The incident between Malykhin and von Rompuy means Malykhin is warned by the stewards after skating wide. Wholesale pit stops for both Proton Mustang's. A good battle for seventh is brewing in Hypercar between the #12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963, the #2 Ganassi Racing Cadillac and the #15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8. Now, Marco Wittmann is the last car in this little queue with Alex Lynn ahead and ahead of him in the #12 Porsche should be Will Stevens. As we explained, because of schedule conflicts this weekend, Ilott and Stevens are a duo in the #12 this weekend. Heart of Racing Aston Martin and Ian James, he is leading GT3 based on energy efficiency currently. However, they will be fined for something on the starting grid. The #82 Corvette is in the lane and now, Alex Lynn is still chasing Will Stevens.
Stevens gets squeezed by the #91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3R downhill through Pouhon I think. Lynn tries the inside on the GT3, but he steals the line. Yasser Shahin wanted nothing to do with the Hypercars so he does not lose ground to the Hypercars. Nico Lapierre still has the #36 Alpine A424B in tenth place. Lapierre lifting before Blanchimont with no place to go, as Sara Bovy cycles back to the GT3 lead. Ian James, Arnold Robin, Thomas Flohr, and Clement Mateu have all pitted. Alex Lynn is making his pit stop as well and they should just change the left side tires. Peugeot also in the lane. We have seen rear tire changes only, here at Spa before. But that was back in the LMP1 era and some of the LMP2 cars have done the same.
But LMP2 is only racing this year, at Le Mans, which is our next race, and it is this weekend. So, I am bringing you the Spa 6 Hours as much as I can and will be ready for Le Mans this weekend as well. Lots of work putting all of this together for those of you who enjoy the sports car races as much as I do. Ferrari's #51 and #83 in the lane. So, we also have pitting, the #2 Cadillac, #36 Alpine, #93 Peugeot, and #11 Isotta Fraschini. #51 is down and away doing only left side tires. New boots on the left side of the #51 but the #83 was quicker and I don't think they changed tires.
Sebastien Buemi made his first stop in Toyota #8, but it was not for service. It was a stop and go penalty. Julien Andlauer brings the #99 Proton Competition Porsche 963 into the pits from the race lead. Nico Muller and Peugeot had a four-tire change and here comes Fred Makowiecki in Porsche #5. Andlauer is really showing his stuff. Now, it is time for a pop quiz. What did we critique and criticize Ferrari for after Imola, that they didn't do? Yes, you with your hand raised in the front row. Ah. Splitting their strategy. Yes, you are correct. Ferrari did not split their strategy at Imola.
What did Ferrari just do? I think they split their strategy. Fuel and left side tires for #51 and fuel only for #83. You are correct with the second question to the pop quiz, or the answer to that question. Well, I must say, you are passing with flying colors, class, in Endurance Racing 101. If that does not work, the #83 takes the pain and has extra tires. Furthermore, the #50 and #51 also learn that you cannot double stint tires without having to also do left side tires only at some stage. In the meantime, BMW #15 is in the pits as well.
You learn something from the car in race conditions more than you do in Free Practice. Free Practice is extremely important, but it does not teach you everything in terms of how to play your strategy, which, for every team, is of course, a closely guarded secret. Do not, I repeat, do not ask a team boss what their strategy is. This is a shining example of why Kubica was not harrying Giovinazzi in the next Ferrari in front of him. We now see the #5 Porsche finishing service in the lane and he is down and away. Meanwhile, the #15 BMW pit stop is not going as smoothly as we first thought.
Let's see. What seems to be the problem at WRT? Either they could not get the right front wheel off the stub axle, or they were about to botch things and put the wrong tire on. They called an audible. No tires on Ferrari #50. A white flag means there's a slow car on the circuit. No, it is not the flag of surrender, and it does not mean yet, that there is a lap left in the race. The white flag indicates a slow-moving race car, or it means a recovery vehicle such as a flat bed or a tractor out on the circuit to retrieve a car that is in trouble. It is used too, if a Hypercar is coming out on fresh tires. Fresh tires do slow the Hypercars down on an out lap.
We are onboard in the Lamborghini #63 with Daniil Kvyat, the Russian driver who used to race in Formula 1. Speaking of Lamborghini, Sara Bovy took no tires on her stop. Her tires have run for 24 laps. A couple cars have taken tires as Laurens Vanthoor is stopping now out of sync with the sister car and two laps longer on fuel mileage. Vanthoor was not pressuring Makowiecki. Now, the driver's door is open. Vanthoor is staying aboard the car, but they are doing a steering wheel change which leads me to believe that the electronics in the main wheel have gone blank and the spare wheel will have the electronics in working order.
Vanthoor has taken the wheel off the steering column, but no one has gone to assist him yet. Hertz Team Jota went long and have moved to third with the second car, the #38 Porsche 963. They are fueling and so is the #20 sister BMW. OK. The team swaps the wheel from the passenger side of the car and Vanthoor clicks the new wheel into place. This is the same in sim racing when you hot swap a steering wheel on your simulator rig. Vanthoor on his way but he will meet in the middle with Antonio Giovinazzi in a charging #51 Ferrari 499P! They don't call Ferrari "The Prancing Horse" for nothing. Giovinazzi looking to the outside of Makowiecki up the hill into Les Combes! Bingo. King of the late brakers and Giovinazzi's pass is done and dusted.
GT3 cars in the background, look, and that played a factor in that whole pass we just saw. Further back will be someone who was the cork in the bottle for the Porsche. Giovinazzi has a tire advantage and has a soft compound Michelin on the left front of the Ferrari. Meanwhile, Alex Lynn still has his hands full with the BMW and the #38 Jota Porsche 963. Phil Hanson vs. Marco Wittmann vs. Alex Lynn as they work their way past one of the two Akkodis ASP Lexus GT3 cars. Nicklas Nielsen also on fresh tires in Ferrari #50 is rocketing his way up through the field as well.
Nicklas Nielsen says "I have something loose between my legs." Is that the drink bottle? Don't get anything loose in the car that could fall into the pedal box. The Porsche had a left side tire change while the #51 Ferrari of Giovinazzi had all four changed. Julien Andlauer leading the motor race as we continue watching the battle for tenth place. The Alpine that was also in the battle earlier has dropped back slightly. Tom van Rompuy is under investigation for an unsafe release from the pit lane, but he just released alongside another car. Giovinazzi in Ferrari #51 only swapped left side tires, not a full set.
Julien Andlauer also did only left side tires. They are scrubbed from qualifying. Alex Lynn and Marco Wittmnn in lapped traffic working their way past the #46 BMW M4 GT3 from Team WRT, so one of the sister cars to the BMW Hypercar program. Andlauer is running six and a half seconds clear ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi. The Proton Porsche that leads is one of the fastest cars along with Ferrari #51, 2:10-2:12, lapping a second and a half quicker are the #99 Porsche and the #51 Ferrari. So, Julien Andlauer, at 24 years old, he loves racing whenever and wherever he can. He also has raced historic races with a 1980s ATS Formula 1 car.
For the Porsche 963 teams like Proton, Jota, and Penske, all of them are on the same platform so they have no Balance of Performance stuff to worry about. Mike Conway in sixth is being chased by Will Stevens. Toyota vs. Porsche as we now look at AF Corse vs. D'station in GT3. Ferrari vs. Aston Martin, and this is a positional change into La Source. Francesco Castellaci vs. Clement Mateu, into the La Source hairpin. Thomas Flohr started the #54 and did only one stint. He will need to do two and a half more stints. Castellaci is a Platinum-rated driver, no, Silver-rated. Excuse me. Mike Conway still on old tires but under massive pressure from Will Stevens. Stevens losing a bit of time. Stevens has fresh tires on the left side.
The tire degradation stays with you, but the advantage on new tires does as well. A great battle of the Brits. Sarah Bovy is now almost 40 seconds clear. Marco Wittmann and Alex Lynn still scrapping with each other. Robert Kubica asked to give an update on car balance, but he has no balance on the car. It is perfectly balanced. Or, maybe, it is not good. Sunny, Spa Francorchamps. A sunny, warm week of summer weather is what we have had this week. We could have a real sizzler of a race as this continues. Alex Lynn making the move on Marco Wittmann and now onto the tail of Phil Hanson in the #38 Jota Sport Porsche 963.
Alex Lynn took left side tires on that car just recently. Maybe the car was better on new tires rather than worn ones. The car looks more alive than what we saw earlier on. Clement Mateu was off the road, again, and he has dropped down the order. He has had multiple incidents in the D'station Aston Martin. Lynn is told that Hanson is struggling and that he can make the pass. We know the Cadillac is quick in a straight line. Late under braking, Lynn makes the pass. Good respect between the two of them, guaranteeing there is no contact.
Great ebb and flow in the field with the strategy. Ahmad Al Harthy in the #46 BMW M4 GT3 vs. Ian James in the #27 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 vs. Francesco Castellacci in the #54 Vista - AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3. Alex Malykhin is also in the fight aboard the #92 Manthey Pure Racing Porsche 911 GT3R. This is fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh, going hard at it for the last hour or so. Julien Andlauer working his way through this traffic as soon as possible, knowing they are in a a battle. Now, Castellaci wants by James into Eau Rouge. No dice yet. He has the tow off the BMW and the Aston.
Behind them it is Arnold Robin in the #78 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3. Like the McLaren, the Lexus becomes a real racing car here at Spa Francorchamps. Akkodis ASP have massive experience here at Spa in GT3 cars with Mercedes Benz before but not with the Lexus. Arnold Robin raced in GT3 at Road to Le Mans and they have Jose Maria Lopez who was in the Toyota Hypercar last year. Alexander Malykhin is behind Francesco Castellaci who is putting all kinds of pressure on Ian James as we speak. All of these drivers are Bronze rated save for Castellaci as Antonio Giovinazzi almost gets trapped behind the GT3 cars.
After an hour and a half, there's a 14 second lead for Andlauer and for the Iron Dames, they are 38 seconds ahead. Ian James has passed by the BMW of Ahmad Al Harthy. His tires are probably toasted by now. Al Harthy is wisely looking after his Goodyear's. He did not take tires last time while Castellaci has fresh tires as we return now to the battle between Mike Conway and Will Stevens. Toyota #7 vs. Porsche #12. Then comes Alex Lynn in the Cadillac. Three British drivers aboard a Japanese, a German, and an American car. Earl Bamber is Lynn's co-driver. Bamber tells us that they took a qualifying set and were taking the pain earlier on.
Making the tires survive is crucial. They have not put a fresh set of tires on the car yet. Cadillac started on a set of tires from qualifying having gone through a single heat cycle. We are going to talk to Pierre, one of the main tire representatives from Michelin and see if he can give us some insight. Hold on. Before we get to that, a drive through penalty for abuse of track limits has just been handed to the #55 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 of Francois Heriau. It is difficult to figure out the effect between used and new tires in this race. The drivers like the feeling of new tires, but the drivers really like them as Charles Milesi in seventh is chasing Nicklas Nielsen in sixth place. Ferrari vs. Alpine.
The driver must be a tire's best friend and not abuse it. You wouldn't abuse your best pal, so, the drivers have their favor repaid. Happy wife, happy life! Oh no! Things are not at all happy for the #38 Jota Porsche 963 and the #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3! Both of them have piled into the tire barriers! The #38 is in backwards and then the #46 of Ahmad Al Harthy comes along, and... ker-runch! He has destroyed the front end of that BMW M4 GT3! This is down at turn eight. A mad scramble in the pit lane but it is far too early for pit stops. Phil Hanson in the #38 is backed into the fence with Al Harthy tangled in that web as well.
Let's look at this replay and see if we can tell what happened. Hanson tangles with the BMW but the camera guys just picked this one up a bit too late and we cannot tell who on earth hit who here. Four and a half hours to go. The #38 Porsche 963 almost got out of that scrum undamaged, but he backed the car into the barrier as I said, and that is where the damage resulted. How the damage resulted, excuse me. It's game over for Ahmad Al Harthy, Valentino Rossi, and Maxime Martin. The front clip is torn off, the left front suspension is completely damaged. The right front is as well. The whole front end, back towards the bulkhead, the firewall, is completely trashed.
That left front corner is destroyed. Time to sell that BMW for scrap. It's headed for the race car boneyard. The right side of the #38 Porsche has a king size shark bite taken out of it. This calls for Virtual Safety Car followed by Full Course Yellow. Hanson on the radio to the Jota team, "ugh! Lift and coast, and the other guy just drove right into me! We're out of the race." Hanson's rear wheels are not on the gravel trap. He has managed to get back on track. Let's go onboard the BMW Hypercar and see if we see what happened here.
Hanson is right. Rene Rast tapped the tail of the #38 Porsche and sent Phil Hanson spinning! No, lads in the booth. It's the BMW, not the Isotta Fraschini. He is kilometers behind, I think. Excuse me. That was Marco Wittmann who somehow survived that shunt with little damage. Valentino Rossi cannot believe it either. Aye yaye yaye yaye. Hanson has walked away from the car. No fire in the hole. The engine is dead. Jota's race at Spa is over, at least for #38. Mega damage for the #46 BMW M4 GT3. Wittmann was unsighted and a lift and coast is normal practice. That is for saving fuel, coming off the throttle and coast into the braking zone trying to pass Rossi at the same time, or Al Harthy, excuse me.
Hanson was totally innocent and so was Al Harthy. We will clear up the Virtual Safety Car procedure in just a second as the Isotta Fraschini comes out of the pit lane. Now, the Proton #99 Porsche has run for 39 laps, 170 miles, so far and has nearly a half a minute gap on second place the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 499P. So, the #5 Porsche 963 is in for a scheduled stop, and we are going to resume our conversation with Pierre from Michelin about their tires on the Hypercars. Use the freshest materials for the tires and the numbers are limited. We have seen left side only changes, and will we see rear tire changes?
The conditions are good so that they can use soft and medium compound and medium compound with the temperatures today are necessary only. Now the sister #6 Porsche is in and it seems they are doing a driver change from the looks of it. There is a loose dive plane on the BMW after that impact with Hanson's Porsche. A full double stint can be done on four tires and then keep two tires hot enough. In the replay, it was the #20 BMW M Hybrid of Rene Rast. Apologies to Marco Wittmann. He had nothing to do with the accident.
So, Michelin and their people are juggling the tires, and the teams will lean heavily on Pierre's engineers for pressures, heat management, and other suggestions. So, the BMW we just saw with the front dive plane askew, just clonked into a Lexus RC F GT3 and we don't know which one. It was on the front and rear of the car. BMW's efforts here at Spa today, have gone to ashes. In a Virtual Safety Car situation, the cars remain under FCY for two laps running at 80 kilometers an hour but for two laps, the pit lane remains open to stop for fuel, tires, and/or a driver change. One of the two BMW's does a it stop. After the two laps are up, we go to full Safety Car conditions and close the pit lane.
We are closing in on the pit window as one of the McLaren 720S GT3's is in. That is the #95 car. Now is the time to come in and get cheap service. #99 and #51 have not pitted because they haven't come around yet. Allow everyone who wishes to stop may do so. We also have the #60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 in the lane, the Claudio Schiavoni, Matteo Cressoni, Franck Perera car. This yellow also allows for fans to go and grab some frites mayonnaise and Belgian beer. A Full Course Yellow means snack time and the concessions stands will be busy.
The weather is so different from what we saw last year which was in very late April, two weekends before, in 2023. Michelin decided to bring the soft and medium compound tires. Some teams want the full performance spectrum. But the Michelin engineers saw after last year's race that the hard compound and using at the start of the stint was a bad idea. Safety comes first. Now, before we resume talking about tires, the leading #99 Proton Competition Porsche 963 is in and Julien Andlauer has finished his stint. He hands the car over to co-driver, Switzerland's Neel Jani. Plan in advance and never trust the weather at Spa.
Antonio Giovinazzi in the #51 Ferrari has also stopped. I am not sure who he may have handed the car to. It has to be either James Calado or Alessandro Pier Guidi. Jani is having issues trying to close the drivers' side door of the #99 Porsche. He is yanking on the handle above the door trying to get it to latch closed. This Full Course Yellow helps drivers who did not choose to hit the pit lane for tires, and they can come in and get tires with limited damage to their progress. That door on the #99 Porsche 963 will not stay shut. This is a nightmare scenario for a driver because you can't try to steer with one hand and hold the door shut with the other.
Is there debris in the door latch? Is that why it isn't closing? Maybe the head rest, which is partially attached to the door, has come loose and is in the way of the door and the side of the car, not allowing the damn thing to close properly. Back in the 1980s during the Group C prototype era, in the days of the Porsche 956, they had the doors blow off those cars very frequently and the reason why was, the door ducted all the air through the radiator at the side of the car and if there was no door, there was no cooling, and the turbocharged, water cooled flat six motor would overheat. This was a frequent problem back in the '80s particularly I think, for the all-conquering Rothmans livered factory cars.
Neel Jani's crew chief is giving him some advice, and a word of warning. "Don't pull on the cable to close the door. Grab the red handle to close the door hard." We can see from the onboard camera he has to grab the red handle in the middle of the door and yank it shut to make sure it stays closed. Mechanics will push the door down and the latch clicks into place. You don't have to slam it hard to get it to stay shut. It's not working. Neel Jani will have to stop and see if the mechanics can give him assistance with this errant drivers' side door.
The cable is the emergency release. You only pull that if you've wrecked and need to escape the car. That is not the mechanism that properly closes the door. Whoops! One of the BMW's goes off the road briefly, and onto the paved/painted runoff area. He seems to be back on his way. So, we are under safety car conditions. He can't come in, but he has to come in. This is a safety issue requiring emergency service. Whoops! At low speed, the #2 Cadillac has spun around. The BMW has done the same, rotating. So, something just tells me there is fluid on the road causing drivers to lose traction at the slightest touch of the throttle. No. It is obviously cold tires that is causing these spinouts.
Two of the Hypercars (and, no, I could not see which ones), passed by one of the GT3 class TF Sport Corvette's and believe you me, the stewards are going to frown on that. The pit lane may be closed, but come hell or high water, the #99 Porsche 963 and the Proton Competition team, the problem must be fixed, now. They will have to take the pain and serve a penalty later in the race. This is a serious safety matter. So, we are about to see if we can dissect this shemozzle with the other BMW. This is the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 with Rene Rast at the wheel of it. Phil Hanson in the #38 Jota Porsche 963 is in front and we are trying to surmise how Hanson ended up going off the road and being involved in the accident with the GT3 class #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3.
Warch for Hanson doing lift and coast. Rast has a head of steam. He is on a run, trying to pass Hanson on the outside. Hanson lifts, Rast doesn't. Bang! Hanson spins the Porsche out. Then, in a concertina situation, a chain reaction, poor old Hanson ricochets... screech!... bang! straight into the Team WRT BMW M4 GT3, the aforementioned #46, both head for the Armco, and the rest, is bent metal and sheared, destroyed carbon fiber. Another reason we are under safety car conditions is the barrier repairs taking place, and now, there remains this conundrum for the #99 Porsche 963 of that errant door not closing.
Julien Andlauer is continuing to multitask, steering the Porsche with one hand, and wrestling with the door, with the other hand. Meanwhile, going back to the accident, when you know someone ahead is making an overtake on a slow car, three into one or three into two won't work. Rast looked to the inside of Hanson, Hanson was going for it on Ahmad Al Harthy, and the whole thing just fell to pieces. Don't go down the inside as well as someone overtaking a car using the lift and coast phase. Neel Jani, the race leader has been picked up by the safety car, but he continues to wrestle with that blasted door. That darn thing just will not stay shut.
41 laps now complete and before the safety car the gap between Jani and Calado was 1.8 seconds but has been negated. OK. Doing the mileage math, 41 laps, 178 miles complete. We are in fact, just short of the 44 laps that would be considered the distance of a Formula 1 Grand Prix around Spa, but we have ourselves a long, long way to go in this six-hour race here this afternoon. Julien Andlauer has to be absolutely at his wit's end! He is still trying to close the drivers' door on the Porsche, and it isn't working! We have had wholesale driver changes during the safety car scramble, and we'll get to those for you in a wee while.
Now Jani's crew chief wants him to use the cable to unlock the door latch system because it is staying on. This is the reverse of the instructions that Neel Jani was given earlier. Jani has received the meatball flag, the black and orange technical infraction flag from the marshals. So, get the car to the lane, sort the issue out, take your medicine. It just must be done at this point. There's no way around it. Jani, in his haste to try and close the door is loosening his safety belts. Now, the stewards are really going to be all over him for that! That is a safety breach in and of itself. Keep the belts on unless you are coming to the pit lane for a driver change, even if the door is giving you fits, you cannot, absolutely cannot loosen the seatbelts! That is the same rule on the road. Always wear your safety belt.
When it rains, it pours, and we may have Chamber of Commerce weather here at Spa on this Saturday afternoon, but trust me, dark clouds are looming over the #99 FAT Turbo Express Porsche team at Proton Competition. Now, we have heard from Pierre at Michelin who handles the tires for the Hypercars. Now, we are planning to hear from Mike at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company who handles all the tires that are on the GT3 cars. It is hot here at Spa and the track temps are up, so the Goodyear camp is in the exact same boat as the Michelin camp.
This isn't Spa in May where we'd normally see in the Ardennes, snow, rain, hail, and perhaps, a plague of frogs. Every car treats the tires differently. Sarah Bovy in the #85 Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, she is at the top of the shop in GT3 as we speak. Before we continue the discussions about tires, I want to give you all a rundown of how the order is working out in GT3.
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