Vandoorne is at the wheel of the #28 Jota Oreca in LMP2. Amazingly, we are into the final hour of the motor race here at Monza. Time flies when you’re having fun. We go through the race highlights, and we shall see where we pick up the race again as time is of the essence. If #7 can hold on, it will be their first victory in the Hypercar era. Jose Maria Lopez says that endurance racing is where you have to prepare for everything, and it has been a crazy race for their team. They have been able to keep ahead of Alpine and Glickenhaus. They have a good rhythm and how will the strategy play out so their strategy comes together?
Lopez says the competition from Glickenhaus is a good thing
to have. He mentions that Toyota are
glad to have the competition. Now, one
of the Glickenhaus’ is coming out of the pit lane. That is the #709 car. The leader has now run 172 laps, 619
miles. Alpine #36 is that car, and they
lead Toyota #7 now by almost 14 seconds.
#709 may need a splash and dash before the end of the race. The Toyota could also need a splash and
dash. Richard Westbrook is currently at
the wheel of the Glickenhaus. Matthieu
Vaxiviere continues in the race lead.
The #33 TF Sport Aston Martin crawling to the pit lane ran
out of gas and came to the lane to refuel.
It is now back on track. Matthieu
Vaxiviere needs to make a pit stop soon, which will be his final stop of the
day. Can the Toyota get to the end of
the race without an additional splash and dash?
Kevin Estre leads GTE Pro as United Autosport in third overall leads
LMP2. Filipe Albuquerque has a decent
margin over Robin Frijns in the #31 Team WRT car. The battle rages in LMP2 as well between Alex
Brundle and Nyck de Vries. Nicklas
Nielsen in the #83 AF Corse Ferrari continues in the lead of GTE Am.
Nielsen has completed 159 laps, 572 miles. But the LMP2 battle is still red hot, look. Nielsen skitters across the gravel and
somehow or other gets the car pointed in the right direction. Indulging in a wee bit of rallycross. Andrew Watson remains second and remains in
the #777 D’station Aston Martin. He is
likely going to take that car to the end.
Hey, all he wants to do is drive.
Augusto Farfus has the #98 factory GTE Am Aston Martin third in
class. We watch the #1 Richard Mille
Racing LMP2 in the pit lane and from Nielsen’s incidents, there is gravel all
over the road.
Matty Vaxiviere leads the motor race with 53 minutes left on
the board. In the ninth season of WEC,
this is the first time they have raced at Monza. In the shadow of the alps and the Italian
lakes is the royal park of Monza and this sports car race today, here, at this
magnificent, legendary palace of speed, has been a dandy. Alpine leads with now 176 laps (634 miles),
in the bag. They lead Hypercar. Three laps behind and in the LMP2 lead we
have the Oreca #22 for United Autosport.
In the GT, the production car classes (GTE Pro and Am), it is Porsche
#92, leading a train that includes Ferrari #51, Porsche #91, and Ferrari
#52. It’s been a Stuttgart vs. Maranello
scrap in GTE Pro all season so far, and all day during this race.
AF Corse leads with Ferrari ahead of Aston Martin and
Porsche in GTE Am. Despite it’s litany
of woes today, the #8 Toyota is going to finish 33rd overall but
will complete the race and finish in the points in fourth in Hypercar. We could see glorious triumph for Alpine and
France if Matthieu Vaxiviere can hold on for the last 48 minutes of the
race. This triumph if it comes will be a
close shave. Mike Conway in the #7
Toyota is second, nine seconds adrift.
He will have to stretch his fuel mileage if he wants to catch the
Alpine. That is going to be a tall drink
of water in the last stanza of this motor race.
The Toyota will need just a splash of fuel and Matthieu
Vaxiviere in the Alpine, his tank will need to be filled more. Who is the most disciplined? Will we see more mechanical or electrical
woes? United Autosports leads Team WRT
in LMP2 by 42 seconds. The advantage has
constantly yoyoed between Filipe Albuquerque and Robin Frijns while the other
contenders, Brundle, de Vries, Vandoorne and the rest, have only had an
occasional look in. Brundle is being
steadily reeled in by de Vries for the last step on the podium. LMP2 is going to be a barnburner to the
bitter end, folks. Stay tuned. You don’t want to run to the fridge for
something before this race is done and dusted.
You might miss crucial action.
Nyck de Vries is leading the Pro-Am portion of LMP2. Intereuropol is the team on the final step of
the LMP2 podium. The laps click off and Albuquerque
has now run 175 laps, 630 miles, bang on the nose. Of course, the number of laps completed have
all been shared by the trio of drivers.
One driver in endurance racing, and he or she would be spent. This isn’t like it was when Pierre Levegh had
to drive the whole race at Le Mans back in the 1950s when his co-driver fell
ill. Chasing the LMP2’s is the #709
Glickenhaus which led today on two occasions before brake issues forced them to
undergo an eight-minute pit stop for repairs to change rotors and pads.
The car is now third in class in Hypercar and seventh in the
overall. #31 is in the lane now for
service and will really push it for getting to the end in the last 45-46
minutes. Now, Kevin Estre leads for
Porsche in GTE Pro, and we have been calling Porsche’s number all day, until
the line is busy, or the phone is practically off the hook. The operators at Stuttgart are probably
saying, will you solicitors get off the line?!
#92 in the class lead has now run 166 laps, 598 miles. The #83 AF Corse Ferrari is working it’s 164th
lap equaling 590 miles. #83 is in the
pit lane. Was this planned? Do they have an issue?
Nicklas Nielsen is in and there will be a driver change, but
it cannot be anywhere near his maximum stint time. Has Francois Perrodo done his maximum
time? Maybe Nicklas Nielsen is not
feeling well, and we know Alessio Rovera has done a bunch of driving as
well. Their minimums that must be done
as a bronze driver and maximums as well.
Phil Hanson for United Autosport says that you cannot get complacent,
but it feels like the longest 45 minutes ever when you are leading the race by
40 seconds. This is Hanson’s third race
of 2021. He is also the only man
separating all six of the Jota Sport drivers spread across their two-car team.
If nothing should change, Hanson will lead the points. Augusto Farfus now leads GTE Am as Nicklas
Nielsen is still shown at the wheel of the car.
There are no drive time issues with that trio, as we watch in third
place, the fastest of the Glickenhaus cars, currently in the hands of veteran
Englishman Richard Westbrook. Augusto
Farfus pits now for his final stop and Tomonobu Fujii is at the controls of the
#777 D’station Aston Martin. Mike Conway
leads the motor race in Toyota #7. Conway
runs wide and is driving at ten tenths.
They are pushing but still saving fuel trying to catch Matthieu
Vaxiviere.
Mike Conway is eating chunks out of Vaxiviere’s lead. 7.1 seconds is the gap as the Alpine of
Vaxiviere has run 181 laps, 652 miles.
Conway is pushing hard. Tomonobu
Fujii leads Augusto Farfus in GTE Am for Aston Martin with two different teams
as D’station is run by TF Sport and Aston Martin of course has their factory
GTE Am team too. The final stop of the
day is underway for Intereuropol as well.
Jota Sport are taking their final stop and passing Nyck de Vries in LMP2,
is the Glickenhaus. Richard Westbrook is
a man on a mission. He is up to fifth
overall and third in Hypercar.
Robin Frijns is 23 seconds ahead of Westbrook in the
Glickenhaus. Whoa! Whoa!
Whoa! The #7 Toyota overcooks it
into the Lesmo’s just out of Curva Grande!
#7 is experiencing the same braking issues we have seen with the #8
sister Toyota. In replay we can see from
the onboard camera that it was just brake lockup. Those polystyrene squares, some of them have
been knocked out of the way making egress from the maze easier. United Autosports #22 in the lane
relinquishing the LMP2 lead and third in the overall for a wee while. They are good to go on fuel.
WRT is still wondering about their fuel mileage as Alpine
leads overall. Mike Conway cut a 1:37.85
last time by and Alpine are in for the final stop of the race. Conway moves back to the lead but needs a
splash and a dash at the end of the race.
The refueling time between Alpine and Toyota will be the
difference. Last time there was a two second
difference in refueling between the two.
Matthieu Vaxiviere will take it to the flag. They were stationary in the lane for 61
seconds, just over a minute. We have yet
to see Toyota #7 in the lane. 25 seconds
in the pit lane delta. 61 – 25 = 36. How ironic.
Toyota will need seven seconds worth of petrol as Mike
Conway moves on to the 184th lap of the race. That is 662 miles. No mistakes.
No shooting through chicanes.
These drivers have to be milimieter perfect. Will we have all the wheels falling off the
cars at the 25 minutes to go mark? We
shall see what is going to happen.
Glickenhaus proves they need to work on the brakes. There is less brake dust now than there
was. Nicklas Nielsen continues leading
in GTE Am. The brake wear rate on the
Glickenhaus has been off the charts for the duration of this race.
In GTE Am, we have to keep an eye on the scrap between
Matteo Cairoli and Augusto Farfus. Francois
Perrodo says things are looking good for AF Corse, for his team in the #83
car. Alessio Rovera did well at the
start and Perrodo says he hopes the boys can bring it home to the end of this
race. Tomonobu Fujii is next up. We have a Full Course Yellow. We have Race Director Edorado Freitas coming
over the radio saying, “prepare for a Full Course Yellow”. Debris at the entrance to the Ascari chicane
on driver’s right. What is the scoop
with fuel?
Toyota can pit for a splash and dash now and can almost
guarantee they could win this thing with the #7 entry. Poor Alpine will be on the outside looking
in, perhaps. As the marshals retrieve
the debris, we can see that inside pieces of curbing have come up and have
broken off in chunks in certain places around the track. The GTE cars have been cutting the lefthand
curbs at Parabolica all day. In LMP2 we
have seen both the #1 Richard Mille Racing and #20 High Class Racing cars hit
the pit lane. Now, why on earth would
Toyota not use this opportunity to hit the lane?
They had the chance to pit, and they are now a minute and a
half ahead of Alpine. This was a golden
opportunity for Toyota to fuel up to the end.
The Full Course Yellow continues as the marshals are conducting a track
inspection. Those bolts that hold the
curbs down could rip tires to pieces.
Just over half an hour to go. Unless
there is drama for Toyota, the race, like sand, could be slipping through
Alpine’s fingers as we speak. Toyota are
going to pit it appears. Although only
the refueler is in position at this stage.
We will see the yellow flag out for six minutes as Toyota is ready to
pit. Here comes the #21 DragonSpeed LMP2
car as well, the Flex Box liveried automobile.
On the radio, Vaxiviere is told to wait to pit. That was half a lap ago and they have not
pitted yet. Vaxiviere is out of the
first chicane while Conway is going out of the Parabolica.
Mike Conway, unless something drastic occurs, he has a 2
minute and 40 second lead as he is entering the pit lane. Stretch your fuel mileage and get into a
position to capitalize. Or you will miss
out on a golden opportunity. Kevin Estre
and Miguel Molina, first and fourth in GTE Pro, have pitted. Five LMP2 cars have stopped for service. Norman Nato, Ben Hanley, Sophia Floresch,
Anders Fjordbach, and Ryan Cullen are those five drivers. That is sixth through tenth in class. Andrew Haryanto has pitted the #88 GTE Am
Porsche. There is a big chunk of curb
that has the holes but not the bolts. There’s
banking at the north and the south end of the track and the road course comes
all the way around.
Around the banking, down the straight, through the road
course, and then onto the other end of the banking to complete the lap. Formula 1 cars were using the banking during
the 1960s and so were the sports cars up until 1969 or so. If you watch the legendary film “Grand Prix”
directed by John Frankenheimer, you will see Formula 1 cars racing on the
banking here at Monza. Gianmaria Bruni
in and out for a splash and dash for fuel.
We watch in replay a clean pit stop for Toyota #7 and two new right side
tires.
28 minutes to go now.
The curbing finally has had enough.
One man with a hammer has been pressing the curbing into place. Full Course Yellow will be removed in less
than a minute and we should go clean and green for the final 25 minutes. 187 laps completed, 673 miles. Toyota may have gotten a free pit stop. But it will be a race to the end in two of
the classes. GTE Pro is one of
them. 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Full Course Yellow removed. Green flag!
The GTE Pro battle has a margin of just 8/10ths of a second. Kevin Estre vs. Alessandro Pier Guidi. He is being balked by the #22 United
Autosport Oreca LMP2. The GTE cars have
a higher speed between the apex and exit of the turn, then have to wait for the
LMP2 car to move out of the way.
GTE Pro is a two-man, two car race. Ferrari vs. Porsche, Pier Guidi vs.
Estre. The beleaguered #38 Jota Sport
car is in the pit lane. What are Porsche
thinking at this moment? They are on the
verge of beating Ferrari at their home turf, possibly. Neel Jani says it’s been an up and down game,
a game of ping pong. The gap is very
close, and Jani wants to see the Ferrari have to save fuel. #29 pitted for a quick stop at the green flag
and retains the lead in LMP2 Pro-Am. Richard
Westbrook is seven seconds away from fourth spot overall in the recovering
Glickenhaus. Also, the final step on the
GTE Am podium is under consideration.
Tomonobu Fujii is being monstered by both Augusto Farfus and
Matteo Cairoli. That battle on the road
is simmering along nicely, thank you.
176 laps complete for Porsche #92, 634 miles. Aston Martin second and third in GTE Am with
the AF Corse Ferrari leading, that started last in class and caboose on the
grid due to a ride height infraction. Kevin
Estre has the welly down and Alessandro Pier Guidi is closing. Track position is what Porsche was looking
for as Richard Westbrook closes on Robin Frijns for fourth overall. Westbrook is coming in a hurry but must carve
his way through traffic.
The gap at the start/finish line is 3.7 seconds as Westbrook
swoops past the GTE Pro Porsche.
Westbrook must really push the brakes to get by the Porsche and he has
the speed to et by Robin Frijns as Farfus is eating tenths out of the margin to
Tomonobu Fujii. The GTE Pro lead scrap
is closing in fast on the #44 Ligier in LMP2, the #44 ARC Bratislava Ligier,
the Konopka/Webb/Konopka entry. The GTE
Pro scrap is right up the tailpipes of the Ligier and will Estre be delayed by
this?
Miro Konopka is lapping a tenth quicker than Estre and six
tenths quicker than Pier Guidi. The #33
Aston Martin will finish and salvage points, but after the tire delaminated and
shredded both itself and the bodywork, they have been on the back foot and
playing catch up all day. Westbrook is
closing in on Frijns inch by inch. He is
getting there, and fast, right on Robin Frijns’ six at this moment. Westbrook has more power, more tire, more
grip, and more speed, and screams past the Oreca LMP2 entry. Despite the retirement of the sister car with
gearbox trouble, Glickenhaus has had a good race today.
They know they are going to have to change and/or upgrade
the braking system before we get to the 24 Hours of Le Mans next month. Toyota also has had fundamental trouble that
occurred on the #8 car and the #7 has not been out of the woods either, with a
power cycling problem and a tire issue. The
Inception Racing Ferrari was due to start but did not. The #7 Toyota, meanwhile, is under
investigation by the stewards insofar as their final pit stop that they
made. That was five laps ago with Mike
Conway at the controls.
Ferrari #60 which shunted hugely in Free Practice 2, was
damaged when it started the race, and the #708 Glickenhaus had their
troubles. In replay we can see the pit
stop for Toyota #7 AND WHAT ON EARTH WAS THE ISSUE? Was it how long the fuel hose was on the car,
the probe in the tank? Was that a short
fill? That is wildly punitive. Team manager of car #7 report to the Race
Director’s office! Oh dear. This doesn’t look good. What will Edoardo Freitas have to tell the
team manager at Toyota? We have 15
minutes to go. In 20 minutes, will we
know who has won this race?
More drama happening.
It isn’t over until the fat lady sings.
If this does not make your mouth water before the 24 Hours of Le Mans,
check your pulse. A good battle brewing
now in LMP2, look, between Norman Nato and Ben Hanley. This scrum is for sixth in class but more
importantly it is for second in the Pro-Am division. Norman Nato wants the Ferrari to move and
here comes Handley on the outside!
Heanley can take a wide line and make the pass? Not yet.
Nato isn’t giving up. Last of the
late brakers and Hanley on the inside takes the position away.
Hanley is sixth overall and up to second in LMP2 Pro
Am. Nothing Norman Nato could do. Now, there is a possible explanation for
Toyota being penalized. One of the
crewmen, one of the chaps with the rattle gun has his foot on the pit lane line
in anticipation of changing tires after the fuel probe is removed. You are supposed to be behind the white line
for safety, and he isn’t. We have less
than 13 minutes to find the rulebook and see what the penalty could be. Quick!
Someone hand me the FIA World Endurance Championship rulebook,
stat!
Stop and go? Drive
through? End of race time penalty? They could still win even with these
penalties. Take the time penalty as
opposed to the drive through penalty. He
has to stay 30 seconds ahead of a charging Matthieu Vaxiviere. Thank goodness we do not do aggregate races
anymore. Augusto Farfus is catching
Tomonobu Fujii, but not quickly enough maybe.
Farfus is quicker and it is going to be closed. The Norman Nato and Ben Hanley scrap has been
put on ice. The GTE Pro battle is still
on. Ferrari’s pride is on the line, at
home.
With Alessandro Pier Guidi, he gambled. Out of de la Roggia and into the
Lesmo’s. He is pushing hard and could go
down fighting if he runs the fuel tank dry.
Nine minutes on the board. Team
Manager car #7 to the Race Director’s office.
Second time of asking. That is
the race director shouting, “get over here, now! Don’t make me come and grab you and rake you
over the coals!” Warning on car #7 for
pit stop infringement. A drive through
penalty would be very harsh for that as it could cost them the race. We are setting precedents for what could
happen at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The tire is on the white line and so is the mechanic’s
foot. It is a warning. But if you do that at Le Mans, you will get
slapped on the wrist. Leaders in LMP2
and Hypercar coming through. All is not
well with the sister Toyota, running 33rd overall, 43 laps
down. 198 laps in the bag and we will
reach 203-204 laps. So, 713 miles
down. Glickenhaus will finish fourth,
just 20 seconds away from the podium.
They’re four laps down, but they have really fought back well. Glickenhaus could have won today and made
Toyota quiver in their boots.
Now, Tomonobu Fujii is really pushing. Augusto Farfus is coming in a jhurry. It sounds like his Aston Martin has a broken
exhaust. 2.2 seconds is the gap in GTE
Am. The battle for GTE Pro honors is
down to 8/10ths of a second between the factory Porsche and the factory
Ferrari. Mike Wainwright takes the GR
Racing #86 Porsche to the flag while being a lap up on the #61 Toni Vilander
driven Ferrari. Farfus in the meantime,
is charging. He is rocketing around
Monza, taking tenths out of the gap on every lap in recent time.
He has two or three laps to get on terms with Fujii
san. The #83 Ferrari should win GTE
Am. No sign of getting a larger gap
between Kevin Estre in Porsche #92 and Ferrari #51 with Alessandro Pier
Guidi. 187 laps on the board for
Porsche, 673 miles. The #33 Aston Martin
has had a best result of second and the #98 has only mustered a best result of
fourth which came last time out at the 8 Hours of Portimao back in the middle
of June. #98 and #777 will both be on
the podium. Augusto Farfus has cut his
fastest lap at 1:47.129 as we see the #22 United Autosport Oreca with nearly a
minute in hand over the similar car for the #31 WRT team. 196 laps, 706 miles run by the LMP2 leader.
1:47.129 is Augusto Farfus’ fastest race lap time. The fastest qualifying lap is something we’re
trying to find. 1:48.4. He is faster than in qualifying. Pier Guidi is closing on Estre and fast! He is just 2/10ths away from the Frenchman in
the Porsche! Porsche vs. Ferrari on
Ferrari’s home turf. At the end of the
season, the champion in GTE Pro will be an official FIA World Champion. That is massive. Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen have won
a championship together and so have Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado as
well. Estre and Christensen won in 2020
and Calado and Pier Guidi won in the Super Season.
Dear oh dear! The
Ferrari has to dive for the lane for a splash and a dash with two minutes on
the board! Ugh! This is going to sting for the Tifosi who
wanted to see their car and their team win at their track! They gambled long and hard and needed a
splash and dash because they could not make it one more lap. So, Porsche looks to be in the clear to snag
victory away from Scuderia Ferrari in Italy.
D’station and the factory Aston Martin, this slugfest in GTE Am is going
to go down to the wire, folks. Down to
the wire.
Richard Westbrook in the #709 Glickenhaus uncorks his
fastest first sector time of the motor race with the end in sight. A minute and a half to go and the GTE Am
battle kicks into overdrive! Farfus,
some argy bargy there with Fujii! Alex
Brundle has to get away from these two in the Intereuropol LMP2 car, the #34
machine. Look out, ladies and gentlemen,
this is going to be a grandstand finish!
Into the Parabolica, Fujii on the inside. Farfus is wheel to wheel on corner exit! How will this end up? They’re still side by side down the
straightaway! Oh my gosh! That was outside of track limits. What will the stewards think of that?
A minute to go, they’re still nose to nose in GTE Am. This is a short track stock car race! This racing is a bull ring on Saturday night,
not what you might expect in one of the world’s great endurance races at one of
the world’s greatest speed palaces. This
could be it. The final lap of this motor
race. They touch again headed Prima
Variante. This is actually for second in
GTE Am. Ferrari #83 will have the win
sewn up. But this looks like a victory
battle. It’s for the final two steps on
the podium. 45 seconds to go. Toyota #7 coming towards the Parabolica for maybe
the final time. One lap to go as the
Alpine flies past the Aston Martin scrap.
One lap to go unless the Toyota puts the handbrake on or
stops for a cup of tea. Last lap. Fujii clatters over the curbs. Farfus could have a chance. This is for second. The win is sealed for Ferrari. But what will second place hold in store in
GTE Am? We are about to find out, ladies
and gentlemen. Fujii fends off Farfus
who almost had a clean sweep in the Pure ETCR electric touring car championship
last weekend. Farfus has another run on
Fujii san. Final lap for the leading #7
Toyota. They are likely to win pending
what that penalty they have, says.
Two laps remain in GTE Am.
Farfus is right in Fujii’s mirrors.
Time is up. One lap to go and six
hours has elapsed. Fujii vs. Farfus for
second place. Whoever finishes wherever,
it will be a first podium in GTE Am this season in 2021. Farfus runs wide out of the Parabolica. Does he have something left in the
locker? He has the better run down the
straight. Farfus will try a lunge going
to the last lap of the race. Fujii parks
it on the apex, but on exit, he drifts wide, here comes Farfus! Farfus outside at Curva Grande. They bash doors and fenders. It’s argy bargy time again.
More rubbing doorhandles and fenders here. Again, this is a short track stock car race
with GTE sports cars! Checkered
flag! Toyota #7 wins the motor
race. Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway, and
Jose Maria Lopez are your overall champs here at Monza. Alpine finishes second, and would you
believe, Glickenhaus, on the podium in third place! Kevin Estre and Neel Jani win GTE Pro for
Porsche! Final lap in GTE Am with
Augusto Farfus in the lead. LMP2 honors
go to United Autosport and the team of Phil Hanson, Fabio Scherer, and Filipe
Albuquerque.
GTE Am honors go to the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE of
Francois Perrodo. Alessio Rovera, and Nicklas Nielsen. One Ferrari wins in Italy, but it is the Am
class winner. Farfus is going to take
second in the GTE Am class. Fujii san
had to give it up with lapped traffic in the way. Wow!
That was a stonking battle!
Unreal! #98 AMR is second and
#777 D’station third. It is their first
ever World Championship podium!
Wow! Quite the 6 Hours of racing. So, Toyota officially wins. First win for Mike Conway, Jose Maria Lopez,
and Kamui Kobayashi! Wow!
Great race from the #92 Porsche of Kevin Estre and Neel
Jani. United Autosports delivers in LMP2
after also winning at Spa Francorchamps.
#83 cruises to the win in GTE Am from stone last on the grid.
Overall/Le Mans Hypercar: #7 Conway/Kobayashi/Lopez Toyota GR010
LMP2:
#22 Albuquerque/Hanson/Scherer
Oreca 07
LM GTE Pro: #92 Estre/Jani
Porsche 911 RSR-19
LM GTE
Am: #83 Nielsen/Perrodo/Rovera
Ferrari 488 GTE
With that, folks, we say arriva derci from Monza. Next up, the greatest sports car race on the
planet. My favorite and maybe yours too,
the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 98th
running of the French endurance classic is coming your way in a month’s
time. We’ll see you then. Bye bye for now from the Autodromo Nazionale
di Monza in Monza, near Milan, Italy. So
long and take care everybody.
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