Pit stop time for the #71 Ferrari and a delayed fuel hose connection as well as a driver change and tires. The Ferrari is down and away from a full-service stop. Nick Yelloly is making up time afer a botched pit stop. The BMW's pace at 2:19.6 compared to a 2:20.9 for Jules Gounon and the Mercedes. More retirements = less traffic and fewer incidents. Antonio Fuoco is watching the #71 Ferrari which has since been taken over by Daniel Serra. Fuoco will take the final two hours of the race. The team feels they are in a good place to push to the bitter end going for their second Spa win in a row. The #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes has Phil Ellis in the car, the Anglo-Swiss driver who was a champion in Audi Sport TT Cup at one time. Daniel Serra has dropped behind Miguel Molina, but they will be back to the lane with an hour and 55 minutes to go.
The top three are due to the lane within a ten-minute time window. Rob Bell runs wide at the Paul Frere curve and now, Luca Stolz wants past Rob Bell and snatches it away! Wow! Bell, struggling for grip it seems. Stolz was all over that like a rash. Stolz dusted that McLaren. The Pro-Am leading Ferrari of Alessio Rovera, he still has fastest lap of the motor race so far. A Pro-Am car won't win outright but Rovera and his co-drivers have been in it all day, for the whole race. Rovera still pushing like mad. I don't know if anyone else is going to uncork a quicker time than Rovera did this morning. 47 will move up and the Aston has lost a lap. Gounon in traffic moves on Ollie Milroy. That's one of those squeaky, squeaky moments.
Nick Yelloly is closing up on the Benz. Stolz still pushing as the Iron Dames Ferrari of Dorian Pin, she is still leading the Gold Cup for her team at Iron Dames. Sara Bovy knows how long the last hours will be and every driver has done a great job and so have the mechanics. Loris Spinelli has taken over the #93 Sky Tempesta Mercedes but that car with Eddie Cheever III., Jonathan Hui and company, is two laps down. Maintain consistency and the race will come to you. No further investigation for the incident between Nikki Thiim and Jules Gounon.
These endurance races are 24 one-hour sprint events. Jules Gounon t the lane and he only will have two more pit stops to go. Jules Gounon in and he will stay in the car for now and this promotes the #87 BMW M4 GT3 to the race lead but Nick Yelloly also has to pit. Gounon will do this stint and Raffaele Marciello will finish the race out for Akkodis ASP. Akkodis is the Ricci family who race SRO European GT4. Door open, now closed, on the Mercedes. That was close! Nick Yelloly and Neil Verhagen are both pitting at Rowe Racing BMW. Car #88 crusiing through Paul Frere curve into Blanchimont.
Ferrari #71, Daniel Serra driving. Lapped cars in the way. Raffaele Marciello is calm, fresh, and relaxed. Marciello will do the final stint or stint and a half. Realistically, Akkodis ASP could be a potential winner. Way off in the gravel, the BMW loses a diffuser! That is unreal! That is the #35 Walkenhorst BMW M4 GT3. Don Yount loses the diffuser! That was bananas! Only two cars in that category in Am I believe. Maxi Buhk leads the motor race now in the #55 GruppeM Mercedes. The fittings of the diffuser on that BMW, have they been damaged? SPS Performance to the lane. Maxi Buhk leads Miguel Molina and they must pit as does Rob Bell. Bell has done a shedload of work and so has Marvin Kirchhofer.
Bell running in fourth spot. The Ferrari of Daniel Serra is next up, then comes the Porsche of Nick Tandy. Tandy has the BMW of Nick Yelloly next up. 470 laps in, the #50 BMW Junior Team car cuts the fastest sector one time and now, Yelloly passes Tandy, firing it right through! Wow! The BMW has more pace than the Porsche does. Daniel Serra has relatively fresh tires. He has to get a wriggle on or the BMW is going to catch and pass him, into Brussels corner again as Dan Harper is flying!
In replay, the gap out of Paul Frere curve, the BMW has the pace to go to the inside of the Porsche! Tandy knew not to slam the door. He gave the BMW of Nick Yelloly room. Yelloly and BMW are turning it on. The BMW's have the top speed. Dan Harper is 20 seconds down on Nick Tandy but is coming. Dennis Marschall in the Audi for Attempto is next up and so is the Mad Panda Mercedes. Yelloly lines up and sweeps past the Ferrari. He is past Mad Panda as well and now, Sara Bovy is also ahead I believe. Yelloly is doing all he can and not overdoing his overtaking.
Yelloly is holding all the aces. It is hotter than a two-dollar pistol outside. The sun is very intense, baking into the tarmac. 40.3 degrees Celsius track temperature. It feels more like Paul Ricard in France than it does Spa. Yelloly is closing up on Jules Gounon steadily. Ferrari #51 to the lane with a destroyed tire. James Calado now in the car. That tiere is totally trashed. Thank goodness they didn't have it come apart.
GruppeM Mercedes in the pit lane. Luca Stolz now leading in the #2 AMG Team GetSpeed Mercedes as Rob Bell also brings in the #38 Jota Sport McLaren. Bell would need to do a bit more before Marvin Kirchhofer takes it to the finish. Less than two and a half hours left. Kirchhofer is in the McLaren now, the Garage 59 entry I believe. Mercedes #55 was changing the driver display somehow. Yelloly only 1.2 seconds behind Gounon. Stolz has only 20 minutes left in his stint it looks like while second and third will keep driving their stints for a while. Gounon is right behind the Ferrari. The Ferrari is a lapped car. The Ferrari moves over and let's the leaders through but more for the Ferrari than the BMW.
Nick Yelloly closing on the Mercedes. This is a split of one or one and a half car lengths. Overtake at the earliest opportunity so your momentum is not lost. The Lamborghini runs wide through Blanchimont and allows te battle to continue. Gounon really is the pathfinder for the traffic compared to Yelloly who follows right through. The backmarker has to realize when theree is a car there that they need to give space to. Traffic ahead of the leaders with two hours and 20 minutes to go. Yelloly has caught Gounon but it is going to be hard to go by. Gounon makes the pass and so does Yelloly, gaining, taking the curb. The different marques of car can take different levels of curb. The BMW has a bit more ride height.'The gap is closing between the BMW and thw Benz.
Nicky Catsburg pondering things. Nicky Catsburg wondering. Secret Squirrel. Don't tell any of our speed secrets to that camera! The latest stint for the BMW is only 27 minutes old as Marco Sorensen is now in the #95 Aston Martin followed by Jason Calado it is getting more interesting. Calado is making the best of the situation he has trying to make his move on the Aston Martin with two hours and 15 minutes to go yet. Miguel Molina and Nicklas Neilsen could get into the car. Serra is down at 1:23.7. Calado to the inside, and a late lunge? Surely, Calado will taker it. Sorensen is going to fight back up the straight.
Maro Engel in seventh is 51 seconds up the road. Nick Tandy is catching Daniel Serra hand over fist. Yelloly has taken everything out of the BMW's tires and the Mercedes is a tad more consistent. These are the highest ambient temperatures we have seen. The gap between the BMW and the Mercedes is expanding to beyond 2.1 seconds at Pouhon corner. Maybe the performance of their Pirelli tires is a wee bit peaky. Aston Martin in the lane for TF Sport, and I believe it will be Sorensen in the car. Now then. Gounon is running quicker than Luca Stolz. Mercedes #2, with their strategy, it is looking good for the BWT team. Stolz will reach the limits of his tires. Gounon and Yelloly will be able to extract more out of the tires. Top speed at Eau Rough, those are between 247-249 clicks, the thinner end of 150 miles an hour! Amazng!
Yelloly is going to chase down Stolz. Gounon though, will be running down Luca Stolz. I don't know if the BMW man can keep up. Jules Gounon is moving in again. Raffaele Marcieloo been in the car already cannot run another stint before the end of the race. Marciello could drive if he has not run to the limit. Gounon or Marciello are the only choices as Daniel Juncadella has finished his stint. Up through Ridill0n, Oollie Milroy as fastest at 247 clicks. Scrub off speed from bottom to top. That is what happens.
Mercedes #2 to the pit lane as we see the #30 Jean Baptiste Simmenauer WRT Audi leading Silver Cup by one minute of Konsta Lapalainen in the #14 Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini. What pace dows the #2 BWT Mercedes have? Nick Tandy to the pit lane. Getting close to the end of another racing hour. Dennis Olsen, Nick Tandy, and Laurens Vanthoor. Luca Stolz now behind James Calado as he is down in ninth place. Stolz has to move in on the Ferrari and Nick Tandy has a ton of space on fresh tires and a full fuel load. Jules Gounon is almost a lap up and could go for the lead here any moment.
The BMW pace maybe has peaked while the Mercedes has been on an even plateau. Thomas Neubauer pits the #30 Audi in the Silver class. Daniel Serra in third is 15.5 seconds behind as Valentino Rossi will get into the #46 WRT Audi. They are 17th overall right now. Yelloly's tires are fresher. Rossi could take the Audi to the flag. Fred Vervisch will come in soon as Rossi has done the 12 Hours of Abu Dhabi which will replace the Kyalami 9 Hours in December.
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