29 laps now completed by the leaders. These two are on older tires and #10 started on the tires they qualified on. No special qualifying tires for LMP2's or multiple compounds. Hypercar, GTE Pro and GTE Am still have different qualifying tire compounds they can use compared to the race. The blue paint also matches the Glickenhaus team uniforms. Rasmussen through the Lesmos, he wants by the #10 car. Ryan Cullen was compromised under braking and Rasmussen tried but could not make a move. The pressure is on as the #31 WRT car of Sean Gelael is coming, fast. Toyota #8, Sebastien Buemi is still having trouble with something. They won Le Mans, did not finish at Spa, and they could be in danger to losing out to their sister car and to Alpine as well as Glickenhaus.
Things could be going pear shaped for Toyota #8. The #44 ARC Bratislava LMP2 is reported again to the srewards for some kind of infringement from the very start of the motor race. Koic Duval is only five seconds behind Sebastien Buemi and Miro Konopka in car #44, the LMP2 car, jumped the start. Jose Maria Lopez is now being monstered by the #36 Alpine of Matthieu Vaxiviere. Vaxiviere is right on Lopez's six. They are in traffic and the car in front gets hindered more. Vaxiviere does not want to be the cork in the bottle. Oh! That was a close shave making a move past the Inception Racing Porsche! Yikes! Vaxiviere is good on the brakes by Lopez turns in through Curva Grande, (excuse me, Curva Michele Alboreto), and it was too late by Lopez as Vaxiviere slams the door in his face.
Vaxiviere is being informed the Toyota will stop in six laps. Lopez tries to pass Vaxiviere in traffic and has to back out of it. He has the power to lunge through Curva Grande, but that won't work. Vaxiviere is now the cork in the bottle through the Lesmo's with Jakub Smiechowski in the #34 Inter Europol car. Goodness me. Vaxiviere is going to be able to move ahead of the Toyota through Ascari and into the Parabolica. Corvette #64 and Porsche #91 reported to the streewards for starting procedures. This is going to turn the race in GTE Pro entirely on it's ear.
Pit stop time as well for Prema Orlen and for United Autosport in LMP2. The penalties are coming thick and fast. Rasmuseen wants past Cullen but gets chopped by a GTE car. That's the pink Iron Dames Ferrari I believe. Yes! Rasmussen all over the shop, and off and on into the gravel a wee bit! That was just not on. A very daft move to go 'round the outside. Sara Bovy played it smart. She moved over but Easmussen knew he was in no man's land. Yikes! That was scrappy! Bovy has fallen down the order and down from the TF Sport Aston Martin by 22 seconds.
Dumas has his foot buried in the firewall as the Glickenhaus leads. They had a podium at Le Mans. Just amazing. 96 hours of racing at Le Mans with just ten minutes in the garage at Le Mans. So, our class leaders thus far see Glickenhaus at the top of the shop overall and in Le Mans Hypercar. LMP2 being led by Prema. In GTE Pro it is the Ferrari #51 for AF Corse, and in GTE Am, it is the #85 Iron Dames Ferrari. TF Sport are down the order overall in 31st spot. We have seen quite the first hour as the Peugeot's are dealing with their troubles, but are going for it. Toyota #8 has also been in a spot of bother.
Filipe Alniqierque has now taken over the #22 United Autosport Oreca LMP2 car and he leads the class ahead of Ferdinand Habsburg for WRT. Will Owen says that his first stint was tough but he is thankful to his co-driver and his team. He was so happy to start on pole and have a clean stat. The heat has not been that bad just yet. It will get worse throughout the day but is manageable at this time. Will Owen loves Monza as a circuit and he feels good about his and his team's prospects despite being tagged earlier. He has also run in Le Mans Cup and European Le Mans Series. Louis Deletraz now leads from Charles Milesi. This is in LMP2.
Filipe Albuquerque has moved up to third 12 seconds back from Deletraz and Milesi. Nick Tandy being harried by Antonio Fuoco. Tandy in the Corvette #64 and the #91 Porsche has also been called for a penalty and both team managers for Corvette and Porsche have been summoned to see the Race Director. No gelato for you. You must confess to your error. Nick Tandy is given a warning flag for track limits as Pier Guidi is eking out a gap of about a second overr Tandy. Pit stop time for the GTE Am contenders as Buemi is pushing, but now, he is in the lane and they have to fix this regeneration issue now.
So, that gifts fourth place to the untroubled #94 Peugeot. Nick Tandy is being given all he can handle by Antonio Fuoco down the front straight. Will this end in tears? Tandy has the legs down the straight and into the Prima Variante. Fuoco is right there though, under braking, and is taking the position back. Miro Konopka in the #44 ARC Bratislava LMP2 comes through holding the Ferrari offline and here comes the Glickenhaus in the lead of the motor race, through the traffic. Toyota #8 was in the lane for service and got scrubbed tires on the right and fresh on the left. Antonio Fuoco outbrakes the Corvette into the Prima Variante.
The Ferrari's are strong around their home circuit. They have had horrible times racing in the dry until now. The Peugeot has moved to third, and now, the #51 AF Corse team manager has also been reported to the Race Director to get their viewpoint after talking to Corvette and to Porsche. Alpine pits and now, the #94 Peugeot is up to third with the Toyota also heading for the lane soon. Glickenhaus lead and stay out. James Rossiter is readying for his driving stint. Tires, fuel, and a driver change. Romain Dumas brings the race leading Glickenhaus to the pit lane as well.
Second and third already in the lane. Driver changes at Alpine and Glickenhaus. Romain Dumas out of the Glickenhaus and we will see who gets in. Matthieu Vaxiviere has handed the #36 Alpine to Brazilian Andre Negrao. #708, they are now back on track and so is the #94 Peugeot of James Rossiter. Rossiter passes Sebastien Buemi. Monza rewards tires that are up to temperature despite it being a very hot day. The tires are cold still een though they have been in the ovens as well. Poor old Rossiter was defenseless to stop Buemi from making the pass. The Glickenhaus is the fastest Hypercar. Glickenhaus have been burning through the brakes.
There was a driver change at Glickenhaus. We don't know yet if it is Romain Dumas or Pipo Derani. The battle for fifth place in LMP2 rages on between Jota and United, but the drivers reconvening the fight are Ed Jones and Josh Pierson. A good pass on the inside. Josh Pierson turned 16 back in February. He did so, between the two racing weekends in Asian Le Mans Series. Pipo Derani is now driving the leading Glickenhaus. Nico Muller has taken over the #10 Vector Sport LMP2 car. Ed Jones is domiciled in Dubai so he won't have too many worries about the intense heat.
Muller sees an opening in a bobble by Josh Pierson. Don't underestimate how hard Monza is to drive. You are on low downforce even though the LMP2 cars run low downforce at every track, but the thing still feels very nervous and skittish. The Pro-Am LMP2 class, passing GTE Pro cars. AF Corse vs. Ultimate. Jean Baptiste Lahaye second in LMP2 Pro-Am to Nicklas Nielsen. No one else is in the 1:40 bracket in LMP2. James Rossiter in the Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar is running identical times. Rene Rast is about to make his move on Josh Pierson.
Filipe Albuquerque is third. Pierson loses the rear end locking the brakes over the bumps! He almost loses it! Rast could have been collected if he was not careful! Mama Mia! Rene Rast got lucky on that! Romain Dumas at Glickenhaus, he knows how well everything is working out for the team. He was pushing very hard to maintain a gap during the first laps of his stint. The durability of the brakes are what the team is concerned about. They have the speed and the car is driving well right now. One of the Peugeot's has just pitted again. The Glickenhaus does not have full hybrid drive so they cannot regenerate under braking. They have the speed, but the car is also the heaviest of the Hypercars.
Ferrari #51 is serviced and sent at least with a full fuel load and new tires. Porsche #91 is also in the lane. The brakes on the Glickenhaus do the bulk of the work. There is a balance of everything with the Hypercars. AF Corse car #54 is in the lane and the #777 D'station Aston Martin has run out of gas. They served a penalty but have gone too far on fuel. Porsche #92, the last GTE Pro car to go through it's cycle., Kevin Estre at the controls. Albuquerque and Milesi scrapping for LMP2, for third place in class.
The #777 D'station Aston Martin is still being piloted by Satoshi Hoshino. They need fuel but have incurred a penalty as well. We have a battle on our hands for LMP2, but of course, since we have paid so much attention to Hypercar and GTE Pro, this scrap we are seeing now has been dull as ditchwater. Hardy har har. I am saying that in a tongue in cheek way. No, this scrap has been positively scintillating! Loic Duval says his opening stint at the wheel of the #94 Peugeot went well, but they are purely gathering information and data on the car for the future, of course. They are playing it safe, presently.
They are learning, wanting a clean race so they are better off for the future races they are going to compete in at Peugeot TotalEnergies. Duval knows the team has a lot to learn about the car and likewise, about themselves as a unit. This is all new and not in any way related to the previous programs Peugeot have run in sports car racing in the past. In LMP2, meanwhile, Charles Milesi is in defensive mode without a doubt. Richard Mille vs. United Autosport vs. RealTeam by WRT as the Alpine Hypercar is picking them off one by one. #777 is now in the garage. #36 is surely losing time hand over fist to the #36.
Albuquerque makes the pass on Milesi. Milesi is on older tires and the LMP2 cars have all stopped twice due to a splash and dash for fuel. Deletraz is indeed on older tires as tne #777 is back in the garage. The gap is 12.9 seconds between Deletraz and Albuquerque. Louis Deletraz has older Goodyear tires than does Albuquerque. Charles Milesi is the one on older tires that we are looking at. Amazingly, Josh Pierson did not take tires, and perhaps he could be in the car for a single stint. Kevin Estre moves ahead of Nick Tandy. They were forced into a splash and dash under Full Course Yellow.
Ferdinand Habsburg tries passing on the outside and guess what? He makes it stick. He sold Charles Milesi the dummy, and Milesi fell for the oldest trick in the book. Bish, bash, bosh. Clean pass. We are hearing that for 2023, Ferdinand Habsburg will stay in LMP2, but he could be racing with a crowd funded, a fan funded, LMP2 program in FIA WEC. Watch this space. Ferdinand Habsburg is a significant part of the Austrian royal family. Josh Pierson did tag the D'station Aston Martin and one of the aerodynamic fell off the back.
Pierson could be slightly damaged but we don't know yet. Pipo Derani is still leading the motor race. He and his wife will have their first child at the end of this season. Throttle woes in addition to the contact for the #777 D'station Aston Martin. Ferrari run 1-2 in GTE Pro here at the Cathedral of Speed. Porsche and Corvette continue their battle. The Ferrari's have struggled in the heat. The car itself is overheating as we watch the #33 TF Sport GTE Am Aston Martijn as well, and more cars, in slow motion replay. These are the four class leaders. Ben Keating in GTE-Am, Alessandro Pier Guidi nin GTE-Pro, Louis Deletraz in LMP2, and Pipo Derani in Hypercar.
Charles Milesi brings in the class leading LMP2 Richard Mille Racing Oreca. No driver change planned apparently, as RealTeam by WRT are in the lane from third spot. Milesi is double stinting the tires, and so, now, we wonder if he will let those tires go for three stints and hand that set to the next driver who takes over the wheel of #1, either Lilou Wadoux or Paul-Loup Chatin. Louis Deletraz heads for pit lane from the lead in LMP2 aboard the #9 Prema Orlen Team Oreca. Albuquerque was taking chunks out of the lead for Prema Orlen. Deletraz finishes his stint. Will it be Kubica or Colombo?
Lorenzo Colombo will get into the car. He too, had a fraught race at Le Mans. Deletraz and Colombo were having issues. Colombo did very well at Spa. Maybe it is a lack of familiarity with the Le Mans circuit. Le Mans is an ever-changing beast. Now, as he exits the lane, Lorenzo Colombo will have a huge cluster buster of cars to deal with. Jota #28 is leading LMP2. Not the #38. Gonzalez had the lead as a Silver rated driver and did not lose his cool. Lorenzo Colombo has to execerise that same patience level. The tire pressures are critical in a race car compared to your road car.
We have a change for position in GTE-Am with David Pittard passing Claudio Schiavoni. We need to see the gap between Sara Bovy and Ben Keating if nothing else. Pittard, as always, sharing the Aston Martin #98 for Aston Msrtin Racing in GTE Am with Paul Dalla Lana and Nicki Thiim. Sara Bovy passes Claudio Schiavoni. The #28 Jota car of Ed Jones and Nico Muller in the #10 Vector Sport entry are in the lane while Filipe Albuquerque for United Autosport is chasing Alex Brundle for Inter Europol. But this battle has stopped as Brundle dives for the pit lane. The true fight we should be watching is United Autosport vs. RealTeam.
Ferdinand Habsburg is now harrying Filipe Albuquerque. Lorenzo Colombo on new tires is lurking in the background. Ed Jones, Nico Muller, and Lilou Wadoux are next in the LMP2 order. Christoph Ulrich is now chasing down Christian Ried for third in GTE-Am. Oh dear! Ulrich is off the road in the gravel at the Lesmos! He didn't have enough room, Nicklas Nielsen, was there. Ulrich spins out. He was testing their new Hypercar earlier in the week, and that is who Ulrich hit. We gave a Full Course Yellow. Nielsen in the LMP2 car for AF Corse. Full Course Yellow. So, we are approaching the end of hour two as all Hypercars will be in, including the #8 Toyota.
The hybrid woes are going to get worse. Also in the lane, the much beleaguered #93 Peugeot while the sister car, the #94, carries on at full strength. Christoph Ulrich remains on the lead lap but has lost spots as he is wriggling the car back and forth to get the loose gravel out of it. The #60 Iron Lynx Ferrari is in the lane. Christoph Ulrich ought to be handing the car over to Simon Mann and Toni Vilander is the third driver. Both of the Peugeot's are back on track now I believe. James Rossiter is at the wheel in #94 while Paul Di Resta is in #93. Brendon Hartley in the #8 Toyota now. Glickenhaus lead by 90 seconds. 61 laps completed by Pipo Derani, who now had a 40 second advantage.
That is a total of 220 miles. So, Ferrari #21 is in the lane. Henrique Chaves is now at the controls of the #33 Aston Martin and Henrique Chaves gets pinged for speeding in the lane. Alpine into the lane from second, and back out. Excuse me. Alpine third, Toyota second. Now then, the #51 Ferrari is in handing over to James Calado. Miguel Molina replaces Antonio Fuoco in the #52 as well. It will be a drive through penalty for Aston Martin #33. The entire GTE Pro field is in the lane apart from the #91 Porsche. Gianmaria Bruni is into the #92 I believe sharing with Michael Christensen, or is that Kevin Estre?
Do rear tires or left sides. The left rear tire takes a caning around this place. Now then, in Hypercar, we have the #94 Peugeot 9X8 with James Rossiter at the wheel of it. Meanwhile, at the #21 garage, the mechanics are sweeping up and right next to them is the #83 AF Corse LMP2 car while, from the lead the #708 baby blue Glickenhaus is in the lane. Fender guitars would call that color, Daphne blue. Pipo Derani will stay behind the wheel.
The mechanic removes a windscreen tear off. When fuel is going into the car you will see windscreen cleaning and tear off removal, so, tear it off, crumple it and toss it in the trash. The illuminated number panels are also cleaned off. There is a mandatory amount of time to feed the fuel from the rig into the tank. After that, you are free to do the tire change, driver change, and other service to the car.
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