Watch the extended race highlights of the 2023 TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa, round 3 of the FIA World Endurance Championship. We join Martin Haven, Graham Goodwin, and Anthony Davidson calling the action from the broadcast booth, and Louise Beckett reporting from the pit lane.
I have been sitting here, thinking about our first foray into World Endurance racing at Spa yesterday. It is a darn shame that Jack Aitken never got to drive the #3 Cadillac he was entered in, with our boys at Action Express at Spa, observing the idiosyncrasies of the championship alongside the Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac team. Renger van der Zande ended up having a massive accident with the #3 Cadillac going up through Eau Rouge which is probably the most fearsome corner at Spa let alone at any race track in the world save probably for the Nurburgring Nordschleife or, the old Maison Blanche turn at Le Mans which is of course no longer used because of how dangerous it was.
I see there is nothing that Renger could do to avoid the accident and it was a bad, bad one. Fortunately, he was OK. The car was totally written off. It is bear to deal with because we wanted to learn from in race experience about how the operational procedures work. That being said, Action Express will be back. You can bet your bottom dollar on that one. We are set to race in IMSA at Laguna Seca Raceway on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey, California, next weekend, on Mother's Day. Then, it will be all hands on deck with some endurance testing before the 24 Hours of Le Mans which is slated for June 10th and 11th. The car we are slated to race, the #311 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V Series R is already in Europe and so, we will have that car ready to go for the 24 Hours.
A bitter pill to swallow yesterday since Jack Aitken was not able to drive. But, the incident is already forgotten. Sometimes, racing drivers do not forget. But, more often than not, in racing as in life, you put aside anything negative that happened before and get it totally out of your mind and move on to the next race. As I write this post, that is the deal. We set up for Laguna Seca, and then, it is off to France to compete in the centenary edition of the greatest sports car race on the planet. Lots more sports car racing action to come, so stay tuned, everybody.
We are now into the last hour of the race. Kamui Kobayashi leading Brendon Hartley. Prema leads LMP2 and Richard Mille Racing leads GTE Am. Toyota #8 has made only 11 places up in Hypercar from 36th of 37 starters. Can you imagine if Hartley overcomes Kobayashi after the accident yesterday? Wow. What will the tire strategy be for the #8? Medium tires x2 and mixed compounds? We'll see. 55 minutes remaining in the race to find out who will win the 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps. Toyota, Toyota, Porsche, Ferrari, Cadillac in Hypercar. In LMP2, the order is United, WRT, Prema, and Inter Europol. Corvette leads GTE Am over Aston Martin and Porsche. Fina pit stops underway in GTE Am. We have three or four retirements. Vector Sport #10, Cadillac #3, Porsche #6, and Vanwall #4. So sorry to see Jack Aitken never got to drive in this race. Hopefully Action Express have learned a bunch before we go to Le Mans in June.
Ferdinand Habsburg says he was very uncomfortable in a loose race car and was disappointed to lose out to Prema earlier on. Andre Negrao in the #35 Alpine Oreca bounces off Robin Frijns in an LMP2 position change. Robin Frijns now takes the place back from Andre Negrao in the Alpine. Charles Milesi in the second Alpine Oreca has just passed Daniil Kvyat and nearly an argy bargy moment! Charlie Eastwood leading GTE Am in the ORT by TF Aston Martin, the #25. Final GTE Am pit stops cycling through. Nicky Catsburg has pitted and gone ahead of Harry Tincknell. #33 Corvette and #88 Porsche. #83 stopping as has Michelle Gatting in #85. Tom Blomqvist getting back into the #23 United Autosport Oreca in LMP2.
Daniil Kvyat is running ahead of Charles Milesi as we have a pit stop for the #5 Porsche 963 of Fred Makowiecki running ahead of James Calado in the Ferrari. Kamui Kobayashi to pit for tires and fuel. Box, box, box this lap. It will be their final stop. Final stop too for the Porsche boys. Porsche in the lane two laps earlier than they expected. 48 minutes to go. Toyota's Hypercar rivals have lost a car apiece. Both Toyota's continue in the fight. Kobayashi carefully into the pit lane. Remember, he has an enormous flat spot. So, new tires are surely needed. Final tear off pulled off the windscreen. Brendon Hartley was told the #7 would take four tires.
They bailed on that idea and changed to two tires. He still might have the flat spot. James Calado has passed Fred Makowiecki and Calado is on the hot tires while Fred Makowiecki is on medium's. Fuel only for Ferrari in their last stop and so they've indeed nailed their colors to the mast. The battle is afoot in GTE Am as Nicky Catsburg is reeling in Alessio Rovera. Charlie Eastwood being monstered by Michelle Gatting and Harry Tincknell. No tires for Ferrari and Calado. 53 seconds in the box saving themselves 22 seconds over both Toyota's as Brendon Hartley leads the race. Hartley due into the lane this lap.
Into Pouhon he goes. This is the double left hand corner and a high G force corner. Hertz Team Jota and the #38 Porsche 963 just stopped as well. Hartley now in the lane. He has completed 128 laps, 557 miles. Pit stop for Toyota #8. Clenaing the windscreen and adding fuel. Kobayashi cuts the fastest time in sector one and in sector two. Left side tires only, down off the air jacks, and here is Kobayashi! Yikes! Insistent we are hearing that #7 took four tires. Oh my! Give it back! That overtake was way off the road! That overtake was in Luxembourg, not Belgium!
Hartley can bring the tires in at his leisure. No need to drive off the road. White flag for anyone coming out of the lane. That is a yield flag. Frijns ahead of Deletraz and Kvyat in LMP2. Richard Mille Racing Team 12 seconds ahead of Corvette followed by Charlie Eastwood, Michelle Gatting, and Harry Tincknell. Car #7 under investigation for overtaking beyond track limits at turn four. Aha. I thought so. If Kamui Kobayashi does not give the place back, he is giving away a win and having to take a drive through penalty. This could be manna from heaven for Porsche. Eau Rouge is a stunning and yet very controversial corner. He is six seconds ahead of Brendon Hartley. Under duress, I think Kobayashi still cops a penalty.
No radio from #8. Brendon Hartley knows what is going on but he is just in shut up and drive mode. Daniil Kvyat is monstering Robin Frijns while Louis Deletraz has scurried away like a rat up a drainpipe. At Toyota #7, #8 is three seconds behind. Kamui Kobayashi cannot think everything is OK and he is team boss and Kobayashi wonders, "what are we fighting for?!" Trouble for the front left tire for Hartley? Is it punctured? Is it just cold? It is OK. It is just cold. Fuel only for the #2 Cadillac battling with the #5 Porsche. Driver change at Inter Europol. Richard Westbrook will resume in fifth spot as the #34 Inter Europol Oreca is in the lane in LMP2.
In Hypercar, Porsche #5 third, Ferrari #51 Ferrari fourth, Cadillac #2 fifth. 35 minutes to go. If Toyota #8 has a puncture, then Kobayashi in the sister #7 is going to be in deep sleet, in hot water. Kobayashi though has been the quicker of the two but he was suffering. Three minute stop and go penalty for the #63 Prema LMP2 for not respecting safety car procedure. Wowzers. That's their hopes of victory right out the window. I think they took full fuel instead of a splash and a dash. #31 in the lane for the final stop for the WRT car and United Autosport #22 in the lane as well. No tires. Albuquerque has a full set and has nearly a full fuel load.
Fuel only for Albuquerque. Frijns stationary for nearly a minute. We have seen screamingly good races in all classes today! Blomqvist back to the top of the shop in LMP2. It is squeaky, squeaky time in LMP2 as Tom Blomqvist is now back at the top of the shop in LMP2. Prema #9 in pit lane too. Spa Francorchamps is a clockwise circuit. #63 has yet to serve it's penalty and Andrea Caldarelli at the wheel of the #9. Daniil Kvyat is the driver who has to serve the penalty. Michelle Gatting reeling in Charlie Eastwood in GTE Am. Go hell for leather and bite the bullet and take fuel, or lift and coast. Those are the two ways you can cut the cake.
Caldarelli warned by the stewards for abusing track limits. The #54 team rebuilt the Ferrari up until 4Am, spent an hour for a shave, and shower, and then came right back to work, totally exhausted by now. Louis Deletraz will be good on fuel for the final half hour. Toyota 1-2 and the squabble between Porsche, Ferrari, and Cadillac for the final podium place. Will we see a penalty for the #7 Toyota? Nothing on the radio from Brendon Hartley. Porsche ahead of Ferrari. Makowiecki ahead of Calado. Ferrari 499P and Porsche 963 pretty evenly matched.
Pit stop under investigation for the #5 Porsche Penske Motorsports team. Oh boy. Peugeot #94 are in the lane and back out. Both Toyota's and both Peugeot's have hung on. Hertz Team Jota also in the race with the #38 Porsche 963 ahead of the Peugeot's, the Glickenhaus and others. Meanwhile, in GTE Am, look, it is a tight squeeze and a bunch of sevens through Eau Rouge! Casper Stevenson passing Julien Andlauer. I smell track limits. Albert Costa chasing Robin Frijns in LMP2. Albert Costa, an ex Lamborghini factory driver. He could be in a Hypercar next year. A great driver. Tom Blomqvist and Louis Deletraz in LMP2 need a splash and dash.
Calado has a 35 second gap to the Porsche and their last pit stop of course is under investigation. Push it, push it. OK. OK. I'll push it! Andrea Caldarelli third in LMP2 being harried but they are a tad behind. James Calado has three seconds over Fred Makowiecki. A drive through not served in the race will become a 30 second time penalty added to the race time at the end. Car #63 finally ends it's three minute penalty. That was actually his final splash for gas. Oh boy! Albert Costa inside Robin Frijns with Harry Tincknell in the Proton Porsche 911 RSR-19 in the way! Holy moly!
Albert Costa is a true racer indeed and so is Robin Frijns but his tires are going to be squares by now. Just over 20 minutes of racing to go. Filipe Albuquerque ahead of Albert Costa at Les Combes and Costa is reeling him in hand over fist. Kamui Kobayashi 12 seconds to the good in the overall lead. Nicky Catsburg second over Charlie Eastwood in the Aston Martin vs. the Corvette. Catching is one thing while passing is another. Fred Makowiecki has put the sole remaining Porsche into third place. The change happens in LMP2 and Albuquerque got stymied by Charlie Eastwood in the Aston Martin. Costa has to have better tires than Albuquerque does.
Fabio Scherer did more work on old tires. Albert Costa has been added to Inter Europol and Jakub Smiechowski, the Polish Bronze driver, he also has done great. Same with Fabio Scherer. James Calado smells blood, chasing Fred Makowiecki. Ferrari is the shark and Porsche are the minnow. This is "The Italian Job" movie in real life. Richard Westbrook infifth place. Pace is not there for the Cadillac compared tot the Ferrari. 17 minutes remaining. Kamui Kobayashi's race still in doubt. The weather is changing and the sun has come out in Spa. James Calado is catching Fred Makowiecki and fast. The third place Porsche 963 is still under investigation by the stewards. United and WRT in LMP2 still need to pit, followed by Prema and Inter Europol.
Tom Blomqvist is losing his advantage in LMP2. Kobayashi leads Hartley by almost 13 seconds with 140 laps completed. 609 miles. Olivier Pla in traffic in the #708 Glickenhaus SCG007. In GTE Am, Alessio Rovera leads and now, the gap is decreasing in LMP2 between Tom Blomqvist and Louis Deletraz. Richard Mille followed by Corvette Racing followed by ORT. Ferrari, Corvette, Aston Martin. Blomqvist is running out of tire. The tires in LMP2 are beginning to fall off a cliff. Can Inter Europol close up? We only have 15 minutes left in the motor race. In LMP2 a splash and dash will take 40 seconds total.
The gap to Andrea Caldarelli is 58 seconds. 18 seconds is the gap between Calado and the Porsche. WRT ready for Louis Deletraz. United inthe lane. So, this is a battle between two of the best LMP2 teams. Deletraz down and away and a longer stop for United! Oy! Someone screwed up. Hard to say who did what. #9 is going to have #34 right on it's six. Eastwood on Catsburg's six as well. No dice for Iron Dames and Richard Mille Racing and the Ferrari well ahead in GTE Am in the final ten minutes and now the Porsche 963 is going to get stymied by this battle and Ferrari might just go ahead. No dice for catching Alessio Rovera.
19 seconds is the spread among the top four in LMP2. In Hypercar, it is about the final step on the podium and a possible penalty for Kamui Kobayashi. We shall have to keep you updated if anything happens. Cadillac had to make an extra pit stop compared to Toyota and Porsche. Nicky Catsburg defending but says that his rear tires are falling off the cliff. Charlie Eastwood into the final chicane is going to go for it. Catsburg knows where to place the Corvette. Eastwood to the otuside and tries the over under but can't get it done. Catsburg knows Spa like the back of his hand. Calado squeezes past this battle! Yikes!
10.3 seconds the gap from the Ferrarito the Porsche, Catsburg held up by the #38 Jota Porsche 963. Albert Costa giving Andrea Caldarelli fits. Costa has the pace advantage, these two, former Lamborghini teammates. I think the fire has gone out for a battle for the LMP2 lead. This is all about third between Prema and Inter Europol, the racing bakers. Nicky Catsburg hanging on to second over Charlie Eastwood in GTE Am. Eastwood tries it but gets balked by Catsburg. This has been a genuinely fun race to watch. Oh dear. Costa is going for it. This is going to be a bear and a half. Calado closing up with six minutes to go. We should get three or so more laps.
Can Catsburg keep the pressure? Catsburg has run touring cars, GT cars, prototypes, everything. In LMP2, through Blanchimont, no dice. Lockup for Prema cutting the corner and now, he will have to give it up and let Inter Europol by. The jig is up. The jug is up? Not now. Drink it? Not yet. Oh blimey! This madness, and here comes Prema and they touch! #9 has to give it up again up the Kemmel straightaway! Up into Les Combes as well. Now then, Charlie Eastwood forced to the outside by Nicky Catsburg. Two, maybe three laps to go.
The Ferrari of Calado, he can see the Porsche off in the distance, chasing Makowiecki. Now, it is the Kimi Raikkonen, leave me alone, I know what I am doing, situation. Be decisive in traffic. Less than three minutes. Where does the leader cross the line? Two to go. Down through Pouhon to Piff Paff/Fangnes. Porsche just have not had the punch here at Spa in GTE Am. 3.2 seconds to the good between Makowiecki and Calado. Porsche 963 vs. Ferrari 499P. Ferrari have just had issues of lighting up the tires and losing traction. Porsche started on slicks and Ferrari on wets.
Leader on the final lap but it isn't over. Tom Blomqvist passes Louis Deletraz? Wait a minute. Say what? Never mind. Albuquerque and Frijns. Final lap for this pair as Makowiecki and Calado are going for it/. Five second penalty for Toyota? Wait a minute. Five seconds added for next pit stop for overtaking car #8 but that is five seconds adeed to the race time. Ferrari in the slipstream of the Porsche up the Kemmel straightaway and Ferrari makes the pass on Porsche. Toyota win it! Kobayashi ten seconds ahead of Hartley.
Louis Deletraz and WRT win at home! GTE Am last lap lunge! Who will it be.? ECatsurg late on the brakes. Eastwood pushing hard. Who is going to nab the GTE Am victory? Catsburg pushing hard and now, where is Rovera? This is a two man race. Two extra pit stops compared to Porsche and Toyota but Ferrari still come home in second place. Half a lap to go for Charlie Eastwood to see if he can do anything about Nicky Catsburg. The answer is... well, we'll see. Winner for the #83 Richard Mille Ferrari with Lilou Wadoux winning the first race for a female driver in WEC. Catsburg will come home second. Eastwood third.
Overall/Hypercar: #7 Kobayashi/Conway/Lopez Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid
LMP2: #41 Andrade/Deletraz/Kubica Team WRT Oreca 07
LM GTE Am: #83 Perez-Companc/Rovera/Wadoux Richard-Mille AF Corse Ferrari 488
GTE Evo
What a race at Spa! Another Toyota victory in spite of the other Hypercar teams doing everything and anything to step up to the plate. We have seen gallant challenges from Ferrari, Porsche, Cadillac, and Peugeot, but it is not yet enough to dethrone the kings at Toyota. What's next? Well, it is the granddaddy of them all. It is the one we have all been waiting for. The centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with more Hypercars coming, some from the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship stateside. Another Penske Porsche, another Glickenhaus, and another Cadillac from my pals at Action Express.
Be there or be square. Tickets sold out for the centenary Le Mans a wee while ago. If you cannot be there, join us here on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog. Grab plenty of snacks and beverages. We'll be open all night at Le Mans again this year, the second weekend in June. Join us Saturday June 10th and Sunday June 11th for the centenary. You won't want to miss it! For now, au revoir from the Ardennes forest of Belgium. Bye bye.
Toyota 1-2 followed by the #5 Penske Porsche 963. WRT and Richard Mille Racing are the other class leaders with less than two hours remaining here at Spa Francorchamps. Ferrari #50 of Miguel Molina up to third with Alex Lynn still in the fight. Ferdinand Habsburg vs. Mirko Bortolotti, Oliver Jarvis, Phil Hanson, and Bent Viscaal. Toyota #8 loses three seconds to #7. Mirko Bortolotti of course will be a Lamborghini Hypercar driver next year. Oliver Jarvis is catching these other two LMP2's and wants to tow Phil Hanson with him. Habsburg is going to have trouble and speaking of trouble, the Ferrari has passed the Porsche and now the Ferrari is right on top of Alex Lynn and is right on his six. Molina is now back on the lead lap having passed the #7 Toyota to unlap himself!
We need to see if the #5 Porsche, #2 Cadillac, and #51 Ferrari can also push and get back on the lead lap. This whole gaggle is faster than the #7 Toyota and Kamui Kobayashi still has to drive the #7 and Jose Maria Lopez has done a double stint. The LMP2 fight remains red hot. Lopez wonders why the other cars are so much faster, like the Ferrari's. Fresh tires. Lopez is saving fuel because he is out of kilter on fuel compared to the Ferrari's and now, Dane Cameron gets crossed up and Alex Lynn tucks him up like a kipper in the Cadillac and here comes the Ferrari to the outside dusting the Porsche as well! That Ferrari is incredibly fast through Eau Rouge! It is a momentum car! Lopez has only had three stops on the cycle for the #7 while the sister car has done four. Pit stop time at Iron Dames.
Meanwhile, Ferrari #51 well off course through Eau Rouge to avoid the Cadillac. Ryo Hirakawa is three seconds down on the other chasing Hypercars. Get onto the lead lap. Alex Lynn has to go with the Ferrari to combat the speed of the Toyota's. The LMP2 squabble continues for ninth in the overall as the #7 Toyota unlaps itself. If they get a safety car they will be in the pound seats. The Heart of Racing #98 Aston Martin is in the lane and we have LMP2 pit action as well. Ahmad Al Harthy is the leader in class. Toyota #7 in pit lane as is WRT car #31. Corvette Racing #33 has Nicky Catsburg at the wheel of it, fourth in GTE Am. The Corvette C8.R could get a podium. Four tires for the #7 Toyota and now, Kamui Kobayashi is behind the wheel.
Alessandro Pier Guidi tells engineer Justin Taylor, "let me drive!"Diego Alessi goes by Michelle Gatting in the #85 Iron Dames Porsche. Harry Tincknell now at the wheel of the #88 Proton Comeptition Porsche 911 RSR-19 and the #5 Porsche 963 for Porsche Penske Motorsports is now in the lane and back out again. Right side tires only at Porsche? I wonder. No technical issues for the #8 Toyota. Ryo Hirakawa is managing a problem with energy harvesting as the #7 has a monumental brake lockup! #7 has a huge lockup! He has Fred Flintstoned his tires through La Source!
The #25 ORT by TF Sport Aston Martin has pitted from the GTE Am lead. Ahmad Al Harthy brought the car in and it is time for the Pro driver, as the #57 CarGuy Ferrari pits with Scott Huffaker handing off to Daniel Serra and now, Charlie Eastwood is in the #25. At Porsche, it looks likem they pitted for a two tire change. Fred Makowiecki is now in the #5 Porsche and now the #8 Toyota is in the lane. Brendon Hartley now in the #8 Toyota for the final stint on stone cold tires. He will be be wary at first for dead sure.
Four tires on the #8 and now the #7 Toyota is right there. Oliver Rasmussen in the #28 LMP2 for Jota comes through. Kamui Kobayashi will be on a flyer and yes, he dusts Brendon Hartley through Eau Rouge! #8 was 4.1 seconds ahead coming in. Ferrari in formation and a battle between Corvette #33 and Ferrari 488 GTE for CarGuy #57. Harry Tincknell also makes a pass. Nicky Catsburg passes Charlie Eastwood as well. Prema has both cars in the pit lane along with the Glickenhaus. Bent Viscaal has leapfrogged both United Autosports cars. Tincknell and Catsburg make passes while Alessio Rovera leads GTE Am in the #83 Richard Mille Racing Ferrari 488 GTE. Fred Makowiecki has the fastest sector two time of the race.
United Autosport closing on Prema. Bent Viscaal, Mirko Bortolotti, Phil Hanson. Harry Tincknell is monstering Nicky Catsburg in GTE Am. Porsche 911 RSR-19 on Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. Miguel Molina pitting for the penultimate time. Actually the third to last pit stop it appears. Ferdinand Habsburg now leads Mirko Bortolotti by 3.3 seconds in LMP2. Matthieu Vaxiviere is trying to close up in LMP2 on Oliver Jarvis who is behind Robert Kubica. Antonio Fuoco has taken over the #50 Ferrari 499P. Brendon Hartley has just cut a 2:08.4. Oh no! The Ferrari is gone again! Just like what we saw at Portimao last time!
Cold tires and a massive spin for the Ferrari removing the rear wing from the car completely and while all that was going on we saw one of the Aston Martin's going off the road! Safety car. Accelerating blind downhill into Eau Rouge. Game over for Antonio Fuoco. Wheelspin in third gear. Saety car scramble. Ouch! That hurts! The sister Ferrari #51 has just pitted. So, they have one bullet left in the gun. Is Antonio Fuoco OK? The impact has moved the barrier. Alessandro Pier Guidi driving the #51. A double whammy for Ferrari as #51 is losing energy. That was only a splash! They need more fuel! James Calado was supposed to get into the car! This has also put Toyota #8 between a rock and a hard place. Pit in closed.
Toyota are now backj in the game though, honestly. They keep catching these breaks at the expense of Ferrari. That is the second crackup with a top line Hypercar at Spa this weekend along with yesterday's Brendon Hartley shunt on power downhill in a straight line on the downhill run to Eau Rouge. There is so little grip on cold tires and you have to push the car to bring the tires up to temperature. Antonio Fuoco utters the primal scream of frustration. Understandable indeed. Alessandro Pier Guidi will get full service coming up. Cadillac #2 will box and Alex Lynn will hand off to Richard Westbrook. Miguel Molina says Ferrari are improving, closing the gap, but are still in a learning process.
Porsche and Cadillac as well as Ferrari have had a baptism by fire. The Ferrari being lifted onto the low loader, the flatbed, and the barriers need repairs. Just under an hour and a half to go. If the barriers are not repaired, the circuit is not homologated as Bruno Correa is the safety car driver. Kamui Kobayashi leads Brendon Hartley by 1.9 seconds. Alex Lynn and Alessandro Pier Gudi both need another splash and dash as we are gojng for the wave by. Corvette Racing should benefit from the wave around. Miguel Molina just gutted, understandably.
Over 72,000 people have attended this race. Wow! That's a total number over the three days. Ferrari and Cadillac both need petrol. As soon as the lane is open, we will box, according to Cadillac and Richard Westbrook is set to take over the car from Alex Lynn. Inter Europol had a slow puncture on the right rear tire. Cadillac #2 and Ferrari #51 will take pit stops and maybe they will have a long safety car for barrier repair but that will not be enough for anyone including Toyota. Toyota I think will need to box more imminently. Cadillac, Ferrari, and Porsche will have better fuel mileage the longer the safety car persists. We have to check and see the condition of the barriers if they need repairs.
Safety car lights remain on. Safety car lights off. Alessandro Pier Guidi will have to be very careful but we will have an extra lap behind the safety car. My mistake. An hour and 20 minutes to go. Pit lane now open and so we will have #2 and #51 pitting to fuel up. Ferrari, Cadillac, and the two Peugeot's need fuel. #51 will swap drivers from Alessandro Pier Guidi to James Calado. Safety car lights off. The two Peugeot's, the Ferrari, and the Cadillac might all need fuel. For Cadillac, take your medicine and then go for it. Green flag. The genuine fight is on now at Toyota between Kobayashi and Hartley.
Richard Westbrook will get into the #2. James Calado into #51. Porsche are staying out. Three wide, four wide battle for LMP2! Mirko Bortolotti passing for position over Bent Viscaal. Tough pit stop for the Cadillac and the Ferrari is held behind an Alpine. Peugeot leapfrogs the Cadillac and the Ferrari, both Peugeot's, and I think the Glickenhaus also got out ahead. Bent Viscaal, Phil Hanson, Ferdinand Habsburg, Phil Hanson, Robert Kubica, the top four in LMP2. Peugeot #94 off and on with Nico Muller at the wheel of it. Richard Westbrook, Cadillac goes off the road and back on. Alessio Rovera in the Ferrari leading Nicky Catsburg in the Corvette and Harry Tincknell in the Proton Porsche.
Hartley on soft Michelin tires and mediums for Kobayashi. Brendon Hartley uncorks the fastest lap for the #8 Toyota of the race so far. 114 laps, 496 miles now completed. Westbrook has passed the Peugeot's but the Ferrari is still behind. Westbrook and the Ferrari have their tires up to temperature and Brendon Hartley is balked by Pietro Fittipaldi in the #28 Jota LMP2 car! Toyota #7 pushing hard and the top three in Hypercar are on different strategies compared to the others as Nicky Catsburg runs off the road, trhing to chase down Alessio Rovera and fend off the challenge of Harry Tincknell, Charlie Eastwood, Michelle Gatting, Alex Riberas, and Diego Alessi.
Mirko Bortolotti gets by his rival and Phil Hanson pushes his way to third in LMP2! The #7 Toyota is now chasing down the #51 Ferrari as Fred Makowiecki uncorks fastest lap at 2:06.9 in the #5 Porsche 963 chasing down the Cadillac and the Ferrari. Alessio Rovera is really pushing. We could see a female driver take a win in a World Championship race. Alessio Picariello now in the #60 Iron Lynx Porsche and he could help his teammate in GTE Am. James Calado in the #51 Ferrari 499P is turning up the wick. Fred Makowiecki is 16 seconds down on the leader. Toyota have gambled but it is not working. Filipe Albuquerque is now in the #22 United Autosports Oreca and they will need a splash and dash in LMP2.
Toyota #7 due into the lane in 11 laps. Harry Tincknell being monstered by Charlie Eastwood in GTE Am still. Tincknell under pressure from Charlie Eastwood in the car that Ahmad Al Harthy put on pole and now, Michelle Gatting is also closing up. 2:03.868 as James Calado is flying and Richard Westbrook in the Cadillac is moving up. Brendon Hartley on softs in the #8 and Kamui Kobayshi in the lead on medium compound tires that are flat spotted. Prema #9 in the pit lane for a driver change. Charles Milesi is not running to the pace he wants. Harry Tincknell is trying his hardest to close up and make a run to get to and get by Nicky Catsburg.
Kobayashi leads Hartley by 2.7 seconds. If Hartley is within ten seconds of Kobayashi he will take the lead. James Calado has passed Richard Westbrook. Picariello and Eastwood both pass Tincknell. Picariello ducks out of the way. Michelle Gatting, his teammate, she let him by. Bortolotti, Habsburg, Jarvis, the top three in LMP2. Charlie Eastwood now released to go for it. Through Rivage they go. Prema going longer than WRT and WRT #31 are in the lane in LMP2. Prema have yet to hit the lane but we have more than an hour to go. We are getting there. Two tires for Toyota #8 and four for the #7.
Robin Frijns is going to fly in this final stint in the #31 WRT Oreca.
Habsburg now leads Fabio Scherer in LMP2. WRT over Inter Europol. Renger van der Zande explaining to Jack Aitken and Sebastien Bourdais that he went over the curb, with the steering input, the car was spat out under compression in Eau Rouge. The rack locked and the car was gone. A shame for the Cadillac team. They will indeed be back for Le Mans but it is a tough deal as more will need to be learned in testing before Le Mans. GTE Am third place battle as we have passed halfway in this motor race on a dry, fast track. Ahmad Al Harthy being chased by Rahel Frey. Another LMP2 battle is simmering between Jota #28 of Oliver Rasmussen and Filipe Albuquerque in the #23 United Autosport Oreca. Alessandro Pier Guidi is being acknowledged by team manager Justin Taylor that the traffic is a real bear. Lilou Wadoux is now in the pit lane in GTE Am.
#9 passes #35. Bent Viscaal passing Ollie Caldwell. #9 had a penalty for loose bodywork. Pit stop time for Lilou Wadoux. Fuel only and cold tires. Rahel Frey also in for tires and for petrol. She is blocked by Mikkel Pedersen in the #77 Dempsey Proton Porsche 911 RSR-19. Jose Maria Lopez leads over Ryo Hirakawa. Toyota's #7 and #8. The comes the #5 Porsche 963, and the #2 Cadillac V Series R. Corvette #33 in the lane as Nico Varrone will do a double stint but is languishing in eighth in class while Zacharie Robichon was the erstwhile leader, and Louis Deletraz has been passed by Ferdinand Habsburg. Ferdinand Habsburg seems to have had better pace recently and one of the Ferrari's was way off in the never never! Wow! Miguel Molina faked going for the pit lane!
The sole remaining #5 Porsche 963 pits. That is Dane Cameron at the controls. The Ferrari was forced toward the lane when the #60 Iron Lynx Porsche 911 RSR-19 decided to pit! Yikes! Talk about being blindsided! The stewards will investigate. Stay to the right through the Bus Stop before you come to the lane. Ahmad Al Harthy brings the #25 ORT by TF Sport Aston Martin in to get grass cleaned out of the front grille. Check that, the #98 Heart of Racing Aston Martin of Daniel Mancinelli. OK. We are under Full Course Yellow for now for track cleanup. As soon as I say that, we are going back to green.
Jose Maria Lopez in and out of the pit lane, leads Ryo Hirakawa in the sister Toyota. Toyota's car knowledge has allowed them to wriggle free of their Hypercar opponents. For Ferrari, when they are up and running, they can match the speed of Toyota. Somehow, the Toyota can bed in it's tires far easier than Ferrari can. The Ferrari has just really struggled on tires. What compound are they running? Daniel Mancinelli has made another pit stop again. Mancinelli was trying to overtake Nico Varrone as Ryo Hirakawa pits the #8 Toyota. Toyota 1-2 again. They have strength, knowledge, and a stellar driver lineup.
The Toyota is a wholly different feeling car than what we have seen in the past. Cadillac #2 has decent pace and were matching the Porsche 963's earlier in the game. Alex Lynn in third place right now. With three Cadillac's at Le Mans, they will be hoping for something special to happen. Oliver Rasmussen is pushing Louis Deletraz who has been overtaken by Louis Deletraz. Rasmussen wants it but can't quite make it downhll from Pouhon. Ferdinand Habsburg allowed to play through. Vincent Vosse knew that position swapping was necessary because of losing pace to the Prema entry. Stopped on the road is the #4 Vanwall of Jacques Villeneuve on his out lap.
He is back on the button now as Louis Deletraz and Oliver Rasmussen are still fighting! He is off the road through Eau Rouge and makes the pass! Rasmussen's foot buried in the throttle! In replay, Rasmussen way off and could have taken a flying lesson through Eau Rouge! Yikes! That is a daunting corner, always! That was so close! My steering went light! Trouble for Jacques Villeneuve. He is crawling around, watching his mirrors, trying to make sure he can get to a place of safety. Drive through penalties for the #54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE and for the #50 Ferrari 499P for crossing the white line at pit exit.
JOTA and WRT nearly split the Corvette C8.R of Nico Varrone! Oliver Rasmussen survives the shemozzle. Varrone played that right in Eau Rouge. Mirko Bortlotti passes Filipe Albuquerque into La Source. Jacques Villeneuve in the lane with the pening door. The door is closed and hopefully it will stay that way. He stalled the car and it is stuck in gear. He has stalled the car twice, gunning the motor. Can he get power? Yes. #54 through the lane, taking the drive through penalty. Jose Maria Lopez is still in the lead of the motor race and the cars are bottoming out under compression. Jose Maria Lopez, the 2021 FIA WEC champion and multiple FIA World Touring Car champion. Ryo Hirakawa 2/3rds of a lap behind, a minute and 20 seconds.
Ferdinand Habsburg now 4.6 seconds ahead of Oliver Rasmussen. Tom Blomqvist getting out and Oliver Jarvis getting back in. Nope. Excuse me. That is Fredric Lubin. Zacharie Robichon has cycled back to the GTE Am lead but Lilou Wadoux is pressing hard to try and take the lead. Rahel Frey third, Ahmad Al Harthy in fourth. Porsche, Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin. Peugeot #94 in the lane and Miguel Molina has served his drive through penalty and still in fourth spot in Ferrari #50. Nico Muller is now into the #94 Pegueot 9X8 for the final two and a half hours of the race. Alex Lynn in the lane for the #2 Cadillac.
Cadillac will be back at the 24 Hours of Le Mand for the first time in over 20 years with Chip Ganassi Racing and with Action Express Racing of course. Lilou Wadoux passes Zacharie Robichon, a well-known racer in North America as well. Ferdinand Habsburg makes a scheduled pit stop. Lilou Wadoux is only 19 years old. We see more and more women racing in endurance sports car racing now. That is a great thing. In the meantime, the sister #93 Peugeot 9X8 is in the lane as well. Trouble for Mikkel Jensen. Did he have his belts come undone? What is the deal? New tires being put on the #93 Peugeot. A delay for Mikkel Jensen who stays at the wheel of the Peugeot.
That is Paul di Resta. Oh dear. Jacques Villeneuve has spun and come together with the #54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE. Safety car scramble. Has Villeneuve gone down the inside? He clipped the Ferrari, spun, and tagged the wall. He is stopped on the road and cannot get the fire back in the beast. Game over. Immediate safety car and Full Course Yellow at Stavelot, also known now as Courbe Paul Frere named after the motor racing driver who was also a journalist. Jacques Villeneuve very unhappy with Francesco Castellaci, a driver who has lots of experience. Castellaci misjudged it and did not even see Villeneuve! Oh man!
Both Prema cars in the lane, Mirko Bortolotti, and Bent Viscaal. We are under safety car conditions. Robin Frijns at WRT says that things were going well for them, leading in the LMP2 class and Frijns said his stint went well fighting with Pietro Fittipaldi. At WRT, they are going for the LMP2 championship but they will be racing for BMW in Hypercar with a BMW M Hybrid V8 that we have seen full-time with BMW Team RLL in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. Vanwall #4, game over. The car is retired. Francesco Castellaci will be able to continue but that is a rolling restoration for sure. Villeneuve was committed and y the time he got to the Ferrari, Castellaci was committed to stay on the racing line and I don't think he ever saw the Vanwall.
The #63 Prema Oreca in LMP2 almost could have been caught up in that mess as well. Thankfully there was not another car involved. Castellaci has gotten out of the gravel trundling his way back to the pit lane. The wave around is underway right now and on cold tires, Diego Alessi in the #21 Ferrari on cold tires shoots up the escape road from Les Combes! Yikes! We remain under safety car conditions as Toyota are discussing strategy and the deal is that Jose Maria Lopez is going to have to start saving fuel if he wants to keep going for it. At Cadillac, Alex Lynn is being notified of who his rivals will be.
We still have just over two hours to go. Ryo Hirakawa is behind on the road but ahead on timing and scoring. Ryo Hirakawa gets three gimmes and so does Alex Lynn as we are back to green but Lynn has to overtake Miguel Molina through Eau Rouge! Lynn backed up behind the Peugeot and he goes inside the Peugeot into the second sector. Lynn is right there through Brussels corner. The other Ferrari has cleared the Ferrari as the scrap ontinues for fourth spot between Ferrari and Cadillac and now, there is a pit stop at Jota Porsche. The Hypercars are much more closely fought than we saw in the LMP1 days. Go for it but don't exceed the fuel figure. Traffic ahead over the top of Raidillon and up the Kemmel straightaway.
Alex Lynn might have too much power through Eau Rouge. Ferdinand Habsburg leads Mirko Bortolotti in LMP2 while Lilou Wadoux leads Zacharie Robichon and Rahel Frey. In fifth place, Nico Varrone ahead of Diego Alessi behind Ahmad Al Harthy. Aleessi wants by Varrone but it is not working. Aston Martin, Porsche, Aston Martin, with Daniel Mancinelli. Alex Lynn cannot get by Miguel Molina. Lynn has the power but in the mid corner, the Ferrari has the speed. The Cadillac is not as good through Eau Rouge for some reason. Molina and Lynn fighting for position. These two are catching third place Dane Cameron in the #5 Porsche 963 hand over fist.
Ferdinand Habsburg leading Mirko Bortolotti half a second behind followed immediately by Oliver Jarvis and Phil Hanson in LMP2. Jose Maria Lopez leads as we get close to the end of hour four and the leader passes the #94 Peugeot. Check that, it is the #8, the sister Toyota. Eau Rouge is such an incredible corner, you need to compromise and you need all of the road. Going side by side there in a Hypercar or even in an LMP2, is a massively difficult proposition. Is there trouble for the #8 Toyota? olina is trying to geti in the fight with Dane Cameron. Alex Lynn is in this fight and so is the sister Ferrari 499P.
They are all about a lap away. Ryo Hirakawa has an evil handling Toyota GR010 Hybrid under him at the moment, moving around on the tires. Too much roll on the rear tires. It feels like oversteer but it is sliding tires. In LMP2, it is Bent Viscaal being harried along by Ollie Caldwell. Alex Lynn has fresher tires on the left side of the #2 Cadillac than he does on the right side which has had those other two Michelin's on for a wee while now.
Nico Varrone has taken over from Ben Keating in the #33 Corvette and now Alex Lynn will be taking over the #2 Ganassi Racing Cadillac. Antonio Felix Da Costa in the #38 Porsche 963 is ironically chasing two LMP2 cars where he used to race. Tom Blomqvist is right on Nicklas Nielsen's six in the #50 Ferrari 499P. The Goodyear tires for the LMP2 cars are narrower and can get more temperature quicker compared to the Michelin's on the Hypercars that are wider. Mike Conway leads Laurens Vanthoor and Sebastien Buemi. Louis Deletraz is looking for another win after winning last weekend in European Le Mans Series competition. Tom Blomqvist is catching up as the sister car is in the lane and spinning the wheels because of no tire warmers, so spinning wheels in the pit lane is OK. Fabio Scherer at 2:07.539 sets the fastest overall sector time! Oh my!
Buemi tells the Toyota team he is doing all he can with an understeering #8 Toyota with the tires barely hanging on. The #98 Heart of Racing Aston Martin si off the road and back on. No assistance and on the outlap, a distraction for Ian James, Daniel Mancinelli, and Alex Riberas. Pietro Fittipaldi has Daniil Kvyat right on his six through Les Combes. Tom Blomqvist tells us that he is making up time. Blomqvist and company at United Autosport have been put on the back foot. There is a long, long way to go yet. Sometimes you win on the safety car but it is hard to do. In GTE Am, the battle is between Zacharie Robichon and Rahel Frey. The Canadian battling the Swiss lady driver for fifth in GTE Am as we have wholesale LMP2 pit stops underway too.
Car #31 for WRT was able to do a driver change and full service under the safety car. The #9 Prema team were trying to reattach bodywork and let the car go! They should have attached it first! That is a meatball flag instantly. Renger van der Zande is OK after going to the medical center. The supply chain issue, thinly stretched, so hopefully they can get another car for Le Mans for the #3. They will have the #2 and the #311 Action Express car joining for Le Mans next time out. Rahel Frey easing away from Zacharie Robichon. Lilou Wadoux was alsi in line. Simon Mann, actually. Pit stop time for D'station Aston Martin #777.
Earl Bamber is now in fourth place. Car #9 at Prema under investigation by the stewards as Antonio Giovinazzi in the #51 Ferrari 499P is chasing Dane Cameron in the #5 Porsche Penske Motorsports Porsche 963. The factory Ferrari Hypercars of course run by AF Corse. The Ferrari is light on it's feet and the deal will be that Ferrari might just be able to really manage their tires at Le Mans next time out for the 24 Hours. The #6 Porsche 963 has spun or stalled and now the #5 is scrapping with the #51 Ferrari who passes but needs to give the place back. Sebastien Buemi leads for a lap and will pit next time by.
Both Porsche's had trouble in Free Practice 2 with troubles with a driveshaft for #5 and hybrid drive woes for #6. Off the road for the #4 Vanwall and he has beached it! Porsche's race is going to be stymied. It was a slow and lazy spin. The gravel traps are on the Spa circuit now because of claims of safety and for the motorcycles. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Full Course Yellow. Toyota #8 tops up on fuel and had to but the pits were closed! Oh dear! He will have to come in again. The cars have two speed limiters. 60 kilometers an hour for the pit lane and 80 kilometers an hour for Full Course Yellow. The Porsche 963 #6 is being pushed out of the way by the marshals.
#6 is not restarting and so they too could be out of the race. Laurens Vanthoor is out of the car. More of the Hypercars are dropping like flies! Car #5 and #51 at turn five under investigation by the stewards. Renger van der Zande is OK. Mike Conway says (from the lead), that Toyota began the race on slicks and managed it before the tires switched on and then as the track dried they had to pass the cars in the wet. However, they have had a good stint, working out tire strategies for the rest of the race here. Green flag. Sebastien Buemi now getting more fuel. Toyota can make an informed gamble in these conditions. Driver change at Toyota #8 and Ryo Hirakawa gets into the car. Jose Maria Lopez is now in the #7 sister Toyota GR010 Hybrid.
The whole Hypercar field save for the #5 Porsche, the #708 Glickenhaus, and the #4 Vanwall. The Toyota's are definitely the best run cars right now while other teams are still on a massive learning curve. Ferrari #50 to the lane. Antonio Giovinazzi had a buckled wheel in the sister car and now, a driver change along with tires and fuel at Ferrari #51. The #50 is not on an out lap and could be on a second lap or maybe he is losing tire temperature. Emergency fuel fill at the Ferrari. Alessandro Pier Guidi in the car and the air jack is not working.
Now, it does work and they complete their stop. No meatball flag. Laurens Vanthoor very disappointing comiserating with teammates Kevin Estre and Andre Lotterer. Five seconds added to the next pit stops for the #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari, #33 Corvette, #35 Alpine, and the #98 Northwest AMR Aston Martin are under invetstigation. The #51 Ferrari 499P is on cold ties as we watch both Peugeot's fighting for position. The #51 Ferrari pitted twice and had to have emergency service under Full Course Yellow. Still thinking of Cadillac #3 and the two other Cadillac teams will be back at Le Mans. Tough sledding for the sister car today, sadly.
Time for cake. Oh boy. Barricade the doors. Ferrari #54 in GTE Am is now driven by Francesco Castellaci. #51 still struggling on the out lap. Laurens Vanthoor says he has no idea why the power shut down with the Porsche 963. The car just shut down and it is game over for Laurens Vanthoor in his home race. The tires were good and the strategy was on point. But, indeed, it is game over. So they will regroup and head for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. When the car dies, you are helpless because the electronics just go blank. Peugeot in their first Spa race but by splitting the strategy they are going for it indeed.
Robin Frijns and Pietro Fittipaldi in a great scrap in LMP2 while also, Lilou Wadoux is catching Zacharie Robichon hand over fist with Ahmad Al Harthy and Rahel Frey making inroads in GTE Am and Nico Varrone in the Corvette is trying to catch up and the same is true for Daniel Mancinelli in the #98 Aston Martin on debut in the WEC. Robichon, Wadoux, and Al Harthy, scrapping, and here comes Rahel Frey too, in the scrap for the GTE Am lead. The #88 Proton Competition team, they are improving but Lilou Wadoux is in exceptional form just as she was a fortnight ago at Portimao. Jacques Villeneuve keeping warm in the Vanwall garage, looking on.
Loic Duval in the #94 Peugeot has stopped in the middle lane, stranded between hell and high water. He is right on the blend line. He has electronics and he can be dragged into the pit lane. Did he overshoot the pit box. The pit crew is waiting but here comes the sister car. The car is not under red and do not touch. He has power but will the car restart? The headlights are on. What is the deal? The #2 Cadillac and the #50 Ferrari have pitted and Nielsen is off the road out of the lane over the white line! You cannot straddle the white line!
The Peugeot has restarted but lost loads of time. Cold tires and thank goodness he did not hit the wall! Pit stop for car #50 under investigation. Toyota leading with 62 laps completed, 270 miles. #38 Jota Porsche 963 in the pit lane. Gray stuff grippy and green stuff slippy. Watch the astro turf. Yifei Ye takes over the #38 Porsche 963 at Jota and he is racing for the first time in a Hypercar. Side by side between Glickenhaus and Ferrari. Glickenhaus dealing with a faulty windscreen wiper. A cancellation for a penalty for one of the cars we talked about earlier but not the other three. Ryo Hirakawa would dearly love another safety car scramble in Toyota #8 to bring them in line with #7.
The gap is coming down in GTE Am. Zach Robichon, Lilou Wadoux, Ahmad Al Harthy, and Rahel Frey. Pietro Fittipaldi is reeling in Robin Frijns in LMP2. These cars are about to lap the final car in the field, the #60 Iron Lynx Porsche 911 RSR-19 of Claudio Schiavoni. Ahmad Al Harthy is reeling in the Ferrari trying to make a pass. Lilou Wadoux makes her move on Robichon and here comes Rahel Frey through Pouhon and Fangnes/Piff Paff. #63 at Prema, they are flying Plummet Airways at the moment dropping like a stone on scraggly tires.
Pietro Fittipaldi having a good run, five second penalty for the #98 Aston Marttin now has been cancelled as Ferdinand Habsburg will be getting aboard his race car soon. Antonio Felix Da Costa says that he has felt a lot in the dry with the new Porsche 963. Driving on a wet track on cold slicks, is a lot to take in. They just got the car this week, trying to gather a bunch of information. This Porsche is brand new, they got it this week. Another team had to shake down the car before the race. Jota are really going to school today to figure out how this new toy works and will be more competitive at Le Mans. #38 passes the Glickenhaus. Rahel Frey has had an off and Lilou Wadoux took the lead. Zacharie Robichon goes ahead.
The track here at Spa is now fully dry. Fastest lap is 2:04.3 by Jose Maria Lopez in Toyota #7. Pit stop time for Josh Pierson in the #23 United Autosport Oreca before they hand the car to Oliver Jarvis for the end. At WRT they have been using the safety car to their advantage and now, United Autosport might be a wee bit behind the eight ball. Lilou Wafoux has made good her escape. Christoph Ullrich is here to visit his pals from AF Corse and he saw Lilou Wadoux testing the Ferrari and has done extremely well. Ryo Hirakawa worried about engine braking in the #8 Toyota. Could that be a hybrid issue?
Prema #9 penalized for loose bodywork. Hirakawa had nowhere to go trying to pass Simon Mann in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari as Rahel Frey has not made inroads on Ahmad Al Harthy. Prema #63 in the lane. Pietro Fittipaldi now leads over Louis Deletraz and Charles Milesi. Daniil Kvyat finishes his stint as Rahel Frey is continuing to push and close in on Ahmad Al Harthy. Zacharie Robichon is held up by an LMP2. Lilou Wadoux passes the #77 Dempsey Proton Porsche 911 RSR-19 now in the hands of Mikkel Pedersen. That was the car that spun at the start with Christian Ried. Louis Deletraz and the #41 Team WRT car take over the LMP2 lead. Ahmad Al Harthy is showing his stuff as a Bronze driver staying ahead of Rahel Frey in GTE Am.
Mikkel Jensen has his hands full with Alessandro Pier Guidi. Peugeot vs. Ferrari through Blanchimont. The Ferrari is really strong under braking out of the final turn and with direction changes. Ferdinand Habsburg and Josh Pierson fighting it out in LMP2 and Sean Gelael has met his minimum drive time for this race at Spa. Ferdinand Habsburg in the #31 WRT car is going for it big style. Filipe Albuquerque is flying too in the #22 United Autosport car and now, we see Jacques Villeneuve waiting for his stint in the Vanwall. Jack Leconte and Larbre Competition are assisting Corvette Racing here in Europe.
Scrapping indeed, look, between the WRT teammates. Habsburg is making a clean pass on Sean Gelael and has done so.
Mike Conway 13 seconds to the good. Toyota, Porsche, Cadillac, Porsche/ Sarah Bovy passes Michael Dinan. Tomonobu Fujii in the lane for fuel early. Stick also to the drive time window. Bovy and Dinan clearly racing through Pouhon as Dinan is closing in indeed. Claudio Schiavoni is reported to the stewards for reckless driving under Full Course Yellow. For the first time, we are seeing great battles in Hypercar and the Toyota's are not running away with this. It is a battle between Toyota and Porsche, Conway and Vanthoor. Alpine #35 back in the lane and Andre Negrao takes over the car from Memo Rojas. Tomonobu Fujii pitted the #777 D'station Aston Martin from the GTE Am lead. The rest of the GTE Am field should pit fairly soon. Many drivers have had their lap times deleted for track limits violations.
Pit stop time for both GTE Am frontrunners. Both Toyota's under investigation by the stewards. Conway, no further action for #7. Buemi, for rough driving in #8. Keep an eye on the virtual white board and have the marker of doom ready. The Hypercar field is split as we see the #3 Cadillac will hit the lane for medium tires for a double stint as we have light rain. Renger van der Zande in the lane from third spot and we'll see Sebastien Bourdais and Jack Aitken drive later. Mike Conway is slated to hit the lane soon. Christensen and van der Zande in the lane in for Porsche and Cadillac and so the Toyota boys can do one more lap. Medium tires on the Cadillac. Glickenhaus in the lane too. Double stint and take tires as little as possible.
Romain Dumas is getting out of the Glickenhaus. Esteban Guerreri, the Argentinian taking over the Vanwall. Mike Conway in the lane in the #7 Toyota. A lot of the new teams are fully focused on Le Mans. Some argy bargy in LMP2 between Fred Lubin and Julien Canal. Spa Francorchamps in many ways is similar to Le Mans. Porsche and Ferrari tested here in the wet. No tires for Mike Conway. Double stinting it looks like. No info on compounds. Laurens Vanthoor, at home, leads Spa, 30 seconds up on Sebastien Buemi. Porsche going longer on fuel than Toyota. Off the road, it is the Vanwall on hot tires on the out lap. Oh dear!
He spins a straight line down the hill and thankfully, no contact with the wall. Esteban Guerreri, the Argentinian straight out of the pit lane. Cold, wet, muddy tires. Laurens Vanthoor, born in Hasselt, on the Dutch side of Belgium near the Zolder circuit. Sebastien Buemi in the lane too going a lap longer than the #7. Sara Bovy now ahead of Tomonobu Fujii in GTE Am and now Mike Conway in Toyota #7 resumes in the lead of the motor race. The Total Excellium fuel is totally renewable. Made from the waste of wine grapes. Not the grapes themselves. You would have no delicious wine to enjoy with your meal. Cab sav? Sauvignon blanc? Take your pick.
Now, survive this. Put your big boy trousers on, take off the training wheels and ride the bike. Two potential troubles as the #25 ORT TF Sport Aston Martin and the #4 Vanwall being investigated for track limits I believe. Romain Dumas at Glickenhaus says that it was a fun stint but it was not easy. Slick tires are hard to manage in these conditions. But taking risks is what you have to do and watch the weather. They are losing time on the out lap at Glickenhaus and taking a wait and see approach. The Porsche and the Ferrari seem to be faster than the Glickenhaus but it is fascinating. Romain Dumas is one of the greatest drivers of our generation racing sports cars, rallying, and off road. Good scrap between Antonio Felix Da Costa and Antonio Giovinazzi.
It is the Antonio and Antonio show. Rain at La Source and Eau Rouge as well as at Blanchimont. Hertz Team Jota, their first weekend with the #38 Porsche 963, they are really going for it from the start. Top LMP2 teams can now afford to get a Hypercar and go play with the big boys. No longer are they playing in the kiddie sandbox. Hertz Team Jota, though, every lap counts since they were not able to test the Porsche 963 beforehand, until today. This is live racing being a test. Full metal, live motor racing. Can you triple stint a medium Michelin tire? Yes. There is also hard tires and Spa Francorchamps has always rewarded a hard compound tire.
Earl Bamber still chasing down Gustavo Menezes. Peugeot vs. Cadillac. This is a battle for sixth place and the Cadillac and the Peugeot both started on wet tires. The Cadillac #3 is second. That is Renger van der Zande I believe. Again, we will see Jack Aitken from Action Express in the car later. CGR and AXR are working together today so AXR and my pals on that team can learn for Le Mans, team managers Chris Mitchum and Gary Nelson, team boss Bob Johnson, and other members of our team. We will be at Le Mans. Can't wait for that event next month! 33 laps now on the board, 144 miles. LMP2 cars in the pit lane. The wipers are going.
Daniil Kvyat, Sean Gelael, Andrea Caldarelli, Pietro Fittipaldi, in that order. Laurens Vanthoor and Sebastien Buemi still battling. Toyota vs. Porsche. Teams learning what works with tire choices.- WRT in the lane in LMP2. Tom Blomqvist retains the LMP2 lead. Sarah Bovy hanging on ahead of Tomonobu Fujii in GTE Am. Porsche vs. Aston Martin. The Aston Martin is right on the money as the Peugeot outbrakes itself. That was #94 running wide and headed for the lane. Box, box, box. No, stay out. Eek! Late call! Driver change at Pegueot. Is it Loic Duval or Nico Muller? Earl Bamber in the lane for fuel in the #2 Cadillac. Ditto for Ferrari #51 and Jota Porsche #38.
We are almost an hour and a half in the race. Frank Mailleux has uncorked a 2:09 dead and 2:09.9 is fastest for Fabio Scherer in the #34 Inter Europol Oreca. The Glickenhaus has had no testing and development since last year. Robin Frijns and Fred Lubin are scrapping and Louis Deletraz is coming. Lubin screams up through Raidillon. Daniil Kvyat ahead of Lubin, Frijns, Deletraz, and Rui Andrade, the Angolan driver. Ferrari #51 and Porsche #38 have dropped down the order. Same sequence as Mikkel Jensen in Peugeot #93 tiptoeing through the tulips on cold tires.
So, we are an hour and a half into the race. Christian Ried now manages to keep the Porsche 911 on the island, thank heavens. Kvyat and Lubin continue scrapping with Frijns and Deletraz. Frijns wants by Lubin on the outside into La Source and now they fly through Eau Rouge and up the Kemmel straightaway. Andrea Caldarelli is scrapping with Pietro Fittipaldi in LMP2 now. The outliers continue to be United Autosport with Tom Blomqvist. Fabio Scherer in the #34 Inter Europol Oreca. Fabio Scherer should be a candidate for Hypercar teams. Sarah Bovy being roughed up by Tomonobu Fujii and that was iffy. I think the stewards will have something to say about that.
Bovy has grassy tires and the stewards will have a word with Fujii for that reckless driving. Deletraz on Lubin again! A touch from behind by Prema! Yikes! That's close! Caldarelli is being harried by Fittipaldi who are both steaming up behind Fred Lubin. 38 laps in the bag. 165 miles. Buemi is now back to fighting the Porsche Conway now leading van der Zande and and Vanthoor. Robin Frijns is chasing Daniil Kvyat. These two are going to move to Hypercar next year for BMW and Lamborghini. Loic Duval uncorks a 2:05.992 and the fastest middle sector of the race for Loic Duval in the #94 Peugeot in the downforce sector.
Kvyat cannot believe the pace of Robin Frijns. Good battle between Cadillac #3 and the two Ferrari 499P's. The Ferrari's are battling with the Cadillac but the Cadillac is off! Renger van der Zande has just crashed right in front of the grandstand! Oh no! Sebastien Bourdais cannot believe it. In replay he got offline, straddling the curbs into Eau Rouge, and then, it just spins and smashes the wall hard! Bourdais is just fine but now Cadillac will just have to go ahead and focus on testing for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Wow. The Cadillac is totally destroyed but the safety cell and the safety equipment held up as well as restructuring Eau Rouge as far as the pavement and so on.
This is an FIA Grade 1 circuit so they are veyr safe. Mike Conway leads Hypercar, Tom Blomqvist in LMP2, and Tomonobu Fujii in the lead of GTE Am under safety car for the second time. Sebastien Bourdais says that Renger van der Zande is OK just with a headache. The power steering locked up up the hill. They had a fire in the engine bay in Free Practice as well. Everyone has worked very hard to get the car ready and they wanted to finish. This was the WEC backup car. This car is completely destroyed. Ugh.
We are beginning the safety car wave around. Cadillac cannot believe their luck. They will be back and my pals at Action Express will be at Le Mans. Glad to see Renger van der Zande is OK. Gustavo Menezes at Peugeot says that this is the typical weather at Spa and a real gamble. It was safe to be under safety car for drivers on slick tires. It can go either way. The rest of the race, Menezes says the performance on slicks in the first stint was fine but we are going to begin seeing split strategies. Peugeot is beginning to find their feet. At Toyota #8, the question is tires and they will need to box for full service soon.
I feel sorry for the Cadillac team. But I look forward to seeing our car from Action Express at Le Mans. We have an endurance test at Road America coming up. Meanwhile, Mike Conway seems to be comfortable at Toyota. Emergency service for a splash and dash on fuel for the #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari with Scott Huffaker, the American driver, at the wheel of it. The weather is changing all the time and now we are seeing a line of rubber on the road to give the track more grip and open chances for putting new tires onto the cars. The track seems to be in better conditions now. Potential troubles for the #33 Corvette C8.R and the #35 Oreca for Alpine for creating gaps under the safety car. They have been allowed to pit under the safety car and will catch the crocodile.
Ben Keating still must complete his minimum drive time. We are getting set to go back to green flag racing. Safety car is in and we are going back to green flag racing now. Only four Hypercars on the lead lap. The two Toyota's, and both Porsche's as well. A full field stop for LMP2? The Porsche #6 tagged by the Aston Martin and Buemi tries playing through. #7 gets a stonking restart! Buemi gets the door slammed in his face by Vanthoor. Has the rear end of the Porsche sustained damage from the Aston Martin #25? The tire temperatures are really affecting the Ferrari it seems. The Ferrari is equally as fast as the Toyota.
Buemi still has not passed Nicklas Nielsen in the #50 Ferrari 499P who is feeling vibrations in the car. Tom Blomqvist in the #23 United Autosports LMP2 car is back there. The blue #2 Cadillac is running fifth, a lap down, but staying with the leaders as the Hypercars flying up through Eau Rouge! Robin Frijns passes both Loic Duval and Frank Mailleux, the Peugeot and the Glickenhaus. Drive through penalties for the Vanwall and the Alpine for crossing the white line between pit lane and the track. Pietro Fittipaldi fending off both Andrea Caldarelli and Louis Deletraz. Pietro Fittipaldi is flying right now.
The Hypercar renaissance continues in the world of sports car racing, and now, the World Championship, has reached those fabled forests of the Ardennes in southern Belgium for the traditional warm up race before the big one at Le Mans in France in June. This is a favorite race on the calendar for many, the 6 Hours of Spa in the Francorchamps, Malmedy, Stavelot triangle at this fabled palace of motor racing. The weather at Spa can be fickle in the springtime. It can either be warm and sunny, or, much like in the American Midwest this time of year, clammy, cold, and rainy, as the last of the April showers claim to cause the budding of the May flowers. But, who is to say. It is time now, for a motor race to commence, that will, for many teams in the Hypercar class, provide a grade, an aim, to either rise to and achieve, or to exceed, with the next legendary race, the centenary running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, just over the horizon.
That is in the future. This is now. It is about time to get down to business and the pines of the Ardennes Forest will sway to the thunder of the Hypercars as well as the other exotic LMP2 and GTE machines assembled for this traditional springtime enduro. We saw two massive qualifying crashes yesterday. One for the Project 1 - AO LM GTE Am Porsche 911 RSR-19 that was heavy and substantial enough, up through Eau Rouge and Raidillon, to take the car of P.J. Hyett, Gunnar Jeanette, and Matteo Cairoli, right out of the event. There was so much damage to the automobile that being able to start the motor race today would be impossible. So, my guess is the next time we see them will be at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Maybe they will be able to fix the car, or perhaps for Le Mans they'll need an entirely new chassis. The damage to the automobile, was extensive.
The second big accident of course was for a contending Hypercar, the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley (driving the car at the time, in qualifying, on stone cold tires), and Ryo Hirakawa. Toyota have fixed the car but might have a long road to get back with that specific entry. It seems that if one of their cars does well, the other may struggle. We saw that for sure last time out at Portimao. Will this open the door for other Hypercars from Ferrari, Porsche, Peugeot, or Cadillac to have a bite of the cherry? Two Cadillac's in the race today from Chip Ganassi Racing.
Cadillac will boost their Le Mans effort with three cars, and today, Ganassi is running not just the #2 Cadillac V Series R for Earl Bamber, Richard Westbrook, and Alex Lynn, but also the #3 which is to be driven by Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais, and Jack Aitken. Jack Aitken, concurrently an endurance driver with my pals at Action Express Racing, is making a cameo since regular co-driver Scott Dixon is on IndyCar duties this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. Members of the team at Action Express are here at Spa to assist and to learn how World Endurance works as we talked about in a feature story earlier in the week.
This is one of the most challenging tracks on the planet, and we have low clouds and light drizzle. This is the third race of the year and a massive crowd is here and ready to see a wickedly great race. We have 13 Hypercars entered for today's motor race as part of a 37 car grid. Hello to Martin Haven and Graham Goodwin along with Anthony Davidson and Louise Beckett. We are going to have more races here at Spa for the next five years and the next race is Le Mans, the big one, the big kahuna, that everyone wants to win. The stands are full. We watch the hydrogen H24 prototype racer doing demonstration laps. This place is mythical and was once twice the length and using public roads. But it has been reconfigured and was reopened 40 years ago in 1983.
Watch The Bus Stop (it does not look like a bus stop anymore, but the name remains). The elevation change around this place, the high speed, the high tire loads, this is going to be unreal. We have a mostly dry circuit as we get closer to the start of this motor race. Earl Bamber at Cadillac, he will start and of course they are joined by the sister #3. It is wonderful to have Cadillac here and having hree at Le Mans will be stunning. Remember, my friends at Action Express will join us, from the IMSA grid, to race Le Mans and it will be epic! But these conditions at Spa, Earl Bamber says that Eau Rouge is wet while the second half of the track is dry. The Michelin wet tires are working well even with the cold.
We have the band setting up for the national anthem. A brass band it looks like. Cool. We will see two formation las and the track has indeed been declared wet. The #21 Ferrari 488 GTE has a new chassis after wrecking and the #8 Toyota is tail end Charlie as well. We are looking at GTE Am. Andre Lotterer at Porsche visits with former boss Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, who ran the Audi program. P.J. Hyett, get well soon. Rest up, mate. Stay comfortable and we'll see you at Le Mans. He has a fractured collarbone after the wreck yesterday. So, Ben Keating not on the GTE Am pole. Ryan Hardwick at Proton Competition, he had a good qualifying effort. Sara Bovy in second for the Iron Dames Porsche.
They did a great job at Sebring and a fortnight ago at Portimao. But Ahmad Al Harthy, the Omani driver, is on pole. Michael Dinan is taking the opening stint. Ahmad Al Harthy scorched the field. Jota have the first customer Porsche 963 and the might #38 is back. They are well prepared for the undertaking. The goal is to learn and to stay out of trouble and they qualified seventh. The rain is beginning to fall again. It is beginning to bucket down. Grab your raincoats everybody. Most of the Hypercars are on slick tires and we'll roll off behind the safety car in 15 minutes. This year, there are no tire warmers. No ovens or blankets, they are against the rules.
On the downhill section of the grid, the pavement was diamond ground. A Toyota caboose on the grid, with Sebastien Buemi set to start the race after Brendon Hartley went off in qualifying at Riadillon. We are going to be looking in depth at the LMP2 battle which is extremely competitive as always including the local heroes at WRT. We have United Autosport on pole in the #23 with Tom Blomqvist, Oliver Jarvis, and Josh Pierson. Toyota lead the manufacturer's cup in Hypercar. Yesterday on the outlap, out of Raidillon, Brendon Hartley spun and whacked the wall after it snapped away from him. screech... bang.
The Vanwall is ready to go with their two tone green race car. Tom Dillman will start the car, the Frenchman. Yesterday, Ferrari nearly had two poles with the Formula 1 race in Azerbaijan and the race here at Spa. The Ferrari's had the speed but got pinged for track limits. We hear the band playing the Belgian national anthem. A full brass band, trumpets, trombones, tubas and the like. The three big grandstands here at Spa are jam packed with fans. The Peugeot is next up, the #94. Gustavo Menezes will start. There are viewing points all over Spa. Porsche #5 is next with Michael Christensen at the controls. Paul di Resta next up in Peugeot #93.
Romain Dumas in the Glickenhaus is next up. We are going to see a second Glickenhaus at Le Mans and Franck Mailleux is in the car today in place of Ryan Briscoe. Antonio Felix Da Costa is next up in the Jota Hertz Porsche 963 in their first Hypercar race. Laurens Vanthoor in the #6, the second factory Porsche 963. The 956/962 era saw the factory cars racing. Renger van der Zande, next up in the #3 Ganassi Racing Cadillac, sharing with Jack Aitken, and with Sebastien Bourdais and then comes the #2 sister car of Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, and Richard Westbrook. Antonio Giovinazzi and Nicklas Nielsen are starting the Ferrari's. They went for pole and could have gotten it but had a track limits violation. Mike Conway and Toyota #7 are on pole.
Ben Keating is going to be sensible on the start of this race. It is very cold outside and it is misting a wee bit with rain currently. The factory Porsche's on slicks, Jota Porsche on wets, and a split strategy with the Cadillac's. The engines have started and we're ready for the formation lap. Clear the grid immediately. Thank you. Green flag. The Belgian flag waves for two formation laps. The crowd are on their feet. This is so special to have a bunch of fans here. This is amazing. All cars are off the grid and on track. It is time to go racing.
#22 of HPhuk Hanson ahs spun on cold tires and nicked the wall! Aye yaye yaye! That is the result of tricky conditions. Be careful out there, ladies and gents. Car #6 off the road at Pouhon, one of the Porsche's. The factory Porsche 963's are both on slicks. The Peugeot's are also having issues with building tire temps. The Porsche is squirming around all over and now the #77 has spun and Claudio Schiavoni has spun as well in the #60 Iron Lynx Porsche 911 RSR-19. Everyone is tiptoeing. The circuit is damp but it is freezing cold! #77, the Dempsey Proton Porsche has also spun off. Ferrari and Antonio Giovinazzi are on wets.
The wrod for today is survival, without question. Stay on the road and you might just get a podium. Some of the cars are having a hard time keeping up with the safety car before we get started. Earl Bamber on slicks in the #2 Cadillac. Excuse me. #2 on wets and #3 on slicks. There are three slick tire compounds for the Hypercars as the Ferrari 488 #83 of Luis Perez Companc spins in Raidillon. The car goes light and lazily spins the car without hitting anything, thank goodness. but he was surely on the brakes. Oh dear. #77 spins again, Christian Ried at the wheel of it. He has to be on slicks. There will be an extra formation lap as the clock starts.
There will be another formation lap. The timing will start at the end of this one. That is sensible. Peugeot having a meeting, making a plan. Renger van der Zande on slicks in the #3 Cadillac. The slicks when they are up to temperature, they will perform better than the wets. Now, go for wets. Go for wets. That is what the plan is now. Most of the GTE Am field is separated from the safety car crocodile. Sara Bovy is ready. The slick tire shod teams want to go slow while the teams on wet tires are hopping up and down saying "let's go racing!" Neither factory Porsche is on slicks. Toyota #8 has the windscreen wiper on.
Not everyone brings an umbrella to the track but the nature of the weather here in the mountains, in the micro climate, you never know. Christian Ried has spun again! Jeepers creepers! He spun off the road and this in the third time he has been on the whirligig. Everyone is in formation except for those two Porsche GTE's. Get into your grid spots. Turn them loose. The race has begun. We are already in the race itself. Green flag! It's go time! Mike Conway leads and he might be on slicks. Antonio Giovinazzi wants by Conway. The Ferrari's are making their move.
The Porsche's have jumped a couple of the Cadillac's already. Mike Conway should be OK. Nicklas Nielsen being harried by Earl Bamber. The Peugeot's are passing the Toyota and the #7 goes off the road. Renger van der Zande on slicks is going for it and now #88, the Porsche 911 RSR-19 of Ryan Hardwick is off. Christian Ried and Claudio Schiavoni are still in the race. Be very, very careful. The wet weather Michelin's might start to chunk. Pray for drizzle until the pit window opens or let the track dry out. Car #6, the second Porsche and #7, the first Toyota, we are going to see a switcheroo. Now, the two Ferrari 499P's are at the top of the shop.
Ben Keating in the #33 Corvette C8.R is on wets and in the lead in GTE Am. As the track dries, the slicks are going to be the tires to have. This is so tricky. Dorianne Pin is in the #63 Prema LMP2 car. Ferrari 1-2 and we see Porsche vs. Toyota. Mike Conway vs. Laurens Vanthoor. Vanthoor gaining on Conway and Renger van der Zande is also pushing in the #3 Cadillac. Antonio Giovinazzi told to look for the wet and amange the tires. Sebastien Buemi has cleared the GTE field and is now carving his way through the LMP2 class. From Les Combes to Blanchimont, it is dry.
#3 Cadillac, is the fastest in sector three as Claudio Schiavoni spins in Fangnes, in the Piff Paff. He's beached it and we are under the safety car. The pit lane entry is closed with the safety car scramble. Christian Ried despite three spins could have pitted. He knows what to do after 20 years of racing GTE Porsche's. Mike Conway has made his move on the #94 Peugeot 9X8. The wet tire runners are going to have the advantage on the restart here. No intermediate tires. Only slicks or wets. The #8 Toyota now has a chance to make it's move through the LMP2 field. The Cadillac boys seem happy. Porsche #60 is still stranded in the gravel. Bring a snatch tractor if you can. Here come the marshals, the orange army. Matteo Cressoni says that finding the right tire choice has been difficult and they'l; see what is happening.
Claudio Schiavoni says that warming up the cold tires is extremely hard. The ambient and track temps are low. It is pretty chilly here at Spa Francorchamps. At Corvette, the modus operandi is get on with it, boys. At Ferrari Nicklas Nielsen observes it is drizzling and the thing is that drizzle will not keep the wet tires alive and now, Claudio Schiavoni is back on his way as we move the safety vehicles. Sebastien Buemi has moved up to 21st. There is a dry line forming. The wet tire runners are going off line so that the tires don't lose heat. Earl Bamber on wets as well. He says he will box for slicks if the lane opens. Is this Senna at Donington or five stops Alain Prost at Donington not knowing what the deal is.
There is less black cloud but there is no clear sky either. Wait a half hour, things might change. In half an hour the wet tires will be crying, enough! Get into the safety car window. You might just have to pray for another safety car situation. You feel like a superhero on the superior tire, like taking candy from a baby. The rule was that the pit lane stays closed for the first three laps under the safety car. Stay n the road and keep the car pointed in the right direction. Both Ferrari's on rain tires and you can use an unlimited quantity of rain tires but the track is drying at Brussels corner but there is a sheen off water but the dry line is there, and yet, there is water on the windscreens of the cars. Sebastien Buemi is unscathed thus far.
Safety car lights out, and it is coming to the lane at the end of this lap. Earl Bamber in the #2 Cadillac, what will he do? Roughly, another half an hour of fuel is in the tank. We might see the energy graphic ror the Hypercars. We'll find out. Hard to figure out the graphics on your television or iPad screen sometimes. They still have 4/5ths of their energy allotment. We are going to see the runners on wet tires fly Plummet Airways we for a wee while but then, they will perhaps climb to more altitude. We'll see. Here we go. It is time to go back to green. Punch it! Ferrari 1-2 and now watch the #7 Toyota. The slicks are in good shape. The #6 Porsche is harrying one of the Peugeot's. That is Gustavo Menezes in the #94 9X8.
The Glickenhaus and the Vanwall are probably both on slicks. Ben Keating leading Tomonobu Fujii who is flying and passes Ben Keating! Fujii San has to be on slicks! Well, well, well. So, now, Mike Conway is giving Paul di Resta a run for his money in the sister Peugeot, Conway crawling all over the Peugeot. Ben Keating is being passed by everyone so he is definitely stymied on these tires. Ulysse de Pauw in the rebuilt #21 Ferrari is making inroads as well, look. The Peugeot is in reverse almost, losing traction like mad. It is too late. They cannot go back now and will have to wait. Everyone on wets, they are dropping like stones.
A bit of spray up the Kemmel straightaway. Mike Conway passes Earl Bamber. Buemi is now catching Michael Christensen in the #5 Porsche 963. I think Mike Conway in the #7 Toyota is just going to have more speed. Why racing cars have slick tires instead f tresded like street cars, extra grip. Slick tires, you will slide around. To the lead for Toyota? He is going for it and monstering the #51 Ferrari 499P! Box, box, box. Go to the pits! You are giving things away. The #3 Cadillac in yellow is up to fourth place. Sebastien Buemi buried in ninth but still in the points. Tire changes at Peugeot, for both cars. The traffic is horrid.
Antonio Gionvinazzi is in the lane. Renger van der Zande is actuallly passing Gionvinazzi. It is the #50 in the lane. Peugeot in and out of the lane as well. Doriane Pin leads Filip Urgan and others in the LMP2 class. Cadillac #2 out fo the pits and they cannot maintain progress by the GTE cars driven by Bronze drivers! Poor old Nicklas Nielsen on ice skates! Peugeot #94 is gaining heat in the tires. #51 fueling up. Paul di Resta lost 30 seconds in the #93 Peugeot 9X8. Criminy! Now, Sebastien Buemi has moved to seventh as the Ferrari is squirming on the pit apron in the endurance pits on the downhill side, the heritage pit lane. Ferrari 488 GTE #21 is in the lane for a penalty with Ulysse de Pauw.
Sebastien Buemi is monstering Michael Christensen in Porsche #5 who is behind the #4 Vanwall with Tom Dillman at the controls. A long, long way to go and the fuel strategy will be affected big style. Tom Blomqvist leads LMP2 from pole. Doriane Pin second ahead of Sean Gelael, Filip Urgan, and more. Sebastien Buemi is still stymied behind the Porsche and the Vanwall. The Porsche is being stymied by the Vanwall on the downhill side of the circuit. Sebastien Buemi has the experience for dead sure and is relishing that safety car earlier. He is biding his time just showing his nose to the Porsche.
Romain Dumas in the Glickenhaus is the slowest Hypercar. To the outside, Christensen passes. Tom Blomqvist is catching the Hypercars. Last year an LMP2 car almost won this event. Blomqvist is booking it and sticking with thenYpercars as we see damage to the #22 sister United Autosport car as Phil Hanson hands over to one of his co-drivers. Mike Conway in Toyota #7 under investigation by the stewards. Trouble in paradise for Antonio Givinazzzi and in replay, the #22 United Autosport Oreca did spin and they are undergoing a nose change. The #3 Cadillac has lapped Antonio Giovinazzi. Fredric Lubin is now in the #22.
The Glickenhaus passes the CarGuy Ferrari 488 GTE of Takeshi Kimura. Ferrari, Porsche, Glickenhaus in a battle of their own and I think SebastieBuemo si closing in but just slightly. The pace is just nowhere with the Toyota and we wonder why. Criminy, this is unusual. Nicklas Nielsen has no tire pressure and is being told to push. It is still cold tires. #50 and #51 are nose to tail and are 31st and 33rd and the rest of the Hypercars are wiping the floor with them! Holy moly Martha! Buemi has lapped both Ferrari's or, excuse me, he's about to lap the second one. Since they have come out from the tire change, the #94 Peugeot is a minute up on the Ferrari's and Buemi, look, he is setting fast laps.
The Ferrari's have had MGU issues but now they are perhaps having braking woes as well. These low temperatures affect these cars hugely. Ferrarijust cannot go over the hurdle as the #38 Jota Porsche 963 is off the road and back on, on cold tires and now, Tom Blomqvist is about to lap the Ferrari after passing the Vanwall and now, the #10 Vector Sport Oreca has lost a wheel. Three wheels on me wagon and game over. It was not the engine. He has no drive with three wheels. Gabriel Aubry, Ryan Cullen, and Matthias Kaiser, are out of this one. Tom Blomqvist pits and so does the #28 Jota Oreca. I don't know how we can rescue the car without a safety car. The full field is pitting in LMP2 save for the #22 United Autosport entry that pitted already.
Full Course Yellow. United Autosports #22 has had their strategy torpedoed. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Full Course Yellow. Intervening in turn five. Everyone is now at 80 kilometers an hour, 50 miles an hour. The opening 40 minutes of this race have been bananas! Vector Sport, their race is over. Dorianne Pin swipes right across David Heinemeier Hansson and Rui Andrade in the lane! Yikes! At Vector Sport the engine is broken and the LMP2 cars have half shafts, not solid differentials. Remove Full Course Yellow in 30 seconds and get back on the power. 20 seconds. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Green flag. Dumas vs. Christensen vs. Buemi and the Glickenhaus is caught napping!
Holy smokes! Christensen passes Romain Dumas! The Porsche reacted faster and locks up the brakes screaming past the #98 Heart of Racing Aston Martin of Paul Dalla Lana. Sebastien Buemi flashing the lights at Romain Dumas. Porsche, Glickenhaus, Toyota. Buemi giving Dumas fits! But Dumas is no slouch and Buemi has to think again before La Source. Dumas not defending. Wait to Eau Rouge. Dumas squeezes him. You are not getting by me, sunshine. Up the Kemmel straightaway Buemi does make the move. That was great racing! The #36 Alpine in the lane. The two Alpine's have been leading LMP2 but are outliers on a separate strategy.
Mike Conway now leads the motor race by 12 seconds with 17 laps on the board, 74 miles completed. Do not go anywhere. We have Le Mans coming up and then, Monza in July for the 6 Hours. The Ferrari's are beginning t push and unlapping themselves from the Vanwall. The Vanwall is seventh while the Ferrari's are 26th and 27th! Ferrari might be running on medium tires, honestly. Cadillac and Peugeot. Earl Bamber vs. Paul di Resta for ninth in Hypercar, 17th overall. The #83 Ferrari is 25th overall and fourth in GTE Am. The Buemi and Christensen fight continues. Porsche 963 and Toyota GR010. What changes will be made to some of the newer cars like the Porsche and Cadillac before Le Mans. Earl Bamber on medium Michelin tires and are double stinting just like IMSA in the states.
Stay out of the pits and get the time back. Strategy in Hypercar is hard to call at this time and the same is true in GTE Am. Could the 24 Hours of Le Mans be this way next month? We'll have to see, in about six weeks or so. The centenary of Le Mans will be off the chain! We are going to have another Porsche, the Action Express Cadillac, and another Glickenhaus to come. Buemi to the outside of the Porsche and he gets stymied on the crossover. The Porsche is beginning to squirm. The Porsche 963 is tail happy and so Michael Christensen is wrestling it right now. Christensen is really showing Buemi that Porsche will not roll over and play dead.
Renger van der Zande in the #3 Cadillac at 2:06.7 and is eight tenths quicker than both the Toyota and the Porsche. The Hypercar scrap is fascinating! Buemi says that his rival is completely mad. But, this is motor racing. Keep going. A lot of drivers are just not keen on fighting their rivals. Buemi is not used to having to pass anyone. Welcome to the rest of your career, Sebastien. Fighting for their lives are the Ferrari's unapping themselves from the Glickenhaus. That is a risky move through Pouhon or Fangnes. Romain Dumas decides discretion is the better part of valor. I think the Porsche's are backed into a hole.
Blue flags waving for a slow Alpine LMP2 and a slow GTE Am Ferrari 488 GTE, the #54 AF Corse car. The Ferrari 499P's are having huge issues with turning on the tires. Nicklas Nielsen is finally on pace. Sarah Bovy has lapped Ben Keating in GTE Am. Porsche 911 RSR-19 over Chevrolet Corvette C8.R Fortune doth favor the brave indeed. Buemi is told to just keep his head down and drive. He is telling the team about understeer and now side bu side stuff as Sean Gelael makes his move in LMP2 being overtaken by Doriane Pin! Wow! Pin is a revelation in LMP2 and is the real deal! Holy cow!
Big Shunt from #56 Project 1- AO I 2023 6 Hours of Spa I Qualifying | FIA WEC
Brendon Hartley Loses Control at the Raidillon I 2023 6 Hours of Spa I Qualifying I FIA WEC
Toyota Gazoo Racing's Pascal Vasselon on race day impacts of No. 8 car's qualifying off...
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/vasselon-toyota-quali-crash-has-big-hit-on-tire-allocation/
All you need to know on Friday, on the eve of the 6 Hours of Spa, the traditional race that comes just before the 24 Hours of Le Mans, at the fabled Spa Francorchamps circuit in the Ardennes forest of Belgium.
