Fourteen hours done and dusted, and in the book. Weiron Tan got back to the pit lane, and got fixed after being in the gravel trap with the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing car. Kobayashi and Nakajima continue to run 1-2, with Gustavo Menezes and Neel Jani next in third and fourth overall in the Rebellion cars. Gaps are beginning to pendulum. At night, cars fall into clumps... big chunks of cars. Neel Jani heads for pit lane from fourth in the overall. The Rebellion cars are not as competitive as the prognosticators (including yours truly), thought they would. They are up there, but have had a few niggles along the way. If there is a tire puncture, and the team is not sure where, then change all four.
Rebellion continues to nurse their cars a little bit. DragonSpeed's LMP1 #10 is now driven by Ben Hanley, but is down the order. The #52 AF Corse car has pitted, no driver change. Brake disc change, tire change, and refueling. 231 laps on the board for the Toyota's. They are eight laps up on Gustavo Menezes in Rebellion #3. There are three of four LMP2 chassis' in the race this year. There was a Riley Mk. 30 last year, but not this year. Alexander Sims is now going to drive the #82 BMW M8 GTE. On track, the BMW M8 GTE is relatively quiet. It is a turbocharged 4.0 liter V8. They are performing well, although the #81 machine has had it's foibles throughout this race.
Andrea Pizzitola has taken over the #26 G-Drive car. The #92 Porsche lost it's class lead in GTE Pro. Fred Mackowiecki will also come in in the Rothman's tribute Porsche. Pastor Maldonado pits the #31 DragonSpeed car, Norman Nato in the #17 SMP Racing BR01, and one of the other cars, I can't remember the number. Giedo van der Garde has driven two stints so far, and has the exhaust issue on the Racing Team Nederland car, fixed. Jan Lammers is in his 24th 24 Hours of Le Mans. Jan Lammers watched the race as a kid, with his dad, and that's how he fell in love with this race, seeing the Mulsanne straight at seven or eight years old. That was his inspiration. Jan Lammers will step away from the FIA WEC after Le Mans.
Nyck de Vries will be the new driver. Now, Sebastien Bourdais is having a brake change on the #68 Ford GT. This is the time of the race when a brake change will likely occur, whether it is here, Daytona, Spa, Nurburgring etc. Pit stop time for Toyota, and Kazuki Nakajima pits for fuel. Kobayashi will be in the next lap. They have a cushion and don't want to botch anything. There's no worries about the #7 car. Once Nakajima caught Kobayashi, Kobayashi was off like a scalded cat. 12 sets of tires, for 24 hours, means you have to double or triple stint sets of tires. 56 tires allocated as 14 sets in LMP2. 60 tires allocated for the race in LM GTE. Race tires are new, and the tires from qualifying don't have to be reused.
The Rebellion R13 will be a customer car. It is invested in by Oreca and Hughes de Chaunac, who is helping run Toyota, and also, the Rebellion team. Andrea Pizzitola still has the #26 car in a competitive spot. He's French, even though his name sounds Italian. The skies will begin to lighten over Le Mans, soon. There are breaks in the clouds, and we could see sunlight. Even more quick laps will come up. It's almost time for breakfast. Toyota continues to lead this motor race, seven laps ahead of Gustavo Menezes in the first of the Rebellion's. The #1 Rebellion is also in fourth. Small issues have delayed them.
No change in track temperature, as it is still 15 degrees Celsius. What happened to Jenson Button? He is now 52nd overall. Out of the race are the #34 Jackie Chan DC Racing car, with an engine issue. #40 G-Drive car, Jose Guttierez, out, in a heavy wreck. ByKolles #4, heavy wreck. Porsche GT Team #94, crash damage, chassis and suspension. Paul Dalla Lana, #98 Aston Martin Vantage GTE, the #17 BR01 AER, crashing backwards into the tire wall and damaging the rear wing. Tried to fix the car, got the bodywork together, and then, the car steamed like the Flying Scotsman, and the car overheated. Finally, the #6 CEFC TRSM Ginetta of Oliver Rowland, stopping at Tertre Rouge. Game over. Other cars have had several delays.
Mark Patterson threw the Algarve Pro Racing car off the road, and did damage it, but it is still running. The #3 Rebellion had the broken floor, but there is still a mystery as to why the #1 Rebellion racer was having a problem. More problems for Jackie Chan DC Racing. Gabriel Aubry is waiting to get into the car. The Jota and Onroak Jackie Chan DC Racing cars have had trouble, and they almost won last year with Thomas Laurent, Oliver Jarvis, and Ho Pin Tung. But, they have had a pear shaped motor race at Le Mans this year.
Its daylight now, at Le Mans. Kevin Estre is charged up. He didn't sleep all that much. Meanwhile, the TF Sport Aston Martin V8 Vantage in the lane. They had a small brake fire, and have to redo the brake discs. They put the car on the dollies and are wheeling it into the garage. Euan Hanckey was driving at the time. Salih Yoluc should be getting back into the car, as he has not driven since 10PM last night.
Jorg Bergmeister has said, "you can't see anything at night, and you just hit your marker, which is the opposite in the daytime." Nathaniel Berthon is running slowly. He is in what could be his last WEC race of this season, as Anthony Davidson will take over at the next race. Ben Hanley is beginning to recover well. The #11 SMP Racing BR01 will score points and get to 70% distance, which is the requirement for scoring points at Le Mans. Both Toyota's now have 243 laps on the board. Very dusty brakes for the DragonSpeed. ORECA cars have had brake issues in the European Le Mans Series.
Will Stevens brings the Panis Barthez Ligier to pit lane. Jeff Segal, also, is in. He has a win, and a second place. Stevens won GTE Am last year and was second in LMP2 in 2016. Stevens tried to get into Formula 1, and couldn't do it. But, he is now running very well in sports cars. The #31 car is on the trolleys and into the garage. Elton Julian has a wry smile on his face it seems. There's damage on the corner of the DragonSpeed car. Salih Yoluc is not ready to race yet. Charlie Eastwood is back into the car. Salih Yoluc has to do six hours of driving, and so, he needs to do at least two more hours in the daytime.
Ligier #22 with Paul di Resta, is moving up. Ginetta has had issues, but the dogged, stubborn Yorkshiremen have kept pushing.
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