A big hit for one of the Protothype cars and also, a fire for one of the Ferrari's, (the JMW Ferrari). Porsche continues to lead. But, Audi continues to take the fight to the leaders. It's still Stuttgart vs. Ingolstadt. Aston Martin leads LM GTE Pro right now. In LM GTE Am, we have the SMP Ferrari ahead. The TI Automotive SRT Viper is fifth in GTE Am right now. That's Jeroen Bleekemolen, Marc Miller, and Ben Keating. We're getting bonus coverage on Fox Sports 1 right now. Everyone, tune in. The leading SMP car is the #72 entry of Viktor Shaitar, Aleksey Basov, and Andrea Bertolini. Two Russian drivers, and an Italian.
We are coming up on 10:00 P.M. Eastern Time (9:00 P.M. Central Time). We have two hours to sunrise here, folks. Then, we have a long, long way from 6:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. Eight or nine hours to go. This race is in it's sweet spot. We're watching the lap times fall. In the top five in LM GTE Am, we have two American teams. Scuderia Corsa, and, Riley Motorsport/TI Automotive. Drivers who have competed here just a few times, take a long time to find a sweet spot with the circuit. These cars are flying through the Porsche Curves right now, and the Prototypes are flying through this section. Porsche is in the lane, right now. Thirteen laps is the interval.
Fuel only for the Porsche, with Earl Bamber at the controls. Cars #17 and #18 are still in this thing, but they've had their issues. Good morning... early morning... in France. Remember, you cannot put tires on, until after you fuel the car. We see the #64 Corvette C-7-R- chasing the #99 Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Tommy Milner driving the Corvette. Richie Stanaway is the pilot of the Aston Martin now. People are beginning to double stint their tires. The drivers run two or three stints, and the tires will begin to degrade over time.
Anything can happen in endurance racing, whether it's Daytona, Sebring, here, Spa Francorchamps, or the Nurburgring. Scuderia Corsa has also partnered with the pit crew from Kessel Racing in Europe. The cars fly down the Mulsanne Straight. Three drivers per car, of course. Crew members get occasional shuteye when they can. But, they have to be up and at 'em when the cars pit. If you want better fuel mileage, you can flip a switch, and that will change your fuel map. When the chief mechanic says, "burn more fuel", flip the switch, and turn up the wick.
Porsche continues to lead Le Mans. We are just past halfway, with eleven hours, still to run here at Circuit de la Sarthe. Audi is in the lane. Benoit Treluyer pits car #7. These guys are strong and consistent. This was another 13 lap stint, and Treluyer will stay in the car. A fuel only stop for Audi. These cars combining their engines and their energy systems, they have close to 1,000 horsepower.
Oh no. Another pit fire. This is the #61 AF Corse Ferrari. One of the Nissan's is in the garage, too. Not sure which number. The Nissan hybrid system isn't working. The #61 fire is out. This is the #61 AF Corse entry, with Italians Matteo Cressoni, and Raffaele Giammaria, along with American Peter Ashley Mann. There's a slow car, and it's the #27 SMP Racing Prototype, as we also see the #77 Dempsey Racing Porsche 911 RSR on pit lane. Dempsey, Long, and Seefried. More excitement, coming your way, as we have bonus coverage at Le Mans.
Tommy Milner continues to chase the red and yellow #99 Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Prototype traffic gives Richie Stanaway an advantage. The gap widens between 9/10ths of a second to three seconds. We still have ten and a half hours left in this race, folks. Stay focused on the big picture. Go through the paces. Go through the motions, even though you are racing. The #42 Strakka Racing car of Jonny Kane pits. Kane shares the Dome Strakka Nissan with Nick Leventis and Danny Watts as mentioned before.
We're going to step away briefly, and be back shortly, for more racing.
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