Yours truly just ate dinner. He has been following the race. We saw Frank Bird pit the #11 Team Parker Bentley. He is not related to Sam Bird, but to motorcycle builder and racer, Paul Bird, who is his dad. Paul Bird has had his own teams and bikes in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Meantime, we have pit action, as Maro Engel is inn the lane and so is Mattia Drudi. Christian Engelhart is now in the #54 Dinamic Porsche, behind Matt Campbell. Porsche are moving up after struggling in qualifying. Albert Costa has moved up in the Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini. Don't hit stuff, stay out of the pit lane, don't get silly penalties, or rile the marshals. Marco Mapelli has the new fastest lap on full fuel tanks. 2:18.146. Yikes! We had a 2:18.14 earlier from Marco Mapelli as well. 2:18.8 from the Honda and 2:18.7 from Audi #66, and 2:18.4 for one of the top running KCMG Porsche's. We are 20 minutes into this hour./
We are at 2:20 A.M. right now. 7:20 P.M. Central Time United States time. The clocks go back soon. James Calado is just 2/10ths faster than the race leader. Fraga and Calado run 1-2 into La Source. Calado is still behind Fraga it seems. Pity the poor cameraman. He can't tell which car is which in the dark with all the headlights blazing in his eyes. It is indeed Mercedes vs. Ferrari though and as the track has dried, the Ferrari has become increasingly competitive. All these cars are rear wheel drive, but, they all have different motors, and different places where the engines are located. Different engine sizes, capacities, and configurations, and all are within hundredths of a second of each other. Yikes!
Fraga leads Calado, Vanthoor etc. Calado makes a move and passes Felipe Fraga for the lead, braking up the inside. James Calado leads for Ferrari at Spa. We watch again, and Calado lunges his way past the Mercedes like a hot knife through butter. He did the switcheroo, and it worked. Raffaele Marciello gets distracted by two other cars' headlights. That's Felipe Fraga, excuse me. He couldn't move to close the door. Calado just had the speed and he dusted him. He absolutely passed him like he was standing still. Albert Costa in the Lamborghini is being chased by Mario Farnbacher in the sole Honda in the field. Porsche #47, the driver wasn't feeling right, and the car was slow. There was a loose wheel nut, and the hub may not have been working.
The thread on the hub had to be stripped. That's why we thank the marshals all the time. You don't want wheels falling off at Eau Rouge, Raidillon, or Blanchimont. Lamborghini to the lane, and it's the Emil Frey car. Matt Campbell and Albert Costa, both are in the lane. Matty Campbell is continuing in the #12 car. This car is painted like the Porsche 908 that raced at the Targa Florio road races in Sicily. Lamborghini #163 also in, in the cheap seats, on the downhill, the endurance pits. The Lamborghini is back on the road.
Andrea Bertolini gets a new fastrest lap, a new personal best. Albert Costa handed to Frank Perera, and Matt Campbell hands to Patrick Pilet. Ricky Collard leads Pro Am over Giancarlo Fisichella. Jonny Adam in the Garage 59 Aston Martin is third in class unless he is in pit lane. Fourth is the Boutsen Ginion BMW M6 GT3 with Benjamin Lessenes at the wheel, the Belgian driver. Pit stop time for the #89 Mercedes and the $163. Lucas Legeret, the Swiss driver, he outbraked himself in the Bus Stop and he did enter the lane correctly. That's good.
On the dollies, now, the #89 Mercedes. Phil Ellis does a 2:19.1 as the new fastest lap in Pro Am. Leader in the lane. James Calado, and Felipe FDraga in as well, and ditto for Sergey Sirotkin in the #72 SMP Racing Ferrari. #98 Porsche is in, and Jules Gounon could cycle to the lead of the motor race in the #3 Bentley. Nope. He won't lead. Mario Farnbacher leads for Honda ahead of Marco Mapelli in the #63 Lamborghini. Pit stop under investigation for the #488 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari of Pierre Ehret, Daniel Keilwitz, David Perel, and Rino Mastronardi.
Mario Farnbacher still leads the motor race. #72 is right behind #51. Alessandro Pier Guidi assumes the lead as the Honda has stopped shorter by one lap than normal I believe. The #3 K-PAX Bentley is now fourth. Alessandro Pier Guidi, 2019 FIA WEC LM GTE Pro World Champion, and so is James Calado. Calado says he had a pretty good second stint. Alessandro Pier Guidi is in the #51 machine now. Long, long way to go yet.
Ricky Collard vs. Giancarlo Fisichella. Amazing. Lamborghini vs. Ferrari, and amateur driver vs. Formula 1 veteran. Someone has lost a bumper or a fender. Tire clag offline all over the shop. It sticks to your tires like glue. There aren't any more leaves, I don't think. The track needs to be swept up. Mario Farnbacher was leading the race, but now, Ricky Collard is in the lane and we have to see who is leading. That is our erstwhile race leader. Renger van der Zande will take over the Honda. #77 leads the Silver division, and Ricky Collard, sharing with his dad, Rob Collard. Marco Mapelli leads. Jonny Adam has handed the Aston Martin for Garage 59 to Maxime Martin. Sergey Sirotkin has passed Ferrari #51 and has unlapped himself.
He's moved past Alessandro Pier Guidi who was shown as the race leader, briefly. But now, Marco Mapelli is back in P1. Sergey Sirotkin outfoxed all of them and snuck through. Blimey! How did that go down? Pier Guidi ran wide in the Bus Stop,and Sirotkin just avoids the sausage curb! Egad! The HubAuto Ferrari #27, was in that scrum, the most famous Ferrari number. #27, Tom Blomqvist, has replaced James Calado. Calado has moved down the order. Tom Blomqvist, son of Stig Blomqvist, the famous Audi rally driver.
Blomqvist is bounding over the curbs. The track has dried up, and there's less track limits worries now than there were earlier, but at certain corners it has been much more disciplined, to agree with co-commentator, (along with Martin Haven), Charlie Butler-Henderson. Nick Tandy is wheeling the #98 Porsche at the moment and doiing well. Louis Deletraz and Sergey Sirotkin, in 15th and 16th are battling for position. Alex MacDowall pitted and handed the car for Barwell, the Lamborghini to Patrick Kujala. Jim Pla has new fast lap for the Silver class AKKA ASP Mercedes. New fastest lap for the Honda, and for Ricky Collard in Lamborghini #77, with thirteen hours still on the board as we keep up our coverage of Spa here on the Sarcasm Channel.
Alessandro Pier Guidi gets squeezed, or squeezes the HubAuto car and the HubAuto driver, Tom Blmoqvist outbrakes himself and turns too late into the Bus Stop. Jeepers! No contact. Thank goodness. That was close! That could have been extremely ugly, just past the pit entry, dragging sparks and suspension pieces, and it would have been game over for at least two, maybe three cars! That could have been a whole lot worse! Egad!
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