6H Spa 2 Hour Report: Toyota leads while Porsche tops LMGTE Pro
Below are the main headlines from the opening two hours of the TOTAL 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, which started under the safety car due to heavy rain
The opening hour saw very variable weather and track conditions. It’s the first time the WEC drivers have raced in wet conditions since Fuji in October last year.
LMP1
- Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Mike Conway leads the headline LMP1 crews in the No. 7 TS050 HYBRID he shares alongside team-mates Kamui Kobayashi and Jose-Maria Lopez
- No. 7 Toyota currently 59s ahead of the No. 8 entry, the latter losing time after swapping to slicks later than the sister car
- No. 4 ByKolles Racing Team third with Tom Dillmann completing the opening stint in the Enso CLM P1/01
- Pole-sitters Rebellion Racing fourth following tyre pressure issues in hour one with Norman Nato at the wheel of the Rebellion R13 Gibson
-
LMGTE Pro
- Great battle in GTE Pro during the first two hours, with the No.91 Porsche 911 RSR at the head of the field after a good dice with No.51 Ferrari 488 GTE EVO of Alessandro Pier Guidi.
- Kevin Estre led first 10 laps before the Ferrari took the lead, handling the wet conditions better than the Porsche. The positions reversed again at the restart after a second Safety Car period, Estre now holding a 16s lead.
- Third in GTE Pro is the No.91 Porsche of Richard Lietz ahead of the No.97 Aston Martin AMR of Belgian Maxime Martin and Briton Alex Lynn.
- Aston Martin Racing’s No.95 had a lucky escape just before the 90 minute mark when Marco Sørensen got a left rear puncture as it occurred at the Bus Stop corner and the Dane got back to the pits with minimum time lost.
It's getting close in GTE Pro but @FerrariRaces and @Ale_PierGuidi are still in the lead.#WEC #6HSpa #WECRacesForYou pic.twitter.com/Kogw00Wqp8
— WEC (@FIAWEC) August 15, 2020
LMP2
- No. 29 Racing Team Nederland and No. 22 United Autosports enjoy extremely close battle for top spot in LMP2
- Category leaders United Autosports led for first two hours before Giedo Van Der Garde overtook Filipe Albuquerque going into the race’s third hour
- No. 36 Signatech Alpine Elf currently third, 27s adrift of second place, following a polished drive with Andre Negrao at the wheel
- Cool Racing fourth, the Swiss team losing time in first hour after an early driver change from Alexandre Coigny to Nicolas Lapierre
- WEC newcomers Eurasia Motorsport currently eighth following a couple of spins out on track and a 10 second stop-and-go penalty
- No. 37 Jackie Chan DC Racing back of the field due to rear brake failure leading to a lengthy stint in the pits
LMGTE Am
- LMGTE Am has seen several different leaders, and it is the No.56 Team Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR of Matteo Cairoli at the head of the time sheets – its strong position owing much to a monster stint from Egidio Perfetti.
- Just 1.2s behind is the No. 86 Gulf Racing Porsche, Andrew Watson having taken over from Ben Barker.
- Third is the No. 90 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage AMR, with two Ferraris and three Porsches following behind.
- Paul Dalla Lana in the No.98 Aston Martin Vantage AMR went off at Pif Paf just as the first hour came to an end, bringing out a Safety Car while the car was removed from the gravel trap.
- More heavy rain is due so there’s plenty of action to come!
Follow latest times HERE.
