D'station, United, Toyota, the class leaders. Fred Lubin in the lane under yellow as we go back to green. Let's get back to that. Frederic Lubin in his first race in WEC and at Sebring, sharing the #22 Oreca 07 with Phil Hanson and Filipe Albuquerque. Paul di Resta in trouble in the #93 Peugeot 9X8. No gears. Again, stuck in fourth gear. Oh dear. So, Michael Christensen is now harrying Alex Lynn in Hypercar. News from United Autosport, confusion on Fred Lubin's part accidentally trying to come into the pit lane when it was closed. Car #50, drive through penalty for overtaking another car before the end of the safety car. So, that is the Ferrari 499P passing the D'station Aston Martin. OK. This is inexcusable though as a Ferrari driver, for crying out loud! Dumb mistake indeed. No gears in the Peugeot 9X8.
Car #50 Ferrari in trouble for Antonio Fuoco. He will not be happy. Proceed sooner rather than later. Driver argues "I didn't do anything wrong!" Well, don't argue. Just get the penalty done and take your medicine. Paul di Resta stationary. So, both Peugeot's in trouble and I wonder if it is all due to the bumps. We did not see it in the prologue test last weekend. It oculd be a driveshaft or a differential taking heavy forces. That is why IndyCar tests here to break things and put them back together. The 12 Hours of Sebring tomorrow will be just as tough. Peugeot are looking at the same issue on #93 as #94 while #50 at Ferrari serves the drive through penalty with Antonio Fuoco. Fuoco getting used to being a prototype driver after years of being overtaken in GT cars.
Toyota will be able to beat Ferrari in an operational sense because they have been doing it for so long and the competition needs to step up to the same level. Oliver Jarvis and Julien Canal pit in LMP2 as Fuoco has dropped down the order behind the sister car and the Vanwall in eighth. Jakub Smiechowski is the new LMP2 leader at Inter Europol Competition. Ferrari #51 gets squeezed through the Le Mans chicane! No worries. New fastest lap of the race at 1:47.885 for Sebastien Buemi as the fuel load is coming down incrementally.
Smiechowski sharing the Inter Europol #34 LMP2 car with Albert Costa and Fabio Scherer. The track is getting rubbered in. A whole load of sandbags at the side. Ah. The Ferrari forces the issue to the inside and he found a bump and went in way too hot. Both Peugeot's tumble down the order as Sean Gelael is battling with both Jota LMP2's and Mike Conway is in the pit lane now. Josh Pierson is now leading for United Autosport over the competitors. Mike Conway staying in the #7 Toyota for a double stint. Alex Lynn in the lane for the #2 Cadillac and will do a double stint. We remember five years ago when Chip Ganassi was in World Endurance full-time with the Ford GT. With the GT3 cars coming next year, the entries are going to flood in.
Josh Pierson has his hands full with WRT and both Jota cars and the first of the Prema entries. Josh Pierson is the minnow while the sharks are Sean Gelael, Pietro Fittipaldi, Will Stevens, and others. Look at the way the LMP2 cars ride the bumps! It is incredible. A great car, the Oreca, but the suspension is very basic. Glickenhaus in the pit lane for a driver change and so is Porsche. Ryan Briscoe is doing a double stint and Laurens Vanthoor in the #6 Porsche 963 as well. The only controlled factor in Hypercar is everyone using the same Michelin tires. Beyond that, whatever you like. That is what makes Hypercar so wonderful!
Toyota #8 in the lane. Tire rules are different in FIA WEC. Will we see a dry end to this race? We'll see. No intermediate tires. When we get to Spa, will we see snow or rain in the Ardennes Forest? We'll have to wait and see I guess. The Peugeot runs narrower tires than every other Hypercar. Ferrari #51 now in the lead with Alessandro Pier Guidi at the wheel of it. The Peugeot runs the same Michelin tire all around while the other Hypercar's run a narrower tire on the front and wider on the rear. P.J. Hyett has a loose door mirror after his shemozzle into the barriers from earlier and so he is jolly lucky to get out of jail free on that one.
Peugeot #93 in the garage, in the tent. They are fixing the car. Oliver Jarvis is hoping they can do their jobs, put in consistent lap times and so forth. The championship is more difficult with the Hypercars. They have more straightline speed than in LMP2. Trouble, right front puncture for Michael Dinan in the #25 ORT by TF Sport Aston Martin. It was contact with the #7 Toyota! Oh my! I need another picture of that deal. Ferrari now in the lane, both Hypercars are in. #50 and #51. Buemi retakes the lead in Toyota #8. This is a scheduled stop for both of them even though they are double stacking. The Corvette and Iron Dames Porsche are in the lane. Debris in turn 15 and it is that mirror from the #56 Porsche 911 RSR-19.
More trouble for Ahmad Al Harthy in the #25 Aston Martin. I cannot believe that there was contact with the Toyota. I think it was a slow tire puncture. I agree with Anthony Davidson and Graham Goodwin on that deal. Sean Gelael nearly gets passed through turn one. What a corner! Will Stevens has the bit between his teeth. Full Course Yellow, now. #25 in the lane with right front corner damage as the mirror is finally picked up. That should have been a meatball flag, the black flag with the orange disc. Full Course Yellow. The IMSA safety team helping out.
Vector Sport in the pit lane. Peugeot #93 in as well. Buemi and Conway 1-2 with the Cadillac and the Porsche's next. Two Porsche's scrapping into turn one. #6 ahead of #5 it appears. A long, long way to go yet. Josh Pierson is really running well. He is now 18 years old. He was too young two years ago to race the Asian Le Mans Series. Long pit stop for the Oman Racing Aston Martin for repairing the wheel. Vector Sport and the #10 car is in the lane too as the #50 Ferrari 499P is under investigation again? Speeding in the lane, probably. So, Will Stevens is now back behind Sean Gelael having passed the sister Jota Sport car of Pietro Fittipaldi. Bent Viscaal next. Gelael now behind Will Stevens. Second stint on tires for LMP2.
The #94 Peugeot 9X8 is back in the lane. Not a good afternoon for Peugeot as the #2 Cadillac is closing in on the two Porsche's. Mikkel Pedersen has now taken over the #77 Dempsey Proton Porsche. Alex Lynn chasing Michael Christensen. Alex Lynn has a lot of Formula E experience. Christensen and Kevin Estre very relaxed now but they will be battling the Ferrari's soon just like in GTE last year. 11 Hypercars and more to come including those in IMSA and some still on the drawing board. The Hypercar depth of talent is great. The #10 Vector Sport LMP2 is going back to the garage. They will have the Isotta Fraschini later in the year.
Isotta Fraschini built by the Michelotto concern in Italy will be ready for later in the year. Michelotto have built the Ferrari 333SP as well. Sauber are doing the aero on that car. Vector Sport will bring the car in soon along with their LMP2 car as P.J. Hyett is being monstered by Ben Keating. The #10 car being driven by Gabriel Aubry of France, Ryan Cullen from Ireland, and Matthias Kaiser from Lichtenstein. Will Stevens and Sean Gelael pit. P.J. Hyett is in the lane as well. The two cars are down off the air jacks and underway again. Antonio Fuoco is a minute or so back from the lead of the motor race. Ferrari #51 of Alessandro Pier Guidi is being told he is running well, as the sister car needs to stop again light on fuel.
You must be error free. That is how it has to be. Ferrari have had a number of troubles. Alex Lynn crawling all over Michael Christensen into Sunset Bend! Lynn has a head of steam! Will he pass? Christensen defends. Lynn to the inside on corner exit and he is going to make his move. Bingo! Wow! That was hot stuff! Christensen hanging on by his fingernails as the Porsche is dancing all over the shop! Christensen knew the jig was up. Both Jota cars hard at it. David vs. David. David Heinemeier Hansson vs. David Beckmann while Olli Caldwell must serve a speeding penalty in the #35 Alpine Oreca. Bent Viscaal at Prema doing a double stint. Ferdinand Habsburg dives past David Beckman. Wow! Can you believe it?!
So, we just saw the David and David show. Onboard with Buemi in Toyota #8. Buemi working traffic on and off the throttle. Lift, no, punch it. Lift, no, punch it. Use a certain amount of energy in megajoules during the stint. Mike Conway in the #7 Toyota. Of course, some Hypercars are hybrid drive and others not so with some having more capacity and some less. Toyota run 1-2 with Porsche #6 and Cadillac #2 closing in. The Prema car runs wide. Toyota have the pace, the discipline, and the reliability. That will come for the other teams. Porsche and Ferrari are still in testing phase. Some of the Ferrari blokes have been on the testing, some with the GTE cars, and some on the Formula 1 program. Toyota continue to be the benchmark.
Lynn continuing to chase Vanthoor. Toyota used to have their testing team tag way back in 2012 at the start of the FIA WEC after Audi and Porsche left. Audi used to be a formidable force. Porsche back now with Penske of course. 48 laps now in the bag, 179 nad a half miles. Porsche are working on a plan and telling Laurens Vanthoor to get track position as Vanthoor is losing tire grip, skating all over the shop. Vanthoor probably screaming on the radio, "my tires are dead!" Alex Lynn is beginning to reel Vanthoor in hand over fist. Alessandro Pier Guidi is told to let the sister car by. Pier Guidi says "don't tell anyone to let me by." "Fuoco is faster than you." Or, a Kimi Raikkonen, "leave me alone. I know what I am doing."
Lynn is giving Vanthoor a real run for his money. Porsche seems faster on cold tires but the Cadillac is managing the tires, with Alex Lynn at the wheel of it as Prema do a driver change. The second place #63 car. Daniil Kvyat out and so it will be either Mirko Bortolotti or Doriane Pin, and man oh man, a lockup for Michael Christensen as his tires are really falling off a cliff now. He defends from Lynn, misses the braking marker into the hairpin. Lynn wants a bite of the cherry, but backs off, wisely. We are only 51 laps into the motor race. 191 miles. Splitting the GTE cars side by side and Vanthoor slams the door in Alex Lynn's face!
The Kessel Racing CarGuy Ferrari did not even see the two Hypercars coming! We are going to see Cadillac and Penske Porsche scrapping tomorrow in the 12 Hours of Sebring and Lynn's tires have completely gone off a cliff! Both drivers are squirming all over the shop! Yikes! Michael Christensen in the sister Porsche is doing all he can to hold off the Ferrari's! Holy moly! Alex Lynn is still pushing but he will have marbles and clag all over his tires. Vanthoor says "I am so tired of this!" Physically, and mentally, I am sure. I have no tires. Josh Pierson in and out and retains the LMP2 lead. Fuoco and Pier Guidi pass Christensen. Vanthoor still being harried by the Cadillac!
More trouble for Peugeot #94, stopped at pit out. He is headed towards Area 51, with unsolvable electrical woes I think. It is going behind the wall. Stay in the car. It is unsafe. A red vehicle. He has gone into the IMSA paddock which is not where you want the electrics to play up. Vanthoor into the lane. They are at the end of fuel and tires. Routine stop for Porsche 963 #6 plus a driver change. David Beckman now running ahead of Ferdinand Habsburg in LMP2. Beckman, the German, in the #48 car. Drive through penalties for Alex Lynn in Cadillac #2, Ferrari #50, and Peugeot #94. Ferrari #50 now in the lane and so is the #5 Porsche 963.
Loic Duval told to jump out the car. Do not touch the car. He says "if I die, tell my family." Do not touch the car and the ground at the same time. Get out of their. Romain Dumas now in the #708 Glickenhaus as Alex Lynn in Cadillac #2 is in the lane for a drive through penalty and he will go around again and pit. Cadillac on hot tires and Glickenhaus on stone cold tires. Ferrari #50, next pit stop, a five second penalty. It could be a number of problems. The Toyota pit crew are doing their calisthenics routine. Laurens Vanthoor had tough sledding on his first Hypercar stint to try and cover the Cadillac. No tires whatsoever left.
57 laps in the bag. 213 miles. In 1982, the Porsche 956 Group C car came to Silverstone and it was beaten out of sight by the Group 5 and Group 6 Lancia's. Well... same here today. Jacques Villeneuve and his teammates at Floyd Vanwall are up to sixth place running like a top. This is a brand new car as well with a bucketload less development. WRT, WRT, Prema in LMP2. Rui Andrade from Angola, Filip Ugran from Romania, and Doriane Pin from France now with Prema. Filip Ugran the first Romanian WEC driver. He has been in European Le Mans Series too as we have mentioned his name. Watch Doriane Pin, too. Satoshi Hoshino being caught by Stefano Constantini and Axcil Jeffries from Zimbabwe.
Constantini... crunch, into Hoshino in the hairpin! Aye yaye yaye. Axcil Jeffries is managed by Austrian legendary driver Franz Konrad, a name from years past in American and European sports car racing. This is the battle for fourth place in GTE Am while the Iron Dames are 30 seconds to the good on the Corvette C8.R. Sara Bovy leads by 34 seconds over Ben Keating. Three Silver rated drivers fighting each other. Doriane Pin chasing down Filip Ugran I think. The Silver driver is the backbone of the team. A Peugeot is coming up on this GTE Am battle, look. That is the sole remaining Pegueot 9X8 with Paul di Resta at the wheel of it.
A bit of hip and shoulder there! Wow! In IMSA, the faster car always gets the blame. But I think the Peugeot was unseen as there is a penalty at Vector Sport for speeding in the lane. Rui Andrade passed by Filip Ugran followed by Doriane Pin. Cadillac #2 and Toyota #7 in the pit lane. Mathias Kaiser is having an issue with the seat, pressing into his shoulder while trying to drive. That's brave stuff in LMP2! Holy smokes! Ferrari #51 in the pit lane for a scheduled stop. James Calado taking over from Alessandro Pier Guidi. He is down and away, stopping from third behind the Toyota's, followed by Porsche and Cadillac. The Cadillac has done their regular stop and the drive through penalty. Earl Bamber now in the #2 Cadillac.
He has been lapped by both the #7 and #8 Toyota's as they did not stop for fuel in the first safety car scramble. We are looking for another safety car to bring Ferrari back into the fight. Brendon Hartley will be next into the #8 Toyota as Sebastien Buemi pits. 2 hours and 16 minutes for Buemi at the controls. Doriane Pin in the #63 car for Prema Racing sharing of course with Daniil Kvyat and Mirko Bortolotti. Position change at Toyota as Brendon Hartley on cold tires with the overcut over the #7 of the boss, Kamui Kobayashi. Yellow flag at Sunset Bend for the Glickenhaus, stopped again. Doriane Pin was leading LMP2 briefly, actually into second. Josh Pierson leads LMP2.
I don't think Sebastien Buemi will get by Kamui Kobayashi. It is the Glickenhaus, stopped at Sunset Bend. 66 laps on the board, 247 miles. The Hypercars are vulnerable to LMP2s and GTEs on cpld gtires. Full Course Yellow. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. We are under Full Course Yellow to recover the car with a crane at Sunset Bend and that is the Glickenhaus. We are back to green. It was an electrical issue at Glickenhaus. So, the #85 Iron Dames Porsche in the lane, Michelle Gatting taking over from Sara Bovy. 200 some odd laps remaining. Ben Keating leads GTE Am at Corvette Racing. Josh Pierson leading LMP2 in eighth spot ahead of the Vanwall.
Driver change at the #93 Porsche team and could move Mathias Kaiser up a place. Josh Pierson lapping the sixth place LMP2 car. Tire change for the Peugeot team as well as a driver change to either Jean Eric Vergne or Mikkel Jensen. I think Jean Eric Vergne. New nose for the Peugeot. Ferdinand Habsburg chasing David Beckman. Toyota, Porsche, Toyota, Ferrari, Porsche, Cadillac the top six. Good battle in GTE Am right now as we watch Ben Keating in the Corvette. Doriane Pin double stinting in LMP2.
P.J. Hyett off the road once more. He has been off the road. OK. Ben Keating will relinquish the GTE lead shortly it seems as he will pit imminently, and Rahel Frey will take over the lead. Nico Varrone will take over the #33 Corvette C8.R. David Beckman still scrapping with Ferdinand Habsburg. Stay out of trouble and keep up the pace. Porsche have been going for it. Peugeot's and the Glickenhaus having trouble and there are possible Full Course Yellow infringements for Porsche #5 and Peugeot #93. Ferdinan Habsburg cannot get by David Beckman. This is his LMP2 debut. Habsburg has been running for a few seasons already. Josh Pierson and Ollie Caldwell in the lane in LMP2. United Autosport and Alpine.
Ben Keating has completed 2 hours and 39 minutes, so, a full WeatherTech Championship sprint race, basically. Corvette to the lane and Rahel Frey should take over the GTE-Am lead as Nico Varrone is next up. This is a brand new Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. We have had a safety car and two Full Course Yellow periods. Francesco Castellaci passes Nico Varrone for position in GTE Am. Where on earth has the #54 VistaJet Ferrari come from? They need a stop. It is Thomas Flohr's birthday on St. Patrick's Day. This is a GTE class now, pretty much, and so I shall resolve to call it that. Ferdinand Habsburg is doing all he can to pass David Beckman.
Toyota remain in front in Hypercar while it is United vs. Jota vs. Prema vs. WRT and Jota in LMP2. WRT preparing for a driver change. WRT have set the standard amazingly in GT3 racing and they are still competing in GT3 to this day. The GTE battle is hot as Nico Varrone passes Francesco Castellaci who makes it to the pit lane out of the Le Mans corner. Nico Varrone now in the #33 Corvette of course. Ben Keating says there is a lot of junk offline and if you have a clean lap you as a driver are in good shape. At Glickenhaus, it is game over. Pack it up and get ready for the 6 Hours of Portimao in Portugal next month.
Maxi Goetz could be a new driver for Jim Glickenhaus. The field is going to be deep at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It will be unreal. Toyota continue 1-2 with Brendon Hartley and Kamui Kobayashi followed by Kevin Estre and both of the Ferrari's. The #5 Porsche is in there and so is the #2 Cadillac. The Ferrari's are not able to match the Toyota's on lap time, currently. The gap is ebbing and flowing between both Toyota's. We are nearly three hours into this race. Debris on the road from the Iron Dames Porsche! Oh dear! Clattering over the curbs and that is the etire lower bodywork section! Trouble in paradise for the Iron Dames losing the rear section. It looks like a Porsche 935.
Full Course Yellow. Peugeot off the road as well with gravel on the circuit. Went to get a bite to eat under Full Course Yellow. Glickenhaus, out of the 1,000 Miles of Sebring with an engine that has gone bang. Vanwall in trouble. The #85 Iron Dames Porsche lost the tail section and the #93 Peugeot 9X8 came in after running into the back of the Vanwall to replace the front nose. One of the Ferrari's is now in the lane. Ferrari #51 will move up. Drive through penalty for Fred Makowiecki in the #5 Porsche 963. Replacement nose, at Peugeot for the #93 but it is the #94 entry.
Stay out of the pit lane and don't hit stuff. Safety car in the pit lane and now Ferrari #51 moves up to third. A scheduled pit stop as well for Porsche #6 slewing out of the pit box. Spinning the wheels in the lane is no longer forbidden. Wheelspin is still a risk. But of course, no tire warmers. So, with the Iron Dames' trouble, they are passed by the #98 Aston Martin. Rahel Frey still in trouble. She is running back to the garage now and the bumps have caused this. Will Stevens, Yifei Ye, and Antonio Felix Da Costa will be at Jota for their Porsche Hypercar program later in the year.
Ferrari have had repeated issues with their cars and we have only three cars on the lead lap. Penalties, penalties, penalties for Ferrari, Porsche, and Cadillac, while the Toyota's are cruising and having a clean race which is the key part of the deal. I keep repeating it but it is darn true. Porsche and Vanwall have not had any penalties yet I don't think, well, save for the #5 Porsche 963. The silly penalties get you in any sport. Everyone has to pull their weight. The drivers know this. It is an unwritten rule of sport. Peugeot going through the gaffer tape like crazy to make this number repair on the #93 car. He was fully committed right in the middle of Sunset Bend, turn 17.
We are back live with this never ending scrap between Jota and WRT. All of the little minutia things can hinder you. The more well rehearsed you are, the smaller the errors. But they are annoying. Rui Andrade and David Heinemeier Hansson are scrapping. Ferdinand Habsburg now has a beard. We still have 180 laps left in this race. We are not even at the halfway mark yet. Many Full Course Yellows and safety cars and Sean Gelael is going to knock out his last double stint of the race. We saw the damage on the #93 Peugeot and the #4 Floyd Vanwall which has dropped like a stone. Paul Dalla Lana passed by Alessio Picariello. Aston Martin vs. Porsche.
Kamui Kobayashi could very well get past Brendon Hartley for the Hypercar and overall lead. Earl Bamber seems to be bringing the Cadillac, the #2 back into te picture. James Calado is likely to go a lap down which would leave both Toyota's on the lead lap. There is a major void between Toyota and the others. Davide Rigon is now driving with Thomas Flohr and Francesco Castellaci. Sam Bird had a lot of Formula E clashes with his drives at Ferrari in GTE Pro. But Bird has not raced a sports car for many seasons.
Earl Bamber, a WEC champion and two-time Le Mans winner for Porsche, the 2019 IMSA GT Le Mans champion and 2020 24 Hours of Spa winner for Porsche, now racing at Cadillac. Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn won the 12 Hours of Sebring last year as Paul Dalla Lana goes off the road with fading tires.
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