We are racing at the legendary Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, for round two of the FIA World Endurance Championship. This time, after winning the season opener at Silverstone three weeks back, Toyota is going all in, with three cars instead of just two. They will also run three cars, at the next race, the granddaddy of endurance races, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Jose Maria Lopez, after his injuries he sustained at Silverstone, will not race today. We are live, now! The race is underway!
Stephane Sarrazin, Yuji Kunimoto, and Nicolas Lapierre are sharing the third Toyota TS050 Hybrid, car #9. Spa is known as the Ardennes Toboggan. This is a world championship race, but also, a dress rehearsal for Le Mans. In qualifying, we have Spirit of Race third in GTE Am behind Dempsey proton Racing and Aston Martin Racing. Pedro Lamy and Paul Dalla Lana on pole. In LM GTE Pro, the #67 and #66 Ford GT's were third and second, while Sam Bird and Davide Rigon have pole for Ferrari and AF Corse. In LMP1/LMP2, VFitaly Petrov wrecked hisd Manor Racing entry, while the Signatech Alpine #35 was third, just behind their sister car, and the G-Drive Oreca, which has it's second class pole.
In LMP1, the third Toyota was thirds, while the #7 Toyota was eight thousandths of a second ahead. Porsche 919 #1 of Neel Jani and Andre Lotterer, start on pole. 30 cars in four classes. We're ready to race, at Spa. Stand by. The cars are on track, on a sunny, 65 degree day. The weather is gorgeous for this race. Porsche has pole over Toyota, who has three cars. They are mixing up aero settings before we go to Le Mans in six weeks. Two LMP2 cars, will have to make drive through penalties. The teams were using laser systems to check the cars, but you can't use them in race trim. The #28 and #34. Penalties for the TDS Oreca and the new Tockwith Ligier.
Prototype quaslifying was interrupted by Vitaly Petrov crashing his Manor. Four sets of tires for changing, well, it wasn't enough. But, we're off and racing now! Andre Lotterer jumps in front at La Source. Nico Lapierre drops to fifth after going down the escape road. Flying through Eau Rouge and up top Radillon. Down the Kemmel straight and through Les Combes. Side by sid stuff in LMP2 down through Brussels corner. Oliver Webb is the fastest LMP1 car on this track with Oliver Webb at the wheel of it. Nicolas Lapierre has been called back to Toyota for this race and for Le Mans.
In LM GTE Pro it is Ferrari vs. Ford vs. Porsche. Davide Rigon and Sam Bird are defending winners of this race. Porsche is running a low downforce package here at Spa just as they did at Silverstone three weeks ago. James Rossiter has lots of speed in the Manor, flying through Eau Rouge again. Huge compression through Eau Rouge. The car goes light through Radillon. Romain Dumas tries for the lead on James Rossiter. No dice. Dumas ran for Porsche last year, and after winning the title, he was let go from the team. That stings! Dumas has raced at Pikes Peak and has run in the old American Le Mans Series. Dumas also wants to go rallying. Andre Lotterer leads for Porsche, 1.5 seconds ahead of the field.
Again, Toyota is doing a mix and match on aerodynamic kits. This race is a total dress rehearsal for Le Mans. Stefan Mucke had a huge wreck here last year. Spirit of Race wants by Dempsey Proton in LM GTE Am. Porsche gets by Aston Martin. Nelson Panciatici and Nelson Piquet Jr. battle. Rebellion is now racing in LMP2 of course. The skies will cloud up later, as it is sunny now. No threat of rain now. But, at Spa, anything can happen with the weather. Andre Lotterer is being eaten up by Mike Conway at the moment. Conway has made a pass on his Toyota team mate Sebastien Buemi.
Toyota is running high downfroce. Porsche is running low downforce. These guys dive past the LM GTE Pro cars. Conway is close enough and needs to time it to get by Lotterer. This is basically Andre Lotterer's home track, having grown up in Belgium since the age of three. Brendon Hartley is at the controls of the second Porsche 919. Nicolas Lapierre has the #9 Toyota moving forward. Lapierre is driving the Toyota with the low downforce setup. Ricardo Gonzalez and Emmanuel Collard race together in LMP2. Sunshine and Spa, synonymous. Now, Mike Conway is still pressing Andre Lotterer. The Porsche should be faster in sector oen, especially up the Kemmel straightaway.
More action in LM GTE Am. Francesco Castellaci is behind Pedro Lamy who has eked out a 17 second lead. Lamy is building a cushion. Aston Martin has to be careful with their tire choice and tire use. Meanwhile, it's scrapping time for the lead! Sebastien Buemi is pushing M,ike Conway into La Source! Wow! 1,000 horsepower for these space age speedsters, as Conway looks to pass Buemi. No dice. The downhill plunge to Pouhon is a lot steeper than it looks on TV. Conway goes by for the race lead on Lotterer. Rob Lupin and Toyota, cheer their driver on. Can Conway keep the lead into Les Combes? These cars are so complex and because of the regeneration, the electric motor is run in reverse to store energy in the battery. That means that the braking forces are huge. Take unsprung weight out of the car because of the regeneration. But, if you lose your hybrid power, your brakes will go away.
Mike Conway is one of two drivers, as Jose Maria Lopez had that monstrous wreck at Silverstone three weeks ago. Lopez did minor damage to two vertebrae in his back. Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi are the duo for Toyota in this race, and their team leads at the moment. Traffic is getting heavy as Brendon Hartley plunges through Eau Rouge. Conway leads Buemi and Lotterer. Andre Lotterer says his car is understeering right now. The tires have to be double stinted, and we're already a half an hour into this race. Sebastien Buemi gets by Andre Lotterer to mak it a Toyota 1-2, going around the lapped GT cars.
Jean Eric Vergne is being led by Romain Dumas. Nelson Panciaticci and Nelson Piquet Jr. are coming. The Michel Vaillante Rebellion car, will run at Le Mans. It is a comic strip about a race car driver. Ford has changed their fueling rates, and had four liters of fuel taken out of their tank. This isn't a Balance of Performance change. It's a fuel flow change. Team boss George Howard Chapel was asked if there was advantage. Chapel said, "I guess there was bgecause they changed it." In traffic through Blanchimont, the pressure is on in LMP2. Bruno Senna is in the Rebellion.
We watch Race Control as Dumas runs wide! Wow! Edoardo Freitas looks on. Yours truly enjoys hearing Freitas' voice, a reassurance on the radios for drivers and teams, as Romain Dumas runs off the raod! But, pit stop time for LMP2. Tire deg and fuel might be the issues here. Tire deg is short for tire degradation. Jackie Chan DC Racing also pits with Oliver Jarvis at the controls. Loic Duval starts with Audi in DTM this weekend for their season opener at Hockenheim. At Spa, don't stretch your fuel, because this track is so long. It's half the size of Le Mans, but is the second biggest track on the calendar.
Pit stop time for LMP1. Toyota #7 is in the lane. So is the #1 Porsche. Andre Lotterer hands the car over to Neel Jani more than likely. Andre Lotterer says the Porsche is different from the Audi. The Audi had cornering speed. The Porsche has straight line speed. A battle in LM GTE Pro between James Calado, Harry Tincknell, and Olivier Pla. Tinckmell flies through Eau Rouge, and Calado goes past both Ford's. Sebastien Buemi dives for the pit lane and will need a clean windscreen, stat. Mike Conway stays on the same set of Michelin tires. Buemi does likewise. Brendon Hartley momentarily assumes the race lead.
No LM GTE cars into the pit lane just yet. The pit lane here at Spa is almost a quarter mile long. Romain Dumas and Nelson Piquet Jr. are scrapping hammer and tongs in LMP2. We have a Ligier and and a bunch of Oreca's in this race. We'll see a bunch of teams next time out at Le Mans. Brendon Hartley is now in pit lane. Some parts of Spa have been repvaed. But, there are still lots of places with original pavement on the road. Conway leads by seven seconds over Buemi. The temperature at Spa is about 66 degrees Fahrenheit. Ooh! You could see contact coming at La Source as Oliver Jarvis gets turned in on by Nelson Panciatici who spins.
We are coming to the end of hour one as Romain Rusinov defends from Bruno Senna. Oliver Jarvis and Romain Dumas still battle each other. LMP2 cars have to be on top of things when the LMP1 hybrid cars come by. Jarvis defends on the inside. Nick Tandy is now at the wheel of the #1 Porsche 919 Hybrid. He's booking it at the moment, as one of the LM GTE Pro Porsche's pits. Bruno Senna passes Romain Rusinov for the LMP2 class lead. Senna is not intimidated. Romain Rusinov is a very quick driver. Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber won Le Mans in 2015 of course, sharing with Nico Hulkenberg.
Pit stop time for LM GTE Pro as we come up to the first hour of the race. The top three in GTE Pro pit. Nicolas Lapierre hung on to fourth, balking Nick Tandy behind the lapped Manor racer of Jean Eric Vergne. Ford #67 in the lane as new tires goi on the car. Andy Priaulx may have gotten in, but the car is staled. Oh dear. Problems for one of the Ford's. We'll find out what happens in just a minute or two here. We are now into the second hour as Mike Conway leads this race. Stefan Mucke has taken over the #66 Ford. Drama for the #67. The car left slowly, and stopped at Eau Rouge. Harry Tincknell is a bit panicked, but the crew tells him to reset the electronics.
Paul Dalla Lana has now taken over the pole sitting Aston Martin in LM GTE Am. Dalla Lana took over from Pedro Lamy. Harry Tincknell has dropped to seventh in LM GTE Pro. Emmanuel Collard passes Oliver Jarvis, and we also see Ricardo Gonzalez and Nelson Panciatici going for it. Oreca chassis' with the Gibson 4.2 liter V8 engine. Equal cars, basically, racing very close together. The steering wheels have a lot of electronics, and they could be an easier fix than other parts on the car. The new LMP2 cars are five seconds quicker than last yrar. They could be ten seconds faster at the 85th 24 Hours of Le Mans. You'll want to join us for that one here on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog.
The highest point on this track, at Les Combes, is 300 feet in elevation change. Oliver Jarvis hands the Jackie Chan DC Racing entry to Alex Brundle. Ful stints are only about 38 minutes for the LMP2 cars. There was a video of a Porsche pit stop, where the tire man with only one air hammer, is slinging these heavy, big tires around like pizzas. Stefan Mucke and Olivier Pla have not won for Ford yet. They need to win. Alessandro Pier Guidi, a full factory driver, is going for it. Gianmaria Bruni was the main guy at Ferrari. But now, he will be a Porsche man, come Watkins Glen in late June.
James Calado is now the senior driver at Frrari. It's a lot of senseless argy bargy. Speaking of argy bargy, Brendon Hartley goes deep into the Bus Stop, way off the apex of the turn. Dark clouds are on the horizon perhaps. Rain is never entirely out of the picture here at Spa. Alex Brundle moves by Ricardo Gonzalez as Emmanuel Collard is in the lead in LMP2, still. Alessandro Pier Guidi chases Olivier Pla for the lead in LM GTE Pro. Alex Brundle's dad Martin, looks on. Nick Tandy has passed Brendon Hartley as Alessandro Pier Guidi goes for the lead in LM GTE Pro. Sam Bird is third in class in the sister Ferrari 488 GTE. Ferrari and Ford side by side in Eau Rouge! Sam Bird closes on Olivier nPla and Alessandro Pier Guidi.
Toyota #7 passes and the Ferrari boys are playing dodge 'em cars! Pier Guidi runs wide! Egad! Through Pouhon and Fangnes, and then to curve Paul Frere and onto the Stavelot road. Brendon Hartley in the #2 Porsche is fourth overall. Mike Conway leads Sebastien Buemi by 24 seconds. Toyota, Toyota, Porsche, Porsche. Rain is predicted, but before the end of the race. It is predicted for 5PM local time. Sebastien Buemi is not happy about his team mate whistling off into the distance. Brendon Hartley weaves past the lead battle in LM GTE Pro. Pier Guidi is somewhat off the road. Are his tires in a mess? Or is he running a weird line that the stewards will have to notify him about?
Next month at Le Mans, there will be four Ford GT's. The two WEC cars and the two IMSA cars from the U.S. At Les Combes, the old Spa track continued on down to the old, fast, Masta kink, and down further on the Stavelot road. Olivier Pla is being warned about track limits. Mike Conway pits from the lead. Kamui Kobayashi is taking over the car. Tandy, in the lane. Clean the windscreen and only change the tires afer the fuel is loaded into the car. Sebastien Buemi is now leading over Brendon Hartley, Nicolas Lapierre, Kamui Kobayashi, and Nick Tandy. These cars sound wonderful, whistling through the Ardennes forest. Sebastien Buemi pits and so does Brendon Hartley.
We continue to work the second of six hours here. Earl Bamber takes over the #2 Porsche as Vitaly Petrov passes Pierre Ragues in LMP2. Ben Hanley is next, subbing for Matthieu Vaxiviere. Ben Hanley runs with DragonSpeed in European Le Mans Series competition and ran for that team at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Toyota #7 weaves through traffic. Kamui Kobayashi is the last of the late brakers. Again, Earl Bamber takes over for Brendon Hartley. Drivers, investors, teams, and race tracks, they are coming out of China. The support is being invested in within the country. Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber are both New Zealander's. Both Kiwis. A penalty for the #36 car. Romain Dumas was in the car, and might still be. They have had a traction control problem, somehow or other.
Anthony Davidson has now taken over the #8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid from Sebastien Buemi. All eyes turn to the skies. Rain could be on the way. Then, reset things for the rest of the race. All 30 cars are still in the race. In six weeks, at Le Mans, we will have double that. 60 cars starting. Three Toyota's, two Porsche's, and lots more. Peugeot could come back with a car in years to come. Porsche #2 is in the lane. Unscheduled stop for #2. He had a low tire pressure warning. No way to hang on to that until the end of the stint. W are coming to the end of the first half of our coverage here at Spa. Alessandro Pier Guidi and Sam Bird run together for AF Corse in the Ferrari's. One of the LMP1 Porsche's zooms by.
Alex Lynn and Alex Brundle are going for it. These two chase Julien Canal in the #31 Rebellion entry. Potsche's run third and fourth in class, and then, it's Aston Martin. Pierre Ragues pits and Ho Pin Tung spun. The #35 Alpine is stalled. The #37 car is now inpit lan as well. Refueling done, and tire changes commence. Just two left side tires. The LMP2 battle is very intense. There will be a tire war at Le Mans in LMP2 too, between Michelin and Dunlop. Nick Tandy is pushing through Brussels corner, also known as Rivage. Alex Lynn dives underneath Tor Graves. We'll see you in a little while for more racing, as the battle continues.
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