1700: Klohs pits the #12 Fac Auto Tech Porsche as the third Code 60 of the race is called. It’s to remove car #79 (the DUWO Racing BMW M3) from a dangerous position and again several runners are making opportunistic pit stops to coincide, including the #30 Ram Racing Mercedes which is handed over to Tom Onslow-Cole.
1714: Green flag flies, getting the race back underway.
1720: Car #98 (the all-English crewed WEC Motorsport SEAT Leon has stopped at T7 and will be recovered.
1721: Up front, it’s Al-Faisal in the #2 Merc, 30 seconds ahead of Al-Qubaisi in the #3 sister car. GT Russian Team is third with Alexey Vasiliev at the wheel of the #10 Mercedes – a lap behind. The #19 Corvette is fourth (currently driven by Alex Van T’Hoff) and the #33 SPS Mercedes is fifth in the hands of Alex Muller. Leading A6-Am car is the #88 Dragon Racing Ferrari with Jawa still at the wheel, while the #26 Black Falcon car is the current Porsche Cup leader.
1729: Van T’Hoff pits the Corvette from fourth, taking fuel and letting Wolf Nathan take over the car. Pitstop too for the #4 Scuderia Praha Ferrari, currently 13th after starting from the pits.
1732: Dragon Ferrari pits from the A6-Am lead. Jawa out, X in. Rob Barff reports: “We’re just staying as close as we can to the 2:04 reference time. Still a long way to go. We’re set fair for the rest of the running – I think we can finish top-three overall depending on how the Code 60 and fuel stops pan out.”
1736: The second-place #3 Black Falcon Mercedes pits with a right-rear puncture or suspension damage and is pulled back into the garage for inspection and repairs. Meanwhile a routine stop for the sister #2 car, with Oliver Webb taking over from Al-Faisal.
1741: The #110 Clio being towed into the pitlane, possibly having made contact with the #3 Mercedes.
1743: Alex Muller pits the #33 SPS Mercedes from second. Meanwhile car #12 (the polesitting Fac Auto Tech Porsche) has stopped at T11 and will be recovered to the pits.
1751: GT Academy rookie Gaetan Paletou on his first major international race: “It’s a great experience, with a lot of cars on the track. I think we have great pace at the moment and Florian did an excellent job at the start. Nissan prepares us really well – we have the best coaches in the world. I’m looking forward to the night running, it’s more fun!”
* * *
1803: Code 60 – it’s for a sizeable shunt for the #5 Car Collection SLS at T8 that looks to have been into the wall, the damage at the front right hand side of the car and looks terminal. Patrick Kaiser was at the wheel, the driver’s door is open and the driver is en route to the medical centre.
There’s trouble too for the #10 GT Russian Mercedes, Marko Asmer reporting jammed rear brakes – it’s in the garage.
Paul White pits the #28 KPM Aston from second place overall, Stefan Mucke takes over and the car rejoins in third position.
1812: The #5 is on the transporter and en route to the paddock. Meanwhile, the #10 and #3 Mercedes and the #1 and #12 Porsches are all still receiving attention in their garages.
1817: Under caution there’s trouble for the #170 Speedworks Aston GT4, off the track at T1 and will be towed back.
1832: After almost 30 minutes, we’re back racing again. Ollie Webb leads in the #2 Black Falcon Mercedes, with Matteo Cairoli second (and leading A6-Am) in the #11 Fac Auto Tech Porsche. Stefan Mucke is third in the #28 KPM Aston Martin.
1837: Devon Modell reports the #170 Aston was stuck in first gear, then wouldn’t restart after resetting.
1843: The V8 Racing Corvette continues its long run in fourth position, ahead of the Patrick Assenheimer-driven #33 SPS Mercedes and the second-place A6-Am car, the #99 Attempto Racing Porsche of Bill Barazetti. Third in A6-Am right now is the Dragon Racing Ferrari, with Jordan Grogor at the wheel.
1857: Gareth Jones reports the Preci-Spark Mercedes’ brake issue has been repaired and is running well. Morgan Jones at the wheel now and running 29th overall.
* * *
1907: Word from Tom Onslow-Cole out of the #30 Ram Mercedes: “Code 60 interrupts things but it’s a nice time to report in and check your gaps. We were expecting more actually. So far the driving out there has been really good – I think the mark will be to see who survives the night. Yellows can really hold you up if you’re behind slower track, too.”
1913: The #11 Fac Auto Porsche has dropped down to fifth having made its scheduled stop and driver change. Mucke is up to second in the KPM Aston, Assenheimer is third and Grogor is fourth.
1921: Worth pointing out that the leading Porsche Cup car is now in sixth position overall – Saud Al-Faisal in the #26 Black Falcon car. You have to go down to 25th place to find the next class leader – the #150 GC that heads SP2. Currently leading SP3 is the #205 Nova Race Ginetta G50 GT4 while A5 is headed up by the RTR Projects BMW M3 of Thomas Kwolek.
1932: A key pitstop for the leading #2 Mercedes as Ollie Webb gets out after a very strong stint. Yelmer Buurman gets in for his second stint at the wheel of the Black Falcon machine. Webb reports: “Good first stint. We were unsure if we could double stint but the Code 60 helped us on that. Team and car are great, but it’s a shame what happened to the sister car. For traffic this is the hardest race there is. Very hard, but it’s part of the challenge.”
1938: Matt Griffin has just got into the #88 Dragon Racing Ferrari, which currently sits fifth overall and second in A6-Am.
1940: First and third-place cars in the pits – the #28 KPM Aston (which briefly took the lead when the Webb pitted) and the #33 SPS Mercedes. Mucke gets out of the Aston and reports: “We’re slightly out of sync but everything going okay so far. I like having more driving with just the three of us – I’ll be fine. The track is dirty and slippery – I’ll be back in the car in two hours.” The SPS Merc, meanwhile was taken over by Lance David Arnold.
1947: Jeroen Bleekemolen confirms the #3 Black Falcon Mercedes, which had run second before coming together with a Clio Cup car, will not be rejoining the race as there’s too much chassis damage.
1949: The pitstops continue to cycle, Heinz Bruder taking the #11 Fac Auto Tech car in from third.
1954: Code 60 thrown for the fifth time due to a car stopped in a dangerous position – no number given as yet. The traditional fireworks display sees us into the seventh hour of the race as the cars remain under caution.
Stephen Errity & Graham Goodwin
