Well we've made it through the night. Just. Kris popped home for some sleep...fader.
Things have been pretty silent during the night so there isn't much for us to report in terms of racing. Rich made a cup of tea and I feel asleep only to wake up around 30mins later to discover he'd drank it :(
The current topic discussion concerns what we'll have for breakfast.
Sunday, 23 June 2013
Hour 16 - Morning update
Racing in Happy Hour has been of higher quality, more stable and with less mistakes by the drivers. A dry line, smooth pitstops and some of the drivers of the day have made it a joy to sit back and watch. Here is an update of the positions of the top 5 in each class:
LMP1:
#2 Audi
#8 Toyota
#7 Toyota
#3 Audi
#13 Rebellion
LMP2:
#24 Oak Racing
#35 Oak Racing
#42 Greaves Motorsport
#26 G-Drive Racing
#46 Thiriet By TDS Racing
LMGT Pro:
#99 Aston Martin Racing
#92 Porsche Ag Team Manthey
#97 Aston Martin Racing
#91 Porsche Ag Team Manthey
#51 Af Corse
LMGT Am:
#76 Imsa Performance Matmut
#55 Af Corse
#61 Af Corse
#77 Dempsey Del Piero - Proton
#67 Imsa Performance Matmut
I'm up holding vigil alone as Pete is asleep and Kris is presumably asleep but at home, hopefully I will have more company soon! Time to enjoy the next hour.
LMP1:
#2 Audi
#8 Toyota
#7 Toyota
#3 Audi
#13 Rebellion
LMP2:
#24 Oak Racing
#35 Oak Racing
#42 Greaves Motorsport
#26 G-Drive Racing
#46 Thiriet By TDS Racing
LMGT Pro:
#99 Aston Martin Racing
#92 Porsche Ag Team Manthey
#97 Aston Martin Racing
#91 Porsche Ag Team Manthey
#51 Af Corse
LMGT Am:
#76 Imsa Performance Matmut
#55 Af Corse
#61 Af Corse
#77 Dempsey Del Piero - Proton
#67 Imsa Performance Matmut
I'm up holding vigil alone as Pete is asleep and Kris is presumably asleep but at home, hopefully I will have more company soon! Time to enjoy the next hour.
Hour 15 - Battles down the field
A promising drive by the 88 Proton Competition Porsche was hindered by a collision with the 39 DKR Engineering machine. Poor driving caused damage to the front of the 88 and the rear of the 39 and both their races were affected. Losing a few laps the 88 now runs 8th in class.
Richard Lietz and Bruno Senna had a short on track battle pre-pitstop at the top of GT Pro, the battle perhaps will develop as the morning unfolds.
And talking of morning light is appearing in the sky and the sun will be coming up in the next hour! Whilst the night time driving is fantastic to watch the camera views outside of the car are very exciting to watch.
Audi 1 has slowed its pace and broken a brake pedal, it's unlikely to win this year again!
If I were at Le Mans I definitely think that I would have chosen this hour to go on the ferris wheel and watch the sun rise and listen to the beautiful cars!
The time has flown so far and just under two thirds of the race has passed already! Roll on the excitement of the morning!
Richard Lietz and Bruno Senna had a short on track battle pre-pitstop at the top of GT Pro, the battle perhaps will develop as the morning unfolds.
And talking of morning light is appearing in the sky and the sun will be coming up in the next hour! Whilst the night time driving is fantastic to watch the camera views outside of the car are very exciting to watch.
Audi 1 has slowed its pace and broken a brake pedal, it's unlikely to win this year again!
If I were at Le Mans I definitely think that I would have chosen this hour to go on the ferris wheel and watch the sun rise and listen to the beautiful cars!
The time has flown so far and just under two thirds of the race has passed already! Roll on the excitement of the morning!
Hour 14 - Back to Slicks
The rain from the start of this hour of the race calmed down, and whilst the track is still damp a lot of the cars have elected to return to the smooth slick tyres.
Not a lot of action has happened during this hour and some solid driving efforts and improving lap times are an encouraging sign that the track is rubbering in, quickly drying and the race can continue to run happily into the sunrise within the next few hours.
A reported gearbox issue caused the Rebellion Lola 12 to pit for repairs, whilst the pursuing Strakka HPD spun at the pit entry, minimising the damage. A broken wiper blade for the 1 Audi was the other notable issue in this period.
Many pitstops, driver changes and solid laps characterised what has settled into the early morning Le Mans.
Not a lot of action has happened during this hour and some solid driving efforts and improving lap times are an encouraging sign that the track is rubbering in, quickly drying and the race can continue to run happily into the sunrise within the next few hours.
A reported gearbox issue caused the Rebellion Lola 12 to pit for repairs, whilst the pursuing Strakka HPD spun at the pit entry, minimising the damage. A broken wiper blade for the 1 Audi was the other notable issue in this period.
Many pitstops, driver changes and solid laps characterised what has settled into the early morning Le Mans.
Hour 13 - The Pitlane
Having lost the beautifully painted number 54 AF Corse Ferrari we spent the last hour enjoying an episode of world's fastest welding!
Barrier repairs whilst necessary are time consuming and frustrating for the viewer. But as this race has already reinforced, safety is paramount in motorsport, Le Mans the same as any other race.
Most of the cars have pitted, some more for repair than strategy and others for their scheduled stops. Some interesting pitlane camera work has livened up the boredom.
With the safety car due to come in right at the end of the hour and the rain lashing down we expect and hope for more exciting racing to come! Back to business baby!
Also Pete has napped, and we are feeling the hour at this stage!
Stay with us!
Barrier repairs whilst necessary are time consuming and frustrating for the viewer. But as this race has already reinforced, safety is paramount in motorsport, Le Mans the same as any other race.
Most of the cars have pitted, some more for repair than strategy and others for their scheduled stops. Some interesting pitlane camera work has livened up the boredom.
With the safety car due to come in right at the end of the hour and the rain lashing down we expect and hope for more exciting racing to come! Back to business baby!
Also Pete has napped, and we are feeling the hour at this stage!
Stay with us!
Hour 12 - Driving Blind
In the middle of the night in France we have a damp (not quite raining), cold and windy night. Visibility for the drivers is poor, with wee Ant Davidson moaning and pitting early for a car wash whilst the Germans were prepared for war and used their windscreen washers to solve the problem!
This hour has been a mixed bag, with lots of fans still at the track at the start (as seen on TV) and posting on Twitter there has been some action and a large period of inaction.
A 6th safety car brought out for a collision involving the Status GP at the Porsche curves that obliterated the car meant that 20 minutes were spent under caution. Fortunately this time Tony Burgess walked away from the car.
This is the 6th retirement out of 56 starters, a pretty impressive statistic. The retirements so far are:
#30 Status GP, #57 Krohn Racing, #25 Delta ADR, #28 Gulf Racing Middle East, #31 Lotus and sadly the #95 Aston Martin Racing car of Allan Simonsen.
We are also a man down at AAA, Kris went home to get some kip, promising to return later on tonight.
Action resumed after the safety car as the bunched up pack fought for places and unlapping themselves. After some impressive overtakes by the front runners the pitstops resume and normal racing continues.
So as the half way point approaches we note that Pete's favourite P2 the Murphy Prototype is slowly catching the rest of the pack, although whether it will get there is a question, another one being what will replace Mr Dunlop on the side of the poorly performing JMW Ferrari.
HALF WAY BOYS! Let's see what happens this half!
This hour has been a mixed bag, with lots of fans still at the track at the start (as seen on TV) and posting on Twitter there has been some action and a large period of inaction.
A 6th safety car brought out for a collision involving the Status GP at the Porsche curves that obliterated the car meant that 20 minutes were spent under caution. Fortunately this time Tony Burgess walked away from the car.
This is the 6th retirement out of 56 starters, a pretty impressive statistic. The retirements so far are:
#30 Status GP, #57 Krohn Racing, #25 Delta ADR, #28 Gulf Racing Middle East, #31 Lotus and sadly the #95 Aston Martin Racing car of Allan Simonsen.
We are also a man down at AAA, Kris went home to get some kip, promising to return later on tonight.
Action resumed after the safety car as the bunched up pack fought for places and unlapping themselves. After some impressive overtakes by the front runners the pitstops resume and normal racing continues.
So as the half way point approaches we note that Pete's favourite P2 the Murphy Prototype is slowly catching the rest of the pack, although whether it will get there is a question, another one being what will replace Mr Dunlop on the side of the poorly performing JMW Ferrari.
HALF WAY BOYS! Let's see what happens this half!
Hour 11 - In the still of the night..
The lovely drivers are keeping things simple on track for us knowing that many people will be dozing through these midnight hours. #1 Audi keeps on charging through the P2 field, continuing to lap several seconds faster than the leaders so when the sun comes up the fight for the podium will be very interesting indeed.
Jota Sport and Greaves continue to take it turn about for 3rd place in LMP2 and Thiriet continues its impressive drive considering its rebuild after the qualifying crash.
Dr McDreamy had a spin that very nearly caused yet another safety car but did succeed in losing him 2 places from the lead of GTAm.
Our supply of caffeine based beverages is slowly waning. We may not see morning. Send help.
Jota Sport and Greaves continue to take it turn about for 3rd place in LMP2 and Thiriet continues its impressive drive considering its rebuild after the qualifying crash.
Dr McDreamy had a spin that very nearly caused yet another safety car but did succeed in losing him 2 places from the lead of GTAm.
Our supply of caffeine based beverages is slowly waning. We may not see morning. Send help.
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