16:52: So after two hours of racing and two stops here at Monza, the running order at the front is as follows: leading is still the #98 ART McLaren of Alex Premat with a 19 second lead over the #26 SainteLoc Audi of Grégory Guilvert and the sister #99 ART McLaren of Andy Soucek.
In Pro Am, the #43 ROAL Motorsport BMW of Stefano Colombo holds first over the #80 RJN Nissan and the #50 AF Corse Ferrari which lost the class lead in the pits as hour 2 came to a close.
16:58: The #44 Oman Racing Aston Martin is handed a penalty for speeding in the pit-lane. It currently sits 27th overall.
17:00: Ortelli talks about his stint during hour 2 in the SainteLoc Audi: “We will see, [if the SainteLoc Audi can take the lead] I was closing in, the car was good, we tried to gamble on fuel, I did an extra lap.
“Unfortunately I made a mistake, but Greg is looking fantastic, he has a great car and plenty of fuel. It’s not normally the best track for Audi, but we have been improving the car all weekend, we hope we can get the win.
17:02: The #15 Boutsen McLaren of Grotz is in trouble again, losing it at the Parabolica, spinning round and limping back into the pit-lane.
17:08: Grég Guilvert continues what Ortelli started, and is gaining on the lead ART McLaren the gap to from the #98 to the #26 just 16 seconds.
17:15: Guilvert struggling through traffic, only managing to take a further second off the lead gap to the #98 McLaren in the last few laps. Soucek in the sister ART McLaren is now just 3 seconds behind the Frenchman in third overall.
17:18: Laurens Vanthoor is also on a charge in fourth place overall. Gaining between five tenths and a second a lap over the McLaren of Soucek.
17:21: The #80 RJN Nissan driven by Florian Strauss – also new to Monza – is now up to third in the Pro Am class. A magnificent effort by the team and drivers after starting 31st on the grid.
17:23: But Strauss backs off too much to let the lead #98 ART McLaren by, and lets the #90 Scuderia Villorba Corse Ferrari of Francesco Castellacci through to third in Pro Am.
17:29: Scary moment as the lead Pro Am ROAL Motorsprot #43 BMW goes off the track on the exit to Ascari to avoid a slow Boutsen McLaren, there was almost contact.
17:33: Chris Jones in the #22 Team Parker Gentlement Audi runs wide at Parabolica, spins round and backs into the outside barrier. The rear wing is damaged and will need a bit of attention from the mechanics.
17:36: The battle for 2nd, 3rd and 4th is hotting up as the #26 SainteLoc Audi, #99 ART McLaren and #1 WRT Audi are almost nose-to-tail.
17:41: Vanthoor in the #1 Audi has a look at the #98 ART McLaren for second overall at the first chicane but can’t make anything stick. One more lap after this. Vanthoor loses some time towards the end of the lap, not close enough to make a move on the last lap.
17:45: Alex Premat crosses the line first in the ART Grand Prix #98 McLaren, after a dominant performance by the French team. Guilvert takes second for SainteLoc Racing and Andy Soucek takes third for the sister ART McLaren.
Stephen Kilbey
