Porsche Firmly In The Lead On Lap 122.

By P. Michael Clarke

The 24 hours of Le Mans can indeed be full of surprises. Over and above the mechanical preparation and human factor, the teams must tip their collective hats to "Lady Luck" in order to make it through 24 hours...let alone win the event. Porsche seems to be on the receiving end of the cornucopia as their most serious competitor since the fourth hour, the # 29 Toyota GT One, had a relatively minor problem during a routine pit stop. At the time, # 29 was the only Toyota which had not yet experienced any mechanical glitches. It was in the lead by some 30 seconds when it came into the pits for fuel.

As the car was about to leave, the driving lights refused to go on, and the mechanics lost nearly two laps to fix the problem. This vaulted the # 26 Porsche GT1 into first place. The Toyota came back out in second place just seconds in front of the # 25 Porsche GT1. Two laps later, the # 29 Toyota came back into the pits and drove directly into the garage with gearbox problems. The team was able to address the problem and fix the shift linkage. But by the time the car went back out on the race track, it was down into 6 place.

With a half hour to go until midnight, the two Porsche GT1s are running in first and second place by more than two laps on their nearest rival, Nissan. Rain is expected as the night progresses...

Hey, what about that crazy Nissan prediction!