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.
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