Game over for Marius Zug. I don't know who started that shemozzle. But Fuoco got away with dving to the inside. Any residual damage to the Ferrari? Fuoco already had the corner and Zug slammed Drouet. Fuoco had a charmed life there, look. The Audi does not want to turn anymore. Game over. To the garage goes the #99. I suspect the team has no heart left in it to continue. Game over. Retire the car. Tough break for the Attempto #99. We never found out the true cause of the #32 WRT Audi. No one is keen to talk. Dries Vanthoor brought the car in. The team were trying to fix the car. Many of the WRT team went to Le Mans of course for both the test and the race itself, which you've already read about on the blog, last weekend.
Fuoco now puts 149 laps in the book. 541 miles completed. The fuel is relatively late on this stint, trying to get to the end of a fuel load as Thomas Drouet is in the pit lane in the #87 Akkodis ASP Mercedes. Are they taking routine service? Or, are they finding residual damage after the clatter with Marius Zug? Race Control has noted the incident between #87 and #99. Albert Costa in the #163 Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini has a tire go down through turn three! It is the sole remaining Emil Frey Lambo still in the race. He needs to slow down as the left rear tire is shredding itself. Albert Costa was caught out through the turn leading to the Mistral straight.
Commentators' curse! Oh boy! He is off the road to keep out of the way and Costa has a dud taillight as well. Jules Gounon up to second place. Albert Costa not in limp home mode. The rear bodywork and the tire have both been shredded to bits. Watch for the wiring in the left rear tail light which is nonexistent and now, Jules Gounon is in the lane for his final stop of the race, and there's just no way he can undercut the #71. The gap is too large. Gounon will take the car to the flag and they only need enough fuel for 55 minutes. Bodywork strewn onto the track.
Drive through penalty to the #39 car, down in 36th place, for improving under a yellow flag. That is one of the Porsche's we were talking about earlier. Gounon heads back out on track. He has had a long stop at 1:25.5. OK. Albert Costa's pit stop only a tenth slower, but he lost time on the in lap. But he will rejoin just behimnd Jules Gounon and now, Gounon is a lap down. But, he has rejoined right behind the Ferrari and right on Fuoco's back door. Anything he can do to make a pass on Fuoco will be beneificial no doubt.
Fuoco should come to the lane this time by. Gounon will gain back the time he lost as Fred Vervisch also stays out. Gounon pushing it, behind Fuoco. Assuming the Ferrari has a clean stop, he should maintain an advantage. He stays out another lap. Watch the 65 minute time limit. Mirko Bortolotti has come back into the #63 car as he had only done the opening stint at the start of the race. Will they wait to replace the tail light? Yes. Fuoco, Vervisch, Gounon, Bortolotti, Molina, Hesse. That's the top six. The race's fastest lap is still held by #88 when Daniel Juncadella was at the controls. Fredrik Schandorff leads Gold Cup. Fabian Schiller leads Silver. Henrique Chaves leads Pro-Am in the #188 McLaren.
Bortolotti has to drive the wheels off the Lamborghini to gain anything back. 50 minutes to go as the Ferrari is twitchy and Fuoco driving defensively, he finally hits the lane. That's gamesmanship from Iron Lynx which surely has miffed Jules Gounon. In for the final stop, Ferrari #71. You can do tires, fuel, and a driver change all at the same time these days. Years ago, much like the Le Mans 24 Hours used to be, too, you had to do the fueling, and the tires and the driver change, totally separately. Not anymore. The Ferrari 488 GT3 has treated it's tires kindly. No issues for them whatsoever at Iron Lynx or I believe any of the other Ferrari teams.
Waiting on the refueling. #71 down and away, with 49 minutes to go. Fuoco's last stint was 63 and a half minutes and he had a quicker stop than Gounon. He is now trapped behind a few back markers. This is where the danger signs flash. Be careful. Fuoco into his final stint. The record number of laps is 182. We are on 154 laps currently and could head for a new record in the next 47 minutes. Watch for the scrapping in the traffic. Do not go offline in the dark. There's bits of bodywork and chunks of rubber all over the road. Be careful going offline. Fred Vervisch is two seconds behind and needs to make a pit stop.
The #88 Akkodis ASP Mercedes is second with Gounon driving and he cannot make inroads. He seems to have lost time. The gap is massive. It's 40 seconds. Holy smokes! Gounon won't be challenged by Mirko Bortolotti, but it is unlikely he will be, in truth. Bortolotti losing time through the traffic, through clusters of cars. Bortolotti still third even after that puncture. So, he has dodged a bullet. Fred Vervisch might just drop down behind Max Hesse in the BMW. That's my guess. Valentino Rossi did a double stint and so did Nico Muller and Fred Vervisch.
Vervisch, finding his way through the traffic. His last lap was a 1:57 while others on fresher tires are cutting 1:55-1:56 laps. The tires are knackered and the performance is falling away while both ambient and track temperatures are decreasing. Vervisch on 63 minutes in his stint and he'll have to hit the lane and hand over to one of his teammates for the last part of the race, the final 43 minutes. To the pit lane he comes. No brainer. 50 kilometers an hour is interminably slow down the lane. He is getting the drink bottle replenished and will stay in the car to the end. Sandy Mitchell, too, cut it fine on his stint.
BMW #50 has lifted itself into the top six places. As the Audi is dropped off the air jacks and back into the race, it appears the BMW we are talking about (#50), should regain it's spot. Max Hesse is slicing through traffic. Hesse, where is he? Vervisch maybe drove over the white line. Hesse in traffic. Vervisch keeps the spot, but just barely. Hesse is stuck and has to work his way out of a small hole. Vervisch has new tires as he flies down the Mistral straight. Fuoco is miles away, up the road. Daniel Juncadella has fastest lap while Antonio Fuoco is taking the motor race by the scruff of the neck.
Fuoco leads by 36 seconds over Jules Gounon who is ahead of Mirko Bortolotti by eight seconds. Gounon runs a 1:55.8 against a 1:56.7 for Fuoco. It is indeed Fuoco's race to lose. Some moves we have seen give you the impression of "what were you thinking?" The "what were you thinking?" award may make a comeback. Fuoco has to keep reeling off the laps. They flie towards Signes, Vervisch on the inside slamming the door in Hesse's face. Vervisch untroubled by the BMW for now. Around the rest of the lap the BMW is looking quite useful.
Hesse had a penalty that he is recovering from. Another car down the order is being scrutinized for a short pit stop. That is the #22 Allied Racing Porsche 911 GT3R currently in the hands of Joel Sturm of Germany. The margin between Vervisch and Hesse is under half a second. Hesse is not giving up. Reposition and go at it again. The lead gap is 37 seconds between Fuoco and Gounon, who was caught up in traffic. Bortolotti is just 6.9 seconds in-arrears of Gounon. The gap from the leader, Fuoco, to Gounon, is 37 seconds.
Bortolotti is coming and fast. Vervisch and Hesse continue to scrap. All three of the BMW Junior Team drivers, Max Hesse, Dan Harper, and Neil Verhagen, have done a fabulous job. Vervisch won the Nurburgring 24 Hours the weekend before this race. 36 minutes to go. 159 laps completed, 577 miles. Audi vs. BMW. Hesse reeling in Vervisch as we see the rubber junked on the road next to the pit straight. Fabian Schiller is the Silver Cup leader with Thomas Drouet closing in. Schiller, 1:56, and Drouet, 1:57. Schiller should have enough left in the locker. He has a comfortable advantage.
We could still have a safety car or a Full Course Yellow. A couple years ago there was a last lap lead change here at Paul Ricard. In the Gold Cup, Lucas Auer chases Frederik Schandorff. Ollie Milroy is an accomplished racer and Brendon Iribe has done two seasons of proper racing but is very committed and very quick. Frederik Schandorff, leading in Gold Cup. Focus on your own category and don't take any risks. Bas Leinders on top of the pit box calling the strategy is really giving that team a much needed boost as well.
Lucas Auer and then Michelle Gatting are next up. Car #22, 15 seconds added after the race for short refueling time and will lose more time after their current position at Allied Racing in 30th spot. A race they will want to forget, here at Paul Ricard this evening. Race leaders working lap 162 as we watch Henrique Chaves of Portgual leading the Pro-Am class for Garage 59 McLaren, car #88. It seems Henrique Chaves has done the bulk of the work aboard that automobile. However, credit must also be given to the other two drivers, Miguel Ramos, and Alexander West. Two Portuguese, and a Swede, on that team.
After Andrea Bertolini's drive through penalty for improving position under yellow, Dominik Baumann has moved to second in class in Pro-Am at the wheel of the Mercedes for SPS Automotive Performance, car #20. Heading for the witching hour very soon. Joy for some and pain for others. Bortolotti still 6.7 seconds down on Gounon. Gounon has gained the time back. Bortolotti at this rate will not catch him. Smoke emanating from the #188 McLaren? Wait a second. There is a puff or two of smoke there. What's going on? Is that bodywork rubbing on the tire? Henrique Chaves cut a 1:58.3 last time by. Smoke under braking. Is there bodywork on the tire? Is it a mechanical issue?
Dominik Baumann is on the same lap as the Pro-Am leader. Of course, Baumann is second. No matter what, Chaves just has to push. That is all he can do. There is surely a wisp or two of smoke through Beauseilles. Behind Chaves is the delayed #8 Lamborghini for the AGS Events team in the hands of Frenchman Mike Parisy. Chaves is not nursing the car. There is an oil feed pipe to the McLaren that can get disconnected. Is it something simple as that little pipe earing away with oil weeping and igniting on the hot engine?
Whoa! Mike Parisy slides way wide out of the final corner! Easy there, Michael. Keep it on the blacktop, sunbeam. Fuoco continuing on, dominating in the lead of the motor race. We have had three editions of the Paul Ricard 1,000 Kilometers and Ferrari are looking for their second win in three appearances here at the French circuit. 27 minutes to go, lapping under two minutes. So, we have about 18-19 laps to run yet. Fuoco still on pace. 1:54.8 best daylight lap and Fuoco is now in the 1:56 range in the dark. Fred Schandorff ninth and Markus Winkelhock in tenth. But this is at the expense of Maxime Martin in the Aston Martin which has fallen down the order.
The Aston may have a legacy of the damage from a crash yesterday before the race. Black and orange flag to car #63 for no rear lights. So, the meatball flag to Mirko Bortolotti in the sole remaining Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini. Bortolotti has been running Gounon down but the gap is too large. Emil Frey Racing will have to deal with the light issue and this should promote Miguel Molina in the Ferrari to third and Fred Vervisch may move up to fourth. #63 looks fine at the front and the side and the rear is dark as a dungeon.
The redness at the back is the exhaust flames but there are no taillights and it is going to be a slow solution and they will plummet down the race order. Bortolotti is staying out for the moment as you see the yellow disc flashing on the starting line gantry. Gounon chipping away the advantage, but the Ferrari is comfortably ahead at 33 seconds. Miguel Molina now fourth and closing up on Bortolotti to the tune of 2.7 seconds and he is closing up based on pure pace. Mechanical warning flag for the Lambo. The team may be relaying to Bortolotti on the radio saying "we have a problem. Stay out until we call you in while we get the parts together."
How modular are the GT3 cars? Replacing the tail section with new connections already in it is the smart way to go in this case with such a small amount of time left with only just over 20 minutes to go. The battle pack in the middle of the field is Robert Renauer in the #911 Porsche for Herberth Motorsports with the #12 Audi up ahead for Mattia Drudi in 12th spot aboard the #12 Tresor by Car Collection Motorsports Audi. Drudi has shared that car all race with countryman Luca Ghiotto and with Audi veteran Christopher Haase of Germany. Maxime Martin is next up but he won't catch Martin in the Aston.
Drudi makes a lunge up the inside in what he may think is a bold, daring pass. Looks clumsy and cattywampus on the camera though. He leaves the door open, and there, look, is Nick Yelloly trying to take advantage and play his way through on the outside. As he hits the Mistral straight, Yelloly is going to punch it and will do all he can to pass. V10 normally aspirated Audi vs. V6 turbo BMW. Yelloly has to get his nose in it and the Audi won't concede into Signes. Yelloly concedes and into La Beauseilles, no dice. Through the traffic is the Audi with backmarkers coming up.
Fred Vervisch has dropped back from Max Hesse. Black flag to the #63 Lamborghini. Get in the pit lane, plase. Black flag means come to the lane and report to the Clerk of the Course. By ignoring the meatball flag, you will have to deal with it. There is a car off course someplace. We'll get to that in a moment. Now, the Lambo has a light on but it is the rear rain light because it is flashing in a sequenced, strobing pattern. It is the hazard light. Mercedes #57 is off the road, the Winward Racing car that was second place in the Gold Cup class.
Lucas Auer was at the wheel of it the last time we checked. Are there tire skid marks behind that car? 19 and a half minutes to go and we could see a Full Course Yellow with that stopped Winward Racing Mercedes. #57 is indeed dropping like a stone. Three marshals are attaching a tow rope to the car with the driver in it. Not ideal if you don't have some kind of local yellow flag down there. They have the snatch vehicle, an ATV, to rescue it. Mercifully, Bortolotti finally comes to the lane. The pit crew go to the rear of the car, and the team cannot put a modular rear tail on the car.
Race Director Alain Adam over the radio. Full Course Yellow in 20 seconds. Everyone must remain at a constant speed. A relief for Iron Lynx. Then we will see a safety car. Full Course Yellow now. The Mercedes seems as though it is locked up. The car didn't move with the tow rope on it. The transmission has seized. Bortolotti back into the motor race with the taillights working again. Something is locked with the Mercedes, the engine, the gearbox. The longer the Full Course Yellow takes, we will get a safety car with a short time left to race.
They have just over 16 minutes before the race ends. Could we end under Full Course Yellow? We should likely have a safety car now. The recovery vehicle is there to rescue the Mercedes. In five minutes we will go racing again. Can Jules Gounon catch the Ferrari in the remaining time once we go back to green? That is the question on everybody's minds. Molina runs third and we wait to see who will be in fourth place. Full Course Yellow. No overtaking. Continue at 80 kilometers an hour, 50 miles an hour, trundling around. There's the safety car. We do go to safety car and the field will bunch together.
A lovely half moon at Paul Ricard tonight. But, where is the weight distribution on the Mercedes? Weight distribution on the moon? I don't know. I'll call that zero gravity. The front wheel is at an angle or something is broken as our director is crying because he can't get his beloved moon picture. I feel for you, pal. Nature pictures are the next best thing to race cars. The left front of the Mercedes protrudes outward as they crane the car away onto the flatbed truck. Full Course Yellow continues as the safety car picks up Antonio Fuoco. No need for a scramble as the safety car driver is in touch on the radio with Race Control.
After fixing the light, Mirko Bortolotti runs in sixth spot. Fuoco, Gounon, Molina, Hesse, Vervisch, Bortolotti, the top six. There is a wheel askew on the Mercedes. Safety car procedure to give them one or two quick laps and then we will have eight- or nine-minutes left, an eight- or nine-minute shootout to the end. Maybe six minutes. There will be a boatload of traffic between Fuoco and Gounon. Iron Lynx have been both lucky and good during tonight's race. We will have one more lap under safety car. 12 lapped cars between Fuoco and Gounon as the safety car is called to the pit lane. We're going back to green this time by.
Time to put the old chips on the table here. Fuoco, Rigon, and Serra should be the winners and it will be Serra's first SRO Europe win between Sprint and Endurance, either way. Let's see what happens. It is not done yet. Fred Vervisch remains on the decklid of Max Hesse but cannot overtake. Just under eight minutes to go as we have a restart. Floor it! Thomas Drouet is second in Silver, and Fabian Schiller will be a lap up on Thomas Drouet. This is it. Fuoco stretching the gap out. Gounon won't be close enough. But I've said a zillion times in these enduro races. Safety cars breed safety cars.
Nick Yelloly passes Maxime Martin and here comes Fred Vervisch. Cars are squabbling for position and Molina is catching Gounon. The win isn't possible. We won't get to the distance record but we won't be far off. The Ferrari is coming. Here's the move into Signes. Gounon is right on Molina's tail. Down the inside goes Gounon and they have argy bargy there. Gounon loses a spot on the restart. Molina came so close to having a cut down right rear tire! That was a close shave. Stuck in traffic, Gounon following Molina's every move.
Fuoco beginning lap 174. We are going to see a 1-2 for Iron Lynx. It's probable. The Ferrari might just have the legs on the Mercedes. Onto the Mistral straight again. Gounon wants to fight and he is 13 seconds ahead of the BMW M4 GT3 of Max Hesse. Gounon stays with Molina but can't quite fight back. Audi #26 of Aurelien Panis is wriggling through the traffic. The gap is half a second. Gounon could have an opportunity onto the straight here. Gounon is stymied by another back marker. Two laps to go. Gounon gets trapped by the Singha Beer Porsche of Alessio Picariello.
One lap to go after this one.n Michelle Gatting in Ferrari #83 is second in the Gold Cup and this with the demise of #57 Mercedes, and so, it is another Iron Lynx Ferrari badged as Iron Dames. They sweep through Signes once more. Tired drivers miss an apex every so often. We are going to do this darkness running thing all over again next time out. It is the crown jewel SRO event, the 24 Hours of Spa, coming up the final weekend in July. Trust me. You won't want to miss that one. It's going to be a doozy!
Gounon still behind Molina. We are headed for the final lap. One more lap to go under racing conditions. Gounon just won't have the pace to get back to second. Iron Lynx, when they won Spa last year was something. But they are going to have a 1-2 finish here at Paul Ricard. Could they have another win at Spa this year? We'll have to find out. Iron Lynx are batting 500. They will not get fastest lap. But they had pole and are going to get the race victory here at Paul Ricard. Iron Lynx, 176 laps into this race, they are going to win and have a 1-2 finish for their team and for Ferrari.
Antonio Fuoco, Davide Rigon, and Daniel Serra win it! The clock has gone to zero and that's it. The 6 Hours of the 1,000 Kilmeters of Paul Ricard is over. A 1-2 for Ferrari. Margin of victory 7.8 seconds. Iron Lynx 1-2 and Akkodis ASP only manage third. A change in Pro-Am too for that victory. It looks like Dominik Baumann has passed Henrique Chaves on the last lap of the race for the class win! Gold Cup honors go the way of the #7 Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3 of Brendon Iribe, Ollie Milroy, and Fred Schandorff.
Overall/Pro: #71 Fuoco/Rigon/Serra Iron Lynx Ferrari 488 GT3
Silver: #777 Al Zubair/Jeffries/Schiller Al Manar Racing by HRT Mercedes AMG GT3
Pro/Am: #20 Baumann/Konrad/Pierburg SPS Automotive Perofrmance Mercedes AMG GT3
Gold: #7 Iribe/Milroy/Schandorff Inception Racing with Optimum Motorsport
McLaren 720S GT3
Of the 53 cars that started, we had 38 finishers, 15 retirements. So, the Paul Ricard 1,000 Kilometers is done and dusted. Now we move to the granddaddy, the big one, the crown jewel, the 24 Hours of Spa Francorchamps at the Circuit de Spa Francorchamps in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium at the end of July. Really looking forward to that one. We'll see you at Spa. Au revoir from the south of France and Paul Ricard, everyone. Good evening.
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