LMS – Spa 1000 Km – Hour 6

About 17 laps left (to 143) as we start the sixth ‘hour’.

Jarek Janis is out of the Spyker, the safety Car still circulates.

Just before they go racing, a wave by gives the RML car, which got ahead of #17 at the final (SC) pit stops, a half lap advantage.

The Top 20 (15 laps left)
1 8 Team Peugeot Total LAMY PedroSARRAZIN Stephane Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 == 128== 2:03.316
2 16 Pescarolo Sport COLLARD EmmanuelBOULLION Jean-Christophe Pescarolo Judd LMP1 ==125== 2:07.865
3 25 RML ERDOS ThomasNEWTON Mike MG Lola EX264 AER LMP2 ==124== 2:10.881
4 17 Pescarolo Sport PRIMAT HaroldTINSEAU Christophe Pescarolo Judd LMP1 3.281 2:09.762
5 40 Quifel ASM Team AMARAL MiguelDE CASTRO Miguel AngelBURGENO Angel Lola B05/40 AER LMP2 ==122== 2:11.529
6 32 Barazi Epsilon BARAZI JuanVERGERS MichaelOJJEH Karim Zytek 07SZytekLMP2 ==121== 2:11.141
7 55 Team Oreca ORTELLI StephaneAYARI Soheil Saleen S7-R LMGT1 1:25.250 2:16.107
8 50 AMR Larbre BOUCHUT ChristopheGARDEL GabrielGOLLIN Fabrizio Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 == 120 == 2:16.851
9 27 Horag Racing LIENHARD FredyTHEYS DidierVAN DE POELE Eric Lola B05/40 Judd LMP2 35.797 2:13.916
10 31 Binnie Motorsports BINNIE BillTIMPANY AllenBUNCOMBE Chris Lola B05/40 Zytek LMP2 ==119== 2:11.285
11 72 Alphand Aventures POLICAND JeromeGOUESLARD PatriceALPHAND Luc Corvette C6.R LMGT1 39.950 2:18.652
12 35 Saulnier Racing NICOLET JacquesFILHOL AlainJOUANNY Bruce Courage LC75 AER LMP2 41.075 2:12.500
13 59 Team Modena GARCIA AntonioFITTIPALDI Christian Aston MartinDBR9LMGT1 ==118== 2:17.530
14 65 Jetalliance Racing LICHTNER-HOYER LukasWENDLINGER KarlGRUBER Thomas Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 ==117== 2:17.738
15 18 Rollcentre Racing BARBOSA JoaoHALL StuartSHORT Martin Pescarolo Judd LMP1 7.523 2:09.254
16 19 Chamberlain Synergy EVANS GarethBERRIDGE BobOWEN Peter Lola B06/10 AER LMP1 ==116== 2:11.981
17 77 Felbermayr-Proton LIEB MarcPOMPIDOU Xavier Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 ==115== 2:24.803
18 9 Creation Autosportif CAMPBELL WALTER JamieORTIZ FelipeNAKANO Shinji Creation CA07 Judd LMP1 ==114== 2:09.033
19 96 Virgo Motorsport BELL RobertSIMONSEN Allan Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 33.637 2:24.295
20 97 GPC Sport BONETTI AlessandroDE SIMONE FabrizioHERNANDEZ Sergio Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 1:36.719 2:26.994
21 90 Farnbacher Racing WERNER DirckEHRET PierreNIELSEN Lars Erik Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 ==113== 2:25.687

Erdos gained a good chunk of time on Tinseau – while Vergers is right behind Burgueno, in the scrap for second in P2. 5 hours 20 mins. and the SC lights are off – 14 laps to go.

Vergers is right with Burgueno as they go racing – and the #40 holds off the #32 into La Source. It’s very tight, Jan Charouz heavily in the mix.

Jarek Janis has gone to Vervier Hospital for a scan. A puncture is thought to have been the cause of the accident. He may have hurt his left leg.

Charouz passes the P2s, so Vergers is free to attack Burgueno – and they touch at Les Combes. The l/front of the Zytek is flipped up – and Vergers spins wildly on the grass. The suspension seems to be damaged on the Zytek – and Vergers is limping round. Horag will go third – Binnie’s car is behind the #27 (Theys), but a lap back. The Saleen goes sixth.

The class leaders in each class lead by a lap or more, and have done for a while now. Bob Berridge sets a 2:10, the #19’s best lap of the race. Barbosa is virtually a lap ahead.

Vergers has stopped on the grass – and he’s getting out.

Warren Hughes sets his best lap of the race in the Embassy Radical, and may well finish sixth in class, despite that huge delay.

Tinseau pits the #17 after the SC, so that assures Eros/Newton of third overall, it seems.

Caffi and Lemeret are scrapping for fifth in class in the 78 and 98 Ferraris – these two 1.6 seconds apart, trailing the top four – 77, 96, 97 and 90.

Hughes sets another fastest lap – and Theys in #27 does the same. The Binnie and Saulnier P2s come together at the Bus Stop, Jouanny spins, Binnie doesn’t.

Lemeret pulls out a small gap over Caffi, for fifth in GT2 – we’re looking for some racing here….. Lolas are 1-2-3-4 in P2, in the order RML, Quifel-ASM, Horag and Binnie. Erdos sees a charging Theys coming, and lets him by.

Binnie pits: was his car damaged? It’s in the garage and with just a couple of laps in hand over the Saulnier Courage that was involved in the same incident. That Lola 1,2,3,4 now looks in danger with just 5 laps to go. The change happens on Lap 140, Binnie rejoins but now back in fifth slot in LMP2. L/front suspension repair was needed.

So what else might still change? Barbosa should catch the JetAlliance Aston for 14th overall (he does so with three to go but climbs to 12th by passing Binnie too), Lemeret and Caffi are still scrapping very hard indeed over fifth in GT2, just thousandths apart on lap 123 and 124 the ex F1 man and the Spa specialist putting on a great display as the laps tick down.

Pedro Lamy meanwhile is cruising to the finish, 3 laps clear of the #16 Pescarolo with Erdos just a single lap back in the LMP2 winning MG Lola, there’s no change there but Alex Caffi does make the move, up the inside of Lemeret to take the position, and the points, for fourth on the last lap – into the Bus Stop.

And there we are – a rather scrappy race, from the first corner. We did need the Charouz Lola and the Arena Zytek to mix it with the Pescarolos.

The surviving Peugeot, the RML MG Lola, the Oreca Saleen and #77 F-Proton Porsche were all deserving winners on the day.

Lamy/Sarrazin are looking as though they've beaten their partners in #7, but their 36 points is 'only' ten ahead of Jean-Christophe Boullion. Gene/Minassian are stuck on 18.

RML reinforces its lead in P2, 31 for the Newton/Erdos pair, now seven ahead of the Quifel-ASM guys and ten ahead of Horag's trio.

GT1 is close, the Oreca pair on 30 after three wins, but only one ahead of Alphand/Goueslard/Policand and two ahead of Bouchut/Gardel/Gollin.

Virgo's pair still leads GT2, but a five point lead (24 - 19) is now three (32 - 29), with de Simone/Bonetti on 23.

GPC will, we believe, protest Caffi's move on Lemeret on the last lap, because the #78 put all four wheels over the white line at the Bus Stop.

WE'RE OUT OF HERE WITHIN THE HOUR, BECAUSE WE HAVE A FERRY TO CATCH.... AND NOW WE'VE LOST ALL POWER HERE, SO THAT'S IT.

Provisional Result
1 8 Team Peugeot Total LAMY PedroSARRAZIN Stephane Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 == 143== 2:03.316
2 16 Pescarolo Sport COLLARD EmmanuelBOULLION Jean-Christophe Pescarolo Judd LMP1 ==141== 2:07.865
3 25 RML ERDOS ThomasNEWTON Mike MG Lola EX264 AER LMP2 ==140== 2:10.881
4 17 Pescarolo Sport PRIMAT HaroldTINSEAU Christophe Pescarolo Judd LMP1 ==138== 2:09.762
5 40 Quifel ASM Team AMARAL MiguelDE CASTRO Miguel AngelBURGENO Angel Lola B05/40 AER LMP2 ==137== 2:11.529
6 55 Team Oreca ORTELLI StephaneAYARI Soheil Saleen S7-R LMGT1 54.484 2:16.107
7 27 Horag Racing LIENHARD FredyTHEYS DidierVAN DE POELE Eric Lola B05/40 Judd LMP2 ==136== 2:13.152
8 50 AMR Larbre BOUCHUT ChristopheGARDEL GabrielGOLLIN Fabrizio Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 25.192 2:16.851
9 72 Alphand Aventures POLICAND JeromeGOUESLARD PatriceALPHAND Luc Corvette C6.R LMGT1 ==134== 2:18.652
10 59 Team Modena GARCIA AntonioFITTIPALDI Christian Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 17.996 2:17.530
11 35 Saulnier Racing NICOLET JacquesFILHOL AlainJOUANNY Bruce Courage LC75 AER LMP2 == 133 == 2:12.500
12 18 Rollcentre Racing BARBOSA JoaoHALL StuartSHORT Martin Pescarolo Judd LMP1 1:17.930 2:09.254
13 65 Jetalliance Racing LICHTNER-HOYER LukasWENDLINGER KarlGRUBER Thomas Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 ==132== 2:17.738
14 31 Binnie Motorsports BINNIE BillTIMPANY AllenBUNCOMBE Chris Lola B05/40 Zytek LMP2 1:09.598 2:11.285
15 19 Chamberlain Synergy EVANS GarethBERRIDGE BobOWEN Peter Lola B06/10 AER LMP1 1:48.437 2:10.543
16 9 Creation Autosportif CAMPBELL WALTER JamieORTIZ FelipeNAKANO Shinji Creation CA07 Judd LMP1 == 130 == 2:09.033
17 77 Felbermayr-Proton LIEB MarcPOMPIDOU Xavier Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 6.390 2:24.803
18 96 Virgo Motorsport BELL RobertSIMONSEN Allan Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 ==129== 2:24.295
19 97 GPC Sport BONETTI AlessandroDE SIMONE FabrizioHERNANDEZ Sergio Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 ==128== 2:26.994
20 90 Farnbacher Racing WERNER DirckEHRET PierreNIELSEN Lars Erik Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 29.851 2:25.687
21 51 AMR Larbre FISKEN GregorZACCHIA SteveFRANCHI Gregory Aston Martin DBR9 LMGT1 ==126== 2:19.741
22 78 Scuderia Villorba CAFFI AlexZARDO Denny Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 52.461 2:26.293
23 98 Ice Pol Racing Team LAMBERT YvesLEFORT ChristianLEMERET Stephane Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 53.289 2:26.766
24 88 Felbermayr-Proton RIED ChristianFELBERMAYR Horst JrBASSENG Marc Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 1:14.496 2:25.996
25 32 Barazi Epsilon BARAZI JuanVERGERS MichaelOJJEH Karim Zytek 07SZytekLMP2 ==125== 2:11.141
26 15 Charouz Racing MUCKE StefanCHAROUZ Jan Lola B07/17 Judd LMP1 28:08.254 2:06.864
27 94 Speedy Racing Team BELICCHI AndreaCHIESA AndreaKANE Jonny Spyker C8 Spyder GT2R LMGT2 ==124== 2:28.008
28 80 Prospeed Competition PENDERS RudiLAMOT FranzCOUWBERGHS Bart Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 ==123== 2:29.492
29 99 JMB Racing BASSO MauriceMcCORMICK BoKUTEMANN Peter Ferrari F430GTLMGT2 ==122== 2:32.065
30 95 JWA DANIELS PaulCOX DaveCAMATHIAS Joel Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LMGT2 ==120== 2:27.346
31 83 GPC Sport DRUDI LucaMOWLEM JohnnyROSA Gabrio Ferrari F430 GT LMGT2 ==113== 2:26.443
32 79 Felbermayr-Proton FELBERMAYR Horst SrRIED GeroldCOLLIN Philip Porsche 996 GT3 RSR LMGT2 ==112== 2:34.303
33 45 Embassy Racing HUGHES WarrenMANNING Darren Radical SR9 Judd LMP2 ==110== 2:10.531
34 85 Spyker Squadron JANIS JarekKOX Peter Spyker C8 Spyder GT2R LMGT2 ==108== 2:27.612
35 26 Ranieri Randaccio RANDACCIO RanieriCOLLINI Gianni LucchiniMcLarenLMP2 ==97== 2:20.563
36 76 Imsa Performance NARAC RaymondLIETZ Richard Porsche 997 GT3RSRLMGT2 ==83== 2:25.754
37 21 Bruichladdich Radical MOSELEY StuartGREAVES Tim Radical SR9 AER LMP2 ==81== 2:12.428
38 84 Chad Peninsula Panoz HARTSHORNE JohnMcINERNEY Sean Panoz Esperante GTLM LMGT2 ==66== 2:29.178
39 82 Team LNT TOMLINSON LawrenceDEAN Richard Panoz Esperante GTLM LMGT2 ==58== 2:29.801
40 81 Team LNT KIMBER-SMITH TomWATTS Danny Panoz Esperante GTLM LMGT2 3:31.520 2:28.224
41 73 Alphand Aventures BLANCHEMAIN Jean-LucDUMEZ SebastienVOSSE Vincent Corvette C5-R LMGT1 ==53== 2:20.746
42 3 Scuderia Lavaggi LAVAGGI GiovanniKAUFMANN Wolfgang Lavaggi LS01FordLMP1 ==49== 2:13.248
43 44 Kruse Motorsport DE POURTALES JeanSIEDLER Norbert Pescarolo Judd LMP2 == 46== 2:13.766
44 20 Pierre Bruneau ROSTAN MarcBRUNEAU PierrePULLAN Simon Pilbeam MP93 Judd LMP2 ==37== 2:16.546
45 10 Arena Motorsport JOHANSSON StefanSHIMODA Hayanari Zytek 07SZytekLMP1 ==33== 2:08.473
46 7 Team Peugeot Total GENE MarcMINASSIAN Nicolas Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 == 32== 2:03.979
47 61 Racing Box PERAZZINI Pier GiuseppeCIOCI MarcoMOLLEKENS Kurt Saleen S7-R LMGT1 ==29== 2:18.590
48 89 Markland Racing THIIM KurtTHYRRING Thorkild Corvette C6 Z06 LMGT2 ==25== 2:35.789
49 13 Courage Competition GOUNON Jean-MarcMOREAU GuillaumePETROV Vitaly Courage LC70 AER LMP1 ==23== 2:09.074
50 12 Courage Competition FREI AlexanderCOCHET Jonathan Courage LC70AERLMP1 ==15== 2:13.995