Yours truly fell asleep and has missed part of this race. Trying to play catch up. ESM makes a pit stop. This team has been through three different types of chassis' this season. Oak Racing has helped the boys at ESM set up for this event. The #64 Corvette leads LM GTE Pro, until a stop for Jordan Taylor who has been in the car. This is for fuel and oil. One of the Ferrari's is going to retake the LM GTE Pro lead. It isn't uncommon to see a car having oil added from a pressurized bottle. The pit crews watch on telemetry to tell them they need more oil, if the pressure is dropping. This is a wonderful time of day, because the skies are certainly lightening up.
The crown in the road on the Mulsanne straight is not as noticeable as it was five or so years ago. One of the Nissan's is out. The door is closed, meaning it's game over. They were determined to run. But, they can't compete, at least not yet. They'll have to be back in the future to go against Audi, Porsche, and Toyota. It was a test session for Nissan. There's so much to learn with their V6 internal combustion motor. This race is the ultimate test. Rain is coming at Mulsanne. Earl Bamber and Porsche still lead this race.
Let's get an update, from the internet and the ACO Official 24 Hours of Le Mans Facebook page. The #18 Porsche 919 Hybrid has been leading as of late. KCMG leads LMP2. The #99 and #98 Aston Martin V8 Vantages lead both the GTE classes. Audi #9 pits. Filipe Albuquerque is still at the wheel of it. Ooh. Some P2 cars and a GTE car get caught together in Tetre Rouge. That's Karun Chandhok in the #48 Murphy Prototypes machine. The #47 Oreca Nissan pitted. The #19 Porsche has continued to lead this race.
Trying to catch up with the good 45 minutes that was missed while I was napping. Filipe Albuquerque ran 3:17, with other cars (Audi and Porsche) at 3:19. Toyota is some five seconds off, at 3:22. The technology march is moving forward at a tremendous clip. The #47 of Matthew Howson has led from the get go. More pit action it looks like. Tire technicians scrape the tires to see if there's temperature in them.
We see battles in the GTE class. It's Ferrari vs. Porsche in LM GTE Pro and LM GTE Am. Richard Lietz is clipping the curbs at Tetre Rouge. Aston Martin is in the lane now. We see the one remaining factory Corvette and the one remaining factory Porsche. The Corvette is good on brake rotors and brake pads, and also, on oil. Jordan Taylor runs second in class behind Giancarlo Fisichella. The race continues, with eight hours, 43 minutes remaining. We're grasping at straws, and it's almost back to square one. The #7 Audi now leads. Nico Hulkenberg takes over from Earl Bamber in the #19 Porsche.
The only hiccups in these last couple hours have been with the #8 Audi and the #18 Porsche. The #53 Viper continues to run really well in LM GTE Am. Ben Keating is developing as a driver. The #40 Krohn Racing Ligier JS P2 Judd is in the lane. This race, is the one you want to win, and it's the biggest commitment. Alex Wurz has two wins here, thirteen years apart. Now, it has to be a question, about Marc Gene, who was announced for Nissan, not being here.
LMP2 is really competitive, and the #47 car is continuing to lead. We also watch Sam Bird in the #26 G Drive entry, second in class. We are coming up on fifteen and a half hours into this race. Ladies and gentlemen, now, yours truly, will sleep. We'll see you, at 2:30 A.M. Central Time, for more action, and the run, to the race's conclusion, here at Le Mans.
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