Neel Jani and Andre Lotterer are really pushing each other. We're entering the final hour. The rules change. The best is yet to come.
We are seeing Neel Jani and Andre Lotterer bangiung wheels! Argy bargy ahoy! Sports car endurance racing turned into a demolition derby? Apparently so. Damage to the diffuser on the Porsche. Romain Dumas is not happy. Andre Lotterer has likely gotten into the back of the Porsche. Andre Lotterer has come alive as we get down to business in this race. Audi passes, and gets hit by the SMP Racing LMP2 car. It was the LMP2 class Gibson. Andre Lotterer didn't like being washed out in turn one. So... bang! We have our fifth full course yellow to recover the debris from that wreck. The #1 Porsche 919 has pitted and Timo Bernhard is now in the car, to finish this race.
The earlier Ford fire was due to a stuck fuel inlet valve. Aston Martin has had a good race, but Ferrari has been playing catch up, in LM GTE Pro. We have 47 minutes left in the race now. ...And, we are under our sixth full course yellow flag. A battle ensues in LMP2 with Jonny Kane and Antonio Pizzonia. One of the Manor cars was spewing brake dust, signaling imminent brake failure. It must have been the sister car #45, as the #36 SignaTech Alpine, pits. Nicolas Lapierre has had two straight Le Mans wins in LMP2 with two different teams. Alpine is double stinting their tires. Gustavo Menezes is at the controls of the French Blue racer.
Toyota #6 goes another lap down. Both Porsche and Audi have gotten the same fuel mileage. Yes it is true, and you can pay many Euros, and go as fast as you want in your car or on your motorcycle. Olivier Pla in the #66 Ford GT, has been issued a penalty for a pit infringement, and the #2 Porsche has also been given a penalty. They could be passed for fourth by the Toyota with Sebastien Buemi at the keyboard. The verdict is in from Race Director Edoardo Freitas. Porsche is changing the diffuser and releasing it from under the rear deck. It's like trying to take sofa down a stairway and it is just too big. Audi will battle for second. Loic Duval ahead of Andre Lotterer.
35 minutes remain in the 6 Hours of the Nurburgring. Make that, just over a half hour. It is 6:30 P.M. Central European Time, and 11:30 A.M. Central Standard Time in America. A strong race for Aston Martin in LM GTE Am. The switch to Dunlop tires, seems to work for Aston Martin. Neel Jani has dropped away from the front running trio. Porsche seems to have this race covered with car #1. Jani is ahead of Sebastien Buemi in the first of the Toyota's. Nicolas Lapierre holds an advantage over Bruno Senna in LMP2. 22 seconds is the gap. Senna has newer tires. Lapierre has to keep digging.
Gianmaria Bruni leads Sam Bird in LM GTE Pro. Those boys are 1-2 and have fought their way through the field, over the third place car, the Ford GT of Olivier Pla. Pedro Lamy leads LM GTE Am over Wolf Henzler. Ford extends their involvement with sports car racing until 2019 and BMW, could get back into sports car racing on a factory basis at Le Mans as soon as 2018, having last competed and won there, way back in 1999. Under 20 minutes to go now. The ESM Ligier Honda is third in LMP2. Ryan Dalziel behind the wheel right now.
The next race on the schedule (starting the second half of the FIA WEC season), is the inaugural 6 Hours of Mexico at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico, in five weeks, and it will be run the first weekend in September. Until then, so long, everyone. Ford is in the lane. #66 serves their penalty. The infraction on which the penalty was based, happened two hours ago. Olivier Pla remains at the controls and will finish. Nicki Thiim is also running well in the Aston Martin. Thiim has passed Pla on course with 15 minutes left.
Wolf Henzler in the #78 KCMG Porsche 911 RSR is second behind the #98 Aston Martin of Pedro Lamy. The #83 Ferrari is running well, and Paolo Ruberti is back in the #50 Larbre Competition Corvette. Bruno Senna is off the road. Agricultural racing through the gravel for Senna. Shadows growing long at the Nurburgring as we approach 7:00 P.M. Central European Time, with ten minutes to go. Porsche and Audi split the top four places in their home race in Deutschland. The race has been very dramatic.
Timo Bernhard runs two wheels off on the right side. Alexandre Imperatori is at the controls of the #13 Rebellion, in the LMP1 privateer class. Nick Heidfeld in the sister Rebellion is second, and they had issues with the nose and the front bulkhead on the car. Some of the Aston Martin drivers pay a visit to the Porsche garage. Drivers want to win, but they know they have to take care of their fellow drivers out there, in this amazing era of the hybrid Prototype. Audi continues to hire from within their company, and shows they have a solid effort.
All of the big manufacturers run programs to develop drivers and crew members, raising the sport to a higher level. This win is huge for car #1 as they'll get a full 25 points for this win, the champions from last year. Lots of racing miles remain and we have five races left when the checkers wave in Germany in a couple minutes. We will see the checkers this time. Porsche will win at The Nurburgring. He will do one additional lap.
30 seconds to go. This race will be over, real soon. We are at the top of the hour. A wall of tire debris off to the side of the road. But that won't worry Mark Webber as he goes for his fifth WEC win and his second straight at the Nurburgring! Mark Webber, Timo Bernhard, and Brendon Hartley, win the Nurburgring... Porsche's home race!
Overall/LMP1: #1 Bernhard/Hartley/Webber Porsche 919 Hybrid
LMP2: #36 Lapierre/Menezes/Richelmi Alpine A460 Nissan'
LM GTE Pro: #51 Bruni/Calado Ferrari 488 GTE
LM GTE Am: #98 Dalla Lana/Lamy/Lauda Aston Martin V8 Vantage
The next FIA WEC race, is at the beginning of September, for the inaugural race in Mexico City, Mexico at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. September 3rd is the race date. So, in five weeks. We'll see you, live, from Mexico City, looking forward to another great race as the championship heats up. So long, from the Eiffel Mountains and the Nurburgring, everyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment