We are under the safety car. Toyota #8 leads. Car #28 pits for a top up on fuel, the TDS Racing car. We are two hours and two minutes into this motor race, so far. Pedro Couciero, is the safety car driver. Fernando Alonso is leading this motor race over Kamui Kobayashi. The NASA launch is delayed. It will go up at 7:11 P.M. Eastern Time. Racing Team Nederland, has to catch up, as we complete 68 laps, and have 200 left to run for the 1,000 miles. The safety car remains out. Andre Negrao is at the wheel of the #36 Signatech Alpine car at the moment. Frits van Eerd is trying to catch the queue, closing the gap up.
The safety car lights are still lit up. #29 is trundling along, trying to catch up, or is he? Frits Van Eerd is faster than the leaders behind the safety car. get on with it. Pits are open. Antonio Felix Da Costa is being told to ease off on the brakes. He's cleaning the tires, and doesn't want to overheat the brakes, because the brakes are cooled by airflow. We're back to green flag racing, and the battle resumes in GTE Pro. The #92 Porsche lost time in pit lane but is now trying to get it back together. Jonathan Bomarito is being monstered by a BMW as one of the cars, the TDS LMP2 machine, is back in pit lane with trouble. Bomarito, again, is being harried by the BMW and more. The #10 DragonSpeed LMP2 car is making his way through the field as well.
Alexander Sims has the BMW ahead of it's sister car. Giancarlo Fisichella is chasing Matt Campbell in GTE Am for second spot in class. The GTE Pro scrap continues as the #38 machine has the afterburners fully lit up, and he's pressing hard. That's Gabriel Aubry at the controls. He's passed a couple of his competitors, Andre Negrao being one. Roberto Gonzalez in the other car. Marco sorensen and Alex Lynn are currently at the wheel of each of the factory Aston Martin's. Fernando Alonso leads Kamui Kobayashi by 6.7 seconds. Roberto Gonzalez chops one of the BMW's! Antonio Felix Da Costa got monstered there! Yikes!
Oh. Never mind. It was Alexander Sims being taken by surprise. Porsche drivers were told to be cautious after the safety car. But now, their tires might be back in the sweet spot. Kevin Estre at the wheel of #92 while Richard Lietz is in #91. Stephane Richelmi is set to take over the #38 Jackie Chan car. He and Olivier Beretta are the two Monagasque drivers in this race. We ought to see a gorgeous sunset. But, the driver's won't like it. The low sun will be seen on this flat course with little elevation changes and few trees except for some orange groves off in the distance. It's tougher to leapfrog similar cars in your class, especially in the GT ranks.
The #66 Ford GT is now 17 laps down, and the #38 is 32 laps behind now. That's going to get longer as the race goes on. You have to be aware, and be able to take advantage of the opportunity to make a move as Fernando Alonso demonstrates, cutting his way through the rubbish, the clag on the outside of the circuit. 191 laps left, if we make full distance. We shall see. Do we go by distance? Do we go, by the clock? Toyota says this is a good circuit for the car, because of the regeneration from braking, and the kinetic energy for the hybrid system, recouping energy sans time loss. The amount of liftoff is equalized. Long, high speed turns, don't help, like at Spa Francorchamps, or Le Mans, the next two races before the Super Season ends.
Giancarlo Fisichella is clawing his way back and has made his way by Matt Campbell, and now pressing Jorg Bergmeister. Mikhail Aleshin and Need Jani are still trying hard, and the #66 Ford GT was slowing, but might be coming back up to speed. Fight your own battles, and don't get caught up in someone else's mess, getting yourself all hot and bothered. Am drivers can still get their maximum drive time in before the darkness comes. Giancarlo Fisichella is going to have to go for it, if he wants to get past Jorg Bergmeister. Two of the elder statesmen of sports car racing, but two of the great drivers, too. Giancarlo Fisichella of course, raced for many years in Formula 1.
For the fans here, Project 1 is practically an American team. He's been racing in the U.S. for 20 years. Will Stevens is in the second of his single stints and Thomas Laurent is beginning to go for it in the #3 Rebellion. BMW and Porsche, their battle ebbs and flows. It's Richard Lietz vs. Antonio Felix Da Costa, and Jonathan Bomarito is really giving it a good ride on debut in the Ford GT and in the FIA WEC. The rain isn't pouring yet. it's only spritzing at the moment. We are watching the Toyota's continue to battle, as Kamui Kobayashi is slowly catching Fernando Alonso. The battle in GTE Am is still hot and heavy between Jorg Bergmeister and Giancarlo Fisichella. But, Fisichella needs to look out, because Matt Campbell, the Aussie, is right on his six.
The factory Porsche, the #91 with Richard Lietz, he is still having issues with tire pressures. His rear tires are far better than his front tires at the moment. Jorg Bergmiester has been tagged by fisichella and wham! He has slammed the wall, albeit not too heavily. Fisichella will be dinged by the stewards for that one. In fairness to Fisichella, maybe he drifted wide. The #29 Racing Team Nederland car is in the pit lane as the stewards ding more drivers for Full Course Yellow behavior, including the #63 Corvette. Alex Lynn continues to be monstered by Kevin Estre, too. The Porsche is the cream in the middle of the two chocolate cookies at this time in GTE Pro. Jonathan Bomarito is pulling ahead of the BMW's as well in GTE Pro.
Kamui Kobayashi is in the lane a lap early and Mike Conway takes over the car. He's back in the race. Fernando Alonso will pit soon, but will do a double stint. Oh dear! More worries for the #31 car, as he goes off the road and slaps the wall. The rear wing is busted, again. They've crunched their spare. Poor old Pastor Maldonado is going to be a bit po-faced after this dust up with the barrier. We have another Full Course Yellow. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... Full Course Yellow, now. More pit action as we have seven minutes before the rocket launch at Cape Canaveral.
The LMP2 field is going to pit and we have one of the Ferrari's in the lane while Thomas Flohr takes over the class lead in LM GTE Am ahead of Christian Ried and Paul Dalla Lana. The whole left corner is busted on Pastor Maldonado's car, so, there isn't as much damage as thought on the back, but the lumps of rolled up rubber are huge, and are the size of your foot. Giancarlo Fisichella says he didn't touch anyone and that the other driver slammed the door in his face, and Bergmeister will see it differently. Go in shallow, you need more room than exists on the outside of the turn. The #82 BMW is in the lane. I'm pitting, can you have a mechanic kick the tire, please?
Tincknell and Sims will go past Da Costa. The fourth place Porsche of Gianmaria Bruni is next. Alexander Sims needs to get air into the radiators of the BMW and the car also needs brake and tire temperature. The only air he's getting is super heated air from the exhaust of the Ford GT and it's turbo V6 motor. Miguel Molina has come up the order. We close in on hour three being completed with five hours remaining in this race. Our old pal, David Hobbs, former driver and racing commentator, is here at Sebring, watching.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. We are back to green and Alexander Sims is all over Harry Tincknell! Jeepers creepers! Straight off the rev limiter, into the braking zone, and launch yourself inside.
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