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LMS, Algarve - Hour 3
Report Pit trotter Truswell reports that Danny Watts had been battling a misfire for several laps which prompted him to make an early start. The Zytek engine simply wouldn’t restart and they changed the ECU to get it going. Rob Bell’s delay near the start of the race was caused by one of the Farnbacher cars. The Porsche made a mistake and Bell tried to take advantage and move into the gap. However, the Porsche driver then closed the door, making contact with the Ferrari. Bell spun and the car suffered a cut tire, but he pressed on regardless. Here is Danny Watts’ official story of the incident at the start. “I went to the loo just prior to the start and while I was in that particular box, some Portuguese bloke stole my helmet and driving suit. He jumped into my car and tried to take the start. But since he didn’t know what he was doing he spun and tapped the wall. At that point I chased the fellow down and wrestled him from the cockpit.” One of the best runners to date has been No. 12. Frank Mailleux has been driving from the start. It’s been a very conservative run with no change of tires and very good fuel consumption. The Corvette has spun, but still leads the mini-GT1 class as the Saleen has been pushed into the garage. Berville had collected some of the Astroturf that lines the circuit and it pulled the floor off the car. The long hold on first in GT2 has ended when Raymond Narac takes over No. 76. This allows Jaime Melo to take the spot with the No. 84 Ferrari. Rob Bell has run a good recovery run and is some 25 seconds adrift of the class lead. Overall, Tinseau has a 75 second lead over Monteiro while Charouz is another 12 seconds back. Oijeh has about the same gap over second LM P2 driver Matteo Bobbi. Better than a half lap further back is Andrea Ceccato. Jacques Nicolet is back aboard the No. 24 Oak Pescarolo after a stint by Richard Hein. However, Nicolet soon spins and gets stranded at Turn 2. After some plowing of the gravel he returns to the circuit. Interesting tidbit from Jan Hettler from an earlier (daylight) incident: Mücke was hit up the back by Boullion up on the hill, out of sight of the cameras and us at the media center. It led to one of the lead changes. The Strakka Ginetta-Zytek is back in the garage. The misfire has continued and they’ve replaced the sensor and the starter motor. It’s still a mess and it appears that the car has been retired. The No. 33 Lola-Judd was delayed earlier with a collision with an unidentified LM P1 car. At the front of the LM P2 field the long leading No. 40 had a troubled stop, unable to refire. Nevertheless, Amaral was able to keep it in front. The Lucchini is having gearbox problems. Stephane Salini spun the WR. The No. 12 has retired (clutch). The GT2 Aston Martin had an oil leak that was spilling fluid onto the rear tires. Paul Drayson did a good job of keeping the car from spinning, but of course it slowed the pace. He finally came in to trace the leak and send Johnny Cocker back out. Charouz has taken second place from Tinseau. Details to follow. JW
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