WRT #31 has just taken a pit stop. Hang on a second mate. We are watching the battle for the GTE Pro lead between Ferrari #51 and Corvette #63. We have a slow zone somewhere. We have a Slow Zone active. The battle is strong in GTE Pro as the Corvette C8.R is only a second ahead of the Ferrari. Nicky Catsburg is being monstered by James Calado. Porsche has not quite had a look in although Corvette are right in the thick of it. GTE Pro this year is bonkers and the cream has risen to the top. Sophia Floresch is gutted because she had drivers who could not see her in the crash that took her and her team mates out, Beitske Visser and Tatiana Calderon. She hopes to be back next year and do even better. More power to her and her team. It's a bitter pill to swallow when you know it is out of your hands.
Alpine #36 is off the road! Matthieu Vaxiviere is off the road! Another slow zone. Goodness me! What happened here? Engine off. No contact with the wall. Now, the engine is running again. He has hit a wet patch and skated off the road. Matthieu Vaxiviere is back in the motor race but will have to claw back time. The car moved to the right as he was trying to pass a GT car but he locked up the tires under braking. He braked a wee bit too late as Matthieu Vaxiviere has made it back to the pit lane and the mechanics will have a load of gravel to dig out of the car. The tires are busted. They are totally flat spotted and might come off in the shape of cubes after that.
Nicolas Lapierre into the car. Get ready for the fireworks. Nico Lapierre is going to push like no tomorrow. You can bet the house on that one, ladies and gentlemen. Over 100 laps completed. 104 laps to the leading Toyota. Toyota, Toyota, Glickenhaus and then Alpine, separated by the leading LMP2 car #41 for WRT. We are nearing 1/3rd of the race being completed. Duncan Cameron meanwhile has gone off the road again and we have another Full Course Yellow, or do we? There's another prototype there that looks to be right on the road. James Winslow in the #74 Racing Team India Eurasia LMP2 car has gone off and back on.
Drivers are suited and booted for their next stint as Duncan Cameron's Ferrari is being hoisted out of the gravel trap. Pipo Derani pits the Glickenhaus #708 and is third. Fabio Scherer is third in LMP2 with both WRT cars running 1-2 in LMP2. Charles Milesi has just handed over the #41 to Ferdinand Habsburg and Louis Deletraz is coming in a hurry. But he will have aero wash to deal with. There's a long, long way to go as we are nearly seven and a half hours into the race. The slow zones are helpful with making up time.
Full Course Yellow is still the best way to neutralize the race. Callum Ilott is doing well in his first Le Mans in the #80 Iron Lynx Ferrari 488 GTE with a wee bit of nose damage on the car from earlier contact. Arnold Robin is going to take over the #39 LMP2 car soon, the Graff Oreca. Giedo van der Garde is chasing Juan Pablo Montoya. Debris on the road on the right hand side at marshal post 31. We're not quite at Happy Hour just yet. James Calado leads Miguel Molina in GTE Pro ahead of Fred Makowiecki and Neel Jani. Corvette #63 with Antonio Garcia has gone down to fifth as Giedo van der Garde is being reeled in by Paul di Resta.
That's Fabio Scherer, pardon me. James Winslow has a penalty for contact with Sophia Floresch that happened when Tom Cloet was at the wheel. Giedo van der Garde is not making up time to Juan Pablo Montoya. The Dragonspeed Flex Box car is up the road by a second or so. With the Glickenhaus cars, here's an update from the man himself. The two cars are still in it. They are going to fight right to the end. The #708 just pitted. This has been a very interesting race so far for the Glickenhaus cars. He says that the hybrid Hypercars are faster than the non hybrid Hypercars. He is pleased with the team's progress. Many bigger car companies have taken more years. He has a mechanic's arm band on from the Ford GT40 that finished fourth in the race with Mark Donohue and Bruce McLaren.
Pipo Derani fifth and Ryan Briscoe 11th. We are back to racing as Jose Maria Lopez is behind one of the United Autosport cars. The LMP2 cars are as quick or qucker than the Hypercars through the Porsche Curves. Lopez hits the pit lane. Fuel in and inspecting the tires. Lopez will be going for a triple stint. The #22 United Autosport car also in the lane. Jose Maria Lopez is one of only three drivers to win championships in two different championships along with Petter Solberg and Fernando Alonso. Kazuki Nakajima has pitted the #8 Toyota as well. A pit stop penalty for the GR Racing Porsche #86 with Tom Gamble at the controls.
Miguel Molina will stay behind the wheel of the #52 AF Corse Ferrari as Fred Makowiecki will now hand the #91 Porsche 911 RSR-19 over to one of his co-drivers. Not sure who. #92 of Neel Jani will be ahead temporarily and we can see that it is Gianmaria Bruni at the wheel of it. Neel Jani heads to the Mulsanne straight as the prototypes whiz past. Racing Team Nederland and High Class have been pinged for speeding under Full Course Yellow. Ricky Taylor at the wheel of #20 while Giedo van der Garde is in the #29 machine. He has dropped down from Juan Pablo Montoya. van der Garde is down the order. United Autosport have had three cars here in the 24 Hours and they had more cars in the Michelin Le Mans Cup Road To Le Mans races.
Iron Lynx and AF Corse have also done that. Kevin Estre will replace Neel Jani in Porsche #92. Get ready to light the blue touch paper. Could Neel Jani have had a problem before Estre gets into the car? That's odd. No worries for the Porsche AG team it seems. A probable puncture on that car. James Calado in the lane for Ferrari from the lead in GTE Pro and he will double stint his tires. Antonio Garcia moves up. Drive through penalty for Glickenhaus #709 of Richard Westbrook for overtaking under the safety car and an identical penalty for the #72 HubAuto Porsche. Ferdinand Habsburg continues to scrap for LMP2 honors as Alex Brundle has now taken over the Intereuropol car. The sister #46 Project 1 car is in the lane with Dennis Olsen driving, sharing with Anders Buchardt and Robby Foley.
Jose Maria Lopez leads the motor race for Toyota in #7. Francesco Castellaci has replaced Thomas Flohr in the #54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE. 321 kilometers an hour on the first segment of the Mulsanne straight and he will catch traffic into Mulsanne corner. Yellow flag at Marshal Post 11. The #82 Risi Competizione LMP2 has stopped. Ryan Cullen at the wheel of it at the moment. Cullen is now back on his way. That was a Control, Alt, Delete moment. Alex Brundle is sixth in LMP2. Neel Jani and Porsche had their pit stop strategy bungled due to Full Course Yellow. The Alpine power is fine but the denser air makes LMP2 cars obtain more power.
We ought to look at the LMP2 order and will do that soon. Estre is 1:05 down on the sister car and they are now fourth and fifth in GTE Pro. #25 is off the road with Rui Andrade at the wheel of it at marshal post three at Dunlop curve. Spins off the road and crunch into the wall. Safety car. That's terminal damage. This is our fourth safety car of the race. #25 was 19th overall and fifth in LMP2 Pro Am. Rui Andrade stays in the car, the first Angolan to race at Le Mans. Game over for him and his team.
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