We are halfway home, in the 6 Hours of Spa. Again, we continue winding through the green hills of the Ardennes Forest. Nestled between Spa, and Francorchamps, is a track that no driver would pass up a chance to race at. This race has been dramatic. Toyota #5 leads this race with Sebastien Buemi at the controls. The #1 Porsche had a drive line failure. Porsche dominated qualifying. But they have had their hands full. Some of the factory teams have had issues today. The two AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE's have been dominating GTE Pro. Gianmaria Bruni, and James Calado, are teamed up here, in the "Jimmy/Jimmy" car. Chris Cumming is at the wheel of the #31 ESM Ligier Honda, and he is battling with Morand Racing and car #43 with Bruno Senna at the wheel. Senna runs wide.
Cumming hits pit lane, and will have a driver change. In goes Ryan Dalziel. Cumming is bronze level driver. The strength of this series is such that 53 drivers are platinum rated. Kamui Kobayashi is piling the pressure on the Audi of Loic Duval. Kobayashi has gone around Duval. Sebastien Buemi in the sister Toyota is going for it, too. They run down to Eau Rouge. Correction. Anthony Davidson is now in the Toyota. He leads. Kamui Kobayashi is in the sister car #6. Toyota were champions in 2014. Last year, they had a horrible year. But now, they are coming back into the picture.
They have switched to a twin turbo V6 and a battery. Here are the highlights. 56,000 fans are here, watching, at Spa. Porsche on the front row. Roberto Merhi in th seco0nd Manor LMP2 car spun. Marc Lieb had trouble with the hybrid system, as Toyota and Audi engaged in a see saw battle. A real ding dong. Lucas di Grassi goes off and on passing Conway. Sebastien Buemi runs well as the Ford GT tangles with a GTE Am car, and Conway slams into Vitaly Petrov. Sebastien Buemi locked the brakes with no grip on his tires.
Side by side through Eau Rouge, the Porsche and the Toyota, battled. Then, the #1 Porsche and a bunch of LMP2 cars had punctures and fuel issues, asNicky Thiim crashed and flipped into the tire wall in the #97 Aston Martin V8 Vantage. In GTE Pro, the #51 Ferrari 488 GTE leads as, wow, nthe Signatech Alpine is spun out, by one of the Audi's. Uh oh. Someone, is dripping fluid. It's the Strakka Racing car, according to communication in the Toyota as a driver is prepping for a stint in the Alpine.
Alpine, will have a big cheering section, in the next race. We go, to the crown jewel, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in six weeks. An Audi and the #6 Toyota both have damage. #6 slams into an LMP2 car. Marcel Fassler in the #7 Audi slams into the #36 SignaTech Alpine of Gustavo Menezes. Manor is running very well in LMP2 after not having the best time in Formula 1. Manor had hoped to race at Le Mans. Simon Dolan, smashed into Nicky Thiim. Jake Dennis, is a young rookie at 20 years old, who is in his first race, and F1 refugee Giedo van der Garde is also racing here.
Work continues on the #6 Toyota in the garage. All this activity, has to have protocol. It nhas to be rehearsed, or it's a total mess. Matthias Lauda, shares his #97 Aston Martin V8 Vantage with Paul Dalla Lana and Pedro Lamy. Dalla Lana, will take over. Their main competition is the Ferrari #83 with Emmanuelle Collard at the controls. Back time this race, for the last two hours and forty minutes or so. Eliminate the need for a splash of fuel. Stephane Sarrazin takes over one of the Toyota's. He runs in rallying and in Formula E as well. Sarrazin ran in the United States for a while, too.
Loic Duval runs second in the #8 Audi R18. He says, "be ready for a bad stint" over the radio. So obviously, the tire performance is off. Tire troubles for Toyota as well. Davidson is committed, dealing with traffic. Toyota is hungry, and they want it. They want success, and maybe, a win, here at Spa, where tires are the big deal. Lots of late nights between here, and Le Mans. The #6 Toyota is back in the garage as the sister car still leads this race by a minute an a half over the second placed Audi.
Slow down, and stay off the curbs. ESM is slow with the #31 Ligier Honda. The #44 of Tor Graves leads Gustavo Menezes in LMP2. Two Nissan powered racers, on Dunlop tires. The lead LMP2 car is an Oreca chassis. The Alpine, follows. But both, are Oreca 05 chassis's. One, is re-branded as an Alpine. Light is diffusing in the sky. Cloud cover builds around the fabulous Spa Francorchamps circuit. Three and a half hours now into the race. Just a moment ago, the #13 Revekkuibm soubsm with Dominik Kraihamer at the wheel.
Kraihamer got turned around by another of the Prototypes. The second Toyota is out of contention, but the #5 car with Anthony Davidson, still leads. We watch a battle in LMP2 as someone almost misses pit lane. Maurizio Mediani in the #27 SMP Racing BR01 Nissan. The #51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE leads LM GTE Pro. James Calado driving. Stefan Mucke in the Ford GT is next. Ford looks for their second win, after winning in WeatherTech Championship competition last weekend at a race, you will hear about, when yours truly, has a chance, to blog it, from a race replay.
Oliver Jarvis will get into the #8 Audi R18 as Toyota #5 pits for service and Kamui Kobayashi will get into the car. He did not race here last year, after a heavy crash ruled him injured and unfit to race. Two hours and 24 minutes left in the race. Total cloud cover, but no rain expected. First and second are a lap or so apart. Neel Jani and Porsche are up to third. Maybe they've gotten a little hybrid drive back. Score as many points as possible, as we continue to go through this nine round series.
Porsche has to bring it home for some points. Work continues on the #6 Toyota. The #5 Toyota continues to lead as #6 is being fixed. Car #35 had a penalty for too many air wrenches over the pit wall for changing tires. That's an odd penalty. Bright sunshine appears at the start/finish line. It was predicted to rain a bit. Thankfully, the weather at Spa, has been lovely. We will have more action for you, as we are well into the second half of the 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps. Problems for Manor #44. He's got a locked up brake, and braking issues all around, with tons of brake dust, and overly wearing down the front brakes.
Porsche #1 with Mark Webber at the wheel, is out of the garage, in the lane, and back on the track. MarkWebber is 35 laps down to the next car in class, the #6 Toyota TS050 of Stephane Sarrazin. #44
has spun, due to brake issues in the Bruxelles Corner. Never waste a lap even if your car is not in contention for the race. Any opportunity to try anything, is time well spent. The two Ford GT's are in pit lane. Stefan Mucke in #66 and Harry Tincknell in #67. Tor Graves brings the #44 Manor Oreca Nissan.
Brake fluid is boiling on the #44 car. James Calado leads LM GTE Pro at the wheel of the #51 Ferrari 488 GTE for AF Corse. Manor is giving their car a once over. You have to make six hours here, otherwise how will you do 24 at Le Mans in six weeks? The #12 Rebellion R One is running fourth with it's sister car, fifth at the moment. The Kemmel straightaway is the only point where you can relax at Spa, as a driver. More than two hours, still remain, in this race. Matteo Tuscher has taken over from Dominik Kraihamer.
Pit stop time in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari. These blokes may need a splash and dash towards the end of the race. Save fuel immediately. Don't wait. Sam Bird, sits in pit lane and Gianmaria Bruni has likely pitted already. We are at 6:30 P.M. local time in Spa right now. This place is a motorsports history mecca, and also, WWII. history. Ferrari runs 1-2 in LM GTE Pro and Aston Martin leads LM GTE Am. Flawless run for Pedro Lamy, Matthias Lauda, and Paul Dalla Lana. The Alpine pits, and is an awesome looking race car. How about 60 cars at Le Mans this year. For so many years, the LMP2 winner was last man standing.
Chip Ganassi raced at Spa in 1980 and Ganassi drove with Johnny Dumfries and Mike Thackwell in a Sauber Mercedes. Dumfries won with Andy Wallace and Jan Lammers at Jaguar. The Earl of Dumfries, was a great racing driver. We've seen serious argy bargy and some teams tearing their hair out so far, here at Spa. Thy are pushing to the limit. Oh dear! Smoke out of the race leading Toyota, which is a lap up on the Audi of Oliver Jarvis. Anthony Davidson is mortified, that Kazuki Nakajima is having issues.
Smoke, definitely, from the Toyota. The V6 hybrid, is getting sick. The mechanics are ready to get at this car when it comes to the pit lane. Oliver Jarvis is set to assume the race lead here. Neel Jani in the Porsche will be up to second and Rebellion in the non hybrid class, will move to the final step on the podium. Ford looks for success as they head to Le Mans, and right now, Harry Tincknell is delivering, as we race from Bruxelles to Pouhon. Olivier Pla is another successful Ford driver. But, Ford is having throttle problems at the moment.
Correction, it is a turbo issue, not throttle. This is the first turbo issue for any of the Ford's in either the U.S. or Europe. There could be Toyota issues with their turbo. Ford is going to test at Watkins Glen and Road America, to test, before Le Mans. All hands on deck. Porsche lost their hybrid drive earlier in the race, and now, they are back to second. Amazing. The #13 Rebellion car still has Matteo Tuscher, at the wheel. Both Toyota's have had engine issues. Kazuki Nakajima didn't see anything, but felt power loss, and the crew saw oil, leaking from the motor. Game over for both Toyota's.
Rebellion Racing is pitting now. We are getting ready for Le Mans. Could there be an upset? LMP1 Hybrid only has two bullets in each gun this year. The #13 Rebellion pits. Ferrari runs 2:18 while Ford runs 2:19 in LM GTE Pro. An hour and a half or so, remain in this race as the #2 Porsche has pitted for a driver change, with Romain Dumas taking over. Oliver Jarvis now pits in the #8 Audi R18. We watch Richard Lietz and Richie Stanaway battle in LM GTE Pro. Car #83 pits from the LM GTE Am lead as Rui Aguas switches over and will let Emmanuelle Collard, finish the race. It is tough to get into the car because of the high bolstered race seats and the shape of the doors, as the Aston Martin thunders through the Ardennes Forest.
The Pro class Aston Martin, had a 30 kilogram weight brake. The Larbre Competition Corvette boys have struggled a little bit. David Heinemeier Hanson, is racing with one of the Porsche's. The #1 Porsche hits pit lane from 33rd place. Drivers sit low in the car for center of gravity and hight front fenders don't all the driver's to nse as well through a small windshield. This car is a comprehensive evolution of the 2015 Porsche 919 Hybrid. The #35 car is pitting.
They will need one more stop. One hour and 24 minutes, still to go here at Spa. ESM has pitted and so has Ford with the #66 car. Pippo Derani is in the #31 car and Ford pitted car #67. Marino Franchitti is now at the wheel. An hour and tend minutes now remain in the Spa 6 Hours. Oh dear! The #66 Ford has crashed, huge, in Radillon! Oh my! That's a monster wreck. Stefan Mucke, loses a tire, and this is without doubt, a safety car situation. We need a replay. A piece of bodywork flies off the car, the left rear tire is loaded, something lets go, and Stefan Mucke is a passenger.
This safety car period, will shake things up with the pit strategy. Harry Tincknell and Andy Priaulx look on. Mucke had a piece of bodywork let go, not a tire. Stefan Mucke is in some pain. But, he'll be fine. Lots of fluid to clean up, either from the car, or water that is filled in with the tires. That was a bad crash. But, again, Stefan Mucke, will be fine. An eye on the race clock, tells us there is merely an hour remaining to settle this one, the prelude, to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in six weeks.
We remain behind the safety car. As we look at Mucke's wreck again, the bodywork (the engine cover), flies off the car. It could have been a flat tire and a sudden loss of grip at a very hight speed part of the course. 140 miles an hour in a GT car. Mucke has an injured leg, but that is all. A few other cars are having issues. It looks like SMP Racing is the team having a few problems. Here are the highlights.
Drivers were ready to go, and when they did, it was all Porsche. Brendon Hartley takes off, and a huge battle into turn one in LMP2 with Ropbrto Merhi in the Manor, and more damage to other cars. Audi and Toyota began to battle. Mike Conway and Benoit Treluyer battled, and so did Lucas di Grassi and Sebastien Buemi. Mark Webber had trouble. Nicky Thiim flipped his Aston Martin. Marcel Fassler in the Audi crashes into the the Alpine. The Manor team has also been in the wars today. Then, heartbreak for Toyota. Ka-blammo! goes the motor.
Both Toyota's had engine troubles, and of course, we saw Stefan Mucke's monster wreck which may have likely been caused, by a cut tire. We remain behind the safety car, with 51 minutes remaining. Audi, G Drive, AF Corse, and Aston Martin, lead the classes. Marino Franchitti has pitted, and is fourth in LM GTE Pro. Nicolas Lapierre is leading LMP for Alpine, not G Drive. Spa as a circuit does not have as much grip as it has, in past years, for the sports cars, when they come here. The #66 Ford GT is hbeing craned away.
There's oil dry all ovr the road. Oliver Jarvis will stay in the Audi as more issues occur for the Larbre Competition Chevrolet Corvette C-7-R-. Pierre Ragues is in pit lane, second or so in LM GTE Am. Oh dear. The race leading Audi is now in the garage, and they are now back on track. They will likely retain the race lead. Menezes is originally from Colombia. The #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Romain Dumas comes out of pit lane. Lots of cars are running over the oil dry, spewing it everywhere.
Brendon Hartley has not completed the maximum percentage of the race distance of the winner. They may not be able to score points. Twelve points will be massive in the championship, as we are now back to green. The shadows lengthen here at Spa with 42 minutes left. Pippo Derani battles Filipe Albuquerque. We were under the safety car for 25 minutes and have yet to hear an update on Stefan Mucke after his possible injury. Filipe Albuquerque and Rene Rast, again, are on loan from Audi, since they cannot have a third car for Le Mans like last year for the factory LMP1 Hybrid teams.
Oliver Jarvis is back on track as mentioned. It was a freebie to get more crew members to check the car before the restart. Jarvis had a three lap lead and now has dropped to two laps. Pippo Derani and Filipe Albuquerque were only two tenths apart. The #5 Toyota forlornly sits in the garage. No more racing today for the Toyota TS050. The #43 team has done very well so far. They have been pretty bullish, and of course, won at Silverstone three weeks ago or so. The team is sponsored by the 6 Hours of Mexico FIA WEC race that will happen later this year.
We're rapidly approaching the final half hour of this race, ladies and gentlemen. Audi Sport Team Joest, could be on their way to a second consecutive Spa race. Ford Performance says Stefan Mucke only has heavy bruising. Nothing more. He is perfectly OK. We cannot confirm how the wreck happened. The top three are close in LM GTE Am. Pedro Lamy vs. Francois Perrodo, vs. Patrick Long. Pierre Ragues in the Larbre Corvette is also in this scrap down through Pouhon.
The #78 KCMG Porsche 911 RSR is also running well. What an awesome view of Eau Rouge and the speed of the Hybrid cars. In Formula 1, the drivers never really run Eau Rouge flat. This speedway is unreal. Patrick Long passes Francois Perrodo into La Source. Down through Eau Rouge, it's a ral scrum. They run Harry Flatters through there. Harry Flatters = flat out. This is great GT class action. Patrick Long is now second. He is the only U.S. born Porsche factory driver. He had a program in Pirelli World Challenge here in the U.S. But, it recently, folded.
Will the setting sun be in th drivers eyes? Only at Les Combes. Pippo Derani is running well for ESM. An oiled up, pitted windscreen, and the glare from the setting sun, can be a nightmare. The sight lines out of these tight cockpits can be a deal where your vision is compromised by the design of these space age LMP1 cars. James Calado only has five seconds between he and his AF Corse team mate in LM GTE Pro, Davide Rigon. We are in the closing half hour of the Spa 6 Hours. It's go time!
Pippo Derani, Roberto Merhi, and Filipe Albuquerque have been scrapping for LMP2 honors. But, Merhi has been called to the sin bin. Nicolas Lapierre leads LMP2 in the Alpine as the ByKolles LMP1 car and one of the Ferrari's made a little contact. Signatech Alpine is ready for a pit stop. Will Lapierre pit? James Calado leads LM GTE Pro and Pedro Lamy in the Aston Martin, LM GTE Am. Romain Dumas is continuing to soldier on. What did Porsche do with this car? They had to have fixed the hybrid problem. Dumas is running on the same level as leader Oliver Jarvis in the Audi. The #1 car will be shy of getting points by covering the 70% mark of the winner's race distance. Headlights are on, even though we'll finish this race before sunset.
The two Rebellion cars from Switzerland run together. Alexandre Imperatori and Nick Heidfeld are liner stern right now. In the closing minutes of the 6 Hours of Spa, we watch Brendon Hartley in the Porsche, as Marcel Fassler spins in La Source in Audi #7. He got turned by a Rebellion going into La Source, and... whack! He was into the wall. Brendon Hartley currently runs 30th overall on his 105th lap. Jarvis, leading, is on his 155th lap. It's so close. If Jarvis were to run 160 laps, and Hartley did 112, he'd get classified. But, if Jarvis did another lap, Hartley would not be classified.
Ten minutes left in this race. We have a glimpse of who might win, as we see smoke, and a left rear tire down on the Alpine. Setup issues and mechanical issues, have been plaguing teams. Oh my! Hartley tries to pass both AF Corse Ferrari's going for the LM GTE Pro win! #71 takes the lead! Nine minutes to go at Spa! It's getting hot and heavy, right now. The LMP2 battle is huge. Pippo Derania dn ncio lapierre, splitting the Ford GT! Lapierre leads, and the pit box goes crazy! We love ESM, but if a French cars wins at Spa, that will make the fans at Le Mans excited.
Marino Franchitti in the Ford GT moves up to second in LM GTE Pro as #51 is in the garage. The #5 Toyota might get back out to get a point scoring finish even though they had to fix their engine three or so hours ago. They will melt the motor down to get to the finish of this one. Three and a half minutes remain. Roberto Merhi tries to overhaul Filipe Albuquerque. Merhi gets blocked! Oh my! The #51 Ferrari of James Calado, he suffered a failure. Calado is devastated! Roberto Merhi is coming, and coming fast. He will have tough times getting past Roberto Merhi.
There's a local yellow to be aware of. The #13 Rebellion of Alexandre Imperatori will put Rebellion on the podium. We are in, for a grandstand finish. Poor old Patrick Long had to make a pit stop, sinking to sixth in LM GTE Am. Final lap, is on. This is for all the cookies, at Spa. All the marbles. Brendon Hartley might get to 70% distance. They'll get another lap. Race leader O0liver Jarvis, is going to win! First victory for Lucas di Grassi and Oliver Jarvis, and Loic Duval, gets his fifth win in WEC!
In GTE Am it's Paul Dalla Lana, Matthias Lauda, and Pedro Lamy, winning. Hartley and company salvage their points. Robert Merhi clears Filipe Albuquerque. He chases Pippo Derani. Through Stavelot and Curve Paul Frere, as Nicolas Lapierre is going to win LMP2! Heartbreak for James Calado as he is beaten to the LM GTE Pro win, by team mates at AF Corse, Davide Rigon, and Sam Bird. LM GTE Am, is won, by Aston Martin Racing, with car #98 in the hands of Pedro Lamy, Matthias Lauda, and Paul Dalla Lana
Overall/LMP1: #8 Jarvis/di Grassi/Duval Audi R18
LMP2: #36 Menezez/Lapierre/Richelmi Alpine A460 Nissan
LM GTE Pro: #71 Rigon/Bird Ferrari 488 GTE
LM GTE Am: #98 Lamy/Lauda/Dalla Lana Aston Martin V8 Vantage
A great race, here at Spa Francorchamps, leads us, next, to the granddaddy of them all. It's the big kahuna. The crown jewel. The grand prize. The 24 Hours of Le Mans, at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France, coming up, in six weeks. We'll be here on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog, with wall to wall coverage. Don't miss it! So long, from Spa Francorchamps, everyone.
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