Ferdinand Habsburg is coming in a hurry as we see the #2 Cadillac in the pit lane and so is the Peugeot #94. Earl Bamber brought the Cadillac in. Routine service for the Cadillac Racing team and Bamber stays in the car. In the Ascari chicane, Habsburg and company get held up and Matthieu Vaxiviere divebombs Fabio Scherer into the gravel trap! Poor old Scherer is in a world of pain right now. Louis Deletraz side by side with the Alpine Oreca and so, Scherer continues to circulate. 128 laps completed by the LMP2 leader. 461 miles. LMP2 cars don't just arrive in Ascari corner without a slipstream and the GTE cars can get a run. Nico Varrone was able to make a move. It is harder to follow. Offline at Ascari in the gravel and the marbles, you exacerbate the trouble.
Olivier Pla is chasing Harry Tincknell for sixth place. Pla in the Glickenhaus and Tincknell in the Proton Competition WeatherTech Porsche 963. They have been teammates and rivals in IMSA before in the old Daytona Prototype International division. Ben Barker has made his pit stop. Three seconds exactly between the top four in GTE Am with an hour and 55 minutes of racing left. Oh dear. The #99 Porsche 963 is slowing. He has a problem. I think this is a Control, Alt, Delete, and I think the car has run out of power having passed by the bollards.
At Jota, there were mechanics who said that the pit speed limiter gets fowled up when you disengage it when the car is fired up. It fritzes all the other electronics for some reason. You still have to have the pit lane speed limiter on before you accelerate. Meanwhile, LMP2 cars have a head of steam screaming by the GTE Am cars, and look at Habsburg! He is on the grass, out in the fuzz! What is he going to do? Woohoo! That was a heart in mouth moment! Now, the Jota car is pushing and Francesco Castellaci got mugged by three LMP2s!
Giedo van der Garde knows Habsburg is there and is guarding the inside. Yellow flag into the corner for the Porsche. Oh my! van der Garde knew he was going to go there, so that move is fine. Both cars went to the same side at the same time and if he'd lifted, that'd been an absolute plane crash, a total carambolage. Porsche #99 has not budged. He is stuck. The grass down here by the privet hedge is available to make a pass. Habsburg has lost ground. 66,000 people here at Monza over three days for sports car racing. Many have probably not even been here before. Holy smokes. This has been quite a race so far.
Barker and Andlauer are still scrapping with each other as we watch Habsburg continuing to chase after van der Garde. I think Habsburg was trying to move past Vaxiviere in the Ascari chicane. Ferdinand Habsburg in the lane? Really? Wait. What is going on here? Jota also in the box and we are going Full Course Yellow. That is why they are pitting, because Harry Tincknell has stalled the Porsche 963 and as soon as we go Full Course Yellow, he will roll away from the scene. The pit lane entry is closed and the pit exit is open. Brendon Hartley has just been able to get to the lane.
139 laps now on the board, 500 miles. Almost inevitable, as soon as you go Full Couese Yellow, the driver with trouble gets going. But he is not going too far. The Prema #9 Oreca passes te Toyota and Harry Tincknell says he has rolled it over in neutral. It was the #31 WRT car that had a brake fire which is not a major drama except if it happens on your road car, then, bail out! Tincknell is told to bump start the Porsche on hybrid drive and put it in neutral. The #7 Toyota was not sure he should or shouldn't pass. WRT have to be on the horn to Ferdinand Habsburg to let the Toyota go by again.
Kamui Kobayashi was hesitant. Habsburg has gone around Kobayashi and he has to be told to let Kobayashi by. You can't overtake a car under Full Course Yellow. So, Toyota leads Ferrari, Peugeot, Toyota, Glickenhaus, Ferrari, Porsche, Porsche, Porsche, and Cadillac in the top ten. One hour and 45 minutes remaining in the race. The second Toyota has just opitted. Safety car. Now, Harry Tincknell is trundling down the road and we have to see if the car is going to keep moving. Now, he drives it to the right of the yellow line, shortcutting the chicane to build up speed under the electric motor and bump start it.
Does that work with a hybrid road car? I am not sure. Ferdinand Habsburg has passed Toyota #7 and he should not be waved by. Poor old Ferdinand Habsburg is going to be in for a penalty and an ice cream headache, and poor old Harry Tincknell has to pull the #99 Porsche 963 over to the side of the road. Game over. The Porsche 963's electronics are glitching. Porsche, Bosch, Williams, and Xtrac have to get on the ball to see what the deal is with having to reset the car. This is a problem we didn't see earlier in the year and we have not seen too much of it in the WeatherTech Championship that I am aware of.
This is new car teething problems for Proton Competition. Proton Competition will be back at Fuji in Japan in September. We take for granted that these cars are mostly brand new having run for six months to a year only. A year ago last week, the Ferrari first turned a wheel and has already won Le Mans. This is new technology. Twice in the morning on Sunday the car failed to start on pit stops of course. The Porsche Penske 963's have also had issues having to do a Control, Alt, Delete. It isn't mechanical but rather it is electronics. These are supposedly "dumbed down" LMP1 cars. Baloney. These cars are incredibly more complicated than the LMP1 cars ever were.
You have constant information being thrown at you at high speeds. We all know how quickly electronics have advanced in the last decade. Fundamentally these cars work differently than the LMP1 cars did. An engine and a hybrid unit can be added together. But there is no boost with the Hypercars. it is about efficiency. The LMP1 systems were automated but on these new cars you are really having to drive by the seat of your pants with the power output of the cars. It is absolutely mind boggling. The drivers have to be technicians just as much as being the nut behind the wheel.
Antonio Fuoco and company in the #50 Ferrari are being helped by these safety car interventions as Ferrari just do not have the same speed at their home track as they did at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Rahel Frey and Nicky Catsburg might just take over their respective cars and Corvette, Iron Dames, GR Racing, and Dempsey Proton are going to battle each other. Corvette Racing want to win the race and the GTE Am championship. Thierry Bouvet is the technical director of the ACO and the FIA as well as in IMSA with these new cars. Thierry Bouvet started in World Series by Renault and is now the head technical director for the FIA WEC.
We are back to green flag racing. No overtaking before the line. Pit entry closed until all cars have crossed the start/finish line. Why are the Corvette and the Iron Dames Porsche so far apart? That's not necessary. Maybe Michelle Gatting was caught napping. Nicky Catsburg will finish the race for Corvette Racing in the #33 and Rahel Frey in the #85 Iron Dames Porsche. We have temporarily lost the video and audio transmission. Cannot see what's happening on track. Hello? Buon giorno? World feed, are you there?
Ah. Still in a bit of technical confusion? No. I think it is fine now. Meanwhile, how far off strategy are GR Racing and Dempsey Proton in GTE Am? Alpine and WRT are scrapping in LMP2 for fourth in class with an hour and a half to go. 140 laps in the bag for the #23 United Autosports Oreca. 504 miles. Michelle Gatting in the pit lane which cycles GR Racing and Dempsey Proton back to the top of the pile in GTE Am as Ben Barker responds uncorking fastest lap of the #86 Porsche's race. They are a handful of laps out of sync. Michelle Gatting helps Rahel Frey getting the seat belts on. The drivers cannot look down to do up the buckles because of their HANS device, their Head and Neck Support.
Rahel Frey is going to do everything she possibly can to claim victory for the Iron Dames and their first World Championship victory here at Monza. The #60 Iron Lynx Porsche 911 RSR-19 has Matteo Cressoni at the wheel of it as we ride with Rahel Frey through Curva Grande. Rahel Frey is Gold rated and Nicky Catsburg is a Platinum rated driver. These ratings are based on driver's records, ages, status as professional or amateur, and lap times. You are upgraded or downgraded whether you are a winner, or a consistent driver. Silver status is a valuable commodity.
Ice pops for the pit crew at Corvette Racing. Those are necessary to stay cool here at Monza as in front, we have the battle continuing between Toyota and Ferrari. Antonio Fuoco is closing on Kamui Kobayashi for the lead with under an hour and a half remaining. #9 Prema Oreca to the pit lane. Ferdinan Habsburg for WRT takes over the lead with the Jota car about a second down. Daniil Kvyat and Louis Deletraz are battling in LMP2 and so is Inter Europol. GR Racing pits from the lead in GTE Am emerging behind the #60 Iron Lynx Porsche which still has to pit as well yet.
Corvette Racing has also stopped and Dempsey Proton will need to pit, and GR Racing prior to the pit stops were ahead of the Iron Dames. Now, I believe the Iron Dames have leapfrogged past them. Kobayashi in the lead of the motor race runs 4.6 seconds ahead of Antonio Fuoco, currently. There was a driver change and tires for the Iron Dames. Fastest first sector of the entire race of anyone has just been set by Olivier Pla in the Glickenhaus in fourth spot. Glickenhaus have the outright lap record here at Monza in Hypercar.
A battle too, is afoot for seventh spot in GTE Am between the #83 Ricard Mille AF Corse Ferrari of Alessio Rovera being followed by the #25 ORT by TF Sport Aston Martin currently in the hands of Charlie Eastwood. Glickenhaus have run as high as second place in the race today as Antonio Fuoco uncorks a new fastest lap at 1:36.753. The #4 Vanwall has equaled their pit lane and pit stop performance today, as amazing as that sounds. So, the Vanwall team are taking a big step up in today's race as far as competitiveness. That is a pleasant surprise.
In LMP2 we can see the gap is ebbing and flowing between Ferdinand Habsburg and Oliver Rasmussen as the battle continues between WRT and Jota. James Calado is catching Olivier Pla for fourth in the overall and in Hypercar, so, the Le Mans winner for Ferrari is reeling him in hand over fist, as Pla has smoke pouring from the brakes which tells us one thing and that is, the brakes on the Glickenhaus, the rotors, and possibly the pads and calipers as well, are beginning to oxidize. The Glickenhaus is a heavier Hypercar and it does not use a hybrid system, so therefore, the brakes are mechanical. There is no brake by wire system.
Paul di Resta is 17 seconds down on the leader but the #93 Peugeot is pushing hard as Olivier Pla is kicking up the dust on the exit of Variante Ascari as he is trying to make his bid for freedom from the Ferrari. Calado closing in inexorably. The Glickenhaus has the straight-line speed. Wow! A rodeo ride, as the nose of the Glickenhaus bounds over the curb in the Prima Variante and James Calado needs no second invitation to walk through an open door. Behind these two is the lapped #38 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963. Olivier Pla must have a spongy brake pedal and he is running low on total energy which is just petrol for the Glickenhaus.
Pla sailed way too deep into the first corner and sailed right over the sausage curb and so no wonder he got slightly airborne! That was a very close shave! Peugeot #93 comes to pit lane and decides to change left side tires only as we ride onboard the leading #7 Toyota with Kamui Kobayashi at the wheel of it. Peugeot are searching for a podium and can very well take it. In GTE Am, Julien Andlauer is being harried by the Toyota. Andlauer leads GT3 Am. He is followed by the #60 yellow Iron Lynx Porsche 911 RSR-19 of Matteo Cressoni, so that is a Porsche 1-2. Then the Corvette, followed by GR Racing and Iron Lynx in another couple Porsche 911's. An hour and 20 minutes to go.
Antonio Fuoco pits for fresh tires and is back on track. Car #31 has been reported to the stewards for passing the leading Toyota under Full Course Yellow, the WRT LMP2. You are, in theory, forbidden from passing any cars under Full Course Yellow or safety car. Habsburg passed both the Toyota #7 and the slow #99 Proton Competition Porsche 963. Ferdi should have known that car was on the pit speed limiter and not in distress. Toyota #7 to the lane from the lead of the motor race. A tear off is taken off the windscreen, the radiators are cleaned out as well as underneath the rear diffuser.
I wonder who was sent from WRT to argue their case with the stewards. Habsburg is told to make as big a gap as possible and he will be able to use up his tires before the end of the race. Other LMP2 teams will be screaming at the stewards to give WRT a penalty. Julien Andlauer continuing to lead GTE Am in the #77 Dempsey Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19. He is going quicker and quicker. He could be on an in lap but is outside his fuel window to get home before the end of the race. Fuoco is 22 seconds behind Kobayashi in the lead battle. 32 laps on this set of tires for the Toyota. The Ferrari's tires are fresh. Just two laps for all four.
Andlauer is closer to the end of his stint than Matteo Cressoni is. Ferrari is 22 seconds behind Toyota. Kamui Kobayashi is being told to push, 20 seconds ahead of the Ferrari. They are giving Kobayashi more latitude to take only tires and not worry about fuel usage. In the meantime, the battle is also on for fourth place with Frad Makowiecki in the #5 Porsche 963 reeling in the #51 Le Mans winning Ferrari of James Calado. 963 vs. 499P. Ferrari vs. Porsche, the classic battle from five, six decades ago, rolls on. Again, it just reminds me of the early 1970s and the "Le Mans" movie with Steve McQueen and the battle between the Ferrari 512S and the Porsche 917.
Toyota could have more fresh tires left than their rivals. Fred Makowiecki is closing on Calado hand over fist but both are not yet in range of Paul di Resta in the #93 Peugeot 9X8. With fresh tires Antonio Fuoco is really pushing and if he can chisel out a second a lap for ten seconds, the race is on and it has definitely started. This is a three-way fight between Toyota, Ferrari, and Peugeot as we enter the closing stages. Porsche could win as well, perhaps. It could very well be a Toyota vs. Ferrari scrap to the bitter end. I don't think (along with Martin Haven), the Porsche 963 has grip left in those tires. He is wriggling all over the road.
But they are both closing the gap to Paul di Resta. Fred Makowiecki has the carrot in front of him. For the first time, Penske have not had issues with the Porsche 963 while Jota and Proton indeed have. Behind the Porsche is the #2 Cadillac. Albert Costa has completed a pit stop and is now in the #34 Inter Europol Oreca as Oliver Rasmussen pits the #28 Jota entry from second in class. So, here are the class leaders.
Overall/Hypercar: #7 Kobayashi/Conway/Lopez Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyot GR010 Hybrid
LMP2: #31 Habsburg/Frijns/Gelael Team WRT Oreca 07
LM GTE Am: #77 Andlauer/Ried/Pedersen Dempsey Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19
We have an hour and ten minutes to go and we still don't know who will win anything yet in any of the three categories. Habsburg is 10.8 seconds ahead. Andre Lotterer is sixth in the sister #6 Penske Porsche 963. Fred Makowiecki is within three or four laps of the end of the stint and is thrashing the Porsche as the #41 WRT LMP2 is in the lane, last year's winners in LMP2 which is eighth in class with Louis Deletraz driving. Albert Costa, has stopped, and Pietro Fittipaldi is now driving the #28 Jota entry. Habsburg due into the pit lane next time around and is under investigation by the stewards.
So, the sword of Damocles does hang over him at least this moment. Then again, if he has to add the ten second time penalty during the pit stop, he can still do that. It is time added to the end of a regular service. Our next race is the 6 Hours of Fuji in the middle of September. WRT #31 in the lane. Ferdinand Habsburg is out, and in steps Robin Frijns. He might be on a double stint to the end of the race. Habsburg, I think did a stint and three quarters at least. Tires are beng changed and fuel added to the car as well.
As we near the end of the fifth hour, the #63 Prema Oreca might be about to take over the class lead here in LMP2. Prema, Alpine, and then comes Jota, Robin Frijns third on fresh, cold Michelin tires. Kamui Kobayashi is being told to push. Jota all over the curbs to try and pass Frijns and he does so. He sails off onto the curbs and might need to give the place back. Ferrari #51 now in the lane and he is handing over to Alessandro Pier Guidi for the next stint. Andre Lotterer brings the #6 Penske Porsche 963 to the pit lane and Laurens Vanthoor takes over for the finish.
Hard tires on the left for the Ferrari. Medium and hard compound tires available as the compounds here at Monza. Charles Milesi in the #36 Alpine Oreca now leads LMP2. Ah. It is Antonio Giovinazzi in the #51 Ferrari who will take it to the end. Medium on the right and hard on the left for the Ferrari as the #41 WRT LMP2 car of Louis Deletraz harrying Oliver Jarvis in the #23 United Autosports car. Alpine have completed 155 laps, 558 miles. Frijns is up to speed now and Pietro Fittipaldi is doing all he can to catch up as well as Ben Hanley trying hard to catch up in the #23 United Autosport car. Hanley is faster and should soon be after Robin Frijns and Pietro Fittipaldi like a rat up a drainpipe. Frijns might get snookered by Hanley here.
Pietro Fittipaldi definitely under pressure. Giedo van der Garde looking on from pit lane and they were messed up by the safety car scrambles. You don't always win that snakes and ladders game. The clear GTE Am battle is between Ben Barker in the #86 GR Racing Porsche going after the #33 Chevrolet Corvette in the hands of Nicky Catsburg who is third in class presently. These two are still nine seconds ahead of Rahel Frey in the #85 Iron Dames Porsche. We are into the GTE fuel window for the final pit stops.
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