1145: The race starts on time behind the safety car, with Christopher Mies and Marc Basseng in the #1 and #3 WRT Audis leading them away behind the course vehicle. The #111 Kessel Racing Ferrari doesn’t get away from the grid with the rest of the field.
1148: In order to comply with Pro Cup regulations, which require three drivers per car, Oman Racing has asked for permission for MP Motorsport’s Joe Osborne to drive a stint in their car, due to Stephen Jelley being taken ill this morning. Osborne will complete two stints in the MP car before doing a stint in the Motorbase-run Oman Aston Martin towards the end of the race.
1151: Third-place Marco Seefried in the #52 AF Corse Ferrari is the Pro-Am class polesitter.
1156: #17 Insight Racing Ferrari appears to have a problem behind the safety car – it’s dropped back from the field and is circulating very slowly. There was also a spin behind the safety car for Stefano Comandini in the #43 ROAL BMW.
1202: Safety car to come in after six laps and around 20 minutes of yellow-flag running.
1203: Unscheduled stop for the #14 Emily Frey Jaguar just before the SC comes in.
1204: A good restart for Mies, Basseng and Seefried as the safety car peels off.
1205: Michael Caine in the #44 Oman Racing Aston turns the #8 Bentley of Antoine Leclerc around through turn three. Leclerc is swamped by the field and Caine moves into sixth, but shortly has to pit with a front-right puncture from the contact.
1206: And Pro-class title contender Edward Sandstrom is off the track in the #26 Sainteloc Audi. He gets going again, but this is pretty much the end of that team’s title hopes. The Insight Racing Ferrari has had another off, too.
1209: Another car in the gravel: the #51 Gentlemen Trophy Ferrari of Felipe Barreros – the championship-leading car in this class.
1210: Parente pits the #98 ART McLaren and it’s pushed into the garage – bad suspension damage reported.
1212: Marc Basseng has lost two places and is now fifth. Benefitting are Kevin Estre in the #99 McLaren, who’s moved up to second and is attacking leader Mies, as well as Max Buhk in the #85 HTP Mercedes, who’s now fourth. Seefried remains third.
1215: Estre on the ragged edge of the pit straight trying to pass Mies – and he takes the lead from Mies as the Audi runs a little wide through turn one. Meanwhile, Basseng appears to have a problem, as he’s lost another place, to Nico Verdonck in the #84 HTP Mercedes.
1216: Buncombe in the #80 Nissan takes sixth from Guy Smith in the #7 Bentley. Both of those cars, plus Warren Hughes in the Triple Eight BMW, are also past Basseng.
1219: Hughes is attacking Smith for seventh, while up front Estre has pulled out a two-second lead on Mies. It appears it was contact between the #98 McLaren and #26 Adi that led to their respective pit visits, as the stewards are investigating.
1225: The #8 Bentley appears to have been off again, as it has severe rear-right damage. Leclerc spins and seems to be struggling with the car’s handling. The #16 Boutsen Ginion McLaren and #18 Black Falcon Mercedes are given drive-throughs for overtaking under the safety car.
1228: Verdonck and Seefried are battling hard over fourth place, Buhk having already got through to third. Buncombe is right behind them in the Nissan, running second in Pro-Am. The Englishman gets through, but Seefried is probably thinking of protecting co-driver Castellacci’s Pro-Am drivers’ title chances.
1234: Mies has kept in touch with Estre at the front, getting the gap back down to less than a second. The rain shows no sign of letting up, but conditions seem manageable without a safety car for now. Buhk in third is a further 10 seconds down the road from Mies as we approach the one-hour mark.
1235: A HTP intra-team battle is brewing between Buhk in the #85 and Verdonck in the #84. Verdonck gets past on the inside as they round the turn eight hairpin. Buncombe is still pushing the two Mercs hard. Meanwhile the #98 McLaren is readied to rejoin the race. The #26 Audi of Sandstrom comes out of the pits, too, having been repaired.
1240: Mies harrying Estre at every corner now, just a few tenths behind as they begin to come up on traffic.
1244: And that’s the first hour of six done. Estre just leads from Mies, Verdonck, Buhk, Buncombe and Seefried as the teams prepare for the first round of routine pit stops.
SE
