Circuit de Spa Francorchamps in Spa, Belgium. A region of the world that has given it's name to health resorts the world over, initially from the spring water that comes from the region, natural and pure. It is also home to seven kilometers (just under four and a half miles) of some of the best racing real estate on the European continent. The European Le Mans Series makes a stop at this fabled track in the penultimate round of the 2022 championship. It is the 4 Hours of Spa! It's live, and it's next! We are looking forward to another great race today as the season is drawing nearer to a close. In LMP2, there are a handful of driver changes to look into and we'll get to that. I think there are also a couple in GTE as we have this race and once it is completed, the finale at Portimao in Portugal will close out the season.
Spa is a mythical, mighty and mysterious circuit. 7 kilometers in length (4.352 miles). Sweeping through the fir forests of the Ardennes Forest. Who better then, to take us on a lap of his home circuit, than Belgian driver Ugo de Wilde. He drives in LMP2 for Muehlner Motorsports. We watch him in the car, at work, speeding down the straightaway and through the legendary circuit. As a Belgian, it is mythical to be at this place and there is so much history here. It is the most beautiful circuit in the world and everybody loves it. It is always special. Ugo de Wilde first drove here in a Formula 4 open wheel car and told his team and fellow drivers, "if I try going flat out through Eau Rouge I will lose the car and hit the wall."
He has two huge memories. At age six, Ugo de Wilde raced here in a go kart up Eau Rouge, but I think he said that he actually went down the other way and must have been making a lap of the track in reverse. We have seen tons of battles here in Formula 1 through Eau Rouge and one of the drivers who comes to de Wilde's mind talking about F1 and Spa is Fernando Alonso who is still racing Formula 1 to this day. There is a lounge upstairs overlooking Eau Rouge. This is a magical place that brings tons of adrenaline for the drivers. Spa Francorchamps is a thrill ride.
The new Raidillon corner will be a major fun factor. Let's take a look at the points tables as we head into this penultimate race of the 2022 championship. In the GTE class here is how it stands with Proton Competition and their Porsche at the top of the shop.
1. #77 Proton Competition 62 points
2. #60 Iron Lynx 49 points
3. #55 Spirit of Race 39 points
4. #57 Kessel Racing 37 points
5. #32 Rinaldi Racing 36 points
6. #66 JMW Motorsport 34 points
In that table you have one Porsche 911 RSR leading a sea of Ferrari's. Here are the LMP3 standings headed to Spa.
1. #17 Cool Racing 59 points
2. #13 Inter Europol Competition 54 points
3. #5 RLR MSport 47 points
4. #6 360 Racing 40 points
5. #4 DKR Engineering 34 points
6. #3 United Autosports 31 points
In LMP2, Prema Racing dominates everybody else. They have really been on a tear for most of the season to this point. Can they continue the momentum?
1. #9 Prema Racing 85 points
2. #65 Panis Racing 64 points
3. #22 United Autosports 48 points
4. #28 IDEC Sport 47 points
5. #37 Cool Racing 44 points
6. #19 Algarve Pro Racing 23 points
Prema has a sizable cushion over Panis at the top. But just a single point separates United and IDEC in third and fourth place, with Cool Racing merely three points behind that battle. Cool Racing and Nicolas Lapierre is a driver and the team boss. How does he manage both? Lapierre says one of the strong points is he knows what the drivers are doing, has been in their position, and knows what the team expects. He is a mentor for his co-drivers preparing every single aspect of how the team works. Seeing young drivers improve under his tutelage is a big deal.
Niklas Kruetten and Malthe Jakobsen are two of the drivers who are committed to racing with Cool Racing now and in the future. In his mind, Lapierre wants an overall win. Concurrently, he also drives for Alpine in the FIA World Endurance Championship and is seeing their new Le Mans Hypercar project gaining traction and coming together nicely. Nico's family is very supportive including his three children. Family and work are the most important things for him. Now it is time for a teammate quiz and today we are featuring teammates at JMW Motorsports in GTE with their Ferrari. How well do Sean Hudspeth and Giacomo Petrobelli know each other as teammates?
That is a big deal in endurance racing, sharing a car, so you best have people you get along with to help you go for the victory. What is your dream car? For Sean Hudspeth it is a Ferrari 250 GTO. Great choice! A priceless, classic, stunning motorcar. For Giacomo Petrobelli it is also a Ferrari 250 model, but the LM which is even rarer. They both know these fabled Ferrari's might just be unobtanium, even for a racing driver because one of the recent ones to sell at auction I think fetched $45 million or $50 million! We can always observe from a distance as car fans, and we can always dream.
Your everyday car? Ah yes. Your set of wheels to go from point A to point B. Both Sean and Giacomo drive Audi's. For Giacomo it is an S6 sedan and for Sean, it is an RS3. Not bad. Good, reliable transportation. Favorite track? That's a no brainer. This one we are racing at this weekend. Spa Francorchamps is it. The history, the track itself, the location, and the atmosphere. Here is another fascinating question. Who is your best friend in the racing industry? Wow. Hmmm. For Giacomo, other than his teammate Sean, there's a few drivers and engineers. They know who they are.
Who was the driver who made you dream of being a racing driver? For Giacomo Petrobelli it had to be Ayrton Senna. For Sean Hudspeth, he was a very wee lad when Ayrton Senna died. But he remembers watching Michael Schumacher and being inspired greatly. He remembers the legendary battles in Formula 1 between Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen. What is your favorite sporting activity outside of racing? Another fair question. Doing triathlons, running, cycling, swimming, and weightlifting are what Sean Hudspeth likes to do to stay in shape to go racing and for Giacomo Petrobelli it is mountain biking and skiing.
A word about your teammate. Sean Hudspeth describes Giacomo Petrobelli as handsome. Petrobelli says Hudspeth is a foodie. You have to eat well when you are a racing driver, right? Now we move to a team profile with RLR MSport. We are about to meet their athletic trainer who helps the drivers stay in shape so they can go racing and perform at the highest level. Their trainer Anthony Howard is a swimmer who was able to compete in the Olympics. He has medals in competitive swimming. Look at putting a sport mentality into motor racing for nutrition, fitness and so forth. On race days, the neck ironically is not the real target.
It is your backside being in the seat of the car and your shoulders that are getting a real pounding around the track. The rotation of your hips causes pain in the backside, and you also have to be careful of the rotator cuffs when gripping the steering wheel to drive the race car. There are forces going through the back and the spine. Driver Austin McCusker explains how he benefits from the physio. Soreness is a factor, and the drivers need to be loosened up to be on top of their game and recommendations for improvement the next time they are driving. I believe we have another team profile and some qualifying highlights to get to.
The pre-race show for the ELMS at Spa, continues. IDEC Sport wanted a good result in Barcelona and did not get it. But they are still vigilant, still pushing, and we are going to follow how their qualification attempt went. Patrick Pilet will be the driver to qualify the car. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Green flag, qualifying for European Le Mans Series LMP2. The team notices their rival Phil Hansson at United Autosport laid down a massive time in Free Pracitce and say he could have come as close as a 3.9 during the session. The team manager says "I would be surprised if we don't do so well, especially that they are still improved."
This is team boss Nicolas Minassian we are hearing the thoughts of. He is another former driver himself. "Each driver has his own moment. So, I leave them alone", says Minassian. I don't want to disturb them. He knows what to do. He's a professional." That is true. This is not go karting or things like T ball or Little League baseball. The team notices the scoreboard in the garage and that they are the ones currently on top. In the pit lane, tires are changed before the session continues. Minassian congratulates his team.
The two other drivers, watching their teammate put in the qualifying run think of it this way. "Of course, we'd prefer to be in the car, we understand exactly what is going on. We are all spectators, watching the sector times, and what's happening on the trac, to see if they are going off track or over track limits. We prefer to be in the car, but it's also nice to experience it with the team." Yifei Ye clocks in the fastest qualifying time for Cool Racing at 2:03.544. The top three are as such.
1. #37 Cool Racing 2:03.544
2. #28 IDEC Sport 2:03.851
3. #65 Panis Racing 2:04.172
Many congratulations for second spot at IDEC Sport as well. The conversation as such, "we did not take pole. But, we are not far off. We are progressing. We are not doing well enough in the second sector. He lost time in Brussels corner." "Yes, he arrived too fast. But Yifei was on top, even before the first set of tyres. They were faster than us (referring to Cool Racing)." "Those who missed out are United. They ended up behind the BHK car... he messed up." Patrick Pilet at IDEC Sport had this to say about their second-place qualifying effort.
"It was special. It rained at the end. It's the best we could do today. Unfortunately, we are only P2, but it's a great result. Starting on the front row tomorrow is great! We have a very good car in race mode. We saw it in free practice 1 when the track was dry. We have a good chance of winning. We have made Paul's job easier by starting on the front row. We will try to push until the end with Paul Loup, to bring back another good result." It is the pre-race driver autograph session. The fans here in Belgium are enjoying the pre-race atmosphere. The grid is jam packed. Final well wishes to the drivers are underway. Fans young and old are here and ready to watch a great race today.
Yifei Ye has his first pole of 2022 here at Spa. Qualifying yesterday went well. The track is still wet but the sun is shining and Cool Racing are hoping for the best. It is a great day for Cool Racing as they have also scored LMP3 pole with car #17. Here's the top three.
1. #17 Cool Racing 2:11.062
2. #3 United Autosports 2:11.922
3. #13 Inter Europol Competition 2:12.233
Malthe Jakobsen is set to start the car for the team which have earned their fifth 2022 pole in LMP3 teamed with Mikey Benham and Maurice "Mo" Smith. Yifei Ye says the hard work has paid off. Kessel Racing have put their #57 Ferrari 488 GTE on pole in LM GTE. Here are the top three qualifiers.
1. #57 Kessel Racing 2:17.074
2. #69 Oman Racing with TF Sport 2:18.185
3. #32 Rinaldi Racing 2:18.297
American driver Conrad Grunewald will start the #57 Ferrari and is set to share it with Danish drivers Fredrik Schandorff and Mikkel Jensen. It is time to go racing at Spa Francorchamps! Wow! Even before we start, on the warmup lap, the formation lap, Paul Lafargue has spun the #28 IDEC Sport Oreca! The outside pole sitter has rotated. That is an absolute disaster for IDEC Sport as we get this race underway. Niklas Kruetten the only car on the front row as we get underway. Red lights, on. Red lights, out! A rolling start, and away we go!
Kruetten takes the lead and Duncan Tappy files into second spot headed for the La Source hairpin for the first time. Tappy moves up from fourth on the grid ahead of Julien Canal. Paul Lafargue and IDEC Sport, after the spin, are stone last. It is pretty damp offline as they scream up through Eau Rouge for the first time. A good battle underway already for third spot between Mathias Kaiser and Ferdinand Habsburg. Habsburg is trying to make an outside move. Will he pull it off up the Kemmel straightaway? Everyone has started this 4-hour race on slick tires, but it is extremely wet offline. So, tread carefully is the buzz phrase as we get underway with European Le Mans Series action at Spa Francorchamps this afternoon.
Duncan Tappy shadowing the leader while Ferdinand Habsburg is wasting no time and being bold and daring right from lights out. It is treacherous off-line, and we have spinners already through Les Combes headed for the downhill section of the course. There is at least one LMP3 car tangled up, up there. Sheesh! I was wrong! It is two cars. #27 and #10 are the two cars in question. Jean Ludovic Foubert in the second Cool Racing Ligier, and the #10 has Miguel Cristovao of Portugal starting this race. Cristovao sharing with Xavier Lloveras of Spain, in a car that has had a rotating cast of drivers in it all season.
Matthias Kaiser is eking out a gap in third spot as we speak. Julien Canal next in line followed by Ferdinand Habsburg. A local yellow flag as this race has only just started. The battle for fourth currently between Panis Racing, Prema Racing, and Racing Team Turkey. More trouble as Rob Hodes has spun off into the gravel in the #51 Oreca 07 LMP2 car for Team Virage. Rob Hodes, the American driver sharing with Gabriel Aubry of France and Ian Rodriguez of Guatemala. Paul Lafargue and IDEC Sport's race is going from bad to worse. There's smoke trailing from behind the car, behind the broken left rear corner. That is either a symptom of contact, or a full-on rear suspension breakage.
The left rear is pouring smoke and sitting right down on the floor, doing shedloads of damage. All this shemozzle has led to a safety car. Okie dokie then. Not the way we wanted to the start the race in the Ardennes Forest today. Safety car boards and flags, and on this cold track on a chilly fall afternoon, it is going to be mega difficult to keep heat in these Michelin racing tires. That's for dead sure. Reviewing the start, it looks as if Duncan Tappy moved out of line before he should have. He should have been in formation before the flag waved and not ducking out to the middle row of the circuit. Vincent Vosse and Jean Denis Deletraz looking on.
So, IDEC Sport in the garage, fixing the car with Paul Lafargue at the wheel of it sharing in the all-French trio with Paul Loup Chatin and Patrick Pilet. A new nose going on the car. Team boss Nic Minassian tells us, "he just got caught out. Difficult track conditions on slicks when the track is greasy. We had to start at the back because that is what happens if you don't rejoin the grid at a certain point on the track before the race begins." "He made a mistake with cars everywhere and difficult visibility, and we damaged the rear end of the car." Fans enjoying the vantage point in the new grandstands at Raidillon. Green flag waves again, and we restart the motor race.
Once again, the order at the top of the shop has not changed. Nicklas Kruetten leads Duncan Tappy. Matthias Kaiser in the #21 car for Muehlner Motorsports, he is closing in on the top two and in a big hurry I might add. Ferdinand Habsburg in the #9 Prema entry, the dominant car for most of the races we have seen in the 2022 European Le Mans Series, he is in fourth place. Duncan Tappy is slower through the fearsome Eau Rouge than we thought. I'll tell you what, though. Ferdi Habsburg has the bit between his teeth, and he is really turning it on.
He sweeps past Matthias Kaiser and is on the dry side of the road which gives him the opportunity to be the king of the late brakers as they scream into Raidillon another time. Duncan Tappy lost momentum through Eau Rouge and now, look, Habsburg is right on his six. In the GTE class, Ferrari leads early doors with the American driver Conrad Grunewald. Grunewald, we have seen him in a Ferrari in SRO competition and now he is stepping up to the worldwide GT ranks. SRO America, specifically, in a GT3 Ferrari is where Conrad Grunewald has been cutting his teeth. Five laps only on the board, and now Grunewald is being monstered by the Oman Racing with TF Sport Aston Martin with Ahmad Al Harthy at the wheel of it.
Sarah Bovy in the pink Iron Lynx Ferrari is just behind. So, the Aston Martin surely the meat in a Ferrari sandwich presently. Iron Lynx and the lady drivers specifically, the Iron Dames, are long overdue a victory in that particular car. Could it come today at Spa Francorchamps? Stay tuned to find out. Grunewald is chasing down a gaggle of LMP3 cars. They have a bit more grunt up the hill with their spec, sealed 5.6-liter Nissan VK56 V8 engines. But their minimum corner speed is identical to that of a GTE car. So, the two classes are fairly evenly matched in that sense. That is going to be a fly in the ointment for the GTE leader early doors because he will be held up by the LMP3 cars and they act as the cork in the bottle.
The LMP3 leader is currently the #13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier JS P320 Nissan with American Charlie Crews at the controls. He is sharing with the same season long co-drivers, Guillherme de Oliveira of Portugal, and Nico Pino of Chile. We are just over 20 minutes into the race and Charlie Crews is leading Andrew Tom von Rompuy and Andrew Bentley. Von Rompuy, the Belgian, in his home race, is the starting driver and will hand over to his other two co-drivers as the race continues, Sebastian Alvarez of Mexico and UAE licensed driver Alexander Bukhantsov.
These three are in their own battle, creeping away from the next queue headed by the sister United Autosport car #2. That is the car shared by Bailey Voisin, Josh Caygill, and Finn Gehrsitz. Two Brits and a German teaming up in that car as they have done all season in 2022. Bentley wants to make a move on von Rompuy headed down through Stavelot, Malmedy (Piff Paff), Pouhon, and that wonderful succession of corners on the back half of the circuit here at Spa Francorchamps. Into the Bus Stop and Andrew Bentley is going to do all he can on the outside to make his move! He has the grip and takes both of his two rivals into the Bus Stop! What a pass! That's the benefit, ladies and gentlemen, of a dry racetrack.
So, in LMP3, United lead over Inter Europol and DKR. Josh Caygill in the sister #2 United Autosport car, in fourth spot, he is closing in on the back of the trio and wants to become the caboose on the train here in the queue of LMP3 cars. Caygill makes a brave outside pass in La Source! He is not content with riding around. He wants to be a contender and grab a slice of the pie, a slice of the action. Strike while the iron is hot. Caygill makes the pass on Tom von Rompuy but runs wide onto the gravel! von Rompuy, actually, was a jolly lucky bloke there, and he did not go skittering through the gravel trap.
Oof! Maurice Smith is shown no respect by this adversary through La Source and is simply nudged aside into a spin. This is the #17 Cool Racing championship leading car in LMP3, tagged by Horst Felbermayr Jr. aboard the #15 RLR MSport Ligier. The Austrian of course sharing with American Austin McCusker and Valentino Catalano of Germany. Drama after the contact and the spin for the #17 with the right rear. A good battle brewing for seventh in LMP2 as Fabio Scherer moves around the outside of Julien Canal. Inter Europol vs. Panis Racing. That was a piece of cake for Scherer indeed and through he goes.
Whoops! A spin for Kessel Racing as Conrad Grunewald is facing the wrong way. Wow! He definitely got on the whirligig there through Eau Rouge on a damp patch which sent that Ferrari spinning like a top! He went all the way across the road in Raidillon and nearly gets collected by the Iron Dames Ferrari! Talk about a new meaning to the term, in your face! How on earth did Sara Bovy miss him?! That could have been total and complete disaster! Wow! Unbelievable! Grunewald has made his way back to the pits for fresh tires. Believe me, the tires that were on that automobile came off of it in the shape of cubes after that little mishap! Egad!
No Full Course Yellow, but such agony for Maurice Smith dragging busted bodywork along the track, scraping it away on the tarmac. That right rear wheel is completely cattywampus as he comes back to the lane, and anything they can do to earn points now will hopefully save their bacon with one race still to go this season. The race continues under Full Course Yellow and so the Cool Racing team will spring into action and do everything in their power to fix that race car. Just over 40 minutes of the race gone, and we are now getting ready to resume under green flag conditions. Green, green, green. Duncan Tappy buries his foot into the gas pedal and Ferdinand Habsburg does likewise.
Tappy gets the jump over Habsburg as they fly downhill again towards Eau Rouge. This isn't the lead battle. It is for second spot. Habsburg is getting a tow and is pulling to the outside to pass. It is dry enough on the road to attempt a pass but a big lockup from Habsburg tells you he is pushing to the very limit. Oh man! Speaking of on the limit, they both go off the road at Les Combes! Tappy up the escape road and Habsburg skittering across the green paint. Habsburg can pop right back out on the track while poor old Duncan Tappy is out in no man's land, in the Toolies there somewhere. A place is exchanged as Habsburg moves up to second and Tappy is demoted to third. Bent Viscaal is the shark and can smell blood while these two minnows are scrapping. Viscaal in the #45 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca.
Viscaal, the Dutchman, sharing that car with Romanian driver Filip Ugran this weekend and for the next and last race of the season which is the finale at Portimao, Portugal, at the Algarve International Circuit. Habsburg is well aware discretion is the better part of valor and gives the place back to Tappy as it rightfully should be so as to not raise the ire of the stewards. Tappy, followed by Habsburg and Viscaal who has a head of steam, look. The track is still wet, gradually drying, but there is a lot of moisture off the racing line. Tread carefully. That is the name of the game. 45 minutes now on the board. United run 1-2 in LMP3, but for how long will that continue?
Josh Caygill is feeling the heat from Inter Europol and the #14 of Mateusz Kaprzyk! The Polish driver getting after it, early doors. He is throwing everything he has at Caygill including the kitchen sink! Braking late, it looks like poor old Caygill is going to get stymied and allow Kaprzyk to pounce. Caygill gives way to the Polish driver into La Source. A classic inside pass deep under braking. That's a textbook move here at Spa into that turn which I think is the slowest on the course. Don't run out wide. That's a block pass and the stewards will ping you for it.
Josh Caygill is not taking this lying down. He is stuck there like glue, right on Kapryzk's six. More action on the Kemmel straight, and this is dodge 'em car stuff! Fabio Scherer, the Swiss driver in the #43 Inter Europol Oreca has had enough of countryman Mathias Kaiser getting in his way, and so he pulls over, and gives Kaiser the argy bargy treatment, slamming into the side of the Muehlner Motorsports entry! Excuse me. Wrong driver, wrong car. That's Tijmen van der Helm, the Dutchman at the wheel of the #31 TDS Racing x Vaillante Oreca. Apologies as apparently, I need my tired old eyes checked. van der Helm felt the sting there, sharing that car alongside Philippe Cimadomo and Matthias Beche.
More LMP3 action as Jerome de Sadeleer is coming in hot behind Charlie Crews up the Kemmel straightaway! This scrap is for sixth spot in the LMP3 class. Jerome de Sadeleer has the pace and gets past Charlie Crews up into Raidillon. A good scrap in GTE, look, between two veterans of the sport. Christian Ried in the #77 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR-19 chasing down Pierre Ehret in the #32 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari 488 GTE for sixth place in class. Both of these drivers, combined, have about half a century of racing experience, each of them having raced now for a quarter century, but Ehret spins! How did that happen? Does the commentator's curse strike again?
Ehret just overcooks it into Bruxelles, (Brussels corner). Newcomer Juan Manuel Correa is preparing for his stint at the wheel of the #9 Prema Oreca. Correa, the American-Ecuadorian driver who races with an American license, has replaced Italian Lorenzo Colombo at Prema for the final two races of ELMS 2022, here at Spa and at the finale at Portimao in Portugal. Now we have run about an hour and 10 minutes of the race. The leading Cool Racing car #37 has run 26 laps, 113 miles. We look at a battle for third place between Fabio Scherer and Ferdinand Habsburg. Scherer hanging on by his fingernails and Habsburg passes him. This might be the opening installment of the Ferdi and Fabio show. To be continued? Or is this the only episode?
Scherer couldn't hold on and so Habsburg is through into third spot. Duncan Tappy is being monstered by Habsburg in a battle for second. Cool Racing continue in the lead almost seven seconds up the road. Habsburg coming in hot on Tappy who tries slamming the door in his face, but revenge doesn't and work, and Tappy is loose! He nearly spins the #22 car! Fabio Scherer says, "OK lads. While you two are squabbling, I'll take that spot, thank you, and whistles right through." Bish, bash, bosh. A piece of cake overtake there for the Swiss driver. A Swiss chocolate cake, maybe. Pit stop time for car #22. Duncan Tappy out of the United Autosport car, and Phil Hanson will drive the next stint.
29 laps complete, 126 miles. Inter Europol leading Prema by four seconds. Prema in the lane, too. Ferdinand Habsburg finishes his stint and hands over to Juan Manuel Correa for his first drive in a European Le Mans Series race. Panis Racing also in on lap 30 and Julien Canal hands the #65 car to Job van Uitert. Duncan Tappy states that his job is to bring the car back to the United Autosport pit in one piece and hand it over to his teammates so they can keep on racing. Tappy says there has been notable damage to the car after his stint for the last few races, and he has had a great race on track with Ferdinand Habsburg.
He hopes the damage to the car isn't significant. Now, the lead battle in LMP2 shifts to being between Inter Europol Competition and Cool Racing. Just over an hour and a half into the race. We should be approaching halfway, soon, as the battle resumes between Fabio Scherer and Nicolas Lapierre. Scherer gets held up in traffic and Lapierre makes a brave move at Piff Paff (Fangnes corner), and goes off the road into the gravel trap! Scherer had his elbows out and for sure Lapierre has lost bucketloads of time and track position to boot. Nico Lapierre will be sore about that move. Rotten sportsmanship I am sure. Meanwhile, the #21 Muehlner Motorsport Oreca goes off the road! Deary me. What is that all about?
Ugo de Wilde has Mr. Toad's wild ride across the gravel trap onto the paved escape road through Les Combes! Jeepers creepers! The question is, was their contact with the Rinaldi Racing Ferrari? If so, how? Hard to see but maybe it swapped ends and pitched him into that lurid skid! Unbelievable stuff there, ladies and gents! Have you ever? No, I've never! Poor old de Wilde is still wriggling around, so obviously he has junk on his tires and doesn't even know. Slow down. There's a puncture there somewhere. Ugo, mate, slow down. You had the warning sign, but you are still going rallycrossing through the gravel. Shaking head in disbelief. Tisk, tisk, tisk, Ugo.
Come on, baby, get out of the gravel. Now, back to the pits, safely, OK? Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the lead battle ensues hot and heavy, and Nico Lapierre wants a piece of Fabio Scherer and is going to do all he can to get it! But I emphasize, he shall be careful to show Scherer his nose, and won't be driving like a total maniac. Measured, calculated moves. Scherer may be having a word or two with the stewards. No tea and biscuits, or Belgian waffles with jam, for you, sunshine. The stewards want a word with you in their office after your stint, mate.
Yup. Yup. They've warned him about driving standards after that little argy bargy incident we saw earlier. Now, wait a second. Unless I am seeing double, there was another banging of wheels there. It seems to me that Fabio Scherer is not earning any friends in the European Le Mans Series paddock for these antics. Don't get into contact with anyone down the hill to Eau Rouge. You're asking for a massive shunt if you do. Lapierre makes the move. Fabio, simmer down, pal. Simmer down. Nico Lapierre makes the pass. In the meantime, another LMP2 car has spun. Filip Ugran has spun the #19 Algarve Pro Racing car at pit in, filling in for Sophia Floresch. A spot of bother there for the Romanian driver.
Full Course Yellow and wholesale pit stops. Ugran makes it back to the pit lane himself. Nico Lapierre is serviced and sent as Fabio Scherer also comes to the lane. We remain under Full Course Yellow. Driver changes in a couple of the GTE Ferrari camps. We are closing in on the halfway mark of the race here at Spa. Sarah Bovy handing over to Doriane Pin at the Iron Dames Ferrari team. Plus, we see the CarGuy entry in the lane, the yellow #57 for Kessel Racing, Fredrik Schandorff at the controls. She must have a massive heart in the mouth moment seeing the other Ferrari spin directly in front of her! Holy smokes! I can't imagine!
Bovy, in her interview after her driving stint, the first thing she does is apologize to her dear mother who is at Spa watching her daughter race. She says, "I'm sorry if I scared you, mom. I'm OK." She saw Schandorff spin, didn't think he would come back across the track, but had quick reflexes to avoid disaster. That kind of crash can happen. That kind of incident needs to be respected that it can happen at a track like Spa. Headed for the two-hour mark, the halfway point in the race as we are back under green flag conditions now. The battle is on in earnest for the race lead, look. Nico Lapierre under massive pressure from Phil Hanson! Sweeping uphill, Hanson wants to take the long road around the outside and slam the door on Lapierre.
What can he do? He does it, and keeps it legal, too, on the exit of Blanchimont! Wow! That was a good dice! Nico Lapierre says, "no you don't!" and he comes right back at Hanson through the Bus Stop, the final chicane on the track which used to be a true bus stop in day-to-day life, but I don't think it is that way any longer. There is also a bus stop chicane at Daytona International Speedway, and I've been there once, for the Rolex 24, but I didn't see any buses arrive to take fans from the speedway back to the main drag on Atlantic Avenue in Daytona Beach. The LMP3 racer from United Autosport could play the blocker here and allow for the sister LMP2 to pass the leader from Cool Racing. Will Lapierre and Hanson get the drive off the corner and make the move on the LMP3 car? Let's see.
Hanson looks to the inside. Will he make it? Yes! Lapierre overcooks it into La Source and locks the brakes up! Those tires are going to come off car #37 in the shape of cubes! Hanson takes the lead of the motor race while Lapierre is navigating around the slip road that is beyond the gravel trap, so he doesn't get pebbles and other junk all over his tires. Nico Lapierre back on track headed to Eau Rouge, but he will be fuming at himself for making such a silly mistake! Ross Kaiser and Nico Pino are in a battle of their own for position in LMP3. They are closing in on the #3 Ligier from United Autosports, the Andrew Bentley, Kay van Berlo, and Jim McGuire driven entry. Pino sends it to the inside into Campus and keeps it together. So, that is the halfway mark here at Spa and we enter the second half of the 4 hour race.
Meanwhile, a simmering battle in GTE as we are watching Iron Lynx and Oman Racing with TF Sport going at it. Jonny Adam trying to race with and reel in Matteo Cressoni. Adam puts all four wheels off the road at Raidillon, so he may incur the wrath of the stewards for that. He'll have to give it up. He did not make the pass, or does he? He is later on the brakes into Les Combes at the top of the hill and is later on the brakes, going slightly off the road. There's no doubt he shall have to give it up and give the spot to Cressoni. He does now. OK. That is sorted out fairly cleanly. Adam is not taking it lying down, though. He still wants by Cressoni and is going to push the Italian for everything he's got.
So, the GTE battle is hot and heavy as we are halfway home here in the Ardennes Forest. Fabio Scherer explains he loves mixed conditions on the track when it is halfway between totally wet and totally dry. That's the key to his driving style during his stint and it worked great. The car felt wonderful, and he is happy with the pace. There was a great fight going on with Nico Lapierre and Fabio Scherer says he was fully on the inside and Scherer explains he was touched by Nico Lapierre and had to counter steer to avoid wrecking himself. Uh oh. Trouble once again for car #43 as Scherer's co-driver, the Danish driver David Heinemeier-Hanson spins off on the downhill run to Eau Rouge. We have an hour and 40 minutes left on the board.
The leading #22 United Autosport Oreca has completed 54 laps, 235 miles. Car #22 is leading the race to the tune of 24 seconds over the #31 TDS Racing x Vaillante Oreca 07. David Heinemeier Hansson is back on track and continues in the race. Heinemeier Hansson is still gaining speed with the Prema and Panis Racing cars bearing down on him! Oh my! Juan Manuel Correa vs. Job van Uitert. Correa making his first ELMS start and now, van Uitert has a head of steam and is aiming to pass them both. Correa to the outside and it looks as if van Uitert is going to split the difference and shoot his way up the inside on the Kemmel straightaway! Three deep on the Kemmel straightaway? Are you kidding me?!
There's room as Heinemeier Hansson was defending from Correa who is going to get chopped by a GTE car! van Uitert makes it past his rivals and past the Iron Dames Ferrari! A three for one sale. That was bananas! OK. The leader is in the pit lane for service with only an hour and a half left. The weather is getting better. A glorious fall afternoon here at Spa Francorchamps and it isn't the cold, gloomy, rainy, damp, and wet, miserable weather that we associate with Spa a lot. We hear from Conrad Grunewald who says he was in a very close battle in GTE competition on a drying track. He says "I was so close to flat the lap before, so I used the curb on entry and my left rear got into some water, and the rest was a ride! It was exciting. Thank you, Sarah, for not collecting me. The car is in one piece, we came in and got some new tires on it. There's still time to go, and hopefully my teammates carry me the rest of the way."
Grunewald was called up ten days ago for his first ELMS race. He is very happy to be here, having a wonderful time, in a great car, on an amazing track. What more could you want as a racing driver? The battles are alive in LMP2 as Yifei Ye has now taken over the #37 Cool Racing Oreca and he is behind Richard Bradley, the experienced British driver, aboard the #30 Duqueine Team Oreca. Bradley sharing with Memo Rojas of Mexico and Frenchman Mathieu de Barbuat this weekend. Bradley runs wide and this could be an easy pickup for Yifei Ye. It is. The Chinese driver makes the pass and now has to deal with the Iron Dames Ferrari ahead.
Pit stop time for the GTE leading Ferrari, car #57. From one Danish driver to another as Fredrik Schandorff hands the car off to Mikkel Jensen. Jensen is a Ferrari factory driver and may have a shot at the Ferrari Hypercar program in 2023 in FIA World Endurance. That will be starting very soon, and we look forward to bringing it to you, here on the blog. Some big names signed up in the Hypercar class of course for the WEC and at Le Mans. Will Stevens for Racing Team Turkey has his hands full with Richard Bradley once again in the #30 Duqueine Team entry. Bradley does not want to give it away and hangs on by his fingernails. Stevens makes the move and clears Bradley well before they even get to the uphill at Eau Rouge. Sixth place for Stevns. United Autosports leads Panis Racing and Prema. Tom Gamble from England currently at the wheel of the #22 Oreca.
Drama and a spell in the garage for Muehlner Motorsport currently in 14th place with Thomas Laurent of France behind the wheel. He is the second driver on their team along with Matthias Kaiser from Switzerland and of course Belgian hometown hero Ugo de Wilde. Laurent parks it in the garage. Game over. Muehlner Motorsports, out of race. Panis Racing to the lane with Nico Jamin at the controls of the #65 car with just 54 minutes left in the race. So, we are indeed within the final hour looking at this stop. All of this latest action I have been describing to you is within the final hour of the race here at Spa Francorchamps. So, we nearly have all of it in the can.
Louis Deletraz has also brought the #9 Prema car to pit lane for scheduled service. This ought to ideally be the final stops of the race before we see the checkered flag here tonight. Louis Deletraz's dad, Jean Denis Deletraz, former Formula 1 driver looking on in the pit lane alongside Team WRT boss Vincent Vosse. Who will win the battle in pit lane? Panis getting ready, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting on fuel. Prema down and away first, but here's the Panis car exiting the box. Panis Racing just barely, by the thickness of a piece of sandpaper, get out of the lane ahead of the Prema car! Wow! How close do you like it?
No tires and no driver change. Nico Jamin and Louis Deletraz mano e mano to the finish of this one as we get set to settle it here in the Ardennes Forest. Wow! Screaming right past these two, the #43 Inter Europol Oreca which has moved to fourth place in the overall. Safe release? Unsafe release? How do you call that one? That's a fair question. Tom Gamble brings the #22 in. All business at United Autosport. Fuel only, from the race lead. Panis Racing and Prema continue their scrap and Louis Deletraz gets some front nose oscillation under braking bounding over the curbs which are still fairly damper than the track surface.
Deletraz runs wide but does not sustain any damage. Ferrari vs. Ferrari in a battle for the GTE class lead. Michelle Gatting is the leader in the #85 Iron Dames Ferrari and behind her is not the yellow Iron Lynx Ferrari, car #60, but rather it is the #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari, the yellow 488 GTE with the white accents on the nose. That is Mikkel Jensen. So, this is a battle royale between two Danish drivers. Jensen has a head of steam up the Kemmel straightaway, uphill towards Les Combes once again. Michelle Gatting has the preferred line on the inside. Jensen dives inside under braking and makes the pass. Mikkel Jensen takes the GTE lead.
Tom Gamble still leading the motor race is sorting his way through LMP3 traffic. With 47 minutes remaining in the race, Gamble has now completed 77 laps, 335 miles, as he is trying to go inside a couple of the LMP3 runners. He has a handsome cushion of nearly 34 seconds to the second-place car, the #43 Inter Europol Competition entry. Gamble wants the inside on these LMP3 cars, but they're wrestling and won't let him have it! Oh no! Alex Kapadia runs right up the tail of James Littlejohn and spins him out! Kapadia in the #5 RLR MSport Ligier and Littlejohn in the #7 for Nielsen Racing sharing in a two-driver lineup with Tony Wells. Kapadia did not see Littlejohn because he was seeing the United Autosport LMP2 car in his mirrors. An ugly scene, but I don't think it was intentional. I think that was a racing deal.
Full Course Yellow on the speedway as Cool Racing enters the lane. Yifei Ye was wrongfooted and spun at pit entrance. Oh dear. Tony Wells acknowledges that James Littlejohn was fired off the road after Kapadia lost it under braking. The team will have to check the car for damage. They passed six cars. Tony Wells brought his kids to the track to watch the race and so he had to perform well for his family in the race today. He ended up passing four cars into turn one and another driver into Les Combes and still another into Pouhon to eventually end up in sixth place in class. OK. A short Full Course Yellow, and now, after that fracas, we are back to green flag racing.
Just over half an hour to go here at Spa in the penultimate race of the 2022 European Le Mans Series. Louis Deletraz locks the brakes into La Source! Jeepers! That was iffy. I think that's a symptom of cold tires, and cold and grabby brakes. Nico Jamin exits the pit lane as the leading United Autosport entry has now crossed over 81 laps, 352 and a half miles, and has a comfortable margin now of 1:22 over the #43 Inter Europol entry in second place. Nico Jamin coming out of the pit lane in fourth spot. The Prema car right in front. Half an hour to go. Pietro Fittipaldi now in the #43, second in LMP2 followed by Louis Deletraz and Nico Jamin. It is close quarters at the top of the shop.
A drive through penalty will be assessed to car #31 for causing a collision. That is the TDS x Vaillante car. Nico Jamin in the meantime is still in hot pursuit of both Louis Deletraz and Pietro Fittipaldi. Tom Gamble in the lead of the motor race, locks the brakes into the Bus Stop! Keep it on the island, sunbeam. Keep it on the island. Those tires are strained to their limits. In the meantime, we only have 13 and a half minutes left as we are coming to the end of this motor race. 90 laps now complete for the #22 car, 392 miles. Gamble is still 30 seconds up on Pietro Fittipaldi. We still have the remaining time, but let's have a Captain Cook at the points table and how it might shake out after Spa and heading into the finale in Portugal.
1. #9 Prema Racing 100 points
2. #65 Panis Racing 76 points
3. #22 United Autosport 73 points
4. #37 Cool Racing 55 points
5. #28 IDEC Sport 47 points
6. #19 Algarve Pro Racing 27 points
Prema will have to wait to the finale to clinch the title running ahead of Panis in second and United in third. That is why the Prema vs. Panis battle is absolutely crucial. Prema still chasing Inter Europol for second overall and in LMP2 and Ferdinand Habsburg can barely watch. Habsburg and Juan Manuel Correa are not factors in the championship, but Louis Deletraz definitely is. Pietro Fittipaldi is 1.1 seconds in-arrears. Seven and a half minutes to go and that will yield, what, four laps? Just a guess. Into Eau Rouge, they are dealing with one of the quicker GTE cars, the #95 Oman Racing by TF Sport Aston Martin.
The chase is on. Deletraz has pulled the pin and obviously thinks he has something left in the locker for the Inter Europol car while United Autosport are whistling off into the distance. Battle for the lead in LMP2 Pro-Am, for sixth and seventh in the overall. It is AF Corse vs. Racing Team Turkey, car #88 vs. car #34. Alessio Rovera vs. Will Stevens. One lap to go for the leader and for everyone else. Will Stevens has one more shot to make this stick. Stevens closing in on Rovera. Rovera can see Stevens, covers his attack, and goes back online. Both drivers bounding over the curbs. Through Eau Rouge for the final time of asking.
Drive through penalty for the #47 LMP2 car for abusing track limits. That's the Algarve Pro entry for James Allen, John Falb, and Alex Peroni, two Australian's and an American in that automobile. United Autosport are going to seal the deal. 96 laps, 418 miles. Meanwhile, Rovera knows Stevens is right on his back door. Up into Les Combes, Stevens shows the nose, and then Rovera tucks back in to fend off the challenge. Tom Gamble takes United Autosport to their first win of 2022 in the European Le Mans Series here at the 4 Hours of Spa! How about it!
At long last, Tom Gamble, Phil Hanson, and Duncan Tappy are your race winners! The battle rages for second in LMP2 and in the overall. Last corner for Pietro Fittipaldi. Fittipaldi will make it! Louis Deletraz throws it away on the last corner of the last lap of the motor race! Inter Europol second with Prema in third spot. Racing Team Turkey take the honors in LMP2 Pro-Am. Inter Europol come up short for the overall, but they do win in LMP3 with the #13 car of Charles Crews, Guillherme Oliveira, and Nico Pino. In the GTE class, Ferrari and Kessel Racing triumph with Mikkel Jensen, Frederik Schandorff, and Conrad Grunewald!
Overall/LMP2: #22 Gamble/Hanson/Tappy United Autosports Oreca 07
LMP2 Pro Am: #34 Stevens/Eastwood/Yoluc Racing Team Turkey Oreca 07
LMP3: #13 Crews/Oliveira/Pino Inter Europol Competition Ligier JS P320
Nissan
GTE: #57 Grunewald/Jensen/Schandorff Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GTE
Finally! Tom Gamble, Phil Hanson, and Duncan Tappy are winners! Inter Europol in second and Prema in third who have a narrow championship lead before the season finale for 2022. The Alessio Rovera and Will Stevens race was very close, and Stevens and Racing Team Turkey win Pro-Am by 42 thousandths of a second! AF Corse come home second and Algarve Pro in third place in spite of a last lap drive through penalty! Can you believe it? I can't believe it! Again, Kessel Racing win GTE as Conrad Grunewald replaces Takeshi Kimura for the race here at Spa.
Grunewald filled in admirably as a sub this weekend while Takeshi Kimura was racing in a different championship in Japan. Iron Lynx come home second and in third place, a car we didn't even mention all day. But the #18 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19 makes it to the podium at Spa Francorchamps with Andrew Haryanto, Alessio Picariello, and Martin Rump. Proton Competition and the #77 Porsche maintain the GTE class points lead on 72 points nine markers ahead of second place and the Kessel Racing Ferrari who get a major boost with the win today.
Proton do hold the GTE class lead as we look ahead to the 2022 season finale in Portimao, Portugal. Inter Europol have had a great weekend here at Spa and they have the hat trick in LMP3! They have won in LMP3 and on Nico Pino's birthday race weekend! Happy Birthday, Nico! They have a 17-point cushion headed for the finale in Portugal. Third place went to the #7 Nielsen Racing car of Tony Wells and James Littlejohn while in second spot it was the DKR Engineering Duqueine Nissan of Sebastian Alvarez, Alexander Bukhantsov, and Tom von Rompuy.
The #13 team have a 19-point cushion going into the final race at Portimao over Cool Racing. This race at Spa was fabulous! By the way, before we go, we have the official 2023 calendar, for this year, just released for the European Le Mans Series.
Round 1: April 23rd Barcelona, Spain
Round 2: May 7th Imola, Italy
Round 3: July 16th Paul Ricard (Le Castellet), France
Round 4: August 26th Aragon, Spain (night race)
Round 5: September 24th Spa Francorchamps, Belgium
Round 6: October 15th Portimao, Portugal
We'll see you for the finale in Portugal for the 2022 finale. Bye for now.
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