Marino Franchitti tries to pass Fernando Rees. No dice. George Howard Chappel, who used to be with Dave Richards and Aston Martin, now is head cheese at Ford Europe. The #88 Dempsey Proton Racing Porsche pits. The car is driven by Khaled al-Qubaisi, Klaus Bachler, and David Heinemeier-Hanson. Heinemeier-Hanson is a good shoe. Meanwhile, the #43 car has really been running well. Benoit Treluyer pits, and Marcel Fassler, takes over. Lucas di Grassi set the fastest lap. But, the two best laps are averaged for the qualifying position. Lucas di Grassi had the best lap time in qualifying. Stephane Sarrazin pits from second overall.
Toyota won't win this race. But, they've got to be pleased with their performance. Mike Conway finishes the race, and is in. The stewards want to speak to the team manager of the #2 Porsche 919. These cars roll away from pit lane, on electric power, and barely make a sound. We are in that window, for the run to the flag, and into the last, oh, hour and 45 minutes of this race. So, this update, and a report on hour six before the finish are in progress. The #2 Porsche pits. Porsche may need one more stop, while Audi, will need two. Porsche went six minutes longer, on fuel, than Audi did.
Both Ford GT's run together at the moment in LM GTE Pro. The #2 Porsche 919 may have been off in the mud, someplace. Fox Sports lead commentator, Bob Varsha, mentions the car is indeed covered in mud. Benoit Treluyer has been experimenting with the hybrid boost, and if you are not on the brakes as long, you are not harvesting as much energy through the braking system. Major number crunching has to be going on at Porsche. Porsche has picked up talented drivers from the Red Bull Road to Formula 1. Neel Jani, was expected to go to Formula 1. Porsche, nabbed him, for their sports car effort.
Filipe Albuquerque is running well with the new Morand Racing Ligier Nissan. ESM has their Ligier Nissan in the lane, having completed a pit stop. They are ninth in class at the moment. Ferrari leads both LM GTE Am and LM GTE Pro. Only three times, has one marque swept classes in the GTE classes. We will see 60 cars at Le Mans this year. Absolutely amazing. We have an hour and 36 minutes to go in this race. The Manor Racing Oreca Nissan is in the garage and the Dempsey Racing Porsche was in the garage. Fassler and Jani are 13 seconds apart right now. Meanwhile, Mike Conway is coming back into the picture. He is a minute or so behind the Porsche's.
Matthias Lauda is now in the #97 Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Harry Tincknell is driving the Ford GT. Tincknell was part of the abandoned Nissan program, that was so promising, but delivered nothing. Thankfully, Tincknell and Olivier Pla, found a home at Ford Europe. Nissan dominates LMP2 with every car in the field running one of their motors. The maggots/Becketts complex, down Hangar straight, is wicked fast. Pippo Derani is chasing down Nathaniel Berthon. LMP2 cars are restricted on the number of tires they can use.
Drivers like Roberto Merhi and Vitaly Petrov, have made it to FIA WEC after not finding the right fit in Formula 1 or in DTM, the German touring car championship. Drivers in the LMP1 cars, don't blink, because if you do, you'll miss two corners. Marcel Fassler talks to Lena Gade on the radio, about changing tire compounds. Neel Jani tells his crew at Porsche, about the tire debris or "clag" he is picking up. The clock runs down, and the tension, ratchets up. Problems for G Drive in the pit lane at the moment.
Marcel Fassler leads over Neel Jani, and Mike Conway. Each of the top three teams, has had problems. Most of the teams have just one bullet left in the gun. Both Toyota's are still pounding around, but one, is walking wounded. Pippo Derani pitted for two tires, and fuel. There is no weak link in the chain at Audi. Plug in and play. Rotate who has to experience the pressure, of doing the closing stint. It used to be Andre Lotterer. Now, Marcel Fassler, is the closer. Marcel Fassler has pace. But, he is understeering right now, so the tire pressures need to be adjusted, or the compound needs to be changed.
The next round of pit stops will be telling. A couple LMP2 cars have been in for new noses, and Race Director Edoardo Freitas has warning drivers about exceeding track limits, or, not having working headlights. No word on the stewards inquiry for Neel Jani and Porsche. No further action? Hmmm. Aston Martin Racing won the ELMS race yesterday, in class. Again, stay tuned for highlights of that race, too. Gianmaria Bruni and James Calado are really working well right now. The Ferrari's are just plain fast. Nicki Thiim has taken over one of the Aston Martin's. It's the Dane Train, or was. Two Danes and a Brit. Nicki Thiim, Marco Sorensen, and Darren Turner.
An hour and seven minutes to go. Marcel Fassler pits the Audi. Porsche will need to pit, with 57 minutes remaining. Can Porsche go another ten minutes? Neel Jani cycles to the race lead, with traffic ahead. Marcel Fassler is back on track, in total book it mode. Porsche is also still fighting. How will things play out in the final hour? Keep a measured pace, more or less. Neel Jani is complaining about traffic. The team tells him, "keep pushing", which is all he can do, as these blokes fly through Maggots/Becketts/Chapel, and onto the Hangar straightaway.
Mike Conway is 58 seconds off the lead, and three seconds behind Marcel Fassler. Toyota is using the lithium ion battery system. The super capacitor and flywheel systems could not handle the energy. Car #43 is in the lane from the LMP2 lead. He too, will need a splash and dash. Filipe Albuquerque, at the wheel. Mike Conway pits. Marcel Fassler has the pressure relieved, for now.
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