Three more LMP2 cars in the lane as we see a battle on the road between TF Sport and Project 1, and some side-by-side argy bargy. How will that one play out? The outside car had to yield. Welcome, Martin Haven, to the booth. The hot temps are bringing the oil, diesel, and other junk up from the pavement. In GTE-Am, we have seen the more professional drivers start but the Am drivers have six and a bit stints to drive. Mike Wainwright has taken over from Ben Barker in the #86 GR Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19. Paul Loup Chatin has a puncture aboard the #48 as Da Costa, Kubica, and Nasr should pit in LMP2. #48 is the IDEC Sport Oreca. Chatin of France sharing with Paul Lafargue and Patrick Pilet, an all-French trio.
Franck Mailleux in the #709 Glickenhaus being harried by Nico Lapierre in the #36 Alpine. IDEC Sport now in the lane losing 40 seconds or so with a flat left front Michelin, not completely round and almost square. Fabio Scherer has not stopped while other LMP2's are in the lane now as we speak. Slow left rear puncture for TDS. #48 lost a wheel at Marshal Post 23. He did not lose a wheel I don't think but there is a slow puncture. That's the #13 TDS not the #48. Sorry about the mix up. That wheel will become a coffee table. 16 horsepower is the deficiency between the Alpine and the other Hypercar's with the Glickenhaus and Toyota duos. Alpine are having a tough old time getting by the GTE Am cars and so is the Glickenhaus. Nick Cassidy trying hard to move past one of the rival GTE Am entries.
Toyota's Pascal Vasselon was really upset about the Alpine and losing pace. Sebastien Buemi warned about track limits. This will be a long, long race with lots of track limits penalties for sure. Two warnings, a final warning, per stint, per driver to be pinged for track limits. Through Arnage, Mike Wainwright has his hands full. Giancarlo Fisichella being harried by Nicola Varrone. Nick Cassidy in the #54 AF Corse car ahead of these two chaps. Varrone won the opening European Le Mans Series race this year. Varrone sharing with Pierre Ehret and Christian Hook. Antonio Felix Da Costa leads LMP2 and he leapfrogged Nico Lapierre in the early shemozzle we saw. Alex Lynn wants an LMP2 title after winning in GTE Am and he is also a driver for the Ganassi Cadillac team in IMSA.
Paul Loup Chatin is not happy as the car had good pace but he lost a wheel at the end of the Mlsanne straight. They garaged the car for five minutes and are two laps down already as we see the #23 United Autosport entry in the lane. Alex Lynn in and out of the pit lane. Lynn is off strategy right now as we see GTE Am heating up. Alessio Picariello passing Matteo Cairoli and right on the tail of the Bee Safe, Riley Motorsports car. Bee Safe is a storage company and winery. They are from Greensboro, North Carolina. Alessio Picariello makes a pass and so does Matteo Cairoli passing the #74 Ferrari. All Porsche top four in GTE Am. Ferrari did qualify strongly though.
Fifth place, 15 seconds down, the #98 Aston Martin. Paul Dalla Lana, the Canadian, sharing with Dane Nicki Thiim, and Brit, David Pittard. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is of course an invitational event. You earn it. You are invited but you don't take up the invitation if you don't want to. You have to be accepted although there are other cars that earn places by their success in other championships. Hardpoint came initially through GT Daytona success in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. They did not attend and the entry has been taken up by Absolute Racing. They debuted last year in 2021. Good battle between #43 and #44. Intereuropol and ARC Bratislava. Mike Conway continues leading Sebastien Buemi by 13 seconds.
Buemi can only manage in traffic, laps of 3:35 and change. Traffic ahead in the Porsche curves. The Porsche curves are eaiser to drive these days with the walls pulled back from where they used to be. Sebastien Buemi is freaked out by track limits and he still is dealing with oversteer. He is not happy. Alpine to the lane with Nico Lapierre from fifth spot. The Alpine was originally built as an LMP2 car and so it is dealt a blow by having a smaller fuel tank. That's how the car was built. Nick Cassidy in the #54 AF Corse Ferrari, incurs the wrath of the stewards for track limits.
Side by side stuff down the Mulsanne straight. Matthias Beche passing Rodrigo Sales for 21st place. 16th in LMP2. TDS by Vaillante have not had good luck save for Nyck de Vries joining the team. Toyota released him for the time being. Panis Racing, car #65 are making up places. That is the car shared by Job van Uitert, Nico Jamin, and Julien Canal as we see Mike Conway in the pit lane after a dozen laps. Olivier Pla will pass but Sebastien Buemi in Toyota #8 is in the lead. Franck Mailleux brings the sister #709 Glickenhaus to the lane. 11-12 laps the range for both Glickenhaus cars for staggered pit stops.
Message cancelled for the #54 AF Corse Ferrari and Nick Cassidy sharing with Thomas Flohr and Francesco Castellaci. Nose change for the #48 IDEC Sport car. It had lost a wheel and with three wheels on me wagon, the nose and the undertray could be damaged. More downforce will help a bad handling race car. Pilet a longtime GT racer but is now taking to LMP2 later in hsi career. Pilet is still a Porsche factory driver. Into the lane from the lead, the #8 Toyota. Team manager, Stuart Cox, for Algarve Pro, summoned to the Race Director. Team manager, Sam Cox, who is Stuart Cox's son likely. Olivier Pla brings the #708 Glickenhaus to the lane as well as Toyota #8.
#8 beats the #7 to the lead. #8, 1:11 in the lane, #7, 1:15 in the lane, losing four seconds. Fuel only for Glickenhaus and onto a double stint on tires. Porsche #92, Michael Christensen, Kevin Estre, and Laurens Vanthoor are shifting every stint while the #91 Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Lietz, and Fred Makowiecki are doing it every couple stints. WeatherTech Porsche #79 passes Project 1 #56 as Felipe Fraga is now five seconds down on Matteo Cairoli. #56 has Ben Barnicoat, Brendon Iribe, and Ollie Milroy as there is gravel in Mulsanne corner. Alessandro Pier Guidi is warned for track limits. The #79 Porsche has the trio of Julien Andlauer, Cooper MacNeil, and Thomas Merrill.
A major LMP2 battle as Ricky Taylor has his hands full with Job van Uitert. Panis Racing vs. Cool Racing. Spin at Arnage for Claudio Schiavoni in the #60 Iron Lynx Ferrari and he is hung up in that turn, needing to find reverse and do a three-point turn. Arnage, the slowest turn on the circuit. Schiavoni back on track now. Jazmin Jafaar, joining the commentary team at WEC. He is happy not to be facing the nerves of starting the race or running in it and he describes we have seen everyone getting into a rhythm. Good battle in GTE-Am for the lead and Julien Andlauer goes full send on Alessio Picariello! Wow!
The Belgian, he is a very experienced driver. Matteo Cairoli runs third. Pit stop time for the #31 WRT car in LMP2. Rene Rast joins the race in 20th spot. The LMP2 battle has been fierce and will continue to be. IDEC Sport running wide on the frontstretch and more LMP2 pit stop takers. Antonio Felix Da Costa, Felipe Nasr, Mirko Bortolotti, Charles Milesi, Antonio Felix Da Costa, and others. Job van Uitert is done with his stint for now. Hot work for a double stint in this heat here at Le Mans. Robert Kubica brought the #9 Prema car in as Fabio Scherer is going to go a lap longer before he hits the lane and leads in class in LMP2. Alex Lynn moves to third in the #23 United Autosport car. Lorenzo Colombo takes over the #9 Prema Orlen entry.
Lorenzo Colombo bish bash boshed it at Spa last time out. The Corvette boys are pushing in GTE Pro. AF Corse to the lane ad Francois Perrodo will do a double stint sharing with Alessio Rovera and Nicklas Nielsen. We've barely gotten out of first gear in this race. Previous LMP2 winners of this race have had their ears boxed so far. Claudio Schiavoni in strife again, spinning off the exit at Indianapolis corner. #43 into the lane for service. Jota do indeed lead LMP2. You have to save fuel and reach your target as well as being on top of your lap times as we see United Autosport in the lane with #23. Drive through penalty for the #51 AF Corse Ferrari for track limits, and that is Alessandro Pier Guidi.
Good LMP2 battle between Jonathan Aberdein and Lorenzo Colombo. Prema are a team in LMP2 that can get results but they are proving their worth in LMP2 in their first Le Mans race. Much like WRT racing in GT cars but then moving up to LMP2, driving tracks they know like Monza, Spa, or Paul Ricard. The Ultimate LMP2 car has spun on exit of the Dunlop curves, Jean Baptiste Lahaye at the wheel of it. Slow Zone at marshal post one as Franck Mailleux is pitting Glickenhaus #709, reacting to something but they are in the garage. They are probably doing minor service and they can get all hands on deck, and you can only have the tire changers in the lane.
Aberdein being monstered by Colombo in the Porsche Curves, look. Cool it. You don't have a small accident at the Porsche Curves. That's for dead sure. This is a very long slow zone down to the first turn. Richard Westbrook has now taken over the #709 Glickenhaus. Nick Tandy in the Corvette #64 now leads GTE Pro. Jordan Taylor in the sister car drops down the ordrr as Lornezo Colombo passes Jonathan Aberdein for third in LMP2. Driver change for Jota Sport coming as Will Stevens will take over from Antonio Felix Da Costa.
A cable hanging off the healthy #23 United Autosport car now with Josh Pierson at the wheel f it and the factory Porsche's are in the lane and so is the Project 1 car as we have the Iron Lynx entry off the road, Pierre Ehret spinning off. He has just taken over on his out lap I think. Also in the lane, the #52 AF Corse Ferrari. The AF Corse LMP2 car, Francois Perrodo, starting his stint, misjudged the apex and did not see Pierre Ehret alongside. Ehret has Fred Flintstoned his tires. Slow Zone removed. Jean Baptiste Lahaye is back in business as #13 is ahead of #31. Jonathan Aberdein to the lane and there's a driver change. The #10 Vector Sport entry is climbing the order. Sebastien Bourdais, Ryan Cullen, and Nico Muller share that car.
Stewards will investigate that LMP2 fracas we just saw as Fabio Scherer is being chased by Sebastien Ogier. We are nearing the end of another racing hour. Time flies when you're having fun. So far so good for Harry Tincknell and Sebastian Priaulx at Dempsey Proton according to team boss and actor Patrick Dempsey. Jordan Taylor leading GTE Pro in the #63 Corvette C8.R. The Dempsey Proton team set their tire pressures from what they knew in practice and quali. But now they will have to hit the tire pressure target and a tire wears if it is overheating or it is graining and tire clag gets onto the tire if it is too cold.
Michael Fassbender is getting better in his effort and both Dempsey Proton cars are running well. Jordan Taylor ahead of Gianmaria Bruni, and Tommy Milner who has taken over the sister #64 Corvette from Nick Tandy while Antonio Fuoco is next in the serial in AF Corse Ferrari #52. Porsche believes Ferrari have more in the locker. Antonio Garcia cooling off after his stint, a single stint. Alessandro Pier Guidi has stopped and returned to the tracl. Check that. Garcia has had a double stint already. Pier Guidi still in the Ferrari. He pitted but we have to find out why.
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