Welcome, to this special "Checkered Flag" post on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog. Today, we take you to the finish, of what was unfolding as a very dramatic 6 Hours of the Nurburgring for the FIA World Endurance Championship, last Sunday.
There was a threat of rain earlier in the race, but it has not materialized, thankfully. Porsche have faded in the LM GTE Pro class. Can they get their first win in the GT ranks this season? Ferrari has been strong with Jams Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi. Nick Tandy in the leading LMP1 Porsche has gone to the race lead. Traffic has been heavy. Nick Tandy almost got tangled up with the Ford GT with Harry Tincknell at the controls. Porsche leads LM GTE Am with Matteo Cairoli at the controls. Ho Pin Tung is leading LMP2 in the #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing LMP2 car. The #98 Aston Martin is pushing in LM GTE Am.
Richard Lietz leads Kevin Estre between second and third in LM GTE Pro. Ferrari could win this race. We've got less than an hour to go. 40 minutes to be precise. Alessandro Pier Guidi is at the wheel of the AF Corse Ferrari. The #51 car needs a result to get their championship charge back on track. They scored nil points at Le Mans which was a double points event. The #31 Vaillante Rebellion Oreca is in pit lane with the rubber being cleared out of the front end. Tire rubber is pliable and can stick to the front end. Two LMP2 cars get into some argy bargy. Alex Brundle scraps with Vitaly Petrov.
Kevin Estre is third in LM GTE Pro. He was told to manage the pace and not attack his Porsche GT team mate Richard Lietz. The sister Porsche of Estre is now in the lane, having run 159 laps as the Manor and the G-Drive cars pit. The sun is out now, 477 miles done and dusted for the Porsche. Fuel only for the third place LM GTE Pro Porsche. Andre Lotterer extends his lead. Can he hang on over his Porsche team mate? You have to take into consideration, one more fuel stop is needed before the end of this race.
We watch the LMP2 scrap and Toyota runs third behind the two Porsche's. The Oreca carsare battling in LMP2. G-Drive is working their way out of a deep hole right now and doing a good job of it. Matthieu Vaixiviere is back after his training injury at Le Mans, and he is at the wheel of the #28 TDS Racing entry. Jota Sport/Jackie Chan DC Racing are going for it. We also watch the battle for LM GTE Pro between Johnny Adam and Harry Tincknell. Aston Martin vs. Ford. Ben Hanley wants to pass Vitaly Petrov ASAP. 1.5 seconds separates the the LMP2 battle for second through fifth in class.
Tincknell is right on Adam's gearbox. The leading Porsche is squeezed by the ByKolles CLM P1-01. Andre Lotterer leads Timo Bernhard by five seconds. Porsche does not want to risk a win, and four factory Porsche's could win. Porsche #1 didn't score at Le Mans. Porsche #2 took the sweet, juicy, delicious fruits of victory. The LMP2 battle rages for class honors and nthe lead has been given back to Manor. It's Manor vs. G-Drive. Now, we have a half hour to go. Positions are sure to change before the race is done and dusted. Nicolas Lapierre passes Mathias Beche for third in class in LMP2.
Toyota has not had the race they wanted here at the Nurburgring. Remember, at the start, Toyota #8 had a fuel pump issue. Ben Hanley and Vitaly Petrov are the two combatants in LMP2. Final pit stops yet to come. There is an ebb and flow at the front. Porsche #2 has been let through by the team. Andre Lotterer is running very well with then high downforce Porsche 919. Aero degradation on the front of the #2. The front splitter can be affected by tire buildup. Lotterer was losing rear grip and Bernhard may be losing rear grip. Toyota is fading. Kamui Kobayashi is trying his best but they have had to settle in and try for a podium after the sister car had it's issues.
Pit stop time for the #91 Porsche 911 RSR second in LM GTE Pro. The windshield is cleaned, fuel is added, and he is on his way. This is Porsche's home race. They want to win it. In another 24 minutes, Porsche could be back in the hunt for the LM GTE Pro world championship. Vitaly Petrov in the Manor has Ben Hanley in the #26 G-Drive entry all over him. Andre Lotterer leads this race by a mere six seconds after almost six hours of the race. Manor is hanging on for as many points as they can get.
The scrap continues between Ford and Aston Martin for fifth in class inj LM GTE Pro. Ferrari will lead the manufacturer's championship if they win this event. The sister AF Corse Ferrari #71 hit trouble earlier in the race. The trophies have been lined up for whoever wins. Vitaly Petrov is passed by Ben Hanley. Petrov tries to take a defensive line, but Ben Hanley completes the pass. Toyota #8 lost it's computer system on the warmup lap and hasn't been the same since. Race Director Edoardo Freitas had to give the cars another warmup lap and the Toyota was brought to the pits.
Matthias Beche is moving ahead of Nicolas Lapierre as Miguel Molina is mounting a charge on Matteo Cairoli in LM GTE Am. Dempsey Proton leads LM GTE Am. The window for the last splash and dash for the leaders will open momentarily. You have faster, more powerful, thirstier LMP1 cars that have the hybrid tech. But the LMP2 cars will be thirstier. This all adds up to a heady cocktail of action that we've seen. Porsche won at the Nordschleife and they also won the first 1,000 kilometer WEC race here at the shorter Nurburgring back in 1984.
The Johnny Adam and Harry Tincknell battle continues to sizzle, but the Ferrari is setting a cracking pace right now. Ooh! Harry Tincknell takes fifth from Johnny Adam in LM GTE Pro! A good run, and then dive in late on the brakes. Could Adam's brakes be fading? Aston Martin in the lane. It's his final stop for a splash and dash. One of the factory Ferrari's is in, the lead #51 car. We have about 15 minutes on the clock. No tires necessary. Porsche #2 has quite the lead as Andre Lotterer makes the stop, crawling down pit lane at 60 kilometers an hour (37 miles an hour).
Fuel for the Porsche. It looks like there is a shade of smoke from the rar brakes which is normal. Porsche team boss Andreas Seidl has worked the strategy out. Porsche out of the lane and back onto the track. Timo Bernhard in the sister Porsche is still your overall leader. No last throw of the drama dice. Bernhard has to pit for a splash of fuel. We've got just a tad over ten minutes to go. Porsche #2 is in. The two Toyota's also have to pit yet. Miguel Molina is still catching Matteo Cairoli in LM GTE Am, but not as quickly. 36 seconds in the lane for the Timo Bernhard stop. It was an insurance stop, for a splash of petrol.
Bernhard gained 20 seconds. This has to be a strategy call. Which Porsche will bring it home? We have ten minutes left, and we'll find out. The conclusion of the 6 Hours of the Nurburgring, is coming up. Bruno Senna is second in LMP2 as Ho Pin Tung will win in class for Jackie Chan DC Racing. This will be their third win of the season. Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado lead LM GTE Pro over Porsche. The LM GTE Pro Porsche still needs a win. Timo Bernhard has the lead over Andre Lotterer. Porsche is in line to win LM GTE Am. The #77 car of Matteo Cairoli has six seconds. But Miguel Molina is pushing and I don't have to tell you, hard!
What will the race distance be? We had 203 laps in 2015, and 194 laps last year. Timo Bernhard has run 200 laps, 600 miles. We could have a distance record here at the Nurburgring. Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley won in 2015 and 2016. The #2 Porsche could get the three-peat here. Mark Webber won with Porsche and of course, after his retirement, Earl Bamber is Porsche's new recruit in the prototype ranks. James Calado will get his second straight win at the Nurburgring in LM GTE Pro. He won last year, with new Porsche GT driver Gianmaria Bruni, who was still at Ferrari in 2016.
The #38 Jota Sport team will score full points after winning in class and nearly, nearly winning overall at Le Mans. Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley will have ten career wins. The record was previously held by the Audi trio including Andre Lotterer, Marcel Fassler, and Benoit Treluyer. WEC is a place where we expect last lap dramas in recent years in many races. Le Mans is the one where we see it most commonly. But now, Timo Bernhard is headed home to a win. This will be a first win for Alessandro Pier Guidi and a second, for James Calado. Toyota needs a splash and dash from fourth overall. It's a thimble's worth of fuel for Kamui Kobayashi, who has not had a good racer today.
It's the final laps for the two Porsche's. Timo Bernhard, Earl Bamber, and Brendon Hartley will win. Andre Lotterer, Neel Jani, and Nick Tandy, will be second. Porsche debuted in 2014, but they will now have the third win for Porsche at the Nurburgring, the 14th overall win, and the two Porsche's will give the make 31 wins in class in FIA WEC. Timo Bernhard and company does the three-peat! Timo Bernhard, Earl Bamber, and Brendon Hartley win the Nurburgring 6 Hours!
James Calado and Alesandro Pier Guidi win LM GTE Pro. Ferrari dominates in Deutschland. Jota Sport wins LMP2 again. Ho Pin Tung, Thomas Laurent, and Oliver Jarvis are unstoppable! LM GTE Am honors go to Matteo Cairoli in the #77 Dempsey Proton Porsche 911 RSR along with Christian Ried and Marvin Dienst! Porsche wins ahead of Ferrari, the one driven by Miguel Molina. Great race! What an amazing event this was! Ferrari spoils Porsche's party in GTE Pro. Porsche has now won two straight races.
Overall/LMP1: #2 Bernhard/Bamber/Hartley Porsche 919
LMP2: #38 Tung/Jarvis/Laurent Oreca 07 Gibson
LM GTE Pro: #51 Calado/Pier Guidi Ferrari 488 GTE
LM GTE Am: #77 Ried/Cairoli/Dienst Porsche 911 RSR
The rain stayed away. Champagne was the only thing to soak the winning drivers. Porsche wins their 15th overall race in WEC. Video of the end of the race is available at www.foxsports.com/motor if you scroll down in the headlines. The next FIA WEC race is six weeks away, at the beginning of September, in Mexico City, Mexico, at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Enjoy the summer break. We'll see you, in Mexico, amigos. Auf Wiedersehen from the Nurburgring.
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