1630: At the start, Vanthoor lead into Eau Rouge and there were no serious offs through that corner or the Les Combes chicane after the Kemmel straight. A very sensible first few corners from all the drivers.
1632: The top 10 order after lap one: 1, 50, 85, 26, 84, 3, 99, 7, 12 and 107. Places gained for the #84 Mercedes that moves up to fifth.
1633: One of the Bentleys is moving slowly – the #8 of Leclerc. Looks like it might be a puncture.
1635: The #100 SMP Ferrari of Zampieri spun and continued at T18.
1636: Leclerc pits the #8 Bentley and it’s immediately rolled into the garage. The team reports front wheel damage after first-lap contact.
1639: Catsburg in the #12 BMW swipes in front of Mucke in the Beechdean Aston in the braking zone for Les Combes. Catsburg just makes the chicane.
1640: Vanthoor just over a second ahead of Pier Guidi’s Ferrari at the front. Those two five seconds ahead of Dusseldorp in third in the #85 Mercedes.
1642: Pro-Am top three at this stage is the #50 Ferrari, the #107 Aston and the #12 BMW.
1645: Bentley’s Guy Smith in eighth has a couple of cars running close behind – the #107 Aston of Mucke, the #66 BMW of Martin and #2 Audi with Fassler aboard.
1648: Huge train of cars behind 26th-place Chiyo in the #35 Nissan , too.
1649: The #8 Bentley rejoins at the back of the field, having lost 12 minutes to suspension repairs.
1651: Ludovic Badey in the #116 Ferrari gets ahead of Chiyo and into 25th overall.
1653: The #53 AF Corse Ferrari of Cioci has a left-rear puncture, and there has also been minor contact between the #82 McLaren and another runner, but both have continued.
1656: Vanthoor and Pier Gudi still running within two seconds of each other at the front – now nearly 10 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
1658: Both Marc VDS cars pass the#7 Bentley after it’s pushed wide at Eau Rouge. Martin up to ninth and Luhr tenth.
1659: #99 McLaren tumbling down the timing screens – stopped at pit-in. Driver Estre adjusting something in the engine bay. Meanwhile Parente has got the #98 up to 35th from the back of the grid.
1704: Chiyo goes off at the Bus Stop and rejoins and the #188 Porsche has front left damage – the Porsche t-boned him going into the chicane. Meanwhile the Oman Racing Aston is in the garage.
1707: Chiyo pits the #35 Nissan after that contact – they’re electing to do a driver change.
1708: The top 10 order is now 1, 50, 85, 26, 84, 3, 107, 2, 66 and 77. Black-and-white flag for the #93 Pro GT by Porsche.
1713: Parente had got as far as 32nd but has now been re-passed by Zampieri in the #100 Ferrari – it’s a right-rear puncture for Parente near the top of the circuit. Rotten luck for ART this weekend.
1713: The #18 Mercedes, which also started from the back, is now into the top 40.
1714: Oman Aston went back out – driver Jelley was complaining of a steering issue. Shulzitsky is now aboard the #35 Nissan, but it’s come back into the garage.
1719: Marc VDS have switched positions – #77 of Luhr now ninth, #66 of Martin now tenth.
1723: Problem for the #18 Mercedes, which was also trying to recover from the back. Dropping down the timing screens.
1726: Couple of routine pit stops now – the #12 BMW, #86 Mercedes and #63 Mercedes. Pier Guidi also pits the #50 Ferrari from second.
1728: Black-and-white flag for the #52 Ferrari of Andrea Piccini for exceeding track limits.
1729: We have our first retirement: the Manthey Porsche is down to five cylinders. Meanwhile the damaged #188 Porsche has spun at Eau Rouge with a leaking radiator.
SE
The first hour was relatively uneventful – Laurens Vanthoor converting pole position into a stable lead, not being able to escape from the rapid but restrained Alessandro Pier Guido in the AF Corse Ferrari. Stef Dusseldorp with the no. 85 HTP Mercedes made it three manufacturers in the top three places, just over a second ahead of Edward Sandström in the Saintéloc Audi.
Problems always hit some in the early stages, and the most notable loser was Antoine Leclerc in the no. 8 Bentley Continental GT, damaging the front suspension in the frenetic early laps and losing a total of 13 minutes.
The two ART McLarens also fell back out of the top 40, Parente with a puncture, and Estre with some kind of electrical/engine problem, stranding him at the top of the pit lane, while his mechanics were waiting at the box at pit out.
Katsumasa Chiyo was also in the wars, following contact with Martin Ragginger’s Porsche, both being forced to pit for repairs.
As the clock ticked round to the end of the first hour, Pier Guido was one of the first to pit, losing second place in the process, and leaving Simon Knap at the bottom of the top ten. The rest of the pit stops were mostly after the completion of the hour.
PT
