Damage both front and rear on the #5 Porsche 963, Porsche Penske Motorsports car. The car needs a new rear clip and the left rear, too, is vulnerable. Driveshaft, and gearbox. The car just snaps before coming down to 80 clicks, Will Stevens in the #12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963. Trouble in paradise for the #95 United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 as well. That is Nico Pino, halfway into the pit lane and cocked at an angle to the left. We look at the replay of the #5 Porsche 963, and we still need to know where did the rear impact happen? On the wheel, or behind it? He tried to save it, couldn't, and it went off the road. There is internal damage. A great view from the Raidillon grandstand as we have completed 67 laps, 291 and a half miles. At this stage, I think we should lok at doing another full field rundown. We should have the time under yellow. I am going to give you some of the gaps. Proton Porsche #99 leads AF Corse Ferrari #51 by 8.2 seconds and the sister car by 11.2 seconds with the sole surviving factory Porsche 963 #6 next in line.
Iron Dames lead the GT3 class with the #85 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2. They have only 7/10ths of a second to the second place #59 United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 and have completed 62 laps, 270 miles. This rundown combines the Hypercars and the GT3's.
1. #99 Tincknell/Jani/Andlauer Proton Competition Porsche 963
2. #51 Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P
3. #50 Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P
4. #6 Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963
5. #83 Kubica/Shwartzman/Ye AF Corse Ferrari 499P
6. #2 Bamber/Lynn Cadillac Racing Cadillac V Series.R
7. #12 Stevens/Ilott Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963
8. #8 Buemi/Hartley/Hirawaka Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid
9. #35 Chatin/Habsburg/Milesi Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424B
10. #36 Lapierre/Schumacher/Vaxiviere Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424B
11. #15 Vanthoor/Marciello/Wittmann BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8
12. #7 Conway/Kobayashi/de Vries Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid
13. #93 Jensen/Muller Peugeot TotalEnergies Peugeot 9X8
14. #20 van der Linde/Frijns/Rast BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8
15. #11 Serravalle/Bennett/Vernay Isotta Fraschini Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6C
16. #94 Di Resta/Duval Peugeot TotalEnergies Peugeot 9X8
17. #5 Campbell/Christensen/Makowiecki Porsche Penske Motorsports Porsche 963
18. #85 Bovy/Frey/Gatting Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2
19. #59 Cottingham/Costa/Saucy United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo
20. #27 James/Mancinelli/Riberas Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3
21. #91 Shahin/Schuring/Lietz Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3R (992)
22. #77 Hardwick/Robichon/Barker Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3
23. #31 Leung/Gelael/Farfus Team WRT BMW M4 GT3
24. #92 Malykhin/Sturm/Bachler Manthey Pure Racing Porsche 911 GT3R (992)
25. #88 Roda/Pedersen/Olsen Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3
26. #777 Mateu/Bastard/Sorensen D'station Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3
27. #55 Heriau/Mann/Rovera Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3
28. #78 Robin/Boguslavskiy/Miyata Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F GT3
29. #60 Schiavoni/Cressoni/Perera Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2
30. #54 Flohr/Castellaci/Rigon Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3
31. #82 Koizumi/Baud/Juncadella TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R
32. #87 Kimura/Masson/Lopez Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F GT3
33. #95 Caygill/Pino/Sato United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo
34. #63 Bortolotti/Caldarelli/Kvyat Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63
35/ #81 van Rompuy/Andrade/Eastwood TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R
36. #38 Button/Hanson/Rasmussen Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963
37. #46 Al Harthy/Rossi/Martin Team WRT BMW M4 GT3
Six brands in the top six in GT3. Everyone cannot stand Balance of Performance, in spite of all of this success at the top of the shop in the Hypercar division. Meanwhile, even as the #5 Porsche 963 is being towed away on the flatbed, it continues shedding bits! That was some lick taken by Michael Christensen through Blanchimont, scraping against the barriers! That wreck for Christensen was a massive tank slapper. Blanchimont is fast and intimidating as we have a Full Course Yellow, obviously.
When you have to lift in a corner, you are tempted to push the limits and then you run wide over the curbs and are playing with fire. We started this race with 19 Hypercars. 15 of them are factory backed entries, and four, are privateers. Two Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963's, the #99 Proton Competition Porsche 963, and the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P. Three of those four privately entered cars are in the top seven including the overall leader, the #99 Proton Competition Porsche 963. Now, we are beyond being in a golden period in sports car racing. This is a platinum period.
This is different from the Group C days in the 1980s because in Hypercar, or in GTP in IMSA, the rules stipulate that a privateer car must be exactly the same as a factory car. In Group C, the factory Rothmans Porsche 956's and 962's were always tweaked a bit compared the customer cars. Here, the rules say that the cars must be the same. Today, the cars are homologated as they sit right in front of you as a fan watching. If Porsche introduces new parts, or Cadillac, or whoever, if they give them to customers, they cannot run them unless both factory and private teams get them or the cars are out of homologation.
Porsche is actually the only brand currently with customer cars. Cadillac has factory teams with Chip Ganassi Racing, both in Europe and the states, and Action Express, stateside, who will be racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a month. They need to be the same. You cannot do what legendary team bosses like Walter Brun, Reinhold Joest, and Richard Lloyd, you cannot reengineer the cars these days. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Full Course Yellow removed. Green flag! Green flag! Oh man! Look at this lead battle in GT3 headed for La Source! Car #59 dives past car #83! #83 chops across the front! Ohhh! The Iron Dames anticipated that countdown perfectly.
Rahel Frey strategically positioned that car. Nico Costa, the Brazilian, driving for McLaren in second place. No turbo lag there. 5.2 liter atmospheric V10 in the Lamborghini. 3.8 liter turbocharged V8 in the McLaren. We have the #31 BMW M4 GT3 in the pit lane. That car incidentally is a 3 liter twin turbo V6. I am tempted to say inline six because that is what BMW's raced for many years with the old M3's but of course, I am nostalgic and living in the past! Ryo Hirakawa is all over Will Stevens like a cheap suit, in the meantime. This is the battle for seventh place, look.
Toyota optimizes everything better than the new Hypercar teams because they were the first. They were the pioneers of the LMH concept and of course the LMDh concept, like the Porsche, the Cadillac, the Lamborghini, the Alpine, came later. Earl Bamber pulls out of the draft and swings his way around Yifei Ye in the Ferrari, putting the Cadillac #2 up another place. Oh my gosh! It is reminiscent now of the 1970s because for the lead we have a Porsche vs. Ferrari battle. Neel Jani is caught by James Calado! This is not the Porsche 917 vs. the Ferrari 512S, but it is the Porsche 963 vs. the Ferrari 499P. Earl Bamber is able to turn on the tires and caught Yifei Ye napping. Oh my! Look at this! The race lead battle between Porsche and Ferrari!
James Calado right up behind Neel Jani now, with lapped GT3 traffic ahead. To the outside of the GT3 cars they go. Miguel Molina is the next car back in the sister red AF Corse Ferrari, the #50. At least, the sister factory car. Hats off to the D'station Aston Martin for staying out of the way. We need to see the restart for Neel Jani, and I think he lost a bunch of time. Behind him, the positional battle for second is alive with the two scarlet red Ferrari's. James Calado vs. Miguel Molina who is in the #50 car that started 19th in this race. Jani has completed 69 laps, 300 miles. Meanwhile, we still have the battle for seventh place raging between Will Stevens and Ryo Hirakawa.
Stevens steadily easing away and is 3/4 of a second ahead of the Toyota. Plus, we have Earl Bamber poking his nose, in the #2 Cadillac, to the inside of the #6 factory Porsche 963 of Andre Lotterer. Bamber is sticking to Andre Lotterer like glue. Bamber, the New Zealander, is flying. Blimey! I think Earl Bamber ate his Weetabix this morning. They started in second place. Now, before we get back to that scrap, in GT3, the battle for sixth is well and truly on. It is the #92 Manthey Pure Racing Porsche of Joel Sturm being monstered by the #88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 currently in the hands of the Danish driver, Mikkel Pedersen.
I take that back. He just passed the sister #77 Proton Mustang, and I am not sure who is at the wheel of that one. It is either Ryan Hardwick, Zacharie Robichon, or Ben Barker. Earl Bamber is charging after Andre Lotterer is what is now the sole remaining Penske Porsche 963 in the race. Lotterer knows Spa like the back of his hand. How ironic, because years ago, I believe it was during the 919 LMP1 program, Earl Bamber and Andre Lotterer were teammates at Porsche AG.
Earl Bamber, his first ever car racing win in Europe was in Formula Master in 2008 at Imola, the venue we raced at for WEC the last time. Neel Jani is stymued by lapped traffic up the Kemmel straightaway, and this means James Calado is drawing a bead on him. Nico Costa pits from eighth in class in GT3 aboard the #59 United Autosports McLaren. He is serviced and sent and Mikkel Pedersen in the sister #88 Ford Mustang GT3 has also stopped for scheduled service in that car the Dane shares with Giorgio Roda from Italy and Dennis Olsen from Norway.
The #31 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 stopped as well, in the lane, and there was a driver change from Sean Gelael to Augusto Farfus. Now it is truly a mano e mano battle for the race lead between Neel Jani and Jams Calado, and behind them is the Iron Dames #85 Lamborghini leading the GT3 class. Right in front of Neel Jani is the lapped #11 Isotta Fraschini in the Hypercar class. Miguel Molina is third, but he is slipping behind the leaders. James Calado just uncorked a 2:08! 2:09.2 for Neel Jani, while Molina is pacing at 2:10.5. Now, we have the Iron Dames Lamborghini in the pit lane.
Iron Dames, removing a tear off from the windscreen and looking at the condition of the tires, but now, back to the sharp end! There's a pass for the lead being attempted by Calado on Jani up the Kemmel straightaway! Swoosh! Calado flies past Jani for the lead as they approach Les Combes at the top of the hill. Calado takes the lead while he can, but I know that Neel Jani will be pushing to gain the lead back and demote the Ferrari back to second. Jani has the speed and is now the meat in a Ferrari sandwich. If you lose momentum through Eau Rouge, you are vulnerable.
Exiting Raidillon, Calado moved past the lapped Lexus RC F GT3 which is really a mobile chicane, and then, he was able to make the pass on Jani and push the bye bye button. In replay, we see Earl Bamber making a pass on Andre Lotterer in the sole remaining Penske Porsche, and talking of pushing the bye bye button, Bamber used that normally aspirated Cadillac low end grunt, and as far as Andre Lotterer, tucked him up like a kipper. Bamber is motoring in the Cadillac, getting the best out of the car. We heard from Alex Lynn earlier who radioed the team and said "I've got no grip. The tires are dead."
Ferrari #51 to the pit lane, possibly doing the undercut and allowing Neel Jani to retake the lead aboard the #99 Porsche 963. There is a driver change and Alessandro Pier Guidi is ready. James, out. It is my turn to drive. Robin Frijns aboard the #20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8, he will cop a five second penalty on his next pit stop for going off the road and gaining a lasting advantage. Yifei Ye stays in the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P for a double stint. No driver change. The #51 Ferrari is on a different strategy compared to the #50 and the #83. #51 before the safety car did not change tires, while #50 and #83 did do a tire change.
Bamber is whistling off into the distance ahead of Lotterer as we watch Antonio Serravalle, the Canadian rookie aboard the #11 Isotta Fraschini. Molina is carving time out of Neel Jani's gap and has picked up a full second. Driver changes a go go in Hypercar. These wholesale driver changes include Alessandro Pier Guidi in the #51 Ferrari. Callum Ilott has taken over the wheel of the #12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963. Paul Loup Chatin is now at the wheel of the #35 Alpine A424, and Ryo Hirakawa I believe is still at the wheel of Toyota #8 while the Swiss Italian Raffaele Marciello has taken over the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8.
Morris Schuring in the #91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3R (992) has just pitted and now, Nico Costa in the #59 United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 has the GT3 class lead over the #85 Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 driven by Rahel Frey. Neel Jani and Miguel Molina now both come to the pit lane after a spirited battle for the overall lead. Molina out of the #50 to be replaced by Antonio Fuoco. No driver change, for Neel Jani, as he is doing a double stint. Cadillac in for left side tires. Lotterer and de Vries are in as well.
Calado has exited the chicane and is barreling down the frontstretch to reclaim the overall race lead. Who will win the race out of the pit lane? Calado takes the lead. Porsche #99 went for just left side tires. The #2 Cadillac does a burnout leaving the pit lane. The Cadillac does not lose a spot coming out between the #99 and #6 Porsche's. Cadillac sensing a result here as the #94 Peugeot 9X8 is in as well. Left side tires only. Currently, tire change strategy dictates either four tires, or just left side tires. Peugeot and Mikkel Jensen are the erstwhile leaders with 73 laps complete, 318 miles. The #51 Ferrari 499P will cycle around into the lead over the #99 Proton Porsche.
More side-by-side action up the Kemmel straightaway. This is a battle for tenth place between the #35 Alpine and the #8 Toyota. Ryo Hirakawa vs. Paul Loup Chatin. On the racing line, Hirakawa makes the pass under braking. Look out for Antonio Fuoco because he has four fresh tires. The Iron Dames Lamborghini is second in GT3 while the #91 Manthey EMA Porsche of Morris Schuring has made a pass for second spot. After Michael Christensen's off course excursion through Blanchimont, the safety systems for the hybrid unit on the #5 Porsche 963 kicked in and for safety's sake the car could not be restarted. Game over. The #5 Penske Porsche 963 is out of the race here at Spa. It was a full automatic safety shutdown of the car after the impact.
Another positional change in GT3. The #87 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3 goes by the #60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini. This is for 14th in class. Matteo Cressoni is passed by Esteban Masson. Up the Kemmel straightaway, Antonio Fuoco in the Ferrari is hotly pursued by Earl Bamber in the #2 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac. The two Alpine's run liner stern and I believe they remain behind the Ferrari and the Cadillac. Porsche #6 took right hand side tires and fuel rather than left sides. Right side tires only for the #6 Porsche. His left side tires are 33 laps old. The right sides are brand new. Mick Schumacher and Paul Loup Chatin running in formation.
Trouble in paradise during the last pit stop cycle for Heart of Racing and the #27 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3. They took over two minutes in the pit lane as they have dropped out of the top ten. Daniel Mancinelli, the Italian, stayed in the car. Now, we have a genuine scrap for tenth spot between the two Alpine's. Oy yoy yoy! A position change as Paul Loup Chatin passes Mick Schumacher. Now we return to the GT3 battle. Mustang on Ferrari here, look, heading again for La Source. Bang! Oh dear. Leave space overtaking another car, sunshine.
Francesco Castellaci puts the squeeze play on Zach Robichon. No harm done in terms of car damage, but that is what an American football referee would call "unnecessary roughness." BMW #20 completes the Hypercar pit stop cycle and that BMW is the erstwhile race leader. Alessandro Pier Guidi now takes the lead over from the pitting Robin Frijns. So, Ferrari returns to the top of the shop with just over two and a half hours of racing left on the board. Pier Guidi leads Jani by over nine seconds, 9.1 seconds to be exact. Antonio Fuoco in the #50 Ferrari is five second behind, in third place. But Fuoco has his mirrors full of a blue Cadill driven by an angry kiwi. Ferrari #51 has completed 75 laps, 326 miles. 2:09.3 last time by for Antonio Fuoco. 2:10.4 for Neel Jani.
Bamber is continuing to hound and to catch Antonio Fuoco hand over fist. Bamber wants a podium place. That is what he is looking for. Fuoco's pace continues to go up. His natural pace is one thing but he is beginning to really turn up the wick. The battle continues raging between Augusto Farfus in the #31 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 vs. Joel Sturm in the #92 Manthey Pure Racing Porsche 911 GT3R for fourth in class. The #31 is the surviving BMW M4 GT3 in the race. It has been a very tough couple of days for the Pure Racing team especially after their massive qualifying crash which necessitated an overnight thrash to rebuild the car.
The GT3 battle for second place is just as spicy as Rahel Frey is barely holding on over Morris Schuring. Iron Dames Lamborghini being swallowed up by Manthey EMA Porsche. Schuring motoring around the outside at Les Combes again at the top of the hill on the back end of the course. Now, I digress. There's a caveat here because Schuring was clearly off the road. He was on the red and yellow striped curbs and perhaps almost over onto the grass. There was contact between Schuring and Frey. He got biffed and wriggled off the road. What will the stewards do about that?
Now we move to the fight for seventh place in GT3 which is a four-car battle between Zach Robichon in the Mustang, Clemens Schmid in the Lexus, Erwan Bastard in the Aston Martin, and Simon Mann in the Ferrari. Proton Ford Mustang vs. Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3 vs. D'station Aston Marin vs. Vista - AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3. Ahead of these four blokes is that mano e mano battle for fourth between Sturm and Farfus, Porsche and BMW. Manthey Pure Racing and Team WRT. It is remarkable that Pure Racing are actually in today's race. The team must be completely knckered today. Now the other Proton Competition Ford Mustang, the #88 of Mikkel Pedersen, he has his mirrors full of the #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 of Francesco Castellaci. This is for sixth in GT3.
The Proton Competition Ford Mustangs are having a far better race today at Spa than they had last time out at Imola. We are inside the final two and a half hours of what has been a dramatic 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps. This has been a real thriller, proving my claim once again, that endurance sports car racing may be long, but it is never boring. Over the course of the weekend, we have a total attendance of 88,188 fans here at Spa. This is a record outside of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Spa Francorchamps' improvements they have made to the track specifically for fan access without taking any character away from the circuit itself, have been remarkable and welcome/.
Tres bien. Merci beaucoup, Circuit de Spa Francorchamps! The on-track display of the racing in Hypercar and GT3 this weekend and during today's race has been peerless. We are now looking at the sixth-place battle in Hypercar. Callum Ilott in the #12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963 has it and Yifei Ye in the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, wants it. Alessandro Pier Guidi leads Neel Jani by nine seconds but the Swiss driver is refusing the roll over and play dead. He's still pushing hard. Sturm is right on Farfus' six as the BMW has the better run from Eau Rouge up through Raidillon and to the Kemmel Straight. Now, we have a Full Course Yellow on the circuit in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Full Course Yellow. We are under Full Course Yellow.
We have not seen an incident. I don't know of any cars stopped on the circuit. This leads me to believe that there may be debris somewhere. We have seen one safety car intervention today for 42 minutes and we have had four Full Course Yellow periods for a total of 20 and a half minutes. There is also a five second penalty added to the next pit stop for the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P. Marshals are on course at turn eight. They are investigating something and that is why we are under Full Course Yellow. We'll follow up here for you in a moment, ladies and gentlemen. OK. That was quick. We are back to green flag running.
Before we get to this battle between BMW and Porsche, I must tell you that the lead battle in GT3 sees a three second gap between the #59 United Autosports McLaren and the #91 Manthey EMA Porsche. Car #59 has put 72 laps in the book, 313 miles, for the GT3 leaders. Joel Sturm was quick on th draw to try and get by Augusto Farfus. Watch your mirrors, boys. The overall leader is steaming right through. That's the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 499P of Alessandro Pier Guidi. Farfus is not a man to be messed with as far as contact, a veteran touring car racer, you will not rattle his cage. Sturm bounding over the curbs. Great battle here in GT3 and the battles are close.
Due to the Full Course Yellow, it appears Neel Jani's pace has fallen off a cliff. However, he is recovering. Now we can see a good battle developing for fifth place in Hupercar. This is between the sole remaining #6 factory Porsche 963 for Porsche Penske Motorsport, the #12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963, and the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, the yellow Ferrari. Earl Bamber in the #2 Cadillac V Series.R is still in hot pursuit of the #50 Ferrari 499P of Antonio Fuoco. He fully locks the brakes! That will cause vibration and flat spotted tires. Now we return to the three-way battle between Andre Lotterer, Callum Ilott, and Yifei Ye.
Callum Ilott is turning it on and these Porsche's are pushing hard. A Full Course Yellow is safer than a Virtual Safety Car like Formula 1 where you drive to a delta. You can speed by vehicles or marshals on track and it is not as safe. Alessandro Pier Guidi is beginning to make good his escape, 19 seconds to the good over the #99 Proton Competition Porsche 963 of Neel Jani who remains the meat in a Ferrari sandwich, while Earl Bamber in the Cadillac, the sole Cadillac in the race of course, is still pushing. In his battle with Callum Ilott, Andre Lotterer runs 11 and a half seconds behind Bamber. Yifei Ye is also back there.
In GT3 the battle continues for the lead between Nico Costa in the #59 United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 and Morris Schuring, the young Dutchman aboard the #91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3R. United Autosport have seen a massive turnaround compared to the misery they experienced in the opening two races of the year at Qatar and Imola. We have another hotly contested GT3 battle for eighth place in class. Someone up ahead ran off the road and left dust all over the place, hanging in the air. Clemens Schmid, the Austrian aboard the #78 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3 has Simon Mann in the #55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, right on his six and looking to make a pass.
Schmid was a very late replacement driver for Timur Boguslavskiy, the regular driver on this team, from Russia, who is ill. Two polar opposite GT cars racing each other here. The Lexus, an older automobile, with massive size, with a front mounted 5-liter V8 engine and the Ferrari 296 being one of the latest and greatest GT3 cars to be introduced just last year, while the Lexus has been around now since at least 2017 and we have seen it for a long time now in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship with its traditional front engine coupe body style and it's 5 liter Toyota V8 engine.
Mann tries passing Schmid through Pouhon but nothing doing. The Lexus sliding and squirming on old tires. Ease of the throttle and get back to power to pick up the slipstream through Blanchimont. The Lexus seems to have it covered. Mann has to think about how he is going to find the answer to Clemens Schmid's riddle. Oy yoy yoy yoy! Another massive, king size brake lockup from the #6 Porsche 963! Andre Lotterer jams on the pedal and the front tires are absolutely screaming for mercy on that #6 car! He touched the left side curb and the car unloaded and that is where all that brake smoke came from.
Ah. Morris Schuring has gone around Nico Costa for the lead in the GT3 class while we were watching that smoky braking maneuver from the Porsche Hypercar. Ooh! Have a Captain Cook here, ladies and gentlemen, down the hill to Eau Rouge, and Mann and Schmid are side by side, mano e mano into one of if not the most harrowing corner in all of motor racing! Look at this! Look at this! It's a drag race! These two have lit the blue touch paper! Schmid stays on the circuit, and it appears that poor old Simon Mann is going to get the door slammed in his face! Well played by both of them, especially when you consider Clemens Schmid having his first start in a Lexus GT3 car. I recall that he has mostly driven Lamborghini's, but I could be wrong.
He has a track limits warning from the marshals, does Schmid, just as we have been singing the man's praises. Oh dear. Now, once again, we can see that Simon Mann is being snookered and that is Erwan Bastard, the Frenchman, at the wheel of the #777 D'station Aston Martin making the pass near the end of the Kemmel straightaway coming up into Les Combes. Flohr says, "not now, sunshine", and I think he is going to pass back by as they reach the corner. This is a wonderful race in GT3. This has been a corker of a race in GT3! Blimey! It's been fabulous!
The #11 Isotta Fraschini Hypercar is working it's way through the GT3 traffic as we now return to the aforementioned Penske vs. Jota vs. AF Corse Hypercar battle. Factory Porsche, private Porsche, private Ferrari. Yifei Ye has latched onto Callum Ilott who is in a major spot of bother trying to reel in Andre Lotterer ahead. The Porsche is gapping the McLaren in GT3. Down the hill to Eau Rouge, this is scruffy! Pure Racing Porsche, vs. WRT BMW in GT3 with the Peugeot right on the knife edge of the road! The Peugeot has to wait and wisely decides discretion is the better part of valor. Joel Sturm has broken track limits and now is prpearing to be dusted by the BMW.
Augusto Farfus drag races right by him and now the Peugeot wants to shoot past on the other side! Jeepers creepers! Farfus has not cleared the Porsche and is trapped on the inside line. Farfus is still wheel to wheel with the Porsche! Oh mama! This is cracking motor racing! Love it! Farfus flashes the lights to tell Joel Sturm, "hey, loser, you should have let me back by!" Sturm whistles off into the distance as we will have to ask Mr. Director for a replay of that shemozzle in a wee while. Our wish is not his command yet. We have a different replay through the La Source hairpin I believe.
We saw the drag race between these two blokes down towards Eau Rouge with one of the BMW M Hybrid V8 Hypercars moving past the GT3 lead battle, and no, I don't know if it was the #15 or the #20. Joel Sturm is a Silver rated driver while Augusto Farfus is platinum rated. He driver Hypercars, or GTP cars more specifically, for BMW stateside in IMSA. Yifei Ye is telling his team, his crew chief, that the pace is hard to keep up with. Now, his crew chief isn't buying it. Your crew chief on the radio does not buy anything from the racing driver's book of excuses.
Racing driver's book of excuses, #125. "My pace is really difficult by what the cars ahead are doing. I just don't want to risk too much." The crew chief's reply, "Copy. I understand. But we don't want to risk losing two or three positions at the next pit stop. So, we need to push." Ilott and Lotterer have the same equipment with the Porsche 963 and Yifei Ye argues he is faster than his rivals ahead. Ye knows he must take maximum risk to pass the two Hypercars ahead of him. That is what the beauty of this formula is with Hypercar and GT3 and no LMP2 cars save for at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
It is a different challenge as far as getting to the GT3 cars. In the meantime, the battle for ninth spot continues apace as Nyck de Vries in the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 is continuing to chase down both of the Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424's. Mick Schumacher in car #36 in ninth spot and right behind, his teammate in the #35 car, Paul Loup Chatin. This is wonderful racing as we see it here on TV if you are watching on Discovery+ on the Motor Trend channel or further afield. Nyck de Vries is being driven crazy because he has these two Alpine's he is trying to pass and both of them seem to be motoring away. Alpine another team coming into the Hypercar fold this year.
Another side-by-side moment through Eau Rouge with the second Lexus RC F GT3 for Akkodis ASP passing the D'station Aston Martin. Now then, the battle is on for second place approaching La Source. This is Antonio Fuoco looking to put a move on Neel Jani. Jani runs wide but sticks the pass and now, Fuoco is going to try the switcheroo, but I don't know if he is going to make it. Jani has the speed on corner exit and nothing Fuoco can do on the downhill run to Eau Rouge. He barely lifted and is now in the slipstream to Les Combes. Jani, inside. Fuoco, outside. You can see Fuoco has the preferred line heading for Les Combes, but will it be enough?
Jani closes the door. But Fuoco is not being denied. Jani covers the Italian and now Fuoco is forced to regroup and strategize another pass. We are closing in on the final two hours. Proton Competition have done a wonderful job. Hypercar allows privateers to come with identical cars to the factories and match them toe to toe. Because of Andre Lotterer defending from both Callum Ilott and Yifei Ye, this means that in hout pursuit and closing is the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid of Ryo Hirakawa to move in. He is motoring and catching this bunch.
We have really seen a race of two halves. Will Stevens in the pit lane for an interview with Bruce Jouanny and he says that he had a decent start even with just two drivers, trying to take advantage in traffic. They are being smart because they don't have the outright pace, the sole remaining Hertz Team Jota Porsche in the race. Meanwhile, Neel Jani in the #99 Proton Competition Porsche is being harried by Fuoco who has four fresh tires on that car. Ferrari did pit and put new boots on it. He has the grip advantage and up the Kemmel straightaway he seems to be catching Neel Jani hand over fist.
OK. Copy and paste from the previous lap? Fuoco tries sending it around Jani up into Les Combes. Not quite so close. Once again, Jani stays in front. So, that copy and paste maneuver didn't work this time either. Fuoco needs lapped traffic with GT3 cars to get a run on Jani and hope that the Fat Turbo Porsche driver is stymied by lapped automobiles. Be careful what you wish for because remember, Earl Bamber in the Cadillac very nearly had his nose chopped off by one of the Ferrari's in traffic a wee while ago. Jani is slowing down Fuoco, but simultaneously catching the sister Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi. The gap is now 18 and a half seconds.
GT3 cars in the way! This is a game of chicken! I told you! Jani nearly sideswipes the Ferrari and cuts off his right front! Same for the Heart of Racing #27 Aston Martin throwing the block! Jani giving the Lexus GT3 a wide berth! He has a penalty, the Lexus #78, for passing outside of track limits and now the second and third place cars might be able to have clear sailing for a bit. That run through Blanchimont is dangerous business. You are hanging on by a thread and hoping that some bloke in a slower car sees you if you are a Hypercar driver or you'll get blown off into the weeds or worse! How those guys didn't end up in a heap of crunched carbon fiber, I have no idea.
86 laps complete, 374 miles. Antonio Fuoco has been on the march, up 17 places from where he started, from 19th to second. Blimey! Unbelievable! Pier Guidi is told he has two tire changes left and he agrees with the strategy. James Calado has only run a single stint in this race. That is a puzzling yet fascinating point. No minimum drive time for Platinum graded drivers I don't think. OK. Now, up the Keemmel straightaway, this is Ryo Hirakawa racing with Yifei Ye. This is Toyota #8 vs. Ferrari #83. Yifei hangs on over Ryo Hirakawa. Maybe traffic was in the way.
The GT3 leader is under investigation for overtaking off track and could cop a penalty. Now, while I have been describing the action to you, we have now heard that something may have gone awry with the #95 McLaren, the second United Autosports car. They are out of the race or so I would think with gearbox trouble, and we hear now that all the oil, all the lubricant for the gearbox has drained out. Game over. It's interesting that two of the GT3 topflight contenders, the McLaren, and one of the TF Sport Corvette GT3's have both lunched their transmissions. Ferrari, Ferrari, Porsche, Cadillac, Porsche, Porsche, Ferrari. The best of the rest in eighth is the #8 Toyota.
Mick Schumacher in the #36 Alpine is ninth and right between the two Toyota's. Mick Schumacher has moved into the top ten while the second #35 Alpine I believe with Paul Loup Chatin at the controls, has moved outside the top ten. The Alpine #36 has not scored points at all. #35 only scored in Qatar. Alpine are getting more reliability, finding pace, and are learning the car and learning how to make the tires work. United vs. Iron Dames, ebbing and flowing. Morris Schuring is up the road in the lead aboard the #91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3R having run 81 laps, 352 and a half miles. This might be the battle for the race lead.
We continue watching factory vs. customer Porsche's as the Ferrari lead battle in Hypercar continues but the #51 car has a 23 and a half second lead over the sister #50 at this stage with 88 laps on the board, 383 miles. Ilott looking racy and motoring towards the factory Porsche. The fifth-place battle is between four cars from four different teams and three different makes. You have two Porsche 963's, a Ferrari 499P and a Toyota GR010. Think about this. This could be a five-car battle between five makes because Mick Schumacher is very close behind in ninth spot in the Alpine as well. The plot doth thicken here at Spa Francorchamps.
So, the Alpine and the sister Toyota are both catching this other gaggle of cars and about latch onto it. They are catching the other four hand over fist. Welcome to Hypercar. This is what it should be. So much more competition here than what we saw in the later years of LMP1 and even in the glory days there were only three manufacturers really in the fight which back then would have been Audi, Porsche, and Toyota. Audi with the R18 eTron Quattro diesel, Porsche with the 919 powered by a 2-liter V4 turbo, and Toyota with a turbo V8 powered car as opposed to the turbo V6 motor they are using in Hypercar now. Funny how I can remember all this other history of sports car racing and the different cars and classes from even a decade ago!
Gosh. I'm old! Oh dear. Car #50 under investigation for a technical infringement. Now that is the second-place automobile as things stand. Some things we have seen from the stewards have led only to repirmands as we close in on the final two hours. Ladies and gentlemen, this motor race is an absolute cracker! It's unbelievable! Toyota #7 rounds out the top ten. That is despite them serving a drive through penalty earlier on. That's a really impressive drive even for a single point. They have been fighting and scrapping all day long. Zach Robichon in the turquoise #77 Ford Mustang GT3 for Proton Competition is now being warned about track limits.
Ben Barker has dropped down to 13th spot and was in the top four behind the safety car. I don't know why their race came unstuck. Nyck de Vries is putting in strong laps aboard the #7 Toyota and he is actually behind the Alpine which has the sister Toyota ahead of it. de Vries is giving Mick Schumacher in the Alpine a tough run for his money and all of these guys are closing in steadily on next group of cars headed by Andre Lotterer. Lotterer's previous lap was clocked at 2:10.8. 2:10.4 for the leading Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi, car #51. He leads the sister car of Fuoco still by 25 seconds and has run 89 laps, 387 miles.
These boys in Hypercar are catching the GT3 traffic quickly. So that will mix the candy dish up even more with several flavors. That is the beauty of this new and modern endurance racing era combining Hypercar and GT3. But catch the traffic in the wrong place and you will be greeted by shenanigans you cannot even begin to imagine. This could be a hornet's nest if these drivers aren't careful. What have I said? Discretion is by far the better part of valor in this particular situation as it stands currently. Lotterer remains ahead of Ilott and Ilott will be kicking himself for not getting closer to the tail of the factory Porsche.
Now, headed for Blanchimont, Nyck de Vries will be right on Mick Schumacher's back door. The Alpine is the filling in a Toyota sandwich. Nyck de Vries looking to the inside of ick Schumacher into the braking zone for the last corner on the track! This is the corner that used to be The Bus Stop, but it isn't. I think that bus doesn't run through here anymore, the bus stop has been removed, and the service has been either cancelled or diverted to another part of the Francorchamps, Malmedy, Stavelot triangle. de Vries thinks about a last-minute lunge but Schumacher knows he is there and slams the door right in his face.
Interesting to see that de Vries has fresher tires on the right side of the Toyota than on the left side. They've done a couple of left side tire changes instead of right-side tires so the right-side tires on that Toyota will be rooted and they will be totally useless. Schumacher is just keeping his nose in front going down the hill as they are about to shoot up and over Eau Rouge another time.
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