Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the full 2023 race in stunning HD and without cuts. This milestone edition marked the return of legendary manufacturers like Ferrari, Porsche, and Cadillac to the Hypercar class, delivering an unforgettable showdown of technology, endurance, and passion. Witness every dramatic moment, from night battles to rain-soaked strategy calls, in one of the most historic races ever held at Circuit de la Sarthe.
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#HypercarEra
#FerrariVsToyota
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#LeMans2023
#24hLeMans
#EnduranceRacing
#MotorsportHistory
#HypercarEra
#FerrariVsToyota
#LegendaryRace
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SportsTranscript
00:00:00I could try. I think it's a good little thing. It's like a, I don't know, vibrating thing.
00:00:06I'll be careful what I say. I guess you want to ask about the stint. It was pretty decent.
00:00:12The car's there. It's been a great fight for the Toyotas. We've been nose to tail for the last
00:00:17few hours and I'm just really enjoying it. I think it's a magical place to be.
00:00:24You know, so proud of the guys. So whatever happens, just, I'm happy for them.
00:00:31I mean, yes, what you guys have achieved so far this season within WEC and here in Le Mans,
00:00:36we are getting to the early hours. We are all getting a little bit emotional, but it's true, isn't it?
00:00:41What you've achieved so far is incredible.
00:00:45Yeah, I mean, I don't think the car's ever gone this far before, if I'm honest, in terms of hours.
00:00:52But, you know, it always seems to be okay. I mean, fingers crossed.
00:00:56But, like I say, we'll just take it lap by lap, stint by stint, do the best we can.
00:01:02And Tonya's in the car now on a different compound because I started to struggle a bit with the rears.
00:01:07And we'll see how we go.
00:01:08I'll let you rest up a bit. Thank you. A bit more of a massage.
00:01:11There's our one-time leader in the, and still is our leader in the LNP2 category.
00:01:24While Anthony and I were having breakfast this morning, we saw that car lose the lead to the WRG number 41,
00:01:30but now it has regained the lead.
00:01:37Back in the old days of television, guys, you'd have never seen those pebbles.
00:01:40They would have been little blurs. That's what high-definition has done for it.
00:01:43You can see just overshot on the entry to Mulsang Corner into the gravel.
00:01:49Look at that.
00:01:50Touches, lost concentration for a second, but those stones, there's a lot of stones in that car.
00:01:54That could cause some problems.
00:01:55It just takes a stone to get into the brake disc or in the wheel, and, you know, that could cause some problems.
00:02:01So, hopefully, it won't do.
00:02:02They're having a great run and had a sort of a 20-second lead over the second-place WRT car.
00:02:09So, yeah, they had lost the lead when they had their lowest-graded driver.
00:02:20In the car behind the wheel of the Enderopole, but now I believe they can run through to the end of the race
00:02:25with their higher-graded, the golds and the platinum drivers that they have available.
00:02:30So, yeah, so that's a rare mistake, I'd have to say, for Albert Costa there down into the Mulsang Corner
00:02:35as Rio Heracara walks away from the pit wall back to the garage.
00:02:41New fastest lap of the race by the 50 Ferrari on a 28.1, 328.1.
00:02:46So, new fastest lap.
00:02:47So, Guy, I understand Bohemi, who is not, well, is back in the car.
00:02:54Once I went off to, for my rest, he continued to have roll bar issues, but he's still complaining about the car?
00:03:02Yeah, they just don't seem totally happy with the car.
00:03:05They've been playing around a lot with the roll bars, and they just don't quite have the raw pace of the Ferrari.
00:03:11They've kept themselves in the game, but before the last pit stop a couple of laps ago, the gap was 19, 18, 19 seconds.
00:03:19They did a pit stop, came out, and it was at 28, 29.
00:03:23So, somewhere, Toyota lost a decent chunk of time.
00:03:29Well, they're out of sync, aren't they?
00:03:30So, the driver changes.
00:03:32They both changed at the same time.
00:03:35So, Bohemi jumped in for Rio.
00:03:41Rio, yes.
00:03:46Well, hang on.
00:03:47I can hear Louise in my ears.
00:03:50Louise, do you want to come in if Jim hits the panel?
00:03:52There you go.
00:03:53You can tell the world, Lou.
00:03:54Thanks, and when Rio put a fresh set of tyres on, he went back out, and there was a 25-second difference.
00:04:04So, now it's 32 seconds.
00:04:09Rio, of course, being for Rio is Rio Hirakawa.
00:04:15Yeah, so Hirakawa, so at that point, he was out of sync with, at the time, it was Pierre Guidi at the wheel of the Ferrari 51.
00:04:27So, that's why I assumed there's still being.
00:04:28That's the way it was, yeah.
00:04:29Yeah, but, so Rio, obviously, he had the right rear puncture, slow puncture as well, for those of you who had missed it.
00:04:37So, that's why they lost a little bit of lap time there.
00:04:39They all also, not lap time, time to the 51 car, and they also had to change the splitter.
00:04:47The nose of the car came off, had a little bit of damage.
00:04:51I think it affected the balance of that Toyota, and so they still, even with that nose change, they still haven't managed to find the speed that they started this race with.
00:05:01And Graham Goodwin leaps out of his chair, and he's pointing at a purple lap time.
00:05:05He saw purple.
00:05:06We are, yes, we are in happy hour, where the track is at its best.
00:05:12You've got the rubber down from yesterday and coming into today.
00:05:17I know we've had the rain, but the temperatures are cool, and you can now see where you're going.
00:05:23So, that's where the lap time starts to come from.
00:05:25As we are just under seven hours to go, there's your LMP2 leader.
00:05:32Second place is the Team WRT, number 41, and the Duquesne, number 30, continues to circulate as our final podium position in LMP2.
00:05:45And how amazing would this be?
00:05:49I've probably completely cursed it for them right now, into Europol.
00:05:53Regardless of what happens through the rest of this race, I mean, it's been incredible.
00:05:57They've had the speed from word go here at Le Mans, which hasn't been the case for the time that I've been watching their efforts at this track, or in LMP2 in general.
00:06:12They've always been somewhere there or thereabouts, but they have had a quick racing car all the way through this event.
00:06:20Albert DaCosta behind the wheel of that car currently.
00:06:28Giovinazzi just did his fastest lap of the race, lap earlier on, I think it was a 28.6, I believe, 7.
00:06:38So, the Ferrari's pushing on, got some real pace at the minute, and again extended the lead over Dueming to 33 seconds.
00:06:45And in third place is still the Cadillac, Richard Westbrook, behind the wheel.
00:06:52And then in fourth place is the other Cadillac, Sebastian Bourdais, still lap down.
00:06:57He's not been able to get that lap back.
00:07:01Yes, even with the new safety car rules, we haven't seen one for quite some time, and that's probably what that number three caddy's praying for.
00:07:09But a remarkable effort that they're back there in P4.
00:07:13It really is, because there was a time when I thought that they were just going to leave the car in the garage.
00:07:18It's been, it's had a troubled time here, I think it's fair to say.
00:07:22You know, the car set on fire, we saw in qualifying, then they suffered, it wasn't there, through no fault of their own, a huge amount of crash damage in the race.
00:07:34And, yeah, it's a showcase to everybody, just to never give up.
00:07:42Well, and speaking of never giving up, the number 33 Corvette Racing, Nicky Katzberg, behind the wheel of that car, has now climbed all the way back to second in the GTM race.
00:07:57Race, of course, Rexi, the Project 1AO Porsche, Matteli Karoli, Matteli Karoli behind the wheel of that car.
00:08:06And then the Iron Dames, Rahel Frye, in the number 85.
00:08:12So it's the two Porsches and the Corvette, now battling it out as we have just under seven hours to go.
00:08:21It's just past 9 a.m. here in Lazard.
00:08:23Good morning, everyone.
00:08:28Places are a little bit different, but times actually, Guy, are a little bit different.
00:08:34But really, things haven't changed much since you and I were together last about 5 o'clock this morning.
00:08:39No, the top's very much the same.
00:08:41It's the Ferrari and the Toyota.
00:08:44There's the super bronze.
00:08:46Super bronze.
00:08:48Keeping his fingers crossed.
00:08:49Yeah.
00:08:50And the Corvette, as you say, is making a real comeback.
00:08:53And, you know, it's very much in the frame for a possible win here.
00:08:59Which is amazing.
00:09:01I counted them out.
00:09:03I did.
00:09:03Yeah, me too.
00:09:04I thought, no, they're going to carry on.
00:09:07Maybe hope for a top five.
00:09:09But, I mean, we're coming up 49 minutes away from a regular race distance.
00:09:15So, it's all to play for.
00:09:17That's right.
00:09:18The Le Mans is round four of the World Endurance Championship this season.
00:09:23And, yeah, like you say, Jim, most of our races we have in the WEC are six hours long.
00:09:29And, yeah, we're 49 minutes away from that happening.
00:09:36Here comes the overall race leader in the back of your shot.
00:09:39That's the AF course of Ferrari 499.
00:09:42Antonio Giovinazzi, the Formula 1 driver behind the wheel.
00:09:46Yeah, Giovinazzi was driving an absolutely formidable stint before he handed over to Pierre Guidi.
00:09:58So, he's back out there.
00:10:00And he's got the sister car behind him.
00:10:01Number 50 with Fuoco at the wheel who holds on to the fastest lap still.
00:10:08Let's find out what the Corvette team's talking about.
00:10:11Oh, we're not.
00:10:34Full course yellow.
00:10:35We have a full course yellow.
00:10:37Oh.
00:10:41Now, what has happened here?
00:10:51Oh, it was Fuoco running a little bit wide there, but that's not what the full course yellow is about.
00:11:00But that was a lucky escape there, wasn't it, from Fuoco.
00:11:11So, with the full course...
00:11:14So, with the full course yellow, pit lane is closed.
00:11:28So, if you're Corvette and you're close on fuel, you're getting ready for a pit stop.
00:11:33Ben was standing by.
00:11:34I think this is the reason for the full course yellow right here.
00:11:40Just too much debris on the track.
00:11:41Just too much.
00:11:42Too many pebbles.
00:11:43Too much...
00:11:44They need one of those big jet blowers.
00:11:51They do.
00:11:53The guy behind is thinking, why use my broom when the guy in front's got a leaf blower?
00:11:58Well, he's really there to watch the guy's back, to be honest.
00:12:06If I'm the guy with a leaf blower, I don't want that guy.
00:12:09I want him looking.
00:12:11Yes, Louise.
00:12:12Good morning.
00:12:13Good morning.
00:12:14The other team that are waiting for their car to come in is the number 43, DKR.
00:12:20The lollipop person is in the pit lane, so they're going to suffer from this closed pit lane.
00:12:29Hopefully, they haven't left it too close.
00:12:32And have to make emergency service for fuel.
00:12:34Well, that's the thing.
00:12:35If you have to come in because you're running low on fuel, you're only allowed a five-second splash.
00:12:42And then you're going to be back in before you know it.
00:12:45Yeah, and then you have to come back in.
00:12:47Yeah.
00:12:47So, yeah, that's the penalty you suffer with the, you know, if it's just unlucky timing.
00:12:54There's nothing that the team can do.
00:12:55Nope.
00:12:56Could the 50 get any closer to the 51?
00:12:59Yeah.
00:13:00Yeah, I'm only leading the race, mate.
00:13:02Come on.
00:13:03I'm sorry.
00:13:04I think these guys are playing too many games.
00:13:08I get the competition.
00:13:12I get that you, you know, you want to be competitive.
00:13:16But unless you've been told to get up there and look at something, that's just insane.
00:13:22You're asking.
00:13:23Eventually, that's going to come back to haunt them, those kind of shenanigans.
00:13:27And like we saw at Spa, you know, and like we saw earlier in the race when they were really going hammer and tong at each other.
00:13:38Just stretch your legs, boys.
00:13:40You've got 24 hours.
00:13:42Well, you know, the number 50 is pushing on to try and make up lost ground.
00:13:45They're down there in P8, though.
00:13:47If it's anybody else, yeah, sure.
00:13:49But when it's your teammate, you don't want to put the lead car, your teammate, under unnecessary pressure.
00:13:55Watching a replay there of Bohemi.
00:13:59Big old lockup.
00:14:00Wow, that's a huge lockup.
00:14:04He's going to have blisters with that kind of vibration.
00:14:08Oh, flat spots, yeah.
00:14:10And he's definitely going to be feeling that one.
00:14:13You're right there, Jim.
00:14:15That's what we call blister maker.
00:14:18Oh, you call it blistering?
00:14:19Yeah.
00:14:20Not flat spot?
00:14:20Oh, no, no, no.
00:14:21On your hands.
00:14:22Oh, blisters in your hands.
00:14:26He'll drive through that.
00:14:28He'll be more concerned about his eyeballs getting rattled around in their sockets from the flat spots.
00:14:35As Fuoco continues to harass his teammate through the Porsche cabs.
00:14:39Let's go back to the pits.
00:14:41Well, just looking at the timing, we've got 6.44 left.
00:14:45Remember, a usual WEC race is six hours.
00:14:49So we're not even, we're still above a normal six-hour WEC race right now.
00:14:54Yeah, we were just talking about that.
00:14:56You're exactly right.
00:14:58And can you ask the Ferrari guys what's going on between the 50 and the 51?
00:15:04I don't know if you're seeing the monitors.
00:15:06Oh, goodness.
00:15:06They are the other end of the pit lane.
00:15:09But okay, I will go up there.
00:15:11Yeah, it'd just be good to know, Lou, if they're going to swap them around.
00:15:15Because it would make sense.
00:15:16If I was the team boss there, I'd be saying, look, you know, there's no, at the moment, no pressure.
00:15:22You're over 35 seconds ahead of the Toyota.
00:15:25The Toyota is Giovinazzi, and Fuoco's down in P8.
00:15:30He's a couple of laps down on his, about six laps down.
00:15:34Yeah.
00:15:34Oh, let him go.
00:15:35You're right.
00:15:35You're absolutely right.
00:15:37Yeah.
00:15:37Monte Jacobson there just had a spin.
00:15:39So the pit lane is open, and here comes the 50 car.
00:15:45That makes more sense why he was so close now.
00:15:47Yeah.
00:15:47Because he was trying to minimize the time loss before coming into the pits.
00:15:50He looks over his left shoulder there just to check the car as he comes in, sees him on his way.
00:15:56So, yeah, clearly on a very different strategy there.
00:15:59But Fuoco was absolutely flying, fastest lap, like you said earlier on, guys, 328.1 on lap 227.
00:16:07That will save Louise the trip, then.
00:16:09That's good.
00:16:11Yeah, stand down, Lou.
00:16:12Yeah, right.
00:16:13It all makes sense now.
00:16:15Brian, actually, we should have seen, because on the graphics there, the energy level with the 6% remaining of...
00:16:21That's a clue.
00:16:23There you go.
00:16:24And behind it, the 33 car has also come in.
00:16:27Ben Keating will...
00:16:28He was suited and booted, but he did not get in.
00:16:31Fuel only, no tires.
00:16:33Same for the 50 car.
00:16:36So the comeback drive continues.
00:16:38Going to leave Nicky Katzberg in the car for one more stint.
00:16:42At least.
00:16:45Yeah, you've got to leave Nicky in there for as long as you possibly can.
00:16:51It's an exceptionally quick racing drive.
00:16:53But particularly in that 33 Corvette, he's been outstanding so far this year.
00:16:58Put in an absolutely brilliant drive in Portimao at round two of the championship.
00:17:07Under immense pressure he was that day.
00:17:10But hung on to it.
00:17:11A real master class in defensive driving.
00:17:14And this is a huge race for the 33 car from the overall big picture of the World Endurance Championship because they can put a virtual lock on the championship with a victory here, given that it's double points.
00:17:28And in fact, I know Graham Goodwin worked out.
00:17:30There are a couple of scenarios where they could clinch here if they can get a victory.
00:17:36But that's definitely dependent on that.
00:17:39Let's check in with Eduardo Freitas and his team.
00:17:41We're removing full course yellow at 9.18.45.
00:17:47At 9.18.45 in 30 seconds, we're removing full course yellow.
00:17:51So, 30 seconds until we go back to action.
00:17:58Antonio Fuoco.
00:18:01Coming up to speed.
00:18:04And full course yellow is gone.
00:18:06Yeah, weaving around on the back straight there.
00:18:10The Mulsanne straight down towards the first chicane.
00:18:12Seventh gear, 318, 20, 21.
00:18:16Still rising before the braking zone into that first chicane.
00:18:21Down into second gear.
00:18:23Get on power as early as you can.
00:18:24See the graphic on the right-hand side.
00:18:26Is that a straight Glickenhaus?
00:18:28Ooh.
00:18:29What's going on there?
00:18:29He was stuck there.
00:18:31The Glickenhaus, yeah, kind of hesitated momentarily.
00:18:35And they had a slower car on the left-hand side.
00:18:37So, that bulked Fuoco's progress.
00:18:39And he's weaving.
00:18:40He's kind of not quite sure whether it's...
00:18:42That's not the time to try and get some pressures up in your...
00:18:46And he gets by.
00:18:50You can really see the body language of the car.
00:18:52The attitude's different from a car down in P8
00:18:55compared to that of the 51 car with Giovinazzi.
00:18:59It's just a difference.
00:19:00It's more alive, more energetic, more, dare I say, desperate.
00:19:05In the approach.
00:19:06And there's nothing to lose now when you're down there.
00:19:10Race control says the full force yellow is under investigation,
00:19:14which is kind of a broad statement that they're checking
00:19:17that someone may have done something wrong.
00:19:20And it's slippery down there, isn't it?
00:19:21See that guy?
00:19:22You can still see there's a lot of pebbles there.
00:19:24They've tried to clean the racing line, but there's a lot off.
00:19:27It's just, I don't know whether the wind has changed direction or what,
00:19:30but it's, or maybe some oil down or something,
00:19:32but Cuoco immediately running wide.
00:19:35Almost a copy of what happened to the 34 car earlier on.
00:19:40Yeah, the gap at the top of the field now, 39,
00:19:43pretty much 40 seconds between the air, of course,
00:19:47and the Ferrari and the Toyota.
00:19:49Wind is switching, Anthony, about 180 degrees
00:19:51from when we looked at it early in the race.
00:19:55So track temperature is 26.6.
00:19:58Ambient is just under 20 degrees centigrade.
00:20:02Wind speed's 9 kilometers per hour.
00:20:07Humidity 70%.
00:20:08That's why the first chicane took a month to dry out last night.
00:20:14It took until the sun came out to dry it off properly.
00:20:18That lasted forever, didn't it?
00:20:20The slippery conditions.
00:20:22What a brutal race for the drivers it's been.
00:20:25Instead of medium tires there,
00:20:27ready to go on the number 51 Ferrari.
00:20:32They get interested to see.
00:20:33They tend to choose the medium.
00:20:36Toyota tend to go for the soft.
00:20:37As the temperatures rise in the daytime,
00:20:43do you think we'll see that strategy change a little bit?
00:20:47And we may see them go.
00:20:49Now he's back in.
00:20:50Sorry, yes.
00:20:51Do you know what it was?
00:20:52It had to have a splash, didn't it?
00:20:54Under the pit lane.
00:20:55Yes, it did.
00:20:57That Ferrari has to splash.
00:20:59So he's back in for a full service this time around.
00:21:02Another penalty.
00:21:03And here comes the 33 cars.
00:21:10So you have to serve.
00:21:12You have to come back in within a lap of going green.
00:21:16So that's both being done perfectly by both crews.
00:21:21I wonder if Ben Keating will get in now.
00:21:23That's exactly right.
00:21:25I bet he will.
00:21:25And that's why they didn't get in.
00:21:27So a couple of teams there stung by that pit lane being closed under the yellow that we had.
00:21:34So it's even more time loss for all those that suffered that.
00:21:39But, however, a break for Keating is the fact that the Project 1AO Porsche, Rexy, is also in the pits for their stop.
00:21:47And, in fact, here comes Ben sliding into the Corvette.
00:21:51Katzberg gets out.
00:21:52Katzberg will stay and help with the belts.
00:21:56A lot of times you'll see mechanics do that.
00:21:58New set of Michelin boots going on.
00:22:00Rexy, I love the arms there.
00:22:03I still don't know why.
00:22:05Maybe you know the answer to this guy.
00:22:07But why the GT cars, the driver helps the other driver.
00:22:12They effectively become the driver helper, don't they, in terms of installing the next guy, the next driver in.
00:22:20But the LMP cars is all I've ever really known.
00:22:25You always have a dedicated driver helper.
00:22:26I think with a GT car, the driver can actually do more.
00:22:30So when I did GTs, I'd always do my own lap belts.
00:22:34And then the driver getting out can then do the shoulder belts.
00:22:38So it's quite straightforward.
00:22:39Whereas in a prototype, it tends to be you jump in, you lift your arms up, and they do your full belts.
00:22:46It's so difficult.
00:22:47There's such a little room in the cockpit to actually do much yourself.
00:22:50And I think there's just a bit more space.
00:22:53And then it frees up effectively another person.
00:22:55And you've got less bodies in the pit.
00:22:58Yeah.
00:22:58Well, and the other thing, too, is that with the GT car, there's a lot more room.
00:23:06So you and your helmet and everything else coming in, where with the LMP, with the prototypes, the mechanic has got less around his head, smaller opening.
00:23:17Exactly.
00:23:18He can get in there and help.
00:23:20I always just thought, you know, whenever I got out of the car, you're in a kind of, you know, you're in a fluster.
00:23:26All you want, all you could think about is just get out, get back into the garage.
00:23:31I'm knackered.
00:23:32All I want to do is get the helmet off, drink, cool down as quick as I can.
00:23:37And I would have been worried I would make mistakes in installing the next driver and be slower as well than a driver helper that's dedicated to the job.
00:23:46So I'm surprised they've got the energy and more so the capacity to do such an important job.
00:23:54You know, it's such a responsibility.
00:23:57Yeah, it tends to be the driver getting out will just do the shoulder belts.
00:24:02So the driver will do the, getting in will do the lap belts.
00:24:06The driver gets out will do the shoulder belts.
00:24:07And then it's usually a thumbs up, you know, are you good?
00:24:10Are you good to go?
00:24:11I'm good to go.
00:24:12Door gets closed and away you go.
00:24:14Is there an opportunity to communicate?
00:24:17You know, sometimes, sometimes it might be just.
00:24:19The brakes are knackered or, you know.
00:24:20Yeah, I mean, sometimes it's often it's very, very quick.
00:24:23It's, you know, car's good or it's got big oversteer or it's a very, very sort of quick exchange.
00:24:30But, yeah.
00:24:31Kind of look them in the face and say, I've thrashed it for you.
00:24:34Slap them on the knee.
00:24:36Good luck.
00:24:37It was fine when I got out of it.
00:24:39That's right.
00:24:40It's making a funny noise.
00:24:42It'll be all right.
00:24:43Nothing to worry about, though.
00:24:45There is your new leader in the GTM category, the Iron Dames.
00:24:51Rahel Frey behind the wheel of that car.
00:24:54We just saw Beauvais looking on from the pits.
00:24:59Again, these girls are doing a great job.
00:25:00They keep, they're just, depending on pit stops, they're either first or the third.
00:25:05They've been in the hunt all day.
00:25:06And, you know, these girls are inspiring so many females in motorsport.
00:25:11And, you know, you see, you go to a local go-kart track now and you see the amount of girls, young ladies racing.
00:25:18And this is partly down to teams like this that are inspiring these girls.
00:25:23This event has a long tradition of female participation dating back to 1930.
00:25:27In fact, 65 women have competed in this event in the past.
00:25:33Fantastic.
00:25:35Yeah, so it's going to boil down to this again, isn't it?
00:25:39It was inevitable.
00:25:39Of course it was.
00:25:41The 33 yellow Corvette versus the car we're looking at on screen.
00:25:45The Iron Dames, pink Porsche.
00:25:47This has been the story all season long.
00:25:51Usually in qualifying, to be fair.
00:25:52But it's usually that epic fight between Ben Keating and qualifying versus Sarah Bovee.
00:26:01And, you know, the order's a little bit mixed up in this long race today.
00:26:05The 33's had a severe setback near the start of the race.
00:26:10And I never expected, as with you, Jim, I never expected us to be even remotely thinking about the prospect of Corvette being on the lead lap,
00:26:21let alone potentially challenging the Iron Dames, the leaders of this race, in the last six and a half hours.
00:26:28So, yeah, I can't wait to see that gap slowly close down.
00:26:33But Ben Keating is now behind the wheels.
00:26:35We saw him jump in with Rahal Frey driving the Iron Dames.
00:26:38And a great statement for Porsche as well, because they didn't even put one car into hyperbole in the class.
00:26:47There were eight cars in GTM, and not one of them carried the gold shield.
00:26:52It's like I always say, you're probably bored of hearing me say it, I never ended an endurance race, ever, and thought,
00:27:00you know what, I wish I could have had a better qualifying session.
00:27:03That's right.
00:27:05All it is, is a great way.
00:27:08It's a muscle flexing contest qualifying, particularly for the 24 hours of Le Mans.
00:27:14I've never known somebody qualify in pole and, you know, breeze off into the distance and go,
00:27:19yep, it was all because of that pole.
00:27:21My wife would call it willy-wagging.
00:27:23Through the Porsche curves goes the Ferrari, number 51.
00:27:32That's our race leader, Antonio Giovinazzi.
00:27:35And he's really taken to this, isn't he?
00:27:40Oh, very much so.
00:27:41He's been in the first season, in full-time sports car racing, in the car that he wants to be in, the Ferrari, the car he never had a chance to race in Formula One.
00:27:52And that was his primary goal.
00:27:55Sure.
00:27:55You know, like many drivers, they start off, like Guy mentioned, go-karts, single-seaters, you get into first, and you're kind of blinkered.
00:28:05It's that, it's that fast track to Formula One, it's all you can really think of when you're young and you've come out of, of, of, of, you know, junior formulas, single-seaters.
00:28:14And this probably wouldn't have been on his radar.
00:28:16He would never have envisaged it happening so early in his career.
00:28:20But, my goodness, he's not looking back now.
00:28:23Let's check in with, uh, Buemi.
00:28:25Track limit at turn three this lap, fifth call.
00:28:29Track limit, turn three, fifth call.
00:28:32So, that's, he's now used up all of his free ones.
00:28:35Yeah, five jokers.
00:28:37You're allowed five jokers before you get a penalty.
00:28:40So, the momentum's just starting to shift a little bit towards, um, the Ferrari.
00:28:45Everything's just slightly going in their favor, a little bit more speed.
00:28:48When he's on the max out on his, uh...
00:28:55The Ferrari are completely flat-spotted.
00:28:59Copy.
00:29:01Yeah, unsurprisingly.
00:29:02The Ferrari are completely what?
00:29:03Yeah, completely flat-spotted.
00:29:05Oh, well, yeah, because...
00:29:06Unsurprisingly, because...
00:29:07Oh, yeah, I mean, that was a huge lock-up into, uh, well, around turn one, basically, wasn't it?
00:29:12Yes.
00:29:13Fast right-hander.
00:29:14And, uh, inside right-wing.
00:29:16I wonder if that's got anything to do with the, uh, with this, this, the, uh, roll distribution switch is stuck.
00:29:25Yeah.
00:29:26Possibly.
00:29:27Because you may have put the, put too much weight forward or back, and...
00:29:30Yeah.
00:29:31And, I mean, if you're, if you're, if you're too light in the front, is that going to give you a tendency to lock the front?
00:29:37Yeah, too stiff on the front end.
00:29:38Yeah.
00:29:39Under braking, and, uh, you know, you, you got that extra, extra load going through the front axle of the car.
00:29:45Less compliance, basically.
00:29:47Yeah.
00:29:47And easier to lock up.
00:29:48But I, I do wonder if they're, they're, they're really on the back foot there.
00:29:53And this flat spot will not be helping at all.
00:29:56And it loses speed on the straight as well, as we well know, guys.
00:29:59It's, uh, you know, it just causes that, that extra drag.
00:30:02It's been a long race for the, uh, the Action Express car 3-1-1.
00:30:09Obviously lost a lot of time early on in the race.
00:30:12And when it happens so early in a 24-hour race, and you kind of just play and catch up, it's, uh, it really is a long race.
00:30:18Yeah, it sure is.
00:30:19And, uh, you know, kind of use this probably, you know, as much as anything as a test.
00:30:23It's a great opportunity to get more miles on Le Mans, test the car.
00:30:31On board with the two car, Richard Westbrook behind the wheel now.
00:30:35This is third overall.
00:30:36So we have Ferrari, Toyota, Cadillac number two, Cadillac number three, and then the Peugeot 93.
00:30:43Now, much like the Ben Keating story, who would have thought that the, if we were going to see a Peugeot in the top five, that it would be the 93 car.
00:30:52Yeah, again, Mikhail Jensen at the wheel at the moment, but, uh, yeah, there was a time when we wouldn't have been, uh, wouldn't have been surprised at all if it didn't make it back out of the garage.
00:31:08Good job, Richard, good job.
00:31:10People behind us, not for position.
00:31:12He's down.
00:31:16Yeah, that looks like the, was that the,
00:31:22the two Peugeot's, I mean, they've had their issues, they've obviously had, uh, you know, tripping the gravel, they had the, uh, contact with the barrier in turn one, uh, sorry, uh, first chicane.
00:31:40But actually, the car's been pretty reliable, very reliable, so, you know, I'm impressed, and actually they've had good speed, particularly in the wet, they were probably the fastest car on track, so, um, they could definitely, um, hold their heads high, uh, but, you know, I think there's a little bit of, um, you know, what could have been, because they were running solidly in the top three, um, it would have been interesting to see whether they had the pace to maintain that.
00:32:03There's the number 65, patty racing entry, in third position in LMP2, uh, three quarters of a lap behind.
00:32:16Yalb van Aert, behind the wheel of that car, trying to chase down, uh, Aubrey and Jacobson.
00:32:23Those are the, uh, top three, uh, overtakes, I should say.
00:32:26Giovinazzi, again, set his fastest lap of the race on a 28, 328.5, so, he's not, he's not hanging about, he's pushing on, and trying to extend that gap over, especially in weather, which is now at 43 seconds.
00:32:43Yeah, there's going to be no waiting around at this point, there's no, uh, certainly with, uh, six and a half hours remaining in the race, it's still, still keep it, keep it, keep it going, keep it going.
00:32:56I think you've got to, I think as a, as a driver and as, as a team, if you start to drive slightly conservatively, that's when the mistakes happen, and, you know, you lose concentration, so, I think, absolutely, flat out, full focus, and, um, you know, that's, that's what you need to do.
00:33:14Yeah, maybe not, maybe not ten-tenths, but certainly nine-tenths, because the other thing, too, is, is that any margin that you build becomes a safety net if you do have a problem later on.
00:33:25It may not be a big enough safety net, but at least you've got something, you know?
00:33:29And Kevin Astro there, he's also doing a, uh, 328.3 at the port, which is, you know, that's actually quicker than the leaders fastest lap, so, it just shows there is the pace in that car.
00:33:39LMP2 leader into the pits.
00:33:41Got some new tires standing by, some new good years.
00:33:45We may see a tire change, a good year, uh, engineer, tire tech going, uh, giving those, uh, a pretty close inspection.
00:33:52Yeah, it's usually when they want to keep those same set of tires on, so you've got there, the other tires, all ready to go, just in case, and then the thumb goes up from, uh, the guy that was just checking the tires.
00:34:08Yeah.
00:34:08So, fuel in, and I should expect they're going to keep those tires on for another stint.
00:34:13So, it's just a precautionary measure that's taken, makes sense to, uh, to do that, because without the help of the tire technician, there might be, you know, a small cut in the tire, or something you just can't see from inside the car, and the mechanics are doing their job around the car, and, uh, you know, yeah, they don't have time to do a tire inspection.
00:34:37No way. So, uh, you know, there's no one better suited to the job than the person that's, uh, involved with the tire manufacturing themselves.
00:34:47And each of those engineers is embedded with the team.
00:34:49Yeah.
00:34:50So, they also know the team strategy. They know what their compound plans are, what they've been using, what they, what they want to use, what their plan is for the rest of the race.
00:35:00So, he's, he's fully in the know, and can help them make their decisions. Here's the second place car in the class, Rui Andrade.
00:35:11You see the total overtakes there, the hypercar, Caterpary, LMP2, GTM, 8,181 overtakes. Incredible stuff.
00:35:22Three-class racing, there's passing everywhere.
00:35:25There's 2,727 overtakes per driver at this point in that car crew, in the car crews for the, uh, hypercar.
00:35:37No wonder some of them go wrong from time to time.
00:35:40Yeah, but now one again.
00:35:41I mean, that's a serious amount of, uh, calculated, calculated risks to take, should we say.
00:35:47Yep.
00:35:50Yeah, I did work it out once, because, uh, during the LMP1 days, when, obviously, they were even faster than you have today, and you were catching cars even quicker.
00:35:59Roughly, you'd have to say it was around four, about four or five cars you were overtaking per lap at any time.
00:36:06Wow.
00:36:06And, uh, it worked out, yeah, no wonder, no wonder it goes wrong sometimes, because per driver in each car, with your time behind the wheel, around eight hours, you'd be sharing it equally, it was around four hundred, four hundred and fifty cars you were overtaking alone, uh, per driver.
00:36:24Every one of them, perfect.
00:36:26Oh, perfect, that's a big word.
00:36:28You'd be surprised how many it misses, and you're going through a race, and you're thinking, that was close, that was close.
00:36:35I'm glad it wasn't just me.
00:36:38Yeah, you do, you think back, you think, I know we won that race, or we had a podium, and it was really good.
00:36:43From the outside, it looks like it was really slick, and, you know, nicely operated, but, oof, if that moment had just come wrong there, oh yeah, when I go, when I just thought I, you know, just getting it oh so close, and thought I'd mastered that one.
00:36:57If that driver had just done this, or that, at that moment, it would have been a massive one.
00:37:03Yeah, have you ever looked back at it, and thought, what was I thinking?
00:37:07No, not what was I thinking, it's just more the, wow, that was lucky.
00:37:11Yeah, yeah, I mean, you've always got to push, but, uh, yeah, it's, like I say, it's calculated risk, and, um, you've got to have some cooperation on the, on the track, you've got to have respect, and that's the important thing, is, is when you're racing closely, particularly, you know, against your, sort of peers,
00:37:27you've got to have that respect, and, um, you know, it's fine, fine margins, and, you know, sometimes when you're coming up to some of the slower cars, they, they don't always see you, and, uh, you know, that's, that's the danger, is getting collected.
00:37:39All right, Sebastian Bourdais out of the number three car, Scott Dixon back in, these guys have, uh, put in, uh, another outstanding performance, this is a, so, so we've got a couple of comeback drives in each of these classes that are just very noteworthy, and this, for me,
00:38:03in hypercar is the, is the most noteworthy of, of all, again, this was a car that, that was, that was out of it, and all we've got to do is have a little bit of trouble
00:38:13for any of those three cars that are in front of them, and they are definitely in with a shout for a podium.
00:38:20Yeah, Ryle Frey is just on the fastest lap of the, uh, Iron Dames' car, so they're pushing on, they know that they,
00:38:26they've got pressure from behind, from the Corvette and the Project One car, so she's, uh, done a great job there, and she's pushing,
00:38:35pushing hard to keep, uh, that car up at the top spot.
00:38:39What an amazing story it would be, for them, you know, they're, they're a great car crew, like I said, guy, um, you know,
00:38:47they've had success already in the World Endurance Championship, but, uh, this is the one they want, this is the one that, and they're, they're on track, you know, to, to do that.
00:38:56Um, you know, not a clean qualifying session for them, and, yeah, didn't make hyper-pole, but, uh, you know,
00:39:03the car we're looking at on the screen, didn't make hyper-pole either, but they were right there, the race, yeah, yeah,
00:39:10until they had their problem. I mean, I, I'm surprised, honestly, still to see them in the race.
00:39:17They've had, reliability has not been their friend, uh, this year, well, since they, since they returned to the World Endurance Championship,
00:39:24it hasn't been their friend, and, uh, I think there were modest expectations, to say the least,
00:39:30from even within the team themselves, to, to, in terms of the reliability of the car.
00:39:35And, uh, I'll just say that, it's going, popping back into the garage, can't see anything wrong with the car.
00:39:39No.
00:39:40But, uh, I mean, look, you're, you're, you're down there, effectively last place in, in hyper-car at the moment, anyway.
00:39:46But, uh, that's due to driver error, not because of reliability.
00:39:51Yes.
00:39:52Said Borde, out the car now, local man.
00:40:04Report from the pit lane is that, uh, oil temperature alarm on the Peugeot,
00:40:09so they have taken that back to further investigate.
00:40:13Okay, I wonder if that's anything to do with the earlier shunt than the car.
00:40:17Could very well be.
00:40:17First, again.
00:40:22A lot of talk now, down in the Toyota pit, about Puemi coming in and switching to mediums.
00:40:30Yeah, they've been running the softs, haven't they, for the majority of the race,
00:40:33and the pace just isn't there.
00:40:35They're just losing time to the Ferrari, and I think they've got to kind of roll the dice a little bit here,
00:40:44and maybe just try something different, try and go for the mediums.
00:40:46As, as we start to, as the track temperature starts to warm up, um,
00:40:50it might find that the medium tire is going to be more in the window for them,
00:40:53so let's see how that works out.
00:40:56And, of course, remember, he, he absolutely destroyed the same tires
00:41:00going up into the Dunlop chicane with that lock-up, so.
00:41:04Yeah, he'll be desperate to, I'm sure, yeah, he's desperate to get rid of these things.
00:41:08And if that happens early on in the stint, you know, one of the first few laps,
00:41:11you've got to live with it for the rest of the stint, it's awful.
00:41:14As we said about that vibration, it's literally filling through your teeth that they're knocked out,
00:41:19so it's, it's an awful thing to have to drive with for, for a full stint.
00:41:23See a comparison there between the 56, P.J. Hyatt.
00:41:34The man behind that is actually his daughter is the person behind that T-Rex.
00:41:40Porsche paint scheme there.
00:41:43And behind in his mirrors, where he's got an LMP2 car now,
00:41:45that's the number 41 in second place, Rui Andrade, driving that car.
00:41:52But further back, you've got the 33 car.
00:41:54There it is, with Ben Keating on board.
00:41:57And instead of a dinosaur, I think we've got the shark.
00:42:00I think we're going to start here at the Jaws music.
00:42:02Donna, Donna, Donna, here it comes.
00:42:07The 51 comes in with Giovinazzi there.
00:42:11Race leader, this looks like it will probably be fuel only.
00:42:15For the stop.
00:42:17There's, getting ready to take one of the, no, they're not going to take the tear off.
00:42:21They were pulling something off the, off the top of the, top of the car,
00:42:25on top of the windscreen.
00:42:27Thought maybe they were going to go with the tear off,
00:42:29but then why would they clean the windscreen?
00:42:31It's the windscreen wiper.
00:42:32They pull it backwards.
00:42:33Yes, I guess.
00:42:34So they can access more of the screen with the cleaner fluid.
00:42:38And you don't want to go peeling off too many tear-offs.
00:42:42You want to use them wisely.
00:42:43You've only got, I think, 12 maximum can go onto these screens.
00:42:46Box, box, box for tires.
00:42:48Stay in the car.
00:42:50So, Den's going to say that this is a couple times now
00:42:53that Toyota has had to, oh, troubles now for the 709.
00:42:58That's the same place as 708.
00:43:01Yeah.
00:43:01The exit of Indianapolis.
00:43:03Yeah, the 708 ran wide into the gravel,
00:43:05dropped a wheel and bottomed out on the curb
00:43:07and thought you went backwards into the barrier
00:43:09with Olivier Perrault,
00:43:107 and 9, possibly done something similar.
00:43:15That's what I was...
00:43:16Yep.
00:43:17Very...
00:43:18Almost the same.
00:43:19Can you say duplicate?
00:43:20But it went in front on the other side of the bag.
00:43:23Yeah.
00:43:24What I was going to say about the Toyota,
00:43:25this is at least two times that I've witnessed
00:43:29personally, and maybe it's happened more,
00:43:33that the drivers have gotten out of sequence with their tires.
00:43:37We saw it at the beginning of the race
00:43:38when they started in the sauce
00:43:39and when we stayed in the car and they changed tires,
00:43:43and this time he's stayed in the car
00:43:45and they changed tires.
00:43:47They had to because of the flat spots,
00:43:49but, yeah.
00:43:51I think this is going to be the first time
00:43:52we've seen the medium tire go on the Toyota.
00:43:56So, yeah, we're hearing that the Toyota
00:43:58has, in fact, come in now
00:43:59and switched those mediums.
00:44:02Because with all of the rain that we had,
00:44:04we kept getting the soft compound.
00:44:06When you could be on slicks,
00:44:07that was the one to be on.
00:44:08Yeah.
00:44:08I think, though, that they did,
00:44:10on that first stint,
00:44:12when they went out on the softs
00:44:14and the racetrack started to dry enough,
00:44:16they went to the mediums,
00:44:17and then we got rain,
00:44:18and then they went,
00:44:20everybody came in for the Fords,
00:44:23the wet tires.
00:44:24The number 50 Ferrari just posted again
00:44:26the fastest lap of the race
00:44:27on a 3.27.8,
00:44:29which is seriously quick.
00:44:32Wow.
00:44:32Absolutely flying.
00:44:33I mean, it's, yeah, I mean,
00:44:34like we said before,
00:44:35you know,
00:44:36they're out there taking the risks
00:44:37that you can now.
00:44:38There's nothing to lose
00:44:39down there in P8.
00:44:42And, you know,
00:44:42if you don't do that,
00:44:43then you're not leading the race
00:44:47like your teammates.
00:44:47So, yeah,
00:44:48there's the move
00:44:48as expected
00:44:50from Ben Keating
00:44:51on the car 56.
00:44:54No contest there.
00:44:56Another place gained
00:44:57and Keating now
00:44:58up into second place.
00:45:00Wow, look at that under braking.
00:45:01Just absolutely perfect.
00:45:03When Hyatt went for the brakes,
00:45:05Ben said,
00:45:06see you on a B.
00:45:07See you on a B.
00:45:11Through Indianapolis.
00:45:13This is where the double yellow
00:45:16for the 709 has been removed.
00:45:19That car's back underway.
00:45:21Through our Nage,
00:45:23the 90-degree right-hander.
00:45:25So, the last lap
00:45:27for Keating
00:45:27was a 3.55.
00:45:30And the leader
00:45:31of that class at the moment,
00:45:33Rahul Frey,
00:45:343.55 as well.
00:45:36She's, yeah,
00:45:38maintaining that gap.
00:45:40But I've got a feeling
00:45:42this fight's not over.
00:45:44No.
00:45:44No.
00:45:45That Corvette's got some
00:45:46serious pace in it
00:45:47as we saw in qualifying as well.
00:45:49Here comes the 709
00:45:52back into the pits.
00:45:56There you see
00:45:57the NASCAR Camaro
00:45:59number 24.
00:46:01Reminding folks
00:46:02that it's not a NASCAR,
00:46:03it is a NASCAR car.
00:46:06Because NASCAR is the series.
00:46:08Yeah, that's exactly right.
00:46:08So, they,
00:46:09I've heard Jimmy Johnson
00:46:11and Jensen
00:46:12referring to it
00:46:12as a stock car.
00:46:14So, you can call it
00:46:15a stock car,
00:46:15but not a NASCAR.
00:46:17I mean, NASCAR
00:46:17is the National
00:46:19Association
00:46:20of Stock Car Automobile Racing.
00:46:23Easy for you to say.
00:46:24Yeah, exactly.
00:46:26If you can't say it,
00:46:27no one's going to do it.
00:46:28Because,
00:46:29because in the genesis
00:46:30of the sport,
00:46:31they were stock cars.
00:46:33They were,
00:46:33they were showroom
00:46:34model cars
00:46:35that guys would take
00:46:36and modify
00:46:37and turn into race cars.
00:46:39I mean,
00:46:39the actual,
00:46:40the actual origins
00:46:41of the sport,
00:46:42believe it or not,
00:46:42were a group of guys
00:46:44who were moonshiners
00:46:45who used to use,
00:46:48you know,
00:46:48modify the cars
00:46:49to be able
00:46:50to stay ahead
00:46:50of the police
00:46:51and the revenuers
00:46:52and they would have
00:46:53places in the car
00:46:54to hide the illegal liquor
00:46:56and these guys
00:46:58would always be,
00:46:59as men are wont to do,
00:47:00would be bragging
00:47:01about whose car
00:47:02was better
00:47:02so they started
00:47:03to get together
00:47:04on Friday
00:47:05and Saturday nights
00:47:06and race their cars
00:47:07on the dirt tracks
00:47:08and that was really
00:47:09the genesis
00:47:10of stock car racing
00:47:11in America.
00:47:11I don't think anyone
00:47:14would have a chance
00:47:14of catching that
00:47:15Chevrolet Camaro.
00:47:17No.
00:47:19They would hear it.
00:47:22That would go against it.
00:47:24Much like those jets
00:47:25that we heard
00:47:26flying over yesterday.
00:47:28They, I think they
00:47:34would be struggling
00:47:34with the 708 car
00:47:36I think also
00:47:36had a new nose
00:47:37and they had the
00:47:39change of the stickers
00:47:40and now that one
00:47:42looks pretty damaged
00:47:42as well.
00:47:43So,
00:47:44looks like the old
00:47:45gaffer tape's
00:47:45coming out.
00:47:46Oh dear.
00:47:47A bit like
00:47:48Peugeot found themselves
00:47:49in that situation
00:47:49in Sebring.
00:47:51Round one.
00:47:52And they were
00:47:53desperately peeling off.
00:47:54I can't remember
00:47:55which way around
00:47:56it was.
00:47:5693, 94
00:47:57they're peeling
00:47:58off the stick
00:47:59into one of them
00:47:59to put the other
00:48:00one back on.
00:48:01Oh.
00:48:02And look at the gap
00:48:03at the top
00:48:03between the Ferrari
00:48:05and the Toyota.
00:48:05Wow.
00:48:06It's out to a minute.
00:48:08Good spot, guy.
00:48:09Let's off to that
00:48:09pit stop, of course.
00:48:11For Buemi.
00:48:11Ah, good point.
00:48:13So,
00:48:14set back out there
00:48:15on the medium tyres
00:48:16now.
00:48:16It's not what I,
00:48:17it's this part
00:48:19of the race
00:48:19is not what I expected.
00:48:20I did think
00:48:21Toyota would have
00:48:21the speed
00:48:22to match the Ferrari
00:48:24not necessarily
00:48:25be faster
00:48:25but I didn't
00:48:27expect the Ferrari
00:48:27to just be
00:48:28streaking away
00:48:30now.
00:48:30His first full lap
00:48:32though,
00:48:32he has set
00:48:33a personal best
00:48:34sector one.
00:48:34Let's check
00:48:35into the pits.
00:48:36I'm just at
00:48:36Glickenhaus
00:48:37and the 709
00:48:38they're actually
00:48:39doing the work
00:48:39in the pit lane
00:48:41to fix that car
00:48:42but at the same
00:48:43time the 708
00:48:44has now come in
00:48:46for a pit stop
00:48:46as well
00:48:46so they're both
00:48:47side by side.
00:48:48The team
00:48:49are still working
00:48:50on that 709
00:48:51at the front of it
00:48:52at the moment.
00:48:53I'll let you know
00:48:54what happens.
00:48:54I'll try and speak
00:48:55to somebody
00:48:55from the team.
00:48:56Yeah,
00:48:56he went in
00:48:57that both of them
00:48:58have now had
00:48:59problems at
00:49:00Indianapolis
00:49:00going wide
00:49:03on driver's right
00:49:04hitting the
00:49:05gravel
00:49:06in the right
00:49:06rear tires
00:49:07and then bouncing
00:49:08and spinning.
00:49:10The 708
00:49:12went in
00:49:12on the driver's
00:49:13left
00:49:13and 709
00:49:15went in
00:49:15on driver's right
00:49:16so they both
00:49:18and Contratompe
00:49:20at the same spot.
00:49:20Yeah,
00:49:24sister car
00:49:25has got going.
00:49:26Yeah,
00:49:26they've had to
00:49:26put it on the
00:49:28trolleys
00:49:29and they should
00:49:29have really
00:49:30put that car
00:49:31the 709
00:49:31in the garage
00:49:32but it's ready
00:49:33to go now.
00:49:33That was a
00:49:34troubled moment
00:49:37for Glickenhaus
00:49:38trying to get
00:49:38that front end
00:49:39on that car.
00:49:40It really didn't
00:49:40want to go
00:49:41at one point.
00:49:42I wonder if it
00:49:43bent something else
00:49:45for the back.
00:49:46Yeah.
00:49:47Or even one
00:49:48of the attachment
00:49:49flips.
00:49:49You know,
00:49:49you've got the
00:49:50round peg
00:49:52in the round hole.
00:49:53It seemed like
00:49:53they couldn't even
00:49:54get it close enough
00:49:55to get the peg
00:49:56to do its thing.
00:49:58Jim Bickenhaus
00:49:59watches on
00:50:00and he's now
00:50:01seen two of his
00:50:01cars get rotated
00:50:02at the same corner.
00:50:04I've said it before,
00:50:05I'll say it again,
00:50:06history will look
00:50:07upon this man
00:50:08as one of the
00:50:09unsung heroes
00:50:10of sports car racing.
00:50:11A man who
00:50:14believes in the
00:50:15project,
00:50:17has, you know,
00:50:18done it all
00:50:18out of his own
00:50:19pocket.
00:50:22That's kind of
00:50:23much like
00:50:24I was talking
00:50:25moments ago
00:50:26about the
00:50:27foundation of
00:50:27stock car racing.
00:50:29That's kind of
00:50:29the foundation
00:50:30of sports car racing.
00:50:37Louise said
00:50:38she was going
00:50:38to see if she
00:50:39could find
00:50:39somebody at
00:50:39Glickenhaus
00:50:40and it sounds
00:50:41like she may
00:50:42have.
00:50:44I'm with
00:50:45Ryan Briscoe,
00:50:46driver of the
00:50:47708 Glickenhaus.
00:50:49I mean,
00:50:49you guys can't
00:50:50get the brakes
00:50:50right now,
00:50:51can you?
00:50:52Yeah,
00:50:52I mean,
00:50:53it's a shame,
00:50:55you know,
00:50:55because we had
00:50:56both cars sort of
00:50:56looking top five,
00:50:58but hey,
00:50:58we've still got
00:50:59a lot of racing
00:50:59left to do
00:51:00and both cars
00:51:01are running strong,
00:51:02so, you know,
00:51:03we're going through
00:51:04some noses and
00:51:05stuff,
00:51:06but it's been
00:51:07a bit of a
00:51:08theme of the race,
00:51:09I think,
00:51:09for everybody.
00:51:11After the team
00:51:12brought the 708
00:51:12to fix all of
00:51:13the repairs
00:51:14for that one,
00:51:15709 had a
00:51:15very similar one,
00:51:16they thought
00:51:17they could do it
00:51:17in the pit lane,
00:51:18they had.
00:51:19Yeah,
00:51:19yeah,
00:51:20you know,
00:51:22I think,
00:51:23I think we had
00:51:24a bit of
00:51:24suspension damage
00:51:25on our one,
00:51:26so they had to
00:51:27bring it in,
00:51:28do the suspension,
00:51:29on that one
00:51:30it was just
00:51:30body work,
00:51:31so they were
00:51:31able to do it
00:51:31in pit lane
00:51:32pretty quickly.
00:51:32But, yeah,
00:51:34I mean,
00:51:35not the sort
00:51:35of things you
00:51:36want to have
00:51:36to do during
00:51:37the 24-hour race,
00:51:38but, you know,
00:51:39we have a great
00:51:40crew here,
00:51:40they do it as
00:51:41quickly as they
00:51:42can,
00:51:42and we've got
00:51:43both cars on
00:51:44track,
00:51:44and honestly,
00:51:47we're running
00:51:47at a pretty good
00:51:48pace,
00:51:48so we've been
00:51:49really happy
00:51:49with how the
00:51:50race has been
00:51:50going.
00:51:50Absolutely,
00:51:51and your
00:51:52history here
00:51:52is that
00:51:53actually,
00:51:54you've always
00:51:54been there
00:51:55at the end.
00:51:56Yeah,
00:51:56no,
00:51:57and we know
00:51:57that's our
00:51:58strength,
00:51:58and we really
00:52:00went in with
00:52:00the mindset
00:52:01we didn't want
00:52:01to have any
00:52:02mistakes,
00:52:02no penalties,
00:52:03we've had a
00:52:04bit of both,
00:52:05but, you know,
00:52:07we're just going
00:52:08to do our best
00:52:08here and see
00:52:10what result
00:52:10we can pull
00:52:11out of it.
00:52:11Victory in
00:52:12six hours.
00:52:13Yep,
00:52:13that's it.
00:52:18So,
00:52:18it's just
00:52:19over,
00:52:20a normal
00:52:21race distance
00:52:22to go.
00:52:24We've got
00:52:25the Ferrari
00:52:2551 leading
00:52:27Antonio
00:52:28Giovinazzi.
00:52:29Sebastian
00:52:30Buemi just
00:52:30set a personal
00:52:31best for
00:52:32the Toyota,
00:52:33a 329.3,
00:52:35while meanwhile,
00:52:36further down,
00:52:37Antonio Fuoco,
00:52:38our pole sitter,
00:52:39has set the
00:52:40fastest lap
00:52:40of the race
00:52:41at a 327.434.
00:52:45Yeah,
00:52:45almost two seconds
00:52:46a lap quicker
00:52:47than the Toyota,
00:52:49so it just
00:52:50shows the
00:52:50Toyota is
00:52:50definitely
00:52:51lacking some
00:52:51pace to take
00:52:53the fight
00:52:53to the Ferrari.
00:52:56It also goes
00:52:57to show
00:52:57that the top
00:52:58three are
00:53:00really only
00:53:01there because
00:53:02they've had
00:53:02the least
00:53:03problems.
00:53:04I mean,
00:53:04they've got speed
00:53:05as well,
00:53:05but you look
00:53:06at the number
00:53:07two Cadillac
00:53:07as a prime
00:53:08example of
00:53:09you keep your
00:53:09nose clean
00:53:10in a race
00:53:10like this,
00:53:11such a high
00:53:12attrition rate,
00:53:13such difficult
00:53:14conditions for
00:53:15the drivers
00:53:16who mentioned
00:53:16and Ryan
00:53:17Briscoe
00:53:17touched on it
00:53:18there as well.
00:53:19You know,
00:53:19everyone's had
00:53:20their fair share
00:53:21of misdemeanors,
00:53:22but the Cadillac
00:53:24has really had
00:53:25one of the
00:53:26cleanest races
00:53:27and they're
00:53:27right up there
00:53:28on a podium
00:53:29position.
00:53:30We've had a
00:53:30change in GTM
00:53:32for second
00:53:33place.
00:53:34The Oman
00:53:36racing team
00:53:36by TF,
00:53:37Charlie Eastwood
00:53:38has now gotten
00:53:39by Ben Keating
00:53:40in the number
00:53:4133 Corvette
00:53:43for second
00:53:45place in the
00:53:46class.
00:53:46Of course,
00:53:47the Iron
00:53:47Dames continue
00:53:48to lead.
00:53:49Rahel Fry
00:53:49behind the
00:53:50wheel there.
00:53:51There you see
00:53:52him in the
00:53:53background of
00:53:53that shot,
00:53:54Eastwood in
00:53:55the orange
00:53:55Aston Martin.
00:53:57Yeah,
00:53:57Charlie is,
00:53:58I think he's
00:53:58a gold rated
00:53:59driver,
00:54:00not platinum,
00:54:00he's gold,
00:54:01so he's super
00:54:03quick in these
00:54:04cars,
00:54:04he's a super
00:54:04quick driver
00:54:05anyway,
00:54:05he drives
00:54:06LMP2 as
00:54:06well,
00:54:07he's an
00:54:07experienced
00:54:08endurance
00:54:08racer,
00:54:10so he's in
00:54:11a different
00:54:11category of
00:54:13graded driver
00:54:14compared to
00:54:15Ben Keating
00:54:15who's a
00:54:16bronze,
00:54:16so that
00:54:17explains why
00:54:18Charlie's
00:54:19really
00:54:20flying up
00:54:21through the
00:54:21field at
00:54:22this stage.
00:54:25Let's go
00:54:26back down
00:54:27to Louise.
00:54:29Yes,
00:54:29I'm with
00:54:30Paul Luchatain
00:54:30from the
00:54:3148 Edeck
00:54:32Sport.
00:54:34Hyperpole
00:54:34feels like
00:54:35a long
00:54:35time ago,
00:54:36but you
00:54:36did an
00:54:37incredible
00:54:37job putting
00:54:38that car
00:54:38on pole.
00:54:39Yeah,
00:54:40Hyperpole,
00:54:40you know,
00:54:41it was
00:54:41Thursday,
00:54:43so now
00:54:43it's a
00:54:43long time
00:54:44ago,
00:54:44but yeah,
00:54:44it was a
00:54:45great feeling,
00:54:45the car was
00:54:46really good,
00:54:46the team did
00:54:46a really
00:54:47great job,
00:54:47so for
00:54:48sure it
00:54:48was nice
00:54:48to start
00:54:49from pole
00:54:49position for
00:54:50this race.
00:54:51After,
00:54:52you know,
00:54:52now we
00:54:52are six
00:54:54there from
00:54:54the end
00:54:55of the
00:54:55race and
00:54:55still fighting
00:54:56for a good
00:54:57position,
00:54:58maybe a
00:54:58podium.
00:54:59Paul just
00:55:00finished his
00:55:01driving style
00:55:01time,
00:55:02which is good
00:55:03because now
00:55:03we will be
00:55:04able to push
00:55:05as maximum
00:55:06as possible
00:55:06to the end
00:55:07and to try
00:55:08to come back
00:55:09on the podium.
00:55:10Has the race
00:55:10balance of the
00:55:11car felt the
00:55:12same,
00:55:12so from
00:55:13qualifying to
00:55:14the race
00:55:15performance?
00:55:15The balance
00:55:16is more
00:55:17or less
00:55:17the same,
00:55:17of course
00:55:18we are
00:55:19just a bit
00:55:19the set
00:55:20up to have
00:55:20a bit
00:55:20more of
00:55:21understeer
00:55:22because it's
00:55:22always better
00:55:23to have a
00:55:23little bit
00:55:24of understeer
00:55:24for a 24
00:55:25hours race,
00:55:26but the
00:55:27balance is
00:55:27pretty good,
00:55:28the car is
00:55:29really fast
00:55:30and just
00:55:31finger cross
00:55:32to be able
00:55:32to catch
00:55:33the top.
00:55:34Currently
00:55:34running
00:55:35seventh,
00:55:36you've got
00:55:36a great
00:55:36team here,
00:55:37they always
00:55:38put in
00:55:38a good
00:55:38effort
00:55:38here at
00:55:39Le Mans,
00:55:40so you're
00:55:40feeling
00:55:40confident?
00:55:41Yeah,
00:55:42I'm confident
00:55:43but you know
00:55:44the others
00:55:45are really good
00:55:46too,
00:55:46so we'll
00:55:47do our
00:55:47best,
00:55:48but I
00:55:48would be
00:55:48really happy
00:55:49to be able
00:55:49to come
00:55:50back before
00:55:51P3,
00:55:51P2,
00:55:52P1 maybe.
00:55:54The start
00:55:54of that race
00:55:55is the only
00:55:56word we've
00:55:56all been
00:55:56using,
00:55:57it's crazy.
00:55:58I don't know,
00:55:58did you start
00:55:59the car?
00:56:00So how
00:56:01challenging
00:56:02has this
00:56:03particular
00:56:03Le Mans
00:56:04been?
00:56:05Sorry,
00:56:05can you repeat?
00:56:05How challenging
00:56:06for the drivers
00:56:07has this
00:56:07Le Mans
00:56:07been?
00:56:08Because we've
00:56:08had rain,
00:56:09we've had
00:56:09dry,
00:56:10we've had
00:56:10so much
00:56:10going,
00:56:11on a lot
00:56:11of incidents
00:56:12from the start.
00:56:13Yeah,
00:56:13it was
00:56:14a very difficult
00:56:15first part
00:56:16of the race.
00:56:17The start
00:56:18was quite okay,
00:56:19just the first
00:56:19chicken in the
00:56:20Inodier was
00:56:20wait,
00:56:20so we had
00:56:21to be careful
00:56:22there.
00:56:23But yes,
00:56:24honestly,
00:56:25the 10 first
00:56:25hours were
00:56:26really challenging.
00:56:28A lot of
00:56:28pressure because
00:56:29when you're
00:56:29at Le Mans,
00:56:30it's dry
00:56:31at some corners
00:56:31and it's wet
00:56:32at others,
00:56:33and it's
00:56:33very difficult
00:56:34to manage
00:56:35for the
00:56:35tire strategy,
00:56:36even for
00:56:36the driver,
00:56:37we don't
00:56:37know if we
00:56:38can push
00:56:38or not.
00:56:39We saw
00:56:40a lot of
00:56:41mistakes
00:56:41just because
00:56:42sometimes when
00:56:44there is a lot
00:56:45of water,
00:56:45we are just
00:56:46a passenger
00:56:46in the car
00:56:47and we just
00:56:48try to survive.
00:56:49When are you
00:56:49back in?
00:56:51Sorry?
00:56:51When are you
00:56:52back in?
00:56:52I will be back
00:56:53in something
00:56:54like two hours.
00:56:55Okay,
00:56:56thank you.
00:56:56Thank you very much.
00:56:57Louise Beckett
00:56:59down there
00:57:00patrolling
00:57:00pit lane
00:57:01for us.
00:57:03Interesting
00:57:03conversation.
00:57:05Yeah,
00:57:06good insight
00:57:06from Chaton
00:57:07there because,
00:57:08you know,
00:57:08you hear it
00:57:09from the
00:57:10horse's mouth
00:57:10that it's,
00:57:11what a tough,
00:57:12what a tough
00:57:13Le Mans
00:57:13it's been.
00:57:14I mean,
00:57:14we can only
00:57:15watch on
00:57:16and,
00:57:16you know,
00:57:17imagine.
00:57:18Was that
00:57:19some dust
00:57:20getting pulled up
00:57:21there?
00:57:21Or just to cut?
00:57:21No,
00:57:22it was.
00:57:22It's LMP2
00:57:23that saw
00:57:2445 car.
00:57:25That's the
00:57:25the crowd strike
00:57:27entry.
00:57:30Elgav Pro Car.
00:57:31Elgav,
00:57:32yep,
00:57:32thank you.
00:57:35Where are they
00:57:36in the order?
00:57:3845.
00:57:42They are on
00:57:42the other
00:57:43timing screen.
00:57:44Yes,
00:57:44they are.
00:57:44They're leading
00:57:45Pro-Am.
00:57:48Yeah,
00:57:48they're 23rd,
00:57:4911th in class.
00:57:52Right behind
00:57:53the Alpine
00:57:53number 35.
00:57:56Not right
00:57:57behind,
00:57:57but that's
00:57:58who they're
00:57:58chasing.
00:58:00But yeah,
00:58:00Chatan,
00:58:00going back
00:58:01to that,
00:58:01he,
00:58:01you know,
00:58:01clearly one
00:58:02of the stars
00:58:03of qualifying
00:58:04and we were
00:58:04all talking
00:58:05about Fuoco
00:58:05and that pole
00:58:06position,
00:58:07epic stuff
00:58:07at Ferrari,
00:58:09giving them
00:58:10the front row
00:58:12lockout.
00:58:13But yeah,
00:58:14Chatan in the
00:58:14LMP2,
00:58:15it's a hard
00:58:16fought category
00:58:18is LMP2.
00:58:19Everyone on
00:58:20the Orica,
00:58:21same engines,
00:58:22you know,
00:58:23it's a spec
00:58:24car,
00:58:24spec chassis.
00:58:26So to do
00:58:26that,
00:58:27it's a real
00:58:27testament
00:58:28to the driver's
00:58:29skill.
00:58:31And yeah,
00:58:31really insightful
00:58:32saying how
00:58:33we knew
00:58:34we had a good
00:58:34qualifying car
00:58:35and we've had
00:58:35to work
00:58:36on the balance
00:58:36coming into
00:58:37this race.
00:58:37You're always
00:58:38putting a little
00:58:38bit more
00:58:39understeer
00:58:39to just
00:58:40stop the car
00:58:41from being
00:58:41so pointy,
00:58:42so edgy
00:58:43to drive,
00:58:44to allow
00:58:45a little bit
00:58:45more understeer
00:58:46in the car
00:58:46to give
00:58:47the driver
00:58:47an easier
00:58:48time,
00:58:48particularly
00:58:49when the
00:58:50amateur driver
00:58:50gets in
00:58:51as you have
00:58:52to have
00:58:53in LMP2.
00:58:59And there
00:59:00you see
00:59:00the 45 car
00:59:01going off.
00:59:02Let's head
00:59:02back to the
00:59:03pits.
00:59:03I'm with
00:59:06Job van Leuter
00:59:06from the
00:59:0765 Canis
00:59:08Racing,
00:59:08bringing the
00:59:09car in
00:59:09and forth,
00:59:10just jumping
00:59:10out.
00:59:10You look
00:59:10like you've
00:59:11worked hard.
00:59:12Yeah,
00:59:13I think
00:59:13I've already
00:59:14done a full
00:59:1524 hours
00:59:16for my
00:59:16feeling
00:59:16and I
00:59:17still have
00:59:17to do
00:59:17the last
00:59:18three hours
00:59:19I think,
00:59:20so it will
00:59:20be tough
00:59:21but I'm
00:59:22looking forward
00:59:22for the
00:59:23challenges.
00:59:23How's it
00:59:24been?
00:59:24Yeah,
00:59:25it's going
00:59:26well,
00:59:27we are
00:59:27fighting for
00:59:28the podium
00:59:28so I think
00:59:29we have
00:59:29a good
00:59:30chance.
00:59:31We just
00:59:31need everything
00:59:32to work
00:59:32out as well
00:59:32towards the
00:59:33end with
00:59:33pit stops
00:59:35etc.
00:59:36So far
00:59:37it's looking
00:59:37quite good.
00:59:38We don't
00:59:39always see
00:59:40Panis Racing,
00:59:40we do see
00:59:41you at
00:59:41Le Mans,
00:59:41so how
00:59:42does the
00:59:42team come
00:59:43together?
00:59:44Are you
00:59:44doing
00:59:44ELMS
00:59:45with them?
00:59:46Yeah,
00:59:46we do
00:59:46the full
00:59:47ELMS
00:59:48together
00:59:48with
00:59:48Manuel
00:59:48and
00:59:49Tijmer,
00:59:49so this
00:59:49is just
00:59:50because last
00:59:51year we
00:59:51finished
00:59:52second
00:59:52in
00:59:52ELMS
00:59:53so we
00:59:53got the
00:59:54entry
00:59:54for
00:59:54Le Mans
00:59:55so that's
00:59:56why we
00:59:56do this
00:59:57event
00:59:57but normally
00:59:58Panis
00:59:58is always
00:59:59there.
01:00:01Right,
01:00:01well hopefully
01:00:01obviously
01:00:02there's a
01:00:03lot of
01:00:04things
01:00:04there's a
01:00:05lot of
01:00:06things
01:00:06that's
01:00:07going to be
Recommended
59:55
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