The latest Double Stint podcast analyzing both the Kyalami 9 Hours and the entry list for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A couple of things we have discussed in major detail on the blog already.
https://sportscar365.com/podcasts/double-stint-kyalami-9h-recap-le-mans-entry-list-analysis/
From Off in the Esses. BMW did not look good in the Rolex 24 and the race debut of their M Hybrid V8 LMDh car. I'll take you through what I think went wrong and what we can expect from them for the rest of the season!
More major topics insofar as the Hypercar class in the coming years, from Formula Jonah.
Ten reserve entries have been announced for the 24 Hours of Le Mans should any drop off the list from the initial entry list that we discussed yesterday. The reserve entries list is made up of ten cars. There are three LMP2 reserve entries, and seven in GTE-Am that will be added to the overall entry list if one or more confirmed entries drops by the wayside between now and June. Oh, by the way, all of the reserve LMP2 entries are Pro/Am rated as we have that distinction in ACO rules racing for the different levels of drivers who are eligible to compete in the division, and as far as I am aware I don't think that is a deal which exists in IMSA. The first reserve is the American LMP2 team DragonSpeed that has competed in IMSA and WEC before in years past, with Swedish driver Henrik Hedman leading the team and joined by the father and son duo of Juan Pablo Montoya and Sebastian Montoya.
Nielsen Racing have a second Oreca 07 under their team's name that is listed as a reserve. This is car #15 with British drivers Tony Wells and Matt Bell confirmed as 2/3rds of the driver lineup. I suspect a third driver shall only be added if indeed they are a call up on the reserve list to replace an existing entry. The third LMP2 reserve is the #44 Oreca for ARC Bratislava. The Slovakian team have been a full on Le Mans entry in the past and have also competed numerous times in both the Asian Le Mans Series and European Le Mans Series. This time, they are the number two reserve car.
The GTE Am class sees the bulk of the entries that are on the reserve list, if they are absolutely needed. The first of these is the #555 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GTE, and the Swiss team has actually been an overall starter at Le Mans and in WEC now for a number of years. Englishman Duncan Cameron is the lead driver and will share the car with Matt Griffin of Ireland and David Perel of South Africa. Risi Competizione, an IMSA stalwart and Le Mans competitor and class winner, have only made the reserve list this go around. The American team based in Houston, Texas, has Finland's Toni Vilander, so far, the only listed driver, in an as needed situation.
Team Project 1 has been a stalwart of GTE Am in the WEC and at Le Mans for a number of years now. This year, under team boss and candy magnate Egidio Perfetti (you will know his name if you are familiar with candies like Mentos and Chupa Chups lollipops), could only muster one car and one that has been relegated to the reserve list in case another drops out before the race happens. Very interesting to see the only driver in the car so far is former Formula 1 driver for teams like Toyota, among others, and former BMW DTM driver, Timo Glock. The German is the only confirmed driver thus far, and again, it is a reserve, so the likelihood it may get into the motor race is remote.
Danish team Formula Racing are on the reserve list with their #52 Ferrari 488 GTE. The new Ferrari 296, incidentally, has only been introduced as a GT3 car and hence will not make it's Le Mans debut until next year when the GT class is slated to go to all GT3 spec. Formula Racing have Danish brothers Johnny and Conrad Laursen as their two confirmed drivers should their reserve entry be needed. TF Sport have another Aston Martin handy in addition to their two confirmed cars in GTE Am already. John Hartshrone and Jonny Adam, who was a factory Aston Martin driver who won in class at Le Mans a number of years ago, are 2/3rds of this lineup and the final piece of the puzzle will only be confirmed if they get in.
Garage 59 from England are the penultimate reserve entry and we have been used to them running GT3 spec Aston Martin's and McLaren's for a number of years now in FIA and SRO sanctioned championships. They will be campaigning a Ferrari 488 GTE if they do get in of course, since GT3 cars are not permitted at Le Mans until the new rules take effect next year, in 2024. Sweden's Alexander West is their one and only confirmed driver at this stage of the game and again, we just do not know what the entry status will be other than they are a reserve who will fill in a spot if an existing car is withdrawn from the entry list in due time.
Our look at the reserve entrants comes to a close with a familiar team and a fan favorite in IMSA as The Heart of Racing, who have tackled a number of championships in the recent past, have an Aston Martin Vantage set up and ready in case they are needed. We have seen this charity team that raises money for pediatric patients, children in need of heart and cardiovascular care, raise a bunch of money for that charity through their racing efforts predominantly in Aston Martin GT3 machines in IMSA and SRO but have also seen them campaign a Mercedes AMG GT3 in the Dubai 24 Hours for Creventic earlier in the year. American domiciled Englishman Ian James, who owns this team, is currently their only listed driver.
Again, they are a reserve, and will be called upon to enter the race if needed, if another entry or group of entries are forced to drop by the wayside for any reason in the time from now until June. I believe there is a window of time, and the reserve entry window or withdrawal window will close I think a month or three weeks before the race weekend itself. So, there are your ten reserve entries that may or may not be needed for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and this in and of itself is another waiting game to play. A nerve-racking waiting game I must say.
This has been your analysis of the reserve entrants for the centenary running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Thanks for reading and we'll see you soon for more sports car racing action, everybody. So long until next time.
I am on a roll today, ladies and gents. I thought it appropriate for the centenary edition of Le Mans, to break down the competitors we will be seeing in the classes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this June. Let's start with the 16 entries in Hypercar. This is the largest prototype field we have seen at Le Mans in well over a decade. My gosh. Sports car racing on the world stage is back to full strength after a major number of lean years at least in World Endurance over the last five years. Now, there will be genuine competition. The first two entries, cars #2 and #3 come from Cadillac as they return to Le Mans for the first time in 21 years. Cadillac Racing, the factory team has two V Series R's in the race (the recently renamed Cadillac Hypercar). Their driver lineups include five of six drivers, with one additional name yet to be pulled out of the hat. Car #2 will feature the full-season WEC lineup for the team of Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, and Richard Westbrook.
The sister #3 entry will have Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande at the controls. We have yet to hear who the third driver for #3 will be. Car #4 is next for the new Floyd Vanwall Racing Team. Vanwall is a name from the late 1950s that raced moderately successfully in Formula 1 and this year they are back with a Hypercar entry, the Vanwall Vandervell 680, from England. 1997 Formula 1 World Champion and 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner, Jacques Villeneuve is their lead driver sharing with Frenchman Tom Dillman and Argentinian driver Esteban Guerrieri who has had recent success in both touring car and sports car racing.
Porsche returns to Le Mans in the capable hands of Penske Motorsport and "The Captain" Roger Penske, who have their full-season registered Porsche 963's entered at Le Mans. As you well know, Penske and Porsche have cars in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship as well. Their WEC cars will be shared by six top drivers, contracted by the Porsche factory at Stuttgart. American Dane Cameron spearheads the #5 Porsche alongside Michael Christensen of Denmark and Fred Makowiecki of France, two drivers who were successful in Porsche's previous GTE Pro factory effort with the 911 RSR. Likewise, their sister 963 entry will have Kevin Estre of France, Andre Lotterer of Germany (a former winner with Audi), and Belgium's Laurens Vanthoor, at the controls.
Toyota return, as now, five-time defending champions of Le Mans. They have won every race held at Circuit de la Sarthe in recent history between 2018 and 2022. Their winning trios from years past will be back to defend their multiple crowns. Car #7, the first of the two GR010 Hybrids will be captained by Brit Mike Conway with Kamui Kobayashi of Japan and Jose Maria Lopez of Argentina as co-drivers, while the defending champions in car #8 return for another crack at it. Swiss driver Sebastien Buemi will be going for his fifth Le Mans triumph which would tie him with greats such as Derek Bell, Emmanuelle Pirro, and Frank Biela.
He is already tied at four with Olivier Gendebien, Yannick Dalmas, and Henri Pescarolo. Their co-driver Brendon Hartley, the New Zealander, he has three Le Mans wins under his hat along with his competitor at Porsche, Andre Lotterer and a massive number of legends, both former and current including Kazuki Nakajima, Benoit Treluyer, Marcel Fassler, Marco Werner, Rinaldo "Dindo" Cappello, Allan McNish, Klaus Ludwig, Al Holbert, Hurley Haywood, 1961 Formula 1 World Champion Phil Hill, Luigi Chinetti, and "Bentley Boy" Woolf Barnato. Their Japanese co-driver Ryo Hirakawa scored his first Le Mans triumph last year and is looking for more.
In Hypercar, we move next to a customer Porsche team with a 963. This is Hertz Team Jota from England. Their team has been a top contender in LMP2 for years and now, they step up to Hypercar and have a capable trio, 2/3rds of which steps up to the plate from the LMP2 class. Will Stevens and Antonio Felix Da Costa, will be joined by Yifei Ye, a standout of LMP2 racing and a newly signed Porsche factory driver who has been placed in their team. Who comes next? Ferrari. Ferrari are back at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a factory backed prototype team for the first time in half a century. They finally have more on their agenda than just Formula One where they won everything there was to win during the Michael Schumacher dynasty.
Now, they are in search of their first overall Le Mans triumph in nearly six decades. The last time it happened was in 1965 with Jochen Rindt and Masten Gregory. Rindt and Gregory drove their 4-liter Group 3 prototype Ferrari to victory at the time. They have had success with semi works and privateer cars in the GT ranks, but this is the first serious factory Le Mans effort for The Prancing Horse in half a century. Ferrari have chosen half a dozen top drivers for their team. It is a mix of drivers who successfully competed with them at the GTE Pro level and now that class is defunct, so what to do they do? They step back up to the prototype arena.
Their lineup is stacked with talent that is familiar from the GTE Pro days, just the same as what we are seeing from Porsche. The #50 Ferrari 499P will see Antonio Fuoco of Italy as lead driver, sharing with Miguel Molina of Spain and Danish ace Nicklas Nielsen, while in the #51, we have the dynamic duo of Alessandro Pier Guidi of Italy and James Calado from England, joined by Italian Antonio Giovinazzi, who is part of the Ferrari family thanks to his Formula 1 endeavors years ago with Alfa Romeo. Ferrari want their tenth overall Le Mans win and will fight for it indeed. The party in the Hypercar class is not over. We still have more contenders to talk about.
Porsche and Team Penske are bringing their IMSA 963 to Le Mans as a third wheel and as more reinforcements along with the Jota machine for the Porsche brigade. Brazilian Felipe Nasr is currently the one driver listed. We have seen other Porsche drivers on that team competing in IMSA and my guess would be that these drivers will be slotted into the third Penske car somehow. But it will be a coin flip. Nasr may very well be joined by any of the following. Nick Tandy, Matt Campbell, and Matthieu Jaminet are my guesses and one of them may be demoted to a reserve driver role since Le Mans only allows three-driver teams and not four like we see at Daytona sometimes, although the routines for the top teams at the Rolex 24 have included three or four drivers in the recent past.
Peugeot will be making their return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time since 2011 and they come in having won the race, three times. They did so back-to-back with the awesome V10 powered 905 Group C car, the car that many believe killed the Group C formula in 1992 and '93. Then they took their diesel powered LMP1 challenger, the 908 HDI FAP and won the race again in 2009 beating their formidable diesel rivals at Audi who had won ten of the eleven previous Le Mans events on the trot. In 2022, they joined the WEC after Le Mans because their 9X8 Hypercar was not fully developed. This year, they are in it with a pair of fully developed factory backed machines and the standard bearer for the automotive conglomerate, Stellantis.
Their '92 and '93 wins went to the 905's with the driven trio in '92 being Yannick Dalmas who scored his first Le Mans win alongside British aces Mark Blundell and Derek Warwick. Warwick had driven for years for Jaguar. Then, in 1993, Peugeot came back and blitzed the field again, this time in another 905 shared by Geoff Brabham from Australia (part of the legendary Brabham family), and Frenchmen Eric Helary and Christophe Bouchut. Bouchut is one of few drivers to win both Le Mans and Daytona in their career. Hurley Haywood is another. Spearheading their two-car assault on Le Mans to bring glory to the homeland in France, will again be half a dozen drivers split between the two 9X8 hybrids with their turbo V6 power.
Dane Mikkel Jensen sharing with Scotsman Paul di Resta and Frenchman Jean Eric Vergne spearhead the #93 with the #94 Peugeot in the hands of Loic Duval of France, American Gustavo Menezes, and Switzerland's Nico Muller. Now we come to an entry, near and dear to my heart. My friends at Action Express Racing have been granted an at-large IMSA entry and we will run the #311 Whelen Engineering Cadillac at Le Mans! Kudos to our team, for getting a Le Mans entry, to team boss Bob Johnson and to team manager Gary Nelson! Our dynamic trio of Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims, and Jack Aitken, will be the drivers as we try our hand at Le Mans for the first time. Sure, we have three overall triumphs at the Rolex 24. We have victories at the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, and the Petit Le Mans. We have numerous IMSA championships. But this is Le Mans. It is the pinnacle. Read my earlier editorial to find out my thoughts.
Glickenhaus Racing and the eponymously named team will be back with a two-car effort with the Glickenhaus 007 LMH to try again under team boss Jim Glickenhaus. Their two-car team has four of six drivers confirmed in cars #708 and #709. Romain Dumas is lead driver in the full-season WEC car while Franck Mailleux is captain of their Le Mans only entry, car #709, with two more drivers yet to be signed up for each of the two cars. As you can see, a massive Hypercar field! The competition will be epic! Cadillac, Porsche, Toyota, Ferrari, Peugeot, Vanwall, and Glickenhaus! No Acura nor BMW this year, but the future, we'll have to wait and see.
LMP2, in spite of the massive Hypercar growth for the centenary, remains the most subscribed class at Le Mans insofar as entries. 24 LMP2 cars will be entered at Le Mans this year. All of them, bar two, will be French Oreca chassis, with two Alpine's thrown in, and every single car is using the spec 4.2 liter Gibson Technologies naturally aspirated V8 motor that is customary in the LMP2 field worldwide whether in North America, Europe, or Asia. Prema Orlen Team leads the LMP2 brigade with Ecuadorian American Juan Manuel Correa as lead driver, sharing with Filip Ugran of Romania, and Dutchman Bent Viscaal. Prema have won a ton of races and return to Le Mans again as they were also present in LMP2 in 2022. They scored two Le Mans entries and used both. The second Prema Oreca is #63 and will be shared by Mirko Bortolotti of Italy, French lady driver Doriane Pin, and former Formula 1 driver Daniil Kvyat.
Vector Sport from England and Tower Motorsport from the United States and IMSA, are next up. These teams each have confirmed a single driver so far. It will be Ryan Cullen, the Irishman as lead driver for Vector Sport and Canadian John Farano at Tower Motorsport. Nielsen Racing will enter their second Le Mans 24 Hours after several years of racing the Asian Le Mans Series, with the trio of Ben Hanley from England, American Rodrigo Sales, and Swiss driver Mathias Beche. United Autosport from England have been a formidable force in WEC and at Le Mans in LMP2 for a number of years and they are back with a two-car team with their #22 and #23 Oreca's. Portuguese driver Filipe Albuquerque teams up with England's Phil Hanson in the first car and we'll see who the third driver will be, while in #23 it is Tom Blomqvist and Oliver Jarvis sharing with young 16-year-old American standout Josh Pierson.
With Jota Sport expanding their team to Hypercar, with the Porsche, their sole LMP2 entry will have a formidable roster as well. #28 is another Oreca and shall see Danish drivers Oliver Rasmussen and David Heinemeier Hanson, teaming up with Brazilian Pietro Fittipaldi, grandson of F1 champion and Indy 500 winner, Emerson Fittipaldi. Duqueine Team are back this year in 2023 in LMP2 with Austrian Rene Binder, sharing alongside Neel Jani, from Switzerland, and Chilean Nico Pino. Jani won Le Mans in 2016 for Porsche in the 919 Hybrid LMP1 car. WRT are back and have won this race before in LMP2 as well as numerous GT3 titles. Currently, Sean Gelael from Indonesia is the only registered driver.
WRT will also be fielding a second car, #41, and the only listed driver there is Angolan Rui Andrade. Four of six drivers are confirmed in the two-car Oreca team at Inter Europol Competition, the Polish team sponsored by a Polish commercial bakery. Yum. American Charles Crews will be the lead driver in the #32 entry for this team awaiting two more co-drivers while the more familiar #34 car that has run in WEC, European Le Mans, and Asian Le Mans racing, has team leader Jakub Smiechowski from Poland teaming with Spaniard Albert Costa and Swiss ace Fabio Scherer. Alpine Elf Team step back from their paused Hypercar program into LMP2 with a two-car assault in the class.
Cars #35 and #36 are entered and have their main drivers as leaders in each. Brazilian Andre Negrao in #35 and Frenchman Matthieu Vaxiviere in #36. We await to see how their full trios of drivers will shake out. Cool Racing are up next, and they too have a double whammy LMP2 entry at Le Mans, the French outfit led by Nico Lapierre. Lapierre is set to share the #37 Oreca with Swiss driver Alexander Coigny and Dane Malthe Jakobsen. Their sister car #47 is to be driven by French domiciled drivers Reshad De Gerus and Vladislav Lomkar. Domiciled? Well, licensed anyway.
When you see a nation's flag, it either means the nationality of the driver, or more likely, his or her license and where it was obtained to go racing. Frenchman Francois Heriau is the only listed driver thus far for the #39 Oreca of Graff Racing, eligible from their Asian Le Mans Series results. We shall see who else joins that team. Ditto for the #43 DKR Engineering Oreca, another eligible car from Asian Le Mans Series competition. Coming up, yours truly does hope to cover Asian Le Mans Series action. Algarve Pro Racing, the LMP2 winners at the 2023 Rolex 24 are at Le Mans. Aussie James Allen, who brought their car to the Daytona LMP2 victory, is joined by American's Colin Braun and George Kurtz.
French outfit IDEC Sport are back at Le Mans once more and of course, are a stalwart of European Le Mans Series competition as well. This is an effort with a mix of experience and youth. Paul Loup Chatin and Paul Lafargue both from France, anchor the driving trio and in the fold too, is Germany's Lorents Horr who has done well in LMP2 and LMP3 alike. Proven European Le Mans Series contenders round out the LMP2 field with Panis Racing, AF Corse, and Racing Team Turkey. AF Corse has an LMP2 entry along with overseeing the Ferrari Hypercar effort. Formula 1 veteran and 1996 Monaco Grand Prix winner for Ligier Olivier Panis is team boss and the driver lineup includes Dutchmen Tijmen van der Helm and Joh van Uitert, and Manuel Maldonado from Venezuela. For the AF Corse LMP2 effort, Francois Perrodo of France is lead driver with countryman Norman Nato and Ben Barnicoat from England who has been a GT racing stalwart for years at brands such as McLaren and Lexus.
Racing Team Turkey who have, been omnipresent in European and Asian Le Mans Series as well as at the 24 Hours, round out the LMP2 armada with native son Salih Yoluc as their top driver and they are in the process of securing the services of two more drivers for their Le Mans effort. We move next, to the revamped LM GTE division with now only an Am driver component to the entry and the whole class. Because of the influx and advent of Hypercar and all the manufacturer involvement, the privateer based LM GTE Am class is a holdover for one more season before we project and anticipate the arrival of the GT3 cars in manufacturer supported but privateer hands from 2024 onwards.
Proton Competition sees a number change to #16 with their Porsche 911 RSR-19 with IMSA drivers Ryan Hardwick from the United States and Zacharie Robichon, the Canadian star, coming over to spearhead their effort. I wonder who driver three in that car will be. They are the only GT class team registered at Le Mans from the ranks of the IMSA WeatherTech Championship. AF Corse have two cars lined up, two Ferrari 488 GTE's. #21 will feature Stefano Constantini of Italy, Ulysse de Pauw of Belgium, (a standout GT3 racer), and Simon Mann from England. The sister AF Corse GTE Ferrari is #54, a long serving WEC entry for Thomas Flohr of Switzerland and Francesco Castellaci of Italy, with another Italian veteran, Davide Rigon serving as driver three. There is a third AF Corse 488 Ferrari in the form of car #83 for Richard Mille AF Corse, sponsored by the French watchmaker. Mille himself is a commissioner for the WEC.
#83 is to be driven by Lilou Wadoux of France, the French lady racer who has been gaining lots of experience in LMP2 but also is doing the same in GT machinery. Wadoux will team up with Argentinian Luis Perez Companc and with Italian Alessio Rovera who has run for the team in their LMP2 car as well, especially in European Le Mans Series competition in the very recent past. The AF Corse armada are formidable between the factory Ferrari Hypercars and their GTE efforts.
Coming next in GTE Am we have the first of a number of Aston Martin Vantage based entries, the #25 of Oman Racing, which features team principal and lead driver Ahmad Al Harthy who has myriad experience aboard Aston Martin's in endurance events trimmed in GTE and GT3 spec alike. Who will join Al Harthy at the wheel of this race car? We'll find out in due course as he is currently it's only listed driver. Corvette Racing are back at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but the script is totally flipped now. For years they ran as Pro entries and won tons of races here at Le Mans. Now, in the Am class, they have kept their familiar yellow livery but the C8.R is in the hands of American car dealer Ben Keating who has raced multiple events in WEC and IMSA over the years including here at Le Mans.
Keating is joined on the team by Dutchman Nicky Catsburg, a Corvette factory driver, and a new recruit to the team to fill the Am driver slot is Argetinian Nicolas Varrone. The all-Danish team GMB Motorsport are here for their first Le Mans start courtesy of their successes you have read about a lot so far in our coverage of the Le Mans Cup. Stepping up from GT3 they are set to campaign a GTE spec Aston Martin Vantage with the Danish trio of Gustav Birch, Kasper Jensen, and Jens Reno Moller. Project 1 and AO Racing have merged their operations for Le Mans this year.
We saw AO compete at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and undoubtedly, they will also run future IMSA races. This is the team of American drivers P.J. Hyett and Gunnar Jeanette (a Le Mans veteran), and Italian Matteo Cairoli who is a longtime Porsche campaigner at Le Mans and in the World Endurance Championship. Kessel Racing have a two-car lineup in GTE Am with Ferrari for 2023. The first is the traditional #57 entry that we have seen at Le Mans and in WEC for years. Japan's Takeshi Kimura is slated to team up in the car with American Scott Huffaker and Brazilian Daniel Serra. The team's second car is to run #74 and so far, Italian David Fumanelli is the only confirmed driver.
Another two-car effort from Iron Lynx for Ferrari, including Iron Lynx and Iron Dames. The #60 Iron Lynx car has Italian Claudio Schiavoni tabbed as lead driver and we shall see who else joins. Iron Dames will see the usual trio of Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting, and Rahel Frey. The British JMW team are once again entering a 488 GTE Ferrari. As of now, Frenchman Thomas Neubauer is the only confirmed driver for the entry. Who else will join? We'll find out as time goes on and we get closer to the race in June. TF Sport Aston Martin, led by team boss Tom Ferrier, once again has a single Aston Martin Vantage entry.
TF Sport will carry #72 on the car for an all-French trio including Valentin Haase-Clot, as well as Arnold and Maxime Robin. Proton Competition have a three-car Porsche team in the GTE Am class including the entry they run with actor and team boss as well as former driver, Patrick Dempsey, he himself a Le Mans class winner in 2019. Christian Ried, the Le Mans veteran is the only confirmed driver aboard the #77 Porsche 911 RSR-19 at this stage and we shall see who joins him. Gianmaria Bruni, the Italian former factory Porsche GT driver, he is in the second car and like Ried, will have two more co-drivers. We'll see about that announcement.
Irish actor and racing driver, Michael Fassbender is the lead driver in the third Proton Competition entry, car #911 in reference to the Porsche 911 model. As he does in the European Le Mans Series, he shall team with Austrian Porsche GT ace, Richard Lietz, and we shall find out who their third driver will be in due time. Aston Martin will be further represented in GTE Am competition by the teams from Northwest AMR, and D'station Racing. Canadian Paul Dalla Lana is a constant in the FIA WEC and at Le Mans and we shall see who he will be partnered by for the race in due time as they are also a season-long entrant. Britain's GR Racing have campaigned their Porsche 911 RSR-19 over a number of seasons in WEC.
England's Mike Wainwright so far is the only registered driver in the car, and we shall see if other drivers he has shared with in recent years will also be a part of the team. D'station Racing have been a constant campaigner in WEC and at Le Mans for many years now and will do so once more with an Aston Martin Vantage, one of many in the field. The Japanese team once again entrusting the services of British driver Charlie Fagg who has an Aston Martin connection along with Japanese amateur drivers Tomonobu Fujii and Satoshi Hoshino.
The final confirmed entrant this year is a fascinating automobile that we have already talked about. Car #24. This is the experimental Garage 56 NASCAR Next Generation, Generation Seven Cup Series Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 that we have seen numerous testing videos and an overall presentation for already with it's massive 5.8-liter V8 engine rivaling such prototypes as the Cadillac's for sheer grunt and thunder down the Mulsanne straight. Highlighted have been the attributes to turn the NASCAR Next Gen Cup car into an endurance racer. Hendrick Motorsports will campaign the car with their all-star trio of Jenson Button (former Formula 1 champion and 15-time Grand Prix winner), seven-time NASCAR Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson, and Mike Rockenfeller, a driver who has won Le Mans and Daytona alike.
There you have it! The highlighted entry list with every major player for the 24 Hours of Le Mans! We shall get to a list of reserve cars in due time, cars that will slot in should any of the main competitors on the initial list have to withdraw. We hope that does not happen, but in many cases at Le Mans, there can be instances of places shifting around, and we'll keep you fully informed of what happens in the months leading up to the centenary race come June. Thanks for joining us. So long, and au revoir, for now, everybody. Take care.
News including British GT champion's team switch, Le Mans Cup entries and more...
https://sportscar365.com/features/roundup/weekly-racing-roundup-2-27-23/
Continuing to study and have a good look over WeatherTech Championship headlines in the interim before the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Wow. I wake up this morning to some incredible news! Now, I know what you are thinking. Where on earth are the promised race reports from European Le Mans 2022 and Asian Le Mans 2023? Well, folks, have patience. Those are coming. But there is bigger news to talk about. Those races which I will bring to you are part of how we got to where we are now. The official entry list of the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been released, and here is the biggest news! My friends at Action Express Racing, are on the list! We are going to Le Mans! Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen! This is amazing! Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims, and Jack Aitken, our dynamic trio, will spearhead the effort for us racing at Le Mans! There are many, many other intriguing entries for the centenary edition of the French endurance classic.
We shall carry a triple digit number in France. Since there is already a car registered for the full World Endurance Championship with the #31 on it, the WRT Oreca in LMP2 competition, Action Express will return to a long-held tradition in the early days of sports car racing and we shall carry a three-digit number on the predominantly red Whelen Engineering Cadillac. We shall run #311 on the car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and be a part of a grid of Le Mans Hypercars and Le Mans Daytona Hypercars, which shows the convergence of the two forms of prototype racing coming to fruition. Our main competition will come from two Ganassi Racing factory Cadillac's along with two Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963's, the multiple winning Toyota GR010 Hypercar's, from Toyota Gazoo Racing, the factory AF Corse run Ferrari 499P Hypercar's, an additional Porsche 963 from Jota Sport from England, two Peugeot 9X8 hybrids, and two Glickenhaus 007 LMH Hybrids.
To these competitors, we say, bring it! We will showcase American ingenuity with an American race car and an American sponsor in our partners at Whelen Engineering. Winning is what we want to do even though we face extremely stiff competition. This is Le Mans. This is the citadel of endurance sports car racing. The citadel, the Everest, the Grand Prix of endurance. We are up to and accept this challenge. We Expect to Win. But, truly, it is Circuit de la Sarthe, the great ribbon of asphalt we shall compete on in the French countryside that shall choose the best car and best team to win. Le Mans, she is an elegant and yet formidable grand lady. She shall choose, the circuit shall, who she wants to see win the race. But that does not mean we shall just accept being an additional team in the 17 strong field of Hypercars.
We are going to go out there, and give Toyota, Glickenhaus, Porsche, Peugeot, our fellow Cadillac's, and the factory Ferrari's, a run for everything they have. We have the best drivers and the best team, for sure. When you see a bright red Cadillac in your mirrors on the fabled Mulsanne straight at Le Mans, to our competition, we will race you. We will race you, fairly, cleanly, but, we still will be right there to prove that we belong in the greatest endurance sports car race on the face of the planet. Bon chance, Action Express. Pipo, Alexander, Jack, good luck, and Godspeed in racing the big one. This is going to be mega! Bring on the month of June! I can't wait!
Everybody, Christmas has come early! The entry list for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the centenary edition, has been released! It is in two parts. There is the initial entry list as well as the reserve entry list if any cars should somehow fall off the main list, which we'd hope would not happen. The reserve entries will be ready to go just in case. But, without further ado, drum roll please.... here's the list.
24 Hours of Le Mans entry list.
Manufacturers building LMH & LMDh are confirming teams to run their hypercars, collaborations have broke out between companies, such as Porsche and Penske, Cadillac and Chip Ganassi, and Acura and Meyer Shank Racing. Find out which teams are running what entries in the WEC and IMSA for the 2023 season and beyond. #hypercar #imsa #wec #lemanshypercar #lmdh
The race broadcast of the Kyalami 9 Hours on SRO GTWorld. David Addison and John Watson provide play-by-play and color analysis in the broadcast booth while Amanda Busick follows and reports on all the action, trackside, from the pit lane.
All of the post-race news and headlines after a thrilling Kyalami 9 Hours at the Kyalami Motor Racing Circuit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Car #32 has indeed been the class of the field at WRT BMW for the M4 GT3 team. Augusto Farfus has been with BMW for many years, Philipp Eng, and Maxime Martin, a legend. His dad too, was a multiple Spa 24 Hour race winner with Ford Capri's driving in the touring car era with Gordon Spice. What legends! In 1982, Jacky Ickx and Jochen Mass won the Kyalami 9 Hours in a Porsche 956. The current Kyalami configuration could see a record. It was a different circuit, different pit rules, and Group C prototypes. We could see a record distance. No rain, and so far, no yellows whatsoever. Our regular Race Director Alain Adam is not here this weekend. He wouldn't have had a lot to do. Everyone has behaved themselves well.
Dennis Marschall in fourth spot in the #99 Audi. A clean run will see eight pit stops through nine hours. If you have to refuel, factor that into your drive time reset. Jules Gounon is fifth in the #75 Mercedes. #999 back in the garage. Put it to bed. Well, maybe not. They'll do a quick recon lap and maybe run it to the end. Mikael Grenier will bring it back out. Scrubbed tires being put onto the car which is a wise decision. Sticker tires when you are not in winning contention, is useless. Luca Stolz can drive one of these Mercedes cars and no disrespect to Reece Barr or to Miguel Ramos. #999 was in the pit box for an hour and 25 minutes. GruppeM did the same thing for the Gulf 12 Hours having to retire but not until after working their tails off on the car.
Arnold Neveling will bring the #86 Stradale Racing Mercedes home. Grenier on his first flying lap out of the garage. Did the team remedy the problem? Bring it in maybe for new boots and see if that works. Sticker tires. Patric Niederhauser and Dennis Marschall are a lap apart but racing each other between Barbeque and Sunset. BMW have not won an IGTC race since 2020 when Walkenhorst Racing. WRT have not won an IGTC race as a team in nearly four years, since 2019. That was at the Suzuka 10 Hours back in the Audi days.
In GT3 racing, it will be horses for courses. We won't really see one brand dominate across the board in sprint, endurance, or other championships that feature GT3 such as GT Masters, DTM, IMSA and so on. Mikael Grenier and company will just race to the finish. #999 will finish ninth and if they have a Spirit of the Race award in IGTC they'd get it. John Watson and Jochen Mass ran a BMW M1 here at Kyalami in 1979 run by former McLaren Formula 1 boss Ron Dennis. So, Sheldon van der Linde is being harried by Maxime Martin. 284 laps completed, 798 miles.
SRO boss Stephane Ratel says that Kyalami being the only international circuit in Africa, is very important and of course, the Kyalami 9 Hours is a historic event. GT World Challenge Europe both Sprint and Endurance are oversubscribed and the same is true in Asia and GT3 will become part of the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year. The Kyalami 9 Hours will continue indeed. It is always fun to watch races here at Kyalami and writing about it. This and Bathurst are the only other major tracks in the southern hemisphere. I mean, heck, we can't race in Antarctica! Sheesh!
Manufacturers build cars but teams run them. They bring in bucketloads of money but when they bail, it's toasted. In 1958, at Grand Central circuit was the first Kyalami 9 Hours and then it moved to Kyalami in 1961. The last 9-hour race on the original circuit was in 1982 and they ran 1,000-kilometer races in Group C in 1983, '84, and '85. We saw a bunch of support races BMW's and Volkswagen's and the V8 stock cars, and Formula Ford's. I might have to post the support races as a bonus. It is late summer, early autumn in the southern hemisphere right now and no one is freezing their tails off like in the northern hemisphere.
We haven't seen any more lightning. The final round of pit stops should be coming up. It is unlikely we see a safety car, but you just never can tell. van der Linde, Martin, Niederhauser, Marschall, the top four. Luca Stolz has done a personal best lap as well. 32 minutes to go. We started this race at 1PM and we have the remaining ten cars running in the race after the other three ran just the opening hour for a sprint series. Arnold Neveling spins the #86! In the gravel he is. Neveling up? Leveling up? He has to start the engine. We are going to go yellow! Unreal! Eight and a half hours of green flag!
Neveling spun off down the hill down through the Mine Shaft! A splash and dash for Luca Stolz. Local yellow only. Full Course Yellow! You're kidding! We have the snatch vehicle to drag the car out and it'll have a shedload of gravel under the darn thing too. Audi's do their final stops as does Earl Bamber in the Porsche. WRT in the lane for #32 and we are likely to go safety car! 95% of the race done and then we get a Full Course Yellow in the final half hour! Insane! WRT BMW using every possible advantage. Has the safety car been dispatched onto the circuit? That is what we need to find out.
If I were the Race Director, I would put the safety car out instead of having drivers ask me why I didn't do it. Better safe than sorry, chaps. Honestly. Less than 23 minutes to go. Arnold Neveling is back in the motor race now. Safety car in this lap. Martin is gaining and Patric Niederhauser is third, but he will have to dig deep. Will Niederhauser have a bucketload of talent in the locker? We'll have to find out. Cinch down those belts and hold on tight! This final 20 minutes will be a barnburner ladies and gents. Niederhauser must stick to Sheldon van der Linde and Maxime Martin like glue. Safety cars breed safety cars.
Green flag. Niederhauser punches it towards Crowthorne. Niederhauser on ratty old tires. The BMW's tires are fresher. In the BMW camp, it will be #32 vs. #33. Martin crawling all over van der Linde. WRT though might want to see them come home in flying formation. Neveling runs wide at Barbeque. He's stressed out. He's seen enough of this madness. van der Linde leads Martin. Luca Stolz chasing Earl Bamber for Pro-Am honors. #32 leads by 4/10ths of a second. Martin applying the pressure but is he close enough? I don't think he has the outright pace.
Luca Stolz has Alex Aka as the cork in the bottle. 297 laps completed with 15 minutes on the clock. Into Leeukop again. Vincent Vosse just gave a blank stare about the WRT battle. Everyone standing up and on edge. Vincent Vosse staring at the data. Bavarian Motorwerks dominating this motor race. You cannot relax though. You have to stand on it. van der Linde 7/10ths ahead of Martin. Sheldon van der Linde controlling his own destiny.
GruppeM have not fixed their problems. Game over. Sheldon van der Linde now leads the motor race and has cemented a possible victory. Three cars of the ten on the lead lap. Bamber driving away from Luca Stolz for second in Pro-Am. #4 have had punctures and penalties all day long but have recovered and on balance they ought to be satisfied with second place in Pro-Am. Ten minutes to go. Attempto Audi have been running well but it is probably too little too late for them through Leeukop again. Have we been overegging the pudding here? I am not sure.
I can't remember an endurance race like this with one safety car in a long time. Nine minutes to go. 300 laps completed. 843 miles. van der Linde eking out more of a lead. This is money time now. For all the marbles. WRT won in Dubai for the 24-Hour Series. I believe I covered that race in video form. Go check it out. Jules Gounon, Yannick Metler, and Kenny Habul, if they hold it together, are going to win the Pro-Am category. 302 laps now completed. Just over six minutes to go, down through the Mineshaft. SunEnergy1 should follow up their overall win at Bathurst with a class win at Kyalami.
Through Barbeque Bend again. Charles Weerts and Dries Vanthoor are happy and so is Charles' dad Yves Weerts, reserving his celebration for the time being. A couple, or three laps to go. Sheldon van der Linde and BMW should get their second win in three years at Kyalami. In 2020 they won with the M6 GT3. The 4-liter V8 turbo car. 304 laps completed. BMW have been ahead at the end of each hour of the race. 1.8 seconds between Sheldon van der Linde and Maxime Martin. Patric Niederhauser has found his second wind but I don't think it will be enough. He is not giving up, driving his tail off.
Maintain the pace and just go forward. Final minute and a half of the 2023 Joburg Kyalami 9 Hours. One more lap to run. Down through Mineshaft into the Crocodiles. One lap to go for Sheldon van der Linde and company. Patric Niederhauser eats another 9/10ths out of the gap but won't be close enough. Arnold Neveling still in trouble. He has to be extremely careful. An unenviable position. Jules Gounon and Kenny Habul will lead the points out of South Africa. Your winners, out of Leeukop for the last time, a 1-2 finish for WRT BMW! Your winners of the Kyalami 9 Hours, Dries Vanthoor, Charles Weerts, and Sheldon van der Linde!
The South African wins his home race! A BMW 1-2 as the #33 car comes home second, Phillip Eng, Augusto Farfus, and Maxime Martin! Pro-Am honors go to the #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes AMG GT3. Overall winners at Bathurst and Pro-Am honors at Kyalami for Kenny Habul along with co-drivers Yannick Mettler and Jules Gounon!
Overall/Pro: #32 Vanthoor/Weerts/van der Linde Team WRT BMW M4 GT3
Pro Am: #75 Habul/Mettler/Gounon SunEnergy1 by SPS Mercedes AMG GT3
Not a fly or a scratch on the #32 car. Sheldon van der Linde winning at home in front of his family and friends! Two wins in three races for WRT BMW! What a motor race! We've enjoyed bringing it to you. The next event will be, for the IGTC, the 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium the first weekend in July. But GT World Challenge Europe and GT World Challenge America are also coming up and we cannot wait to bring those races to you as well. It should be fun covering SRO GT3 racing in 2023! Folks, we'll see you soon for more GT3 racing.
For now, so long, from the Kyalami Grand Prix circuit in Johannesburg, South Africa. This motor race, the 9 Hours, delivers once again. We thank you for your company and have more sports car racing to talk about in the very near future. Get some rest everybody. I know I will need a wee bit of it after being up at 3:00 A.M. in the wee small hours to get ready for this great race. 306 laps, 860 miles in total. Thanks for your company here in South Africa. See you all at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium this summer for the 24 Hours of Spa. Take care.
We are into the final two hours of the motor race. Beginning hour eight, and now, Markus Winkelhock is pinged with a track limits warning. You can take the man (or woman) out of the racing car, but you can't take the racing car out of the driver. I wonder about a splash and a dash before the end. We'd probably still have two more stops on the table. Eng still trails Vanthoor. We have just not tracked pit strategy. It has been a pig's breakfast. Roughly we have seen fuel stints lasting 37 laps. Vanthoor leads Eng. They are still 1-2 for the two WRT BMW's. Markus Winkelhock, fourth, the 2017 IGTC champion and from a prolific motor racing family. Track limits warning for the #66 Attempto Audi while the sister car has lost gobs of time in the last couple of hours in the darkness.
So, Ricardo Feller cops another track limits warning. He is dropping behind the BMW's. We could very well see a BMW 1-2. The pit stop plan, it will be full stops and driver changes for WRT BMW. Maxime Martin will finish the #33 and Sheldon van der Linde for #32. Two more stops to go for the BMW boys. In Pro-Am, Yannick Mettler is two laps up on Reece Barr. Reece Barr, second in class, only two laps down. He is running very well indeed. Luca Stolz has given car #20 momentum as well. The battle in Pro-Am is Reece Barr vs. Brenton Grove. An hour and 51 minutes left on the board.
Would you have stints for Stephen Grove and Miguel Ramos? Stolz and Bamber, the gun drivers, have already been in the cars. Stephen Grove is quicker than his dad. For the final stint, Earl Bamber and Luca Stolz should slug it out in the darkness. The lightning, we are told, is two hours away. We could indeed go without the bad weather for the first time at Kyalami in years. Jules Gounon is trying to cool down and he cannot decide to stay in his race suit or change into his civvies. We might have the answer for why the Mercedes was fading, the #999, and I think it had to be the gearbox. It had less to do with driver pace or the weight issue on Balance of Performance.
Gear cluster woes would be cumulative. Brenton Grove catching Reece Barr. The #86 Mercedes is now eighth overall, the #86 Stradale Motorsport Mercedes of Charl Aranges, Arnold Neveling, and Clint Weston. Quickly fixed skid block trouble on the #86. The air jack did not depress when the hose came out. You typically hear, whoosh, ke-thunk. That is how you tell the air jack is working. Brenton Grove is running well, too. The margin is closing up between Brenton Grove and Reece Barr. The gap is 4.4 seconds between them. The Mineshaft corner here at Kyalami lives up to it's name. It is as black as coal.
Brenton Grove reeling in Reece Barr, and he is being told, "we need more pace, sunshine." Game over for the #80 Audi which is 84 laps down. Mo Mia, Kwanda Mokoena, and Marius Jackson are out. Pit stop and track limits infringements for the #66 Attempto Racing Audi. Engine not switched off, or too many crew members working on the car at once, being examined by the stewards. Penalty for car #66. Team manager to see the stewards immediately. Damocles' sword doth strike again, look. The sixth -place battle continues and as Brenton Grove closes on the Mercedes, it is taking him longer to gain back time.
The margin is two and a half secnds between Reece Barr and Brenton Grove. Attempto are readying for a pit stop. Brenton Grove and Reece Barr sweeping through Clubhouse and the esses, up to Leeukop to the plateau. The gap is shrinking but the time gains are getting slower and slower. If I were at EBM, I would bring the car to the lane for track position and stick Earl Bamber behing the wheel. SPS Automotive Performance are running their own car as well as the SunEnergy1 car. The #99 Attempto Audi is under investigation and not #66. Dennis Marschall taking over from Markus Winkelhock. But Alex Aka will finish the motor race, wearing his sunnies in the darkness. Hardy har har.
Track limit warnings for Brenton Grove. Be careful, mate. Grove catching Barr and be wary of Damocletian track limit warnings. Brenton Grove is about to give Recce Barr the stick here. Barr locks up into Crowthorne's as Dennis Marschall is serving a drive through penalty but could be having other troubles as well. The Audi has just gone back out, (#80), back on track after two and a half hours in the pit lane working on the hydraulics, the brake master cylinder. Reece Barr could get trapped behind the #86 Mercedes. Now, I wonder how much more patience Brenton Grove has through Barbecue Bend. WRT are coming to the lane and now, Brenton Grove is crawling all over Reece Barr through the esses, Leeukop, and the Mineshaft.
#86 under investigation and Dries Vanthoor is in the lane along with Philipp Eng. Sheldon van der Linde and Maxime Martin will do a stint and a wee bit to the end of the motor race, I think. Tires and fuel. Reece Barr is still being harried by Brenton Grove. Grove passes Barr for position. Porsche going ahead of Mercedes. Mettler leads Grove by two laps in Pro-Am. Grove ahead of Barr. Grove read the traffic into Barbeque, Reece Barr was wrongfooted, and needed no second invitation. Stephen Grove is a happy bloke.
Sheldon van der Linde is running really well and we can see the joie de vivre in South Africa for this race at Kyalami. It is like a club racing atmosphere but is an international motor race. 263 laps complete. 739 miles. The #999 Mercedes AMG GT3 is still being worked on according to Raffaele Marciello. Marciello won this race last year and it is nice to come back to Kyalami for him, as it is fun to drive. Marciello won here last year and at the 24 Hours of Spa. Sheldon van der Linde continue to lead the motor race with an hour and 15 minutes to go.
Sheldon van der Linde's brother Kelvin van der Linde was supposed to race in Formula E, but his team, the Mahindra team in Cape Town, South Africa, had to withdraw. The #20 Mercedes in the lane and Reece Barr will give the car over to Luca Stolz. Sheldon van der Linde won this race in 2020 for Walkenhorst Motorsport in the BMW M6 GT3. They are now in a BMW M4 GT3 but in DTM. I think they are actually in a GT4 car in DTM Trophy. Porsche in the lane but back out now breaking the beam. Earl Bamber gets back on track just ahead of Luca Stolz, I think.
The Mercedes stopped quicker but the Porsche is well ahead through Crowthorne and Barbeque. Jules Gounon will take over the #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes for the final hour. We welcome Dries Vanthoor to the booth. He and his co-drivers have worked on race pace all weekend. That is why their qualifying effort was not what they wanted, but the car is running extremely well. The team made small updates on the car and the Balance of Performance has helped the BMW here where they had issues at Bathurst last time out.
The twin turbo straight six BMW is so different from the Audi naturally aspirated V10. The engine is in the front, and it means being gentle on corner entry and rotating through the corner on the brakes and the traction is worse than a rear engine car. The #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes is in with 65 minutes to go. Jules Gounon into the car. Habul says "I am as nervous as a butcher's thumb right now." The BMW battle has been great and there were small tweaks on both cars. The two cars are very similar indeed insofar as lap times.
Yannick Mettler will have to a drive through penalty I believe, in the #75. We have no clue what will happen in the final hour which is coming up soon. Do the stop at your earliest opportunity. #999 remains in the pit lane as we have just over an hour of racing left. It has been great to have the drivers in the broadcast booth to give us their insights. That's great to hear. Maxime Martin is dropping away in the #33 WRT BMW from the sister car, the #32.
The BMW is very good on tire wear which is a surprising situation. WRT have done very well preparing this car. Adapting your eyes in this fading light helps with the pitch darkness at night. Glad to see it is not raining and we are getting a green flag race and have had zero safety cars. #32 has a strong pace and there could very well be a BMW 1-2 here with #32 and #33. We'll have to see what is going to happen. The driver is going to decide the pace and the brake temperatures and the brakes themselves had to be managed in the heat of the day and that slows your lap time. Hello to Mo Mia. They had brake issues and had to rebuild the master cylinder. Marius Jackson is in his stint now. Kyalami is the greatest track in South Africa. They want to get back on the road in their home race.
Audi driver in Porsche uniform? Say what? Mo! You're kidding, mate! Charles Weerts taking Clubhouse in second gear and Dries Vanthoor in third gear. Philipp Eng chasing followed by Mattia Drudi. Just under three hours to go, in the pitch darkness here at Kyalami. The #999 Mercedes wants the torture to stop. It is like a Frank Zappa song "The Torture Never Stops". The team is under the assumption that they can get to the 70% mark with Mikael Grenier at the controls. If it is game over, it will be a major relief for GruppeM. If you were with us for the Gulf 12 Hours in December, both GruppeM cars retired early doors. In IGTC, the cars float between a track and a shipping container and they never go back to the workshop.
You have to ship components, remove the race components and fit rebuilt parts to the cars. The core of the car, the chassis, is the same unless it has been damaged or needs to go back into a jig. From Formula 1 onwards, the cars are changed with parts for flyaway races like this. Get ready for headlight spotting. It is pitch dark. I told you so. I told you. Trust me. Vanthoor now leads Eng by 11 seconds or so. Maro Engel loses yet another lap, taking the pain, and it hurts, bad. They have had radio issues as well and not just the mechanical woes we have documented oh so much in the recent past.
The laps are yoyoing. Mattia Drudi in third, dropping away, half a second down on Philipp Eng. Maybe this is adjusting to the darkness. It is pitch dark at 7:15 P.M. at night, or 7:20 at night. We'll go to the park where it's dark. Mattia Drudi comes over the control line and loses another chunk of time. The pattern of the race is being cemented. It sounds like the BMW gap is still in place, tooing and froing. But this is BMW's race so far. #86 back in the lane, again.
We have finally had a lull in this race. Trouble in paradise for Stradale. This is a time where if someone needs a Full Course Yellow, then, by gum, they could have it. We'll have to see what happens. In the support races there were substantial incidents for the little touring cars, the Volkswagen amateur leagues and the stock cars, the Trans Am style tube frame American muscle cars. Ford Mustang's, Chevrolet Camaro's, Dodge Challenger's and so forth. Jules Gounon is in no man's land at the present time.
Dries Vanthoor is clear as a bell at the top of the shop. Vanthoor leads by 9.6 seconds over Philipp Eng. Maro Engel continues to circulate. The track limits issue is a massive discussion right now and the scoop is that there has been a compromise between the car racers and the motorcycle racers and the cars racers and the motorcycle racers have trouble agreeing with each other. A lot of bike racers run over these curbs, fall down, hurt themselves and are severely injured. Gravel traps interrupt the races with safety cars. Where do you draw the line on track limits? It is a bear of an issue. The limits need to be clearly defined.
A few generations of drivers have had no self-discipline of trying to drive within track limits. Anyone can abuse them and there is no sense in having pride about it. Maro Engel is still pushing. 218 laps completed now by the leader. 612 and a half miles. The old circuit is great. But we just don't see as much video or pictures. In 1982, Formula 1 drivers went on strike here at Kyalami. #999 about to pit. It was abuse of negotiating rights for drivers vs. the sanctioning body. The drivers went on strike and were in a big room at a hotel, bunked in.
It was resolved and the race took place at Kyalami, but that South African Grand Prix was a less than memorable weekend. Trouble again for EBM on pit infringements with the team manager summoned to the steward's office. Mikael Grenier is ready to take over from Maro Engel in the #999 Mercedes. We reckon we have run 71% of this race with two and a half hours to go. Pit stop time imminent for Mercedes. Vanthoor leads the motor race by ten seconds as Maro Engel heads to the lane. They will do a driver change and take a wait and see approach.
Refueling, changing tires, air jack inserted. Mikael Grenier into the car, in a leisurely drive to try and get the car to 70% of laps completed by the winner. The car is down off the air jacks now. There has to be an assessment of their gearbox trouble. Raffaele Marciello is the defending champion here at Kyalami and he also won the 24 Hours of Spa last year, looking for two in a row when we make it to Spa in the last weekend in June spilling over into July. Both WRT BMW's in the lane for new tires and they are down and off the air jacks.
Cold tires and very little traction on the concrete. Luca Stolz stays at the wheel of the #20 Mercedes but just doing a stint reset for a double stint. The gap is irrelevant for now. Again, in other championships, double stinting is required. Extra weight and sparks for Mikael Grenier. Nothing really to worry about. But there will be drama in the darkness as we are at the back portion, the final third of this motor race. 9.1 seconds the gap between the top two. 224 laps completed. 629 miles. A drive through penalty for a pit infringement for the #4 Earl Bamber Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R, the Pro-Am class leader being harried by the SunEnergy1 Mercedes.
Marshals down in the pit box negotiating with GruppeM it appears. Earl Bamber and Grove Racing third in Pro-Am. #999 might have Maro Engel now at the controls. Even if you've had a bear of a race, keep going as you could benefit from another team's troubles. Porsche #4 serves the drive through penalty. If you park the car you will drop like a stone. Launching out of the lane, with a sequential gearbox, you might put the car in neutral. You have to go through the box to get there. It sounds like the Porsche might be having gearbox woes.
Yannick Mettler, leading Pro-Am, the Swiss driver, in the #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes. Yannick Mettler is 17 and a half second up on Luca Stolz. Earl Bamber is next up followed by the South African drivers down the order, Charles Aranges and Marius Jackson. I think it is game over for Jackson and company, sadly. The #86 Stradale Mercedes is still in the fight. With GruppeM, the scoop is that they cannot get into 1st gear, 2nd gear, or sixth gear. So they only have 3rd, 4th, and 5th. You don't need 1st or 2nd except out of the pit lane. Don't start in 3rd gear because the clutch will strain. The first couple turns would be sixth gear through Crowthornes, but Barbeque and Mineshaft are fifth gear corners.
#999 in the garage, having run 75% of the distance. Do you work on it and get it back out or do you throw in the towel? Will they have to replace the gearbox? That would not be worth it. It looks like they are going to troubleshoot the gearbox. I think it is game over. Mikael Grenier and Raffaele Marciello are in their civvies now. #20 in the pit lane. Luca Stolz in the car for regular service. There's not a lot of space to fix the transmission and so forth on a GT3 car. It looks like it could be game over but maybe we shall hear from the team and find out.
233 laps completed, with just over two hours remaining. 655 miles. We are nearing the conclusion of the seventh hour of the motor race. Mick Grenier and company have a never give up attitude. He says they were just using third and fourth gear which is really awkward. They are going to test the car, but I don't think they will be back on track. Maybe just park the car for the night, throwing in the towel. It depends how long it will take to fix the car. Never give up. Spa is next, the 24 Hours of Spa, with the biggest field of the season. That ought to be 60+ GT3 cars. Brenton Grove is now up to seventh in Porsche #4 as it is game over for the #999.
#4 makes a pass. Now, there's lightning in the area. I said we'd have a dry race. You may have to call me a liar and throw pies at me, whipped cream pies. In Johannesburg, you can have a 30-minute downpour in the blink of an eye. One flash of lightning, not so bad, but if it really starts tipping down with rain, things are going to go bonkers. Feller and Winkelhock are losing time and the #999 team are going to remove the gearbox from the car, the transaxle. The Mercedes is now on jack stands and they do need to use the air jacks to raise it higher up.
They are up and there is a floor jack underneath it as well, look. The Mann Filter Mercedes is being worked on by the mechanics to get the transaxle fixed. Charle Aranges and company will be the next car to overhaul the #999 if they stay in the garage being repaired which they will be for a wee while. This is a smaller grid than we'd have liked to see, but we have had time to look at individual drivers. Driver of the race? Anyone? It is easy to talk about the BMW boys. Markus Winkelhock and Alex Aka have brought a lot to the table and the same is true with Maro Engel. Show team spirit and a willingness to dig deep and overcome adversity.
Markus Winkelhock is a good choice. Ricardo Feller, all the BMW drivers, Yannick Mettler, Brenton Grove.
Feller eating away at Farfus taking more time out. Feller is closing on the BMW and Farfus is ahead. Farfus might start closing in on Charles Weerts. Ramos is catching the Porsche and they have Alex Aka in the fight too. Aka makes his move and Miguel Ramos concedes the spot. Ramos nose to tail behind Stephen Grove. Into Crowthorne they go and through Juskei Sweep, Barbeque Bend, and Sunset once more. Ramos has caught the Porsche and commits into Clubhouse, making the pass! Wowzers! That was a good, decisive pass! Grove will regroup. Earl Bamber ready to take over the Porsche and for the Mercedes it will be Luca Stolz, or it should be, for the #20. Maro Engel is going a lap down being overtaken by the BMW. Charles Weerts and Augusto Farfus will both be a lap up.
Maro Engel has no fight left and has to give it up. Engel is in damage limitation mode from here on out. Alex Aka should hit the lane in eight laps as Aka is negotiated by Ricardo Feller. Farfus and Feller now go by the stricken, lapped Mercedes Benz. Maro Engel in fifth, one lap down. We are past the halfway point in this race. The #999 GruppeM team is resigned to what they are dealing with and to earn points they must complete 70% of the distance of the winner. They have to calculate how many laps they need to go and we could see a distance record as we have been green the whole day. In 1970, the race ran 1,518 kilometers on the original layout.
Those were the days of prototype racing. They were 2-liter sports cars like Lola's, Osella's, Matra's, Mirage's, Ferrari's, and more. Sunset, on the modern track, is the quickest corner. The gap is closing to 1.4 seconds between Farfus and Feller. Weerts, Farfus, Feller, the top three. Feller, the Swiss driver, in third. The gap has elasticated, and Charles Weerts has the advantage over Augusto Farfus, currently. Will #33 be pulled towards the #32? Not presently it won't be. Feller's run towards the BMW has plateaued in the handling department as we continue to watch.
My iPad ran out of juice and I am using the computer to type the report and to watch and listen to the world feed. Still with you, everyone. Haven't left. Feller has six or seven laps remaining in this stint and there is just no way he is going to be able to reel in Augusto Farfus. The Brazilian has the exit speed out of Sunset. Yannick Mettler clear as a bell in Pro-Am and he will be catching Maro Engel with the nagging gearbox maladies. Will the #999 car make it to 70%? That is the big question, still. Nursing a car is a bear but they need points for Mercedes as a brand, while Alex Aka has uncorked a 1:42.662!
A wee while ago he was off the road at Mineshaft and is now back on the button having cleaned off the tires. Miguel Ramos has gone off and on at Crowthorne. Will Alex Aka be running a single stint, a double stint? He is into the pit lane. 180 laps completed. 506 miles. 68 seconds is the pit lane delta and the #99 is back on track. This race due to end in three and 3/4 hours. Feller drops the wheel off at Barbeque Bend. Ah. Augusto Farfus is smooth and controlled while Ricardo Feller might be hot and bothered about something trying to hang onto the second position.
Feller knows he has to push completing another lap. No worries. Farfus is seven and a half seconds down on Weerts, defending, and no change between he and Ricardo Feller. Alex Aka after going off the road twice is in no way happy with his stint but the performance of the car for the Audi is working very well. The mood is changing with a breeze, and we are going into the hours of darkness. Alex Aka is fond of driving at night. Feller off in the dust again. Pit stops imminent. 184 laps in the bag with three hours and 38 minutes on the board yet.
Charles Weerts' advantage has now ballooned to 7.3 seconds. Philipp Eng will be next into the #33 BMW. Feller chasing Farfus down as the #999 GruppeM Racing Mercedes in the lane with the gearbox issue and they are putting scrubbed tires on the car. Maro Engel will continue in the car with scrubbed tires as I said. #75 in as well, look. Mettler to Gounon? No. Kenny Habul? No. I tell you a lie, twice. Engel stays in the #999 as #32 is also in the pit lane. Tires being changed. Fuel added to the tank, and it is down and away off the air jacks.
Dries Vanthoor now in #32 and Philipp Eng in #33. Ricardo Feller now in the lane in Audi #66 who has just done a single stint and I think might do a double? Maybe not. Eng and Feller going at it as the track temperature drops just a shade. Ambient temps are the same but, in the darkness, the track temp will plummet. Mattia Drudi now at the controls of the #66. Dennis Marschall in fourth taking over from Alex Aka. Mattia Drudi has indeed taken over from Ricardo Feller as Stephen Grove heads for Barbeque Bend. WRT has had a successful pit stop. But the strategy is a massive question.
Augusto Farfus is done with his driving for today and as we get to the darkness in 20 minutes, the drivers are now going to start doing double stints in the darkness. The light fades as it cools. Matt Campbell holds the GT3 lap record here at Kyalami and Dries Vanthoor runs wide, seven and a half seconds to the good over Philipp Eng. It is darker for the drivers than what we see on the camera, but the plunge into full darkness will be a bear. Three and a half hours to go in this motor race. Maro Engel still fifth with Jules Gounon running behind him.
Dries Vanthoor uncorks a 1:42.574, his fastest lap, 8.7 seconds to the good in the lead of the motor race all by his lonesome. Clear track is what a race car driver wants. Strike while the iron is hot on fresh Pirelli P Zero tires and enjoy the drive. Philipp Eng is eight some odd seconds behind. If everything goes to plan we could see a victory for the #32 WRT BMW M4 GT3, and we'll see. Night signaling confirmed and so the headlights must now be on. Maro Engel just ahead of Jules Gounon. We have had no yellows today at all.
Gounon will be catching Engel but they are not in the same class, so the SunEnergy1 boys can run to a pace and don't try to throw caution to the wind. Gounon's target is to win his class and not futz with an additional overall position finish before we are done and dusted here tonight. Gounon through Leeukop and he is racing in America, Europe, and in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, thundering through the Mineshaft. Luca Stolz ahead on the road passing the stricken #999 Mercedes with the gearbox woes. Maro Engel working the 190th lap.
Vanthoor leads Eng by nine seconds. 193 laps, 542 miles. Everybody must now have headlights on as we will see total darkness in T minus 20 minutes. Dries Vanthoor through the esses and into Leeukop and now, a barbecue with the sausages on the bri. I am peckish now as I am writing the race report. Oh well. We'll see. Vanthoor building his lead over Eng. H needs Vanthoor to hit traffic as we head to the hours of darkness. Traffic is just not a concern. If we had 30 cars, you'd get clumps of traffic in every corner. But not with only ten cars on the road as they go through Jukskei and into Barbeque and back down into Sunset on the curbs.
Through Clubhouse and then into the esses. Jules Gounon's battle is with the #20 Mercedes of Luca Stolz and he is a lap behind. The BMW's are not the cars he has to worry about. Maro Engel ahead but Gounon is coming in a hurry. Softly, softly, catchy monkey. Or, softly, softly, catchy gorilla I guess. Sparks flying from the titanium skid blocks on the bottom of the car. No rain this evening but man oh man, we've seen some monsoons here at Kyalami in the past. #80 in the garage, 42 laps down on it's competitor and 54 laps down to the leader. Brake issue, master cylinder trouble, for Marius Jackson and company.
Marius Jackson, Mo Mia, and Kwanda Mokoena. Gounon is catching Engel. The only chasers are the two WRT BMW's, in that camp. Maro Engel is committed with a wounded race car, driving with purpose, double stinting. Still three hours and ten minutes of this race to go yet. Arnold Neveling is at the wheel of the #86. They have had woes today but are starting to hit the sweet spot. Charl Arangies said the car was horrid to drive in the heat of the day but is getting better. It is their first time in a GT3 Mercedes and they are having a fabulous time.
Clint Weston says you can follow the lines in the dark if you know the track well but keep your eyes open. The blinding of headlights from the top running cars is the hardest part to deal with. The modern day GT3 cars mean you do not have a rear window necessarily, save for the Mercedes. No one else has a rear window and have a rearview camera of course. Gounon chasing Engel. Earl Bamber is now only a tenth slower than Dries Vanthoor. "Happy Hour" cometh soon. Engel lets Gounon go. Smart move. Dries Vanthoor remains in the lead and Jules Gounon has to catch Dennis Marschall who is reeling in Mattia Drudi.
We are moving towards the end of hour six and then, it will be time to pull the pin and go for it. 70% of the number of laps from the winner, five laps of leeway. 138 laps in six hours. An average of 38-39 laps an hour. Phillipp Eng is 9.3 seconds down on Dries Vanthoor. We still could see a BMW 1-2 here in the next three hours depending on what happens in the darkness. Light is fading fast into darkness here at Kyalami. Hello to Sheldon van der Linde who is in the booth. He last raced at Kyalami at home in 2020. The BMW turbo is coming alive even though the tires have really been greasy all day.
The setups on the BMW's are pretty close. Sheldon van der Linde hopes for a podium.
Farfus is improving. So is Markus Winkelhock. He is an outstanding racing driver and knows how to drive a race, especially an enduro like the Kyalami 9 Hours. Farfus reeling in some of the lost time. Ten laps now for #999 in fuel save mode before their next pit stop. I see. A radio going on the blink is extremely frustrating. Oh dear. The turn indicator comes on, which tells me that there could be a problem. A pit board these days is old school, because so much communication is over the pits to car radio. Winkelhock is really pushing, look, coming out of Clubhouse. He is fourth right now. Winkelhock is an Audi family member, and he won the very first Intercontinental GT Challenge championship to ever exist.
Winkelhock drove for Tresor Attempto, for Sainteloc, for WRT, ran touring cars, and ran one F1 race for Spyker, the Jordan team, in 2007 something or other, I think. The one the only, the Irishman, Eddie Jordan. Winkelhock is almost at the end of his stint whereas we will see the #66 car, the sister Audi in a few laps later. The gap is closing up another time. The #999 Mercedes has fallen down to fifth place after starting on pole. Their radio problem has really been a bear to deal with. Mikael Grenier has had to tough it out, coming up behind Kenny Habul. At dusk everyone will have to switch on their headlights and taillights.
Habul leading Pro-Am in his second stint. He lets the #999 Mercedes by. Grenier's pace is ebbing away it seems. We saw Jules Gounon and Yannick Mettler running very well earlier in spite of Balance of Performance changes for Mercedes. Respect track limits at the final turn, turn 16, Inge (Leopard). Grenier should be into the lane in four laps according to the pit board. The Porsche is losing time to the SunEnergy1 Mercedes. 142 laps now completed. 399, almost 400 miles. Augusto Farfus is clawing back lost time on Charles Weerts. So, #33 is closing back in on #32.
Markus Winkelhock pits at the end of lap 143, running 39 laps on a fuel load. BMW might stretch out another five laps but Mercedes too, will have to hit the lane for service. The sun is beginning to set at Kyalami and the drivers are blinded during the sunset time for 20 minutes to half an hour. Alex Aka back in the #99 car instead of Dennis Marschall. I see. We are nearing the halfway mark. Farfus told to respect track limits at turn 13, the second of the Crocodile corners.
Mikael Grenier cannot hear his team on the radio and so the team has had to use the old-fashioned pit board routine. They are going to assess the situation on the upcoming pit stop. The team will not know yet if it is a quick fix or a lengthy one. Grenier towards the end of his stint, completing 146 laps up to Leeukop. In real terms, Brenton Grove has to pass Kenny Habul, and down the inside, but no dice. Habul pulls across and lets Brenton Grove by. Maro Engel will have to do his best to get back past the Audi's once this service is finished.
I don't know if #999 will be able to challenge the Audi's. #75 seems to have the advantage as Grenier is in the pit lane now. #75 has the same weight penalty. Can the team fix the radio? Yannick Mettler is now in the #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes and #999 is now back on track. Did they fix the radio simply? You don't want to have to tear out the wiring loom. The BMW's pitted together along with the third place Audi, as expected. Weerts and Farfus are double stinting. It was assumed we were going to see Sheldon van der Linde in the #32. That could be the case. Maybe not. The radio issue at GruppeM is now resolved. It was an isolated incident with Mikael Grenier.
#32 was fractionally under the regulation pit stop, and you get three uses in the race of a one second joker on pit stops. The Mercedes looks to be faster in straight line speed vis a vis the BMW. Hmmm. Gearshift trouble for the #999 Mercedes it sounds like. In the South African drivers battle, it is Clint Weston vs. Marius Jackson at this time. Mercedes AMG GT3 vs. Audi R8. Fastest lap of the motor race for Augusto Farfus. Halfway home. Four and a half hours down and four and a half left to run. Yannick Mettler is now back at the wheel of Mercedes #75.
Kenny Habul is very happy with where he is at after finishing his second stint of the race. No immediate fixes for the #999, although the idea is to look at the paddle shift. The gearbox is the cause but may not be the symptom, honestly. Yannick Mettler is in his second stint of the race right now and the #86 Mercedes AMG GT3 for Stradale Racing is in the garage. Clint Weston brought the car in and they are wondering about sorting out the wheels. Is there something in the suspension? Maybe they are troubleshooting issues again.
The #86 is the walking wounded it seems. Engel and Marciello, will have to nurse the #999. Charle Aranges says there was contact, and the team is checking alignment and putting for green Pirelli tires onto the car. Just over four hours to go. If contact happened, with whom? The gap is now up to 3.9 seconds between Weerts and Farfus. It is yoyoing back and forth and Stephen Grove now takes over from Brenton Grove. That is the #4 Porsche 911 GT3R (991 II.). Stephen Grove is a lap down but is staying out of trouble, doing the whole series for the IGTC for Spa, Indianapolis, and the Gulf 12 Hours later in the year.
The Spa 24 Hours is the biggest GT3 race of all. Spa Francorchamps is the greatest track in the world for the GT3 cars to take place from June 29th to July 2nd this year. Mercedes #86 back on track and Clint Weston is shown behind the wheel. Alex Aka in fourth may have had contact with another car. Aka is catching back up to Ricardo Feller. Aka drifts wide through Cheetah. Ricardo Feller of Switzerland, currently in third place, coming to GT3 from a single seater career as open wheel racing is a shadow of its former self in terms of being a steppingstone to other championships.
Maro Engel and company are losing time and are down in fifth place. The gearbox seems to be getting worse. Engel has to nurse the car as the Audi accelerates through Clubhouse. Aka running wide through the exits of the corners having run a 1:43.2, now downhill out of Leeukop and all over the curbs. He is having an issue following racing lines and has to make his own. Augusto Farfus still holds a best lap of 1:42.7. In another hour it will get dark before we end the race this evening. A good chunk of racing in pitch black darkness.
Aka had some hip and shoulder with the Clint Weston driven Mercedes AMG GT3 that we saw damaged. Wheel to wheel contact but no real scuff marks on either car. Horizontal loading on the rear wheel, the suspension, the driveshaft, noted by Race Control, turning it over to the stewards. Normally, if a Pro car hits an Am car, there is a major penalty. Alex Aka runs wide again, rallycrossing the Audi dragging rubbish onto the road. The circuit is getting dirtier and getting more gravel dragged onto the racing line.
#999 Mercedes through Barbeque Bend and the gearbox is an issue so the distance and classification math is being done by the crew for sure. To be classified I think they must complete at least 3/4 distance of the nine hours. Maro Engel nursing the gearbox. Cannot remember if you need to take the checkered flag to be classified as a finisher at the end of this race. 1:45.8 for Engel but losing three seconds a lap to Alex Aka. The corner is called Sunset because the sunset hits you right in your eyes. Same idea as Sunset Bend at Sebring. Through Clubhouse, Leeukop, and Mineshaft.
With a race car not performing at an optimum level, a driver's motivation is gone. They have to scrape and scrap for points, babying a car. This race is of course, part of a championship. Marius Jackson has taken over the #80 Audi from Mo Mia. That is the MJR Audi. With a paddle shift, you cannot feel the car into gear like with a stick shift transmission, an H pattern box. Short shifting, not running the engine to maximum RPM making the gear changes. The Audi's are not registered as an official IGTC manufacturer. Mercedes, BMW, and Porsche are the only ones.
Miguel Ramos now chasing Stephen Grove again in Pro-Am. The Portuguese driver being sensible. No investigation necessary for the fracas between Clint Weston and Alex Aka. The Mercedes has great straight line speed. Charles Weerts now leads by four and a half seconds. Farfus caught in traffic and Ricardo Feller is in third place. There is less traffic but it depends on where you catch it. Pit stop infringement for the #4 Grove Racing Porsche team. Oh dear. Alex Aka out of Leopard and back around for another lap. Farfus loses 5.1 seconds to Weerts. The Audi ran out of road, over the gravel, and it looks like he hit a bird! Oh man!
Almost hit a bird I guess. Alex Aka has had a real adventure and will be glad to get to the lane as the light fades. The sun has disappeared behind the pit building and the ambient temperature is cooling off. Farfus and the BMW are dropping and the #66 Audi, look, is gaining. Feller closing in on Farfus and Patric Niederhauser will be next into the car. 11 second time penalty for Porsche #4 at the next pit stop for being under the pit stop time without the joker.
Earl Bamber does the gentlemanly thing and moves over. They had a tire puncture earlier on, did the #4 Grove Racing Porsche. So, we have surpassed the 1/3rd mark in the race and pit stops are coming. We say hello to Philipp Eng. He is happy to be in South Africa for the first time and the track is fantastic. There is still a long way to go. Just under six hours. The changes of grip levels will no doubt continue. BMW have the balance on the car but are taking a wait and see approach. The tarmac on the track here at Kyalami is smooth and so the degradation on the tires is low and the Pirelli P Zero tires are very durable. Apparently, Philipp Eng is wearing Sheldon van der Linde's racing overalls. What on earth? Eng has a baggier suit and I guess Sheldon's fits better.
Eng is now wearing his own overalls. Kyalami is a very technical circuit requiring smoothness, nailing apexes and braking points to be consistent with each stint. At night of course, it is very dark. Eng will drive into the night before darkness comes like flipping a light switch. No braking markers are illuminated here at Kyalami. On the setups, the #32 and #33 are pretty similar. All six drivers have similar driving styles. They also have similar ideas on balance and tire degradation. With the stints, they cannot say what their strategy is. Now, Vincent Vosse said that any question was on the table. Apparently not.
Alex Aka is still staying out. He must be persuaded to hit the pit lane. My math is screwed up or Aka is pressing on in an amazing stint. 106 laps now done and dusted with the BMW's at the top of the tree. Earl Bamber eighth overall and third in the Pro-Am class. Jules Gounon at 1:42.894 uncorks yet another fastest lap. #99 finally to the lane for Markus Winkelhock to take over the car. Alex Aka has finished his stint and now it is time for Markus Winkelhock to see what he can do. Winkelhock, a one-time Formula One race starter many years ago. Markus Winkelhock is stoic and focused on his stint. Good stop for Attempto Racing.
The cars come up by the support race pits. Kyalami is an international circuit and there are not many national or club races that go on anymore. One lap you pick up time and the next lap you lose it. As a driver, you do all you can and can only eke out so much pace, honestly. The 15-kilogram weight penalty for the Mercedes boys has not helped in trying to make inroads on Audi and/or BMW. Jules Gounon remains the fastest car on the road at 1:42.894, fastest race lap, again. Jules Gounon is becoming an incredible endurance driver and he has done this in different brands. He has run with Corvette's privately, Audi's, Bentley's, and now Mercedes. He also ran Porsche Carrera Cup. So he has experience in many types of cars.
Jules Gounon is now fifth in the overall. SunEnergy1 have had a golden opportunity with the troubles for the Porsche, the sole Porsche, and they are taking the bull by the horns here. Again, to the rules, a stint is 65 minutes as Jules Gounon comes up the other side of Mineshaft into the Crocodiles and Leopard, and into the lane. Gounon has run Intercontinental GT Challenge, SRO Europe, and British GT. All of these divisions are the same running GT3 cars. He understands the new layout of Oulton Park in England for instance and would have had a ball driving the original circuit. Mattia Drudi is now at the controls of the #66.
Winkelhock in #99 and now Niederhauser has gone by Grenier as we are joined by Alex Aka, and he thinks the team is going well and they have indeed been going further on fuel than we expected them to. We still have over five hours of racing still to go. Alex Aka says Kyalami is indeed a tough track. He has been ill for a couple of weeks but no, it is not the virus. Winkelhock is pushing, pushing, pushing right now. He is chasing down Mikael Grenier. Cheetah is a very tough turn and so is the final corner at Leopard. The Mercedes seems strong in sector two while the Audi has the legs in sector three.
There is a back marker up the road. Yikes! Winkelhock right on Grenier's six. Mikael Grenier is wrestling the Mercedes around. Through Leeukop they go as Mo Mia is up the road in the #80 Audi R8. It is hard to overtake through Cheetah and the Crocodiles. Good pass on the lapped traffic. Grenier on the inside. Side by side and Markus Winkelhock has made the pass and now Grenier gives him a nudge. Winkelhock makes the move back for fourth spot. Audi now 3-4 and the pole sitting Mercedes is now down to fifth place.
Grenier covers then inside, Winkelhock does the undercut, they are wheel to wheel, and he does the squeeze play. Charles Weerts now leads Augusto Farfus by 5+ seconds. 5.1 seconds exactly. This is Charles Weerts' second stint and Augusto Farfus, the Brazilian is now at the wheel of the #33, the sister car, with Mattia Drudi, Markus Winkelhock, and Mikael Grenier, the top five. The GT3 cars are all aggressive and quick. Is there more development for Audi? That is a good question. Hard to say. They might still have something in the locker. Thank you, Alex, for joining us.
The gap is growing between Weerts and Farfus with Mattia Drudi third. Drudi is a wee bit slower than Farfus but he is catching up steadily. Charles Weerts still leading, and now, look, BMW and Audi second and third. The pit time range for the top eight is anywhere between 3:26 and 3:45. The #33 BMW is not as fast as we had seen earlier on. The big loser in all of this is the pole sitting Mercedes which has been dropping like a stone and Grenier is now in fifth place. He was caught and absolutely got mugged.
Markus Winkelhock working his way through, trying to pass Brenton Groove and the #20 Mercedes AMG GT3 for SPS Automotive Performance of Reece Barr. Grenier seems to be fading during this stint. Raffaele Marciello did everything possible. I haven't the foggiest idea what the issue is and the team isn't going to tell us what's going on, let me assure you. Mikael Grenier is doing what he can to use traffic to his advantage, but he did get a bit stymied. Reece Barr, third in Pro-Am and he is looking for a GT3 program for the 2023 season. Grenier is giving him all he can handle. Kenny Habul leads the Pro-Am division right now.
123 laps completed, 346 miles. 20 minutes to go before we end another hour. Augusto Farfus now, he is losing some time. We talked to Philipp Eng earlier and we never noticed why the gap has opened up again. The Pro-Am fight is between Kenny Habul and Brenton Grove as it has been throughout the race so far. We are 2/3rds of the way through hour four here at Kyalami. Kenny Habul I think will be doing a double stint and then finish. He is the boss, paying the bills for the team. Yannick Mettler and Jules Gounon will be driving in the nighttime. Nighttime racing at Kyalami is a difficult proposition. The fans are having a good time at Kyalami and they will be lighting a bonfire before the end of the night.
Reece Barr is about to pass Mo Mia who is laps and laps down on everyone else in his Audi. The WRT BMW's look really good at the start of a stint and the end. It is a brand-new car and the only turbocharged car in the field. The Audi drivers at WRT have transferred over to BMW. Kenny Habul owns the 1987 winning Peter Brock Holden Commodore V8 Supercar that he washed the tires on as a 14 year old kid. He lives at Mount Panorama on Conrod Straight. He is not trying to match professional drivers. He is supporting the more experienced drivers and is a good amateur driver being tutored by the professional drivers.
If you can unlock more lap time out of an amateur driver, it pays massive dividends. There is also a quick Silver rated driver as well with Yannick Mettler. Kenny Habul was the 2022 Pro-Am IGTC champion. He is about to go a lap down to Charles Weerts. Weerts has not caught the lapped Mercedes yet but he will soon. On this lap, Farfus is a wee bit quicker in sector two. Just maybe, Mattia Drudi is also coming in a hurry. I was right. He is indeed, is the Brazilian ace. Hello to Earl Bamber. The Porsche did have a puncture earlier and Stephen Grove extended his stint.
They are doing all they can to stay clean and they can do a short fill on the last pit stop when it comes down to money time. They had a cut tire and instant failure at Bathurst of course. I don't think we will see any safety cars here at Kyalami. Grove Racing will be getting a new 992 GT3 shortly. Earl Bamber is not a factory Porsche driver any longer. He is of course getting set with Cadillac and the World Endurance Championship. The new GTP prototypes are incredible cars. Every single series is over subscribed. Sports car racing is on an upswing.
In 2019, towards the end of the race, in the dark, it rained cats and dogs with Nick Tandy and Dennis Olsen. Kyalami is very hard to drive in the dark. Of course, there will be night racing at the 24 Hours of Spa this summer as well. Earl Bamber Motorsports is a customer Porsche team. EBM is also running a team in Porsche Carrera Cup. In #999, the driver accidentally hit the turn signal switch. Why does New Zealand produce such great drivers? They have a dozen go kart tracks and a dozen national racing circuits as well as a great support network for young drivers.
Mo Mia goes off the road in the Audi but stays on the road. It is great to have the local teams on track, the local South African teams and I think he might have a radio failure, using the turn signals to communicate with the pit crew. Check that, it is the pit board for GruppeM for the Mercedes. Excuse me. Good to hear from Earl Bamber. Mercedes #999 must have a radio failure. It is indeed true, and we'll have to chase that down for the next little bit. The gap between the BMW's is now down to three and a half seconds. Charles Weerts must have found a pace to run at to save petrol. That is a smart idea. Only ten cars in the race of course, as intended.
Mattia Drudi, on pace, he cannot catch the BMW's. WRT, stick to the plan.
