Sebastien Buemi is trying to do a sway bar or brake bar adjustment on the #8 Toyota. I don't quite know what he is talking about. Glickenhaus make a swift repair on the #708 and it is ready for tires. Buemi is fired up trying to catch James Calado. Thank you to Calvin Fish for coming over to join the Eurosport commentary team. We appreciate your contribution, Cal. Albert Costa went skittering through the gravel somewhere, into Mulsanne corner. We have a new fastest lap from Antonio Fuoco, at 3:28.1. Early doors we expect to see happy hour. We had a lot of dirt and a lot of rain overnight. Cool, crispy conditions, and a track that is rubbered in. The track is always developing throughout the race.
Antonio Giovinazzi is just shy of Antonio Fuoco with the two Ferrari's. The 499P is a qualifying car for sure and this makes it a great race car as well. Albert Costa and Inter Europol went for fuel last time and they will have to take a mid-stint tire stop. The RFID readers for the tires help with the data especially for classes like LMP2 and Hyper Car. Cadillac not quite there against Toyota and Ferrari but the Cadillac is running as high as third with the #2 Ganassi Racing car I think. Inter Europol leading WRT in LMP2 by 25 seconds as we welcome Alex Jakes into the commentary box.
Inter Europol definitely going for the LMP2 victory but the cars have foibles, everyone is tired, the cars are squirming on handling, power cycle and crank the starter to make sure the car works. Nicky Catsburg, the Dutchman, second in the #33 Corvette C8.R in GTE Am. Matteo Cairoli leads in the #56 Porsche 911 RSR-19 passing by the #24 Chevrolet Camaro NASCAR Cup car. The Iron Dames may have gone off sequence or they are having a true issue. Full Course Yellow on the circuit. For what? Maybe it is a cleanup job of the gravel all over the road.
Antonio Fuoco runs wide off in the dirt in the #50 Ferrari 499P. It is gravel at Mulsanne corner plus moving bollards. Great to have experts here like Alex Brundle, Lena Gade, and Calvin Fish of course. This is only a general track cleanup. We have seen wholesale pit stops or are about to. The strategies have swapped around a wee bit. Ferrari #50 is losing energy and will have to pit. A mammoth lockup for the sole remaining #8 Toyota. Wow. Two Ferrari's liner stern and the Cool Racing LMP2 car has spun with marshals around the circuit. That is not good. Malthe Jakobsen, the Dane, will be in trouble, running with Nicolas Lapierre and Alexandre Coigny. Ferrari only allowed to refuel for ten second and change one tire if it is punctured.
Then you are required to pit again. Emergency service is constituted as a disaster. Female drivers have raced at Le Mans since the race's inception. In 1974 we had female class winners and in 1975 as well. Mike Rockenfeller still in the #24 Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Ben Keating is suited and booted ready to get into the Corvette C8.R #33. Six and a half hours still to go. Ferrari #50 will have to pit again for full service. Matteo Cairoli brings the #56 T Rex Porsche into the pits for fuel. You just cannot predict the Full Course Yellow.
Richard Westbrook is finally getting another shift in the #2 Ganassi Racing Cadillac. Richard Westbrook I guess is being saved until the end. Gunnar Jeanette and P.J. Hyett have run four hours each in the #56 Porsche. There is a new trophy at Le Mans for 2023. Le Mans and winning it is a dream and a massive accomplishment. Artist Joaquin Jimenez was tasked with creating the 100th anniversary trophy for Le Mans. In 1923 the average speed was 92 kph, the 1973 average speed was 202 kilometers an hour, and then in last year's race it was 215 kilometers an hour. In 1927 the biggest gap between the winner and the runner up was 349 kilometers.
Buemi has a track limits violation call. Buemi might also have a flatspotted tire. The Ferrari is really starting to pour on the steam. Richard Westbrook well ahead in the #2 Ganassi Racing Cadillac followed by the #311 Action Express Cadillac which is way down the order, but they are hanging in there. I think it is Pipo Derani in the #311 Whelen Cadillac. You have to put these cars on track with a conservative dry setup instead of a fully wet setup here at Le Mans. Job van Uitert is in the #65 entry for Panis Racing. One safety car could indeed change the order in LMP2. The #34 Inter Europol entry in the lane. Le Mans giveth and Le Mans taketh away of course.
Fueling anc cleaning the car, as a Goodyear tire employee examines the tires with a torch. Again, a torch is a flashlight in British English. Albert Costa is back into the race now. The Le Mans race is a full life cycle of an engine in an LMP2 car. By the end of the race, the engine will have to be rebuilt. The suspension and the dampers start feeling like jelly. Cadillac #3 for Ganassi Racing in the lane for fuel, tires, and a driver change. That is Sebastien Bourdais I believe. Peugeot #94 in the pit lane as well. Nico Muller into the car. This car was the one leading Le Mans last night. It has flown Plummet Airways down the order and it is now going back into the garage for service.
Ben Keating chasing P.J. Hyett for second in GTE Am. Ben Keating closing up and Rahel Frey well in the class lead. Ferrari #51 pits from the lead of the motor race. Antonio Giovinazzi at the wheel of it. Ferrari in their first start in the top category in half a century and it could be a win. Franck Mailleux has spun the #709 Glickenhaus and this time in the opposite direction to the sister car of Olivier Pla. Ben Kearing has made his move on P.J. Hyett. Six hours of the race still remaining. Corvette have a factory works entry in GTE Am more or less. Glickenhaus still being serviced.
The #94 Peugeot had an oil light come on on the dashboard and Nico Muller is back on track. Olivier Pla still has some issues with his steering. We are getting close to the end of anothe racing hour here at Le Mans. Sebastien Buemi completes a pit stop in the #8 Toyota and has turned in a banker lap below the 3:30 range. 3:29.3 I think but the #51 and #50 were running in the 3:27-3:28 range. We are seeing the Dodge Charger and the Ford Torino NASCAR Cup cars from 1976, the French fans called them the two "monsters". Memo Rojas chasing George Kurtz in LMP2. We are about to hear from Lena Gade and are coming to the end of another racing hour.
Whoops. Another LMP2 car off the road. Wait a second. That is the Algarve Pro Crowdstrike car I think that we just saw. We welcome back Lena Gade as mentioned and Alex Brundle. Toyota lost time to the Ferrari under the last yellow flag.
No comments:
Post a Comment