That was probably the quickest brake change I have ever seen in my many years of following endurance sports car racing. Pit stop time at Glickenhaus for the #708, Pipo Derani at the wheel of it. Michael Christensen is now 8/10ths of a second behind Tommy Milner in the Corvette #64 following Alessandro Pier Guidi in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari. The other GTE Pro cars will need brake changes very soon. Ferrari, Porsche, Corvette in GTE Pro of course. We still do not know what happened with the #63 Corvette. The same is true for the #52 AF Corse Ferrari as the #31 WRT LMP2 car speeds by at the peniltimate corner of the Porsche Curves. Ferrari #55 Spirit of Race pits as Mike Conway continues to lead overall over teammate Sebastien Buemi.
Yellow flag at Mulsanne corner for a slow zone. It is not a slow zone, just a double waved yellow flag. Off the road though is Nico Jamin for the #65 car and Panis Racing in LMP2. No visible skid marks before he walloped the barrier. His rear tires stuck in the gravel the floor is down as well. The floor is, well, on the floor so to speak. The Manitou will lift and rotate that car. You can have assistance from the marshals to continue here at Le Mans. It never used to be that way I don't think. Meantime, Tommy Milner is chasing Alessandro Pier Guidi. Milner had pole along with Nick Tandy and Alexander Sims. Maybe the slow z0ne will assist Milner as he his flying onto the Mulsanne straight as we speak. The Ferrari has double the number of laps on it's tires compared to the Corvette.
Yet another slow zone on the Mulsanne straight. Into Mulsanne corner you are braking and turning at the same time. Back up to full racing speed. The Ferrari is weaving to gain tire temperature back. A quicker reaction time for the Ferrari. AF Corse vs. Corvette Racing. Alessandro Pier Guidi after the slow zone looks like he was shot from a cannon. Into the first chicane on the Mulsanne, the Corvette drafts by the Porsche from the exit of Tertre Rouge. Five seconds added for pit stop infringement for the #43 Inter Europol LMP2 car and the #52 AF Corse GTE Pro Ferrari. Oh dea.r
Into yet another slow zone. Double waved yellows, drivers might slam onto the brakes. A double waved yellow is not the same as a Full Course Yellow. Milner holds his spot with Pier Guidi really monstering him. Brake lockup for someone at Arnage. Cannot tell who it was who locked the brakes. The Ferrari seems to run well with the front tires, but the Porsche has the freshest tires of all, Michael Christensen. Watch the track limits through Karting after the marshals get back to their posts after their morning coffee and croissants.
The sunrise plays havoc at Tertre Rouge with the sun rising in the east. Christensen overcooks it at Mulsanne in the braking zone! That was a heart in mouth moment! What happened? Too much speed into Mulsanne and he's off the road and into the gravel trap! Holy smokes! He could've wiped the Ferrari out as well! Criminy! Pit stop time for Porsche after this recent deal. I realize I am about 20 minutes behind where the race actually is right now. The trouble with the tire ovens is that the tires on top retain more heat than the bottom tires in the ovens.
With an oven you can set the tires and then with a tire blanket it is far more controllable. Foamy cleaner is used to clean the windscreen as there are not enough tear off's to keep the screen clean. Motul must make the windscreen cleaner as Paul Dalla Lana's Aston Martin has a skittish entry to the lane. Actually, that was David Pittard going off and on. Another pit stop for Glickenhaus in third spot, the #709 car. Franck Mailleux in the car. This is Toyota's tenth Le Mans race in a row. Oil being topped off in that car from a pressurized canister replacing fluids in the engine. They are putting leverage on the rear end as well for some reason.
The #51 AF Corse Ferrari is in the lane as well for a driver change at the very least as well as fuel and tires indeed. Tires are changed and the car is released from the air jacks. Mark Kvamme spins the #66 JMW Ferrari into the gravel trap at Mulsanne. Mike Conway running in the lead of the motor race. Overtakes among the leaders. Toyota #7 with 408 overtakes. Toyota #8 with 401 overtakes, and Glickenhaus #709 with 364 overtakes. WRT #31 to the pit lane and Sean Gelael will get into the car. Rene Rast, Robin Frijns, and then Sean Gelael in Formula 2 and at Le Mans as well.
Michael Christensen still leading for Porsche AG in GTE Pro. LMP2 drivers are required to have one Silver rated driver to bring the cash to the team. Then, he will have two more paid drivers on the same team. James Allen, 17th in LMP2 and leading LMP2 Pro-Am. United Autosports #23 is in the lane and so is the #3 DKR entry. Phil Hanson out and Oliver Jarvis into the car. Roberto Gonzalez and Jota Sport leading in LMP2. Antonio Felix Da Costa has run for six and a half hours while Roberto Gonzalez is a lap up. There minimum drive time regulations for the Silver rated driver. Roberto Gonzalez must do four hours minimum.
Mike Conway in the #7 Toyota leads and Sebastien Borudais was asissted into a synchronized spin with Bourdais into the Daytona chicane on the Mulsanne straight. Toyota #7 has pitted again for scheduled service. Sebastien Buemi now leads the race. There is a physical limitation on driving for the Am drivers as Lorents Horr squeezes his way by through Arnage! Yikes! ARC Bratislava broke an oil cooler and they have a 14 minute pit stop to fix it. Olivier Pla brings the #708 Glickenhaus to the pit lane and we don't know how the suspension was broken on that car and had to be repaired. He has lost a spot to the #9 Prema LMP2 and Robert Kubica.
Toyota #8 also in the pit lane. Fuel only, with a windscreen cleaning to take the tearoff, off the windscreen. If you break the tear off off of the car without using the tag, you will destroy it. The tear off gets pitted by stones and dust. Team Penske has the #5 Oreca seventh in LMP2 with Dane Cameron at the wheel of it. He lost out earlier to both Cool Racing and WRT. The sun has now fully risen over Le Mans. Alexander Wurz, former winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is an advisor to the Toyota team. He is actually someone who helps to be a liaison between the driver's, mechanics, and team management.
He makes sure the drivers don't do anything silly. Porsche #91 also in the pit lane for service, for tires and fuel at the very least. The stewards are volunteers and drivers are also stewards, and four-time Le Mans winner is the driver's steward who also used to be the FIA WEC safety car driver. Mike Conway continues to lead the motor race in the overall. Toyota are recovering their energy at the end of the straights as we see the #35 Ultimate car slow on the road. He is coming into a corner station or tryingf to get to the lane.
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