No fresh tires at Peugeot or at least it does not appear that way, comparing to the Toyota stops where the home team here at Fuji did take fresh Michelin's. Noted. An interview cometh with Peugeot driver Gustavo Menezes. Let's hear what he has to say. Menezes is very happy about his teammate James Rossiter in the sister car having a great opening stint. He and Loic Duval have many miles around Fuji to give the team advice and useful data. They want to continue having a smooth race and now Peugeot seem to be closing the gap to the Toyota's steadily. Stay smooth and keep going. That is what Gustavo Menezes believes his team has to do with both cars and especially Rossiter in the #94. The leading #7 Toyota has now put 39 laps on the board, 110 and a half miles. The Toyota's and the Alpine took tires and Peugeot did not.
Shorter pit stops yield an advantage. But how is the tire life on the Alpine or the Peugeot's as we are now taking another look at the LMP2 battle. Loic Duval has run for just about every brand in WEC here at Fuji in the last decade or so. So, the Peugeot #94 makes a pass on Sean Gelael in LMP2 in the #31 WRT Oreca. Jonathan Aberdein has pulled away and has gone ahead of the rest of the LMP2 battle pack by two seconds. Ooh! Oh, oh, oh, oh. Aye yaye yaye yaye yaye yaye! That was way too deep and completely missing the corner! Sean Gelael out brakes himself in a monumental manner and takes poor old Jonathan Aberdein right with him! Goodness me! Poor old Aberdein was way in over his head on that maneuver! Holy smokes!
Now then, in other LMP2 news, #22 and #41 are scrapping for sixth place in class. So, this is United Autosport vs. RealTeam by WRT. William Owen vs. Rui Andrade. The stewards don't like cars overtaking each other off the circuit, but when you have a battle where both cars are off the road at the same time and still racing, how do you draw the penalty? We talk about reintroducing gravel traps, but if there hadn't been the paved runoff area there, that incident would have deployed a safety car without a doubt. The marshals will look at that incident and their hair will be set on fire and their mouths agape in horror in race control!
The GTE cars are pitting already. Tomonobu Fujii stays at the wheel of the #777 D'station Aston Martin. He is serviced and sent, down and away before we even have a chance to highlight the stop even happening. Fujii doing a double stint. The gap between the Toyota's was a second and a half but now that margin has ballooned to six seconds somehow or other. James Rossiter running 14 and a half seconds behind Sebastien Buemi. Is he losing ground? Is the traffic horrendous? Rui Andrade has passed Will Owen and now he might, into the corner, get stymied by the Corvette. Let's see what will happen. Criminy! Another close shave!
Thank goodness Nick Tandy saw Andrade coming. Despite the earlier penalty, Tandy in the Corvette now runs ahead of Gianmaria Bruni in the Porsche. The LMP2 cars have more effective brakes than the GTE cars. You'd whistle past a GTE car and stand on the brakes, and the bloke in the production car would get clouted in the rear end because the prototype needs the room to go by and so, he is the windshield and the poor bloke in the GTE car is definitely the bug, getting the worst of the deal. At high speed, the aero of the GTE car is very good, but in low-speed cornering, the mechanical grip possessed by the GTE car is going to blow the prototypes out of the water. The LMP2 cars and the Hypercars will just not keep up through the low-speed twiddly corners the same way that a GT car can.
No wonder so many championships run exclusively for GT cars with no prototypes present on the track at all, and this is so everything equals itself, if you watch any of the full on GT3 classes that we cover here on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog, you will notice that. The Toyota's are still six seconds apart and Buemi is told to stay out at that his tire pressures are fine. He is getting a low tire pressure warning in the car but that is because one or both left side tires not up to pressure and temperature just yet. All you heard in the in-car audio was the pshhhh sound made by the air jack coming down when the line was released and you did not hear the pop, pop, pop, pop, vroom, sound of the rattle guns.
So, Kamui Kobayashi leads Sebastien Buemi, James Rossiter, Andre Negrao, and Jean Eric Vergne. This means, in Hypercar it is Toyota, Toyota, Peugeot, Alpine, Peugeot. Sean Gelael has passed Jonathan Aberdein in LMP2. Did Aberdein give the spot back? Or did he get slipstreamed by Gelael. Alexander Wurz, the Toyota team advisor and amabassador, he says that the tire changes were planned, and the left front tire gets a real hammering around this circuit at Mount Fuji. Buemi's tire pressure alarm was caused by cold tires only. If you exceed track limits, you do not hand over the penalty to your co-driver. Meanwhile, the Aberdein and Gelael scrap is extremely entertaining.
What do I always say about these sports car races? They are a high-speed game of chess. Jonathan Aberdein had an issue. In replay, Aberdein tries to repass Gelael but then the Porsche gets too close for comfort and Louis Deletraz, he was really close. The gap between the two Toyota's has increased to 7.3 seconds. It was six or so seconds earlier and has continued to increase. Three more GTE Am cars hit the pit lane. Thomas Flohr, Christian Ried, and Takeshi Kimura all pit. #21 also hits the lane, the Swiss driver, Christoph Ulrich. Ulrich sharing the sister AF Corse Am class Ferrari with Simon Mann and Toni Vilander.
44 laps now on the board. Both Toyota's have been running in the high 1:31s at 1:31.9. Peugeot running 1:32.5 and the Alpine at 1:32.8. So the French cars, the Alpine and the Peugeot are slower than the Toyota's at this stage and I don't believe Alpine have taken tires on the most recent pit stop. Corvette Racing complete their first fuel fill stop of the race. The #64 Corvette had to have been out of fuel. It looks like it stalled in the pit lane on the way into the box. The car is back on track and back down to fifth in class in GTE Pro after losing 40 seconds in the pit lane.
Nick Tandy passed Gianmaria Bruni. Corvette's Ryan Smith says that they ran out of gas in the pit lane after having a perfect fuel race in Monza, italy, back in July. That was a race they won. Calado and Molina leading GTE Pro for Ferrari. Edoardo Freitas, Race Director, has told the teams and drivers he is coming down hard on track limits. Drivers are convinced they are on track even though they are indeed cutting the track and they don't even know it. But then again, they know they are legal and, on the road, completely at other times.
A battle rages in LMP2 for seventh in class with Will Owen being monstered by Esteban Guttierez. So, this is Inter Europol Competition chasing after United Autosport. Car #22 being harried by car #34. RealTeam are now in the pit lane. The thing that differentiates LMP2 and LMP2 Pro-Am is that everyone has the same cars and the same tires, but the driver ratings are different. Different driver rankings with different experience levels. The more experienced drivers are in the garage, hanging out, watching how the race develops before their stints.
The #34 Inter Europol car of Guttierez has had a tough start to the race as the scrap is on in GTE-Am between the two Aston Martin's. Satoshi Hoshino and now, Paul Dalla Lana, they are both pushing and rubbing fenders. There's a lot of hip and shoulder there. Neither of those customer Aston Martin's set a time in qualifying so they had to go forward and have done so. Customer Aston Martin? What am I talking about? All of the Aston Martin's are customer cars as there isn't a factory backed GTE Aston Martin team any longer now that their main effort has gone into Formula 1.
Ben Keating has already served his entire driving time. Paul Dalla Lana will also do a double stint. Sara Bovy fourth in GTE-Am is also in it for a double stint for the Iron Dames. Francois Perrodo took a short stint aboard the #83 AF Corse LMP2 car which is now in the hands of Nicklas Nielsen, and the Dane is making hay while the sun shines. Francois Perrodo pitted short and therefore he did not complete a full stint. The weather conditions at Fuji today are so different from when we normally come here.
Normally, it is cold, damp, wet, dreary and unpleasant. Today while it is still unpleasant, it is sunny, sticky, and hotter than a pistol. Ben Keating is the fly in the ointment, the cork in the bottle in the LMP2 scrap between Guttierez and Owen that continues raging. This is that scrap we talked about a wee while ago for sixth in the class. Alex Brundle was having trouble in Free Practice and qualifying yesterday. But now, Esteban Guttierez has the bit between his teeth as he is going to send it 'round Will Owen. Oh boy. Pick the bones out of this one if you dare. Guttierez gives him room, but is he faking it?
Is Guttierez toying with Will Owen's mind? Owen is in the slipstream of the Mexican driver. Guttierez to the inside to defend. Cha ching. He covers it and Owen knows discretion is by far the better part of valor, look. Roberto Gonzalez is still up the road from these two and you cannot forget that Will Owen, the car he is driving for United Autosport, two years ago, they were unstoppable, and they just won everything on the planet that they could possibly win for sports cars at least in terms of LMP2. Josh Pierson has the sister United Autosport car, the #23, in fifth place in LMP2, right ahead of these two blokes who continue to battle.
Pierson is running nearly 20 seconds in-arrears of Roberto Gonzalez in the #38 machine for Jota. The sister Jota #28 car of Jonathan Aberdein, the South African is some four seconds or so to the good over Sean Gelael in the #31 WRT entry. Lunchtime for the spectators. Hmmm. Noodles, spice rolls, tempura, sushi, Japanese food is absolutely delicious. That ought to be a rumble in me tumble for sure. Aberdein he has had the fuse lit under him and he is just motoring right now. Aberdein in the class lead, relinquishes it to take his second scheduled pit stop of the motor race. So much for what I just said.
They're going to need dynamite to get him out of the car. Our driver for my friends at Action Express in IMSA in the states, Pipo Derani, who also has run for Glickenhaus in Hypercar, he is called "the dynamo". I wonder if Jonathan Aberdein can also be called "the dynamo". He has just been pushing like mad and giving that #28 car a really good run thus far in this contest. Aberdein out and into the #28 Jota LMP2 is now Ed Jones for his driving stint. Ed Jones will have much work to do to keep up the momentum that Jonathan Aberdein has brought to that car and that team through the opening stint.
Four tires being changed at Jota and the car is down off the air jacks and away. Louis Deletraz is now all over Sean Gelael's gearbox. Bingo. Gelael is in the pit lane and so Prema and Louis Deletraz are the erstwhile leaders in LMP2. One of two scenarios at play and that's either Gelael is stopping a lap earlier than expected or Deletraz is running a lap longer on fuel before he has to dive for the lane. #38 is also in and Prema are clearly fuel saving.
Vector Sport and United Autosport are also in. Corvette Racing's engineers have noted how rapidly the Porsche factory team's tires "fell off a cliff" during the second stint. That will be something we shall keep our eyes peeled for indeed as the race goes on. For many years, left side tires have been a big deal whether it is raining or dry. So, Louis Deletraz now to the pit lane. Robin Frijns is now driving the #31 WRT car. Things are constantly chopping and changing in this race. This is no baseball game. Things change very quickly.
Ed Jones takes the LMP2 lead over Robin Frijns after Louis Deletraz's pit stop. Prema went longer than we expected them to. Great fuel saving. Tires are also being changed. He is down and away. Will Stevens now at the wheel of the #38 leading Jota LMP2 entry. Prema come out behind the Ultimate LMP2 car, the #35. That is the Heriau/Lahaye/Lahaye entry, with all-French drivers. WRT takes second in class and the order in LMP2 thus is restored. Lorenzo Colombo now has taken over the #9 Prema car while Robin Frijns moves to second. Ed Jones will have a massive task on his hands to keep his competition behind him.
Don't worry, boss man. I got this covered. So, Jonathan Aberdein says he got spun at the start, but the car is running great at Jota. He is confident in his teammates. He was very relaxed after spinning and did not get flustered. Side by side stuff for fifth in LMP2. Esteban Guttierez, being harried by Norman Nato. Nato makes the pass. Alex Lynn, by the way, has taken over the #23 United Autosport entry from Josh Pierson with Oliver Jarvis yet to put in his driving stint. Esteban Guttierez is in his second stint. Filipe Albuqeurque driving the sister United Autosport #22.
Wholesale driver changes in LMP2. The #1 Richard Mille Racing Oreca has Paul-Loup Chatin at the wheel of it. Sebastien Bourdais takes over the #10 Vector Sport car from Nico Muller I believe. I don't believe Irishman Ryan Cullen will drive that car until later. Toyota Gazoo Racing still lead their home race running 1-2, two seconds apart. D'station, another Japanese home team with their Aston Martin, leads GTE-Am currently. Tomonobu Fujii, Satoshi Hoshino, and Charlie Fagg, the driving trio there. Two Japanese drivers in their home race, sharing with a Brit.
Aston Martin 1-2-3 in LM GTE Am, which is an interesting scenario. Satoshi Hoshino, team boss, Bronze rated driver, he knows Fuji Speedway. Hoshino has run at Fuji a lot and knows this track like the back of his hand. D'station have run cars in several GT categories including GTE, GT3, and GT4. They have tons of experience with the marque. Hoshino, an experienced shoe, at age 61. He knows this track and though he is an amateur and does not make a full-time living driving a race car, he can still get the job done. Meanwhile, Paul Dalla Lana has a final warning for track limits before a possible penalty. Behind Dalla Lana it is Sara Bovy and Ben Keating on their second stints in the race.
Ed Jones, as we said, is now at the controls of the #28 Jota LMP2. Robin Frijns is chasing him down cutting a 1:33.1 last time by and Jones is rising to the occasion. You want driving talent? In LMP2 you will find it. Check this out. We have the following drivers mixing it up for class honors. Robin Frijns, Ed Jones, Lorenzo Colombo, Will Stevens, Norman Nato, Esteban Guttierez, Alex Lynn, Filipe Albuquerque, Paul-Loup Chatin, Nicklas Nielsen, Sebastien Bourdais, and Matthieu Lahaye. Wow! That's competition. How close do you like it?
The only chap faster than Satoshi Hoshino in GTE-Am right now is Ferrari #54 in the hands of Francesco Castellaci. Hoshino is right at the beginning of a double stint as we see a scrap for seventh in GTE-Am between Porsche and Ferrari. That is Nicolas Leutwiler, the Swiss driver, in the #46 Project 1 Porsche going wheel to wheel with Pierre Ragues in the #71 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GTE. Nicklas Nielsen at the wheel of the #83 AF Corse LMP2 car is saying, "excuse me, gentlemen. May I play through?" Frank Dezoteux took a single opening stint in the Spirit of Race entry. That completes his driving time. Easy peasy for the Frenchman here at Fuji today.
Wait. Hold the phone. Did the #71 crew short stint? The answer is no. They stopped with everyone else on the same sequence, but Dezoteux was pinged with a drive through penalty by the stewards. OK. Dezoteux will have another stint. Sorry, Frank. You've got more work ahead of you, mate. We are also going to see Ben Keating and Paul Dalla Lana in the Aston Martin's double stinting as well. So, the strategy has indeed been clarified as we have a long way to go yet in this race. Hang in there, if you are joining us, staying up late, burning the midnight oil. Don't lie down for a nap or go to the fridge for a midnight snack. This race could get spicy. We'll have to wait and find out what develops.
Ferrari's run fourth and fifth behind that Aston Martin queue at the ftont in GTE-Am. The Iron Dames and AF Corse cars. Then, the first Porsche in the mix is the #86 car for GR Racing. That is the Ben Barker, Mike Wainwright, Ricardo Pera car, the Anglo-Italian trio. Tem Project 1 are also in the fight but currently, their two cars are separated, as the #77 Dempsey Proton Porsche is the meat in the sandwich. Porsches are not finding performance here at Fuji. In Free Practice, Porsche was doing a good job. But during the race to this point, the tire wear and falloff has caught them out.
Porsche has speed but not longevity. Alex Lynn, Cadillac factory driver in IMSA, he is making his way past Esteban Guttierez for position in LMP2. It seems, and I shall concur with lead WEC commentator Martin Haven on this, that the United Autosports team has the edge on pace over the Inter Europol run automobile. Is Esteban Guttierez on a double stint on old tires? I think so. He is dropping like a stone. Here come the Toyota's to lap these two. At the top of the shop, the gap is indeed closing between Kamui Kobayashi and Sebastien Buemi.
In the Toyota camp, we saw the team change left side tires on both cars. How does it mean that one of the cars has lost six seconds worth of lap time while the other has stayed constant? That is a mystery we shall have to look into. But, at a team like Toyota, believe me, mum's the word. OK. It is only two second's difference. That does not seem like much but in the world of racing, that is a huge chunk of time especially between competing team cars. Robin Frijns uncorks another fastest lap of the race in LMP2, closing up by 1.1 seconds on Ed Jones in the LMP2 lead. He is pushing like crazy. We saw that opening lap shemozzle between the #28 and the #45 Algarve Pro LMP2 car. Well, sadly, that has really put the #28 behind the eight ball and they just can't seem to claw back any meaningful amount of time.
If you get caught up in someone else's mess, it is going to ruin your race. I sound like a freaking broken record when I say that. But it is the absolute truth especially in endurance racing. The battle is raging in Hypercar between the Toyota's. Right now, as we speak, Kobayashi is mired in traffic and Sebastien Buemi is the shark who smells blood in the water, and he is going to be all over his team mate like a cheap suit here in short order. Kobayashi is balked, by the #54 AF Corse Ferrari, into the last turn, and now Buemi might just get the same treatment. He thought he was making up time on his teammate. Nope.
Kobayashi has the preferred line. That's cool, right? Not quite. He still has lapped traffic to negotiate. Buemi sneaks a tow off the #22 LMP2 car, and now can resume the fight. Oy! He gets blocked again, look, by Alex Lynn. Well, well, well. Buemi chops Lynn off, he doesn't take kindly to it and now he is going back for revenge. Buemi blinked because Lynn was saying, "hey pal, get off my line", and slammed the door in his face. Radio transmission from Toyota to Kobayashi says to him, please switch places. He did not. Buemi goes by, not at turn one, but towards the end of the lap. Now, this may last for only a short time. At Toyota, whoever is quicker in lap time is the bloke who'll have the right of way to take the lead.
Seb is faster than you, is what Kamui is being told. Working lap 63. 179 and a half miles in the bag. Toyota just wants to make sure they have their fastest car in the lead of the motor race and really don't give a flip about who wins the motor race just as long as it is their team. The scoop for Peugeot is that they will be watching all this and observing so they can plan similar strategies for the future when the car is sorted, and the drivers have more and more confidence in it to fight at the top of the shop for race wins. Toyota shall revert if Buemi can't pull away.
James Rossiter in the #94 Peugeot is the highest placed of their two cars. Currently he has them in a podium spot. Can they maintain that? It would be fascinating if it is so. Rossiter is losing time to the Toyota's but by the same token, having stayed on their original tires from the race start, Toyota are losing time. Toyota took the time to change tires and it is losing them time evej though they are leading. But Toyota know how to work the strategy and Peugeot does not. Toyota could be building a brand new Hypercar for the future and they have reams of notes and history from past races here. Peugeot do not. Peugeot raced their 908 HDI FAP diesel sports car but that was well over a decade ago and I believe it was even before the modern FIA WEC existed, so it does not count for anything. In racing you move forward, and you don't look back unless you are a historian like I am.
Meanwhile, in LMP2, Robin Frijns is still reeling in Ed Jones bit by bit. Jones seems to be running faster and the left side tires of his car have done more work. It is tempting, on brand new tires, to use them up. You cannot do that. You have to nurse them, bed them in, bring them in slowly, so you still have grip. Frijns is bedding in his tires. Jones is running very well but the two class leaders are steadily being reeled in, look, by both Lorenzo Colombo and Will Stevens. A change of position as Ben Keating goes by Paul Dalla Lana in a battle of the Aston Martin's. Ben Keating sends it, and Dalla Lana has to give it up. He is pinged again for track limits. TF Sport Aston Martin back to second. For TF Sport, they are only ten seconds down on the class leader.
Satoshi Hoshino is only into the first part of his mandated stint time at D'station. Aston Martin's are the only cars to win GTE-Am from pole here at Fuji and looking at history they have been able to do so every three years. 2013, 2016, 2019. So, could they do so again in 2022? The trends are pointing towards that being a definite possibility. Good scrap here for ninth in GTE-Am between two Porsche's. Christian Ried for Dempsey Proton Racing and Takeshi Kimura for Project 1 who normally is team boss for his own team in the championship, who is the "car guy" in CarGuy Racing who are not racing on their home turf with a Ferrari this weekend.
Kimura wants by FIA WEC GTE-Am stalwart Christian Ried, but on the left if you look, you'll notice the Peugeot has other ideas! That was tight! Christian Ried is the only FIA WEC driver ever to have run in all the races since the start of the championship a decade ago in 2012. Meanwhile, Race Director Edoardo Freitas has a radio message. "Attention to the pit lane, drive through penalty to car #98 for abusing track limits after the warning flag." Ah. Naughty, naughty. Paul Dalla Lana shall have to head for the sin bin and serve that penalty ASAP. Kimura sends it to the inside and Ried leaves the door open.
That was the gentlemanly thing to do. Will Stevens is catching Lorenzo Colombo hand over fist as Robin Frijns and Sebastien Bourdais set fastest first sector times for their respective cars. At the front, the Toyota situation is reversed because Kamui Kobayashi looked to have all the speed and now, things are turning in the direction of Sebastien Buemi in the sister #8 car. Buemi's margin though is a scant 1.3 seconds. We watch a battle for eighth in LMP2 now unfolding between Paul Loup Chatin and Esteban Guttierez. Mismatched tire pressures maybe, on one of the Toyota's. Buemi went out with low tire pressure and less pressure means the tire is less likely to overheat.
Peugeot and other teams who come to the WEC will learn that lesson. Ed Jones continues leading Robin Frijns in LMP2. You haven't missed anything. That said, Guttierez is gaining on Chatin. Nicklas Nielsen brings the #83 Oreca for AF Corse to the pit lane. This puts AF Corse off strategy after Francois Perrodo short stinted. They are not deliberately back timing the race. Four mechanics may work over the line on the car. In Formula 1, anyone can pounce on the car during the pit stop. Not in sports car endurance racing though.
A battle on in Hypercar for third spot as Andre Negrao is reeling in James Rossiter. So, Alpine closing on Peugeot. Another fastest lap of the race in LMP2 coming from Robin Frijns at 1:33 dead. 1:33.017. Double stinting tires is not working. Not in this race at Fuji so far. The left front tire gets hammered around this track and we can see that the Peugeot's handling is going away while the Alpine is sticking to the track like glue. Peugeot continue to learn. Porsche will also have to learn with the new 963. But they have more recent relevant experience with the 919 LMP1 hybrid. Peugeot, Porsche, BMW, Cadillac, all the new cars and teams coming will have to learn. Not only is that the case here in Europe in WEC. It will be the same scenario for the GTP teams in IMSA next year. Cadillac, Acura, BMW, and so on. They will all be learning as time goes by with this slew of new cars coming and the face of sports car endurance racing changing.
It is so hard to look at strategy. We have not had a dry race at Fuji for World Endurance since 2016, have not raced here since 2019 because of the global pandemic which hopefully is on its way out, and have never raced here with Hypercar sports cars until now. Rossiter says he is using all he has, and the team understands his situation. Francois Perrodo has completed his driving time at AF Corse. OK. Fine. Do you think Andre Negrao is taking all this sitting down? Not on your life. He is pushing with everything he has at this moment. The Alpine drivers are your points leaders with one race remaining on the calendar after Fuji is completed. Now then, Sebastien Buemi leads Kamui Kobayashi by a second and a half with 70 laps now on the board equaling just shy of 200 miles.
If Peugeot happen to finish ahead of Alpine, they will take valuable points away from Alpine as Toyota are whistling off into the distance. The Alpine just does not have the straight-line speed. Recall back to Monza in July when we saw the speed deficit against the Toyota. Well, it is showing itself here at Fuji Speedway just the same. It makes overtaking extremely difficult as he tries a lunge in turn six and wil; have to make the move under braking. The Peugeot just is off like a rocket. Ooh! James Rossiter nearly gets clobbered by a GTE-Am car! That is Hoshino san in the #777 D'station Aston Martin! Mama Mia! That was a close one!
Rossiter has had a great time here because he knows this circuit from racing the Japanese Super GT championship. His track knowledge gives him the confidence to go out there and perform. However, he may be exposed in traffic. But he is maximizing all the opportunities he has as Esteban Guttierez locks the brakes. He did not take tires on the last pit stop and that gamble is not working as his Michelins have without doubt cried, enough! They are being tortured to the maximum here. The uphill switchbacks are really tough here at Fuji. It is off camber and you struggle to keep the rear end of the car planted.
Up the hill and onto the straight the Alpine just does not have the speed compared to the Peugeot. 4.5 liter naturally aspirated V8 in the Alpine while the Peugeot is running the 2.6-liter V6 turbo engine. Bigger motor with more cylinders, does not matter. It seems that The Lion has more grunt than their French blue compatriot from Alpine, the legendary race car outfit that is a part of the rival French brand Renault. In LMP2, with identical equipment, Ed Jones is doing all he knows to fend off the challenge of Robin Frijns and it seems to be working like a charm at this point. Ed Jones though is hanging by a thread because Lorenzo Colombo is nowhere near these two to try and apply the blowtorch to Frijns and this LMP2 scrap is mano e mano. It is one on one. #28, despite copping a whack at the beginning of the race, is just motoring on. Amazing stuff.
No bones about it, they are less experienced and less fancied compared to the driver team in the sister #38 Jota entry. Robin Frijns has to be pulling his hair out right now, clenching his teeth wondering, why can't I make a move?! Ed Jones is bish, bash, boshing it right now. Jones used to race IndyCars to the best of my recollection. But he is doing a fine job in an LMP2 car right now. Frijns is getting closer. But look who is sneaking up behind you, mate. It's a Toyota! So, the Toyota whistles past and now the LMP2 cars have to also negotiate car #85, the Iron Dames Ferrari. It is turned on here at Fuji. Everyone is turning it on, but believe me, the switch has already been flipped and there's electric current running through this race. This isn't a snoozer.
Whoa! A couple Porsche's tangled up at the last turn. One of the GTE Pro factory cars and one of the Am class Dempsey Proton 911's are involved in this thing. Patrick Lindsey and Richard Lietz had a coming together. Now, Lietz was able to turn around and drive away. We've got a replay. Lietz was looking for a clean pass and Patrick Lindsey on a Sunday drive, he had no clue the factory car was even there. Tisk, tisk, tisk, Patrick. On the other side of the coin, Lindsey is not fully at fault. Richard Lietz probably tried diving into a place where he knew he wasn't going to make the corner.
Lietz is bound to get penalized by the stewards resulting in a second penalty for the #91 Porsche. Gianmaria Bruni was pinged for track limits earlier as we watch Patrick Lindsey getting back on his way sharing that car at Dempsey Proton with Fred Poordad and Jan Heylen. Heylen felt the pain in Free Practice for violating the track limits having to serve a five-minute stop and hold penalty! Ouch! Lietz confirms with the Porsche team that the car is fine and under first impressions has no damage. Just make sure the tires stay together. The two AF Corse Ferrari's are currently leading in GTE Pro with the Porsche's and the Corvette behind. #92 ahead of the now delayed #91 and then comes the #64 Corvette C8.R. The Toyota splits the two LMP2's and can't even think about passing Jones in the #28.
In GTE-Am, Ben Keating continues to reel in Satoshi Hoshino. Sara Bovy runs second. 72 laps now on the board in LMP2 equaling 205 miles. Jean Eric Vergne has finished his stint aboard the #93 Peugeot and may hand over to another co-driver but they might also take the car to the garage and adjust it and then send it back out. We shall see how Paul di Resta and Mikkel Jensen fare at the wheel of #93 for the rest of this race. Francesco Castellaci has now passed both Paul Dalla Lana and Sara Bovy. Trouble brewing for Toyota #8 as Peugeot #93 is now back on track. #8 is fading and is no faster than an LMP2 car at this moment.
Braking issues for the #8. Sebastien Buemi says the team ought to tell the next driver to carry the braking very long into some of the corners. So, will we see Brendon Hartley or Ryo Hirakawa in the car? Whoever it is, they will have much work to do to make sure the brakes stay compliant and consistent and have the stopping power. The front end of the car is washing away and so the handling on Toyota #8 is a major problem as we speak, ladies and gentlemen. Four fresh tires about to go on the sister #7 Toyota and there is a driver change as well. Kamui Kobayashi out, and Jose Maria Lopez in.
Into the lane from third, the #94 Peugeot. James Rossiter has put in the iron man stint. Will it be Gustavo Menezes or Loic Duval taking over? Fresh tires on the #7 Toyota. Remove the air jack, and he is down and away. New driver gets new boots because the old tires were knackered by your co-driver which will make you as the new driver in the car, feel very uncomfortable. Toyota plays the strategy accordingly and brings the #8 to the lane now. Two cars and one pit crew of course. Buemi is in and handing over to Brendon Hartley.
Peugeot back on track as well, and we have a spinner and a smoke cloud. Let's see what this mess is all about. Ferrari #71 rotates, again. That was a 360. A Swiss Roll, as they say. All of that mess happened right out of the final corner. Okie dokie. Hour two done and dusted. Stay tuned for more action still to come.
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