Pierre Thiriet has spun out of the slow zone! Wow! That's close! BMW is still having a good time, but Patrick Pilet is harrying Martin Tomczyk. Chicane in the Mulsanne straight. United Autosports boss Richard Dean says Juan Pablo Montoya locked up, went straight on, and damaged the car's nose. The track conditions are changing tremendously. Richard Dean is co-owner of United Autosports. But, Dean also won Le Mans with Ginetta in the GT2 class. BMW has a much quicker car. They have a weight advantage, stripping weight off the car, about 10 kilograms. They got a 13 kilo weight increase, and then that weight was taken off, by ten kilos. Porsche seems a little dumbfounded here.
GTE Pro sees the Pink Pig and the CORE Autosport #93 machine pacing the field. #92 came to the lead through the slow zone. The #92 car went through the slow zone but came through before the slow zone was enforced. Car #47 is in the wars, again. Look out for #93, #81, and #92, and Kazuki Nakajima is being eaten up by team mate Kamui Kobayashi. The Project 1 Porsche with Jorg Bergmeister at the controls, was in the lane, but now Egidio Perfetti is in the car now. The car lost no time, thankfully. The car is second in class in GTE Am at a quarter after nine in the evening. Tristan Gommendy in the #39 Graf, SO24 LMP2 car is moving up. Kamui Kobayashi continues to close on Kazuki Nakajima. Nakajima is still pounding around, and they are under the 3:20 average lap time. They're not hanging around.
Something is wrong with the car, an oil pump failure according to team boss Mark Patterson. This is the Algarve Pro team from Portugal. Mark Patterson from the U.S. shares with Ate de Jong from the Netherlands, and Tacksung Kim from South Korea. Oliver Turvey in Ginetta #6 is back in the race, and these boys have had a torrid time in the race, but they are still in it. Team boss Lawrence Tomlinson says they haven't got the Le Mans aerodynamics package. The #17 SMP car with Matevos Isaakyan is going to pit, and may stay in the car.
He has gone onto his 11th lap. Now, non hybrid LMP1 cars, only can do ten laps according to the regulations, and you must stick to the fuel flow limit, with the BR01 with the AER (Advanced Engine Research), lump under the bonnet. The gearbox oil pump has failed on the #25 LMP2 car, the Flex Box Ligier Gibson. Kamui Kobayashi could overtake the #8 Toyota for the lead. Kamui Kobayashi over Kazuki Nakajima. Deary me!
Pit stop time for SMP Racing. This is a very busy run on the Mulsanne Straight, especially through the chicanes. Michael Christensen leads Patrick Pilet in LM GTE Pro, as Martin Tomczyk remains third, and Gianmaria Bruni is next in Porsche #91. Christian Ried leads LM GTE Am in the Dempsey Proton Porsche, over Jeff Segal in the WeatherTech #84 Ferrari. Toyota #7 in the pit lane. Kobayashi had a clewan stop. ToyotaBMW cannot do an extra lap on fuel even with a slow zone. Matevos Isaakyan can get an extra lap on fuel, but now, Romain Dumas has problems. This isn't a tire issue. The car is slow, and there's something wobbling. Is it a hub failure?
It is a loose wheel. #94 is being wheeled on the dollies back to the garage. We are actually six hours and 43 minutes into this motor race. All these cars are treating every lap as a qualifying lap. BMW is now in the pit lane. We have battles raging through this race right now. Paul Di Resta has his hands full with one of the other LMP2's. Kamui Kobayashi still leads. Again, this is Toyota's race to lose. The ACO has done the right thing with the Balance of Performance.
Contact has put the Fordd off the road! Yikes! Oh dear! Yellow at marshal post 30, as Paul Dalla Lana has gone straight on through the gravel trap, and... ker-runch! Staight into the wall. This will be full course yellow indeed. Cloudy weather with no rain is being forecast for the rest of this motor race, but that could change. We are officially, racing at night now. One of the LMP2 cars has overtaken both Ford and Ferrari. The #82 BMW was delayed by a shock damper change. The early evening gremlins at Le Mans are beginning to crop up. The Dempsey Proton #77 car is in the pit lane, with Christian Ried at the controls.
The race is back in action after the slow zone. Toni Vilander is going for it, after Ryan Briscoe. The classic Ford vs. Ferrari battle is in full swing at Le Mans again this year.
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