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.
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