With the Spa 24 Hours test session now done and dusted, we can focus on this weekend and the Indianapolis 8 Hours at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Not much news today, but plenty is sure to come as the race weekend is approaching.
Here is all you need to know, in a second Intercontinental GT Challenge blog post, all about the Spa 24 Hours test day at the Spa Francorchamps circuit.
We are playing catch up with Intercontinental GT Challenge. They are coming into what will be only their second event of the truncated 2020 season, racing at what is essentially, one of if not the greatest race track on the planet, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana, this weekend, as the Indianapolis 8 Hours will be a support event to the IndyCar road course doubleheader also planned for the weekend.
The tight, challenging corners of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, is the next challenge for the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. Here's a myriad of pre-race news items. This particular race occurred last weekend, but, the scoop is, since yours truly was so incredibly focused on the Nurburgring 24 Hours, he has not had a chance to cover the IMSA action yet. The next series of posts, throughout this week, will do just that. Looking forward to bringing you all the news, and then, eventually, a race report.
Sportscar365's post-race notebook following the 48th ADAC TOTAL Nurburgring 24...
https://sportscar365.com/other-series/n24/nurburgring-post-race-notebook-6/
Drivers “couldn’t see a thing” in the worst of the wet weather during the Nurburgring 24...
Wet condition struggles contributed to Porsche hardship in Nurburgring 24, according to Lars Kern...
https://sportscar365.com/other-series/n24/top-porsche-crew-never-had-the-pace-in-challenging-event/
Red flag followed by drying track enabled ROWE to win the N24 for the first time...
https://sportscar365.com/other-series/n24/sims-pace-on-drying-track-key-to-rowes-victory-bid/
Well, as odd as it seemed with the rain pouring down last night when we left you for a break, the great race at the Nurburgring Nordschleife (a.k.a. “The Green Hell”) did continue. Here’s how the rest of the race went down. By the way, the red flag was displayed for almost ten hours, which surely allowed a rarity in a 24 hour race, for the drivers and the pit crews to actually get some shuteye.
Despite rain affecting the race the whole way through, everything was running smoothly for the opening, oh, seven or so hours at the Nurburgring, and then, mother nature intervened in the Eiffel Mountains and the skies opened, big style, putting the race under red flag conditions until Sunday morning, for safety concerns. Here's what has happened so far.
Luca Stolz on top for HRT as rain sets in during session before N24 race start...
https://sportscar365.com/other-series/n24/hrt-mercedes-quickest-in-wet-n24-warm-up/
Well, all the qualifying and preparation, save for the morning warmup, is done and dusted. Here’s the latest from the Nurburgring Nordschleife before we go racing, tomorrow. Tune in either on the Motor Trend app if you happen to have it, or on YouTube for all the racing action. No full hourly reports for this race, but stay tuned for a summarization of what went down, after the checkered flag falls, on Sunday.
The top qualifying shootout for the positions at the head of the starting grid for the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring, tomorrow. We rejoin the blokes in the commentary box, calling every moment of the action, Jonny Palmer and Peter Snowden, reporting for Radio Show Limited. Watch the video, on YouTube.
The third qualifying session for the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring in anticipation of the pole shootout coming up soon. We join Radio Show Limited and the commentary team of Jonny Palmer, Peter Snowden, and stats guru Paul Truswell, for all the action.
GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG’s run first and third in wet final practice ahead of Top Qualifying...
https://sportscar365.com/other-series/n24/getspeed-leads-final-session-before-top-qualifying/
The first two qualifying sessions from the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring, on video. In case you missed them, re-live all the action, here. We join Jonny Palmer and Peter Snowden from Radio Show Limited for the call.
More news on Thursday, in anticipation of the 50th anniversary running of the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring. Have been following practice and qualifying today and there's more tomorrow, before the race itself gets underway on Saturday morning. It will be available on the Motor Trend app if you have access to that, or, it will be available through YouTube as well, if I am not mistaken, with commentary from Radio Show Limited and their team.
It has been confirmed that Gerard Neveu will step down as the manager of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the FIA World Endurance Championship, and the European Le Mans Series, for their company, Le Mans Endurance Management, at the end of 2020.
More news from the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, headed for this weekend's race, at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.
Yes. Another 24 hour race will be taking place this weekend, as the Nurburgring 24 Hours on the Nordschleife will be set to roll, with (due to the pandemic), a much condensed field of 102 cars, compared to the 200+ grids we have seen in past years.
Le Mans 2020 is over, but, before we completely leave France, and focus on other sports car races, some more post-race headlines to look at.
Your full race recap via Sportscar365 of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2020.
Toyota's new Hypercar for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the FIA World Endurance Championship will begin racing next year and it made it's debut as part of the pre-race festivities before the 24 Hours got underway last Saturday. To be clear, this isn't the actual race car, but, it is what a production hyper car from Toyota, could look like. It is a prototype of the car.
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/lemans24/gr-super-sport-makes-dynamic-public-debut-at-le-mans/
We've had a lot of drama in this race, but Toyota are now looking for the hat trick, their third straight Le Mans win with the same car, the #8 machine. TF Sport lead GTE Am. One hour more, then I'll be off to bed as everyone else should be. I'll be off for a cup of tea and breakfast, and then, off to bed. Pit stop time for the #36 Sigmnatech Alpine as we have another big wreck for the #99 Dempsey Proton Porsche. Lucas Legeret piles into the tire wall. He'll put a boatload of debris on the road. That's a very secondhand Porsche. Drama, too for the #1 Rebellion of Norman Nato in second place. This is turning into a race of attrition. For the World Championship, if the #7 claws their way to second, they can gain points for the finale in Bahrain in November. But, the #7 of Lopez ran wide in the entry lane chicane to the pits. Porsche #89 of Andreas Laskaratos has made it to the pit lane.
Slow zones continue in operation at Tertre Rouge. #8 has run 375 laps, 3,176 miles. Control + Alt + Delete. Jose Maria Lopez has recovered the #7 Toyota to third. They could get on the podium, maybe. Jean Eric Vergne is third in LMP2, and they are a lap down from Anthony Davidson. Alex Lynn has taken over from Harry Tincknell in the #97 car. Big damage for the #99 Porsche. Nicki Thiim is third in GTE Pro. Charlie Eastwood is leading Matteo Cairoli in the #56 Team Project 1 Mentos Porsche. Two Porsche's in the top three in LM GTE Am. Porsche never could get this race to work in LM GTE Pro because of the extra weight and the 30 millimeter air restrictor.
Jose Maria Lopez, we see his mistake, bouncing over the pit wentry. The brake wear is starting to show up, a long pedal. Double points on offer here at Le Mans. We have Bahrain left in November. Could we get a World Champion today? Filipe Albuquerque and Phil Hanson could win the championship today. Rebellion #1 remains second behind the leading Toyota. #7 has to think of what might have been. We could have been contenders, they think to themselves. Bridesmaids, again. There will be one more fuel stop before the finish. Safety first, make sure the track is clear. G-Drive pulls off, and that is Jean Eric Vergne, and it is. He is going to be in a pickle here with a puncture or broken suspension. Yes. Suspension broken in Indianapolis corner. That is their podium place evaporating. Olivier Panis' team, with Matthieu Vaxiviere and company could take the podium spot.
Right front suspension, broken on the G-Drive car. If the #95 Aston Martin finishes third, they can't take the World Championship until the finale in Bahrain. Vergne went to the apex, and couldn't make the corner. The suspension broke. Their podium chance is slipping away like sands through the hourglass. 40 minutes to go on the clock. TDS are running the G-Drive squad. This is why we've harped on and on about saying "stay off the curbs, I beg of you." It's a very hard thing to actually do. The Panis Racing LMP2 car will take over third in LMP2, qualified from the European Le Mans Series. Vergne has been passed by the Panis Racing car, not sure who is driving. But, more drama!
James Allen in the SO-24 Graff car has crashed and is totally wrecked. With 36 minutes on the board and big damage to the tire barrier at the Porsche Curves entry, we may need time to clean up the damaged barriers, which could mean we don't restart. Poor chap, James Allen. He was the star of that SO24 Graff entry. He was bang on the money for a good chunk of the race, holding the class lead for a good while. We have not seen a replay. It is in the first left corner of the Porsche Curves meaning he got in way wide on entry. If you arrive too shallow into the turn, you wash wide.
In Hyper Pole, Nyck De Vries did the same thing and slid into the gravel, without hitting the barriers. GTE cars cued at the end of the pit lane, and they have to wait because of the safety car crocodile needing to be formed up. Julien Canal and his team are P3 in LMP2. Canal says the race was really tough but they made zero mistakes, even with a slight lack of speed. Julien Canal was getting cleaned up, and they want to get as podium for Olivier Panis, their team boss, who can't be here at Le Mans this weekend. Julien Canal was successful in GT cars here. DragonSpeed have run out of petrol! Cars are dropping like flies in the final hour here at Le Mans, which will become the final half hour.
Half hour to go. 7AM Central Time. 2PM French time. Race ends at 2:30PM French time. DragonSpeed stalls again. This same thing happened to the G-Drive car. The clock is ticking. Will we get any green flag racing before the checkers? I hope we do. It would be a shame to end a 24 Hours of Le Mans under yellow. DragonSpeed limping home on the starter motor. We have three trains within the safety car crocodile. Charlie Eastwood will be under pressure from Matteo Cairoli for GTE-Am victory if we go back to green. In LMP2 Phil Hanson and Anthony Davidson have been separated. In GTE Pro, Alex Lynn and James Calado, have been separated as well. The GTE Am scrap is ten seconds apart. That's game on for dead sure.
The #26 G-Drive car has lost the rostrum spot. They will get back in the race but they'll finish down the order. The #88 Porsche and the #27 DragonSpeed car are back in. We thought Thomas Preining would retire first, avoiding Oswaldo Negri Jr.'s spinning Luzich Racing Ferrari, while Dominique Bastian, to become the oldest driver ever to start the Le Mans race at 74 years, the Dunkirk born American. We are at 379 laps, and well short of Audi's 2010 lap record at 395 laps. 46 cars still running of the 59 that started. Green flag and we will race to the end. LM GTE Am is going to be the big one. LMP2 and LM GTE Pro have been split by the safety cars.
Matty Campbell has to be defensive and keep Nick Nielsen behind while also getting farther up the order. Rebellion #1 is a lap up on the #7 Toyota which will recover to a podium. The GT battle is heating up, fast. Multiple car slipstreams help the rear car. Nielsen and Campbell overshoot the chicane on the Mulsanne Straight as they are trying to get rid of the Mentos Porsche, the #56 of Matteo Cairoli, who is dropping like a stone. It's just not on for him. His tires are knackered, toasted. Pick the bones out of that shemozzle, mate. Meanwhile, Come Ledogar in GTE Am has the speed, and he could keep the spot.
Ferrari #51 in the pit lane. Matteo Cairoli and Matt Campbell are national Porsche Cup champions and raced in Porsche Super Cup. Cairoli tried to send it and he got stymied! Has he damaged the car? That was pure desperation on Cairoli's part. That's Saturday night short track stock car racing, not endurance racing. Toyota #7 pits. That was dodge 'em cars stuff from Cairoli. Rebellion #3 is making a splash and dash. I wonder why. Phil Hanson, too, has trouble. Phil Hanson being told to drop the hammer. Hanson vs. Davidson in LMP2. 51 seconds, the margin. Davidson in second, if the safety car had stayed out longer, we'd only have five minutes.
Maxime Martin feels the strain of leading GTE Pro. Bring the car back in one piece. Aston will likely finish first in both GT classes. Harry Tincknell and Jonny Adam could get their second GTE Pro wins at Le Mans. Nicki Thiim has taken on fuel and is behind James Calado and Alex Lynn. 53 second from Phil Hanson to Anthony Davidson. He moves past Tatiana Calderon in the Richard Mille Oreca. Phil Hanson locks up into the pit lane. Alex Lynn hits the fastest GTE Pro time at 3:50 and change. Hanson beats Davidson after getting off pit lane. All eyes on LMP2.
Nowhere to hide here, folks. Six minutes on the board and the LMP2 battle is it. Alex Lynn, too, has reduced fastest lap. Harry Flatters it is at Aston Martin. Phil Hanson can hit the afterburners. Davidson needs a splash and a dash. We are on the penultimate lap. Davidson came in! Just three minutes on the clock. Toyota will be home and hosed with no worries. Mike Conway is still in the World Championship going to the finale. Last lap now. Can Toyota hang on for their third Le Mans win? Kazuki Nakajima is going to go for it. They want the hat trick.
Toyota are trying to make hay while the sun shines. They have half a lap to go. Aston Martin headed for the double. Jonny Adam will get his second Le Mans win. One in Pro and one in Am. Kazuki Nakajima, Sebastien Buemi, and Brendon Hartley, are going to win Le Mans. It's going to be the third win on the trot for Toyota #8 at Le Mans. They do it! Hat trick for Toyota #8! Wow! LMP2 goes to #22. Phil Hanson, Filipe Albuquerque, and Paul Di Resta win.
Brendon Hartley is a two-time winner at Le Mans with two different marques. Kazuki Nakajima and Sebastien Buemi score thir third win. In GTE Pro, Aston Martin win, and so too, in GTE Am. Winners are Alex Lynn, Maxime Martin, and Harry Tincknell. Tom Ferrier's team, TF Sport, win GTE Am. Salih Yoluc, Charlie Eastwood, and Jonny Adam win! Victory lap for Toyota.
Overall/LMP1: #8 Hartley/Buemi/Nakajima Toyota TS050 Hybrid
LMP2: #22 Albuquerque/Hanson/Di Resta Oreca 07
LM GTE Pro: #97 Lynn/Martin/Tincknell Aston Martin Vantage GTE
LM GTE Am: #90 Yoluc/Eastwood/Adam Aston Martin Vantage GTE
What a great race. It was a knock down fight to the end in GTE Am and Pro, and great showings in LMP1 and LMP2. Just finishing Le Mans is a great effort. Congratulations to the marshals, the organizers and everyone. Good to see Toyota overcome their adversity with a smoking race car. The winners celebrate on the podium with their trophies and Rolex watches. Nine months away, the 89th renewal of Le Mans. We really look forward to bringing that race to you. We've been with you, since around Thursday, and now, this race is over for another year. Congrats to Toyota on their hat trick. Au revoir, ladies and gentlemen, from Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France. We'll see you soon, for more sports car racing action, right here on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog.
You have to cross the finish line to be a finisher at Le Mans. That is the fact of the matter. Le Mans chooses it's victors. The #7 Toyota has been so so close, but they still haven't gotten it yet. So many cars have retired, but, it doesn't really feel that way. It has been a race of attrition in certain classes. We still have 48 cars that are running, and they used to just start 48 cars here at Le Mans. Paul Di Resta really wants to move past one of the lapped LMP2 cars. He is chasing down Anthony Davidson. We are seeing a lot of artsy slo mo replays with the LMP2 cars. Paul Di Resta goes around a slow Ligier. Hello, Damien. We welcome Damien Faulkner back into the booth.
Paul Di Resta is being warned about engine temperatures and for good reason with less than two hours on the board. The Rebellion has a leg up on Toyota in top speed, but they don't have the peak horsepower out of corners. Charlie Eastwood leads GTE Am in the #90 TF Sport Aston Martin. Calm, collected, fast, and uneventful. That is what their race has been. Ben Barker is fifth in LM GTE Am in the Gulf Racing Porsche, #86. Aston Appears to be in the pound seats in GTE Pro and GTE Am. The #29 car with Giedo van der Garde, that car has been in the wars since the race began yesterday. Class winners stay out of trouble. Meantime we see the classic looking #61 Luzich Racing Ferrari with Come Ledogar driving. That car had great pace but it just hasn't been their race.
Jules Gounon who won the Bathurst 12 Hours in January, he has had a tough race. The cat was running well but then their wing and suspension dapmers, and wheel nuts, gave them issues. Rebellion in the lane, and I can't tell which one. Toyota #7 clobbers the curbs with Jose Maria Lopez giving it opposite lock into the Ford Chicane. Yikes! That was really close. Norman Nato makes a scheduled stop. The responses of a car, change as the race progresses and things have to be felt out by the driver. That's how the whole situation works. You feel in the seat of your pants for the most part.
Toyota #8 in the lane for scheduled service. Quick and easy pit stop. Alex Lynn takes over from Harry Tincknell in the #97 Aston Martin. Paul Di Resta is tussling with Anthony Davidson. The LMP2 Michelin/Goodyear tire war continues, but it is balanced out in the dry. The tire sizes in LMP1 are the same, but the hybrid tire compound for Toyota is totally different, as Daniel Serra struggles his way through the Porsche curves. No mistakes. Don't worry about odd noises from the motor. Wish time away. Don't be nervous. Keep going. A traffic jam at Indianapolis and the #22 car goes off the road into the gravel.
Paul Di Resta got shoved into the gravel. Kazuki Nakajima leads, and he has such acceleration out of the corners. You drive these hybrid cars so differently with the lift and coast technique. Wow. Toyota #7 is in the lane. When the Hypercars come in, they will have a bespoke Hypercar, ot the LMDh car, based on the existing LMP2 cars. A mid 3:24-3:25 will be the new norm for pace. LMP2 needs an amateur driver, a Silver. The intention is to have a really strong driver, but who is a businessman. Ferrari #51 pits from second in GTE Pro.
Porsche #91 in the lane. Porsche has been slogging it and suffering for a long 24 hours according to their radio transmission. The #63 WeatherTech Ferrari had a suspension failure. Charlie Eastwood continues on in the #90 car. Just an hour and 20 minutes left in the race. We are watching Matteo Cairoli in the #77 Dempsey Proton Porsche in thre LM GTE Am class. Salih Yoluc has had a good race and he knows the race isn't done yet. Keep calm, wait for the end. Norman Nato has quite the gap over Louis Deletraz.
James Calado is over a minute behind Alex Lynn. Aston got stung by BoP adjustments, but they kept their powder dry in qualifying this year. Take a lot of apex curb in the Ford Chicane. Mark Cole rejoins the team and Louise Beckett will go watch the last hour and ten minutes of the motor race. The WeatherTech Ferrari was hit of course by the Racing Team Nederland car, and we have another big crash in the Dunlop esses. That's the #89 Team Project 1 car of Andreas Laskaratos, the Greek driver. The bad stuff always happens at the beginning of the lap Laskaratos is the first Greek driver to race at Le Mans. How can he get the car back home without damage? He has obliterated the polystyrene circuit furniture, the braking marker meter signs, that evaporate when you smash them. Amazing oscillation on the Aston Martin's tire, as Louis Deletraz slaps the wall in Indianapolis! Oh dear!
He locks up over the gravel trap and slams the wall and one of the Gant signboards. That was a long brake pedal. The car didn't stop, and maybe the pedal went to the floor. So now he has made it into the pit lane. Lots of dirt, clag, and marbles spread out onto the white line. Paul Di Resta is out of the #22 car, the LMP2 class leader, giving way to Phil Hanson. Louis Deletraz speeds into the left hander and he couldn't stop without the car pointing to the wall. Heat soak for the car in first gear and the car won't start. It was almost put into the garage, he got it running, and you can't spin the wheels on the air jacks. You can stand it on the jacks as long as you start it under it's own steam, as we get Mark Cole back in the booth and now, both Rebellion's are in the pit lane and now they push it back into the garage, the #3 car.
#1 is struggling to get away as well. The Am class Porsche is still limping home as Jose Maria Lopez remains third and might just get on the podium. He is struggling with the G force. Rebellion #3 in the pits and a scheduled stop for the #8 Toyota. Deletraz is back on track and out of the pit lane. Will Deletraz close on the Toyota?
Louis Deletraz is really happy about his first Le Mans with Rebellion. Louis Deletraz has four podiums in FIA Formula 2. Louis Deletraz's dad is Jean Denis Deletraz, who ran a few races in Formula 1 and won in LMP675 here at Le Mans in 2001 and 2002, back to back. Romain Dumas leads Gustavo Menezes. Will Menezses drop back? Will he allow the car to not overheat and stay with the temperature parameters? Rebellion is telling Gustavo Menezes to like it or lump it. He will just have to follow team orders. Rebellion #1 is following the sister car #3. Gustavo Menezes isn't cruising but he is right behind Romain Dumas. They want to save their cars.
Pit stop for Filipe Albuquerque who stays in the #22 United Autosport Oreca. Hotter air will tear the brakes apart. If you push, you will wreck the brakes. We're seeing a public board meeting at Rebellion. Gustavo says about Romain, "I'm not going quickly, he is going slowly." Menezes will have cooked brakes, or, they would need a brake pad change. If things are peachy, Menezes will be disgruntled, ticked off about not being let off the leash. From the Toyota garage, the smoke is nothing to worry about. We shall not discuss the smoke anymore. The rear wing on the ByKolles was not stable enough and that's why it retired the car, according to Oliver Webb. At Spa, ByKolles wanted to test, and the people in Spa were whinging about noise complaints.
Teams do 36 hour tests, and then, come to Le Mans, and components still fail. A lot of the Spa 6 Hours was wet, too, if you remember, from last month. No brake change at Aston Martin from the #97. "We've given them softer racing boots." Hardy har har. Rebellion have said something similar. This is crunch time. It is money time as Richard Westbrook gets into the #95 Aston Martin and heads out for another stint. We have a yellow flag, as the #99 Dempsey Proton Porsche is off in the gravel at Ford Chicane. Vutthikorn Inthravuphasak spins into the gravel. Kamui Kobayashi has done his work in the #7 Toyota. #7 has been here, gosh, five or six times, and the stars were aligning, and then, all of a sudden, the turbo fails. It's almost a curse for the #7. Mike Conway still holds the lap record at 3:17.29 from 2019.
He gets the fastest lap, but it won't take the sting out. Antonio Felix Da Costa is second in LMP2 right behind the #22 car that has run 328 laps, 2,778 miles. We have the same amount of time left on the board as a typical IMSA sprint race at 2 hours and 40 minutes. G-Drive are not planning to go to Bahrain for the finale for the WEC 2020. Mikkel Jensen is chasing Antonio Felix Da Costa. Time flies when you're having fun. Beitske Visser is now driving the Richard Mille Oreca LMP2 car. The ladies on the Richard Mille team have really been setting impressive lap times.
Zak Brown from United Autosport says the oil leak for the #22 car was the low point for their team. They still have one car in the fight. They are still looking for good luck in the last two and a half hours, approaching this race like a Grand Prix. Aston Martin #97 in the pit lane. James Calado is about to get back into the #51 Ferrari and the #97 Aston Martin can run flat out whereas the Ferrari just is having a harder time. Or maybe, Calado says they have a better pace in the Ferrari camp. Sam Bird is in the #71, the sister AF Corse Ferrari. Rebellion continues their scrap for second place in the overall.
Norman Nato and Louis Deletraz will get into each of the Rebellion's who are nursing a brake issue as has been discussed. Romain Dumas is in the lane for service. Louis Deletraz will take the car to the end of the race, to the checkers, from Romain Dumas, as the mechanics are looking for the brake wear and seeing how it is doing, with torches. A torch, is a flashlight. Now, Romain Dumas stalls coming out of the pit lane. Hmmm. Both Rebellion's have had that stalling issue. Romain Dumas has done all he can, maybe. Toyota #8 has run 350 laps, 2,964 and a half miles.
Thr sister Rebellion, #1 is in the lane. Gustavo Menezes, out, and Norman Nato, in. Romain Dumas is somewhat satisfied, but he knows what has just happened and is disappointed. Mixed emotions. Is Rebellion having issues with the transmission or the clutch? Both cars have had issues pulling away from the pit lane. Toyota #8 pits and Kazuki Nakajima is in the car after Brendon Hartley finishes his stint. Gustavo Menezes says Rebellion has been playing it safe, for 14 hours. They had an issue with a dislodged front nose cone. Paul Di Resta pits the #22 Oreca.
Dave Price worked with Sauber as Team Manger for the Sauber Mercedes bunch. He went to Nissan, and then to Formula 1 at Simtek, and then back to the sports car circuit with Harrod's McLaren. Everyone is tired. The cars are knackered. Just a couple hours left to run as Antonio Felix Da Costa is pushing hard. Antonio Felix Da Costa is the 2020 Formula E champion. Toyota are shortening their stint, triple stinting on tires. Maybe these numbers are different. Hard to see why Toyota would shorten the stint length.
Antoine Borga brings the #42 Cool Racing LMP2 car to the pit lane and the skids are ready to roll the car into the garage. Yes. It swings around so the crew can work on it. It is their first time here at Le Mans. They will do a brake change. Driver change at Jota and Anthony Davidson is back into the car. They adjusted their driver lineup order and Roberto Gonzalez has put in all his drive time. Jose Maria Lppez at the wheel of the #7 Toyota, in fourth spot. They had a hole in the manifold in the middle of the night. The Rebellion has been the meat in the sandwich between the Toyota's. Sebastien Bourdais is really pushing the #82 Risi Competizione Ferrari. The #38 Jota Sport car has been really pointy. It's handling has been a bit of a bear.
The Oreca is really pointy compared to other cars, including for Oliver Jarvis, who drives the Mazda DPi in IMSA. To maximize the downforce of the car, there's a wedge planted into the car and that's why it feels like it shimmies around. Jose Maria Lopez is told he has three and a half stints for the tires. They can put Mike Conway back in the car. The two kinks towards Indianapolis are a bugaboo with the aerodynamic loads. The cure is adding rear wing, but adding wing angle kills the straight line speed of the car.
We are of course waiting for the new regulations of Le Mans Hypercar and the grandfathering of LMP1 cars. Pit stop penalty for the #95 Aston Martin, not the leading Aston Martin, the #97. We still have two hours remaining as the Ferrari is steaming along, and they are still pushing.
We ride along with Brendon Hartley onto the Mulsanne straight and we were going to go for lap, but it didn't work. 600 horsepower for the 2.4 liter V6 turbo motor, and then another 500 horsepower from the hybrid system which also makes the Toyota 4 wheel drive. From there, to the end of the Mulsanne straight, the car runs out of energy and it stalls. Be careful with the car and not giving the GT cars enough room. Tatiana Calderon says her exdperience at Le Mans has been incredible. She is Colombian, and in her first race at Le Mans. She is wired, and it is hard to manage the adrenaline. There's no way you can sleep during the race. This is Tatiana Calderon's second 24 hour race of her career. She is running ninth along with her team mates. They've made no mistakes and their strategy has worked out.
These cars are very physical to drive. Jan Magnussen and Romain Dumas are among those who have just set their cars' best times in this race. Are the Rebellion cars under investigation? I don't think so. There is a yellow flag, someplace. Alex Brundle gets into the #32 United Autosport car. The Porsche 917 had a movable aero device on it, a movable rear wing, 50 years ago, and the Formula 1 cars had wings falling off. The movable wing has been banned for years. Rolf Stommelen drove like a madman, the ACO relented, and they kept the car together. The Brabham Alfa Romeo "fan car" Formula 1 car, designed by Gordon Murray, won its one and only race and then was banned. Murray wants to build a new "fan car" for Le Mans. But it might not work.
Lifting and coasting, that saves fuel. Kamui Kobayashi is fourth in Toyota #7. We are seeing smoke on the overrun with the Toyota's, but there's no worries. The only smoke used to be the diesel Audi's the R10, R15, and R18 TDI's. They became so efficient, there wasn't even a wisp of smoke before the diesel car ended. Rebellion #3 is in the pit lane. They are just clenaing the cart and adding fuel. You cannot change tires and refuel at the same time, just like how the rules at Le Mans used to be. A Rebellion overtakes a Toyota in a straight line. The electronics stall the car to save petrol. Toyota #8 is in cruise mode. Tell tale smoke from the Toyota. The Rebellion is able reel in the Toyota.
The Toyota hits a wall after 200 meters into the corner, but the Rebellion has instant power. Both Rebellion's were in the lane at the same time and Romain Dumas is back out and so is Gustavo Menezes. Fuel only at Rebellion. No tires, and no driver change. It's about 70 degrees at Le Mans, with no wind, and some humidity. The rain clouds from over the Atlantic Ocean will stay away. The've said thunderstorms this afternoon. There was thunder and lightning last night but no rain. Jonathan Kennard in the IDEC Sport car could pick up debris. Richard Bradley in the sister car pits, and there's Brendon Hartley stays in the car. This car is left hand drive.
Porsche built their Group C cars and later cars, right hand drive. They normally raised clockwise. Why are the new LMP1 cars and Daytona Prototype International cars, left hand drive? It has more to do with refueling, to get the driver away from the refueling on the right hand side of the car. Eurointernational, Spirit of Race, AF Corse, High Class, and others, have retired. Some are in and out of the pits. ByKolles, MR Racing, we have ten or so retirements. We still have the Marker of Doom, and the spotter's guide/entry list. Renger van der Zande and Ben Hanley drove most of the race with the #27 DragonSpeed car.
Henrik Hedman is their third driver, their team mate. The Felbermayr Porsche and the United Autosport car are in the lane. We have only had two safety cars in this race. Toyota #7 is inb the pit lane. AF Corse Ferrari #51 continues to lead GTE Pro. We are closing in on the final three hours of this race. It is coming closer and closer. The #90 Aston Martin is in the lane for service and a driver change. The Balance of Performance or Equivalence of Technology seems to be working fine right now. The sun is shining, and the thunderstorms we thought would happen never came.
The two Rebellion's are running in flying formation right now. The DeltaWing had the two small wheels on the front and bigger wheels on the back, and they were seeing their own headlight. Gustavo Menezes is being chased down by his team mate, and the Toyota's. It is Romain Dumas and Gustavo Menezes who are really pressing it right now. The Rebellions can go Harry Flatters through Porsche Curves. Rebellion should hold position, or so they are told. Gustavo Menezes is told to drop back, but Menezes isn't going to do that.
The execution of instructions from your crew, are at the driver's discretion. The #7 Toyota is still smoking, something the Toyota's have been doing the whole race, that could be coming from the hybrid system. The system on the Toyota is All Wheel Drive which is different from 4 Wheel Drive. The Toyota has made a mistake into the Dunlop Curve. This is a real cat and mouse game. The privateers race in LMP1 against manufacturer's of course, because of the Equivalence of Technology regulations. Anthony Davidson says that he is satisfied with the position he and his team at Jota Sport are and they are too far away from their LMP2 competition.
Rebellion are freaked out about brake temperature and engine temperature. This is the last Le Mans for Rebellion, running second and third, splitting Toyota. Anthony Davidson is clearly pleased with what Jota is doing. On Friday, he was very concerned about how pointy and undrivable the car was. Gustavo Menezes wants his team mate out of the way. Romain Dumas is pitting, and so, Menezes can push for second. Rebellion #1 is still in it for the championship with one race to go after this one, after Le Mans is over. That's in Bahrain in November. If they can't take the title, Rebellion will not go to Bahrain and race. Le Mans is a double points round. Rebellion would end their campaign if they didn't win here, I would think.
Respect your team's instruction, but you know in your head that you want to move past your team mate. Sports car racing is more of a team player attitude. That is what is needed. Now, Gustavo Menezes is in the lane for another scheduled stop.
We hope Corvette will be back, and the COVID restrictions forced them not to come. Some great tributes to the Iron Dames for Iron Lynx. It is very strange for Oliver Gavin to not be at Le Mans. Jan Magnussen ran sixteen Le Mans events with Corvette Racing. AF Corse has a huge central command, but boy, they've had a torrid time with shock absorbers. Ben Keating has gone off the road in the #57 Wynn's liveried Porsche 911 RSR. Alessandro Pier Guidi is stuck between the two Aston Martin's. Very unusual to have lap gaps between the GTE Pro cars. The #61 Luzich Ferrari with the NART colors used as retro liveries, is great. Masten Gregory and Jochen Rindt won Le Mans for Ferrari in 1965. That was Ferrari's last Le Mans win.
The sun is climbing into the sky. It's a gorgeous day, but we have been told a lot about rain for the last day or so. Porsche of course is using the colors of the Salzburg Porsche 917 run in 1970, driven by Richard Attwood and Hans Herman. Hans Herman says the car is still very much a part of his DNA as a person and as a driver. These two are still living and they are still historic racing and driving race cars. Such great races for the 917, not just at Le Mans, but at other tracks as well. Toyota #7 is in the pit lane. A huge legacy for Poirsche's and we saw so many great Porsche's from through the decades. Filipe Albuquerque is back in the #22 United Autosport car leading in LMP2. G-Drive car #26, in the lane for service. That's the Rusinov/Vergne/Jensen car.
JMW's #66 Ferrari is in the lane. So is one of other Ferrari's. Cannot see which one. Two of the Dempsey Proton Porsche's are in the lane. Today marks the final Hybrid era Le Mans race. Alexandre Coigny is at the wheel of the #42 Cool Racing Oreca 07 Gibson. Michelle Mouton, is the President of the Women In Motorsport Commission, and the commission has been around for a decade. She is also a World Rally Champion from the 1980s with Audi. Ben Keating almost clobbers the Iron Lynx Ferrari as the #29 Racing Team Nederland Dallara Gibson, is back in the garage again. The Gibson motors are normally bulletproof. That's a 4.5 liter normally aspirated V8.
Jota are closing up, but United Autosport also needs a pit stop, soon. Antonio Felix Da Costa gets into the car. More woes for Iron Lynx, spinning and we've seen a lot of spins at Dunlop Curve. We see the Dempsey Proton car, one of them, in the 2010 Felbermayr colors, as we lost Horst Felbermayr Sr. earlier this year, and his son, Horst Jr. is still driving. Rest In Peace Horst Felbermayr Sr.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horst_Felbermayr
Brendon Hartley is having some braking issues on the Toyota. It's a bugbear on the brakes. The old guard in Formula 1 are making no room for younger drivers, so the younger drivers are going sports car racing. We were wrong about the acronym of LMP. LMP, Le Mans Prototype. Nope. Nope. Lemon Meringue Pie. John Wolf, a friend of Mark Cole on Eurosport, had a Porsche 917, that was untested. It crashed in 1969. It was a horrible accident. The 917 Porsche aerodynamics were a total experiment. Rolf Stommelen was driving the 917 and it was so incredibly unstable. The ACO was worried that the car was totally unsafe. Rolf Stommelen really tried hard to keep the car under control. The accident for John Wolf was at the old Maison Blanche, Jacky Ickx, drove a Ferrari 512 through a river of fire and caught the fuel tank.
Miguel Molina is in the pit lane in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari. Steve McQueen said the 917 was a very safe car. They were space frame cars. The factory filled the tubes of the roll cage with gas. Test driver Frank Gardner said "if the pressure drops, I walk home." Gardner was racing a Chevrolet Camaro in the British Touring Car Championship and said the car was "as surefooted as a leper in a swamp." John Fitzpatrick had a Ford Escort or something, racing that championship. Of course, John Fitzpatrick went on to race Porsche's like 935s and 956s. Rebellion #3 is in the lane as we find out there will be fog in Ireland. None of us have had the excuse of it being Father's Day for Le Mans, because it's September, not June.
Ben Keating brings the #57 Wynn's Porsche into the lane. Antonio Felix Da Costa is stuck in traffic in LMP2. Felipe Fraga ran into a spinning car at the left hand corner after Indianapolis. The car needed a new bumper and new radiators. The sun is up for sure. Aston Martin #90 is in the pit lane. Mikkel Jensen says his first Le Mans has been tough and the prototypes are physically demanding compared to GT class cars. His body is sore. But he is not tired, oddly. We still have two Grand Prix distances to go, four hours and 15 minutes left on the board. It is 10:15 A.M. in France. We end at 2:30 P.M.
Gustavo Menezes has cut the fastest lap time for the #3 Rebellion even though it is a lap down to the sister car. Romain Dumas is in the #3 car. Three of the top four cars are in the 3:19 bracket as here is another pit stop for the #51 car. The track is perfectly rubbered in. We had some dew on the road, but never got any kind of rain whatsoever. The prototype cars don't change brake discs or pads and the sensors indicate high brake temperatures causing the brakes to wear down faster. There's no different feel to the driver on the pedal. Change the brake bias to the rear. The temperature is good on the rear, so remove the energy from the front. Road cars are split diagonally. A race car is split by the axles, for front and rear brakes and you change the balance and bias.
Power steering is the Achilles heel for the new Porsche 911 RSR-19 here at Le Mans. The #7 Kamui Kobayashi Toyota has had more troubles and even the race for the #8 has not been trouble free. Rebellion are solid, but we shall see. Romain Dumas is really pushing hard. He's going for it. 3:28.856 for Jean Eric Vergne. Personal best time in LMP2. 17 sets of tires for LMP1 and 24 sets for LMP2 as we watch Brendon Hartley in slow motion replay. Kevin Estre says there was little pace in the new Porsche. They've had power steering problems and had to take off the floor of the car to fix it, and there were more issues, and his car also had trouble with a taillight.
Jean Eric Vergne brings the #26 G-Drive LMP2 car to the lane. The trouble is on acceleration, and it is not due to lack of testing, but what will the FIA and ACO say? The car corners well. Porsche are suffering from extra ballast, 40 kilograms more than the Aston Martin's and the air inlet restrictor is really hurting them. The Porsche can carry more speed in the apx of the corner, and it is nimble, but on the straights it is getting blown away. Horsepower is the scoop. The 30 millimeter air restrictor is the same setup they ran at Spa Francorchamps, but Le Mans has longer straights. Losing the straightaway speed is what kills them in the race.
Dempsey Proton is in the garage with the #88 car. Again, Jackie Chan DC Racing was disqulaified with their #37 car after the alternator packed up, draining the battery. A team member went to the car, giving him a new battery and the ACO police reported it, and the car was disqualified. It was a battery. It was a Costas Los move. Costas Los, the great Group C driver in the '80s, from Greece. Alessandro Pier Guidi is still second in GTE Pro behind Aston Martin. James Calado ran second on the grid behind Gianmaria Bruni, a former Ferrari driver.
The LMP2 cars keep working their way through traffic. The #7 Toyota ended up with more than a turbo issue. They had a hole in the manifold! Wow! Toyota #8 leads Rebellion's #1 and #3. Interesting to see the graphic about the hybrid boost regenerating. Ferrari #75 for Iron Lynx is still in the garage. They have not retired that car yet. Thomas Flohr is preparing to go out for another stint in the #54 Ferrari. Alexander Lynn continues to lead LM GTE Pro, as we have had zero rain. The race was declared wet, but he we have not seen any. Pit stop time now for Ferrari #85. Manuela Gostner, Rahel Frey, and Michelle Gatting for the other Iron Lynx Ferrari. We follow the LM GTE Am leading #90 Aston Martin and a problem with stalling and heat soak for the #54 Ferrari 488 GTE. It is mandatory to switch the cars off. You have the option to leave the car running in the U.S. rules in IMSA. Giancarlo Fisichella gets back into the race.
The #88 Dempsey Proton Porsche has had a fraught event so far. That car has had a litany of woes, driving through the desert this whole race. They've been really unlucky. They were out for three hours and then came back. It feels so pointless if you retire. Paul Loup Chatin has the eighth spot in LMP2 as he moves past Alexandre Coigny. IDEC Sport vs. Cool Racing. The drivers could not complete their mandatory qualifying laps, but you have to start from the pit lane and starting from a lap down. Patrick Pilet in the sister car #17 sharing with Jonathan Kennard and Kyle Tilley. Christian Ried is in the #77 Dempsey Proton Porsche that has just pitted and the #1 Rebellion is in the lane. It is being put in the garage. It needs a bodywork repair.
It's bodywork and more. They are looking at the mounting points for the nose? That's what it appers to be. All hands on deck in the garage. A spin for the #60 Ferrari. That's the Iron Lynx car of Claudio Schiavoni, the Italian, app;lying the brakes spinning onto the curbs. They can't get the fasteners loosened up at Rebellion. Lots of bodywork damage for the #89 with a flailing tire doing big camage for Andreas Laskaratos. Rebellion #3 can get back on the same lap as the repairs are starting on Porsche #89 for Team Project 1's Am car.
The marshals are off toe recover debris, so, we have anoither slow zone as we watch in replay, Laskarato's tire delaminating fracas. Toyota #8 is five laps up on the #3 Rebellion, 295 laps on the board for our leader, and almost 2,500 miles. The stricken #1 Rebellion is back on track and they had enough of a gap over the sister car to not lost a spot, but the two Rebellion's are back on the same lap. Julien Canal locks the right front wheel. The circuit is a living, breathing, organism, and it is constantly evolving. The conditions are changing constantly.
The drivers are getting tired now, and so am I. We just have to get through another five and a half hours of this motor race. Sebastien Buemi moves back on track aboard the #8 Toyota. Brendon Hartley watching from the pit lane. Jan Magnussen has the wheel of the #92 JMW Ferrari sharing with young American drivers Max Root and Richard Heistand. The #35 LMP2 car spins. Now, Jan Magnussen is actually steaming along, chasing down Come Ledogar in another Ferrari. The gearshift blips the throttle to match the downshifts with the paddle shifters.
Don't artifically decelerate the car by loading it and spinning. There is a window of operation for the downshifts with the grip, and then the car is unloaded and the rear goes light and you end upon ye olde whirligig. Welcome back to the booth, Mr. Mark Cole. We also say farewell, for the time being, to Damien Faulkner. Breakfast calls at Le Mans. Intereuropol just spun the car, Jakub Smiechowski at the controls, the Polish driver. Yours truly is refreshing with a cola. Homemade cola = 1 part cola syrup, and 1 part club soda. Not sure it has enough caffeine for us endurance racing fanatics.
Emmanuel Collard has run 24 Le Mans races. Henri Pescarolo ran 33 of them. Collard will race the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring, next weekend. We hgave a pit stop for Cetilar. Emmanuel Collard will be 50 next year. Emmanuel Collard is the 1990 French Formula Renault champion. He has run Daytona and Le Mans. Francois Perrodo is a businessman, a chairman of a major oil company. He lives in London but is from Singapore. We haven't had any June fog here at Le Mans. September is the time of mellow mists, but, no fog and no rain. Dominique Bastien, again is the oldest driver in the race, and poor old Jakub Smiechowski is spinning again. One of the bollards is knocked over somewhere.
Now that the light is back, we will see more Am drivers get into the cars. Korris Chen is in the gravel, and he's beached it. It's at Marshal Pst five, out of the corner off the Dunlop bridge, sharing with Tom Blomqvist and Marcos Gomes from Brazil. Tom Blomqvist is British, and the son of rallying legend for Audi, Stig Blomqvist. Race Direcot Edoardo Freitas has been keeping everyone safe. We will go through the list of retirements, abandonments, in a wee while. We've gone past ten cars out of the motor race. Come Ledogar is in the Ferrari, one of them, and Jan Magnussen is in the #66 JMW Ferrari. He raced with Corvette for 16 years.
Tim Sugden, out of England drove sports cars and is now a team owner. Sugden was connected with Steve O'Rourke, the late Steve O'Rourke, manager of Pink Floyd. Steve drove race cars and he died years ago. Rest In Peace, Steve O'Rourke. AF Corse Ferrari #51 lost their lead in GTE Pro to Aston Martin, after having brake issues, as Morris Chen trundles back to the pits. White flags will be raised. Keep it well over to driver's right, Morris and don't go to the middle of the road. The #91 Porsche, Gianmaria Bruni at the controls, will hand the car over to one of hisco-drivers. They've had a fraught race, and are sixth in class after starting on pole.;
Nicolas Minassian says he is happy that the hard work they've done has paid off. They need to look for the good, somewhere. Patrick Pilet is running really well a d so is Paul Loup Chatin. Guenelle, the Eurosport pit reporter, is Patrick Pilet's wife. How interesting. Paul Di Resta is at the wheel of the #22 United Autosport car and Roberto Gonzalez is at the wheel of the #38 Jota Sport car. Signatech Alpine are on the comeback trail and well within the points here at Le Mans. Tenth overall, and sixth in LMP2. The Alpine is mkaing a great recovery. They wanted a hat trick, but not this year. It is hard to tell. They might go ahead and try to push. But we shall see.
The #32 United Autosport car is back out and their two cars have had their issues even though the #22 is leading in class. Will Own has done great, and they wer hampered, unfortunately, by an oil leak. LMP2 has been a barn burner here at Le Mans as Rebllion pits. Nathaniel Berthon brings in the #3.
