Porsche #1 and Signatech could be repeat winners here in Texas. Paul Dalla Lana and Pedro Lamy could also possibly win again in LM GTE Am. Sam Bird flies past Stefan Mucke. Ferrari > Ford at this stage. Stefan Mucke has been struggling with his tires and Harry Tincknell went through that earlier. Tincknell is now back at the controls of Ford #67. James Calado leads in LM GTE Pro by nine seconds over Kevin Estre. Daniel Serra is fourth. Again, his father, Chico Serra, was also a racing driver, in Formula 1 specifically. Sam Bird has now made a pass and has gone by the Aston Martin. Bird is fourth in class. Darren Turner will take over the Aston Martin from Daniel Serra very soon.
Ferrari on Michelin tires, and Dunlop tires on the Aston Martin. Ford has not had a podium since Le Mans. Stefan Mucke has the #66 Ford sixth in class. The GT cars have a lot of responsibility. They are so busy, that it is still hard to tell an LMP car is coming up. Fred Makowiecki in Porsche #91 is getting another penalty. With two hours to go, it will be hard for Porsche to get back in the game in LM GTE Pro. Aston Martin #97 is in the lane and Darren Turner has taken over the car from Daniel Serra. Has Daniel Serra come to the end of his driving time? Maybe. It is a maximum 80 minute drive time, because if you go over it, the driver will be disqualified. Fuel also makes a huge difference.
Drive through penalty for Makowiecki because of excessive wheel spin. So, he'll have two drive through penalties. You can't spin the wheels in the lane, for safety reasons. It's less important here at COTA, but is much trickier at a place like Le Mans. A penalty like that would have stopped Johnny Herbert and company from winning with Mazda in 1991. Back in the day, there were no pit lane speed limits. Aston Martin #98 has pitted. Christian Ried will take the lead in LM GTE Am. Kazuki Nakajima is shown the black and white flag, for his final warning on track limits. That's when your wife asks, "are you going out with the boys again tonight?" and you say, "no, dear. I'm not."
Christian Ried hands the #77 car over to Matteo Cairoli. Watch out for tire pickup. David Heinemier Hanson vs. Thomas Laurent in LMP2. Marvinn Dienst is now in the #77 Porsche. Heinemeier Hanson goes by. He is a racing driver, but also a businessman. A wonderful battle in LMP2. Kevin Estre in the lane and so is the #91 with Richard Lietz taking over. The #61 Clearwater Racing Ferrari is in with Weng Sun Mok at the wheel. They had a horrid race in Mexico, a fortnight ago. Sam Bird and Alessandro Pier Guidi lead l,M GTE Pro for Ferrari.
Nico Lapierre leads LMP2. Pedro Lamy taks the lead in LM GTE Am. Andre Negrao taks over car #36 and #38 pits as well. Bruno Senna will take over the #31 Rebellion. Andre Lotterer still leads. TDS is in the lane. Rear tires only for Oliver Jarvis. Toyota in pit lane. Jose Maria Lopez is getting new tires. That's the #7 car, accelerating away on electrical energy and then hitting the internal combustion engine while Brendon Hartley brings Porsche #2 to the pits. Hartley hands the car to his fellow Kiwi Earl Bamber. We have an hour and 15 minutes left in this race.
Andre Lotterer almost spins! Wow! Lopez tagged him in the left rear. No punctured tires. Porsche #2 into the lane to survey the damage. #1, excuse me. This is just a precautionary situation Fuel and tires. The stewards will examine that incident. Now the lead battle is between the two Porsche's. Nick Tandy in the #1, and now, Earl Bamber in #2. We're coming down to the nitty gritty in this race with just an hour left to go in another eight minutes.
Alpine #36 leads LMP2. Moments ago Tandy ran wide, and handed Earl Bamber the lead. All the LMP2 cars are the same, built by Oreca in France. Sam Bird and AF Corse still lead LM GTE Pro. Alessandro Pier Guidi in the sister car is second in class. Michael Christensen in the Porsche #92 is next as we run out the entire field in LM GTE Pro. Ford #66 gets a penalty. One minute penalty for the #66 Ford for pitting while the pit entry light was still on, according to Race Director Edoardo Freitas.
Pit stop infringements can add up. Little, basic things, have to go right, otherwise you'll be penalized. That will alter the championship table a little bit at least in LM GTE Pro. Sam Bird is in. Bird stays in the car. They will back time a splash and dash for Davide Rigon to take the car home.
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