The #30 Honda NSX GT3 still leads the motor race. The car has been running like a top the whole race. However, Bertrand Baguette is only five or so seconds ahead of Audi Sport Team Car Collection and Patric Niederhauser. Niederhauser is 5.5 seconds behind, with Mirko Bortolotti next up in the #32. No further action for the pit stops for Honda #30 and Porsche #12. Thank goodness. This is wise judgment on the part of the stewards. The #44 Audi is pressing on, and is reeling in the Honda. We are 237 laps into the motor race, 675 miles. So, the pit stops are expected around lap 251 or so. Some dirt tracking at the bottom of the Mine Shaft for David Pittard! Yikes! He was dirt tracking that BMW! There are a couple spritzes of rain on the circuit, but they are very slight. Pittard was offline headed down through the Mine Shaft. All cars are reminded about having their lights on. Pittard was in the gravel trap, but he did keep the car under control.
He was on the dirty line as well. Good save for Pittard. Kelvin van der Linde is ninth in the Audi. Now, the gap is closing between Baguette and Niederhauser. The Honda leads the Audi of Patric Niederhauser. Did Bertrand Baguette lose time trying to move around the #45 Audi? That's odd. Bertrand Baguette has some decisions to make but to not overreact either. Working lap 239 if I am right. The gap is coming down to 2.8 second. Patric Niederhauser is closing up. The Audi could affect the outcome of the championship. Goodness gracious. We are seven hours and 15 minutes into the race. This final hour and 45 minutes is going to be mega.
Look for another pit stop in the next dozen laps and then, one more left on the board. The teams are back timing this race as the light is fdading. The gap is down to 2.5 and now, Baguette is going to be feeling the heat because Niederhauser is applying the blowtorch. Well, well, well. The lights are bleaching out the camera lens as the darkness is coming. 241 laps now completed, 687 miles. 2.6 seconds the gap between Bertrand Baguette and Patric Niederhauser who has been stymied just a bit. Mirko Bortolotti is next up and if we'd had a safety car and a Full Course Yellow, the field would have been closed up a lot tighter than it is now.
We wonder what has happened with the #12 Porsche and it's diffuser. It's still circulating in fifth, but the lap times are slower. #44 and Patric Niederhauser could win the title by winning the race. That's really interesting. The gap is up now to three seconds as Bertrand Baguette is responding. Honda has the advantage. Audi has to scrap and dig here with just an hour and 40 minutes on the board before the race is done and dusted. This is a real deal motor race and now, the track conditions are changing. Rain reported on track at turn 10 at the highest point at Leeukop. The light and the track surface are changing in conditions simultaneously. So, this could really shuffle the deck.
That report of rain could have been a spritz. But now, the gap is closing. Niederhauser is two seconds behind. Honda needs nine more laps. Why is Bertrand Baguette struggling? He knows this car and the circuit having raced here last year. The Audi could have an extra turn of speed and be in it's ideal performance zone compared to the Honda. The gap is stable at 2.2 seconds. The gap has dropped like a stone. Baguette is still pushing as darkness is falling with an hour and a half to go. It is indeed getting darker. Eyes wide open right now. Renger van der Zande is very nervous. There's more rain at Clubhouse. There are rain clouds gathering.
Lightning is also on it's way. It's going to be a wild finish with darkness and a thunderstorm, and an hour and a half left. Matthieu Jaminet in fifth place, he is still in the fight. If we get a deluge like last year, we don't want to have the safety car trundle 'round and then have a green, white, checker finish. Here comes the rain and the light changing as well, look. Are the weather God's going to have it in for the Honda boys? We will see. There's rain at the top of the hill. Yikes. The Honda will stay on track and Patric Niederhauser has lost some time. 250 laps, 712 and a half miles. The pit window is so darn close.
Will the weather skirt around the speedway? Or will it bucket down? With the high temperatures, both ambient and air temp, the rain won't be so bad./ The gap is widening. The Honda could be getting used to the conditions while Patric Niederhauser ispushing. Alex Buncombe has spun off at Crowthorne, and Walkenhorst pits for routine service and slick tires. The Bentley slithers offlineand we see there has been some lightning around. Full Coyrse Yellow. Is it raining? It is. We can see it on the camera and hear it pounding on the roof. Everyone is going to have to go for wet weather tires.
The rain is getting heavier, and we hear thunder as well. Honda are ready on Full Course Yellow to pit for wet tires, early. If the rain quits, the track will dry fairly quickly. Watch the pit lane. It is wet and greasy there, mate. Bertrand Baguette stays in the car after a tire change and maybe a refuel? Nope. Just tires. It is now wet for tires only. It's a regulation wet pit stop. Full Course Yellow on the road. Mirko Bortolotti stays in the #32 Audi. BMW #35 pits for tires and a driver change. Mattia Drudi takes over Audi #44. Just like we saw last year in 2019. Mathieu Jaminet is in the lane as well. Bentley #8 is out of the gravel but is the motor running?
The marshals are going to rescue Alex Buncombe, wetter than a mermaid's flannel. Look at the puddles in the lane. #44 did a normal pit stop and the Honda will do the same, so, it will balance out but #44 is off. Bentley #8 has spun off the road another time. Another pit stop for the Bentley boys. Bentley #8 burbles away and back onto the track. #30 trundles through Sunset. Honda, Audi, Audi, BMW, Porsche, BMW, the top six. Mattia Drudi and Christopher Haase will finish out this race for the Audi boys. Will the Full Course Yellow translate into a safety car? The amount of water on the road is getting worse. Now, the safety car is on the road.
Last year it was severely wet, and this year, it is wet, but it is not as bad as what we saw in '19. How quickly can that production Porsche safety car go in these conditions? The race cars have deeper, wider tread on their Pirelli P Zero tires. Where's the race track? We are looking at headlights, with an hour and 15 minutes to go. Fully wet, and fully dark. Haven't we been here before? Deja vu. No overtaking. Stints are only extended if the safety car is out at the end of the stint time. Fuel is not a factor in the stint times. Alex Buncombe braked in the wet, spun into the gravel, and had to try making his way back with gravel on the tires, and aquaplaning all over the shop.
The thunder is rumbling around as well. Keep the car on the road. Safety car into the lane this time by. Safety cars breed safety cars. This is going to be a wild one. Deja vu all over again, mate. Five cars on the lead lap. The spray will hang in the air. No dry line on the road. Puddles everywhere. As a driver, you want more grip, so run the rain line. Don't sail off into oblivion. The lightning is flashing all ove as well. Green flag. We're back to racing. Mattia Drudi has to clear the traffic and does so, chasing Bertrand Baguette. They tiptop through Crowthorne.
Heavy rain, and the darkness. It is a lot like a rally stage. Bertrand Baguette will finish the race for Honda. Farnbacher and van der Zande are championship contenders. Mario Farnbacher could be the next driver into the car. There's more aquaplaning, which is no surprise at all. We might just need to put the safety car out and run slower. Someone has spun. It is an Audi, and it's Mattia Drudi spinning out of second! Deary me! He's dropped down the order. You can't see the track from Barbeque up through Jukskei Sweep. Full Course Yellow it is.
We're coming towards the final hour of this race. Once again, we are under Full Course Yellow. The race leader pits and so does the Kevin Estre driven Porsche. Honda elects to make a pit stop. Frederic Vervisch in Audi #32 will lead ahead of Matt Campbell in Porsche #12. Mario Farnbacher will go into the car. Everyone else now needs to pit to reshuffle the order. What if there is a red flag? What if the race is stopped? We will have to see. If it was, the results would go back to a prior lap. Drivers are really struggling oiut there in these diabolical conditions. Fred Vervisch leads Matt Campbell and Nicky Catsburg who all have to pit yet. Wow. This is wild.
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