LMS Spa - First Hour (Refresh These Race Pages For Updates) A couple of back row starters to confirm - The #6 Courage Oreca after the massive lock-up for Lapierre ruined their qualifying / race start tyres - a tyre change means a back row start. In fact Hugues de Chaunac now confirms that the car suffered a rear suspension failure. The Quifel ASM Lola too will start from the back after its qualifying accident. Both those starters will indeed start from the pitlane, new tyres all around and of course avoiding any potential first corner accident! On that specific subject the Peugeot and Audi drivers were taken to the stewards’ office and advised to ‘take it easy’ into the very, very tight turn one. On the warm-up lap Joey Foster is off the circuit at Turn 13 in the #46 Embassy racing WF01– the remaining 41 cars continue onto a second warm-up lap.
But the four cars starting from pitlane (including the #94 Spyker and #31 Team Essex Porsche) are held and immediately go a lap down.
The race start is a relatively orderly affair, the cars starting in single file, McNish trying to hang on to the leader but, by lap 4, is fending off Minassian for second. Minassian looks up the inside into La Source and overcooks it - a big lock-up but continues, the Audi powers away. In LMP2 the lead battle is fully engaged between the van Merksteijn Porsche and Speedy / Sebah Lola Coupe just half a second apart. The GT1 battle too is well alight, Moreau grabbing the lead from Garcia in the early stages. LAA #72 leads Team Modena #59 with the #55 Lamborghini a further second back. GT2 has a 1.5 second gap, 1-2, Rob Bell leading arch nemesis Marc Lieb by lap 6.
Lapierre is up into the top 20 after 15 minutes as McNish reels in the leader as traffic becomes an issue. Belicchi is anything but cowed by the challenge of the Dutch run Porsche RS Spyder, he is sticking like glue to Verstappen, less than half a second the gap. Lamy's early pace is most impressive. Lamy under 2 minutes (1:59.955) as he pulls out a bigger gap through traffic as McNish is baulked by a couple of GT1 cars.
The Courage and Lola (plus the mysteriously delayed Essex Porsche) don't seem to have been docked a lap - Lapierre now in amongst the quicker LMP2 cars and Pla in the #40 car getting on the tail of the LMP2 field. The mystery of Foster's 'off' is solved by Nick Daman: Foster's WF01 was hit in the rear by the Team Essex Porsche which explains both LMP2 mysteries then...! The Porsche got back to the pits and is now having a new nose section prepared. Joey Foster entirely unimpressed. Lamy is pulling away from McNish but Minassian, probably with flaspotted tyres, seems unable to close in on the R10.
The top five indeed are reasonably well spread out - still in the starting order with the #16 Pescarolo sixth and then the leading LMP2 pair , Barbosa in the Rollcentre Pescarolo and Stuart Hall in the Creation completing the top ten.
GT2 is seeing Bell pulling away from Lieb whilst Lietz (#76 IMSA Performance) battles with Westbrook (#91 Farnbacher) in a two way Porsche 997 scrap for third.
The Team Essex Porsche finally appears in the top 30 as Casper Elgaard makes his way back from his formation lap fiasco.
Hall and Barbosa are scrapping away for 9th as Ben Aucott is punted off by the Epsilon Euskadi at Rivages - The #99 JMB Ferrari though looks set to rejoin. Lapierre is joining in the train for 9th as the trio make their way through heavy traffic - Barbosa makes his way through more effectively than Hall or Lapierre and as the 10th place battle makes its way through Eau rouge Lapierre gets the better run through and slingshots past the Creation to grab the place. Verstappen fumbles through the Bus Stop after 40 minutes and Belicchi grabs the class lead as they complete their 18th lap. GT1 too changes leaders, Garcia grabbing the place as Moreau perhaps gives away a little too much as the race leaders make their way by. Bell in the Virgo Ferrari is opening up a telling gap to Lieb, 6-7 seconds now but Lieb is under no real pressure from behind, Lietz a further 14 seconds further back. Belicchi pits from the LMP2 lead - Verstappen leads again as the Speedy/ Sebah car makes its way down the pitlane.
Mucke pits in the Speedy Coupe's big brother from 5th, and the leader, Lamy in #8, follows him in with Minassian also bringing in the #7. The Charouz car though is in the pit garage. McNish then leads for the moment with Rockenfeller through into second. The #16 Pescarolo is now the leading petrol car with Lapierre now having passed Barbosa into sixth overall - from the pitlane remember - after 50 minutes. Audi brings the R10s in next time around as Minassian pops in with his fastest lap of the race so far, a 2:00.942 as the Charouz Lola Aston Martin rejoins, 3 laps down and out of the top 30. The Speedy Sebah stop brought the #33 car back out in second in LMP2.
Immediately prior to the first stops the positions were: Pos N° Team Drivers Car Class Laps
1 8 Team Peugeot Total LAMY Pedro SARRAZIN Stephane WURZ Alexander Peugeot 908 Hdi-FAP LMP1 ==20==
2 1 Audi Sport Team Joest CAPELLO Rinaldo McNISH Allan Audi R10 TDI LMP1 7.287
3 7 Team Peugeot Total GENE Marc MINASSIAN Nicolas VILLENEUVE Jacques Peugeot 908 Hdi-FAP LMP1 ==19==
4 2 Audi Sport Team Joest PREMAT Alexandre ROCKENFELLER Mike Audi R10 TDI LMP1 23.840
5 10 Charouz Racing System MUCKE Stefan CHAROUZ Jan Lola Aston Martin LMP1 28.022
6 16 Pescarolo Sport COLLARD Emmanuel BOULLION Jean-Christophe Pescarolo Judd LMP1 1:13.957
7 34 Van Merksteijn Motorsport VAN MERKSTEIJN Peter VERSTAPPEN Jos Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 1:38.045
8 33 Speedy Racing Team Sebah BELICCHI Andrea POMPIDOU Xavier ZACCHIA Steve Lola Judd LMP2 1:40.455
9 6 Team Oreca Matmut PANIS Olivier LAPIERRE Nicolas Courage-Oreca Judd LMP1 1:47.215
10 18 Rollcentre Racing BARBOSA Joao ICKX Vanina FORSTEN Mikael Pescarolo Judd LMP1 1:50.801
11 15 Creation AIM HALL Stuart KERR Robbie Creation - Aim LMP1 1:53.492
12 27 Horag Racing LIENHARD Fredy THEYS Didier LAMMERS Jan Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 ==18==
13 17 Pescarolo Sport PRIMAT Harold TINSEAU Christophe Pescarolo Judd LMP1 1.498
14 20 Epsilon Euskadi BURGUENO Angel DE CASTRO Miguel-Angel Epsilon Euskadi Judd LMP1 7.930
15 32 Barazi Epsilon BARAZI Juan VERGERS Michael REES Fernando Zytek 07S LMP2 8.289
16 25 RML ERDOS Tommy NEWTON Mike Lola MG LMP2 19.684
17 35 Saulnier Racing RAGUES Pierre LAHAYE Matthieu Pescarolo Judd LMP2 27.127
18 45 Embassy Racing HUGHES Warren KANE Jonny WF01 Zytek LMP2 28.422
19 41 Trading Performance OJJEH Karim GOSSELIN Claude-Yves SCHROYEN Julien Zytek 07S LMP2 49.611
20 40 Quifel ASM Team AMARAL Miguel PLA Olivier Lola AER LMP2 1:10.613
21 4 Saulnier Racing NICOLET Jacques FAGGIONATO Marc HEIN Richard Pescarolo Judd LMP1 1:16.330
22 3 Scuderia Lavaggi LAVAGGI Giovanni Lavaggi AER LMP1 1:19.194
23 26 Bruichladdich Radical ROSTAN Marc PETERSEN Jens LUEDERS Jan-Dirk Radical AER LMP2 ==17==
24 59 Team Modena GARCIA Antonio ENGE Tomas Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 11.424
25 72 Luc Alphand Aventures ALPHAND Luc MOREAU Guillaume GOUESLARD Patrice Corvette C6.R LMGT1 13.340
26 31 Team Essex ELGAARD Casper NIELSEN John Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 15.453
27 55 IPB Spartak Racing RUSINOV Roman KOX Peter Lamborghini LMGT1 26.162
28 61 Strakka Racing HARDMAN Peter LEVENTIS Nick Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 1:21.092
29 96 Virgo Motorsport BELL Robert BRUNI Gianmaria Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 1:27.340
30 77 Team Felbermayr-Proton LIEB Marc DAVISON Alex Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 1:33.648
31 76 Imsa Performance Matmut NARAC Raymond LIETZ Richard Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 1:48.186
32 91 Farnbacher Racing NIELSEN Lars Erik WESTBROOK Richard SIMONSEN Allan Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 1:56.031
33 98 JMB Racing KUTEMANN Peter BASSO Maurice DAOUDI Stephane Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 ==16==
34 90 Farnbacher Racing EHRET Pierre KAFFER Pierre Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 18.686
35 73 Luc Alphand Aventures BLANCHEMAIN Jean-Luc DUMEZ Sebastien LEMERET Stephane Corvette C6.R LMGT1 33.512
36 95 James Watt Automotive DANIELS Paul PALTTALA Markus SUGDEN Tim Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 38.262
37 85 Snoras Spyker Squadron DUMBRECK Peter KELLENERS Ralf VASILIEV Alexei Spyker C8 Laviolette LMGT2 40.369
38 88 Team Felbermayr-Proton RIED Christian FELBERMAYR HJr FELBERMAYR HSr Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 42.332
39 75 Imsa Performance Matmut BALANDRAS Richard LECOURT Michel Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 44.934
40 94 Speedy Racing Team CHIESA Andrea LEUENBERGER Benjamin ALEXANDER-DAVID Iradj Spyker C8 Laviolette LMGT2 1:19.202
41 99 JMB Racing AUCOTT Ben FERTE Alain Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 ==15==
That great stop from the Speedy Sebah squad pays dividends as the Lola Coupe inherits the class lead once again as Verstappen pits in the #34 Porsche.
The #40 Quifel ASM Lola, running into the top 20 gets a stop-go penalty of 30 seconds, presumably a pit violation.
Garcia pits in the Gt1 leading #59 Aston and Rob Bell pits too in the GT2 leading Virgo Ferrari - Bruni climbs aboard. | 
