Jenson Button explains there is a sensor failure in the #11 SMP Racing BR01. He, and his Russian team mates Mikhail Aleshin and Vitaly Petrov, will use the rest of the race as a test session. The #1 Rebellion R13 Gibson is making a scheduled pit stop. Again, that car has a strong driver lineup with Andre Lotterer, Neel Jani, and Bruno Senna. Another Toyota pit stop. The #7 Toyota has just pitted, and Jose Maria Lopez is at the wheel of it now. Lopez is leading the race. The SMP BR1 makes its way through GTE and LMP2 traffic. Egor Drudzhev at the wheel of it, presently. Drudzhev flies past the #56 Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR in GTE Am. Jorg Bergmeister and Patrick Lindsey share that car with Edgidio Perfetti.
The sister #3 Rebellion, is a car we have not called the number of too often today. Thomas Laurent of France, Mathias Beche of Switzerland, and American IMSA racer Gustavo Menezes share the car. The battle is heating up between Jan Magnussen and Tony Kanaan in LM GTE Pro. Pit stop time for Toyota #7. Jose Maria Lopez stays at the wheel of it. Four hours and 15 minutes in, and we have another slow zone. Oh dear! The #47 Cetillar Villorba Corse Dallara Gibson has crashed! That was being shared by Felipe Nasr, from IMSA. Nasr, the Brazilian, is sharing the car with Italian's Roberto Lacorte and Giorgio Sernagiotto. Porsche, Ford, and BMW run in the top GTE Pro placings so far.
Andrea Pizzitola is at the wheel of the #26 G-Drive Oreca Gibson in LMP2. Fernando Alonso is still in his first stint in Toyota #8. Jose Maria Lopez in the sister car, flies around him. The Toyota's seem to be having things all their own way, so far. But, Le Mans is a long race, and the track is a cruel mistress. Anything, repeat, anything can happen. The fans at Le Mans seem to be enjoying themselves. It is twilight, and though that is true, it is cloudy tonight. There's no real sunset to speak of in Le Mans. Olivier Pla continues toi have a fair old dust up with the BMW M8 GTE. The Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GTE, #54, seems to be in the way. That's shared by Francesco Castellaci of Italy, Switzerland's Thomas Flohr, and Giancarlo Fisichella, the Italian Formula 1 veteran.
The two Porsche factory cars are still scrapping. This little battle of theirs has been something to watch. Rothman's leads "Pink Pig". Their Michelin tires are equal and have done 24 laps a stint so far, for this current stint. Three Porsche's, two Ford's, and a BMW are the top six in GTE Pro. Jan Magnussen and Tony Kanaan battle for ninth and tenth. Ford vs. Chevrolet. Pit stop time for Toyota #7. In and out quickly, with four and a half hours, gone. It is unclear if Jose Maria Lopez is still at the wheel, or, if Mike Conway or Kamui Kobayashi have taken over for the Spaniard. Mr. Director is showing us the retro Porsche's again as they have their hands full with the Ford!
The tread camera through Arnage, is wild. Pit stop time for "The Pink Pig". Laurens Vanthoor is at the wheel of it, sharing with Michael Christensen and Kevin Estre. BMW #81 is also in. Sebastien Bourdais makes a pass on Fred Makowiecki into the first chicane on the Mulsanne straight. The Ford has slightly better aero, and is lower slung than the Porsche. Hence, the pass. 4.0 liter flat six in the Porsche, vs. 3.5 liter twin turbo V6 in the Ford. The flat six is of course, normally aspirated. Box, box, box, for the Porsche. A driver change is imminent. Oh dear! Gabriel Aubry of France, in the #38 Jackie Chan car, has a flat left front tire.
Safety car dispatched. As the pit work continues, Aubry is stranded on the Mulsanne, and he'll have a LONG way to go to get around to pit lane. Such are the pitfalls of an 8.5 mile road. Cars are cued in the pit lane, waiting to exit. The safety car, has picked up the field. There's lots of debris on the road as the crocodile forms up behind the safety car. We are four hours and 40 minutes into the action. Pit stop time for the #71 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE. Davide Rigon of Italy shares with Brit Sam Bird, and Miguel Molina, of Italy. Aubry, meanwhile is still coasting down the Mulsanne. This has to be an agonizing trip back to the lane.
The 20 year old Frenchman, in his home race, is doing a good job to minimize the damage. The #92 Porsche is on brand new Michelin tires. Gabriel Aubry has finally made it to pit lane. To the garage the car goes, for repairs, so the whole pit crew can work on it. In pit lane, you can have only four blokes working on the car. That is #32. Juan Pablo Montoya was supposed to get into the car, replacing Will Owen. We are back to green flag racing. Nicky Catsburg has come up to third in LM GTE Pro in BMW #81. Toyota in pit lane again. The safety car has broken up the GTE Pro lead battle.
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