We are into the heart of this race, and not quite at the halfway mark, but definitely into the meat of it, the main meal as it were. Hungry? Have a sausage, mate. Meanwhile, the gap is 8.4 seconds between Baguette and Catsburg. Poor old Niederhauser is just having a tough old time trying to move in on the Porsche and Nicky Catsburg has lost a shed load of time as well. Bertrand Baguette is right on the button at the moment. 131 laps complete, 373 miles. From Crowthorn into Jukskei, and Barbeque, Niederhauser is still having a bear of a time getting to the Porsche. The Audi is very strong here at Kyalami. Well, Niederhauser is now pushing Pilet, and they have moved towards and will move around a back marker. That's the beleaguered #45 Audi R8, the Marschal/Lechman/Dontje car. Catsburg and Pilet run really wide out of Barbeque as the dust hangs in the air.
Niederhauser has to strike while the iron is hot. Patrick Pilet is a tad ragged from being monstered by the Audi. Patrick Pilet is being warned for the final time about track limit abuse through the final turn, turn 16 at Ingwe. So, Monsieur Pilet has to mind his P's and Q's. The warnings go to the car, but there is a reset after given amounts of time in these endurance races, through the Mine Shaft and into the Crocodile. Pilet is still chased by Niederhauser through turn one at The Kink. Is Nicky Catsburg losing time as he wriggles through Barbeque Bend?
Everyone will be pitting for fuel and fresh tires, and perhaps driver changes, in the next ten or so minutes. Pilet is no longer infringing upon track limits it seems. He is OK. Nicky Catsburg's margin is still hovering around 2.4 seconds. So, the Dutchman is still pressing on through Sunset and Clubhouse. Bertrand Baguette is 9.4 seconds up the road. He's whistling off into the distance, dominating the motor race so far. There's still four and 3/4 hours remaining. We will be headed for darkness as well. Plus, everyone is going to be going for championship points.
Niederhauser is just unable to pry open the door. Thank you, Balance of Performance. These cars are all different, but they are so equally matched because of the Balance of Performance and of course tire grip is another factor entirely. BMW #34 pitted earlier than the #44 Audi, and the #12 Porsche was on a totally different strategy as well. BMW, Audi, Porsche, the top three. More dust from Nicky Catsburg through Barbecue. Yikes. Honda #30 came into the lane on the same lap as Audi #44. BMW #34 of Nicky Catsburg should be in the lane in the next three laps or so. Patrick Niederhauser carries speed out of The Mine Shaft, and into the Crocodile but then loses time going off in the dirt. 138 laps, 393 miles.
Is there gain from running off the road at Barbecue? It doesn't seem to be the case. But there is a way to raise the ire of the Race Director through turn 16 at Ingwe. The gap is 1.992 seconds now, between the Porsche and the Audi. The BMW should pit this time by or next time by. Down to Leeukop, we'll see what happens. Earl Bamber is not in the picture at the moment, somehow. The BMW pits from second spot. It is true. Nicky Catsburg is in. There will be a driver change, along with tires, and fuel is added. Earl Bamber in the lane in the #54 as well. Earl Bamber stays in the car. Bentley will pit their sole remaining #8 car soon and Oliver Jarvis will step in.
Bamber and Catsburg stay in for a double stint, both of them. Naturally aspirated engines tend to suffer at altitude more than a turbocharged motor does. Oliver Jarvis is now at the controls of the #8 Bentley. Augusto Farfus is in the #34 BMW and Andre Bezuidenhout stays in the #9 Porsche. Earl Bamber has stayed in the #54 Porsche. Still leading, the Honda. Markus Winkelhock goes off the road and into the gravel trap between Crowthorne and Jukskei. Honda #30 in the lane for service on lap 142. 142 laps, 405 miles. Niederhauser is in the lane. Pilet takes the lead for now.
Mattia Drudi takes over the #44 Audi. Patrick Pilet in the pit lane for service. Tires and fuel, as well as a driver change. A full service pit stop as Matthieu Jaminet takes over behind the wheel while #54 has Earl Bamber at the controls. Mattia Drudi will take over second spot. Augusto Farfus, meantime is scrapping, and GPX will leapfrog both Walkenhorst and the Audi. Farfus is a danger man here, pushing the Audi. That is Mattia Drudi of course. Matthieu Jaminet's team has used up one of their joker pit stops, gaining the Frenchman a little bit of time. So Jaminet leapfrogs Drudi and Farfus. It's manna from heaven for "Jam Jam" because Farfus and Drudi are scrapping. Meanwhile, Renger van der Zande is leading the motor race as we head for the second half of the Kyalami 9 Hours.
Poor old Augusto Farfus has lost oodles of time to Mattia Drudi after fluffing the pit stop. Farfus is also falling into the clutches of Earl Bamber. The final hour of this race is going to be in the darkness. We may see stars out tonight, but for the most part the driver's will have to use their headlights to guide them. Augusto Farfus is dropping back from Mattia Drudi. Renger van der Zande leads by 6.9 seconds over Matthieu Jaminet. Matthieu Jaminet is indeed making inroads. Reset of all track limits. All those damoclesian warnings, are erased. The #30 Honda still leads, but Matthieu Jaminet wants to nibble more seconds out of the gap. It has actually increased to 7.1 seconds.
Patric Niederhauser says he is back into a rhythm as the race approaches the halfway mark. Niederhauser says the Audi is losing top speed to the Porsche. Niederhauser and company still have a joker pit stop they can use. Matthieu Jaminet is pushing, with clear road ahead. The Porsche has more straight line speed while the Audi handles better in the corners. The engines are different, the aerodynamics of each car are also different. The engine is not the only part, although every racer has told the tale of woe of "I need some more power. Bring me more power." Through Sunset, through the esses, and we'll have 150 laps on the scoreboard, very soon. 150 laps, 427 and a half miles.
A safety car, and retirements for other cars, would help some drivers. Meantime, Mattia Drudi is scampering up the road, away from Earl Bamber. Matthieu Jaminet has eaten into Renger van der Zande's lead. 6.4 seconds between the two of them. A tenth here, a tenth there. Minuscule shifts in the gaps. ,Matthieu Jaminet is keeping the car out of trouble, and he is staying in a rhythm. He is not catching the Honda, but even if the Honda wins the motor race, they won't win the title, and the Porsche blokes will. We are just over halfway home. There's a long, long way to go.
Sheldon van der Linde is optimistic BMW will do well. Augusto Farfus, his co-driver, is fourth, 3.5 seconds behind the third place Audi. The gap between first and second is back down to 6.5 seconds. It will yo-yo as we continue to watch. Earl Bamber pounds on up the hill. Bamber is chasing Farfus for fourth spot. The Dinamic Porsche did not shine in this race last year, but, they are running well now. Another place change beckons. The Walkenhorst BMW boys could lose another spot here. Dennis Marschall runs 11th right now in the #45 Audi. They've had a fraught race. Marschall has been racing in ADAC GT Masters lately.
Marschall has uncorked the fastest lap for that car in the motor race at 1:43.4. A commendable effort from those blokes. Renger van der Zande still leads. Marschall turns through Clubhouse. Car Collection has an Audi Sport affiliated entry and a regular entry, having run NLS at the Nurburgring and ADAC GT Masters. They are running in a long distance race whereas they are more accustomed to shorter events. 156 laps, 445 miles. Milan Dontje is in that car as well. All sorts of rubber clag has junked it's way onto the front straight. More snakes as well. Snakes! You are making me nervous! Egad! Mathieu Jaminet has been taking chunks out of the Honda's lead, but Renger van der Zande continues to lead the motor race.
Mattia Drudi runs third. Drudi is in hot pursuit of Matthieu Jaminet. 5.7 seconds between first to second and 3.6 seconds between second and third as Saul Hack is back at the wheel of the #9 Perfect Circle/Coca Cola Lechner Racing Porsche. Renger van der Zande completes 159 laps, 453 miles. Milan Dontje is a GT4 Silver Cup champion. So, now we have a fair fight for fourth place. Farfus vs. Bamber. Both of these driver teams are fighting for the championship, but they are being humbled by GPX with "Jam Jam", Matthieu Jaminet, at the controls of the #12 Porsche. This race has been very clean with very few accidents, probably because of the small field.
We'd like to see more rain if we want more action, but who knows what the weather is going to do. Keep your position. Stay on the lead lap. Keep your powder dry. No lightning in the sky right now. Thank goodness. Bamber is reeling in Farfus right now. Oh wow. This will be a good battle, but once again, blokes, keep your powder dry. The rain has vanished. We won't see any moisture. We will see sunshine. So, throw the weather strategy out the window and leave your nighttime specialist driver to the end of the motor race as we are closing in on four hours to go and five hours completed. Earl Bamber has indeed chipped away at the gap to Augusto Farfus.
Earl Bamber is not thrashing the #54 Porsche. He is adaptable and more efficient than Kevin Estre is. The gap is coming down consistently here as the Porsche is closing up on the BMW. Bamber will not make too much movement in the championship but he is still in a good space.
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