The race has stopped. The car is stranded in the middle of the track. The right hand door was open. He probably made good his escape but the car is blocking the road. Miro Konopka is fine. We saw Mike Newton years ago in an MG LMP2 open cockpit car have a massive crash years ago either at Spa or Le Mans. Thank God Miro Konopka is OK. Bent Viscaal will not have a chance to make his WEC debut today. He will have to wait for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the greatest race of all, next time out. The barrier is damaged and needs to be repaired. So, just like the massive accident we saw at Sebring for one of the Toyota's, we are under a red flag. The humidity has brought out the insects here at Spa as the ARC Bratislava is moved and will be headed for the junkyard. Bent Viscaal says he is disappointed but is glad his co-driver is OK.
Viscaal says the team had braking issues in Free Practice that were fixed in qualifying but they had a litany of woe and they are very disappointed not to continue racing. Viscaal is running very well in the European Le Mans Series. Le Mans is what ARC Bratislava are prepping for. We are due to go back to racing in ten minutes. Laura Wontrop Klauser is here at Spa and she says being head of GM racing, is privileged to have the three programs for Cadillac, Corvette, and their GT4 program with the Chevrolet Camaro. It is great to see Corvette Racing for the first time in the World Championship. They learned a bunch last year racing at Spa Francorchamps for the first time.
Nothing beats on track data even though the simulator is good. We are under red flag, but the clock has begun running again. Antonio Felix Da Costa says that they knew the safety car was coming. Roberto Gonzalez is now at the controls. The margin of error is closer now and everyone is behaving well with the track being revised. We are going to see more wet racing, perhaps, but the new tarmac has good grip. So, we are going to resume the race in four minutes. Not a lengthy red flag. No wave by given I don't think? But they will even though it is unusual. When are we going to see Cadillac race in WEC? That is what we want to know. They will be in World Endurance and in IMSA.
Cadillac will be coming soon. The car has run recently. The customer GT3 Corvette, the first car is being built and should be set by fall. The Cadillac LMDh launches next year and with GT3, you had to look at the schedule differently. It is very exciting. The intent is to have a customer GT3 version of the Corvette. Customers are interested in the GT3 Corvette idea. Sebastien Buemi is freaking out about power cycling on the car. Calm down, Seb. We think we might be able to drive. What is going on with the Toyota? Calm down, Sebastien. Calm down. Full Course Yellow but the #8 Toyota is stuck and Mike Conway cannot physically pass.
Buemi thankfully gets away and the #8 Toyota dodges a major bullet! Phew! 20 GT3 cars must be sold to be homologated. 20 cars sold in two years. Oh dear! Buemi off the road at Eau Rouge in the wet! He stopped! Oh man! Stop and power cycle. Mechanics have to wear gloves to avoid being zapped by the hybrid booster. GM and Corvette will indeed sell 20 something GT3 Corvette's once they are ready to go. Oh God! #71 is off the road as well. Franck Dezoteux has a spin and has walloped the barrier on the rear end. That's massively damaged on the rear end. Bring that car to the pit lane and he will not join the safety car crocodile. Oh criminy! Now the Toyota has stopped again! Jeepers creepers! Stop the car. Exit the car. Ignition off. Main off. The Toyota is out! That car is live. The Alpine and the Glickenhaus have gone off the road as well!
The Glickenhaus spins and the Alpine is off the road as well! Sheesh! Toyota clears the garage. There's big trouble and it is game over! Buemi is lucky to get out. Do not step out. Stay in or jump out so you don't get zapped and end up a dead man. Corvette #64 in the pit lane for rain tires. It is bone dry in the pit lane but really wet elsewhere on the course. One end can be dry and the other is wet. Sebastien Buemi is crushed. He is madder than a swarm of hornets! The Franck Dezoteux Ferrari is now in the garage. Mike Conway says the quickest parts of the track here at Spa Francorchamps are wet.
No intermediate tires for the LMP2 cars or anybody else I don't think. Wet or dry tires only. Sometimes you just have to take the pain and take your medicine to stop it. Probable terminal issues for the Toyota. The moment the team works on the car it is excluded from the results. The team has insulation to keep them safe from the 900 volts of electrical energy. Those things are live wires, like power poles for the electricity that runs to your house. These cars are electrical conductors with carbon fiber bodies. Unreal. The Hypercars are one big electrical conductor. A power pole. Toyota #7 leads Prema Orlen, the LMP2 leader. So we have a mixed candy dish of Hypercars and LMP2's. Bone dry at Les Combes but soaking wet at Eau Rouge. Mixed, tricky conditions here. Drama here in the Ardennes forest in Belgium, everybody.
Toyota #7 leads as the only Hypercar in the top three because we saw both the Alpine and the Glickenhaus go off the road. WRT team boss Vincent Vosse says that this is a gamble. They have one car already on wet weather tires and are getting ready to change the other one over, on a scheduled pit stop. Vosse is a former racing driver, a former sports car driver himself, turned team manager. WRT also has slick tires out there. Everyone is now in the lane but for what? The Alpine and the Glickenhaus spun because the rain is getting heavier until you get to the Bus Stop where it is bone dry. The plot thickens. What else can I say? Yet another episode of Wacky Races, here at Spa. Neither of the Pro AF Corse Ferrari's have pitted. So the Ferrari boys lead GTE Pro.
Toyota #7 in the lane. GTE Pro has come alive and Ferrari are possibly in the pound seats? We'll see. Are the Ferrari's on wets? Wets on the LMP2 #31 for WRT as well. Ferrari have not pitted for tires yet. They were allowed to change tires on the grid and did so. The #8 Toyota now has to be moved to a place of safety and Sebastien Buemi is having a bad day for sure. Vector Sport and car #10 take the class lead in LMP2. That is the car being shared by Ryan Cullen, Nico Muller, and Sebastien Bourdais. Ryan Cullen is the race leader! Wow! LMP2 cars run 1-2. Cullen leading Robin Frijns in the #31 WRT LMP2 car.
It is fully dry but then there's more rain according to Alpine and the #36. That I believe is Andre Negrao at the controls. Rain could be falling but it is a minimal amount. Toyota #7 on wet weather Michelin tires. Rain level intensity two to three. The #51 AF Corse Ferrari is on slicks and they came in now, for wets. Corvette will be grinning like a stuck possum as they take the GTE Pro lead. Red flag on the grid means parc ferme and the mechanics cannot touch the car. The Toyota is safe now too recover. The rain is falling even more as we see a go kart on the track. Tire changes were allowed as the rain is now tipping down. Have Corvette Racing pulled a blinder? They very well could have. Nick Tandy at the controls.
Porsche #46 is called for a safety car procedure violation, or they were. That is the Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR-19, the Leutwiler, Pedersen, Cairoli car. Pit lane is closed and a penalty for taking on too much fuel for the #45 LMP2? That could be. That's the #45 Algarve Pro Racing entry of James Allen, Steven Thomas, and Rene Binder, as we see pit action for the #33 TF Sport Aston Martin. Spa is being Spa. Gorgeous weather throughout the race but now, rain, and in the mountains it can rain and change all the time. Is it climate change? Well, maybe. But, it is also a microclimate in Spa in the mountains. We are seeing more rain pouring down for the next 20 minutes and we will just have to keep trundling 'round under the safety car as the spray gets worse.
Well, the rain is getting to be an issue because the TV cameras for the WEC feed are locking up. Fiddlesticks. The transmission is in a wee bit of trouble. So, Roberto Gonzalez will continue his stint as will many of the other drivers although Francois Perrodo is very deep into his stint. Ryan Cullen, Josh Pierson, Charles Milesi, Emmanuel Collard, they have all been in their cars since the start. Nico Muller has taken over the Vector Sport entry. Porsche #88 is in the lane now. That is the Fred Poordad, Patrick Lindsey, and Jan Heylen car. In GTE Am, Christoph Ulrich leads the class in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE sharing with Toni Vilander and Simon Mann.
The tires are still cold and the grip is not there. Red flag out again. Goodness me. Last year, there was severe flash flooding in Spa. We are in a valley. The fans will be warm and dry at the Raidillon grandstand. Stupid rain. Doesn't it know I am the sheriff in these parts? Red flag. We are going to go for another highlights sequence according to the director.
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