Monza 4 Hours: No. 7 Toyota leads; Porsche and Ferrari battle on in LMGTE Pro

Porsche and Ferrari continue to thrill In the LMGTE Pro class as each take turns of the lead in ultra-close battle. 
 
Below are the main headlines from hours 2 – 4…
     
Hypercar  
•    No.7 Toyota GR010-Hybrid Hypercar has 25-second lead as Jose Maria Lopez heads Romain Dumas in Glickenhaus 007 Hypercar 
•    Brendon Hartley in No.8 Toyota, which had run second for much of first two hours, has issues relating to a fuel pressure problem 
•    No.8 loses 15 laps after two separate long pit-stops and is out of contention for podium place as team changes fuel collector 
•    Alpine Elf Matmut run third as Matthieu Vaxiviere completes solid double stint before Nicolas Lapierre takes over the wheel 
•    No.709 Glickenhaus 007 LMH runs well in second position and gets on to Alpine’s tail, but it also runs second due to pit-stop off-sets with the Alpine 
•    No.708 car fights back from early issues but soon has to pull back in to pitlane with Gustavo Menezes at wheel. Car retires with a gearbox issue. 

And so...@Glickenhaus is leading a #WEC race for the first time.#6HMonza #Motul @motul pic.twitter.com/oH6P1ccTUI

— WEC (@FIAWEC) July 18, 2021

LMGTE Pro  
•    Fascinating battle in LMGTE Pro as Porsche and Ferrari fight tooth and nail for glory 
•    James Calado in No.51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE grabs lead with decisive move on Neel Jani’s No.92 Porsche 911 RSR-19 at first chicane at start of third hour as safety car period ends 
•    Jani loses momentum and drops behind team-mate Richard Lietz too but soon fights back and re-takes lead in fourth hour but top two covered by just 1.6s 
•    No.91 Porsche 911 RSR-19 which is driven by Richard Lietz places third ahead of No.52 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo with Daniel Serra  

#WEC - Driver change: @kevinestre takes over the leading #911RSR from @neeljani again. Fuel and @Michelin_Sport tires. Still 130 race minutes @Autodromo_Monza left@FIAWEC #Porsche @TAGHeuer #6HMonza pic.twitter.com/waMtXjOjq6

— Porsche Motorsport (@PorscheRaces) July 18, 2021

LMP2  
•    United Autosports USA takes control of LMP2 as Filipe Albuquerque and Phil Hanson take advantage of clever strategy and safety car period to emerge with 38-second lead 
•    Fabio Scherer at wheel throughout fourth hour and consolidating lead 
•    Early leaders Team WRT lose out as they pit just as Safety Car is called. Charles Milesi fights back and is attempting to reduce gap to leader 
•    Inter Europol Competition fightback from early penalty for contact with Real Team Racing car, as Jakub Smiechowski places third after creative strategy 
•    Racing Team Nederland lose time with penalty for speeding in pit-lane. Paul-Loup Chatin at wheel and closing on Inter Europol for challenge to third place  
•    Tough few hours for JOTA as No.38 car suffers misfire issue while in third position. Antonio Felix da Costa pits but car now out of contention  
•    No.28 JOTA entry runs fifth as Tom Blomqvist takes the wheel but Richard Mille entry vaults it just before the end of the fourth hour 
•    Tatiana Calderon is in cockpit for her second stint at the wheel after Sophia Floersch’s early double time at the wheel 

Grab some popcorn and enjoy this superb three-way LMP2 fight!#WEC #6HMonza @JotaSport @HighClassRacing @followWRT pic.twitter.com/2iKoVZReB5

— WEC (@FIAWEC) July 18, 2021

LMGTE Am  
•    No.83 AF Corse Ferrari pushes to the front as Alessio Rovera extends lead to 5-seconds over No.56 Team Project 1 Porsche 
•    Aston Martin customer entries have mixed fortunes as D’Station Vantage makes tremendous progress to come through to second position 
•    Andrew Watson overtakes Riccardo Pera to take position and sets sights on leading Ferrari 
•    No.98 Aston Martin up to fourth position as Marcos Gomes undertakes first stints at wheel 
•    TF Sport Aston Martin witnesses heartbreak as Ben Keating gets a puncture just after two-hour mark 
•    Car suffers bodywork damage and requires repairs, dropping down to last position 
•    GR Racing Porsche is big winner in mid-section of race as Tom Gamble and then Ben Barker elevate car to fifth position  

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