Hour 1 – 16:30 to 17:30
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.
Hour 2 – 17:30 to 18:30
My use of the word ‘relatively’ in my description of the first hour was somewhat prescient, as the second hour was incident-packed. At least the second half of the second hour was. The first half-hour was characterised by the second drivers getting into their strides, and the emergence of Audi at the front of the field with Winkelhock (replacing Vanthoor) and Mies (staying at the wheel) quickly passing Ortelli in the Saintéloc Audi.
Then at just after 6pm, the (two) Safety Cars were summoned as a result of a big incident at Raidillon for the no. 100 SMP Ferrari with Vyacheslav Maleev at the wheel. He caught the kerb on the right-handed, second element of the Eau Rouge sequence, unsettling the car and causing him to lose control and hit the barriers on the left. Maleev exited quickly, as other cars passed left and right, initially at seemingly unabated speed.
It took 17 minutes to clear up, but as soon as the green flags waved, the Safety cars were out again following another accident at Blanchimont that claimed the Von Ryan Racing McLaren being driven by Tim Mullen.
At the close of the hour the Safety Cars were still out, and second pit stops were imminent for all.
Hour 3 – 18:30 to 19:30
The third hour provided virtually no racing laps, because the waving of the green flag merely caused renewed accidents. First the good news: although both Tim Mullen and Andrew Howard have both been taken to hospital, they are reportedly conscious but needing further checks.
The first incident of the hour was the no. 15 Boutsen Ginion McLaren going off at Raidillon with Karim Ojjeh driving. At the same time, at the entrance to La Source, Jörg Müller inexplicably drove into the back of the no. 11 Kessel Ferrari of Giacomo Piccini, causing damage to both cars. The BMW lost 7 laps being repaired.
Just after 7pm, the green flag was shown again, but Andrew Danyliw, in the no. 50 AF Corse Ferrari, caused further mayhem and collected Howard in the Beechdean Aston Martin, the no. 85 HTP Mercedes of Maassen, Demirdjian’s no. 16 Boutsen McLaren, and Tim Müller’s in the no. 458 Rinaldi Ferrari.
The Safety Cars were deployed for the fourth time, and remained out for the remainder of the hour.
However, most of the leaders still had to make pit stops, and the sequence of those stops may yet prove decisive: the WRT Audis came in first, in the order 2, 3, 1, then the Saintéloc Audi, and finally the no. 77 Marc VDS BMW.
Hour 4 – 19:30 to 20:30
After two hours of intermittent safety cars, the green flag was finally waved at 20:04, but even then there was drama, as René Rast, in the leading Audi somehow found himself without a Safety Car to follow, and as the green flag was shown, suddenly had nearly a minute’s advantage. He slowed down, in the belief that there was a Safety Car behind him, but as none appeared in his mirrors, he had to make his decision to go racing. Strangely, though, he was the first of the next bunch of cars to make a pitstop, which was out of the expected sequence.
Vanthoor took over the no. 1 car, Christopher Mies the no. 3 and Marcel Fässler the no. 2 (in that order). Sandström took the wheel of the Saintéloc Audi, bringing all the start drivers back into the driving seats. Most significantly though, at the end of the hour the no. 77 Marc VDS BMW led the race: Paltalla had still not pitted even though the no. 1 had stopped ten minutes earlier.
Audi’s domination is not complete. And the HTP Mercedes no.84 is less than two minutes behind too!
Hour 5 – 20:30 to 21:30
The fifth hour began with the completion of the pit stop cycle that was begun just before the hour. Christopher Mies took over the no. 3 Audi and Sandtröm the Saintéloc car, no. 26. Paltalla in the no. 77 Marc VDS BMW continued until 20:45 to complete 83 laps, fully ten laps further than the no. 1 Audi. The Marc VDS team were in competitive frame of mind, and did not change the tyres on the BMW, in an attempt to continue to close the gap. Before the pit stop, the Finn was lapping faster than anyone else on the track: however, the temperatures on the BMW were climbing, due to a damaged radiator. Another pit stop would be necessary, which dropped the car down to fifth.
On lap 92, Vanthoor was back in the pits, only 19 laps on the stint. The team suggested that they weren’t confident that the car could run any further on the fuel, suggesting alarmingly high consumption…
Just as Mies was on his way into the pits for his routine stop, though, another serious incident on the track brought out the Safety Cars for the fifth time. An accident involving the no. 111 Kessel Ferrari (Marcus Mahy) and the no. 333 GT Corse Ferrari (Vadim Kogay) at Stavelot was the cause, and after a short delay, the decision was taken to suspend the race with red flags to allow helicopter access to the circuit.
Cars remained on the circuit, mechanics not allowed to access them as the fifth hour ended. Drivers have now been allowed out of their cars and further updates will follow shortly.
Hour 6 – 21:30 to 22:30
The clock continued to run during the race suspension, and drivers continued to mooch about until finally been given the word to get back in their cars. At 22:23, the race was resumed, with the drivers having made as good a job as they could of strapping themselves back in, with everyone lined up behind the two Safety Cars. They continued to circulate behind the Safety Car, with 93 laps on the board. Several cars came in for pit stops during the suspension, including the race leading no. 3 Audi, thus incurring a drive through penalty once the race was back on and the Safety Cars withdrawn.
Hour 7 – 22:30 to 23:30
The Safety Cars stayed out until 22:42, and everyone had, to use a cliché, to get their race heads back on. The WRT Audis were still to the fore, with Vanthoor in no. 1 ahead of Mies in no. 3 and Lotterer in no. 2, but Lucas Luhr was flying along in the Marc VDS BMW, and catching Lotterer.
Once again, the no. 1 stopped first, Vanthoor handing over to Winkelhock, some six laps before Mies came in at the end of the hour to stay in for a double stint.
The Saintéloc Audi was still going well, as was Nicky Catsburg in the TDS BMW, leading the Pro-Am class, up to 9th overall. Just ahead, the two remaining HTP Mercedes SLS AMGs were running close together, Jazema Jaafar getting ahead of Harold Primat just before 23:30.
Hour 8 – 23:30 to 00:30
We managed to get 25 laps completed during the eighth hour of the race; the most since the first hour. Hopefully a sign that “race heads” are well and truly on. A sign as well that things are settling down. The no. 77 Marc VDS BMW continues to make progress, albeit at a slow rate, managing to get ahead of the no. 2 WRT Audi in the hour, despite pit stops for both. The no. 1 Audi continues to hold the upper hand, insofar as it leads the most laps every hour, but the important thing is going to be leading at the end of each hour though.
Current projections suggest that at 16:30 this afternoon, no. 3 would lead, should everything else remain equal, but it only leads 6 laps in every 25, compared to the 16 of the no. 1. If Marc VDS can continue to close the gap though, or if there is another Safety Car, all bets are off!
As we head into the ninth hour, Winkelhock remains in the lead Audi for a double stint, James Nash is in the no. 3 and Dirk Werner is also on a double, at the wheel of the no. 77 BMW.
A star in the night is Stéphane Ortelli, driving the wheels off the Saintéloc Audi, closing in on Ben Tréluyer in the no. 2 WRT Audi.
Hour 9 – 00:30 to 01:30
Another hour of – dare I say it? – green flag running. Another 16 laps in the lead for the no. 1 Audi, which pits first again on schedule. But at the end of the hour it is the no. 3 WRT Audi that leads, but by just 1.7s, and looking likely to be relieved of the lead by the chasing BMW of Dirk Werner within the next lap; in any event, before its scheduled pit stop on lap 169.
Nico Verdonck lost time at Les Combes; the HTP Mercedes went off and spent more than 3 minutes rejoining. At least Nico has been able to continue: Jörg Müller in the no 66 Marc VDS BMW became the 12th retirement of the race after hitting a rabbit, damaging a radiator and causing too much damage to continue.
Hour 10 – 01:30 to 02:30
The racing continues to be fast and furious, as the outside temperature drops to 13 Celsius. René Rast in the no. 1 WRT Audi led 14 laps in the hour, but after his pit stop hands the lead over to Markus Palttala in the Z4, who has passed James Nash through the pit stop cycle. James seemed unable, in the second part of a double stint, to match the lap times of his immediate competitors: both Guilvert (Saintéloc Audi) and Fässler (WRT Audi) are closing on him, but he will probably have to pit before they catch him.
In Pro-Am, the leader is the Villorba Ferrari (no. 90) with Andrea Rizzola at the wheel, in 7th place overall and lapping as quickly as Andrea Bertolini in the AF Corse car. Lapping quicker than both of them though, Alexander Sims in the Ecurie Ecosse BMW is in 10th overall and third in class, but will have to pit soon.
In the Gentleman class, nearly a minute separates the Sport Garage Ferrari of Lorenzi Bontempelli from the Delahaye Racing Porsche with Pierre -Etienne Bordet at the wheel.
Hour 11 – 02:30 to 03:30
René Rast, in the second part of a double stint, has been heroic in this hour. Far from the Marc VDS BMW catching up, as it seemed in the tenth hour, this hour has seen a fastest lap of the race from Rast, as well as what could turn out to be the fastest stint of the race. Add this to the fact that the pit stop in which Palttala took over from Dirk Werner was inexplicably long, and suddenly Audi leads the race by very nearly two minutes, with only the BMW on the same lap – everyone else has fallen off the lead lap. James Nash’s stint may have lost ground for the no. 3 WRT Audi, but Frank Stippler put matters more or less to rights with some very quick laps to enable him to close to within 30s of the Finn in the Marc VDS car.
The major loser in the hour was Abdulaziz Al Faisal in the Black Falcon Mercedes, losing six laps getting the car out of the Fagnes gravel. He had only just taken the car over from Hubert Haupt, who had got the car up into 7th place prior to that.
Hour 12 – 03:30 to 04:30
At the beginning of the hour René Rast brought the leading WRT Audi in to hand over to Laurens Vanthoor, completing a routine pit stop without drama, but losing the lead to the Marc VDS BMW. Markus Palttala in the BMW was keeping a comfortable gap to the Audi, around 45s, and made his scheduled stop at 04:06 to hand over to Lucas Luhr.
Then at 04:10, the moment we were fearing arrived – namely the appearance of the Safety Car for the 6th time, with the no. 44 Oman Aston Martin off at Blanchimont – Ahmad Al Harthy at the wheel. He got the car back to the pits, and the green flags were waved again as the cars began lap 237.
Hats off to Bernd Schneider, setting the fastest lap of the race at 03:04, at 2m 20.452s!
Points for the Championship at 12 hours:
1- WRT Audi R8 LMS – 12 points
77 – Marc VDS BMW Z4 – 9 points
3 – WRT Audi R8 LMS – 7 points
26 – Sainteloc Audi R8 LMS – 6 points
2 – WRT Audi R8 LMS – 5 points
86 – HTP Motorsport Mercedes SLS AMG – 4 points
etc…
Hour 13 – 04:30 to 05:30
With another hour of green flag running behind us, a further 25 laps were completed in the hour. However, the most laps that are now feasible in 24 hours are 530 – more than 50 laps short of a distance record. The lead of the race continues to swap between the no. 1 Audi and the no. 77 BMW – and the BMW led 14 of the laps completed in the hour, compared to the Audi’s 11.
A scare on the circuit occurs at 04:49, as the ART Grand Prix McLaren is reported to be on fire at Blanchimont.
The other impact of the Safety Car period in hour 12, which I failed to mention before, is that the no. 3 WRT Audi has managed to get itself back onto the lead lap. A feat achieved as well by the no 2 car, but it fell off again when Lotterer pitted.
In Pro-Am, things are very close between the no. 90 Villorba Ferrari and the no. 12 Thiriet BMW – separated by just under a minute at the end of the hour.
Hour 14 – 05:30 to 06:30
There is no sign of the sun over the Ardennes this morning, as the circuit is sitting between low mist nestling in the valleys below, and high dense cloud keeping the sun away. However, having a softer light to greet tired drivers is probably a good thing. Circuit conditions are good, as many fast times attest. Although no-one has beaten Schneider’s overall best lap time, personal best laps are being set right through the field.
The pendulum continues to swing between the BMW and Audi as each leads the race until its respective pit stop. There is not much to choose between the lap times, but Mies and Ortelli are both good value. Of the leading group, Winkelhock is probably the most circumspect, but likely he is looking to keep things safe not sorry.
All of the leading group are sticking to the 65 minute stint limit with almost monotonous regularity, as indeed they must, in order not to spoil their chances.
The Pro-Am battle is now really between two cars for the lead: the no. 90 Villorba Ferrari and the no. 12 Thiriet BMW – following their latest pit stops, now in the hands of Montermini and Thiriet respectively, but now separated by nearly 90 seconds.
The three way battle for third in class is more entertaining, just 45seconds separating the no. 52 Spirit of Race Ferrari, the no.79 Ecurie Ecosse BMW and the no. 53 AF Corse Ferrari.
Interestingly, daylight also brings a flurry of warnings for drivers exceeding the track limits; suggesting perhaps that if some folk began taking some liberties during the night, that the race director intends to bring them into line henceforward.
Hour 15 – 06:30 to 07:30
Temperatures are rising slowly, but very slowly in the Ardennes this Sunday morning – at the conclusion of the hour it is still only 15 Celsius.
Some good lappery in his stint by Dirk Werner, bringing the gap between himself and the leading Audi (still in the hands of Markus Winkelhock), down by around 14 seconds over the hour, to just 50 seconds.
A longer stop for Audi no. 3 to change the disks and pads on the WRT Belgian Audi Club team car – also allowing Christopher Mies to hand over again to James Nash.
The battle between the two leaders, while it may not be nose-to-tail dicing, is fascinating to observe, both teams must know that it will almost certainly depend on the way the ‘unknowns’ – mechanicals, yellow flags, Safety Cars – fall out. It may yet be decided on a stroke of luck rather than genius.
Further back, both Bentleys are now in the top ten; with the no. 7 car (Guy Smith) secure in 13th place, and no. 8 now 19th (Duncan Tappy).
In the Pro-Am class, the no. 12 TDS BMW went off at Pouhon and has not rejoined (yet).
Hour 16 – 07:30 to 08:30
Just after 8am, rain was reported down at Stavelot. It was heavy enough for wipers to be necessary, and for spray to be thrown up, but no one thought it was bad enough to need to pit for wet weather tyres. Lap times were up for around twenty minutes, but then it dried out again and by the end of the hour the leaders were back to lapping in the 2m 22s.
Having got into the top 20, the no. 8 Bentley had to return to the garage while the brakes were changed. In so doing, it dropped back to 23rd. As far as we are aware, neither the no. 1 nor the no. 2 WRT Audis have had disk changes, nor has the Marc VDS BMW.
There’s a long way still to go of course, but perhaps, having survived the night, hopes are rising in the Team Marc VDS hospitality…
Hour 17 – 08:30 to 09:30
The Safety Cars put in their 7th appearance of the race at 09:26, just before the completion of the 17th hour of the race, due to Claude-Yves Gosselin going off in the no. 25 Saintéloc Audi. Despite damage though, the Frenchman got the car back to the pit and the Safety Car period was short-lived, the green flag being shown after just five minutes.
The other Saintéloc car used the misfortune of the sister car to bring in Grégory Guilvert in the no. 26 Audi. A brake change was swiftly completed (although the car didn’t seem to be completely in its garage as the work was done, which might yet lead to a sanction).
Marc VDS also decided to use the opportunity to change the brakes, but by the time Palttala reached the pit lane, the Safety Cars had already been withdrawn. It was a lightning fast change, but the slice of luck didn’t quite play to the BMW team. Lucas Luhr took the car back out on the track, and began the waiting game once again for the no. 1 Audi’s pit stop to allow the Marc VDS team car back into the lead.
In the other classes, the no 90 Villorba Ferrari and the no 51 Peter Mann Ferrari both have commanding leads in the Pro-Am and Gentleman categories, respectively.
Hour 18 – 09:30 to 10:30
The major casualty of the 18th hour was my computer, which progressively lost access to its hard drive, until too many crucial applications stopped working and I resorted to a complete re-boot. While that was happening, I managed to snaffle some breakfast… an example if ever there was one of the proverb about ill winds blowing nobody any good, I think.
On the circuit, we had a flurry of punctures: Bernd Schneider’s HTP Mercedes, no. 84; the Nissan of Chiyo, no 35; and the no. 350 Ferrari.
The ambient temperature is up to 21 Celsius now, but the sun has gone back behind clouds.
Hour 19 – 10:30 to 11:30
The car that had been leading the Pro-Am class for so long, the Villorba Corse Ferrari no. 90 had problems restarting the engine following a routine pit stop, and lost six laps while a solution was found. This left us with the Ecurie Ecosse BMW in the lead of the class after a sterling double stint from Alexander Sims, to keep the car ahead of the AF Corse Ferrari no. 53, which Marco Cioci is now driving. As in the battle for outright honours, the lead switches each time one of the leaders makes their stop. Again, it seems to be the BMW that holds the high cards, but events and incidents on track or in the pits could be expensive.
The situation for the lead of the race is all a question of timing. It’ll be no good leading for the last hour if you get caught needing to come in for your stop after a “65 minute” stint, even if there is fuel left in the tank. Projections put the Marc VDS car ahead, but a Safety Car, puncture or accident could change everything.
Don’t blink, whatever you do.
Hour 20 – 11:30 to 12:30
With four hours to go, there is a sense of anticipation that this race has more to offer. Since Palttala took over at the wheel of the no. 77 BMW, he has been unable to match the lap times of the Audi no. 1, with a very motivated René Rast driving. Folk with laptops have been spotted rushing between garage and pit wall in the Marc VDS team, a faulty sensor is suspected.
In the Audi camp though, worries have resurfaced about the ability of the no. 1 car to get enough fuel out of the tank to get it through 65 minutes. Its last stint was less than an hour.
Just after noon, the no. 2 Audi (Treluyer) had a coming-together with the no. 63 Black Falcon Mercedes (Christodolou), sending both to the pits. The Audi (which had been comfortably fourth) lost nine laps in the pits having repairs. The Mercedes was already four laps behind, but spent another five being repaired.
The excitement may not have reached a fever pitch, but both Audi and BMW are providing more questions than answers at the moment.
In Pro-Am, the Michele Rugolo-driven Ferrari of the Spirit of Race team has joined the battle for honours, turning it in to a three-way fight.
Hour 21 – 12:30 to 13:30
At the start of the hour, the Team Marc VDS BMW Z4, 43s behind the WRT Audi, made its scheduled handover to Lucas Luhr, losing the lead as it did so. Seven laps later, the Audi was in the pits as well, René Rast staying behind the wheel, but as the cars came out of the pits, the gap was already down to just 15.4s. It took René ten laps to catch and pass the BMW, and he then proceeded to pull away until Luhr came in for his scheduled stop.
Dirk Werner, ready to take the car over, was passed over though, in favour of Markus Paltalla, whom VDS team manager Bas Leinders would be more able to deal with the vagaries of handling the crippled car. In a nutshell, there has been an electronic failure that has stopped various systems from working, such as the ABS, generally making the car more difficult to drive and harder on its tyres.
The next question is whether the BMW’s problems will worsen, and how safe is the car’s second place, with a charging Frank Stippler in the no. 3 Audi behind?
In Pro-Am, Marco Cioci was able to increase his lead in the class over Oliver Bryant in the Ecurie Ecosse BMW.
Hour 22 – 13:30 to 14:30
Twenty-two hours of racing gone, and the two leaders are separated by just 32.4 seconds. We may have lost nearly four hours of racing with the various Safety Car interventions and race suspension, but there has been five hours solid racing since we last saw the Safety Cars, which is a testament to the balance of performance as well as the strategy and commitment of all concerned.
In Pro-Am, it is even closer, with just 20.7 seconds between the first two in the class (no. 52 Ferrari and Ecurie Ecosse BMW).
And what’s more, it is not clear how either race is going to pan out in the remaining two hours. Markus Palttala has really got to grips with the lack of electronics in the no. 77 BMW and with Werner and Luhr waiting in the wings to bring the car home, you can be sure that they are not about to give up without a fight.
For his part, Markus Winkelhock, back out in the no. 1 Audi, is unwittingly proving how well René Rast has been doing, Winkelhock’s times are nowhere near as good as Rast’s – but this will probably be Markus’s final stint – Vanthoor and Rast will take the car to the flag.
Hour 23 – 14:30 to 15:30
An hour to go and it’s even closer than it was an hour ago! Just 8.4 seconds separate the leading Audi (“super-Rast” at the wheel) from the BMW with Dirk Werner driving his heart out.
Both cars had stops during the hour, but the WRT boys had to resolve an issue with a sticking pad on the R8 LMS, costing the Audi 2m 40s in the pit. Compare this with the Marc VDS team, who got Werner out after just 1m 49s at rest.
That left Rast with a deficit of 8.8 seconds to recover and at 15:12 the Audi took the lead again. From then on, Rast was able to increase his lead, but not by much, and both cars have one further stop ahead of them; Audi has Superpole winner Laurens Vanthoor limbering up in the pit, and BMW Lucas Luhr. The only question remaining in the battle for the lead is the timing of that final stop.
Ecurie Ecosse has Alexander Sims chasing for the lead of the Pro-Am Cup, just 8 seconds away from Niek Hommerson in the Ferrari.
A real grandstand finish awaits!
Hour 24 – 15:30 to 16:30
The final hour provided all the thrills anyone could have hoped for, and none of the spills some may have feared. Bas Leinders and the Marc VDS team were on the back foot since the onset of the electronic problems two hours earlier, but had to take what chances that could. With Dirk Werner at the wheel for the final two stints, that meant relying on his driving skills as the team took the decision to leave the car on the same set of tyres at the final stop.
For the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, things were a little more flexible, as any worries about the fuel consumption (or rather retrieval) were irrelevant at this stage. The only question was whether Rast felt up to the task of continuing his quest to demonstrate himself as the “master of Spa 2014”. It seemed not to require much consideration. Lap 510 – with an expectation of 527 laps to the flag, and out of the pits Rast was again looking at a deficit to recover and only 35 minutes in which to do it.
It was as inevitable as it was clinical and efficient, with a ruthless combination of aggression, commitment and plain exuberance. One (quite justifiable) cause for a ‘track limits’ warning, several sharp intakes of breath and one ‘calm down now, René’ radio message were all that were needed to get the job done, with seven laps to spare and a cushion of seven seconds at the chequered flag.
In the end BMW was vanquished: not just in terms of the overall result but also in the Pro-Am Cup. Ecurie Ecosse’s problems with their brakes stymied any chance that Alexander Sims had of catching the Villorba Ferrari, but took nothing away from an Italian team’s win in an Italian car with three Italian drivers (and a Monagasque).
BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS was magnanimous in defeat. When the electronic problems became apparent it was never going to be easy to snatch victory; the very fact that with such numerical opposition for the best part of the race meant that a win would be a steal. To an extent, second place is certainly a worthy, justified and well-earned result.
As an event to attend as my first Spa 24 hours, I couldn’t really have wished for much better. I am reminded of the article I wrote here a few weeks ago: “Why Audi Wins All The Time”. Despite the title, I still don’t really understand how they do it. I just wish the weather here was always like this!
PT
