog at chicaneman.wordpress.com, where I cover open wheel and other forms of racing outside of sports cars.
Jorg Bergmeister and Marco Holzer are battling for the lead in LM GTE Pro. The #72 Ferrari is holding up the factory Porsche's. But he has a battle of his own in LM GTE Am. Viktor Shaitar, running in the Ferrari, locked up and ran wide in the Mulsanne corner. Shaitar was thinking, "uh oh. I gotta get out of here!" Stephane Sarrazin is running well. Now, these three cars, all run totally different systems. Toyota uses a super capacitor. Audi uses a flywheel. Porsche, uses a battery.
The #74 Corvette is now in pit lane. Mark Webber will get back out there, and race a sports car at Le Mans for the first time in 16 years. Porsche is using a new fuel meter unit. There is a third party company that provides the fuel meters and it's driving the manufacturer's nuts. Jordan Taylor is running real well. He's fifth in class right now. The safety car issues, and the slow zones are also confusing. The slow zones can't be mitigated. Jan Charouz runs through the gravel in Mulsanne. Calamity corner.
Jorg Bergmeister is now pitting the #91 Porsche 911 RSR. The #73 Corvette and the #76 IMSA Matmut Porsche are also in the pits. Raymond Narac, Nicolas Armindo, and David Hallyday, are driving. The leading Toyota is working lap 76. More storming. Let's go back to the online streaming at 24hlemans.com. A Porsche is now in pit lane. We are following the #20 Porsche. The Toyota has a lap advantage over the rest of it's competition right now.
Marco Bonanomi says he was touched by the Toyota, caught the car, and then, he saw the Ferrari come right behind him before slamming into the wall. Sam Bird, of England, of course, was in the Ferrari, in his first Le Mans. Romain Brandela seems to have gone off the road someplace. The #13 Rebellion is now in the garage, too. This could be curtains for this car, as the Toyota V8 is not working. However, this is a different motor than the factory cars. It's the V8 used in Super GT. But, it seems that they've dropped a cylinder.
This is a shame for Dominik Kraihamer, as well as GP2 champion Fabio Leimer, and Andrea Belicchi. We're getting close to the end of the sixth hour. Benoit Treluyer is at the wheel of the #2 Audi. Toyota pits as the #2 comes into the pits. Treluyer will get out of the car, as Marcel Fassler will take over. Scratch that. Treluyer will continue and go for a fourth stint on the tires. Audi does not have the speed right now with their #2 machine. Keep the pressure on, and do a quadruple stint. That's a long time. Stephane Sarrazin and Toyota continue to lead.
The sun is setting at Le Mans now. You never know when a shower will blow through. We'll have oh, eight hours of darkness ahead at Le Mans which isn't as much as the 24 Hours of Daytona. But, it's still enough. It's a full night's sleep. Giancarlo Fisichella chases Bruno Senna, who in turn, is chasing Richard Westbrook. The lap times are close in LM GTE Pro. Oh. The #66 Ferrari for JMW Motorsports spins at Arnage. That's Spencer Pumpelly of the United States, a familiar name to Tudor Championship fans, sharing with his Tudor Championship team mate Seth Neiman, and Abdul Aziz Al-Faisal of the UAE.
Kazuki Nakajima passes the Corvette. Now, it's time, to move on to another entry, and post this one, folks. There's a long way to go.
No comments:
Post a Comment