The race continues. Welcome to the second half of the 6 Hours of Spa. A good chance of rain still exists. Toyota runs 1-2 in LMP1 with Kamui Kobayashi at the wheel. Pierre Thiriet leads LMP2. James Calado leads LM GTE Pro. Aston Martin leads LM GTE Am with Mathias Lauda at the controls. We have had at least four leaders in LMP2 so far. It has been quite the battle. Ferrari leads LM GTE Pro. In three hours, we have gray skies. This is a common occurrence at Spa. Mother nature will be thrown into the cards. If it rains, the high downforce configuration on the Toyota's might be an advantage. Let' see what happens.
Posche was in the thick of it when they went on intermediate tires when we saw rain at Silverstone. We've got debris at turn 18, right after Blanchimont. We've had one local yellow and no safety car. All 30 cars still race. Full points are on offer. But, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is coming soon in six weeks on June 17th and 18th. Marshals have been out there brushing tire clag off the road. Be careful, ladies and gentlemen, as you try to keep the track clean. We are now working hour four of six. Edorardo Freitas, Race Director, is speaking to the #86 Team Gulf Racing, and their Porsche. Nick Foster touches one of the Ford GT's and spins off the road. Toyota pits the lead car. Mike Conway takes over from Kamui Kobayashi. We are now under full course yellow. Porsche is now in the lane under Full Course Yellow.
Nicolas Lapierre gets in the #9 Toyota. Marshals have not been able to move the #86 Porsche. Perhaps the car has been coming apart. Their race has come apart. Game over for Nick Foster, Ben Barker, and Mike Wainwright. How you spin when you are under a virtual safety car? I don't know. Gustavo Menezes in the Signatech entry has spun. 15 seconds to green. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 2, 1. We're green. Punch in the 400 horsepower electric boost from your hybrid system, and go. 500 horsepower from your petrol motor. Toal = 900 horsepower! Wow! Pippo Derani is now at the wheel of the #67 Ford GT.
Kazuki Nakajima in Toyota #8 now leads after pitting under full course yellow. We are not approaching sunset, but, rain clouds are gathering. Kazuki Nakajima leads Mike Conway in the Toyota 1-2. Derani, is a petite guy with lots of courage, the ideal package for a race car driver. There's tire debris everywhere. For fifth in GTE Pro, it's a battle between Michael Christensen and Pippo Derani. Mike Conway has set fastest lap at 1:57.875. Stephane Sarrazin has gone fastest in the third sector, with the low downforce Le Mans package, in Toyota #9. Racing drivers never blink. Hans Stuck is here, with Porsche, looking on.
The Porsche vs. Ford battle continue. Michael Christensen is now chasing the Ford. But it was the opposite for a good while. Davide Rigon and Alessandro Pier Guidi are 1-2 in LM GTE Pro. Kazuki Nakajima leads this race as Mike Conway is closing in, flying. We've run 100 laps. 435 miles. Mike Conway has done very well. But, the #9 car with low downforce, has not performed as hoped. There's not a huge difference. Porsche have compromised a couple races, to work with their low downforce package in the first two races, to be on top of it for Le Mans. Toyota has been maximizing points instead of worrying about their data book.
Double world championship points are on offer at Le Mans, and there are six more six hour races after that. Porsche will debut their high downforce package at the Nurburgring in Germany after Le Mans as Francois Perrodo spins his LMP2 car. You are on the brakes, hitting the curb, and like a vacuum cleaner, it sucks you off the road. Christian Ried is second in LM GTE Am for Dempsey Proton Racing. One of the LMP2 cars is in pit lane. Pierre Thiriet leads LMP2 for G-Drive. G stands for Gasprom, a petrol giant in Russia. 60 kilometers an hour (37.5 miles an hour) is the pit lane speed limitg or you will be pinged by the stewards.
Billy Johnson runs wide locking the brakes and now continues on the downhill side of the course. Stefan Mucke will finish the race. Mucke had a massive wreck here at Spa at the top of Eau Rouge last year. Kazuki Nakajima should change his energy regeneration mode to protect his tires, according to radio conversation with his crew. The #31 Rebellion car will get a ten second pit stop time penalty. Nicolas Prost is driving the #31 and will get that hold for ten seconds on his next stop. There have been many great battles in this race. The top four cars in qualifying were separated by only 31 thousandths of a second. Wow. It is the average of the best lap from each of the two drivers, to get the spot on the grid and you can go out and catch another lap.
Nicolas Prost is aware of the penalty. He needs to get the lead and build up a cushion. Run these cars as low as possible within reason of the regulations. But, compression in Eau Rouge causes the car the slam down on the deck and the sparks fly from the underbody legality panel. Mike Conway is eating time out of it's sister car. Up the Kemmel straightsaway and side by side, Nelson Piquet Jr. and Mathias Beche are going for it. Nico Prost meanwhile is trying to go after the G-Drive entry. Pierre Thiriet is still driving the G-Drive car right now. G-Drive is 45 seconds quicker on the pit stops compared to Rebellion. Thiriet gets a run and here comes Porst! Wow! Into the braking zone, and Thiriet is rigfht in the middle of the road, to keep the door closed for Nico Prost.
Prost is on the wrong side for La Source, going the long way around and they are side by side into Eau Rouge. We are coming to the end of the fourth hour as Toyota runs 1-2. But, Mike Conway is now less than three seconds behind Kazuki Nakajima. Conway is just 2.3 seconds behind Nakajima. Romain Dumas said that the traction control on the Alpine was not working, and maybe that caused a spin earlier. Menezes is passed by team mate Andre Negrao. Kazuki Nakajima has traffic ahad in the form of the ByKolles car, and now the second Toyota is pushing. The ByKolles machine has Nissan power.
Neel Jani and Timo Bernhard are battling less than 2.5 seconds apart. Toyota is trying to stretch their lead in the constructor's cup. Conway was committed to the outside and a Ferrari washes out wide and blocks Conway. Alessandro Pier Guidi ran wide. Lockup for Conway! Yikes! One of the DC Racing Jackie Chan cars was headed for the lane and caught Conway out. Thomas Laurent out and into the car, it looks like it's Ho Pin Tung, as opposed to Oliver Jarvis, who may drive the last stint. We switch commentary now, from Bob Varsha and Calvin Fish, to world feed commentators, Martin Haven and Allan McNish.
Toyota still leads Porsche. Skies are starting to clear up. Don't go down onto the dirty line of the speedway. Andy Priaulx is suited and booted, ready to take over from Pippo Derani. Neel Jani is now in the lane for tires. No rain yet. It's forecasting. No rain has come just yet. It isn't dark yet. Andre Lotterer takes over car #1, Mike Conway is now into the lane, cleaning the windisheild, and ooh! A Prototype is in the wall. Francois Perrodo is actually off the road another time. We have a full course yellow at the Piff Paff, right before Stavelot. Kevin Estre, Francesco Castellaci, and others have pitted. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Full Course Yellow gentlemen. Stay at 80 kilometers per hour.
Francois Perrodo locks up and slams the tires in the gravel trap. Stefan Mucke is also on an outlap in Ford #66. We are still under Full Course Yellow, at 80 kilometers an hour, 50 miles an hour. Pit stop time. Brendon Hartley will finish for Porsche #2. Now, Kazuki Nakajima will have just pitted. Toyota #9 in the lane, and we will go green. Martin Haven and Allan McNish, pick up the race call. Francois Perrodo is back in the pit lane with loads of damage. Perrodo out, and Ben Hanley, into the car. They will change the nose in the lane.
Three cars have been caught speeding under Full Course Yellow. These six hour races, you just can't slow down, even if it is an endurance race. We have Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen in the commentary box as well. The weather changes and condition changes, are part of the magic of sports car racing. The same is true, between the different classes of Prototype and GT classes. 1:57.6 is the fastest lap of Brendon Hartley. We are now under a local yellow. Tristan Gommendy has spun the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing car, spinning, leaping over the rise into Radillion, sideways. He's limping the car back to the lane. He came across the apex, bouncing over the curbs, and smashed the rear wing and the fenders.
We are so thankful for the marshals who keep everyone safe/ Tristan Gommendy has made his way back to the garage, sharing that car with Alex Brundle and David Cheng. Alex Lynn leads Nico Prost in LMP2. Rebellion's fraught race continues. Yes, the hybrid Prototypes make everything else look slow. Brendon Hartley is waiting, biding his time before he makes a move. It's about 20 meters between Eau Rouge and Radillion. Conway was held up through Pouhon, and Hartley makes a move. Tbe #8 Toyota turns out of Rivage, and is a half a lap ahead of everyone else. The gap in LMP2 is some ten seconds. The total elevation here at Spa in 300 feet, or about 100 meters if you go metric.
The light grows dimmer here at Spa. Toyota and everyone else are concerned about tire wear. There was a major maove in LM GTE Pro, as Andy Priaulx made a move around Fred Makowiecki in the Porsche. Ford, Ford, Ferrari, Ferrari, Porsche, Porsche, Aston Martin, Aston Martin. Brendon Hartley is charging after Kazuki Nakajima. Porsche will give it a go for the win. They looked like they were out of it earlier. But, maybe not. Toyota has pitted five times. Porsche has pitted six times. A tire stop is 16-17 seconds. Andre Lotterer is still running in fourth. Mike Conway is also coming fast.
Kazuki Nakajima continues to be in discussion with his pit crew. The wind has dropped down at Les Combes. They have points for energy recovery, and a fuel cutoff point. With the wind dropping, there is a fuel cut. The computer that runs the engine manages all this. The driver has to be aware of when he steps on the brakes. Toyota #9 with the low drag setup is still running well. The Porsche boosts its energy at the top of the hill while the Toyota does so at the bottom. Stephane Sarrazin is trying his best, but the performance of that third Toyota is not necessarily running up at the top. The team needs to bring the data. But, Sarrazin is a quick shoe.
The hybrid cars are allowed only a certain amount of energy per lap from petrol or electrical energy from the battery. Just under an hour and 20 minutes remaining here at Spa. Ferrari is dominating the LM GTE Pro class. Sam Bird and Alessandro Pier Guidi are dominating. Will this result in a Balance of Performance change before Le Mans? Andre Lotterer makes a pass on the GT cars. Fuel only for the #38 car. Something is wrong with a telemetry beacon on top of the Rebellion car. Mathias Beche is up to second. But car #31 us gavung the roof taped up. Kazuki Nakajima is picking up steam, closing on Brendon Hartley.
The race for LM GTE Pro continues, with an hour and 15 minutes to go. Davide Rigon and James Calado will take the cars home. #13 is still in the lane. Ferrari lets their drivers race, but does not want them to do anything silly. #26 is in the lane from the class lead in LMP2. Alex Lynn stays in the car. Romain Dumas is coming back up in the Alpine entry but sans traction control. Ferrari's lead as Andy Priaulx has passed Fred Mackowiecki. Will the two drivers be allowed to race one another? Good question.
We remember Alex Job's wife Holly Job, and also, Preston Henn, winner of the Rolex 24 and the 12 Hours of Sebring, and also finishing second at Le Mans. Both will be missed. Sebastien Buemi climbs into the Toyota. A four tire stop for Toyota. Brand new Michelins on the Toyota. Hartley and Conway run 1-2. Brendon Hartley is a half a lap ahead. We watch Hughes de Chaunac and Rob Leupen watching in the pit lane. ACO bosses Pierre Fillon and Gerard Neveu also look on. The LM GTE Pro class battle is still going on. Buemi's best middle sector time is a 54.264. We have just over an hour left in this race.
Car #8 has put fresh tires on and will go to the end. No new tires for the Porsche and for the sister Toyota, they may need tires just before we get done. Everyone will need fuel, too. When the #2 Porsche had it's tire puncture, then, the #7 gained an advantage. We've got some microphone troubles in the booth as poor Martin Haven is the only good microphone in the booth with Allan McNish and Louise Beckett have some mike issues. #1 is in the lane for fuel only. No tires. Oh no! We have the #36 car spun again! That's what having n0o traction control dows to you. Porsche #2 drills the #36. That's Hartley in the Porsche.
At the end of the braking zone, the Porsche recovers it's energy. Dumas has a traction control issue as Mike Conway hits the lane for a full service pit stop and Kamui Kobayashi is going to finish this race. The Brendon Hartley fracas was unhnecessary. So, the marshals will want to have a word with him. Plus, his nose is bisted. It'll damage the brake ducts and also, shed carbon fiber. Porsche needs to do a nose change ASAP. They also need fuel. Hartley is sitrahgt into the lane. Romain Dumas who won the championship for Porsche, gets hammered by his former team mate. Irony? Yes. We are now into the final hour of this race.
Sebastien Buemi leads a Toyota 1-2. Alex Lynn leads LMP2. Sam Bird leads LM GTE Pro. Matthias Lauda leads LM GTE Am. Lauda will take the Aston Martin to the end of the race. We have our commentary team back to full strength, as we see more action in LMP. We are five hours in with Toyota and Porsche running in the top five. Sebastien Buemi still leads with less than 50 minutes now remaining. The #98 Aston Martin pits. Toyota will not mess around with their setup within the last hour, even though the driver has a right to question what is going on. Rain won't last too long. That's what Sebastien Buemi was told. Hold on, Sebastien. Stay in control of the race.
It's easy to lock the brakes through Brussels corner. Sam Bird and Alessandro Pier Guidi pit. James Calado and Davide Rigon take over to take the Ferrari's from AF Corse to the finish. Stefan Mucke is behind in Ford #66. You could split your pit stop instead of stacking them as Ferrari did. Aston Martin #97 is in the lane. Follow what you are told. Darren Turner will take the #97 car to the finish. Sam Bird didn't take four tires. He just took two of them. 45 minutes now remain. We could get another 20 laps done in this race.
41 minutes now remain. Romain Dumas and Brendon Hartley, have both been summoned to the stewards office after the race. New tires have more rubber on them and it retains more heat. On a cooler track, the tires start to fall off. Pedro Lamy will drive the final stint in the #98 Aston Martin. There is drizzle around the circuit right now. The Toyota's windscreen is smeared with oil. What are the conditions down here at Stavelot? No sign of water on the windscreen. Not even a drop. It's dry at the bottom. A little drizzle at Les Combes. It's wetter at the Bus Stop and the front straight. #9 goes for the wiper, but that smears the screen and not clean it.
Trouble for the DC Racing #37. Alex Brundle stops the car on the grass. He is at the exit of Stavelot. A car wrecked into the barrier at that point at nthe circuit in Friday practice. Brundle is back on the road. Ho Pin Tung now pits. G Drive might just win in LMP2. So, it's DC Racing vs. Rebellion for second best in class. Bruno Senna is now in the lane, and a few other drivers are too. No tires for Rebellion. Fuel only. G-Drive is also in the lane. G-Drive can't take tires, because they are ahead just by a mere 40 seconds. Ah. Left side tires for #26 have been taken. But, not a full tire change.
We are 34 minutes away from finishing this race as Ho Pin Tung locks the brakes. New rear end for the Alpine nof Romain Dumas. The stewards told the team to get new bodywork because no lights were working. No time for a Birmingham screwdriver. That's a hammer, by the way, folks. The team needed a legality box for the rear lights mandated by the FIA as well. Sam Bird leads James Calado, Stefan Mucke, and Andy Priaulx in LM GTE Pro. Sam Bird is still chasing James Calado. With a half hour to go, which will arrive first? Will we see the checkered flag? Will we see a downpour?
From Brussels, to the no name turn, to Pouhon, we see Andre Lotterer running well, but still chasing the two Toyota's. We are racing into the evening here at Soa, but not into the darkness. Bruno Senna and Ho Pin Tung battle for LMP2 honors. Senna zooms past Tung, and slams the door in his face. Pedro Lamy continues to lead LM GTE Am. Matteo Cairolli is second in LM GTE Am. James Rossiter will finish the race for ByKolles. They've been reliable today and their speed is coming. No real rain to worry about with about 20 minutes left in this race. Toyota still leads. Will Toyota change tires within the final 20 minutes?
He's got to have a splash and dash? Toyota #7 also needs fuel and so does the Porsche. Fuel only for Toyota #7. The #2 Porsche may still need fuel. How far off the strategy were they? Wow. The cards are still in the air here. Wow. This will be a wild finish. Don't take tires unless you are having massive grip issues. Twenty minutes to go, is ten laps, 43 miles. Track position is the most important factor here. Will Andre Lotterer in Porsche #1 be a factor? Kamui Kobayashi pits for a splash and a dash. #2, Brendon Hartley now leads. Toyota #7 will be third behind the #8. Brendon Hartley has yet to hit the pit lane.
Three weeks ago in Silverstone, England, we had a grandstand finish. Ladies and gentlemen, strap yourselves in, for a wild ride, as we reach the climax of the 6 Hours of Spa! The question has been answered as Brendon Hartley hits the lane. We're headed for the finish. The team cleans the screen and adds a splash of fuel. Forget the jockey club rules and whip the steed. It's time. Go, now. Sebastien Buemi leads. Kamui Kobayashi is still going for it and we'll see the #9 Toyota in the lane. LM GTE Pro, it seems to be sealed. Sam Bird might just take the win. In LM GTE Am, Pedro Lamy is going to do it, with Matteo Cairolli and Matt Griffin, getting the other podium steps.
Kobayashi is 4.5 seconds behind, but he's still pushing. Alex Lynn leads Bruno Senna in LMP2. The G-Drive car is leading in LMP2. No sign of the second Ferrari. Pedro Lamy is going to take the car to the checkers for Aston Martin, as he makes his 60th start as an Aston Martin pilot. How much will the team back time the race, so they don't have to do an extra lap? Go as fast as possible, and then, hold back both cars. Will there be a last lap pass? Buemi is still a tad slower than Kobayashi. It's going to be a near photo finish. More drizzle is falling.
Brendon Hartley and Andre Lotterer will bring the Porsche's home in third and fourth. Nicolas Lapierre will finish fifth in the #9 Toyota. The ByKolles car has actually had a trouble free run for this race which isn't the norm for those boys. Nelson Piquet Jr. unlaps himself as Bruno Senna is a minute or so behind. Ho Pin Tung, Oliver Jarvis, and Thomas Laurent will finish on the LMP2 podium. It's the witching hour. We're closer and closer to the end. Buemi is just 2.5 seconds ahead. He has a shade more pace than Kamui Kobayashi, except for the final sector. Four minutes to go.
Tockwith Motorsport takes their 13th pit stop. They've had a fraught race today. Sam Bird is going to win LM GTE Pro. Ferrari has wiped the floor with everyone here at Spa. The consequence is, they could indeed get slowed down for the next race, the greatest of all, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Kamui Kobayashi is chasing. Can he get around his team mate? He sweeps by the lapped Ferrari. The gap is down to a second. One lap to go! Oh my goodness! This is going to go to the wire! Buemi clears the G-Drtive car. Kobayashi won't have enough. Or, will he? Kobayashi is still in it. The Rebellion and one of the Ferrari's are lapped traffic through Pouhon.
The Rebellion will be the fly in the ointment. Oh! Kobayashi closes up but no. He's blocked. Sebastien Buemi and company will win at Spa! Yes! It's true. Sebastien Buemi and Toyota #8 win Spa! G-Drive brings home the win in LMP2 with Romain Rusinov, Pierre Thiriet, and Alex Lynn. LM GTE Pro honors go to the Sam Bird and Davide Rigon driven AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE and in LM GTE Am, it's the factory Aston Martin V8 Vantage in the hands of Pedro Lamy, Paul Dalla Lana, and Mathias Lauda, winning.
So, to wrap it up, here are your overall and class winners as Toyota takes two straight in FIA WEC. 2017.
Overall/LMP1: #8 Davidson/Buemi/Nakajima Toyota TS050 Hybrid
LMP2: #26 Rusinov/Thiriet/Lynn Oreca 07 Gibson
LM GTE Pro: #71 Bird/Rigon Ferrari 488 GTE
LM GTE Am: #98 Dalla Lana/Lamy/Lauda Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Next up, is the granddaddy of all endurance races, and the biggest. The 24 Hours of Le Mans at Circuit de La Sarthe in Le Mans, France. Yours truly, will cover it all. Stay tuned, as the race will happen on June 17th and 18th, so, in six weeks.
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