11AM at Le Mans and the GTE Pro battle has very much hotted up. Jose Maria Lopez has to wrestle the #7 Toyota. Fernando Alonso still leads. Andy Priaulx sets the fast lap for the #67 Ford at 3:50.402. Ford's are finally running on song again, as it is pit stop time again. Priaulx makes a scheduled stop, and no driver change. Sebastien Bourdais (a.k.a. Sea bass), he's coming for Fred Makowiecki, and wants to scrap again. This is a proper scrap, on full tanks. This is an even Steven scrap. Both cars all over the curbs. The starting line was moved forward. Nine laps completed in a 14 lap stint.
Jeroen Bleekemolen is happy to be driving a Ferrari. He had a hiccup early on in the race. He said "I pushed too hard and went over the limit." He is still going for it. Luca Stolz and Ben Keating are going for it, too. A penalty for IDEC Sport, as a mechanic took his gloves off the pull bits of rubber out of the air intake, and he didn't put his gloves back on. IDEC Sport will have to take a penalty. Is LMP2 the class that no one wants to win? Car #50 now has a new nose, and is 17th in class, 38th in the overall. The Tim Buret, Will Stevens, Julien Canal Ligier is srtill being worked on in pit lane. Juan Pablo Montoya has the fastest Ligier, the #32 car.
G-Drive is running ELMS, and there are a few in WEC as well. The other car is from the Asian Le Mans Series. Now, Sebastien Bourdais is not sure he can pass Fred Makowiecki. The two Frenchmen are pressing each other, very much so. Bourdais gets squeezed by Fred Makowiecki! Wow. Bourdais is not happy about Makowiecki weaving all over the road. In Formula 1, you get one move, and one only. Jose Maria Lopez has set the fastest lap for the #7 Toyota at 3:!7.980. Jose Maria Lopez is a quicker driver than his team mates Kamui Kobayashi, and Mike Conway.
Alonso pits for service. Fuel only for Alonso. The Panis Barthez Ligier has been in the garage for an hour and ten minutes. There wasa clutch issue. The #1 Rebellion and #63 Corvette will pit. Game over for the #64 sister Corvette C-7-R-, the car overheated. Bourdais has made it past Fred Makowiecki, but Makowiecki makes the pass and says "take that, Sebastien!" Don't touch! Gently, boys. Oh man! Sebastien Bourdais goes outside, and late on the brakes into Arnage, and no dice for Makowiecki. Makowiecki is not giving up! Makowiecki is being given nothing by Bourdais! Great racing! Was it fair and square?
GTE Pro leader in the lane. Laurens Vanthoor gets fuel and is back on his merry way. Kevin Estre will be next into the #92. Second place is the #91 and #68. Neither of them is close to "The Pink Pig". Sebastien Bourdais and Fred Makowiecki will pit together and install new drivers into the car. Joey Hand is now in the #68 Ford GT. Julien Andlauer leads Luca Stolz and Francesco Castellaci in LM GTE Am, with Jorg Bergmeister next up. Tracktemp is 20.6 Celsius, heating up like the ambient temp and the racing. The Rebellions are separated by 22 seconds, while the two Toyota's have a minute gap between each other.
Pit action, and fuel limits to consider in LMP2. Juan Pablo Montoya leads LMP2. There is a risk of rain at 2PM. Fred Makowiecki's driving was not penalized. Car #48 is back in pit lane, losing places hand over fist. No penalty for a crewman not wearing gloves. Jose Maria Lopez has spun! Oh wow. He thankfully found a spot to reshuffle the car. He was cooking, and then, overcooked the corner. A lack of grip at the Dunlop curve. Lopez and Alonso are pressing hard. Lopez has lost time, recovering from his earlier spin. Three hours to go.
Many cars are out, but Romano Ricci has gotten the #50 Larbre Competition Ligier is still running, but the Algarve Pro and Racing Team Nederland cars havee been in the lane. Pastor Maldonado is back into this race. The #25 Algarve Pro Ligier has had a litany of trouble, and it's game over, as they had a bearing problem that led to a loss of oil pressure. Fernando Alonso pits the Toyota, and Bruno Senna does likewise for the #1 Rebellion.
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