The GTLM battle has been really fascinating. It appears as if the on track positions ebb and flow a bit, based upon traffic conditions and upon who is being challenged, but thus far the performance in pit lane is what has dictated the positions. Leading through the second and third hour was Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Corvette. There isn’t much difference, but through 2 stops in the class the time in the pits was as follows:
3 1:59
911 2:03
62 2:01
912 2:02
91 2:04
17 2:06
93 2:04
4 2:04
56 3:27 (penalty served)
55 2:05 (started from the back of the grid)
A few seconds may not be much, but when the margin on the track between competitors is counted as tenths of seconds, a 3 second advantage can be very significant.
It was the third stop when it all went horribly wrong in the class. Already there had been near misses in pit lane because of the stop light at the end of pit lane, but it was in the 3rd stop that the No. 3 Corvette and the 911 Porsche came together with the 62 Risi Ferrari.
Again, a red light at the exit of pit lane caused this mess. Pierre Kaffer stopped as he should have, as instructed in the drivers meeting, only to be rear ended by Pilet, who appeared to be looking down as he was exiting the pits. Pilet then in turn was hit in the right rear by Mags.
This was the 3rd cluster–f at pit exit early in the race. In the first, the Prototype leaders nearly took each other out because of the red light and in that same yellow, the GTLM leaders came together, but without such dire results.
As a result of the damage, the Risi Ferrari was retired, rear suspension damage, bodywork, splitter were all damaged, as well as possibly the tub itself.
The Porsche made a series of stops, first one to change the tire, the next to inspect any damage and then a 3rd to repair some bodywork. The Corvette lost 4 laps for repairs to the left front.
Meanwhile, the 55 BMW was retired with electrical issues.
Up front, there are 11 cars still on the lead lap, no doubt helped by the large number of yellows in this race.
At this point, the only battles for championships appear to be in the GTD class and for the manufacturers title in GTLM.
GH
