Glorious sunshine greeted the 34 cars that lined up behind the pace car to begin the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, Round 2 of the FIA World Endurance Championship. However the opening hour ended under the safety car as the nr25 Delta-ADR Oreca-Nissan of Antonio Pizzonia spun off at Eau Rouge, hitting the tyre wall heavily. The Brazilian was OK but the car was stranded in a dangerous position.
At the start the nr1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro of Andre Lotterer started from pole position but lost out at the start as the nr2 Audi of Loic Duval came through from the second row to take the lead, followed by the nr7 Toyota TS030 of Nicolas Lapierre. Lotterer dropped back to 5th behind the nr3 Audi of Marc Gene and the nr8 Toyota of Sebastien Buemi.
The nr1 Audi then started a fight back as Duval and Lapierre battled for the lead until lap 16 when Lotterer got up behind the lead car and moved to the front of the field with an audacious move at the exit of Raidillon as the two Audis went each side of the leading LMGTE entry Ferrari 458 of Gianmaria Bruni.
The first set of pitstops saw some cars choosing to take fuel only, staying on the tyres they started the race. The LMP1 Privateer Rebellion Racing Lola-Toyota of Nick Heidfeld had a lightningstop to keep the German with a strong advantage at the head of the three car entry and on terms with the leading works cars.
In LMP2 the nr49 Pecom Racing Oreca Nissan of Nicolas Minassian started on pole but lost out after the opening couple of laps to the nr24 Oak Racing Morgan Nissan of Olivier Pla. The two French drivers were battling closely for the lead of the class in 9th overall but it wasn’t until the pitstops that Minassian got back ahead thanks to a swift pitstop.
The nr28 Gulf Racing Middle East Lola-Nissan of Fabien Giroix, which had started at the back of the grid after missing qualifying due to a battery failure, sliced its way to get on terms with the rest of the LMP2 field and soon passed Jacques Nicolet in the nr45 Oak Racing Morgan Nissan.
The nr25 Delta ADR of Antonio Pizzonia collided with the nr81 8 Star Motorsports Ferrari of Maurizio Mediani, spinning the Brazilian onto the grass on at Turn 7. The Brazilian eventually recovered the car to the pits but was judged to have caused the incident. However his race finished when something broke on the left rear of the Delta ADR Oreca, spinning him into the wall, bringing out the safety car as the clock hit 60 minutes run.
LMGTE
After a clean start by everyone in both the LMGTE Pro and Am categories, and some early jostling for position, the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps has settled into a rhythm. There have been no major incidents and no unexpected visits to the pits.
Until the safety car came out, which coincided with first round of pits stops for the LMGTE classes, Ferrari had asserted itself in the lead of both classes, overtaking the pole-sitting Aston Martins. In LMGTE Pro, Toni Vilander made an early move into the lead in the No.71 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia, moving ahead of Rob Bell’s No.98 Aston Martin Vantage. At the end of the first hour Bell was once again back in the lead, with the No.97 Vantage V8 of Darren Turner behind him, both British cars ahead of the No.91 Porsche AG Team Manthey 911 RSR of Jorg Bergmeister. None of the leading three cars had at that stage stopped for fuel.
In LMGTE Am, it took Matteo Malucelli in the No.81 8Star Motorsports Ferrari just three laps to get past the No.95 Aston Martin of Allan Simonsen, and he maintained that position until the safety car came out. Paulo Ruberti in the No.88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 GT3 RSR led the category after the safety car came out, although he has not made a pit stop, with the No.81 in second place and the No.95 Aston Martin in close contact.
Full results and classifications can be found http://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com/
RACE FACTS
• 15:31:33Safety Car out
• 15:31:17Pizzonia hits barrier at Eau Rouge - possible rear suspension failure
• 15:30:11Ferrari #71 back in lead of GTE Pro as #51 Ferrari pits
• 15:28:58Toyota #7 retakes 3rd place from teammate #8
• 15:25:07Stop and go penalty for #57 Ferrari - not respecting track limits
• 15:24:17Amendment: Minassian in #49 now leads in LMP2 not KAFFER
• 15:22:34Early Porsche pit stop for #92 with excessive tyre wear
• 15:20:38Pierre Kaffer now leads LMP2 IN #49 Oreca
• 15:19:22Audi of Lotterer now has 7 sec lead on lap 23
• 15:18:032:00.979 now for Lotterer on lap 22
• 15:17:13Fastest lap on lap 21 - 2:01.479 by Lotterer
• 15:16:17Audi of Andre Lotterer retakes lead after Toyota pit stops
• 15:14:40Delta Oreca #25 had an incident with #81 8Star Ferrari before hitting barriers
• 15:13:244 Toyota powered cars now lead the field after 20 laps
• 15:11:37Audi #3 also into pits
• 15:10:46Audi #1 leader into pits #7 Toyota takes lead
• 15:09:28Audi #2 into pits - fuel and tyres
• 15:08:15Pizzonia rejoins small frontal damage
• 15:06:12Pizzonia into barriers at Les Combes
• 15:05:14No pit visitors yet after 35 minutes
• 15:02:59Lotterer retakes lead from Duval on lap 15
• 15:01:32Olivier Pla,Jimmy Bruni and Matteo Malucelli continue to lead their classes
• 14:59:59Duval leads by 2.7secs at the half hour mark
• 14:53:09Ferrari #51 takes lead of GTE Pro
• 14:49:43Ferrari #51 overtakes #98 Aston for 2nd place in GTE Pro
• 14:47:10Toyota #7 onto grass and overtaken by #1 Audi
• 14:45:02Fastest lap 2:01.738 for Duval on lap 5
• 14:41:50Vilander in #71 Ferrari takes lead in GTE Pro
• 14:40:52Malucelli in #81 Ferrari takes lead in GTE Am
• 14:37:59Fastest lap for Audi #2 with 2:01.826 on lap3
• 14:35:58Aston #98 leads GTE Pro and #95 Aston leads GTE Am
• 14:34:42Olivier Pla leads LMP2 in #24 Oak Morgan
• 14:33:57Duval leads at end of lap 1 from Lapierre and Gene
• 14:32:30A clean start - all cars through Sector 1
• 14:30:38Rolling start of the race at 14.30
• 14:26:21Green flag for formation lap
• 14:16:50Ten minutes to the formation lap
• 14:06:13Grid walk will end at 14.20
• 13:37:41The Stewards will allow #28 GRME Lola to start from the back of the grid though it took no part in qualifying having a battery fault
