Hour three in Texas. We are closing in on the halfway mark in this exciting motor race, ladies and gentlemen. Jackie Chan DC Racing car #37 is in the lane. We also see the Manor in the lane. Richard Lietz in Potsche #91 is fifth in LM GTE Pro. We've seen Ferrari leading LM GTE Pro throighout the day. The humidity is another issue compared to the temperature. All the cars are closed. So there's heat soak in the car, because w do not race open cockpit cars anymore in sports car racing. Stephane Sarrazin seems to be closing up. The Toyota's are finding more speed right now. Oliver Jarvis anticipates getting back behind the wheel of the #38 car after Thomas Laurent finishes his stint.
The Manor crew were up all night working on their electronics. The bug is still there, according to team boss Graeme Loudon. There's also an issue with the timing beacon power supply, so the FIA cannot read the car on timing and scoring. To add more woes, there's now a suspension problem. Poor old Manor's race is going pear shaped more and more. We saw this years ago with Darren Turner breaking awhole suspension system by hitting the sleeping policeman. Niki Thiim has taken over Aston Masrtin #95. Ben Barker brings the Gulf Porsche #86 into the lane too. Kevin Estre battles Niki Thiim. Ferrari in the lane with Sam Bird handing over to Davide Rigon. It is getting hotter as we continue.
The 80 minute limitation of drive time may be applied. The Porsche is bearing down on the Aston Martin. This is the battle for third in LM GTE Pro. Poor Harry Tincknell has dropped the Ford GT to sixth in class. The Ford's are nowhere to be seen right now. Toyota #8 whistles by this battle as Sarrazin is 17 seconds behind, despite being on fresher tires. Mike Wainwright is now back in the #86 Porsche, all over Miguel Molina in the #54 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488, which was leading in the class earlier in this contest. Correction, #54 may be a 458. Nicolas Lapierre is giving the Signatech Alpine a good run. Be careful at the end of your stint. You are hot and sweaty after you get out of the car.
But don't be in a hurry to get into the air conditioning, because you can get a chill. Put your hands and feet in ice cold water if you are a driver cooling off after your stint. Turn 12 has not been a problem for track limits. But turn 19 has been calamity corner, somewhat, today. Kamui Kobayashi has now caught Stephane Sarrazin. How will this scrap materialize? Oliver Jarvis, Ho Pin Tung, and Thomas Laurent are running well in LMP2. The LMP2 machines are taking a beating on the bumps here at COTA.
AF Corse had problems in Mexico having to reset the car and do the old Control, Alt, Delete. Kevin Estre, meanwhile, is reeling in the Aston Martin with Niki Thiim at the wheel of it. Check that, Marco Sorensen could be in the car. Bruno Senna is closing on Romain Rusinov in the LMP2 battle. Rusinov has to give away as little time in his stint as possible. It depends entirely on your pit stop strategy. We've seen black and white flags, the final public warning, about track limits. If you go off again, you have to drive through the pit lane, heading for the sin bin, at least temporarily. Through turn 11 in the hairpin, shift down to second gear.
That will also make it easier for the tires. Think about how you apply the power, where you put the energy into the tire, and how you brake into the corner. Drivers have to calculate the energy and temperature of the tire and you can't gambol into the corner playfully, like a leaping child. The LMP1 battle continues. Nick Tandy leads, with the sister Porsche and the Toyota's. Kobayashi ran a 1:49.2, and Bamber ran a 1:52.4. He's way down when he gets into traffic. Bamber can't get on terms with the Toyota.
Tandy is fastest of all, going purple in the first sector. This Porsche and Toyota battle was missing in Mexico, but, th switch has been turned on again, here in Texas. This race may well become a classic. The Potsche/Toyota battle is hotting up. The tires may tell, or the fuel strategy, who will win this thing. Kamui Kobayashi reels in Earl Bamber. When Toyota was doing a long run, they were ten seconds behind Porsche. The gapo has stretched back out to 21 seconds among the top four. Nicolas Lapierre races David Cheng in LMP2. A sketchy moment for Kobayashi, but he makes it through.
We steadily approach halfway in the sixth race of the FIA WEC in 2017. The luck quotient at Ferrari has ebbed and flowed. James Calado seems very comfortable in the car, as Kamui Kobayashi is pushing hard. Here he comes, and he could catch the #2 Porsche of Bamber, and does so. Bamber tries the cutback underneath, but no dice. Yikes! Bamber is pushing againm down the isnide, and here comes Kobauashi! What is this race? A Formula Ford dash for cash? Yikes! Slow down boys, we are in an endurance race!
Earl Bamber can now try to move ahead of the Toyota. Sebastien Buemi and Mike Conway will take over their respective cars as Toyota will hit the pit lane. Will Earl Bamber pit as well? We'll see. Ooh! Duck underneath the Ferrari, and go through this triple apex turn 16. Yikes! Big slide for Kobayashi in the turbulence through turn 19! Bamber and Kobayashi stay out. We are now 90 laps (306 miles). #8 is in. Sebastien Buemi will get into the car. Buemi is back into the race now.
Kobauashi almost runs into Earl Bamber as there's pit stops for both these casrs. The Toyota's have been separated in their strategy. Are Toyota deadly serious about winning? We now have the #2 Porsche in the lane. Car #1 is coming in soon. Mathias Beche is catching Jean Eric Vergne while also disposing of Oliver Jarvis. Nick Tandy in the lane, now. Full service, and a driver change. Neel Jani will now get into Porsche 919 #1. There will be a fresh set of tires as well. Good stop, and Jani is back on track, right on the button. Kobayashi had some harrowing moments in his stint.
We approach the halfway mark in this race. Michal Wainwright has spiun off the road, hitting the gravel trap. This is scary. Two incidents. The second one, as Wainwright spins... crunch!, into the tires. Estre wants by Niki Thiim, but Thiim continues to hold on to the lead in LM GTE Pro. Porsche changed the engine very quickly in Free Practice 1. Wainwright is in the lane and his rear wing is surely askew. Wainwright clips the curb, spins, and flies across the gravel. Then, he had the other shunt. Ooh! The LMP2 second place runner, Bruno Senna, squeezes between a couple GTE cars. Black and white flag for Fred Makowiecki.
Ho Pin Tung is now back in the #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing LMP2 car. G-Drive car #26 is in the lane. Softer tires work later in the day when it cools off. Harder tires work in the heat. But, it's partially gut instinct. The hard tire is why the Ford's have not been racing to their full potential today. Bruno Senna leads LMP2 right now as the race continues. Temperatures have climbed to 92 degrees Fahrenheit.
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