We begin hour three, and thus, will soon be halfway through the 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas. Remember, there is no real safety car. Ed Brown got turn 20 totally wrong, hitting the curb and almost flipping. Team mate Scott Sharp is in for service. But, it's game over for Ed Brown and company. Maybe Ed Brown had trouble seeing the braking zone for the corner, in the setting sun here in Austin, Texas. The damage on that car, is massive, on the right rear corner. Yikes! Was there a right rear suspension issue?
Ride the brake, and get the car on boost, to charge the flywheel. We've seen this from a Toyota, and a Porsche. We have not had a full lap under full course yellow yet. Ed Brown lost the brakes on his Ligier Honda. The #2 Toyota is in the pits. Green flag. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Green flag. Go back to racing speed. We watch the #88 Porsche of Earl Bamber, pass one of the Ferrari's piloted by Andrea Bertolini. Big news from FIA WEC. There will be a second North American race. FIA World Endurance Championship could not get a date in South America. They will have a race at the Nurburgring in Germany, next year. It was thought, that wouldn't happen. Now, they will also race, in Mexico, next year.
Mark Webber's most recent pit stop is under investigation. Oliver Jarvis is pushing to catch Romain Dumas. Car #42 is in the pit lane. It is the Strakka Racing car, with Nick Leventis at the controls. In LMP2, the #47 KCMG car leads. We know there are new 2017 LMP2 regulations. Teams will have a similar motor, and similar chassis, to control costs. In LMP1, the FIA endurance commission is still working on how the three main makes can remain competitive. Ed Brown has been checked and released from the track medical center.
Good news. Three more races to go in this season, within a six week span. You will see updates on those races, on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog. Romain Dumas wonders why Oliver Jarvis was so close to him during the virtual safery car. Fred Makowiecki leads LM GTE Pro, with Richard Lietz at the wheel. Marco Seefried leads LM GTE Am in the #77 car. Oliver Jarvis runs a lap at 1:48.1. We see Porsche and Ferrari leading in LM GTE Pro. Richard Bradley still leads the Ligier, now driven, by Nelson Panciatici.
At COTA, there is no on-track lighting. So, drivers will have to use their headlights, and rely on them, much like at Le Mans. Porsche continues to dominate. The skies are darkening a little bit. Andrea Bertolini is catching Benny Simonsen. #47 pits from the LMP2 class lead. Matt Howson will take over the wheel. Three Porsche's lead and so does an Alpine, in the respective categories.
LMP1: #17 Porsche Team
LMP2: #47 KCMG
LM GTE Pro: #92 Porsche Team Manthey
LM GTE Am: #77 Dempsey - Proton Racing
We wonder when the last time a factory works Alpine raced in the U.S. Benny Simonsen is driving the #96 Aston Martin, and Andrea Bertolini, has passed. Benoit Treluyer pits the #7 Audi. Now, the #8 car is in. Oliver Jarvis is out, after a double stint. The Audi gets new tires. Have to check on the rotation of the pit stops, and who is now driving what car. We are now 84 laps (286 miles), into this race. It is now dark, and the headlights are on. Mark Webber still leads Romain Dumas. Porsche, Audi, Toyota. G Drive runs 1-2 in LMP2.
Ed Brown is fine, after his crash. He lost the brakes. They think it was a brake master cylinder that went down. A clean pass in LM GTE. Ricardo Gonzalez pits from second in LMP2. Oh! The #17 Porsche overshoots the pit. Mark Webber overshoots the pit, and if he were to reverse, he would be disqualified. They waved, and he missed it. Wow. Mark Webber is out of the car. Who taks over? It could be Timo Bernhard. It is.
#72 and #26 are being warned about abusing track limits. Nelson Panciatici has passed Scott Sharp. Bernhard takes the Porsche to the lead. On Webber's pit stop, his mistake came, as he could have been loosening his seat belts or disconnecting his radio. Major drama! Mike Conway has crashed the $2 Toyota! He tried pinching the steering, and when the 1,000 horsepower of the hybrid system kicked in, he lost control, and, ker-runch! Game over for Toyota.
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