Farnbacher could only lose a small amount of time, although the championship is still wide open. Bamber and Vanthoor are just three points behind the Honda of Farnbacher and Van der Zande. Will this damoclesian penalty have an effect? Laurens Vanthoor continues on, being chased by Patrick Pilet, the new lap record holder here at Kyalami. Patrick Pilet can go further. The GPX Porsche has the Porsche Targa Florio livery. Gulf and Porsche are associated with each other a lot. McLaren and Mirage have also had Gulf Oil liveries and so have Ford GT40's and Aston Martin's. Mario Farnbacher continues in the lead, and he is about to lap the BMW #35, David Pittard at the controls. 201 laps, 573 miles. Farnbacher makes his way past Pittard and now, Christopher Haase is chasing, 9.8 seconds behind the Honda NSX GT3.
Farnbacher leads Haase, Van der Linde, Bortolotti, and Vanthoor. Sheldon van der Linde is now third with the #34 BMW M6 GT3 and Mirko Bortolotti is pulling away from Laurens Vanthoor as well. Bortolotti in turn, is closing on the BMW. Sheldon van der Linde has run 205 laps, 584 miles. The light is beginning to fade here at Kyalami, but could there be rain clouds in the distance once again? I suppose we shall find out. The wind hasn't picked up too much. Maybe it is just getting dark. It goes dark very quickly here at Kyalami. Mirko Bortolotti continues to run third. Kelvin van der Linde, his brother, is ninth overall in one of the Audi's.
The wind isn't really picking up. So we don't know if there will be more rain or not, with two hours and 45 minutes left on the board. So far we've only seen one cut down tire. We should have pit stops in the next 13 minutes. Forecasting lap 214 which will be 610 miles into the motor race. Laurens Vanthoor is losing time to both the Audi and the BMW as well as the Honda. Porsche #54 have had a fraught race here at Kyalami today. Problems with the front air dam spoiler on the Porsche. It's split on the right front corner. We've seen some personal best lap times in the last few laps with the cooling temperatures. The Porsche's splitter is peeling away. Not good. Will Laurens Vanthoor be able to hold on? It isn't a quick fix.
The Audi is catching the Porsche and theoretically, the Audi is faster. A roll of gaffer tape is the best tool you have. A drill bit and rivets could work but would be too slow. Just yank out the gaffer tape. Hopefully they don't have to push the car back to the garage. No news about Honda #30 from Race Control as the Honda of Mario Farnbacher continues in the lead. They will pit in six or so laps and four laps before Christopher Haase returns to the pit lane. Christopher Haase still has to pass David Pittard in the BMW. Headlights on here at Kyalami at 5:20 P.M. in Johannesburg also known as Joburg. The circuit is family owned, and it is a newly reconfigured version of the old, classic circuit. We've had just one retirement, and that was the #7 Bentley. Jules Gounon and Jordan Pepper were sure they could win, and so, they were emotionally destroyed.
It was a very sad sight. M-Sport Bentley wanted more titles and race wins than they were able to get. Seb Morris in the #8 Bentley has not had the best race. Dylan Perreira hangs on in the Team Perfect Circle Porsche #9 which is caked in rubber, from tire clag. The fuel goes in, the car is off the air jacks, and is back into the motor race. The fuel tank is way high up in the front mounted trunk, or "frunk" as some people call it. The front splitter problem for Porsche #54 is getting worse. They will have to repair that after their scheduled regular maintenance is done and dusted. The light is fading here at Kyalami.
Darkness is coming. People are starting to use their headlights. Laurens Vanthoor moves around the Perfect Circle Porsche. Working lap 214, 610 miles. Mario Farnbacher leads, with two and a half hours to go. Porsche #12 has lost out on points and the team manager was requested to go to the stewards' office. It must be some kind of pit stop issue, but we've not gotten that information yet. #34 BMW in the lane for an unscheduled pit stop. Although maybe it is scheduled. Ditto for the #54 Porsche. 37 laps to a stint. These are scheduled stops then. Forgive me. #54 has dollies go under the car, and the whole front bodywork is damaged. They are moving it into the garage. This is the goodbye kiss for the Porsche's championship hopes.
They are affecting repairs on the front nose of the car. The fittings hopefully have not been damaged, the clips and stays that hold the nose onto the car. They are having issues with trying to hold the car together as far as the nose clamps. They are going to go down a lap or two, maybe, even though everything will be lined up for installation. The only lifeline is the #12 Porsche being under investigation for a pit stop infringement by the stewards. Into the lane, the #30 Honda NSX GT3 from the lead, and the #44 Audi R8. The Porsche is back on track. But that is a mega sized disappointment as Kevin Estre takes over the controls.
Patrick Pilet leads the motor race. Rain is being predicted at 8PM. So, we may see rain coming. We don't know if it is coming or not. The race is slated to finish at 8PM local time in South Africa. Kevin Estre is two laps down now. David Pittard pits the #35 BMW. Currently running sixth. Mathematically the #35 could win the title, but that's not likely. David Pittard is out of the car. Not sure who got into it. It is either Martin Tomczyk or Nick Yelloly.
The flags are flying in a horizontal manner. With Porsche dropping down and Audi going up to third and fourth, depending on the race outcome, Audi could maybe beat Porsche in the manufacrturer's cup. BMW #34, Sheldon van der Linde being shown in the car, but it could be a different driver. Patrick Pilet is under investigation for the tire disposal procedure. So, the Porsche is under investigation. Porsche #12 does have a looming pit stop while Sheldon van der Linde is chasing Mirko Bortolotti. BMW vs. Audi. Big slide for Patrick Pilet! Either the tires are dead, or there's rain on the road. That was all through The Crocodile.
No indication of rain. Maybe some fluid, some oil, or maybe gravel, on the road. 221 laps for Patrick Pilet before he needs to pit. 630 miles. Could the conditions playing into the favor of Audi? We will have to wait and see. Kelvin van der Linde is still three laps down aboard the #31 Audi for Audi Sport Team WRT. That's the van der Linde/Winkelhock/Vanthoor car. The light is fading and we have more chances of rain, two hours and 17 minutes left on the board. Will Matthieu Jaminet take a single stint and Matt Campbell take a double before the end. Sheldon van der Linde is the leading South African driver. Patrick Pilet in the lane from the lead, and Matthieu Jaminet does take over. Tires and fuel as well. Tires onto the car, and fuel in the tank.
The Porsche howls its way down to turn two. Alex Buncombe is now second in the sole remaining #8 Bentley. Mirko Bortolotti third, and Sheldon van der Linde fourth. The last pit stops will be within the final 20 minutes of the race and we have over two hours to go yet. Patrick Pilet was losing a left rear tire, a cut left rear tire. Porsche #12 are fifth. Mario Farnbacher and Renger van der Zande are up in the championship lead by four points. Audi is closer in the manufacturer's championship, but Porsche is still leading. Porsche #54's hopes have been dashed, and they are two laps down. You control your own fate. Porsche #12 is staying on the lead lap currently.
But it is game over for the #54 team. In fifth place, Matthieu Jaminet, has run 228 laps, 650 miles. The race has calmed down a little, but there's still been plenty to talk about. Things can still bite teams in this final two hours or so. Bertrand Baguette leads Patrick Niederhauser by 5.7 seconds. Porsche #12 has some more damage, possibly a broken diffuser. Patric Niederhauser is back in the #44 Audi. As the left rear wheel comes off, the #12 pit crew had an out of control wheel, bouncing around. The wheel should be handed from A to B, not tossed or bounced. There could be a further penalty but the marshals have not made the decision. The splitter on the #12 is lower to the pavement through Crocodile and/or Cheetah.
It is rubbing on the deck. A flappy diffuser. I have all their records. The Flappy Diffusers. Hardy har har. The leading edge of it, attaching to the chassis, is really oscillating. That diffuser is going to keep shimmying around for another two hours. How long can the darn thing stay intact without delaminating? Bertrand Baguette, the Belgian, continues to lead by 6.1 seconds over Patric Niederhauser in the Audi #44. The race has come to Audi, somehow. Very interesting. Martin Lechman pits his Audi as well. 231 laps now on the board.
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