Honda continues to lead. The Honda NSX is fantastic looking, with it's twin turbo (or normally aspirated as the case may be), V6 motor. Honda has designed this car as a race car for the road, much like how Ferrari has done things with the 488, a car that we do not see in this race, sadly. 165 laps, 470 miles. Mattia Drudi makes his way down The Mine Shaft, and there are birds, as well as snakes. A cobra? A viper? Oops. Those are cars. Sorry, mate. Well, they are snakes as well. IN the meantime, that Porsche vs. BMW battle between Farfus and Bamber is simmering along nicely, thank you, through Barbecue and then Sunset. Simmering barbecue? Yum. Once again, someone must be hungry. Bear in mind, these two cars we've talked about, are close to their pit stops, and they will pit on the same lap, so they can't leapfrog each other.
Renger van der Zande still leads with just three hours and 50 minutes left in the motor race. The #30 Honda has not been headed yet. The top five are covered by less than 20 seconds and the skies around Kyalami are beginning to brighten up. We had rain in Kyalami in 2019, but we might not have it this year in 2020. We shall see. Maybe there could be a joker played by Mother Nature. Mattia Drudi is continuing with 4.2 seconds or so to make up over Matthieu Jaminet. Jaminet is 5.1 seconds behind Renger van der Zande. Catching is one thing, and passing, is another entirely different issue altogether. We have about 14 or so minutes before more pit stops can be expected.
Earl Bamber goes through Crowthorne, Jukskei, and Barbecue. They plunge back down through the Mine Shaft and then, to the Crocodile. 171 laps, 487 miles for the BMW #34. The depth of concentration to drive a race car at it's limit, on a high work rate circuit, is incredible. As a racing driver, you have to condition your body. At altitude, your lung capacity is limited by the altitude you are at, and the darkness will be a bear as well. You need a driver who is experienced at driving in the darkness. Some drivers relish driving at night. There is no circuit lighting here at Kyalami. There's illumination in the pit lane but the other lighting is from residential or industrial buildings.
Charles Weerts is reeling in Earl Bamber little by little. Farfus is eight minutes away from the end of his stint. Renger van der Zande still leads, but Matthieu Jaminet has been reeling the Honda man in. Another delicacy here in South Africa is Biltong jerky. It is a South African product that is made in the United States. Meantime, Audi #44 swings its way through Sunset corner. 175 laps, 499 miles. We are essentially 500 miles into the race. We continue to watch the battles on the road and now, Charles Weerts is closing up onn Earl Bamber. Weerts is in the #32 Audi he is sharing with Fred Vervisch and Mirko Bortolotti.
Honda still leads the motor race. Magnus Racing of course, will campaign an Acura NSX GT3 in IMSA next year. Matthieu Jaminet is running very well, and now, after Van der Zande has negotiated that car, Jaminet also has to go by the sole remaining Bentley, #8, of Oliver Jarvis. The GPX team is asking the marshals to show blue flags to the Bentley of Jarvis. BMW and Porsche are in the lane now. Farfus and Bamber in from fourth and fifth and now, Charles Weerts is running fourth in the Audi. Great overhead camera shot in the pit lane as we watch the crews working on the car. New boots and a tank of petrol. Knock yourself out. Grab the bull by the horns.
Augusto Farfus moves past his team mate, Nick Yelloly, in the second Walkenhorst BMW M6 GT3, #35. Farfus may or may not be at the controls of #34. Farfus could double stint again. We shall see. Now, Mario Farnbacher is about to take over from Renger van der Zande in the Honda. 37 laps to a stint for Porsche and BMW. That's approximately 105 miles. So, the Honda is in the lane for service on lap 179. 510 miles. This is a very clewan stop for fuel and tires. No tear off screens on the windscreen in this series.
Give the windscreen a quick wash. Mathieu Jaminet comes to the lane from the lead of the motor race. Three and a half hours to go now. Tires and fuel for the #12 Porsche. Earl Bamber seems to have stayed in the #54 car. There is a driver change for the boys at the #12 team. Mirko Bortolotti has moved ahead of Sheldon van der Linde and here comes Earl Bamber as well. Sheldon van der Linde has lost a spot, and Mirko Bortolotti just wrestled his way by. The BMW is losing time and spots stint by stint. What is going on with #34? There's a spot of bother at Walkenhorst. Meantime, Van der Linde is going tro have to fend off the challenge from Bamber.
Sheldon Van der Linde is pushing, but might have brake fade, as he is chasing Mirko Bortolotti. Bortolotti hangs on to fourth place. Van der Linde is both attacking and defending at the same time. Honda are in the pound seats thus far. They have more to pull out of the can. Van der Zande says that the cars are pretty equal but there's understeer in the Honda on used up Pirelli tires. Mario Farnbacher is now at the wheel of the NSX GT3. Mario Farnbacher is ten seconds ahead now of Patrick Pilet. In the meantime, Earl Bamber is just hanging onto the back of the BMW of Sheldon van der Linde, who, in turn, is chasing the Audi with Mirko Bortolotti at the controls.
Patrick Pilet is losing time and being monstered by the Audi. This is Christophe Haase in the #44 Audi, the man who has won more races than anyone in IGTC competition. Haase sticks a pass in the esses! Wow! Great racing! Veni vidi vici, for Chistophe Haase. Positional points are all that is being awarded. Porsche #12 in the lane. Is thee something wrong at Porsche? It may have been a slow puncture of a Pirelli tire. Was it debris? Was it hitting a curb? This is a wrench thrown into the works for the GPX boys. So, Honda now will be in the pound seats, possibly, insofar as the championship, with less than three hours and 20 minutes to go.
Farnbacher/Van der Zande/Baguette, this team, could have a penalty coming from the stewards! Oh my! We will keep you posted. #30 leads by 13 seconds despite the pit stop being under review. We have to find out. We don't want to be conspiratorial on this. It is just a motor race. Three hours and 15 minutes left on the board. Ah. What happened on the pit stop? Dive change and tie change look outine. Samke with the fueling of the ca. Hard to tell. Too many crew members over the wall? A left rear puncture was quickly remedied for the GPX Porsche.
Porsche #54 is moving into the picture and so is the #34 BMW. Honda, Audi, BMW, Audi, Porsche, Audi, Porsche, the top six. We ought to keep tabs on Patrick Pilet's pace as he has fresher tires than everyone else. There's no real litter on the road, although Mario Farnbacher does drop a wheel off the curb slightly and the inside shoulder of the tire hits it. This track is mostly clockwise. Reviewing the pit stop again for the Motul JAS Honda team, the officials are still looking. The engine did go onto the rev limiter for a short time. Maybe the windscreen cleaner touched the car too soon.
Mario Farnbacher is in the clear right now with Christopher Haase second, Sheldon van der Linde thid, Laurens Vanthoor fourth, and Mirko Bortolotti, fifth. Through Barbecue Bend Farnbacher goes. Christopher Haase could win the race, but not a championship. Mabe this penalty fo Honda would be eithe too many people over the wall, or, the engine fired up before the pit crew finished working. That's got to be the explanation for the problem. The windscreen cleaner was doing his job. Did the driver hit thew starter button or did the crew chief call it. There's a Van Morrison song on the "Astral Weeks" album, "Cleaning Windows". Mirko Bortolotti, meanwhile, is chasing Laurens Vanthoor.
Vanthoor is doing everything he can to run down and catch Sheldon van der Linde. Vanthoo vs. Bortolotti is still a hot and heavy battle. Lamborghini has had a shuffling of drivers and championships, although Mirko Bortolotti has moved to Audi. This race is going down at a tremendous clip. We will have three hours to go, in mere minutes. The Audi is quick through the Mine Shaft and the Crocodile. Bortolotti dives late inside on Laurens Vanthoor. Vanthoor wants it through Barbecue, but no dice. Be creative. Think outside the box. Vanthoor sees the launch down the inside but he cannot react before Bortolotti seals the deal. Good stuff. Good stuff!
197 laps. 561 miles. Mario Farnbacher still leads. It is cruel if a driver is not responsible for an infringement. We'll see, but the driver is out on the track, driving the wheels off the car. Ah. The Team Manager is requested to the Stewards office.
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