At the mid-way point in the 6 Hours of The Circuit of The Americas, the No.2 Audi R18 e-tron quattro of Loïc Duval has re-claimed the lead of the race, overtaking the No.8 Toyota TS030 Hybrid just before the end of the third hour. The No.1 Audi has made a rapid recovery to third place, now two laps behind the leaders and a lap ahead of the No.12 Rebellion Racing Lola Toyota. The battle between the top two has been intense and promises to keep the crowd on the edge of their seats to the finish.
In LMP2 the class pole-sitting No.26 G-Drive Racing ORECA Nissan is topping the time sheets after the last round of pit stops. Russian driver Roman Rusinov took over from Australian John Martin who, like Alex Brundle in the No.24 OAK Racing completed a triple stint behind the wheel, the latter on the same Dunlop tyres for the whole of his stint. No.24 is now in second place in class ahead of the No.49 Pecom Racing entry of Luis Perez Companc.
Status quo has been maintained at the top of the LMGTE Pro class, with Bruno Senna remaining focused in the No.99 Aston Martin and keeping Kamui Kobayashi’s No.71 Ferrari 458 at bay. Oliver Gavin, on loan to Aston Martin from Corvette Racing to support injured Stefan Mucke, has now moved the No.97 up to third place in class.
Aston Martin’s supremacy is still in evidence in the LMGTE Am class, with the No.96 of Stuart Hall and the No.95 of Kristian Poulsen now both ahead of the No.76 Porsche of Jean-Karl Vernay.
RACE FACTS
13:56:58 Duval passes Sarrazin to take lead in No.2 Audi
13:53:25 Duval in No.2 Audi is now right on the tail of Sarrazin.
13:51:37 No.1 Audi into pitlane. Fuel and tyres only. Treluyer stays in.
13:49:11 After a round of LMP2 pitstops, the Oreca of G Drive n°26 leads the two Morgan Nissans of OAK Racing.
13:45:45 Duval in No.2 Audi is reeling-in Sarrazin in the Toyota with consistently fast laps. Gap now 6.7s.
13:44:04 In GTE Am, Nygaard in Aston Martin No.95 leads sister car No.96, Porsche No.76 and Ferrari No.81
13:41:45 No.49 Pecom now into pits - Minassian out and Companc in.
13:39:53 Rusinov in G Drive Oreca No.26 pits from P2 lead. Pecom No.49 takes class lead.
13:33:22 No.8 Toyota pits for fuel, no driver change. Retains the lead.
13:32:10 Brundle in No.24 enters pitlane and hands P2 lead to Plowman in sister car No.35 Morgan Nissan - Brundle hands over to Gonzalez
13:27:31 Sarrazin in Toyota No.8 retakes the lead.
13:25:37 Leader in pitlane - No.2 Audi stops for full service and driver change. Duval takes over from Kristensen.
13:24:10 Brundle holding off tough challenge from Plowman by the slimmest margin.
13:15:52 Great fight brewing between the two OAK cars at the front of LMP2. Brundle in No.24 chased by Plowman in No.35 - 0.3s is the gap.
13:09:14 Sarrazin pushing hard in the Toyota No.8 - currently right on the tail of Kristensen in Audi No.2
13:04:22 No.1 Audi pit stop - driver change, Treluyer takes over from Lotterer.
13:02:38 No.45 OAK Morgan Nissan is pushed back into pit garage.
