20 years ago, no adjustments could be made to the car. But, today, this is commonplace, even on production cars. Some things change, but a lot never does. Perseverance, manpower, passion, never changes. We watch the Ford GT going through the 80 kilometer an hour slow zone.l A pit crew is doing a rain dance, or playing a game of dancing bears. Romain Dumas did a double stint and is now out of the car. Neel Jani was supposed to take over from Marc Lieb. But, Jani wasn't there. Did he have to use the bathroom, or did he oversleep or something? Hmmm. Tommy Milner seems to be K even though he has had a big wreck here. It was a big hit, and a quick stop.
Marc Miller had his big wreck running over oil, or water, after the factory Porsche 911 RSR split the radiator. The car is loaded to the left, and if you jink to the right, there's no way. Now, we have another big wreck as the #35 Alpine has also slammed the wall. Car won't turn, and.... smash! He got too deep and slammed the wall. Never even got the car turned before hitting the barrier for Maxi DC Racing. David Cheng and Ho Pin Tung, are two of the drivers. Wow. We've had two shunts with the wall, in the last few minutes. It was Nelson Panciatici, who crashed the car. He may have missed his braking point.
The sister Alpine #36 continues to circulate. There are two or three big issues on the track. We haven't heard from Edoardo Freitas on these incidents yet. The Jota Racing Gibson has been in the lane with suspension issues, needing repairs. The Rebellion cars are still having issues. Nelson Panciatici wanted to drive the Alpine back to the pits. However, he has had second thoughts, surely, judging from the damage to the suspension on the Alpine's front corner. The #4 ByKolles CLM P1 01 has caught fire, again! It did so in Wednesday night practice, and then, they started from pit lane. A fraught, forgettable race for these blokes.
The exhaust has set thje bodywork on fire. This is a slow zone, but all the cars are booking it through there. Hmmm. I wonder why. Off and on for the #98 Aston Martin. Contact, with the #30 or #31 Paul Mitchell ESM car. There's a local yellow, but no slow zone. What on earth? The slow zone, was up next, setting up for the line to get around the corner as the Toyota moves through Arnage. The wheels have now come off the wagon. We have two LMP2 cars buried in the kitty litter. Ed Brown has his ESM car parked in another gravel trap at Tetre Rouge, and the #46 Thiriet by TDS Racing car, off the road as well.
The safety car is out. The leading Toyota and the leading Ferrari didn't want to see this. Jeff Segal will pit the Scuderia Corsa Ferrari, and Bill Sweedler will get in the car. The #36 Alpine is now in the garage. Seven and a half hours remain at Le Mans, in the 84th running. The #7 Audi is in the garage, and again, #36 is also in the garage. Ben Keating and the Gas Monkey Murphy Prototypes cars, spun, and continued. He's making his Le Mans debut. Maybe Alpine is just doing a brake change.
Corvette Racing started at Le Mans in 1960, with Briggs Cunningham, and drivers John Fitch and Bob Grossman. One Corvette remains, car #63, with Jan Magnussen, at the wheel. No triple crown for the #64 this year. Pierre Thiriet got the car back for the TDS Racing squad. His family owns a frozen food company that is available throughout France. Stephane Sarrazin is bringing the lead Toyota into the pits. Both Toyota's are in the lane. Routine pit stops for both. Toyota, is trying to win le Mans, after being second on a few occasions. Mike Conway, and Sebastien Buemi are at the wheel of their respective cars.
The #46 car stalled. The byzantine regulations at Le Mans, disqualify you if you reverse the car through pit lane, with the crew pushing you back. There are three safety cars out there. We see 262 laps have been completed (2,224 miles). Toni Vilander leads LM GTE Pro, and Sebastien Bourdais is right behind him, in the Ford. Rush hour traffic on the restart at Le Mans. The Ferrari's pit a little sooner than the Ford's do. The tire compounds need to be softer in the cooler weather. When it gets warmer, switch to harder coimpounds.
Ooh. Team orders? One Toyota is pointed past the other. The Porsche of Neel Jani, in the lead, is just under a minute ahead of Toyota Gazoo Racing. Marcel Fassler runs fifth overall and fifth in LMP1 in the Audi. Porsche #2 in the pit lane. No tires. Just fuel. Toyota, is now 1-2.
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