We've past dawn, and run through the highlights. You need a slide rule. Alessandro Pier Guidi leads by a second over Fred Vervisch. Rain is coming, and we see the gap really shrinking between the Audi and the Ferrari. Wow. Unreal. Vervisch and Pier Guidi are scrapping indeed, taking the challenge to each other. The quicker Audi of Attempto Racing is running ahead, but still behind the Ferrari. A brief shower of little consequence on the front straight. We saw flurries of rain, but not necessarily outright deluges. Swapping between wet and dry tires. The second Sainteloc Audi crashed, and their sister car survives. Thre are small spritzes of rain near the Formula 1 pits, but it's not that bad. That's a steep descent and a huge ascent from Eau Rouge and over Raidillon. The cars are totally unweighted at the crest of the hill.
Use the traffic, in a game of cat and mouse. Pier Guidi is catching the Mad Panda Mercedes, car #90. That's Ezequiel Perez-Companc, Ricardo Sanchez, Puhakka Juuso, and Patrick Assenheimer. Predictions are hard to figure out here at Spa. What will the last four hours and 40 minutes bring us? Sainteloc Audi are predicted to win this race. What is going to happen? We have to look at the weather. Rain could still be a factor here, ladies and gentlemen. Dorian Boccolacci is really showing good form. GT racing used to be for senior drivers moving away from open wheel cars, for instance, but now, GT racing is a true springboard. We don't want to drive. We want to race.
There's some racing tape on the road, but it is harmless debris. Giancarlo Fisichella has moved past the Mercedes. Fisichella is really pressing hard. Giancarlo Fisichella has many years of experience in single seater cars and in GT racing. Fisichella is catching Leo Machitski. He moves past Machitski through Raidillon, and the Lamborghini was sitting there. Machitski is a capable driver, but the Ferrari just dusted him. Markus Winkelhock is closing on Fred Vervisch and the Honda is running very well, still. Mario Farnbachger was bish bash boshing it, earlier.
Maro Engel is fifth overall. Hubert Haupt has taken this team and made it into a contender. Porsche had eleven entries in this race, but right now, they are just not in the game. The #47 KCMG Porsche needed that upright repair which lost them five laps. GPX, last year's winners here at Spa, have also had a litany of woes. Mario Farnbacher continues to motor behind Giancarlo Fisichella, but Fisichella is motoring as well, out of La Source, pulling gears, and up the hil, into Eau Rouge, barely lifting through the apex. Fisichella is somewhat relaxed, now, he let the Honda by, as the two cars are in a different race.
Wide and over the curbs in Speaker's corner. Fisichella has had to feather the throttle. He might be feeling the back end losing some grip through Blanchimont and into the Bus Stop chicane. Maybe the tires are crying "enough!" Jonny Adam is third in Pro Am. That car locked up and spun like a top earlier int he race. Sergey Afanasiev is running well, too, and they could win both overall and Silver Cup if they keep themselves clean for the next four hours and 23 minutes. Fred Vervisch or Mattia Drudi, in the #66 Audi, they might get pinged for gaining an unfair advantage. Russell Ward and Taylor Proto, both of them are going to have a hard time making things work in today's race. Bryce and Russell Ward are doing very well. They are there, doing the job, hoping to win the Silver class.
Bentley has had a terrible race. Sebastian Morris is way down in 34th spot. He is trying to survive. He is four seconds slower than where he should be. Rain is coming through Pouhon corner. Pierre Alexander Jean says the Bentley is running well despite their problems at CMR. The car is coming to the pit lane. Sebastian Morris is in strife at the moment. They may be having tire compound issues or needing wet nor slick tires. Thery are going for the wet weather tires. Pit lane has been wet for most of this motor race. Fred Vervisch makes his way through traffic. The marshals are putting up their umbrellas. Alessandro Pier Guidi leads.
Stay out as long as you can maintain reasonable pace on slick tires. Pier Guidi leads the race. There is rain falling and at the far end of the track, there is definitely big, dark clouds. Alessandro Pier Guidi is in the lane and everyone is going to perhpas change to rain tires. We have to wait until they fuel the car and see what tires they will use. The Ferrari is going with slicks. Tbe Bentley team is on wet Pirelli tires. Tires with treads/grooves on them. Has the race track changed? Seb Morris, Pierre Alxandre Jean, they are doing a test session. Porsche #98 in the lane from sixth place. Earl Bamber is going to do a double stint and he too is going to slicks.
Marshals are putting their umbrellas up. The rain is spreading. The color of the racing surface could be darkening. Audi #25 pits from third spot, going for slick tires. A tad more rain in the lower pits than the upper pits. It's Spa, it's got trees all over, and it is in a micro climate. So, you can see how the weather around here is changeable. Fred Vervisch leads and now he is in the lane. Will #66 go for wets? Yes. It iss raining it the pit lane. Be prepared. Do you go on slicks or go to wets. This is rolling the dice. Just over four hours to go. The consensus at Attempto is, "chaps, let's roll the dice." Everyone on slicks in the top six except the Attempto boys.
The Ferrari has not found an advantage, as Fred Vervisch is back out, ahead of the #25 Audi on warmed up slick Pirelli's. Is the track wet? The track is pretty dry. There might be initial gain, but if the track isn't wet, those rain tires are going to get toasted. They will be trashed instantly. Porsche #12 is going for wet tires as well. Freddie Vervisch is looking for water so the Pirelli rain tires don't chunk. Vervisch could possibly burn up the wet Pirelli tires if he isn't careful. Pier Guidi is 20 seconds down on Vervisch. Winkelhock is leading Vervisch now. Maybe Vervisch made a mistake. He has the windscreen wipers. The rain tires are going to be toasted. Vervisch is definitely looking for water.
Vervisch is searching for the wettest parts of the road. Winkelhock moves by in Speaker's Corner. Alessandro Pier Guidi is on the wet tires in the Ferrari. The drivers are turning on their weindscreen wipers. More rain is beginning to fall. Markus Winkelhock is happier than a pig in mud, but now, the rain is beginning to get heavier. Go from zero, to hero, back to zero. Vervisch is going to come back as the rain gets heavier. Winkelhock is pushing on slicks.
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