Will the teams change tires? What will the call be? Rain tires, or slicks? Thankfully, football did not take over the Fox Sports broadcast of this race, chaps. That's American, college football, which was being shown earlier. Michele Rugolo is interviewed, and says the team can't work on the cars now that there's a red flag. In replay, we see Timo Bernhard plowing through the gravel in the Porsche 919 and he barely missses the Ferrari! Holy cow! Edoardo Freitas, race director, says, "race will be resumed behind the safety car at 19:25."
19:25 = 7:25 P.M. So, we have to reshuffle the order, and will race in another 13 minutes, chaps. There's more to come. Rugolo, is sharing his #81 GTE Am class AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia with Stephen Wyatt and Andrea Bertolini. Two Italians, and a New Zealander. James Rossiter explains that the gearbox had to be replaced earlier this afternoon, in the Lotus T129 AER he shares with Christophe Bouchut and Lucas Auer.
It is now starting to get dark. Tom Kristensen is going to drive the Audi on wet tires, as Loic Duval was in the car before, but, will have new tires. Five minutes until we resume. It's getting dark in Austin, Texas. Please, start your engines. They are running full wet tires, everyone is. The track is still cold. They are seeking out channels of water on the track. Look for anything shiny. If it's shiny, it's slick. That gives you asymmetrical grip. We are resuming the race. Here we go. Look at the colored paint.
This stuff is real slick. Red looks like black. It's hard to see, especially in a prototype. There are curbs that can break the chassis. Don't hit them. Be very careful. The floodlights are very far from the track because it's a Formula One track. Again, it's a lot lighter on camera, than it is. It's a lot darker on the road. Look out for what you'll do for brake bias. There's no chance for a wave by. One more lap behind the safety car.
The Corvette #65 is running well in LM GTE Pro. Tommy Milner, Ricky Taylor, and Jordan Taylor, have to be careful to adjust their routine. The earlier event in the Tudor Championship, is different. Nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen is leading the race in the #1 Audi R18 eTron Quattro right now. The #14 and #20 Porsche 919 hybrids have intermediate tires, and not full wets. There was a wreck when the rain came. The Audi's and the #14 Porsche 919 are the only cars on the lead lap. We've had three months since Le Mans.
So, drivers need to get back into thir rhythm. We're ready to race. But, the safety car is still out there. It's an Audi R8. The spray will be put out by the louvers in the tops of the fenders on these prototype machines. Water, darkness, and track lighting that isn't the best. It's going to be a wild one to the finish. Open a cold beverage, and get ready for some wild racing. Benoit Treluyer and Tom Kristensen are 1-2 for Audi, with Neel Jani, third, in the Porsche. Toyota is fourth. In GT, it's Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Porsche.
One more lap behind the safety car, now. Settle down. Watch out for the painted lines on the road. It's very humid, too. Heat and fatigue will be an issue, evn though this is a six hour race. Everyone has to do their allotted driving time, whoever was in the car, during the red flag. It's different between Pro and Pro Am categories. The pace is picking up. Safety car in this lap! Green flag! Benoit Treluyer leads, and here comes Kristensen.
The Toyota tries taking a lap back. These corners are so fast! The drivers haven't driven in these conditions for 25 minutes. Nicolas Lapierre passes Kirstensen, and now, has to pass Benoit Treluyer. Neel Jani has sunk down the order in the #14 Porsche 919 hybrid. Through turn twelve, we see Timo Bernhard trying to make a pass. With the hybrid cars, you are controlling 850 to 1,000 horsepower. The ESM HPD open prototype is pushing hard.
Darren Turner, Toni Vilander, and Jorg Bergmeister run 1-2-3 in LM GTE Pro. Vilander and Gianmaria Bruni are passed by Jorg Bergmeister. We need to recap the first few hours. Wow. There's more argy bargy. That's Victor Shaitar in the #37 leading SMP Racing P2 car, an Oreca 03 Nissan.
Patrick Pilet passes Toni Vilander into the left hand sweeper that goes downhill. Pilet tries the over/under. Vilander was out on the paint for a second. Yikes! Push, push, push. This is a very wide track at Circuit of the Americas. Benoit Treluyer continues to lead this race. Patrick Pilet slides by Jorg Bergmeister. Team mates, going at it, hammer and tongs. They are chasing the Aston Martin with Darren Turner at the controls.
Timo Bernhard pits the #20 Porsche for rain tires. Change the nose for a different downforce setting. Lucas di Grassi will take over the #1 Audi R18 eTron Quattro, soon. Jorg Bergmeister tries not to run into the third place P2 car which is the #47 KCMG Oreca Nissan. Matthew Howson at the controls. He shares with Richard Bradley of England, and Tsugo Matsuda of Japan. Scott Sharp is defending against Romain Rusinov. It's the HPD open cockpit car, and the G Drive Ligier JS P2 Nissan coupe.
Scott Sharp is pushing. The Ligier is very effective with handling and top speed. Romain Rusinov is a quick shoe. Can Scott Sharp take the fight, to Rusinov? Lead change at halfway! Neel Jani passes. Take a little off your lap time. There is an awareness among the top prototype drivers about this hybrid technology and regenerating the power back into the car. The top cars, regenerate the energy similarly, and yet, differently. Toyota and Porsche from the front. Audi, from both the front, and the rear.
The GT cars have such a high level of technology, that a private team, cannot run it efficiently. The GTE Pro battle is down to a second and a half. Patrick Pilet has caught Darren Turner. Pilet sharing with Frederic Makowiecki. Here comes the Toyota TS040 of Mike Conway. Turner shares his Aston Martin with Stefan Mucke. It's been all humidity the last few days. It's going to be wet, because there's no wind in Austin, Texas.
Pilet is all over Turner, like a rash. The sheen makes it slippery. Pilet is hustling Turner right now.
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