24 Hours of Spa: Hour 12

Alright, there's an hour to sort all this out just after 3:30 A.M. in Belgium.  One hour to go to the midway point of the 24 Hours of Spa.  We have had a dry race so far with a thick layer of cloud over the circuit.  We have been thoroughly dry thus far.  Raffaele Marciello leads 1.8 seconds to the good ahead of Phillipp Eng as Luca Engstler and Lucas Auer have deposed Valentino Rossi down to tenth place.  Raffaele Marciello 1.8 seconds clear of everybody else.  He is in the clear for the time being.  Sandy Mitchell has passed Louis Prette and is still 4.8 seconds in-arrears of Rossi, Mitchell in the K-PAX Racing Lamborghini.  

Charlie Fagg also closing in on Louis Prette.  22 cars on the lead lap.  Matteo Cairoli, the pole sitter is 26th in the overall in a Bronze class Porsche.  Most of his co-drivers are not as quick as he is, sharing with Jannes Fittje, Antares Au, and Tim Heinemann.  We have just seen a wreck!  Neil Verhagen and Charles Weerts have just come together!  Two of the BMW's completely damaged.  Weerts' car steaming away!  That car was leading at six hours and Neil Verhagen have crunched each other between Raidillon and Les Combes.

Car #46 is in the garage and has just undergone a brake change.  So they will be back into the race.  That was a quick, quick procedure.  That was impressive.  New brakes and new tires on the car.  Raffaele Marciello still in the lead of the motor race.  Both drivers are fine.  One car went off to one side and speared right across to the other barrier with no place to go for the Audi which crunches into the barrier as well.  Weerts had a clonk, got turned around and spat across the track, getting hammered.  How did nobody else pinball right into him?!  Terrible luck for Charles Weerts.

Marciello in the lane for a driver change.  Nick Yelloly into the #98.  Laurin Heinrich in the lane.  Full field reset.  The dominos are falling to get set to hit the points haul at the 12 hour mark with 48 minutes until that happens.  Lucas Auer, 25 minutes into his 65 minute stint.  Nick Yelloly and more, as Augusto Farfus has taken over from Valentino Rossi in the #46 car.  WRT know this year's rules.  You must have a technical stop between hours 12 and 22.  Brakje change for Grello at Manthey/EMA.  That was a hashtag and now it is the car's official name.  Grello.  Mello Grello.

There's two flatbed trucks and a truck full of guardrail to be repaired.  Make sure they are not damaged and that the posts are not bent.  If the posts have been moved, the circuit is out of homologation.  It is on both sides of the road.  I want to say that both Charles Weerts and Neil Verhagen cannoned into the wall and it is amazing that half a dozen other cars weren't taken out of the race.  Keep to the right to aviid the debris just like when we had things put together.  Estimated repair time one hour.  We are going to be under yellow from now until a quarter o fhte way through hour 13.  

It is very likely game over for WRT and that #32 BMW will probably never race again.  it is headed for the scrapyard.  Raffaele Marciello has pitted.  Marshals are also putting the quick dry down for the melange of coolant and oil that chucked itself out of the engine.  This is going to be a long, long slog under the safety car so we won't have much to talk about probably.  You should call and order a pizza and something to drink.  Maybe that will tide you over until we go back to green.  Nicky Catsburg is now at the wheel in Pro-Am of the Mercedes he shares with Chaz Mostert.  CrowdStrike Racing are still in it but they are a lap down or so, the team of Colin Braun, George Kurtz, Felipe Fraga, and Ian James.  

The barriers are a long way out of line and they have to get the posts into the ground.  Ferrari #51 in the lane, Robert Shwartzman at the wheel of it going in for a technical stop meaning a brake change.  Ricardo Feller leads the motor race with the #40 Tresor Orange1 Audi.  Luca Engstler and Lorenzo Ferrari are both in the lane.  Why Luca Engstler is in, I have no idea.  Brake change for the #51 Ferrari 296 GT3.  Get the damage to the front or the diffuser done as well during the brake change where you know the car has had a biff or a clonk someplace.

The Ferrari is now back on the pit apron and back on track after the brake change.  Barrier repairs continue.  They are crimped and shattered.  They do meander.  The post has been clonked or sheared off and are supposed to deform to have the energy taken away.  The #88 Akkodis ASP Mercedes AMG GT3 is in the lane now for service.  Raffaele Marciello at the controls.  In and out for the #88 Mercedes.  We remain under yellow with barrier repairs still in progress.  You haven't missed anything.  

Barrier repairs continue and halfway home we have lost 15 cars.  #32 and #998 BMW's are out of the motor race.  We also saw pit work being done on the #89 Akkodis ASP Mercedes of Allan Helmeister and the Baptista brothers, Rodrigo, Adalberto, and Bruno Baptista.