More heat is retained in the tires for the cars pitting at the bottom of the pit lane, in the heritage pit lane, the endurance pits, rather than in the Formula 1 pits at the top. So, we are reshuffling the deck here. Max Hesse has dropped to fourth. Henrique Chaves is the new erstwhile leader. Nope. Never mind. Raffaele Marciello in the #46 BMW M4 GT3 is now at the top of the shop. Marciello says that the tire pressure is way too low. His crew chief tells him the pressure is normal and needs to be built up. Marciello argues it is lower than he is used to. For him the pressures are too low, and they'll be up to pressure when you push. He feels he is on an underinflated Pirelli tire.
Valentino Rossi has awakened from his sleep. He looks knackered. Maybe not. He'll be ready to go. The field filters it's way up and through La Source behind the safety car as Dennis Olsen is now in eighth place aboard the #64 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3. The #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 has dropped to fourth in Silver with a broken splitter for Winward Racing, Dann Arrow at the controls. Henrique Chaves now leads the race over Raffaele Marciello, on the road. Matciello is the real race leader ahead of Weerts, Hesse, Rovera, and Drudi. Green flag and we are back to green as everyone is relearning their tires and the corresponding grip levels. On a drying road, the top comtenders are scrambling through the traffic.
Charles Weerts and Max Hesse are two of them. Henrique Chaves did not pit and ended up in the lead of the motor race. Dries Vanthoor closing up on the #93 Sky Tempesta Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 as Max Hesse is drawing himself closer to Charles Weerts. Mattia Drudi speeds downhill and up through Eau Rouge. There is a cable or something in the cockpit flinging around with the G loads. Down to Bruxelles they turn and now Henrique Chaves doing very well in the Aston Martin for Walkenhorst Motorsports. Chaves is a former McLaren driver.
Dries Vanthoor hasn't had the stint he wanted in very difficult conditions including the track and the tire pressures. It was partially the changing conditions, but he had no grip compared to the other drivers and their cars. He returned the car to the pit lane in one piece. He was struggling on old, bald tires, slewing all over the shop. WRT are a year behind Rowe Racing switching from Audi to BMW. The Rowe car does not struggle with the setups or whatever. WRT has gone one way while Rowe goes a different direction compared to the WRT machines as Hesse has reeled in Marciello and the #46 Team WRT BMW is on new slick tires. The Max Hesse BMW is far more planted compared to Raffaele Marciello in the #46.
Six and 3/4 hours to go. Chaves and Marciello, 1.6 seconds apart. Weerts followed by Hesse, and we need to look at the handling of the #46 of Marciello. They have been struggling with handling all race long. From Jacky Ickx corner/Speakers' corner, into Pouhon, they go downhill, and the handling of the BMW's is still tricky. Hesse and Weerts are on the right tires but they can't get the power down and now, Rovera is using the windscreen wiper on the Ferrari, the #51 car. Alessio Rovera following in Max Hesse's wheel tracks. Most of these chaps at the top of the shop are catching each other.
Chaves needs to pit because he has already done his 63 minutes of driving required for a stint. Team radio at Walkenhorst Aston Martin. Slicks everywhere. You can do 67 minutes in a stint and needs to be in at the end of this lap and to go onto slick Pirelli P Zero tires. It is way too dry to roll the dice and go for wets. But, we see light rain at the start/finish line so this is now going to catch drivers between the devil and the deep blue sea. Maybe Walkenhorst will prepare the Pirelli wet tires and into the final chicane, Raovera almost ran right over the Lamborghini. Leader in the lane, Henrique Chaves going for a driver change. Marciello, Hesse, Weerts, Rovera, Drudi. Rovera runs wide.,
Maybe there is rain in Eau Rouge. Windscreen wipers on. The Sston Martin windscreen is all smudged as the Barwell Lamborghini is off at Pouhon with Antoine Doquin at the controls, and now, we have another Full Course Yellow or so it seems. Drudi all over the back of Rovera through Pouhon, like a fat pigeon on a chip. Too many pigeons eating chips or frites mayonnaise here at Spa! Drudi trying to pass Rovera while Rovera wants by Weerts, look. New boots for the Aston Martin and on full tnaks for the fuel.
Drudi is going for position, Ferrari on the inside, down the holl to Eau Rouge, the dirty side of the road. Drudi welded to the tail of the Ferrari and they fly over Raidillon. Into Les Combes, we are going to Full Course Yellow with the stricken Lamborghini. No overtaking. Danger. Hello to Ben Tuck from Kessel Racing. He did his best lap in his first stint at the start yesterday. He still should have the fastest lap in the Bronze Cup. S big rotation for Antoine Doquin. In the dry it is fast but in the wet there is mores tanding water on the tarmac. That is fresh, new tarmac of course.
Green flag again. We have had shedloads of interruptions and now, slicks on a damp circuit of course. For the past ten hours teams have been talking about tire pressures with what drivers feel and the pit lane staff and pit crew looking at their weather apps as RAovera had to back out through Eau Rouge with Mattia Drudi now reeling in Charles Weerts in spite of a filthy, buggy windscreen. The BMW is very pointy. The Ferrari 296 GT3, as well as driving the BMW, the Mustang, and others, the Aston Martin as well. Ben Tuck says that the car is big, but it suited Le Mans very well. Mattia Drudi on the outside, hung out to dry passed by Rovera in the Ferrari.
Charles Weerts wants a piece of this pie! This is a love/hate relationship for drivers, in the battle, but in the wet, you immediately risk going off the road. Ferrari #74 was in the garage fixing an issue and Chandler Hull got tagged by a Porsche and was bedded in the gravel. Ferrari vs. Aston Martin. Aerodynamics vs. horsepower, and Rovera is a star driver. Now, into Bruxelles, there are two possinle lines, not completely V'ing the turn or maybe hugging the inside line. They are on slicks but taking a rain line.
Next up, Raffaele Marciello is still being harried by Max Hesses. BMW vs. BMW. Mano e mano. Lorcan Hanafin in Silver scrapping with the Mercedes of Yannick Mettler. This is a battle for the Silver class lead with six and a half hours remaining. Good luck for the rest of the race, Ben. Glad to have you, mate. Raffaele Marciello is right on the ragged edge battling Max Hesse who has better balance and handling on the setups here. Marciello leads Hesse just barely. Now, we are looking again at the lead battle. Rovera in the Ferrari is very much sorted out. The Ferrari is beginning to come into it's own.
The track is drying and getting the temperature into an operational zone. Marciello and Hesse 1-2, Rovera in third place just ahead of Drudi. Rovera is absolutely holding a pretty wheel at this point. Now, Yannick Mettler at the wheel of the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 leads Pro-Am over Lorcan Hanafin and Jop Rappange. In Pro-Am, Jann Mardenborough is ahead of Colin Braun. Great to see Jann Mardenborough back in GT3 racing after going to Japan. He may have missed the open wheel racing boat but so much of his early career with Nissan the video game deal.
They tried getting Mardenborough into open wheel cars, but it didn't relate to Nissan's marketing plan. Hesse, Farfus, and and Harper lead and Farfus wants to stay in a rhythm. That BMW #46 is very taily and totally unbalanced. I don't know what changes they are able to make, honestly. You can't get the car up on the lift, and try to change the geometry of the car from underneath. Hesse moves ahead of Marciello and now, the gap will continue to come down. It the situation tire pressure or car balance? Antoine Doquin back on track but has to cop a penalty for a pit lane infringement.
The Bronze Cup battle is between the Tresor Attempto Audi #66 and the #52 AF Corse Ferrari. Valentino Rossi is now set to chase down Max Hesse in the battle of the BMW teams. Max Hesse leads Rovera and Drudi. Marciello seems like he had a bad stint and was very worried about the tires, the Pirelli P Zero tires. Good morning to Daniel Juncadella. Around 3AM they went on a slick tire with Fredric Vesti and he got confused down the escape road in turn five, drove into a hole, and heavily damaged the front splitter, trying to do a technical pit stop.
The car was getting very loose. It was Fredric Vesti's first endurance race and Raffaele Marciello is in overdirve watching this. Raffaele Marciello says there was a different strategy between the WRT BMW's who try to help each other out. They have been adjusting the tire pruessrues. In changing conditions, tire pressure for the conditions makes it an extremely fascinating deal. Daniel Juncadella says that the dry line also works well n the wet with the new tarmac. New tarmac has oil in it. Mercedes-AMG has two classes covered, but this might be a BMW year.
Ferrari and Aston Martin are running very well. Patiemce, experience, luck, and staying calm, to Daniel Juncadella are the onest importanr situations in endurance races. Stay on top of what the tires are. The Meecedes-AMG is very reliable on the long run. Spa is very aggressive on tires. Glad to hear from Dani Juncadella. Colin Braun, Jann Mardenborough, and Indy Dontje, the three remaining Pro-Am entries. Mercedes #4 in the pit lane. A class win might be on the cards for George Kurtz, Colin Braun, Nicky Catsburg, and Ian James. We are into the final six hours of the race.
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