Hour Three

Rob Bell moves ahead of Jaime Melo to take second in GT2. He now has the minor task of closing a 45-second gap on the IMSA Porsche before they can claim the win they need. One major incentive towards achieving this arrives shortly after when the #77 Porsche is pushed into the pits as the misfire continues. The Geordie does begin to tackle the deficit, reducing it to 42 seconds by lap 72 (130 minutes). Lietz rejoins in twelfth.

The Quifel Ginetta-Zytek demise was, it transpires, the result of the failure of a new in-tank fuel pump that hasn't been used before this weekend. The car is an official retirement (the first of the race), but the team is now beginning to celebrate their title.

130 minutes - the leader is in the pits and straight into the garage, engine cover off. Panis now leads.

In P2, Darren Manning is closing on Mike Newton for second in class at the rate of three seconds per lap; the gap is 18 seconds after 75 laps.

135 minutes - Pilet pits from GT2 lead. Bell takes the lead (having reduced the gap to 40s), but still has to stop. The problem with the Porsche has been traced to a faulty fuel pressure sensor. Attempts to sort the problem have been unsuccessful so far, with the team thinking that they may need to change the spark plugs, which takes a long time.

Lap 80 - Jan Charouz takes 1.5s out of Panis' lead and reduces it to below four seconds.

Things are happening in GT2 and LMP2. Bruni sets two-consecutive fastest laps - 1:50.918 and 1:50.634 - and is lapping up to three seconds faster than Raymond Narac, whose lead is 36 seconds after 76 laps.

Darren Manning, meanwhile, has caught Mike Newton's (detuned) RML Lola Mazda, but is struggling to get past.

Jonny Kane, after his double stint in the P2 Class-leading Speedy Sebah Lola Judd: “I’ve enjoyed working with (race engineer, ex-Creation) Ian Smith (who joined the team after the opening race of the season).

“Today it looked like we’d really give ASM a run for their money, before their problem. I got spun by a GT2 Ferrari at the last corner, five laps before the end of my opening stint, losing about ten seconds. But the balance on the car is very good. I was being a little cautious with the tyres early on, so we could take a look at them at the first stop and make sure they were fine for a double – which they were. Just before I got out of the car, I was still lapping in the 39s.”

Rob Bell: “I passed Melo in the Modena car for second on the way to Maggotts/Becketts. Gimmi is back in the car now, but we need to win it, and with Lieb and Lietz running 10th/11th, I’m sure they can manage to get a point, which will be enough for them to take the title.

“I was always down to do Sebring and Petit with Drayson Racing, but I expected both races to be in the Vantage – until about 3 weeks ago. They asked me if I was OK to race the P1, which of course I am, although as of now, I haven’t driven it, or driven around Road Atlanta.”

The Pescarolo problem is rapidly-rising gearbox temperatures; the same issue, they think, that they had at the Nurburgring.

The leader pits at the two and a half hour mark and Charouz inherits the lead. No tyres for the Oreca and it rejoins in third.

Manning pits without getting past Newton, who pits a lap later. Karim Oijeh is up to second in the GAC Zytek - a full lap behind the Speedy leader.

The RML pitstop is a full 25 seconds faster than WFR's; Newton and Manning stay in.

Christophe Tinseau rejoins in 32nd place in the Pesca, but the #008 Lola Aston goes into the garage for what appears to be work on the engine. Update - it looks like an alternator problem.

157 minutes - Oijeh pits from second in class in P2. Manning is now 13s off Newton. Bruni has closed the gap to Narac in GT2 to 25s.

Nick Leventis has a harmless spin at Luffield, but rejoins without injury and remains in tenth.  

160 minutes - Charouz pits and the lead moves to Primat in the #009. The Lola Aston is 32s ahead of Panis, but pits next time round.

165 minutes - Darren Manning takes second place from Mike Newton on lap 93.

In GT1, Peter Kox takes the GT1 lead from Dumez as the Saleen pits, although the Gigawave Aston still has to stop.

Panis is back in the overal lead - 26.906 seconds ahead of Jan Charouz at the end of lap 99; while in GT2, Narac's lead is 22.9s over Bruni. The GT2 title situation is beginning to get very interesting. 

170 minutes - Tinseau unlaps himself from the leader. Unfortunately, he needs to do this 14 more times to regain the lead.

Jonny Cocker is setting fast laps in the Drayson Racing Vantage. The car is currently ninth in class, but a number of the higher-placed cars have yet to stop for a third time.

#008 rejoins in 25th place with Stuart Hall at the wheel. The gigawave Aston has made its stop and retains the class lead by 16s.  

As the halfway point approaches, Nicholas Prost is again on the move and lapping a second quicker than top two cars. Bruni has the GT2 gap down below 10s.

Class lead fights at the three-hour point:

LMP1 18.942s
LMP2 Two laps
GT1 17.754s
GT2 7.048s

Positions after three hours:

1 10 "LM"P1 Team Oreca Matmut - AIM Courage-Oreca LC70 - AIM PANIS Olivier – 106 laps
2 007 "LM"P1 Aston Martin Racing Lola Aston Martin CHAROUZ Jan +18.942 s 
3 13 "LM"P1 Speedy Racing Team Sebah Lola B08/60 Coupé - Aston Martin PROST Nicolas +25.042 s 
4 009 "LM"P1 Aston Martin Racing Lola Aston Martin PRIMAT Harold +31.642 s 
5 15 "LM"P1 Kolles Audi R10 TDI BAKKERUD Christian +23.700 s 
6 14 "LM"P1 Kolles Audi R10 TDI ZWOLSMAN Charles – 105 laps
7 12 "LM"P1 Signature Plus Courage-Oreca LC70 - Judd RAGUES Pierre – 104 laps
8 33 "LM"P2 Speedy Racing Team Sebah Lola B08/80 Coupé - Judd LEUENBERGER Benjamin – 103 laps
9 23 "LM"P1 Strakka Racing Ginetta - Zytek LEVENTIS Nick 103 laps
10 45 "LM"P2 Team WFR WF01-Zytek MANNING Darren – 101 laps
11 25 "LM"P2 RML Lola B08/80 Coupé - Mazda NEWTON Mike 101 laps
12 41 "LM"P2 G.A.C. Racing Team Zytek 07S - Zytek GOSSELIN Claude-Yves 101 laps
13 24 "LM"P2 Oak Racing Pescarolo - Mazda NICOLET Jacques – 99 laps
14 37 "LM"P2 WR / Salini WR - Zytek SALINI Philippe – 98 laps
15 26 "LM"P2 Bruichladdich Bruneau Radical SR9 - AER BRUNEAU Pierre – 97 laps
16 28 "LM"P2 Ibanez Racing Service Courage LC 75  97 laps
17 38 "LM"P2 Pegasus Racing Courage-Oreca LC75 - AER THIRION Philippe – 96 laps
18 43 "LM"P2 Q8 Oils Hache Team Lucchini - Judd JORDA Carmen – 95 laps
19 60 "LM"GT1 Gigawave Motorsport Aston Martin DBR9 SHARP Ryan – 94 laps
20 50 "LM"GT1 Larbre Competition Saleen S7R DUMEZ Sebastien 94 laps
21 72 "LM"GT1 Luc Alphand Aventures Corvette C6.R JOUSSE Julien 94 laps
22 76 "LM"GT2 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 997 GT3 RSR NARAC Raymond 94 laps
23 92 "LM"GT2 JMW Motorsport Ferrari F430 GT BRUNI Gianmaria 94 laps
24 008 "LM"P1 AMR Eastern Europe Lola Aston Martin HALL Stuart – 93 laps
25 84 "LM"GT2 Team Modena Ferrari F430 GT GARCIA Antonio 93 laps
26 90 "LM"GT2 FBR Ferrari F430 GT EHRET Pierre 93 laps
27 89 "LM"GT2 Hankook - Team Farnbacher Ferrari F430 GT MONTANARI Christian – 92 laps
28 85 "LM"GT2 Snoras Spyker Squadron Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2 - R CORONEL Tom 92 laps
29 16 "LM"P1 Pescarolo Sport Pescarolo - Judd TINSEAU Christophe 92 laps
30 91 "LM"GT2 FBR Ferrari F430 GT CADEI Nicki – 91 laps
31 88 "LM"GT2 Team Felbermayr - Proton Porsche 997 GT3 RSR MARTINS Francisco Cruz – 90 laps
32 87 "LM"GT2 Drayson Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT2 COCKER Jonny 90 laps
33 77 "LM"GT2 Team Felbermayr - Proton Porsche 997 GT3 RSR LIETZ Richard – 89 laps
34 95 "LM"GT2 James Watt Automotive Porsche 997 GT3 RSR DANIELS Paul 89 laps
35 78 "LM"GT2 Advanced Engineering Ferrari F430 GT GRIFFIN Matt – 88 laps
36 99 "LM"GT2 JMB RACING Ferrari F430 GT KUTEMANN Peter 88 laps
37 81 "LM"GT2 Easyrace Ferrari F430 GT TENCHINI GianPaolo – 87 laps
38 35 "LM"P2 Oak Racing Pescarolo - Mazda LAHAYE Matthieu – 84 laps
39 5 "LM"P1 Team LNT Ginetta-Zytek GZ09S TOMLINSON Lawrence – 82 laps
40 40 "LM"P2 Quifel - ASM Team Ginetta-Zytek 09S - Zytek PLA Olivier – 32 laps RET