Porsche Driving LeMans Race Coverage Article 9

6/14

2:51 pm PST

"Leads All 3 Classes After 7 Hours"

PORSCHE LEADS ALL 3 CLASSES AFTER 7 HOURS

by Peter Albrecht

In June, the sun sets very late in France. At 10 PM local time, the sun has just gone down, but the twilight glow will remain in the west until nearly midnight.

If the sun has gone down on the track, it has certainly come up on Porsche teams. At sunset, Porsches lead all three classes -- #25 leads overall and GT1, #7 is in third overall, first in prototypes, and after a fiery single-car mishap to the class-leading GT2 Viper #62, the #84 Porsche of Stadler Motorsport inherited the lead.

The factory Porsche 911 GT1s continue to run like clockwork. The pace is torrid: Car #25, currently being driven by Hans Stuck, is leading Porsche’s second factory entry by about 9 seconds, although the gap is narrowing slightly. The defending champion Joest-Porsche prototype continues to hold down third place and apply pressure to the two factory 911 GT1s. The first of the McLarens, #41, is about a minute and a half out. The McLarens are swapping places among themselves but don’t appear to be threatening the leading three Porsches at this time. The first three positions haven’t changed since the end of Hour Three.

Martin Brundle has reported problems with the Nissan. All three Nissans are having oil cooler problems. They are shaking apart from vibration. The Walkinshaw team keeps replacing them, only to have them come apart once again. The first of the Nissans is now down to 12th place and the team is no longer a threat to Porsche taking its 15th win here. But which Porsche? And the McLarens are still running. It’s a long way from being over...and with three McLarens on the same lap as the leaders, Porsche still has a long drive ahead.

And Ferraris, you ask? The #4 Ferrari parked with a fuel system problem. It came back on a flatbed truck and is out of the race. Its sister car, #3, is circulating back in 9th place overall at about 9:20.

Within the past hour, the picture in the GT2 class has changed. After getting off to a fast start, bad news for Viper: Car #62 spun at the Virage Porsche turn, scraped along the concrete barriers while going backwards and came to a grinding halt with most of the back end filed off. Then it went up in flames, forcing driver S. Ayari to bail out. It appears that the fuel tank split open causing the car to repeatedly erupt in flames despite the best efforts of the fire marshals. In short, the Viper is toast, and the #84 Porsche 911 GT2 of Calderari/Bryner/Zadra has inherited the lead, backed up by the #77 Porsche of Chereau Sports (Jarier/Chereau/Leconte). At the turn of the 11 PM hour, Viper #61 moved back into the GT2 lead.

Other notes from the Porsche camps:

Yannick Dalmas in Porsche’s factory 911 GT1 #26 came in for a driver change after only one spell at the wheel. He is still having some problems with his hand and wrist, so he has only been doing single stints. He expects to do double stints during the night.

Super Mario is back behind the wheel of the Courage Porsche #9, which was sidelined for awhile with gearbox and clutch problems. As a result, the car is currently back in 33rd position.

And as twilight fades, the leaders close up. Ten minutes to 11 PM, only thirty seconds cover the three leading Porsches. And the gap to the McLarens has opened to nearly three and a half minutes. It promises to be a good night for Porsche.

6/14	2:51 pm PST	"Leads All 3 Classes After 7 Hours"
PORSCHE LEADS ALL 3 CLASSES AFTER 7 HOURS by Peter Albrecht In June, the sun sets very late in France. At 10 PM local time, the sun has just gone down, but the twilight glow will remain in the west until nearly midnight. If the sun has gone down on the track, it has certainly come up on Porsche teams. At sunset, Porsches lead all three classes -- #25 leads overall and GT1, #7 is in third overall, first in prototypes, and after a fiery single-car mishap to the class-leading GT2 Viper #62, the #84 Porsche of Stadler Motorsport inherited the lead. The factory Porsche 911 GT1s continue to run like clockwork. The pace is torrid: Car #25, currently being driven by Hans Stuck, is leading Porsche’s second factory entry by about 9 seconds, although the gap is narrowing slightly. The defending champion Joest-Porsche prototype continues to hold down third place and apply pressure to the two factory 911 GT1s. The first of the McLarens, #41, is about a minute and a half out. The McLarens are swapping places among themselves but don’t appear to be threatening the leading three Porsches at this time. The first three positions haven’t changed since the end of Hour Three. Martin Brundle has reported problems with the Nissan. All three Nissans are having oil cooler problems. They are shaking apart from vibration. The Walkinshaw team keeps replacing them, only to have them come apart once again. The first of the Nissans is now down to 12th place and the team is no longer a threat to Porsche taking its 15th win here. But which Porsche? And the McLarens are still running. It’s a long way from being over...and with three McLarens on the same lap as the leaders, Porsche still has a long drive ahead. And Ferraris, you ask? The #4 Ferrari parked with a fuel system problem. It came back on a flatbed truck and is out of the race. Its sister car, #3, is circulating back in 9th place overall at about 9:20. Within the past hour, the picture in the GT2 class has changed. After getting off to a fast start, bad news for Viper: Car #62 spun at the Virage Porsche turn, scraped along the concrete barriers while going backwards and came to a grinding halt with most of the back end filed off. Then it went up in flames, forcing driver S. Ayari to bail out. It appears that the fuel tank split open causing the car to repeatedly erupt in flames despite the best efforts of the fire marshals. In short, the Viper is toast, and the #84 Porsche 911 GT2 of Calderari/Bryner/Zadra has inherited the lead, backed up by the #77 Porsche of Chereau Sports (Jarier/Chereau/Leconte). At the turn of the 11 PM hour, Viper #61 moved back into the GT2 lead. Other notes from the Porsche camps: Yannick Dalmas in Porsche’s factory 911 GT1 #26 came in for a driver change after only one spell at the wheel. He is still having some problems with his hand and wrist, so he has only been doing single stints. He expects to do double stints during the night. Super Mario is back behind the wheel of the Courage Porsche #9, which was sidelined for awhile with gearbox and clutch problems. As a result, the car is currently back in 33rd position. And as twilight fades, the leaders close up. Ten minutes to 11 PM, only thirty seconds cover the three leading Porsches. And the gap to the McLarens has opened to nearly three and a half minutes. It promises to be a good night for Porsche.