We've been delayed a little bit because of some conflicting sporting events on the TV. Now we are back. Just past two hours into this race. Ferrari has been struggling for pace this weekend. Porsche #1 off the road a bit, with Neel Jani at the wheel of it. He's got an oversteer issue. "Way too much oversteer" he says on the radio. Holy mackerel! Ferrari #61 in the pit lane. The grip levels are down to the available choices from the tire manufacturer. Michelin for most teams in the GTE Pro classes along with Dunlop for Aston Martin. Julien Canal leads LMP2 for Vaillante Rebellion at the moment as he locks the brakes. The sister car #13 hits pit lane.
Watching the tires work in slow motion is fascinating to watch. Every LMP2 car now is an Oreca. But there will be jokers in the off season, and may become available for next year. Oreca is not happy if they get leapfrogged. One of the great dynamics of multi-class and multi-driver racing is how the car changes based on tires, and driving. Driving a sports car on the limit as a single car is hard enough. But a lot of cars out there is even more of a challenge. Pit stop time and problems for the #92 LM GTE Pro Porsche. One air gun, four mechanics allowed in the pit lane. #92 is out in the lane.
The two Ford's run 1-2. Mucke and Tincknell both have yet to pit. Ben Hanley has a five second time penalty added to his pit stop for contact with Ho Pin Tung. Pit stop time now for Ford #67. Olivier Pla will now get behind the wheel. They pitted together on the first stop, as there's battles in LMP2 while one of the Toyota's passes. Kamui Kobayashi is 13 seconds in-arrears of Anthony Davidson. Drama in GTE Pro! The #66 Ford GT of Olivier Pla has the door comes open, and now, Kevin Estre in the #92 Porsche 911 RSR, slows! Prepare for a Full Course Yellow. 20 seconds 'til yellow. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Full Course Yellow. Estre slowed down, and pulled straight off at turn one.
Could it be game over? It will be. Estre and company just can't get a break to earn their first win in WEC. #92 had the engine go sour. #92 is not in the thick of the championship. The sister car of Fred Mackowiecki and Richard Lietz is the championship contender behind the Ferrari of James Calado and Andrea Pier Guidi. Toyota in the lane for topping up fuel. The #8 was in, and now here comes the #7. Driver change, and Mike Conway gets in the car. Conway had great success in the U.S. in IndyCar and he is also racing the enduros in IMSA for Whelen Engineering Racing and their Cadillac program.
Ooh. The #86 Porsche is somewhat off the road. Eek! Porsche #2 is now in from third, to make a pit stop with Brendon Hartley at the wheel of it. Clean stop for Hartley. The pit lane lollipop has a countdown clock. We come to the end of the full course yellow. Get back on the button. No grip. Wow. Yannick Roussel and Simon Trummer both have restart issues. Loic Duval will join G-Drive at the season finale in Bahrain. Olivier Pla is continuing to chase Fred Makowiecki. Pla is quick in Prototype and GT cars and has raced all over the world.
Some sure argy bargy between Porsche #2 and one of the Manor cars! Oh boy. Don't forget, that in a half hour for the east coast, set back your clocks to observe the end of Daylight Saving Time. All nine championships in each class for driver's and manufacturer's are still up for grabs. Fred Makowiecki is feeling the heat from Olivier Pla. The Ford is applying the blowtorch to the Porsche. Olivier Pla is right on Makowiecki's gearbox. Ford GT's run 2-3 in LM GTE Pro. Ford won a couple races in IMSA at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and at Road America.
Anthony Davidson was speaking to his crewman about the regeneration of charge into the battery of the Toyota. Could this be an issue? Hmmm. Toyota has had an ebb and flow between the two cars, depending on who is on fresher tires as he shows total commitment to pass one of the Aston Martin's. Toyota has revamped the front end, and the dive planes. They don't have to focus on their 2018 package, because there will be no real LMP1 competition next year. Priaulx has cut the gap from four seconds to 2.8 seconds. He's hoping to catch the Porsche #91. Priaulx is right on the tail of the class leader. This will get very interesting. Andy Priaulx is shown 2.7 seconds behind Olivier Pla.
But, it is officially game over for the sister #92 Porsche of Kevin Estre. He burst on the scene running for K-Pax McLaren in Pirelli World Challenge in 2014. Larry Holt and Dave Pericak look on at Ford. Pericak will move on, and Mark Rushbrook will be the new Ford Racing head. The Pla/Makowiecki scrum continues. Pla has two or three tenths of a second in his pocket. This track is a tough one to pass on, and the tire marbles make things even more difficult. Andy Priaulx has gotten around the Porsche, the sister car. This is for the lead in class. If Pla has anything in the locker, he'll use it.
Fred Makowiecki, at the same time won't have to over defend and compromise his lines. We have a three way lead battle in LM GTE Pro. Pedro Lamy continues to lead in LM GTE Am for Aston Martin. All three drivers have cycled through that car initially. Ford will pass Aston Martin in the GTE manufacturer's cup standings. Ferrari has a lead in the cup standings, but Ferrari has never won at Shanghai, and they don't have another victory in their immediate future either. This race in Shanghai is flying by at an amazing clip.
Ben Hanley tips the Aston Martin of Jonny Adam into a spin. At the same time, Adam didn't give Hanley more room, but Hanley did not wait. Both chaps would like a do over. David Cheng takes over the #37 car from Alex Brundle. Anthony Davidson is struggling with front tire grip. Pit stop time for the #38 car. Ho Pin Tung, out. Oliver Jarvis is into the car as we come to the halfway part of the race. Racing drivers do not blink. Rumors are that Oliver Jarvis could be a part of the revamped Mazda IMSA squad run by Reinhold Joest. Jarvis has history with the Joest team. Race Director Edoardo Freitas announces the #24 car will have a ren second stop and go penalty.
Ho Pin Tung ran in F1. He is from China, has a Dutch passport, and lives in Europe. Hanley meanwhile, has 15 seconds of penalty time for contact. Mathias Beche is third in class in LMP2 and Julien Canal, the Silver rated driver, is also running well. Team boss Bart Hayden must be very happy. We're halfway home in Shanghai.
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