Has one of the Audi's got a problem? Maybe the motor stalled briefly. It's hard to tell. It's probably just something to do with the energy recovery on the car (i.e. a small issue with the flywheel). He brings the car to the box. Here comes the #2 Audi, too. The #7 Toyota is now a lap up on the Audi's. It looks like the Audi is back on track now. #2 is back on the same lap with the #7 Toyota. Kristensen continues to circulate. Timo Bernhard has gained a position on the #1 Audi with Lucas di Grassi at the controls. Marc Lieb makes another stop with the #14 Porsche. We have eleven hours and 45 minutes remaining in this race as of right now.
Relying on the French feed, as there's still satellite trouble out here in blogging land. The leaders have completed 191 laps. Audi #1 is in the garage. There's a problem with the car. Could this be a second Audi retirement? There seems to be an engine issue. Stephane Sarrazin has been increasing his lead. Audi #1 is back on track, with Lucas di Grassi at the keyboard. Giancarlo Fisichella has made a pit stop, and he is a former Formula One driver. The Audi does not rev as high. They don't run throttle plates. They control the power through spark and fuel delivery. The car doesn't have a throttlebody on it. Yikes! Amazing. The #27 Oreca Nissan for SMP Racing is in the garage. This car is being shared by Sergey Zlobin, Mika Salo, and Anton Ladygin.
The #1 Audi has had a fuel rail issue. Now, it might be a battle between the #7 Toyota and the #2 Audi. Aston Martin is holding the cards in GTE Pro. First it was Corvette, then Ferrari, and now, Aston Martin. Aston Martin has the pace. We might get more rain. Dawn is not too far away, everyone. It's coming, and soon. Timo Bernhard and company are running well. This is only the third race for the Porsche 919 hybrid. They've run just the opening two six hour events at Silverstone and Spa Francorchamps earlier. In 1982, when Porsche debuted the 956, and of a bunch of cars, there were three cars that finished 1-2-3.
One of the team principals at Porsche, came from the BMW DTM team. The crew is ready for another pit stop. Porsche has not built a top level prototype race car in almost 20 years. The Porsche uses energy from the brakes and also from the exhaust gases during acceleration. In the pits now, we see the #20 Porsche. Quick pit stop. Norbert Singer, and Alwin Springer are here at Le Mans. These two have been with Porsche for decades. Fritz Enzinger is the head of the new hybrid prototype program. Porsche is clearly competitive.
There aren't many V4 motors and not too many four cylinder Porsche's out there. Now, there was a pit stop for Corvette Racing and the #73, as well as one for the #97 Aston Martin. But, more problems for Porsche, as they had to come to the garage. The #14 car was only running on electric power. Something is wrong with the gas engine. Fortunately, these cars have the spare power, because in the old days at Le Mans, if you broke on track, you couldn't come back to the pits and you'd be marked as a retirement. Porsche has a major problem with the car.
We are closing in on 13 hours complete. Eleven hours remaining in this race. Giancarlo Fisichella may soon see a battle with the Aston Martin Vantage of Darren Turner, who took the car over from Bruno Senna. Marc Lieb is back on track. But he;s now sixth in class and in the overall. The top two cars have had a trouble free run to this point. Sunrise will be in just two hours, at 11:00 P.M. Central U.S. time. We're 13 hours into this one. The #79 Weathertech Porsche has just two drivers. Jeroen Bleekemolen has done yeoman service.
But, they need to get Cooper MacNeil in the car. He'll have to do a lot to get there, too. As the race goes on, the fans are having lots of fun. They show race cars and road cars. Plus, there are fans watching the World Cup. The food of note at Le Mans is legendary. It's a Grand Marnier crepe. A crepe, soaked in Grand Marnier orange flavored liqueur. Now, no worries about food or alcoholic drinks. We see Anthony "The Ant" Davidson, getting into the #8 Toyota TS040.
He looked to be in a hurry to get back on the road. Anthony Davidson wrings the car's neck and puts the hammer down, while some other drivers at Toyota, are more methodical in braking, using the harvested energy to recharge the hybrid system's capacitor. Stephane Sarrazin also had a good reputation as a rally driver. We see that the #24 Sebastien Loeb Racing Oreca Nissan with Rene Rast, Czech driver Jan Charouz, and Frenchman Vincent Capillaire. Loeb is team manager, and is a former multi-time FIA World Rally champion for Citroen, as well as running for them in the FIA World Touring Car Championship.
Now, the #74 Corvette was wheeled into the garage on the dolly's, and the brakes need to be replaced. Ooh. The car stalled exiting pit lane. The #57 Krohn Racing Ferrari also pits. Ben "The Stig" Collins, is behind the wheel. "The Stig" is to remain anonymous on the Top Gear show. Perry McCarthy was the Stig, but he was fired for revealing his identity, from Top Gear. The #36 Signatech Alpine A450 pits. The #20 Porsche pits from third. Brendon Hartley is now in the car, taking over the wheel.
A Ferrari 512 is sitting on display at the empty Millenium Racing car. The Ferrari 512M has a 240 mile per hour top speed, as well as a metal fuel tank, and a small seat. The tires were MUCH smaller back then. This is the Scuderia Filipinetti car. The motor is a flat 12 with lots of power. Fernando Alonso looked at the car and loved it. Fox Sport's Andrew Marriott will make a documentary movie about the making of the great "Le Mans" movie with Steve McQueen. There's also a book about it, called "A French Kiss With Death".
One of the prototype cars pits. Andrew Marriott is the Executive Producer on this movie coming up. Kazuki Nakajima takes over the #7 Toyota as this race continues. The #46 Thiriet By TDS Racing prototype pits. That's another Ligier JS P2 with Nissan power in the hands of Pierre Thiriet, and his countrymen from France, Ludovic Badey and Tristan Gommendy. Keep digging even if you've had trouble. You never know what could happen in these 24 hour races.
Keep up the pressure. The #92 Porsche 911 RSR is pitting. Porsche has leapfrogged the Corvette. We're an hour from sunrise. Darren Turner pits the #97 Aston Martin. The #77 Dempsey Racing Porsche pits, as it recovers from a penalty for spinning the wheels in pit lane. Dawn will come, and more new chapters will be written. Say what? Someone is kindly offering to refuel the camera! Yeah, baby! Now, dawn is coming, because there's a pink hue starting to cross the sky.
Marc Lieb just pitted and they are now fifth in class and overall, after dealing with a recurring fuel problem. IMSA Matmut is running well. They were HUGE crowd favorites during the scrutineering sessions last Sunday. Now, we have a stopped #7 Toyota! The #1 Audi R18 eTron Quattro is ahead. The #7 is stranded on the road. How did it stop? The Toyota is stopped at marshal post 106, which is just past Arnage. The car is now running on electric power. You have to be a driver, and a computer scientist to get these space age race cars working.
The #2 team leads again after winning two straight Le Mans races in 2011 and 2012. The Toyota is sitting on track. Are they done? The crew is looking atg the monitors. The crew is not expecting the car to come in as usually the dollies are out, ready to wheel the car in. Toyota might shoot themselves in the foot... again. The tools you need as a driver, are tools, money to negotiate with corner workers, and a cell phone, to communicate with your crew. The car still sits on track.
Usually there's a way to get the car back to pit lane. But we'll just wait. Audi has 12 wins in 15 tries. That's an 80% success rate. Each of the front wheels on the Audi, has an electric motor and doubled up, they have more power than your road car. Jeroen Bleekemolen and Cooper MacNeil had some debris hit their car. Cooper MacNeil is now in the car. It's tougher with two drivers. Now, with Toyota, the car has stopped, and the team thinks it's a transmission or a drivetrain problem.
The advantage to running a super capacitor like Toyota is using, it has more power to recharge. We watch a shot of Lucas di Grassi at work, and also, one of Benoit Treluyer. These are the drivers in both Audi's right now. Audi #2 pits. Treluyer will get out of the car. Audi #2 has a three lap lead over the #20 Porsche with Brendon Hartley at the wheel right now. It seems now that Toyota is in fact out of this race. The #7 Toyota of Kazuki Nakajima, Alexander Wurz, and Stephane Sarrazin, is out. There's a green form you have to fill out to say the car is a retirement, and it's now true.
25 minutes to sunrise. The sun comes up and it's still cool. This is happy hour, as drivers sense relief. Now, with the Toyota, Toyota Business Operations Director Rob Leupen says there was a problem with the wiring loom that runs everything on the car. Devastating for them. Toyota won Silverstone and Spa. But, no win at Le MKans for them yet. Everything is fly by wire. Now, the #51 Ferrari 458 Italia pits with Gianmaria Bruni at the wheel.
The #74 Corvette is in pit lane. Keep in mind, this race is worth double points for the FIA World Endurance Championship. The Aston Martin is getting quicker. No weak links in the driver lineup with Darren Turner, Bruno Senna, and Stefan Mucke. The Nissan ZEOD had transmission failure. They did an all electric lap. They'll be back. The #92 Porsche pits from third in LM GTE Pro. Richard Lietz gets out of the car. The notes on timing and scoring said this car was moving slowly. But no worries. Fuel and tires.
Oliver Gavin in the #74 Corvette felt like he had a puncture. There was a load of junk on the tire. But no puncture. The #61 Ferrari has hit something and scattered debris at marshall post 115, which is in the Porsche curves. Right now, we see the Audi has a three lap lead over the Porsche's. The #97 Aston Martin had a brake change. It looks like, maybe, the #61 Ferrari 458 Italia is in the pits being repaired. That's Marco Cioci of Italy, sharing with Mirko Venturi, and Luis Perez Companc. Two Italian's, and an Argentinian.
Sunrise is official at Le Mans as the #91 Porsche 911 RSR pits. Patrick Pilet, Jorg Bergmeister, and Nick Tandy, drive this car. Patrick Pilet is driving. We follow the Porsche on the Mulsanne. The #74 Corvette has been in the pits a while. It is fourth in LM GTE Pro and might get back in the race. Jan Magnussen takes over the car. The #74 Corvette is back on track now. The #14 Porsche is ready for a pit stop. The car is on pit lane now.
The #1 Audi completes another pit stop as well. Romain Dumas takes over the #14 Porsche 919. Now, the #7 Toyota is somehow still in pit lane. But, the car is out of this race, as mentioned earlier. The #74 Corvette still is having problems. It's going to get hot later on. The #95 LM GTE Am Aston Martin is in the pits. This is the all Danish lineup of Kristian Poulsen, Nicky Thiim, and David Heinemeier-Hanson. We ride on board with one of the AF Corse Ferrari's and are back onboard with the #2 Audi.
The #2 Audi comes to pit road. The stop is quick. Now, we have a change in the running order. Audi, Audi, Porsche, Toyota, Porsche. The sun continues to rise over Le Mans. The Ligier JS P2 has been running well. There's still eight and a half hours of this race to go yet. The fans have been in the grandstands all night. Everyone has survived the night. Stay fast. Stay out of trouble. The finish line is coming. The #62 Ferrari pits, with the oldest driver in the field... Howard Blank, at the controls, at 62 years of age.
Now, is the #7 Toyota back on track for real? Maybe that's just earlier coverage. The #51 Ferrari pits. Toni Vilander, Giancarlo Fisichella, and Gianmaria Bruni are in that car. Fisichella was team mates to grand marshal Fernando Alonso, at Renault, years ago. The #52 RAM Racing Ferrari is back in the garage as the #73 car comes back to pit lane for a standard service. Fuel only and no tires. The team switches out the data card.
The #8 Toyota pits for routine service. They have to keep plugging away to keep their championship lead in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Le Mans is worth double points. The championshop has been won the last few years, by the car that won Le Mans. Five races to go. The next one is at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Fred Makowiecki and company are still hanging in there, going under the Dunlop bridge at sunrise, which means the sun is right in your face.
Alex Brundle is running the #35 Ligier JS P2. His U.S. team mate in the Tudor Championship, Gustavo Yacaman, said that Alex Brundle is very, very quick on cold tires, and that's a talent for an endurance sports car driver. Nic Jonsson is running well in the #57 Krohn Racing Ferrari 458 Italia. The team manager was on his honeymoon when he got the call that the team was entered, prepping the car in Italy, and they'll do it in reverse to be set for the Six Hours of Watkins Glen in two weeks, a race you will hear about on this blog.
Corvette's run fourth and fifth in LM GTE Am. Matt McMurry is still running real well in his first Le Mans as the youngest competitor at age 16. Matt McMurry's dad Chris ran in the old American Le Mans Series for years. McMurry is development driver for Dyson Racing, who have run great drivers such as James Weaver, Andy Wallace, and Fox Sports commentator, Dorsey Schroeder. The automakers have not crossed energy use thresholds. Everyone will have a different way to do things. All the cars sound different. The playing field is equal, which is amazing. Energy allocation, works.
Mark Webber is now third overall in the #20 Porsche 919. The #1 Audi pits. Lucas di Grassi out. Marc Gene, in. The #34 machine (fourth in LMP2) has been reported for speeding in the pit lane. That's the Race Performance car. Joe Foster has just finished his stint aboard the #77 Porsche in LM GTE Am. The new 911 has a longer wheelbase and better grip. Now, the #62 Ferrari is back in the garage. The #46 car pits. They are second in LMP2 as the #66 Ferrari 458 Italia for JMW, with their engineer from the states, Thomas Blam. Abdul Aziz Al Faisal, a royal Saudi Arabian prince, shares with Spencer Pumpelly and Seth Neiman while the #14 Porsche 919 is in the pits.
Kristian Poulsen is running well in the Aston Martin Vantage, which looks like a fun car to drive. Aston Martin could do well, as the all Danish lineup races in honor of their fallen buddy, Allan Simonsen, who was killed in this race last year. The #2 Audi came into the pits, but there's trouble. They have a three lap lead over their team car and the Porsche. They are taking the back end off the car and going to work on the front, too. Marcel Fassler is at the controls. Maybe the car is being fully serviced.
Any time the team has to come to the garage, because of the lightweight nature of it, it's hard to get back on. They use T wrenches. It's almost like putting togther a piece of Ikea furniture. The car comes back out, but stalls. What is wrong? Maybe there is a reset on the telemetry. Now they go back to the garage. There's still something wrong with the Audi. A three lap lead is being eroded. Ronnie Reinhardt, the car chief, noticed something.
In Europe, digital radios are used, so you cannot have them on a scanner like here in the U.S. Then, you can't hear the conversation. Reinhold Joest owns the car and the team. Ralph Juettner is his team manager. Marc Gene and Mark Webber are coming. They're on the same lap. Could Porsche be in with a shout? Oh no. The SMP Ferrari has crashed, and might have damaged something, in the Porsche curves. This is the #72 of Andrea Bertolini, and he spun and slammed the wall, like a ping pong ball in the Porsche Curves. This could cause a safety car. Bertolini is out of the Ferrari, and unhurt.
A full course yellow could help the Audi. They have a turbo problem. The sister Audi takes the lead. We have a slow zone for debris for that Ferrari that went off the road. Marc Gene leads. Can one of his team mates Tom Kristensen win a tenth Le Mans race? The #20 Porsche 919 is driven by Mark Webber, and he'll gain second. There it is. Audi vs. Porsche. Audi is doing the divide and conquer approach. They clean the bodywork and continue fixing the car. They've adjusted the nw front wing, too. Both Porsche and Audi are under the same ownership umbrella, under Volkswagen.
The slow zones have reduced the full course yellows. Don't stop the race's rhythm on a long track like this. There's something at the front of the Audi that the team doesn't want TV to see. The safety car has been dispatched. Are the #1 and #20 in the same sector? They should be. This is an intervention. It's not a full safety car period. Webber needs to be in the same zone, though. He has to be.
The #2 car is back on track now. Seven hours and 40 minutes left. ,We are now under full course yellow to fix the guardrail. The #74 Corvette C-7-R- is leaking fluid. The cars make their way through the slow zone while the fence is being repaired. The Audi was separated from the Porsche by the safety cars. The #74 car has an alternator problem. No matter how tired you are at night, dawn brings a lift. But it also brings a rash of retirements. This is when 24 hours seems impossibly long. The sponsors ask, "how are we doing?" All the crew wants to say to them is, "humph!" because of all the stress.
Audi has lengthened their gap over Porsche. Lots of work to be done in the Porsche Curves. Marc Gene leads this race. The reason why there's three safety cars, is to help the faster cars. This track is huge. We're back to green. Race to the slow zones and then, coast at 37 miles an hour to keep everyone safe. We're still racing. This is a technological innovation. Whoa! The #97 Aston Martin of Stefan Mucke, chops Marc Gene and the Audi. Gene is forced onto the shoulder, into the dust! Wow!
Uh oh. The #70 Team Taisan Ferrari 458 of Pierre Ehret, locks the brakes at Indianapolis, going off trying to pass the factory GTE Pro Pporsche, and slides off the road as the #73 Corvette C7R pits. Antonio Garcia takes over. He'll be on full tanks, and new Michelin tires. David Hallyday is tenth in GTE Am. He's at least still running. Keep pressing on. Keep going. Like the Energizer bunny. Speed plays a role, but you have to run your best race. One of the prototypes pits. It's the #34 Race Performance machine. One second a lap, over the course of four or five hours, you can make it up.
The #51 Ferrari changed brake pads, but only just in the last half hour. People are starting to wake up. The mess is being cleaned up in the Porsche curves. We watch Kristian Poulsen make his way around Le Mans. The #73 Corvette C-7-R- maks a stop. It seems that the Corvette and the #92 Porsche are on the same lap. The Audi is running through a slow zone right now. The #51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia is now leading the LM GTE Pro class. The #1 Audi is back in pit lane.
The #1 Audi continues to lead. Marc Webber is still a lap behind in the Porsche. Webber makes a pit stop. Seven hours now remain, as we approach hour 17.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
24 Hours of Le Mans, Chapter Two
Christoffer Nygaard leads LM GTE Am. If Aston Martin could win, there'd be a great tribute in store to their fallen team mate, Allan Simonsen. Aston Martin is running well. They have renewed focus, but still have the pain of Allan's death. Kazuki Nakajima is running very well in the Toyota as we watch the #47 KCMG car make a pit stop. Alexander Imperatori, Richard Bradley, and the driver currently in the car, Matthew Howson. These pit stops are much slower than the Tudor Championship of course, where you can have four tires and four air guns.
Spencer Pumpelly had a long brake pedal, and now, there's a brake change on the Ferrari. Bleed the brakes, and make sure there's no air in the system or the brake lines. Pumpelly remains behind the wheel. The last thing you want is brake problem as you have to change rotors, calipers, and brake pads. We have just over eighteen hours remaining. We expect rain and race changes. Things are starting to settle down. Audi has lost their one bullet. But, Porsche and Toyota are also in recovery mode. Audi has a slight edge, still. Lucas di Grassi is running his fourth tire stint.
It's fun to watch the 1,000 horsepower hybrids. But, we've got five makes in the top five in LM GTE Pro. They are better suited for the water. The darkness is coming, since they are slower. They have to deal with the headlights of the prototypes, coming up behind them, driving in the dark, fast, along these country roads. Brendon Hartley has gone off at Arnage. But, he's going to have a lot of trouble backing up. Toyota still leads this race with the Signatech Alpine leading LMP2 and the Aston Martin's covering both GT classes. Brendon Hartley pits, and hands the Porsche over to Mark Webber. The car is being refueled, and will get fresh Michelin tires.
The #95 Aston Martin makes a pit stop. We have seen a lot of spins in the previous hour. We watch
the Corvette pass on of the factory Porsche's, and also see the #79 Porsche head back to the garage as we're working the seventh hour. The #2 Audi of Benoit Treluyer continues to lead while the sister car pulls into pit lane in the hands of Lucas di Grassi. Marc Gene will replace Lucas di Grassi as the car gets new tires. The old ones, had four stints on them, as we look at twilight at Le Mans. They've run 13 lap stints, which is 52 laps total. That's a long way. Almost 450 miles!
Le Mans is at 48 degrees north. The light fades with a slowness, and it's leisurely. The spectators have fun. But the driver hopes that the setting sun won't blind him as he continues racing. Loic Duval is OK, even though he's not racing. Marc Gene has taken over from Lucas di Grassi. The tires are still on the car. This is Marc Gene's first tie in an Audi. Oh no! Another big wreck. This is coming to the Ford Chicane. This is the #47 KCMG car of Alexandre Imperatori. Something had to break on the car.
The #2 Audi is back in. Same for Toyota. Marcel Fassler will take over the Audi. Now, the safety car will reappear. Again, the driver change can happen during refueling, but nothing else, unlike the Tudor United Sports Car Championship. A spectator's glasses fell to the pit lane, as the #98 Aston Martin spins with Paul Dalla Lana spins. This is our third safety car period. The #47 car is out of this race. He lost control and then, the right rear suspension broke due to the load in the corner. That was a mechanical failure, pure and simple.
There's three safety cars, and you need luck so you don't get split. Corvette has been caught by the second safety car, and the safety car does not let them by. You could be right on someone's gearbox and it costs you almost a lap. Funny why they don't just let the cars loose from behind the three safety cars, in sequence around the track. It's starting to get dark. The TV cameras make it look a lot lighter than it is. Now, what is there to eat in the pit lane? It's a piece of bread shaped like a baseball, baked by driver Dominik Kraihamer's dad, who is a baker.
What do you fuel up on in a 24 hour race like Le Mans? Baseball shaped baguettes of course! The Dempsey Racing Porsche pits. The sunlight fades. Note the different colored headlights so you know who is coming. Prototypes have white headlights. GT cars have yellow or amber headlights. Aston Martin leads GTE Pro and runs 1-2 in GTE Am. A Ferrari runs wide at Arnage... again. We'v discussed the Balance of Performance, and it looks like Aston Martin has good pace as we watch from the helicopter camera. Car #88 pits.
This car is run by Porton Competition. It's one of two Porsche 991's run in GTE Am. It's the Proton Competition team CAR. Aston Martin passes Corvette. Now, that #88 machine is shared by German Christian Ried, Klaus Bachler of Austria, and Khaled al-Qubaisi of the United Arab Emirates. Night at Le Mans with glowing brake discs and flames licking out the exhaust, is magical. You think about animals darting out at night when you drive your street car. Well, that's not a worry at Le Mans.
The #74 Corvette is in the pits. Richard Westbrook out. Oliver Gavin, in. We start the eighth hour with Toyota in the lead. Eight cars are out, and three LMP2 cars are into the top ten. LMP1 machines hold down the top six places. The #73 Corvette pits, and Jan Magnussen will take over for Jordan Taylor. Oh no. Corvette has issues with an air jack, and something lse. Has the air jack coupling recessed into the bodywork? This is a big problem for the #73 car.
Expect the unexpected. This has never happened with Corvette before. The fitting on the air jack post, snapped. They change tires, and will now have to play catch up. It's gone a tad pear shaped for Corvette. But, they've regrouped. Someone writes notes in a book to find a remedy for this problem. A couple cars are ready to pit. Le Mans, as a town, has many medieval castles in it. It's a great place to visit even if you don't come for the race. I say, come for the race, and then visit the town. It's a place yours truly really wants to visit.
Weather update. We've got a stiff wind, and a cool front is coming. We still have this gorgeous French blue twilight. So, the night is dark, but it's short. One of the prototypes pits. For yours truly... power problems. Not sure why. Will be back to calling the race, shortly. I hope. There's lots of hours left. But, I'm missing a few things right now. What could be happening, as we approach 11;00 P.M. French time? Phew! What a delay! Yours truly will no longer be held in supsense and neither will you.
Let's reset the running order. Toyota, Audi, Audi, Porsche, Porsche, Rebellion, Ligier, and Toyota. Porsche #14 is in the pits, and completes service, with Romain Dumas at the wheel. We are onboard with the Corvette now. We have just begun the ninth hour, past 1:00 A.M. in France. Or, perhaps, midnight. Alexander Wurz is at the wheel of the leading Toyota. We've had a few cars exit and enter back onto the track as the darkness now fully envelopes Le Mans.
We're now nine and a half hours into this race. We've got pit action with the #79 Porsche. Then, later on, we ride through the darkness at Le Mans with the #2 Audi, through the night, switching the view to the #73 Chevrolet Corvette C-7-R and then, to the #20 Porsche 919 Hybrid which is coming in for a pit stop. Webber stays in the car. He runs fourth overall, ahead of team mate Neel Jani in the sister #14 Porsche.
We have a Toyota, two Audi's and two Porsche's in the top five.
Kazuki Nakajima is not too tired after his stint. Stephane Sarrazin and Alexander Wurz have also run well. Kaz appreciates his team mates. Stephane Sarrazin says he's done well, including in a quadruple stint. He's leading along with his team mates. We are approaching midnight in Le Mans. Pit stop time for the #2 Audi of Marcel Fassler. Clean the windshield and fuel the car. Porsche #14 is in the pits now. It's fuel only, for Neel Jani as Porsche returns to Le Mans for first time in a long time, with a factory effort. We are well into Sunday at Le Mans right now.
More pit action, and it's the #74 Corvette C7R. The #12 Rebellion R-One of Nick Heidfeld was down the order after a long pit stop, but is now up to sixth in the overall. They are right behind the factory cars. Pit stop time for Corvette and Aston Martin. Aston Martin and Ferrari lead LM GTE Am at this stage. More action in the pits now. Not sure who is in the box. At night, the onboard cameras work, and the pit cameras work. But, there are no on track cameras. The #92 factory GT Porsche AG car is in the pits.
Audi #2 pits and exits. Pit stop time now for the #81 8Star Motorsports Ferrari. Mark Webber has gotten out of the Porsche. We now have 13 and a half hours remaining in this race. Right now, it's 12:30 A.M. French time. Audi pits the #1 car. Tom Kristensen takes over for Marc Gene in car #1. The Audi team uses a tear off to clean the windshield. The tear offs are great. Make them last. But, you can only clean a windshield so many times before it becomes really pitted.
Car #33 pits, driven by Ho-Pin Tung. Once again, this is the Ligier JS P2 with a Honda motor. Marc Gene is happy about his stints even as a replacement/reserve driver. Benoit Treluyer brings the #2 Audi R18 eTron Quattro into pit lane for a full service stop. Andre Lotterer takes over. Or, it could be Marcel Fassler. Not sure. Toyota #7 is in the box, from the lead. It's the world's fastest golf cart, (the Toyota), with Alex Wurz in the lead. Kristensen floats off and on being on the lead lap. The #8 sister car for Toyota is now in the pits.
Problems with the power steering on the #98 LM GTE Am Aston Martin V8 Vantage. To replace the power steering unit, it's really tough, with a hot race car. Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy, and Christoffer Nygaard are on the driver's strength of course. Bruno Senna is preparing to replace Stefan Mucke in the #97 Aston Martin. He wears the Brazilian flag on his helmet, just like his uncle Ayrton Senna did. We are coming to the end of the tenth hour. Two hours to half way. The #91 Porsche is in the garage.
The problems continue with the #91 Porsche while the #92 runs fourth in LM GTE Am. What is going on? Porsche had a faultless race with a new car last year, qualifying on pole, finishing 1-2. But, one wonders why they're having issues this year? Anything can, and likely will, go wrong. Tommy Milner makes a pit stop, staying in the car. Toyota continues leading overall. Alex Wurz continues to lead this race. He is a former Formula One driver. The Audi is oh, a lap behind the Toyota. They need to be patient, or find some way to make up time.
Le Mans legend Dan Gurney, is on the phone. He won Le Mans in 1967 with A.J. Foyt in a Ford GT40. He also won the GT class in a Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe with Bob Bondurant, in 1964. The car was designed by the legendary, Peter Brock. Gurney says he's amazed at this contest between internal combustion and electric cars. Back then, there was no data acquisition. It was all up to the driver to feel what the car was doing. It was a fly by the seat of your pants situation.
Be gentle with the car. Some people had it. Others, didn't. The traffic and weather are very unpredictable. Way back when, a crash like Loic Duval had, could have been fatal. Not so much anymore. Sometimes, making the car safer, might make the driver not notice. Dan Gurney for President! We've still got a long way to go. The #98 car is back on track. They had to completely replace the power steering unit. The #20 Porsche pits, too. Timo Bernhard at the controls. But, they are two laps down.
Jota pits their #38 LMP2 car. It's a Zytek. It's not too fast, but it's reliable. Jota is the name of a car that was made by Lamborghini at one point. A Ferrari in LM GTE Am pits, as Tom Kristensen does likewise for fuel only. The #8 Toyota passes GT traffic. The top five LM GTE Pro cars are 4/10ths of a second apart! Holy smokes! The track is beginning to rubber back in just now. But, cold, dense air helps. The #12 Rebellion R-One goes to the garage. It's 6:30 P.M. here in St. Paul, 1:30 A.M. Le Mans, France, time. Keep focusing.
Andre Lotterer brings the #2 Audi to pit lane. They will go for fuel only and cleaning the windscreen and the headlights. The new headlights are not as blinding as they used to be. The #7 Toyota pits and gets cleaned up. The sister car comes in. The #14 Porsche is also back on track. Sebastien Buemi is taking over the #8 Toyota TS040. Patrick Dempsey readies for another stint, as Patrick Long is currently driving. One of the ProSpeed Porsche's is in the pits. Right now, everyone is just pounding out laps. Patrick Long was doing yeoman service, running in the 3:59 range. The #51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia makes a scheduled stop.
The #77 Porsche is in the pits and looks like the windshield might be out of the car. The #8 Toyota was in the garage and is now back out. The Audi makes massive torque. But, being a diesel, it only turns 4,500 RPM. Bruno Senna has pitted the Aston Martin and is close to the Corvette. Tom Milner also pitted. These guys are close together. No rest for the weary. There's a little village inside the track. The drivers have much better sleeping quarters today than they did years and years ago. Just about thirteen hours left.
History is what Le Mans is made of. We watch one of the factory Porsche GT cars. Marco Holzer hands off the #92 car to Richard Lietz. You have to be perfect to win at Le Mans today. We watch the #58 Ferrari in the garage with a problem. That's Team Sofrv AFP with a French trio, driving. Soheil Ayari sharing with Fabien Barthez, and Anthony Pons. We're riding with the Audi through the Porsche Curves where Loic Duval had his wreck.
The night makes it look quicker. Andre Lotterer comes to the pits. More downforce on the cars, with narrower bodies, and narrower tires. Andre Lotterer will stay in the car. No fresh tires needed. These are the kinds of pit stops Audi wants to see. Speaking of speed, if the Maison Blanche corner still existed, it would be WAY too fast for anyone, and that's why the Porsche Curves, skirt it, to this day. Now, Stephane Sarrazin is going to get into the Toyota on this particular pit stop.
The engines need to be shut off, because of the ACO wanting to differentiate itself from Grand Prix racing. Drivers have lost the race because they couldn't start the car, and would get hot. No one wants to run heavy starters, or heavy auxiliary equipment. Neel Jani is driving the #14 Porsche 919 Hybrid. Marc Lieb prepares to climb in. The pit stop is going on, now. Toni Vilander tries to pass Tommy Milner. He's not having any of it. Milner was close to Bruno Senna in the Aston Martin, but no.
In the driver's meting, the Prototype drivers were directed to not flash their lights within 20 meters of a car they were trying to pass. We've got a great LM GTE Pro battle between four legendary marques. The rain might start again here, folks. Preparing for more intermittent TV signals. Vilander couldn't get by Milner as we are haded down to Mulsanne corner. Milner is being reeled in, trying to pass a Porsche, and that was the #77 Dempsey car. Wow.
We watch an LMP2 car go by this GTE Pro battle. Ooh. An LMP1 car passes by the Ferrari and gets trapped. Someone overcooked the braking zone. The #51 car hits pit lane. Toni Vilander out. Giancarlo Fisichella in. Stephane Sarrazin continues to lead with Audi, Audi, and Porsche, next. In less than 15 minutes, we'll be ready to reach halfway. The #73 Corvette is in pit lane. Once more, the race seems to be settling down, as we are near the halfway mark.
The Audi flashes the lights to warn a slower car. The #91 GTE Pro Porsche made a scheduled pit stop. The order continues to be Toyota, Audi, Audi, Porsche, Porsche. We're in the second half of this race.
Spencer Pumpelly had a long brake pedal, and now, there's a brake change on the Ferrari. Bleed the brakes, and make sure there's no air in the system or the brake lines. Pumpelly remains behind the wheel. The last thing you want is brake problem as you have to change rotors, calipers, and brake pads. We have just over eighteen hours remaining. We expect rain and race changes. Things are starting to settle down. Audi has lost their one bullet. But, Porsche and Toyota are also in recovery mode. Audi has a slight edge, still. Lucas di Grassi is running his fourth tire stint.
It's fun to watch the 1,000 horsepower hybrids. But, we've got five makes in the top five in LM GTE Pro. They are better suited for the water. The darkness is coming, since they are slower. They have to deal with the headlights of the prototypes, coming up behind them, driving in the dark, fast, along these country roads. Brendon Hartley has gone off at Arnage. But, he's going to have a lot of trouble backing up. Toyota still leads this race with the Signatech Alpine leading LMP2 and the Aston Martin's covering both GT classes. Brendon Hartley pits, and hands the Porsche over to Mark Webber. The car is being refueled, and will get fresh Michelin tires.
The #95 Aston Martin makes a pit stop. We have seen a lot of spins in the previous hour. We watch
the Corvette pass on of the factory Porsche's, and also see the #79 Porsche head back to the garage as we're working the seventh hour. The #2 Audi of Benoit Treluyer continues to lead while the sister car pulls into pit lane in the hands of Lucas di Grassi. Marc Gene will replace Lucas di Grassi as the car gets new tires. The old ones, had four stints on them, as we look at twilight at Le Mans. They've run 13 lap stints, which is 52 laps total. That's a long way. Almost 450 miles!
Le Mans is at 48 degrees north. The light fades with a slowness, and it's leisurely. The spectators have fun. But the driver hopes that the setting sun won't blind him as he continues racing. Loic Duval is OK, even though he's not racing. Marc Gene has taken over from Lucas di Grassi. The tires are still on the car. This is Marc Gene's first tie in an Audi. Oh no! Another big wreck. This is coming to the Ford Chicane. This is the #47 KCMG car of Alexandre Imperatori. Something had to break on the car.
The #2 Audi is back in. Same for Toyota. Marcel Fassler will take over the Audi. Now, the safety car will reappear. Again, the driver change can happen during refueling, but nothing else, unlike the Tudor United Sports Car Championship. A spectator's glasses fell to the pit lane, as the #98 Aston Martin spins with Paul Dalla Lana spins. This is our third safety car period. The #47 car is out of this race. He lost control and then, the right rear suspension broke due to the load in the corner. That was a mechanical failure, pure and simple.
There's three safety cars, and you need luck so you don't get split. Corvette has been caught by the second safety car, and the safety car does not let them by. You could be right on someone's gearbox and it costs you almost a lap. Funny why they don't just let the cars loose from behind the three safety cars, in sequence around the track. It's starting to get dark. The TV cameras make it look a lot lighter than it is. Now, what is there to eat in the pit lane? It's a piece of bread shaped like a baseball, baked by driver Dominik Kraihamer's dad, who is a baker.
What do you fuel up on in a 24 hour race like Le Mans? Baseball shaped baguettes of course! The Dempsey Racing Porsche pits. The sunlight fades. Note the different colored headlights so you know who is coming. Prototypes have white headlights. GT cars have yellow or amber headlights. Aston Martin leads GTE Pro and runs 1-2 in GTE Am. A Ferrari runs wide at Arnage... again. We'v discussed the Balance of Performance, and it looks like Aston Martin has good pace as we watch from the helicopter camera. Car #88 pits.
This car is run by Porton Competition. It's one of two Porsche 991's run in GTE Am. It's the Proton Competition team CAR. Aston Martin passes Corvette. Now, that #88 machine is shared by German Christian Ried, Klaus Bachler of Austria, and Khaled al-Qubaisi of the United Arab Emirates. Night at Le Mans with glowing brake discs and flames licking out the exhaust, is magical. You think about animals darting out at night when you drive your street car. Well, that's not a worry at Le Mans.
The #74 Corvette is in the pits. Richard Westbrook out. Oliver Gavin, in. We start the eighth hour with Toyota in the lead. Eight cars are out, and three LMP2 cars are into the top ten. LMP1 machines hold down the top six places. The #73 Corvette pits, and Jan Magnussen will take over for Jordan Taylor. Oh no. Corvette has issues with an air jack, and something lse. Has the air jack coupling recessed into the bodywork? This is a big problem for the #73 car.
Expect the unexpected. This has never happened with Corvette before. The fitting on the air jack post, snapped. They change tires, and will now have to play catch up. It's gone a tad pear shaped for Corvette. But, they've regrouped. Someone writes notes in a book to find a remedy for this problem. A couple cars are ready to pit. Le Mans, as a town, has many medieval castles in it. It's a great place to visit even if you don't come for the race. I say, come for the race, and then visit the town. It's a place yours truly really wants to visit.
Weather update. We've got a stiff wind, and a cool front is coming. We still have this gorgeous French blue twilight. So, the night is dark, but it's short. One of the prototypes pits. For yours truly... power problems. Not sure why. Will be back to calling the race, shortly. I hope. There's lots of hours left. But, I'm missing a few things right now. What could be happening, as we approach 11;00 P.M. French time? Phew! What a delay! Yours truly will no longer be held in supsense and neither will you.
Let's reset the running order. Toyota, Audi, Audi, Porsche, Porsche, Rebellion, Ligier, and Toyota. Porsche #14 is in the pits, and completes service, with Romain Dumas at the wheel. We are onboard with the Corvette now. We have just begun the ninth hour, past 1:00 A.M. in France. Or, perhaps, midnight. Alexander Wurz is at the wheel of the leading Toyota. We've had a few cars exit and enter back onto the track as the darkness now fully envelopes Le Mans.
We're now nine and a half hours into this race. We've got pit action with the #79 Porsche. Then, later on, we ride through the darkness at Le Mans with the #2 Audi, through the night, switching the view to the #73 Chevrolet Corvette C-7-R and then, to the #20 Porsche 919 Hybrid which is coming in for a pit stop. Webber stays in the car. He runs fourth overall, ahead of team mate Neel Jani in the sister #14 Porsche.
We have a Toyota, two Audi's and two Porsche's in the top five.
Kazuki Nakajima is not too tired after his stint. Stephane Sarrazin and Alexander Wurz have also run well. Kaz appreciates his team mates. Stephane Sarrazin says he's done well, including in a quadruple stint. He's leading along with his team mates. We are approaching midnight in Le Mans. Pit stop time for the #2 Audi of Marcel Fassler. Clean the windshield and fuel the car. Porsche #14 is in the pits now. It's fuel only, for Neel Jani as Porsche returns to Le Mans for first time in a long time, with a factory effort. We are well into Sunday at Le Mans right now.
More pit action, and it's the #74 Corvette C7R. The #12 Rebellion R-One of Nick Heidfeld was down the order after a long pit stop, but is now up to sixth in the overall. They are right behind the factory cars. Pit stop time for Corvette and Aston Martin. Aston Martin and Ferrari lead LM GTE Am at this stage. More action in the pits now. Not sure who is in the box. At night, the onboard cameras work, and the pit cameras work. But, there are no on track cameras. The #92 factory GT Porsche AG car is in the pits.
Audi #2 pits and exits. Pit stop time now for the #81 8Star Motorsports Ferrari. Mark Webber has gotten out of the Porsche. We now have 13 and a half hours remaining in this race. Right now, it's 12:30 A.M. French time. Audi pits the #1 car. Tom Kristensen takes over for Marc Gene in car #1. The Audi team uses a tear off to clean the windshield. The tear offs are great. Make them last. But, you can only clean a windshield so many times before it becomes really pitted.
Car #33 pits, driven by Ho-Pin Tung. Once again, this is the Ligier JS P2 with a Honda motor. Marc Gene is happy about his stints even as a replacement/reserve driver. Benoit Treluyer brings the #2 Audi R18 eTron Quattro into pit lane for a full service stop. Andre Lotterer takes over. Or, it could be Marcel Fassler. Not sure. Toyota #7 is in the box, from the lead. It's the world's fastest golf cart, (the Toyota), with Alex Wurz in the lead. Kristensen floats off and on being on the lead lap. The #8 sister car for Toyota is now in the pits.
Problems with the power steering on the #98 LM GTE Am Aston Martin V8 Vantage. To replace the power steering unit, it's really tough, with a hot race car. Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy, and Christoffer Nygaard are on the driver's strength of course. Bruno Senna is preparing to replace Stefan Mucke in the #97 Aston Martin. He wears the Brazilian flag on his helmet, just like his uncle Ayrton Senna did. We are coming to the end of the tenth hour. Two hours to half way. The #91 Porsche is in the garage.
The problems continue with the #91 Porsche while the #92 runs fourth in LM GTE Am. What is going on? Porsche had a faultless race with a new car last year, qualifying on pole, finishing 1-2. But, one wonders why they're having issues this year? Anything can, and likely will, go wrong. Tommy Milner makes a pit stop, staying in the car. Toyota continues leading overall. Alex Wurz continues to lead this race. He is a former Formula One driver. The Audi is oh, a lap behind the Toyota. They need to be patient, or find some way to make up time.
Le Mans legend Dan Gurney, is on the phone. He won Le Mans in 1967 with A.J. Foyt in a Ford GT40. He also won the GT class in a Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe with Bob Bondurant, in 1964. The car was designed by the legendary, Peter Brock. Gurney says he's amazed at this contest between internal combustion and electric cars. Back then, there was no data acquisition. It was all up to the driver to feel what the car was doing. It was a fly by the seat of your pants situation.
Be gentle with the car. Some people had it. Others, didn't. The traffic and weather are very unpredictable. Way back when, a crash like Loic Duval had, could have been fatal. Not so much anymore. Sometimes, making the car safer, might make the driver not notice. Dan Gurney for President! We've still got a long way to go. The #98 car is back on track. They had to completely replace the power steering unit. The #20 Porsche pits, too. Timo Bernhard at the controls. But, they are two laps down.
Jota pits their #38 LMP2 car. It's a Zytek. It's not too fast, but it's reliable. Jota is the name of a car that was made by Lamborghini at one point. A Ferrari in LM GTE Am pits, as Tom Kristensen does likewise for fuel only. The #8 Toyota passes GT traffic. The top five LM GTE Pro cars are 4/10ths of a second apart! Holy smokes! The track is beginning to rubber back in just now. But, cold, dense air helps. The #12 Rebellion R-One goes to the garage. It's 6:30 P.M. here in St. Paul, 1:30 A.M. Le Mans, France, time. Keep focusing.
Andre Lotterer brings the #2 Audi to pit lane. They will go for fuel only and cleaning the windscreen and the headlights. The new headlights are not as blinding as they used to be. The #7 Toyota pits and gets cleaned up. The sister car comes in. The #14 Porsche is also back on track. Sebastien Buemi is taking over the #8 Toyota TS040. Patrick Dempsey readies for another stint, as Patrick Long is currently driving. One of the ProSpeed Porsche's is in the pits. Right now, everyone is just pounding out laps. Patrick Long was doing yeoman service, running in the 3:59 range. The #51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia makes a scheduled stop.
The #77 Porsche is in the pits and looks like the windshield might be out of the car. The #8 Toyota was in the garage and is now back out. The Audi makes massive torque. But, being a diesel, it only turns 4,500 RPM. Bruno Senna has pitted the Aston Martin and is close to the Corvette. Tom Milner also pitted. These guys are close together. No rest for the weary. There's a little village inside the track. The drivers have much better sleeping quarters today than they did years and years ago. Just about thirteen hours left.
History is what Le Mans is made of. We watch one of the factory Porsche GT cars. Marco Holzer hands off the #92 car to Richard Lietz. You have to be perfect to win at Le Mans today. We watch the #58 Ferrari in the garage with a problem. That's Team Sofrv AFP with a French trio, driving. Soheil Ayari sharing with Fabien Barthez, and Anthony Pons. We're riding with the Audi through the Porsche Curves where Loic Duval had his wreck.
The night makes it look quicker. Andre Lotterer comes to the pits. More downforce on the cars, with narrower bodies, and narrower tires. Andre Lotterer will stay in the car. No fresh tires needed. These are the kinds of pit stops Audi wants to see. Speaking of speed, if the Maison Blanche corner still existed, it would be WAY too fast for anyone, and that's why the Porsche Curves, skirt it, to this day. Now, Stephane Sarrazin is going to get into the Toyota on this particular pit stop.
The engines need to be shut off, because of the ACO wanting to differentiate itself from Grand Prix racing. Drivers have lost the race because they couldn't start the car, and would get hot. No one wants to run heavy starters, or heavy auxiliary equipment. Neel Jani is driving the #14 Porsche 919 Hybrid. Marc Lieb prepares to climb in. The pit stop is going on, now. Toni Vilander tries to pass Tommy Milner. He's not having any of it. Milner was close to Bruno Senna in the Aston Martin, but no.
In the driver's meting, the Prototype drivers were directed to not flash their lights within 20 meters of a car they were trying to pass. We've got a great LM GTE Pro battle between four legendary marques. The rain might start again here, folks. Preparing for more intermittent TV signals. Vilander couldn't get by Milner as we are haded down to Mulsanne corner. Milner is being reeled in, trying to pass a Porsche, and that was the #77 Dempsey car. Wow.
We watch an LMP2 car go by this GTE Pro battle. Ooh. An LMP1 car passes by the Ferrari and gets trapped. Someone overcooked the braking zone. The #51 car hits pit lane. Toni Vilander out. Giancarlo Fisichella in. Stephane Sarrazin continues to lead with Audi, Audi, and Porsche, next. In less than 15 minutes, we'll be ready to reach halfway. The #73 Corvette is in pit lane. Once more, the race seems to be settling down, as we are near the halfway mark.
The Audi flashes the lights to warn a slower car. The #91 GTE Pro Porsche made a scheduled pit stop. The order continues to be Toyota, Audi, Audi, Porsche, Porsche. We're in the second half of this race.
24 Hours of Le Mans, Chapter One
This is the greatest sports car endurance race in the world. The 24 Hours of Le Mans. This year, Audi, Toyota, and Porsche, will battle for overall supremacy.
Some drivers and cars will not start the race. In qualifying, it was a crash fest, and Loic Duval, Bret Curtis, and James Calado, were three drivers, replaced on their respective teams. You race here by invitation only, risking millions, and facing competition. At night, each dark cockpit is it's own universe. But, as you get closer to the finish, it's more devastating. Audi and Porsche will fight with their new energy efficient racing cars. Tom Kristensen has nine wins here. Mark Webber, might be fastest, as he comes from Formula One. Watch out for Toyota, too.
The GT class has Corvette, Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Porsche. 24 Hours from now, the clock will signal the end of racing's longest day. To finish you first start, and we start, now. "Racing is life, everything before or after, is just waiting" as Steve McQueen's character Michael Delaney, said in the movie, "Le Mans". This is a glorious track. Former driver Allan McNish is the grand marshal. He is a new member of the Le Mans Hall of Fame. He's also driving the safety car, an Audi R8.
Formula One champ Fernando Alonso will wave the French flag to start the race. Alex Wurz is the starting driver for Toyota, and there's a Porsche on the grid. Two of them. Yours truly wants to put the race on his bucket list, and you should, too. The motto is "the future is on track". These race cars, are rocket ships. Nissan is coming back, and of course, Ferrari might come back soon. With the new hybrid technology and energy systems, the manufacturers are coming back.
Audi has their turbo diesel. Toyota has a normally aspirated V8. Porsche has a four cylinder that recovers energy under braking, and acceleration. But, in practice, Loic Duval had a monstrous crash of course, and destroyed the car. Marc Gene is the driver./ Lucas di Grassi had a big crash, too. Toyota and Porsche are in this one, and Kazuki Nakajim becomes the first Japanese driver to be on pole. At the track, there's new curbing, new pavement, new guard rails etc.
Last year, we had five yellow flags. Allan Simonsen was killed last year, and the guardrail has been moved back, with tires set up there. Rest In Peace, Allan Simonsen. We have the integrity and the spirit of this event, still. Corvette Racing has their new C-7-R- in this race. Two of them will race. The new Corvette could be a winner this weekend, after winning seven times in class. Corvette technical director, Doug Fehan, has won the Spirit of Le Mans award for this year.
In LM GTE Pro, Porsche won last year, and the Ferrari 458 Italia won two years ago. Porsche is not happy with their pace. But, four makes in the top six in LM GTE Pro. Ditto for improvements in LM GTE Am. Toyota has raw speed. Will Audi win for the 13th time? Will Porsche return to glory? Traffic and closing rates will be monstrous, as always, but especially on this track. So many stories yet to tell as we get closer to the start of the great race.
The cars are on track. They are running down the Mulsanne straight. We also have the Nissan ZEOD electric car. It will run one lap on electric power. The youngest driver is Matt McMurry, who is only 16 years old. McMurry says that he'll stay focused and keep the car on the road. McMurry is from Phoenix, Arizona. The LMP2 cars, many have Nissan power. We saw that massive wreck from Audi. Two of them happened to Audi. Other teams also had crashes. 39 drivers are starting their first Le Mans race.
This track is about speed. Four times on this 8.5 mile loop, you hit 200 miles an hour. Watch out for the curbs. Here we go. Finally, it is time. Go! Fernando Alonso waves the flag and we are green! The Toyota takes the lead off the start. Porsche and Audi are already after each toher. The crowd here is huge! Now, we run through Tetre Rouge and onto the Mulsanne Straight. Once, it was a three mile flyer, but now has chicanes. These monstrous cars have 1,000 horsepower.
The chicanes may be on the straight now, but these cars still can run 210 miles an hour, at least. The mechanics are tired already. Tom Kristensen is th starting driver in the #1 Audi R18 eTron Quattro. The Rebellion Coupe's are the only cars sans the hybrid power. Arnage is one of the slowest corners on this track, and it's part of the public roads. These cars have seven speed transmissions. They are not designed to go slow. Timo Bernhard and Andre Lotterer battle. Lotterer has won twice at Le Mans.
Tom Kristensen takees a spot away. Will Audi let one of their cars become a rabbit, for the hounds to chase? We have Mark Webber, and Brendon Hartley. The Porsche uses acceleration and braking for it's hybrid car. The Audi and Toyota only do it under braking. The Porsche has a 2.0 liter four cylinder. You will hear a whirring sound under braking. That sound, is the energy regenerating through the braking system, and sounds like a plane landing.
The drivers run through Indianapolis, a banked corner, and through Arnage, into the Porsche curves, skirting the old, and very dangerous, Maison Blanche corner. The cornwering speeds are very high here. There's no zone for energy recovery. It happens whenever you step on the brakes. Watch the GTE Pro battle. Ferrari vs. Corvette vs. Aston Martin vs. Porsche. Gianmaria Bruni leads in the Ferrari 458 Italia. The new Chevrolet Corvette C7R is running well. Jan Magnussen at the controls. Antonio Garcia has to sleep. His wife had a baby.
Timo Bernhard slides th Porsche. The tires are still cold. Pictures come to TV from the French television feed. Alex Wurz and Nicolas Lapierre run 1-2. Porsche is third, with Audi behind. Toyota is sending a rabbit out front right now, trying to get Audi and Porsche to overuse their energy. The weather at Le Mans is beautiful, and there could be rain in the forecast. There's only seven hours of darkness and plenty of light, compared to the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Forests once covered Le Mans, and fog used to bee an issue. Not anymore. Now, Andre Lotterer moves ahead of Neel Jani. Lotterer is going to have a big future. he's got two wins at Le Mans, looking at three. Now, the FIA World Endurance Championship, is running it's third race of the season, here at L eMans. It's the crown jewel. The drivers are working very hard to manage the cars. It's not easy. These boys are still pushing, going to their maximum.
We're watching a great battle between Porsche and Audi. Manage the traffic. But also, you have to minotor an energy threshold, otherwise, there will be penalties handed down by the A.C.O. and the FIA. In the old days, you had to worry about the transmission and the motor. But now, it's focusing on driving, and monitoring the energy. Marco Bonanomi in the third Audi, is trying to get past Neel Jani. Porsche doesn't have data at Le Mans. But, the Porsche 919 has been tested. It's faster on the straights, but doesn't corner or brake as well. The tires will degrade faster.
Tom Kristensen has the most wins, with nine. He's very, very experienced. Poor Loic Duval had that big crash. Fortunately, he's OK. Lucas di Grassi also crashed the car. So, Tom Kristensen is aeasing his way into the car. Rebuilding the car is much harder than it used to be. We're working lapped traffic six laps into this one, folks. It takes two hours to synchronize the mechanical protocols before building a new car. They went through every part of the car, according to team manager Brad Kettler. Two crewmen go through ALL the electronic parts.
Local yellow at the second Mulsanne chicane. Who went off? The gravel traps here, are stones, and they are real sharp. marco Bonanomi flies by Kristensen. Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Audi team boss), won't want to see this mess. Now, Neel Jani is running well, but you've got to stop this. It's fun to see. But, there's not reason to do it. OK. The Nissan ZEOD is having issues in reaching their goals. The transmission has not done well. But, the cool thing about that car, is a 90 pound, three cylinder motor that makes 400 horsepower!
Holy cow! It's probably game over for the Nissan ZEOD. That's a shame for Lucas Ordonez, Wolfgang Reip, and Satoshi Motoyama. Now, Nicolas Lapierre has gone off the road. He had a major off into the gravel. But, he's OK. Now, there are new slow zones due to the length of the lap. The entire field will have to slow to the pit lane speed under yellow, (37 miles an hour, or 60 kilometers an hour). This way, there will be fwer yellow flags.
The Nissan ZEOD team is resetting the car. They're still having problems. They had a new battery, but the paperwork was not there. Now, with the double waving flag, if you hit the slow zone too fast, you will be penalized. The #1 car is pitting now, for strategy. Tom Kristensen stays in the car. The windshield is cleaned, and fuel is added. No tires. The drinks bottle and the windshield washer fluid is replenished. Alex Wurz slows down, hitting the speed limiter. It's kind of fun, because you coast through the zone, and then, bang! Hit the throttle, and drive away as fast as you wish.
Neel Jani has now lost some drive in his Porsche. He's stuck in a low gear. The car is purely running on electric power. Corvette and Ferrari battle for the LM GTE Pro lead, through the slow zone. Slow down, guys, or you'll be penalized. The Porsche, loses power from it's four cylinder motor. It was in a taller gear. The car is reversed back into the garage. This is the #14 car of Romain Dumas, Neel Jani, and Marc Lieb. Now, Gianmaria Bruni and Jan Magnussen are still battling for position in LM GTE Pro.
The Aston Martin is also in it. No yellow. We're green all the way around e track. We're also into the Bugatti circuit, where there's motorcycle racing (MotoGP), and big rig truck racing. Watch out for the massive curb at the Ford chicane. We're 45 minutes into this race. The second LM GTE Am Ferrari for AF Corse, was put on pole by open wheel standout, Sam Bird. Stephen Wyatt of New Zealand, and Michele Rugolo of Italy, are Bird's team mates.
Alex Wurz still leads this race. The #37 Oreca Nissan is back in the garage. They were on track, but now back in the garage. This is under another AF Corse team, which has ten cars in this race. The leader is in the pits, the #7 Toyota. Alex Wurz stays in the car. Audi also pits. The silent takeoff of these hybrid sports cars from pit lane, is wild. There are no issues with restarting a hot engine, with the hybrids. Audi, Porsche, and Toyota, have all pitted.
We watch the new Ligier which is returning to Le Mans. It's the Ligier JS P2. JS stands for Joe Schlesser. The new LMP cars have a raised position for the drivers. A bollard (cone) has been knocked over, and will be picked up. The #14 Porsche is back on track. Roll the car out into the pit lane. You can't drive it out. But, the Porsche is now back on track. Neel Jani is ninth and last in the Prototype 1 category. Nicolas Lapierre wants to make a move on Marco Bonanomi.
Anthony Davidson had a huge crash a few years ago in a Toyota. The Audi, Toyota, and Porsche, are right there. Krohn Racing is here, after a big saga about just getting into the race. The #73 Corvette pitted, for fuel only. Jan Magnussen stays in the car. They cannot move the barrier, or the old poplar trees back, because there's an embankment going to another road. Problems again for the #79 Weatertech Porsche 911 RSR that was withdrawn. They had to switch classes, and have just two drivers. Bret Curtis didn't start, and they could not get a third driver.
So, going old school, this team, is running just two drivers at Le Mans, which used to be quite common. Cooper MacNeil and Jeroen Bleekemolen, are the dynamic duo. We now have a local yellow in Mulsanne. The #7 Toyota, leads with Alex Wurz at the wheel. The KCMG Oreca 03 Nissan leads P2. There was a Ferrari that spun. Marco Cioci was taken out in Mulsanne. The #79 car is back in the pit lane, in the garage. No real damage to the car. Use bear bond to reinforce the fender. Other than that, the dynamic duo will be back at it.
The problem with some of these drivers, is if you can find a bronze driver, you will. But, there's an issue, because no one could get into the simulator, and be ready to race. Now, a car has dumped loads of oil someplace. It just went straight like it couldn't turn. The car ran outside and didn't turn, as he hit the gravel trap. Oil is being chucked out of the car. Yours truly cannot tell which car dumped the oil. We see Marco Bonanomi running well. Watch the oil, as the JMW Ferrari 458 goes off track. Spencer Pumpelly is in that car.
Clouds overhead at Le Mans now. The skies will stay light until 10:30 at night. Now, we see more battling from Audi. Watch your step. Don't take anyone out. You've got three bullets in the gun. Don't take two out. Now, Alex Wurz, will have to pit for an unsafe pit release. He might have a penalty. Wurz swung out in front of Andre Lotterer, and it's not necessary. The stewards will have something to say. Yellow flags are waving in one of the slow zones as the 8Star Ferrari is having issues. That's Enzo Potolicchio's team. More drivers are going off the road, witn the leaders coming up.
After a couple hours, the clag buildup will be insane! Ooh! More argy bargy. Thankfully, the Toyota backs off. It's Lotterer vs. Bonanommi vs. Lapierre. Tom Kristensen is pitting. This is the end of a 13 lap run. He was right behind Matt McMurry. Tom Kristensen gets fuel and no tires. No point in replacing the driver. Lucas di Grassi, will have to wait. Now, the Nissan ZEOD is still on track with Wolfgang Reip at the wheel. The transmission is busted. They're out of it.
At least the Nissan ZEOD can run one lap on electric power. But, it's au revoir Le Mans, for them, this year. Next year, Nissan will be back with an LMP1 car. They will run in Japanese Super GT competition for the rest of this year. Satoshi Motoyama is a great driver in Japan, but he'll have no further racing this year. He is a legend though. The first time he came to Le Mans with the Nissan Deltawing, he crashed, and the fans urged him on to fix the car. He couldn't, and openly wept in disappointment. Who wouldn't? This is Le Mans. The biggest race in the world. Having to retire, is devastating.
Andre Lotterer, Marco Bonanomi, and others, have still been battling away. Bonanomi made a scheduled pit stop. There was conjecture about Porsche or Toyota stretching their fuel window to 14 laps, cutting pit stops out, which means the competition has to be faster. Filipe Albuquerque is running well, now that he has a chance at the top level of sports car racing. Toyota has pitted. They are at the back end of the pits, past the entrance. Oh no! It's raining at Le Mans. Now you need to find the grip. Watch the white line on turn in.
It's like ice on the painted curbs. It always rains at Le Mans. It's raining on one side, but not on the other. Don't get misting on the screen or smear it. Otherwise, you won' see. These cars are amazing. There is an adjustable wfront wing on the prototypes. The #7 Toyota TS040 pits. Andre Lotterer pits for intermediate tires. You can smell the rain. Now, Matt McMurry, has spun out. He did because it's raining, and hie's on cold tires. Go soft on intermediate tires. It's too dry for full wet, treaded tires. Now, it's starting to bucket down with rain. One of the factory Porsche GT cars slides througha corner.
Go full wets. Fred Makowiecki pits. The safety car is on track. Tom Kristensen is pitting for full wet tires. Now, we have another Audi that's crashed! Marco Bonanomi has crashed, and aquaplaned off the road on the first chicane on the Mulsanne straight. That's fast. You can't go slow enough. There was a lot going on. It's a three car crash including the Audi, the #8 Toyota, and a P2 car. Nonanomi has major damage. The rain is letting up.
Nicolas Lapierre looks like he's the instigator of the wreck, as he was sideways, and then it was a chain reaction. The Ferrari involved was the #81 8Star Ferrari, leading in class in LM GTE Am. Nicolas Lapierre needs a new nose on his car. Also, the leading LMP2 car #47 has crashed. It's shared by Brits Richard Bradley, and Matthew Howson, along with Switzerland's Alexander Imperatori. But, sadly, the #3 Audi, is out. Marco Bonanomi, got out of the car, and was told to. At Le Mans, once you've walked ten meters away from the car, it's game over.
Richard Bradley is back to the pits. But another retirement will be Sam Bird in the #81 Ferrari. Marco Bonanomi was a victim in this crash. We're barely an hour into this thing. Suck it up, and get back to it. The Audi boys are down to two cars. Toyota, is probably down to one. The #3 car could be put back out as a guinea pig. But, that remains to be seen. We watch the #8 Toyota get pushed back into the garage to try and fix it. The mechanics are going to fly all over this car.
Nicolas Lapierre, in replay from a GT car's camera, clobbered the Armco barrier! Whoa! Right now, it's two Audi's, two Porsche's, and one Toyota. We are sans one Audi, and sans one Toyota, at this stage. Has Alexander Wurz been penalized? Now, the skies are beginning to clear up. The last time a two driver team won Le Mans was in 1984 with a Porsche 956 shared by Henri Pescarolo and Klaus Ludwig, while the last class win for a two driver team was in 1986, in GTX. Frenchmen Rene Metge and Claude Ballot-Lena drove a Porsche 961, to seventh place overall.
More rain could be on it's way, according to racing driver and team owner, Tracy Krohn. The front of the pit lane is wet, while the other part, is dry. It's going to get slick in pit lane. The track is beginning to dry, but, rain is not out of the picture by any means. Could Nicolas Lapierre have been tagged? Possible. We are under yellow. Because the lap is so long, there are three safety cars. Think fo the track as a clock. One is released at 12 o'clock, one at 4 o'clock, and one at 8 o'clock. Alex Wurz is ahead. Corvette is pitting. There are anomalies for pit lane under these safety car porocedures. Pitting under green is better.
Wait at pot out to get the next group. This will be a two minute wait. We're back to green. It's sunny and dry. But there's standing water around. Now, all the cars a re split. Wurz is on his own planet. The #14 Porsche of Neel Jani is still trying to make up laps. Ooh! Another spin. It's the #52 Ferrari 458 Italia beached in the Ford chicane. This is the #52 RAM Racing Ferrari 458 Italia of Matt Griffin, Alvaro Parente, and Federico Leo.
One of the Aston Martin's pitted. If anyone has switched to wets, they'll be looking for water to cool the tires. Patrick Dempsey takes over the #77 Porsche 911 RSR on this pit stop. Patrick Dempsey shares with Patrick Long and Joe Foster. Watch out for the Porsche curves in the damp and in traffic. The #73 Corvette pits with Antonio Garcia at the controls. More storm cells might come by soon, after spending 53 minutes under yellow. One of the Porsche's is looking for water, or, maybe, the radio isn't working.
Andre Lotterer will stay on track, and, we've got another downpour on the back of the ciurcuit! The safety cars appear. Howard Blank spins the #62 Ferrari 458 Italia for AF Corse that he shares with French drivers Yannick Mallegol and Jean-Marc Bachelier. We've got two LMP2 cars that have crashed. The #41 and #48 cars were hooked together and went into the wall. Karun Chandhok was driving, a former Formula One driver.
The #41 Greaves Motorsports Zytek Nissan shared by three Brits. Michael Munemann, Alessandro Latif, and James Winslow. The #48 machine, is shared by Nathanael Berthon of France, Rodolfo Gonzalez of Venezuela, and the aforementioned, Karun Chandhok, hailing from India. The point of grooves in a rain tire, is so the car doesn't lift off the ground. A thin film of water on a slick tire, can spin a car out. It's the same for someone who is trying to move on a wet floor with tennis shoes on. Toyota, Audi, and Porsche run 1-2-3 right now.
Moments ago, the #2 Audi pitted. Benoit Treluyer takes over the car, and some loose bodywork was fixed. There's a lot of conflict, though, because of the movable bodywork on the Porsche. Audi, Porsche, and Toyota, also had flexible floors, and the A.C.O. said, "no, no, no. You can't use that system." The #41 and #48 P2 cars are still having issues, while the team is actually servicing the #48 at the moment. It's in for a lengthy repair. This is a time now, when you can fix the car before you are in play for the rest of the race.
Murphy Prototypes has a lot of broken suspension parts to deal with. We are now back to green flag racing. The #7 Toyota was held at pit out waiting for the safety cars. Ah. Another spin for the #47 car. It's slick, as the #67 Porsche spins. That's the #67 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 911 RSR of Erik Maris, Jean-Marc Merlin, and Eric Helary, all Frenchmen. Porsche, Toyota, Audi. Portsche leads Le Mans for the first time in 16 years. Timo Bernhard drives the leading car.
Stephane Sarrazin chases the Porsche as yours truly is having some trouble with the satellite TV signal. Stay tuned, and the coverage during this next hour might be a shade intermittent. We see Porsche, Toyota, and Audi, continuing to lead. We're coming up to the end of four hours, and the start of hour five. 38 laps have been run. Car #33 for OAK Racing is running well. This is the all Chinese squad of David Cheng, Ho-Pin Tung, and Adderly Fong. Christian Klien, has pitted the #43 Morgan Judd he shares with Swiss driver Gary Hirsch, and Frenchman Romain Brandela. This car is under the Newblood by Morand Racing banner.
Oh no. Car #43 is out of this one, folks. Their race, is run. Correction. Sorry for the heart attack, folks. It could be that #43 is just released from the pits. The car is not abandoned, which is French, for retired. Nicolas Prost is up to fifth in one of the Rebellion LMP1-L machines. The Porsche blows by one of the GT LM Corvette C7R's. The #33 Ligier went off at Indianapolis. Alpine and Toyota have both been into a few excursions it seems. Running on the French feed right now, folks. Satellite signal is off, due to rain.
Right now, the race continues. The #1 Audi runs fourth overall while Toyota #7 leads. #7 is pitting, changing to rain tires. Brendon Hartley is at the controls of the #20 Porsche. Pit stop done and dusted for Toyota. Since 1960, there's been at least one Corvette at Le Mans, and now, they've got their new car, after winning a number of races in the past. The last two races have been won, by Corvette in the GT LM class in Tudor Championship competition.
Michel Frey is now leading LMP2. This is the #34 Race Performance Oreca Judd with Swiss driver Michel Frey, Frenchman Frank Mailleux, and Jon Lancaster of England. Now, we see a real battle and Corvette has overtaken the factory GTE Pro Porsche. Is Jorg Bergmeister having trouble? Marco Holzer is the sister car is running consistent 3:58 lap times. Car #26 pits. The G Drive Oreca Nissan being driven by Roman Rusinov of Russia, and French drivers Olivier Pla and Julien Canal. The Dempsey Racing Porsche pits with Patrick Dempsey taking over from Patrick Long.
Porsche leads, with the #20 out front. Brendon Hartley at the controls. He's wickedly fast, and actually got a good ride in prototypes last year, while also testing Formula One cars. He came from New Zealand to race Formula 3. Murphy Prototypes and Starworks picked him up as a young phenom, and he's now, a Porsche factory driver. Brendon Hartley has a wild hairdo. So does Jordan Taylor, and Nicky Thiim. As for yours truly, no mullet for me. The Corvette's have a stiffer chassis, and the components were moved down to lower the center of gravity. Plus, the wicker bill was taken off the car because of the high speeds.
Alex Brundle pits the #35 OAK Racing Ligier JS P2 Nissan he shares with Jann Mardenborough and Mark Shulzhitsky. Plus, we should give a shout out to the team mates of young Matt McMurry. Driving with him in the #42 Caterham Racing Zytek Nissan are Chris Dyson and Tom Kimber-Smith from England, who is a former Le Mans class winner. Pit stops are coming soon. Porsche, Toyota, Audi, 1-2-3. The #46 Thiriet By TDS Racing entry pits for fuel. This is another Ligier JS P2. This is another French team with Pierre Thiriet, Ludovic Badey, and Tristan Gommendy.
Watch out for the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia, too. This car is sorted, and reliable. The driver's strength is solid. Former F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella of Italy, shares with countryman Gianmaria Bruni, and Toni Vilander from Finland. Michel Frey leaves the pits and still leads LMP2 as Bruno Senna passes. He's driving the #97 Aston Martin Vantage. Senna shares with Stefan Mucke and Darren Turner. The #1 Audi pits for fuel and dos not change tires. The #14 Porsche 919 Hybrid is now piting. Marc Lieb is in the car now.
As far as fuel tanks, a company called ATL builds the bulk of them for each team. But for each team, the fuel tanks are all designed differently. The Ferrari is stopped on track. Now, this is the car with Alvaro Parente behind the wheel. It's the #52 RAM Racing Ferrari 458 Italia. A corner worker ran across the track, which is something we won't see in the states. There was another slow zone/local yellow. Now, both the Audi and the Toyota, pit. Benoit Treluyer is driving the #2 Audi at the moment. The prototype cars can now run an adjustable aerodynamic device, as we see Corvette and Porsche pit in LM GTE Pro. Two factory teams of course.
Stephane Sarrazin has taken over the lead for Toyota, and now, at this stage, all the teams are double stinting their tires. Fuel only for the #7 Toyota. One of the factory LM GTE Pro Porsche's pits. This is the #92 Porsche of Marco Holzer, Frederic Makowiecki, and Richard Lietz. The #57 Krohn Racing Ferrari 458 Italia slides in the second chicane on the Mulsanne straight, but keeps going. Tracy Krohn pits the #57 Ferrari, handing over to Nic Jonsson. Ben Collins is the third driver, who is "The Stig" on the BBC show Top Gear. They probably would have called Andrea Bertolini. But, Bertolini isn't running at Le Mans. Just in the Tudor Championship.
Another driver to keep an eye on is Archie Hamilton. He's driving the RAM Racing Ferrari #53 Ferrari. We watch Gary Hirsch battling Julien Canal, for LMP2 honors. Archie Hamilton's dad Duncan Hamilton, won Le Mans in 1953, with Tony Rolt, in a Jaguar C Type. Now, there's a problem with the #52 team car with RAM Racing, as one of the electrical boxes, shorted out. It was a telemetry box, and the trouble is, it was the A.C.O. mandated telemetry recorder. That's not good. Brendon Hartley pits the #20 Porsche for fuel and tires.
The #2 Audi leads. The Audi and the Toyota have fully electric launch control, so they sound like golf carts leaving the pits. The other great safety feature is a sensor in the wheel rims to monitor tire pressure for safety. But, it doesn't work for a blown tire. Marco Holzer, Jorg Bergmeister, and Bruno Senna, all battle in LM GTE Pro. David Heinemeier-Hanson is also in this scrap. Patrick Dempsey brings the #77 Porsche into pit lane. Bruno Senna has run really well with the Gulf Aston Martin.
Also, the #36 Alpine Oreca Nissan pits. Renault and Nissan have collaborated. They are using the Alpine and Caterham names. It's run by Signatech. Sharing the car are Frenchmen Paul Loup-Chatin, and Nelson Panciatici, as well as Oliver Webb from England. In P2, you've got a really close race between the Oreca's, the Morgan's, and the Alpine. Now, Lucas di Grassi has passed Brendon Hartley. Brendon Hartley has not been able to challeng Lucas di Grassi.
Something might be wrong with the Porsche. One system for regenerating power is off the turbo and the other, is off the electric motor. They can't chatge the hybrid system as much. If you lose the charge, you'll cook the brakes, as we saw with the Mercedes Formula One cars in Canada last weekend, if you follow my other blog at chicaneman.wordpress.com, where I cover open wheel and other forms of racing outside of sports cars.
Jorg Bergmeister and Marco Holzer are battling for the lead in LM GTE Pro. The #72 Ferrari is holding up the factory Porsche's. But he has a battle of his own in LM GTE Am. Viktor Shaitar, running in the Ferrari, locked up and ran wide in the Mulsanne corner. Shaitar was thinking, "uh oh. I gotta get out of here!" Stephane Sarrazin is running well. Now, these three cars, all run totally different systems. Toyota uses a super capacitor. Audi uses a flywheel. Porsche, uses a battery.
The #74 Corvette is now in pit lane. Mark Webber will get back out there, and race a sports car at Le Mans for the first time in 16 years. Porsche is using a new fuel meter unit. There is a third party company that provides the fuel meters and it's driving the manufacturer's nuts. Jordan Taylor is running real well. He's fifth in class right now. The safety car issues, and the slow zones are also confusing. The slow zones can't be mitigated. Jan Charouz runs through the gravel in Mulsanne. Calamity corner.
Jorg Bergmeister is now pitting the #91 Porsche 911 RSR. The #73 Corvette and the #76 IMSA Matmut Porsche are also in the pits. Raymond Narac, Nicolas Armindo, and David Hallyday, are driving. The leading Toyota is working lap 76. More storming. Let's go back to the online streaming at 24hlemans.com. A Porsche is now in pit lane. We are following the #20 Porsche. The Toyota has a lap advantage over the rest of it's competition right now.
Marco Bonanomi says he was touched by the Toyota, caught the car, and then, he saw the Ferrari come right behind him before slamming into the wall. Sam Bird, of England, of course, was in the Ferrari, in his first Le Mans. Romain Brandela seems to have gone off the road someplace. The #13 Rebellion is now in the garage, too. This could be curtains for this car, as the Toyota V8 is not working. However, this is a different motor than the factory cars. It's the V8 used in Super GT. But, it seems that they've dropped a cylinder.
This is a shame for Dominik Kraihamer, as well as GP2 champion Fabio Leimer, and Andrea Belicchi. We're getting close to the end of the sixth hour. Benoit Treluyer is at the wheel of the #2 Audi. Toyota pits as the #2 comes into the pits. Treluyer will get out of the car, as Marcel Fassler will take over. Scratch that. Treluyer will continue and go for a fourth stint on the tires. Audi does not have the speed right now with their #2 machine. Keep the pressure on, and do a quadruple stint. That's a long time. Stephane Sarrazin and Toyota continue to lead.
The sun is setting at Le Mans now. You never know when a shower will blow through. We'll have oh, eight hours of darkness ahead at Le Mans which isn't as much as the 24 Hours of Daytona. But, it's still enough. It's a full night's sleep. Giancarlo Fisichella chases Bruno Senna, who in turn, is chasing Richard Westbrook. The lap times are close in LM GTE Pro. Oh. The #66 Ferrari for JMW Motorsports spins at Arnage. That's Spencer Pumpelly of the United States, a familiar name to Tudor Championship fans, sharing with his Tudor Championship team mate Seth Neiman, and Abdul Aziz Al-Faisal of the UAE.
Kazuki Nakajima passes the Corvette. Now, it's time, to move on to another entry, and post this one, folks. There's a long way to go.
Some drivers and cars will not start the race. In qualifying, it was a crash fest, and Loic Duval, Bret Curtis, and James Calado, were three drivers, replaced on their respective teams. You race here by invitation only, risking millions, and facing competition. At night, each dark cockpit is it's own universe. But, as you get closer to the finish, it's more devastating. Audi and Porsche will fight with their new energy efficient racing cars. Tom Kristensen has nine wins here. Mark Webber, might be fastest, as he comes from Formula One. Watch out for Toyota, too.
The GT class has Corvette, Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Porsche. 24 Hours from now, the clock will signal the end of racing's longest day. To finish you first start, and we start, now. "Racing is life, everything before or after, is just waiting" as Steve McQueen's character Michael Delaney, said in the movie, "Le Mans". This is a glorious track. Former driver Allan McNish is the grand marshal. He is a new member of the Le Mans Hall of Fame. He's also driving the safety car, an Audi R8.
Formula One champ Fernando Alonso will wave the French flag to start the race. Alex Wurz is the starting driver for Toyota, and there's a Porsche on the grid. Two of them. Yours truly wants to put the race on his bucket list, and you should, too. The motto is "the future is on track". These race cars, are rocket ships. Nissan is coming back, and of course, Ferrari might come back soon. With the new hybrid technology and energy systems, the manufacturers are coming back.
Audi has their turbo diesel. Toyota has a normally aspirated V8. Porsche has a four cylinder that recovers energy under braking, and acceleration. But, in practice, Loic Duval had a monstrous crash of course, and destroyed the car. Marc Gene is the driver./ Lucas di Grassi had a big crash, too. Toyota and Porsche are in this one, and Kazuki Nakajim becomes the first Japanese driver to be on pole. At the track, there's new curbing, new pavement, new guard rails etc.
Last year, we had five yellow flags. Allan Simonsen was killed last year, and the guardrail has been moved back, with tires set up there. Rest In Peace, Allan Simonsen. We have the integrity and the spirit of this event, still. Corvette Racing has their new C-7-R- in this race. Two of them will race. The new Corvette could be a winner this weekend, after winning seven times in class. Corvette technical director, Doug Fehan, has won the Spirit of Le Mans award for this year.
In LM GTE Pro, Porsche won last year, and the Ferrari 458 Italia won two years ago. Porsche is not happy with their pace. But, four makes in the top six in LM GTE Pro. Ditto for improvements in LM GTE Am. Toyota has raw speed. Will Audi win for the 13th time? Will Porsche return to glory? Traffic and closing rates will be monstrous, as always, but especially on this track. So many stories yet to tell as we get closer to the start of the great race.
The cars are on track. They are running down the Mulsanne straight. We also have the Nissan ZEOD electric car. It will run one lap on electric power. The youngest driver is Matt McMurry, who is only 16 years old. McMurry says that he'll stay focused and keep the car on the road. McMurry is from Phoenix, Arizona. The LMP2 cars, many have Nissan power. We saw that massive wreck from Audi. Two of them happened to Audi. Other teams also had crashes. 39 drivers are starting their first Le Mans race.
This track is about speed. Four times on this 8.5 mile loop, you hit 200 miles an hour. Watch out for the curbs. Here we go. Finally, it is time. Go! Fernando Alonso waves the flag and we are green! The Toyota takes the lead off the start. Porsche and Audi are already after each toher. The crowd here is huge! Now, we run through Tetre Rouge and onto the Mulsanne Straight. Once, it was a three mile flyer, but now has chicanes. These monstrous cars have 1,000 horsepower.
The chicanes may be on the straight now, but these cars still can run 210 miles an hour, at least. The mechanics are tired already. Tom Kristensen is th starting driver in the #1 Audi R18 eTron Quattro. The Rebellion Coupe's are the only cars sans the hybrid power. Arnage is one of the slowest corners on this track, and it's part of the public roads. These cars have seven speed transmissions. They are not designed to go slow. Timo Bernhard and Andre Lotterer battle. Lotterer has won twice at Le Mans.
Tom Kristensen takees a spot away. Will Audi let one of their cars become a rabbit, for the hounds to chase? We have Mark Webber, and Brendon Hartley. The Porsche uses acceleration and braking for it's hybrid car. The Audi and Toyota only do it under braking. The Porsche has a 2.0 liter four cylinder. You will hear a whirring sound under braking. That sound, is the energy regenerating through the braking system, and sounds like a plane landing.
The drivers run through Indianapolis, a banked corner, and through Arnage, into the Porsche curves, skirting the old, and very dangerous, Maison Blanche corner. The cornwering speeds are very high here. There's no zone for energy recovery. It happens whenever you step on the brakes. Watch the GTE Pro battle. Ferrari vs. Corvette vs. Aston Martin vs. Porsche. Gianmaria Bruni leads in the Ferrari 458 Italia. The new Chevrolet Corvette C7R is running well. Jan Magnussen at the controls. Antonio Garcia has to sleep. His wife had a baby.
Timo Bernhard slides th Porsche. The tires are still cold. Pictures come to TV from the French television feed. Alex Wurz and Nicolas Lapierre run 1-2. Porsche is third, with Audi behind. Toyota is sending a rabbit out front right now, trying to get Audi and Porsche to overuse their energy. The weather at Le Mans is beautiful, and there could be rain in the forecast. There's only seven hours of darkness and plenty of light, compared to the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Forests once covered Le Mans, and fog used to bee an issue. Not anymore. Now, Andre Lotterer moves ahead of Neel Jani. Lotterer is going to have a big future. he's got two wins at Le Mans, looking at three. Now, the FIA World Endurance Championship, is running it's third race of the season, here at L eMans. It's the crown jewel. The drivers are working very hard to manage the cars. It's not easy. These boys are still pushing, going to their maximum.
We're watching a great battle between Porsche and Audi. Manage the traffic. But also, you have to minotor an energy threshold, otherwise, there will be penalties handed down by the A.C.O. and the FIA. In the old days, you had to worry about the transmission and the motor. But now, it's focusing on driving, and monitoring the energy. Marco Bonanomi in the third Audi, is trying to get past Neel Jani. Porsche doesn't have data at Le Mans. But, the Porsche 919 has been tested. It's faster on the straights, but doesn't corner or brake as well. The tires will degrade faster.
Tom Kristensen has the most wins, with nine. He's very, very experienced. Poor Loic Duval had that big crash. Fortunately, he's OK. Lucas di Grassi also crashed the car. So, Tom Kristensen is aeasing his way into the car. Rebuilding the car is much harder than it used to be. We're working lapped traffic six laps into this one, folks. It takes two hours to synchronize the mechanical protocols before building a new car. They went through every part of the car, according to team manager Brad Kettler. Two crewmen go through ALL the electronic parts.
Local yellow at the second Mulsanne chicane. Who went off? The gravel traps here, are stones, and they are real sharp. marco Bonanomi flies by Kristensen. Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Audi team boss), won't want to see this mess. Now, Neel Jani is running well, but you've got to stop this. It's fun to see. But, there's not reason to do it. OK. The Nissan ZEOD is having issues in reaching their goals. The transmission has not done well. But, the cool thing about that car, is a 90 pound, three cylinder motor that makes 400 horsepower!
Holy cow! It's probably game over for the Nissan ZEOD. That's a shame for Lucas Ordonez, Wolfgang Reip, and Satoshi Motoyama. Now, Nicolas Lapierre has gone off the road. He had a major off into the gravel. But, he's OK. Now, there are new slow zones due to the length of the lap. The entire field will have to slow to the pit lane speed under yellow, (37 miles an hour, or 60 kilometers an hour). This way, there will be fwer yellow flags.
The Nissan ZEOD team is resetting the car. They're still having problems. They had a new battery, but the paperwork was not there. Now, with the double waving flag, if you hit the slow zone too fast, you will be penalized. The #1 car is pitting now, for strategy. Tom Kristensen stays in the car. The windshield is cleaned, and fuel is added. No tires. The drinks bottle and the windshield washer fluid is replenished. Alex Wurz slows down, hitting the speed limiter. It's kind of fun, because you coast through the zone, and then, bang! Hit the throttle, and drive away as fast as you wish.
Neel Jani has now lost some drive in his Porsche. He's stuck in a low gear. The car is purely running on electric power. Corvette and Ferrari battle for the LM GTE Pro lead, through the slow zone. Slow down, guys, or you'll be penalized. The Porsche, loses power from it's four cylinder motor. It was in a taller gear. The car is reversed back into the garage. This is the #14 car of Romain Dumas, Neel Jani, and Marc Lieb. Now, Gianmaria Bruni and Jan Magnussen are still battling for position in LM GTE Pro.
The Aston Martin is also in it. No yellow. We're green all the way around e track. We're also into the Bugatti circuit, where there's motorcycle racing (MotoGP), and big rig truck racing. Watch out for the massive curb at the Ford chicane. We're 45 minutes into this race. The second LM GTE Am Ferrari for AF Corse, was put on pole by open wheel standout, Sam Bird. Stephen Wyatt of New Zealand, and Michele Rugolo of Italy, are Bird's team mates.
Alex Wurz still leads this race. The #37 Oreca Nissan is back in the garage. They were on track, but now back in the garage. This is under another AF Corse team, which has ten cars in this race. The leader is in the pits, the #7 Toyota. Alex Wurz stays in the car. Audi also pits. The silent takeoff of these hybrid sports cars from pit lane, is wild. There are no issues with restarting a hot engine, with the hybrids. Audi, Porsche, and Toyota, have all pitted.
We watch the new Ligier which is returning to Le Mans. It's the Ligier JS P2. JS stands for Joe Schlesser. The new LMP cars have a raised position for the drivers. A bollard (cone) has been knocked over, and will be picked up. The #14 Porsche is back on track. Roll the car out into the pit lane. You can't drive it out. But, the Porsche is now back on track. Neel Jani is ninth and last in the Prototype 1 category. Nicolas Lapierre wants to make a move on Marco Bonanomi.
Anthony Davidson had a huge crash a few years ago in a Toyota. The Audi, Toyota, and Porsche, are right there. Krohn Racing is here, after a big saga about just getting into the race. The #73 Corvette pitted, for fuel only. Jan Magnussen stays in the car. They cannot move the barrier, or the old poplar trees back, because there's an embankment going to another road. Problems again for the #79 Weatertech Porsche 911 RSR that was withdrawn. They had to switch classes, and have just two drivers. Bret Curtis didn't start, and they could not get a third driver.
So, going old school, this team, is running just two drivers at Le Mans, which used to be quite common. Cooper MacNeil and Jeroen Bleekemolen, are the dynamic duo. We now have a local yellow in Mulsanne. The #7 Toyota, leads with Alex Wurz at the wheel. The KCMG Oreca 03 Nissan leads P2. There was a Ferrari that spun. Marco Cioci was taken out in Mulsanne. The #79 car is back in the pit lane, in the garage. No real damage to the car. Use bear bond to reinforce the fender. Other than that, the dynamic duo will be back at it.
The problem with some of these drivers, is if you can find a bronze driver, you will. But, there's an issue, because no one could get into the simulator, and be ready to race. Now, a car has dumped loads of oil someplace. It just went straight like it couldn't turn. The car ran outside and didn't turn, as he hit the gravel trap. Oil is being chucked out of the car. Yours truly cannot tell which car dumped the oil. We see Marco Bonanomi running well. Watch the oil, as the JMW Ferrari 458 goes off track. Spencer Pumpelly is in that car.
Clouds overhead at Le Mans now. The skies will stay light until 10:30 at night. Now, we see more battling from Audi. Watch your step. Don't take anyone out. You've got three bullets in the gun. Don't take two out. Now, Alex Wurz, will have to pit for an unsafe pit release. He might have a penalty. Wurz swung out in front of Andre Lotterer, and it's not necessary. The stewards will have something to say. Yellow flags are waving in one of the slow zones as the 8Star Ferrari is having issues. That's Enzo Potolicchio's team. More drivers are going off the road, witn the leaders coming up.
After a couple hours, the clag buildup will be insane! Ooh! More argy bargy. Thankfully, the Toyota backs off. It's Lotterer vs. Bonanommi vs. Lapierre. Tom Kristensen is pitting. This is the end of a 13 lap run. He was right behind Matt McMurry. Tom Kristensen gets fuel and no tires. No point in replacing the driver. Lucas di Grassi, will have to wait. Now, the Nissan ZEOD is still on track with Wolfgang Reip at the wheel. The transmission is busted. They're out of it.
At least the Nissan ZEOD can run one lap on electric power. But, it's au revoir Le Mans, for them, this year. Next year, Nissan will be back with an LMP1 car. They will run in Japanese Super GT competition for the rest of this year. Satoshi Motoyama is a great driver in Japan, but he'll have no further racing this year. He is a legend though. The first time he came to Le Mans with the Nissan Deltawing, he crashed, and the fans urged him on to fix the car. He couldn't, and openly wept in disappointment. Who wouldn't? This is Le Mans. The biggest race in the world. Having to retire, is devastating.
Andre Lotterer, Marco Bonanomi, and others, have still been battling away. Bonanomi made a scheduled pit stop. There was conjecture about Porsche or Toyota stretching their fuel window to 14 laps, cutting pit stops out, which means the competition has to be faster. Filipe Albuquerque is running well, now that he has a chance at the top level of sports car racing. Toyota has pitted. They are at the back end of the pits, past the entrance. Oh no! It's raining at Le Mans. Now you need to find the grip. Watch the white line on turn in.
It's like ice on the painted curbs. It always rains at Le Mans. It's raining on one side, but not on the other. Don't get misting on the screen or smear it. Otherwise, you won' see. These cars are amazing. There is an adjustable wfront wing on the prototypes. The #7 Toyota TS040 pits. Andre Lotterer pits for intermediate tires. You can smell the rain. Now, Matt McMurry, has spun out. He did because it's raining, and hie's on cold tires. Go soft on intermediate tires. It's too dry for full wet, treaded tires. Now, it's starting to bucket down with rain. One of the factory Porsche GT cars slides througha corner.
Go full wets. Fred Makowiecki pits. The safety car is on track. Tom Kristensen is pitting for full wet tires. Now, we have another Audi that's crashed! Marco Bonanomi has crashed, and aquaplaned off the road on the first chicane on the Mulsanne straight. That's fast. You can't go slow enough. There was a lot going on. It's a three car crash including the Audi, the #8 Toyota, and a P2 car. Nonanomi has major damage. The rain is letting up.
Nicolas Lapierre looks like he's the instigator of the wreck, as he was sideways, and then it was a chain reaction. The Ferrari involved was the #81 8Star Ferrari, leading in class in LM GTE Am. Nicolas Lapierre needs a new nose on his car. Also, the leading LMP2 car #47 has crashed. It's shared by Brits Richard Bradley, and Matthew Howson, along with Switzerland's Alexander Imperatori. But, sadly, the #3 Audi, is out. Marco Bonanomi, got out of the car, and was told to. At Le Mans, once you've walked ten meters away from the car, it's game over.
Richard Bradley is back to the pits. But another retirement will be Sam Bird in the #81 Ferrari. Marco Bonanomi was a victim in this crash. We're barely an hour into this thing. Suck it up, and get back to it. The Audi boys are down to two cars. Toyota, is probably down to one. The #3 car could be put back out as a guinea pig. But, that remains to be seen. We watch the #8 Toyota get pushed back into the garage to try and fix it. The mechanics are going to fly all over this car.
Nicolas Lapierre, in replay from a GT car's camera, clobbered the Armco barrier! Whoa! Right now, it's two Audi's, two Porsche's, and one Toyota. We are sans one Audi, and sans one Toyota, at this stage. Has Alexander Wurz been penalized? Now, the skies are beginning to clear up. The last time a two driver team won Le Mans was in 1984 with a Porsche 956 shared by Henri Pescarolo and Klaus Ludwig, while the last class win for a two driver team was in 1986, in GTX. Frenchmen Rene Metge and Claude Ballot-Lena drove a Porsche 961, to seventh place overall.
More rain could be on it's way, according to racing driver and team owner, Tracy Krohn. The front of the pit lane is wet, while the other part, is dry. It's going to get slick in pit lane. The track is beginning to dry, but, rain is not out of the picture by any means. Could Nicolas Lapierre have been tagged? Possible. We are under yellow. Because the lap is so long, there are three safety cars. Think fo the track as a clock. One is released at 12 o'clock, one at 4 o'clock, and one at 8 o'clock. Alex Wurz is ahead. Corvette is pitting. There are anomalies for pit lane under these safety car porocedures. Pitting under green is better.
Wait at pot out to get the next group. This will be a two minute wait. We're back to green. It's sunny and dry. But there's standing water around. Now, all the cars a re split. Wurz is on his own planet. The #14 Porsche of Neel Jani is still trying to make up laps. Ooh! Another spin. It's the #52 Ferrari 458 Italia beached in the Ford chicane. This is the #52 RAM Racing Ferrari 458 Italia of Matt Griffin, Alvaro Parente, and Federico Leo.
One of the Aston Martin's pitted. If anyone has switched to wets, they'll be looking for water to cool the tires. Patrick Dempsey takes over the #77 Porsche 911 RSR on this pit stop. Patrick Dempsey shares with Patrick Long and Joe Foster. Watch out for the Porsche curves in the damp and in traffic. The #73 Corvette pits with Antonio Garcia at the controls. More storm cells might come by soon, after spending 53 minutes under yellow. One of the Porsche's is looking for water, or, maybe, the radio isn't working.
Andre Lotterer will stay on track, and, we've got another downpour on the back of the ciurcuit! The safety cars appear. Howard Blank spins the #62 Ferrari 458 Italia for AF Corse that he shares with French drivers Yannick Mallegol and Jean-Marc Bachelier. We've got two LMP2 cars that have crashed. The #41 and #48 cars were hooked together and went into the wall. Karun Chandhok was driving, a former Formula One driver.
The #41 Greaves Motorsports Zytek Nissan shared by three Brits. Michael Munemann, Alessandro Latif, and James Winslow. The #48 machine, is shared by Nathanael Berthon of France, Rodolfo Gonzalez of Venezuela, and the aforementioned, Karun Chandhok, hailing from India. The point of grooves in a rain tire, is so the car doesn't lift off the ground. A thin film of water on a slick tire, can spin a car out. It's the same for someone who is trying to move on a wet floor with tennis shoes on. Toyota, Audi, and Porsche run 1-2-3 right now.
Moments ago, the #2 Audi pitted. Benoit Treluyer takes over the car, and some loose bodywork was fixed. There's a lot of conflict, though, because of the movable bodywork on the Porsche. Audi, Porsche, and Toyota, also had flexible floors, and the A.C.O. said, "no, no, no. You can't use that system." The #41 and #48 P2 cars are still having issues, while the team is actually servicing the #48 at the moment. It's in for a lengthy repair. This is a time now, when you can fix the car before you are in play for the rest of the race.
Murphy Prototypes has a lot of broken suspension parts to deal with. We are now back to green flag racing. The #7 Toyota was held at pit out waiting for the safety cars. Ah. Another spin for the #47 car. It's slick, as the #67 Porsche spins. That's the #67 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 911 RSR of Erik Maris, Jean-Marc Merlin, and Eric Helary, all Frenchmen. Porsche, Toyota, Audi. Portsche leads Le Mans for the first time in 16 years. Timo Bernhard drives the leading car.
Stephane Sarrazin chases the Porsche as yours truly is having some trouble with the satellite TV signal. Stay tuned, and the coverage during this next hour might be a shade intermittent. We see Porsche, Toyota, and Audi, continuing to lead. We're coming up to the end of four hours, and the start of hour five. 38 laps have been run. Car #33 for OAK Racing is running well. This is the all Chinese squad of David Cheng, Ho-Pin Tung, and Adderly Fong. Christian Klien, has pitted the #43 Morgan Judd he shares with Swiss driver Gary Hirsch, and Frenchman Romain Brandela. This car is under the Newblood by Morand Racing banner.
Oh no. Car #43 is out of this one, folks. Their race, is run. Correction. Sorry for the heart attack, folks. It could be that #43 is just released from the pits. The car is not abandoned, which is French, for retired. Nicolas Prost is up to fifth in one of the Rebellion LMP1-L machines. The Porsche blows by one of the GT LM Corvette C7R's. The #33 Ligier went off at Indianapolis. Alpine and Toyota have both been into a few excursions it seems. Running on the French feed right now, folks. Satellite signal is off, due to rain.
Right now, the race continues. The #1 Audi runs fourth overall while Toyota #7 leads. #7 is pitting, changing to rain tires. Brendon Hartley is at the controls of the #20 Porsche. Pit stop done and dusted for Toyota. Since 1960, there's been at least one Corvette at Le Mans, and now, they've got their new car, after winning a number of races in the past. The last two races have been won, by Corvette in the GT LM class in Tudor Championship competition.
Michel Frey is now leading LMP2. This is the #34 Race Performance Oreca Judd with Swiss driver Michel Frey, Frenchman Frank Mailleux, and Jon Lancaster of England. Now, we see a real battle and Corvette has overtaken the factory GTE Pro Porsche. Is Jorg Bergmeister having trouble? Marco Holzer is the sister car is running consistent 3:58 lap times. Car #26 pits. The G Drive Oreca Nissan being driven by Roman Rusinov of Russia, and French drivers Olivier Pla and Julien Canal. The Dempsey Racing Porsche pits with Patrick Dempsey taking over from Patrick Long.
Porsche leads, with the #20 out front. Brendon Hartley at the controls. He's wickedly fast, and actually got a good ride in prototypes last year, while also testing Formula One cars. He came from New Zealand to race Formula 3. Murphy Prototypes and Starworks picked him up as a young phenom, and he's now, a Porsche factory driver. Brendon Hartley has a wild hairdo. So does Jordan Taylor, and Nicky Thiim. As for yours truly, no mullet for me. The Corvette's have a stiffer chassis, and the components were moved down to lower the center of gravity. Plus, the wicker bill was taken off the car because of the high speeds.
Alex Brundle pits the #35 OAK Racing Ligier JS P2 Nissan he shares with Jann Mardenborough and Mark Shulzhitsky. Plus, we should give a shout out to the team mates of young Matt McMurry. Driving with him in the #42 Caterham Racing Zytek Nissan are Chris Dyson and Tom Kimber-Smith from England, who is a former Le Mans class winner. Pit stops are coming soon. Porsche, Toyota, Audi, 1-2-3. The #46 Thiriet By TDS Racing entry pits for fuel. This is another Ligier JS P2. This is another French team with Pierre Thiriet, Ludovic Badey, and Tristan Gommendy.
Watch out for the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia, too. This car is sorted, and reliable. The driver's strength is solid. Former F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella of Italy, shares with countryman Gianmaria Bruni, and Toni Vilander from Finland. Michel Frey leaves the pits and still leads LMP2 as Bruno Senna passes. He's driving the #97 Aston Martin Vantage. Senna shares with Stefan Mucke and Darren Turner. The #1 Audi pits for fuel and dos not change tires. The #14 Porsche 919 Hybrid is now piting. Marc Lieb is in the car now.
As far as fuel tanks, a company called ATL builds the bulk of them for each team. But for each team, the fuel tanks are all designed differently. The Ferrari is stopped on track. Now, this is the car with Alvaro Parente behind the wheel. It's the #52 RAM Racing Ferrari 458 Italia. A corner worker ran across the track, which is something we won't see in the states. There was another slow zone/local yellow. Now, both the Audi and the Toyota, pit. Benoit Treluyer is driving the #2 Audi at the moment. The prototype cars can now run an adjustable aerodynamic device, as we see Corvette and Porsche pit in LM GTE Pro. Two factory teams of course.
Stephane Sarrazin has taken over the lead for Toyota, and now, at this stage, all the teams are double stinting their tires. Fuel only for the #7 Toyota. One of the factory LM GTE Pro Porsche's pits. This is the #92 Porsche of Marco Holzer, Frederic Makowiecki, and Richard Lietz. The #57 Krohn Racing Ferrari 458 Italia slides in the second chicane on the Mulsanne straight, but keeps going. Tracy Krohn pits the #57 Ferrari, handing over to Nic Jonsson. Ben Collins is the third driver, who is "The Stig" on the BBC show Top Gear. They probably would have called Andrea Bertolini. But, Bertolini isn't running at Le Mans. Just in the Tudor Championship.
Another driver to keep an eye on is Archie Hamilton. He's driving the RAM Racing Ferrari #53 Ferrari. We watch Gary Hirsch battling Julien Canal, for LMP2 honors. Archie Hamilton's dad Duncan Hamilton, won Le Mans in 1953, with Tony Rolt, in a Jaguar C Type. Now, there's a problem with the #52 team car with RAM Racing, as one of the electrical boxes, shorted out. It was a telemetry box, and the trouble is, it was the A.C.O. mandated telemetry recorder. That's not good. Brendon Hartley pits the #20 Porsche for fuel and tires.
The #2 Audi leads. The Audi and the Toyota have fully electric launch control, so they sound like golf carts leaving the pits. The other great safety feature is a sensor in the wheel rims to monitor tire pressure for safety. But, it doesn't work for a blown tire. Marco Holzer, Jorg Bergmeister, and Bruno Senna, all battle in LM GTE Pro. David Heinemeier-Hanson is also in this scrap. Patrick Dempsey brings the #77 Porsche into pit lane. Bruno Senna has run really well with the Gulf Aston Martin.
Also, the #36 Alpine Oreca Nissan pits. Renault and Nissan have collaborated. They are using the Alpine and Caterham names. It's run by Signatech. Sharing the car are Frenchmen Paul Loup-Chatin, and Nelson Panciatici, as well as Oliver Webb from England. In P2, you've got a really close race between the Oreca's, the Morgan's, and the Alpine. Now, Lucas di Grassi has passed Brendon Hartley. Brendon Hartley has not been able to challeng Lucas di Grassi.
Something might be wrong with the Porsche. One system for regenerating power is off the turbo and the other, is off the electric motor. They can't chatge the hybrid system as much. If you lose the charge, you'll cook the brakes, as we saw with the Mercedes Formula One cars in Canada last weekend, if you follow my other blog at chicaneman.wordpress.com, where I cover open wheel and other forms of racing outside of sports cars.
Jorg Bergmeister and Marco Holzer are battling for the lead in LM GTE Pro. The #72 Ferrari is holding up the factory Porsche's. But he has a battle of his own in LM GTE Am. Viktor Shaitar, running in the Ferrari, locked up and ran wide in the Mulsanne corner. Shaitar was thinking, "uh oh. I gotta get out of here!" Stephane Sarrazin is running well. Now, these three cars, all run totally different systems. Toyota uses a super capacitor. Audi uses a flywheel. Porsche, uses a battery.
The #74 Corvette is now in pit lane. Mark Webber will get back out there, and race a sports car at Le Mans for the first time in 16 years. Porsche is using a new fuel meter unit. There is a third party company that provides the fuel meters and it's driving the manufacturer's nuts. Jordan Taylor is running real well. He's fifth in class right now. The safety car issues, and the slow zones are also confusing. The slow zones can't be mitigated. Jan Charouz runs through the gravel in Mulsanne. Calamity corner.
Jorg Bergmeister is now pitting the #91 Porsche 911 RSR. The #73 Corvette and the #76 IMSA Matmut Porsche are also in the pits. Raymond Narac, Nicolas Armindo, and David Hallyday, are driving. The leading Toyota is working lap 76. More storming. Let's go back to the online streaming at 24hlemans.com. A Porsche is now in pit lane. We are following the #20 Porsche. The Toyota has a lap advantage over the rest of it's competition right now.
Marco Bonanomi says he was touched by the Toyota, caught the car, and then, he saw the Ferrari come right behind him before slamming into the wall. Sam Bird, of England, of course, was in the Ferrari, in his first Le Mans. Romain Brandela seems to have gone off the road someplace. The #13 Rebellion is now in the garage, too. This could be curtains for this car, as the Toyota V8 is not working. However, this is a different motor than the factory cars. It's the V8 used in Super GT. But, it seems that they've dropped a cylinder.
This is a shame for Dominik Kraihamer, as well as GP2 champion Fabio Leimer, and Andrea Belicchi. We're getting close to the end of the sixth hour. Benoit Treluyer is at the wheel of the #2 Audi. Toyota pits as the #2 comes into the pits. Treluyer will get out of the car, as Marcel Fassler will take over. Scratch that. Treluyer will continue and go for a fourth stint on the tires. Audi does not have the speed right now with their #2 machine. Keep the pressure on, and do a quadruple stint. That's a long time. Stephane Sarrazin and Toyota continue to lead.
The sun is setting at Le Mans now. You never know when a shower will blow through. We'll have oh, eight hours of darkness ahead at Le Mans which isn't as much as the 24 Hours of Daytona. But, it's still enough. It's a full night's sleep. Giancarlo Fisichella chases Bruno Senna, who in turn, is chasing Richard Westbrook. The lap times are close in LM GTE Pro. Oh. The #66 Ferrari for JMW Motorsports spins at Arnage. That's Spencer Pumpelly of the United States, a familiar name to Tudor Championship fans, sharing with his Tudor Championship team mate Seth Neiman, and Abdul Aziz Al-Faisal of the UAE.
Kazuki Nakajima passes the Corvette. Now, it's time, to move on to another entry, and post this one, folks. There's a long way to go.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Audi building new car after crash
Here's an update from motorsport.com on Loic Duval's condition, as well as the fact that Audi set straight to work, and is building a new car for the #1 team.
http://www.motorsport.com/lemans/news/audi-building-new-car-after-crash/
http://www.motorsport.com/lemans/news/audi-building-new-car-after-crash/
Massive Shunt For Leo Roussel - Le Mans 2014
Folks, this ain't pretty. Watch Leo Roussel in the open cockpit prototype. He swerves, to avoid the damaged Audi R18 eTron Quattro, and clobbers the wall in a big way!
http://www.motorsport.com/lemans/video/main-gallery/massive-shunt-for-leo-roussel-le-mans-2014/
http://www.motorsport.com/lemans/video/main-gallery/massive-shunt-for-leo-roussel-le-mans-2014/
Le Mans 2014 - Pole Position For Toyota Racing!
Will Porsche take pole for Le Mans in it's return visit? The answer is... hang on here. The answer is... no! Toyota, and Kazuki Nakajima, their lead driver, throw down the gauntlet as Nakajima takes the #7 Toyota TS040 hybrid to a lap of 3:21.789, to start from P1 at Le Mans.
http://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/le-mans-2014-pole-position-for-toyota-racing-_2_2_1746_15867.html
http://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/le-mans-2014-pole-position-for-toyota-racing-_2_2_1746_15867.html
Corvette Racing Leads IMSA Contingent in Le Mans Qualifying
Corvette Racing has solid starting spots for both cars in LM GTE Pro competition at Le Mans, and leads the contingent of teams from IMSA who are racing there.
http://www.imsa.com/articles/corvette-racing-leads-imsa-contingent-le-mans-qualifying?invalidate-cache=1402615199
http://www.imsa.com/articles/corvette-racing-leads-imsa-contingent-le-mans-qualifying?invalidate-cache=1402615199
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