8 Hours of Portimao: Hour 7

Sebastien Buemi is indeed into the car and is getting brand new tires that have been taken out of their molds.  Nicolas Lapierre screams past the Toyota into the lead of the motor race.  Lapierre leads the motor race, with an extra pit stop.  Seven for Alpine and six for Toyota.  #36 leads #8 and #7.  They are using the same number on the Hypercar that they used on their LMP2 car.  227 laps on the board.  The Alpine can run 31-32 laps on a stint, maximum, whereas Toyota can run 37-38 laps.    

This is the 100^th race for Toyota in their history including the ‘80s and early ‘90s, the Group C era.  Antonio Fuoco led Matteo Cairoli and Cetilar has already pitted.  Project 1 must do another stop in a wee while.  Robin Frijns is suited and booted, next to get into the WRT LMP2 car.  Kevin Estre has retaken the #92 Porsche and he is closing in fast on the #51 AF Corse Ferrari.  Giorgio Sernagiotto has retaken the lead in GTE Am I believe.  Toyota #7 is in the battle with Alpine #36 and those two have to do two more pit stops while Sebastien Buemi needs to do just one.

Anthony Davidson tries to move around the WRT car of Charles Milesi as the Ferrari #60 was totally unaware, Andrea Piccini at the wheel of it.  Ricardo Pera has taken over the #56 Team Project 1 Porsche.  He is a Silver rated driver.  Giorgio Sernagiotto is also a Silver rated driver.  Whoa!  Milesi runs wide, and Davidson tries to make a move but no dice.  Or he’s still going for it.  You can have the dirt.  I’ll take the clean.  Milesi, though, is pressing hard, defending his ground.  He’s a real scrapper.  Kevin Estre is back on the lead lap?  Wow.  Estre was a lap down earlier.

Another move, and Anthony Davidson finally sticks it to Charles Milesi.  A grandstand finish beckons ladies and gentlemen.  What will we see?  Antonio Felix Da Costa looks to be ready to finish the motor race for Jota Sport.  Da Costa lives in Portugal and is the only Portuguese driver this weekend as Filipe Albuquerque raced in the IMSA event at Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan, yesterday.  Toyota #8 looks to be in the pound seats on pit strategy.  Nico Lapierre, meanwhile, he will be on a double stint.  Will they put Matthieu Vaxiviere in the car?  Maybe not.  It would be a double for Andre Negrao?  Maybe.

Mikkel Jensen following Rahel Frey.  Jensen will be a Peugeot factory driver in Le Mans Hypercar, next year.  Peugeot will join the party in 2022.  We look forward to that.  Jensen being shut off by Rahel Frey.  They are side by side to the top of the hill and Jensen moves by.  Rahel Frey continues to say “I will not surrender!”  Andrea Piccini is next up in one of the Iron Lynx cars.  Anthony Davidson still leads in LMP2.  The Hypercar is heavier and has no hybrid boost like the LMP1 monsters did.  The Hypercar is awesome, but tamer.

Kevin Estre pits from second spot.  He and Daniel Serra in the Ferrari will continue to slug it out.  Estre won the Nurburgring 24 Hours last weekend.  Estre now back on track.  Anthony Davidson is eating his way into his rival’s gap.  James Calado continues to lead GTE Pro.  Calado has run over 1,000 kilometers, 625 miles.  Daniel Serra has run 31 laps with six left before the pit stop.  He will be fine to the end.  Kevin Estre, though, has a pit stop delta and so does Serra.  Serra wants to know where he is in the stint.  Greasy tires.  Cramping muscles.  Sweaty face.  Blurry vision.  Pushing like mad.  Phil Hanson to the lane for service and a driver change handing over to Paul di Resta until the end.  Just over an hour and a half to go now.      

Job van Uitert is back on track now in the Racing Team Nederland automobile.  Jose Maria Lopez is closing on Nico Lapierre.  The Toyota will have to take less fuel at the final pit stop.  Sebastien Buemi is really the overall leader of the race.  Ben Barker warned by the stewards not to disobey track limits.  High Class and WRT both pit.  Punchy driving from Charles Milesi indeed.  High Class is in and so is the #52 Ferrari.  We have Robin Frijns in the WRT car.  Richard Westbrook now back driving in the Glickenhaus, working with the engineers to get the car together.  Testing is one thing.  Racing is a whole different kettle of fish.  That’s for dead sure. 

Ferrari’s tires are still blistering.  Nico Lapierre into the pit lane.  Andre Negrao will run the final hour and a half of the race.  The #70 RealTeam car of Esteban Garcia makes a pig’s breakfast out of turn eight and he got hit by Ricardo Pera, and Robin Frijns was nearly collected!  Yikes!  The brake disc wear rate gets out of control as we saw a replay of the WRT tire change pit stop.  Robin Frijns picked up a lot of gravel.  Anders Fjordbach and company lead LMP2 Pro Am.  Jan Magnussen did very well with his triple stint.  Tom Jackson has brought the ARC Bratislava car back to the garage.  Team boss Miro Konopka in the background.  Oliver Webb was supposed to drive that car, but we have not seen him in the only Ligier in the field.

Jose Maria Lopez now leads the motor race ahead of Sebastien Buemi and Andre Negrao.  Jota in the lane.  Jota in the lane and getting fuel and tires.  Paul di Resta is closing and all these blokes are on the same strategy towards the end.  Kevin Estre has taken a lap back from James Calado.  Gianmaria Bruni is half a minute behind Miguel Molina in the scrap for third place.  Any safety car now, and Toyota can move in.  Rahel Frey pits the #85 Ferrari.  Still a stint to be done before the last stop.    

The wind speed has dropped while the air temperature on the Algarve has gone up.  Dylan Pereira is the only Luxembourg driver in the field and almost won the Porsche Super Cup title.  Michelle Gatting too, she has won in Ferrari Challenge before.  The Glickenhaus makes contact with the #70 RealTeam car.  Esteban Garcia driving that.  Richard Westbrook, in the Glickenhaus.  Ricardo Pera has caught Giorgio Sernagiotto.  Pera wants by Sernagiotto forcing him to run defense.  Pera, the Porsche man is pressing hard.  No chance to sell the dummy there.

Jota run 1-2 in LMP2.  Pera runs out wide keeping the momentum.  The Ferrari is planted down the hill compared to the Porsche.   They touch, and there are more cars coming by.  Do not defend into a corner when you do not have to.  Sernagiotto is comprised.  Pera is coming.  Paul di Resta is closing up on Antonio Felix Da Costa.  They’ve touchjed, and Pera has damaged bodywork!  Oh dear!  The Ferrari tags the Porsche and damages the left rear bodaywork as the #21 DragonSpeed car spins.  Juan Pablo Montoya, and this is a clatter with the #88 car.

The safety car has livened up this motor race.  Andre Negrao is dropping lap time to Jose Maria Lopez.  Lopez has four laps before his stint ends.  1:31.103 is Lopez’s fast lap which is just behind Nicolas Lapierre in the Alpine.  Giorgio Sernagiotto is being monstered by Giancarlo Fisichella as the race leader is in the lane, Lopez.  The Glickenhaus has also taken another pit stop.  Toyota has two stints with an hour and six minutes to go.

A four-tire change for Ferrari.  He is out ahead of the #36.  Alpine’s hopes are evaporating for a win.  Penalty for Ricardo Pera for causing a collision.  Now, the #54 AF Corse Ferrari has just gone by.  Toyota #8 can stretch fuel mileage compared to the #7.