35 laps into the race as we start hour two. Sebring is notoriously difficult as a track. Stay calm. Keep fighting. Keep pushing. The Ford is crashing all over the place as Billy Johnson was doing his darnedest to get by the Porsche! Julien Andlauer is giving these factory blokes a hard time, but he's quick, and so is his team mate, Matteo Cairoli. The Frenchman and the Italian. The battle in GTE Pro is going to ebb and flow based on track temperature and tire degradation. Stephane Sarrazin is third overall, and Gustavo Menezes is chasing. #38 is back on track, but Jackie Chan DC Racing is having their problems while DragonSpeed is taking their first scheduled pit stop. The GTE Pro battle, continues. This scrum between BMW, Porsche, and Ford is getting spicy. You are now allowed to do the driver change, fuel, and tires, at the same time. It never used to be that way, but the rule has now been changed.
Whoa! An off in the dust for the Porsche, the Gulf Racing car. Toyota #8 leads and has run 39 laps. The GTE Pro scrap is covered by the proverbial pocket handkerchief. Francois Period gets lapped as David Heinemeier-Hanson is improving his speed. He is not a pro racer, he is a semi-professional gentleman driver, but he's got the welly down indeed. Gustavo Menezes is dealing with an ill handling race car, and he is chasing Stephane sarrazin, while Jose Maria Lopez gets balked and has to go out in no man's land. Sebastien Buemi does the same. Be careful. Stay on the road. LMP1 pit stops are coming up again.
There should be driver changes as there's more issues for Jackie Chan DC Racing. Something ain't workin' in the electrical system. Sarrazin barely gets through that gap. Chief mechanic Sam Hignett points out there is an electric gremlin on #38, and there's an issue with a wiring loom. Problems, too, as Vitaly Petrov has a tire puncture. He's blown the left rear tire, look. He has to be careful. he's running on the rim of the tire. Don't risk damage to the suspension, the floor, the brake lines, or the bodywork. Don't drive fast. Rain is coming, and fast.
Toyota #7 in the lane, changing the tail for the aerodynamic balance of the car, not because of having a clatter out on the circuit. Corvette has now joined the GTE Pro battle. Gianmaria Bruni is now at the wheel of the #92 Porsche 911 RSR. Frits van Eerd has taken over the Jumbo Supermarkets Dallara as Pierre Thiriet is catching him for second in class. Thiriet is doing a double stint. The air temperature and track temperature are steadily cooling. Stephane Sarrazin is in the lane while Mikhail Aleshin has the #11 on the road at the moment. Porsche just off on the dirt trying to pass the Corvette, look. Maxime Martin in the Aston Martin is joining this party. Oh, they're having a little party, and they didn't invite me! Well, they have, Maxime. Go for it.
The Corvette, though, he's out of sequence due to blistering Michelin tires. Nathaniel Berthon and Egor Orudzhev resume their battle. Maxime Martin is still catching the rest of the GTE Pro field. Nathaniel Berthod has to run wide around the #70 MR Racing Ferrari! He had two choices. Have the apex, or crash. Dear me. That was three wide stuff there, look! Egad! The red mist was down, there. The GTE Pro cars are dropping wheels through turn one for some reason. There's no way to do that with an LMP1 car without scrambling your way off the road, and frankly, scrambling your race like an egg.
Paul Dalla Lana has lost 20 seconds to Patrick Lindsey and he has been overtaken by Matteo Cairoli and Julien Andlauer. We're 90 minutes into this motor race, give or take. Fernando Alonso is cruising, pulling away out front. In GTE Pro, Billy Johnson has pitted in the #66 Ford GT. Julien Andlauer and Matteo Cairoli continue their battle as there are engine issues for Ford #66. Antonio garcia is being hounded by Gianmaria Bruni. Garcia is lighter on fuel than his rivals in GTE Pro. Maxime Martin is next in line, 1.2 seconds behind Bruni. Andy Priaulx is running 7/10ths of a second ahead of the rest of these blokes in GTE Pro.
The #56 Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR still leads GTE Am, Patrick Lindsey, the team owner, at the wheel of it. Cairoli gets by Andlauer after his off course excursion. Alternator issues for the #66 Ford GT. The gap in GTE Am is still about 16 seconds. Lindsey is leading the others, still, in the Am division. Trouble for the #31 DragonSpeed car. Light rain to drizzle might come very soon. will the wet weather tires be necessary? Maybe so. Corvette in the lane. Antonio Garcia is out of sequence. But, he is doing better managing the tires. Ricardo Gonzalez is at the wheel of the #31, with a broken rear wing end plate. The tail needs to be changed. Yup. That's definitely loose bodywork, freeing itself from the automobile.
Nothing better than using a size ten boot as your hammer for fixing the car. Davidson had a wheel fall off in practice but is fine now. Nicky Catsburg is getting closer, and he might be able to whistle by both Bruno Spengler and Gianmaria Bruni. The sunset is due, and there will be a space launch from Cape Canaveral at 6:56 P.M. You will get a flame from a rocket booster, maybe. If it is windy at Kennedy, they will scrub the launch,. as Jordan King leads LMP2 in the car he shares with Will Stevens and David Heinemeier Hanson. Frits van Eerd is running very well in his first drive at Sebring. Fernando Alonso and Kamui Kobayashi are ten seconds apart as there is lapped traffic, the Aston Martin #90 of TF Sport, with Charlie Eastwood at the wheel of it.
Don't overcommit in a corner if your hybrid boost power is unavailable. Rain is coming to the western edge of the circuit, at turns seven, 16 and 17. There's drizzle around. Need Jani has moved up to 13th overall. With all the oil and grime on the windscreen, the last thing a driver wants, is rain, because all that slime and clag will build up on the screen. There will be a Full Course Yellow. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Full Course Yellow. ego Orudzhev has crashed heavily at turn one. He's fine, but the car is smashed in the front. Slick tires out at Porsche and for everyone else. Game over for Egor Orudzhev. He went wide really early.
Pit stop time for Dempsey Proton. Orudzhev is kicking the tin can, and he's obviously gutted. Orudzhev was on the outside, but ran wide into the dust on the outside of the course. Aston Martin #90 in pit lane. It's a free chance to pit, as we are five minutes away from completing another hour. Weather is moving away. Hey, we might get away with this race not having any rain. Quite the bonus. If you are out, you're out. But, if you get halfway home, you might be in good shape. Orudzhev maybe throw in the towel. alonso and Kobayashi pit both of the Toyota's, and a lead of 32.4 seconds. Sergey Sirotkin won't be able to drive the SMP car. Toyota #7 in the lane for scheduled service as #8 is back on its way.
Thomas Laurent is now third. Egor Orudzhev will tumble like a stone. Will Stevens is leading LMP2 right now. Jonathan Bomarito leads in the #67 Ford GT ahead of Nicky Catsburg and Antonio Felix Da Costa as Patrick Lindsey still leads GTE Am. Giorgio Roda and Matt Campbell are now driving each Dempsey Proton Porsche. Ford CGR UK are quickest in the lane for Andy Priaulx and Bomarito goes out in the lead.
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