Through the Daytona chicane and the Michelin chicane, Fittipaldi is being harried by Jarvis. Ryo Hirakawa through traffic, he is keeping up with Kamui Kobayashi. Fittipaldi makes a mistake. He has the straightline speed. Jarvis is going to eke out a gap over the other LMP2's. Alexander Sims continues chasing Laurens Vanthoor. Jota and Penske into the lane. Roberto Gonzalez and he is followed by Felipe Nasr. Nasr stays in the car for a double stint. Roberto Gonzalez made his pit stop and he is ahead of Nasr now by 1 minute and 25 seconds. The brake duct hose popped off behind the lights and they didn't want overheating brakes, so just plop a zip tie on that thing.
Ryo Hirakawa is still on track and Kamui Kobayashi has gone through the lane. Hirakawa runs a 3:31.817 and Kobayashi uncorks a 3:31.514. 3:31.387, as the #85 Iron Dames Ferrari runs off the road as they were biffed by the #24 Nielsen Racing LMP2 with Rodrigo Sales at the controls. The Iron Dames car of Sarah Bovy continues. But there's loose bodywork. They have just had the worst luck. The Iron Dames are 15th in class. The #79 WeatherTech Porsche leads the #98 Northwest AMR car. #24 ran too wide and got himself into the marbles, into the clag. Bovy could not see him. Thankfully both are back underway. Toyota #8 into the lane again for Ryo Hirakawa and the #23 United Autosport entry in the lane as well in a temporary shed at the end of the lane permanently, the top end of the lane.
High Class Racing had that last year. Rodrigo Sales locks up into Mulsanne corner. Kobayashi ahead of the sister Toyota. Top five in Hypercar, Kobayashi, Hirakawa, Derani, Briscoe, Negrao. Continuing woes for the home team at Alpine. Toyota's Alastair Moffatt is in the last race he will be a part of for Toyota before his retirement. Negrao off the road and skttering into the gravel and then slowly trundling around, seven laps down. Alpine's Philippe Sinault, the boss man, has to be disgusted. Kamui Kobayashi is in Tertre Rouge right now. Andre Negrao says that things seem to be OK at Alpine but they just don't have the car they wanted.
They have to go faster because they pit more often than Toyota does. Sean Gelael at the wheel of the #31 WRT LMP2 car and they had that incident with Rene Rast at the race start. In LMP2, Ricky Taylor being harried by Esteban Guttierez right now. Jota, Prema, Jota, Panis, Col. Inter Europol, Penske, Team WRT, Richard Mille, and United, the top five in LMP2. Ryo Hirakawa having issues with the Michelin tires squirming around after being on that motorcar for two stints. Alexander Sims is not having it all his own way as Laurens Vanthoor is monstering him while Fred Makowiecki is catching them both. The Ferrari's are lagging behind, not that far.
Corvette 1-2 in GTE Pro as the Porsche's give chase. The GTE Pro battle squeaks past the #74 APM Monaco Ferrari from GTE Am which is buried way down in the never, never. Oliver Rasmussen has slid down the LMP2 order after his stop. He snookers Rolf Ineichen. That was an arrive, and drive past kind of deal there, look. Ineichen absolutely got mugged by the Jota car. Sims and Vanthoor are moving in on Nicky Catsburg in the #63 Corvette. Nicky Catsburg is called "The Cat" by WEC World Feed commentator Graham Goodwin, goodness knows why. Catlike reflexes? Trouble in paradise for the Team Project 1 Porsche checking the front splitter, with the fenders, the bumper, and the bonnet all removed. All the hallmarks of we have a chronic vibration so we have to solve the issue by removing all bits from the auto mobile.
Prema #9 in the lane. This is one of the LMP2 contenders. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, it is the Simsa dn Vanthoor story still being written. Esteban Guttierez in the meantime, has his hands full with Felipe Nasr in his second stint of the race. Fred Makowiecki, fourth in GTE Pro being warned about track limits as we see Lorenzo Colombo back in the #9 Prema LMP2 entry and Julien Canal pits the Panis Racing LMP2 car, #65. Nasr right on Esteban Guttierez's six. Nasr chasing, small lift in fifth gear through the Porsche Curves. Guttierez gives it up and hits the lane.
Ineichen and Colombo battling for fourth in LMP2. Prema is loose! Toyota right on his six. Right up his chuff as it were. He got into the turn at the end of the Mulsanne straight at Mulsanne corner way too hot. Jakub Smiechowski is now at the wheel of the #34 Intereuropol car. Pit stop time as the #1 Richard Mille LMP2 car is in the lane, Charles Milesi handing over to Lilou Wadoux. Job van Uitert now chasing Sean Gelael for eighth in LMP2. Job van Uitert, you little fighter! Vanthoor, Sims, Catsburg, reverse order in GTE Pro, third, second, first. Nicky Catsburg, former BMW driver, has been uncorking 3:50 laps. Catsburg also drove touring cars for Lada and other brands.
Nicky Catsburg raced in FIA GT1 with Jamie Campbell-Walter and one of our commentators on FIA WEC world feed, Peter Dumbreck. In the lane, the #79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche, leading GTE-Am. Philippe Sinault at Alpine says the clutch electronics and the engine coils have gone bad and they lost bucketloads of time, a nightmare. For Richard Mille Racing, they started well in the #1 car in spite of an unsafe pit entry by Sebastien Ogier. #7 leads. 93 laps, 787 miles, as the #91 factory Porsche must take a drive through penalty for constant track limits abuse. Makes no sense as Fred Makowiecki, very experienced, and a Porsche factory driver.
Glickenhaus pitting, #708, Pipo Derani at the wheel of it. Nyck de Vries now ninth in LMP2 in the #13 TDS Vaillante car. Corvette #63 in the lane as we have a yellow flag. Porsche in the lane and so is Toyota. Porsche #91 AND tOYOTA #7, Kamui Kobayashi pitting from the race lead. Fred Makowiecki will have to make a separate pit stop for serving a penalty. Project 1 have done their ground up restoration and have new front shocks on the car chasing a vibration. Pipo Derani now third in the overall. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Zone six neutralized as we have seen a fender liner come off of an LMP2 car from the inside. Slow Zone and the #31 WRT car pits and Sean Gelael is out of the car. Not sure it will be Robin Frijns or Rene Rast.
Ricky and Jordan Taylor, battle of the brothers. LMP2 vs. LM GTE Pro, passing in the second chicane. This is Taylor vs. Nasr. Slow zone through the Porsche Curves. #23 pit stop under investigation. Project 1 are back in and so are Duqueine. Mexico's Memo Rojas in that car sharing with Richard Bradley and Reshad De Gerus. Corvette #64 and Porsche #92 both in pit lane for service. #64 still in the pit lane. Jota run 1-2 in LMP2 while Oliver Rasmussen hits the lane for service while Roberto Gonzalez is in the LMP2 lead. Temperatures just beginning to cool down after a screamingly hot day.
The track at Le Mans is now fully green. Closing in on the completion of anothe racing hour. The radar for Corvette is working although we wondered about the camera. The sun is setting. Radar sensors are a big element in the GTE class cars to detect where the prototypes are on the road. In the dead of night, it is a video game of alien lights, a sea of them. Jakub Smiechowski has Pietro Fittipaldi right behind. Kuba vs. Pietro, and Kuba is the son of the boss at Intereuropol bakery. Don't lose time by fighting with a driver who will pass you.
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