Alessio Picariello went out and then went back to the garage. Bodywork damage to the Porsche as we see the overall standings. Certain cars could be carrying minor issues. Ryo Hirakawa pitted but now holds a 1:50 lead over Kamui Kobayashi as well. Franck Mailleux and Glickenhaus #709, three laps down while Romain Dumas has just not been able to make inroads on the three LMP2 cars with Glickenhaus #708. Prema Orlen is the meat in a Jota sandwich in LMP2. Roberto Gonzalez has been clean in Jota Oreca #38. Watch out thought for internecine team battles. That is harmful, because one stupid, unnecessary error, can throw your efforts out the window before the motor race is done and dusted.
Manage the situation as a professional driver because that is what professional drivers do. You want to be the bloke who cut the fastest lap time and ran the fastest stint. That is a driver's PR stunt. The #99 Hardpoint Porsche suffered from a broken shock, a broken damper, being fixed in the garage. Two of the five Hypercars have had significant woes that have drooped them down the order as we look at the #708 Glickenhaus 25 seconds back from the top three. Romain Dumas at the wheel of it. Jota team manager David Clark tells about driver management with a long way to go.
To be honest, it is hard controlling a driver, but Clark thinks his team and drivers are in a perfectly strong place right now. Will Stevens has felt great with his car, and generally, everything is working out, the team is happy, the cars are fantastic, and David Clark is crossing his fingers. He and Sam Hignett really manage that team well. Toyota #7 in the pit lane. Clark was a part of the McLaren F1 team in the mid 1990s and a historic car racer.Jota run 1-2 in LMP2. Mathias Beche now in the #13 TDS Vaillante car as well.
Porsche #91 is gaining ground after some issues with their rivals at Scuderia Ferrari. They are 43 seconds to the good over the #51 AF Corse Ferrari. Stay tuned for the final 25 minutes. That is when the lid gets blown off the pressure cooker, usually. Nico Jamin 21 seconds behind Patrick Pilet in LMP2. Panis Racing will not score a hat trick of podiums, sadly. Bruni leading Pier Guidi. That has not changed. It was a slow puncture for the #51 seeing the tire is deflating via the Tire Pressure Monitoring System. Michael Christensen too, had a slow ;puncture before flatspotting and blowing out the tires.
Michael Christensen getting suited and booted as Roberto Gonzalez is getting massaged to try and feel better after his stint. Driving one of these cars is daunting and physically and mentally demanding. Once again, don't count your chickens. Oliver Rasmussen hits the pit lane at Jota and should stay in the car. #28 has gone about their business and have been trouble free here at Le Mans and in World Endurance Championship as a whole. Glickenhaus #708 passes for sixth overall with Romain Dumas chasing Lorenzo Colombo and cutting 3:32 laps. Fifth place is looking to be in sight again as the Glickenhaus is unlocking pace and potential, but they've lost a wee bit of speed that we thought they had.
Sebastien Ogier is a legendary driver. There's no real difference between Gold and Platinum, but you cannot allow a platinum driver driving with a gold in this championship I don't think. In other series' it is different. Richard Mille Racing are finding their form between Lilou Wadoux, Sebastien Ogier, and Charles Milesi, all three. Pit stop time for Ferrari #52 at AF Corse. Gold and Platinum drivers and their ratings are based on what they've done and who they've raced with over the years. It could be time for a review of this driver rating system. You are punished for being good by having commercial opportunities restricted for drivers.
Pit stop tme for Porsche #91 removing a tear off from the windscreen. Shane van Gisbergen has loved being a part of Le Mans for the first time, wishing the Bee Safe Storage Ferrari was faster and they dropped off a lot but are picking it up and have a reliable car. Shane van Gisbergen will be into the car after Sam Bird finishes his current stint. Good to hear from Shane van Gisbergen. Roberto Gonzalez climbs back into the #38 Jota LMP2 car and he will meet minimum drive time soon. Silver drivers get too much attention, they are upgraded to Gold, and then can't get a drive. Ben Collins, who was "The Stig", and Tommy Erdos, who was Gold ranked and then Silver ranked. Ben Collins had many drives but Tommy Erdos was S.O.L. Sorry, out of luck.
Antonio Felix Da Costa is not happy about something. Lap times are studied for the rating system as well. You find away around it, it is tweaked and on and on and on, and then it does not make sense. It needs another look. Does it make any sense? Antonio Felix Da Costa says everything is OK except for a left front tire delaminating. They have to figure out why. This was three stints for this tire that could usually go for four. Delamination of the front left as the temperatures are warming up but it won't be so warm as it was for the start yesterday.
Lonrezo Colombo is a minute behind Roberto Gonzalez and Colombo is being pressurized by Romain Dumas in the #708 Glickenhaus. Car #13 of Matthias Beche reported for track limits, as the Glickenhaus hits the pit lane. Thank you, Peter Dumbreck as we welcome Jazmin Jafar to the booth. Pipo Derani now gets into the #708 Glickenhaus. He will retain seventh and start closing the gap immediately. Push, push, push. He might get to fourth. Is third a doable endeavor? We'll see. #13, drive through penalty. Dane Cameron will move up in LMP2. A convincing performance from Team Penske.
Nothing is simple at Le Mans. Aston Martin #33 in pit lane. Back on track now. The #66 JMW Ferrari is beached in the gravel at Arnage, Mark Kvamme at the wheel of it. Kvamme got pushed by Zach Robichon in the #93 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR-19. Slow zone there. Kvamme is in the line of fire and has to move. Slow zone. You are flat out on the Mulsanne, foot on the gas, and then, brake hard for Mulsanne. There are slow and fast corners, mega quick down the Mulsanne. Indianapolis, Tertre Rouge. #66 being rescued. Le Mans is a fun track to race and it is high risk as well. Kvamme is back on track now. There was some miscommunication when Kvamme got spun. Car #66 has run six straight Le Mans races and he also had a 458 Italia model Ferrari, Jim McWerter, the owner of JMW Motorsport.
Slow zone in place. For TF Sport, they will be fined for leaving a wheel in the lane. Ben Keating in the #33 car 1:47 ahead of the #79 WeatherTech Porsche, Thomas Merrill at the wheel of it who runs in Trans Am in TA2. Filipe Albuquerque takes over the #22 United Autosport LMP2 entry as Alessio Picariello completes the top five in GTE Am if I am right. Renger van der Zande driving for JMW, he did not listen to the radio, Mark Kvamme is in good shape. No real damage except for thing they've incurred in the race already. They have not had the straightline speed but have run another race. Jason Hart wanted to do Le Mans and he accomplished it.
Renger van der Zande will double stint and then Jason Hart will take it to the finish. How will the battles emerge in the final three hours? That is what we are about to find out. Toni Vilander and Harry Tincknell battle on the Mulsanne straight. Tincknell has the top end power edge on the Ferrari. Ferrari has struggled with straight line speed as Glickenhaus #709 remains third with Richard Westbrook at the controls and Zacharie Robichon cops a penalty for the earlier contact we saw. It won't affect their running place as they are way down the order anyway.
Car #34 from Inter Europol may lose a place to United Autosport. Jakub (Kuba) Smiechowski vs. Filipe Albuquerque and the #34 is being power cycled and would not start as it is in the garage unable to start. Jota continue to push. They want a 1-2 in LMP2. Porsche lead LM GTE Pro. The five remaining GTE Pro cars are the #91 Porsche, both AF Corse Ferrari's, the #92 Porsche, and the #74 Riley Motorsports Ferrari and of course, the two Corvette's have now been eliminated. Jakub "Kuba" Smiechowski is back on track in the #34 Inter Europol LMP2 car. Ben Keating, Thomas Merrill, Harry Tincknell, Paul Dalla Lana, and Alessio Picariello, the top five in GTE Am.
Vaillante Rebellion were on the podium one year, but they were disqualified for drilling a hole in the slot for the starter motor and you cannot modify a car even to assist it starting, by drilling a hole in the bodywork. Bodywork is homologated parts, and so it is not permitted to be modified. Fundamentally it does not work. Warm weather in 2017, saw LMP2 almost win overall with Jackie Chan DC Racing and Jota. Bruni and Christensen in the Porsche's are two laps apart as Lorenzo Colombo cuts a 3:37 lap but is falling away from Roberto Gonzalez. Lorenzo Colombo has been doing very well despite not being able to start in the European Le Mans Series, gapped by Roberto Gonzalez and closed in on by the Glickenhaus #708 in the hands of Pipo Derani.
Kamui Kobayashi brings the #7 Toyota in and hands the car to Mike Conway. 3:27.762, the quickest lap, fastest lap for Toyota #7. Yellow flags at the Ford Chicane at marshal post 34. The #60 Iron Lynx Ferrari of Claudio Schiavoni has massive damage against the tire wall and the LMP2 car for Panis Racing crashed. That was a massive crunch, a biff, into the barriers and it could indeed be game over after that mess. Ben Keating takes the #33 TF Sport Aston Martin around. The incident between the #60 and #65 under investigation by the stewards as Alex Wurz is discussing things with the Toyota team, the President of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association.
Slow zone at the Ford Chicane.
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