Saturday, June 17, 2017

24 HEURES DU MANS | 15:13:00

The № 64 Corvette went backwards into the wall in the Porsche Curves, but driver Tommy Milner was able to limp the car back to the pits on three wheels. The Corvette Racing crew attacked the repair with their usual efficiency, but four laps—& any reasonable chance of a winning performance—were still lost. The sister car, the № 63 piloted by Jan Magnussen, is currently one lap down from the class leader, the № 97 Aston Martin Vantage. Corvette Racing has a never-say-die attitude, but lots of other cars in G.T.E. Pro will have to run into lots of trouble for the № 63 Corvette to have a shot at a podium finish, much less the team's ninth Le Mans win. Drat!

The № 8 Toyota, which was running second, is suffering mechanical/electrical gremlins with the hybrid drive on the front axle, seemingly a similar problem to that which beset the № 2 Porsche in the first four hours. As of this posting, the № 8 is still in the pits, having been overtaken by the № 2. The № 7 Toyota continues to lead from the № 1 Porsche, the partial-season № 9 Toyota running in third, two laps down. The L.M.P.1 field is small enough that with the early retirement of the sole privateer entry in the class, the non-hybrid № 4 ByKolles, & the lengthy repairs to the № 2 & the № 8, the lead car in L.M.P.2, the № 13 Vaillante Rebellion piloted by Bruno Senna, is currently running fourth overall.

Midnight looms in France.

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