H19: Audi remains a candidate

Rain, thunderstorms early in the afternoon. Everyone was talking about it this week in the paddocks. As such, the drivers were delighted to have driven on a wet track on Wednesday, in order to get used to these conditions, which can be found in the race. The weather services are indeed forecasting rain late in the morning. An element which could disrupt a duel which has found stability in recent hours. Indeed, at Audi and Peugeot , the race has gone off without a hitch since dawn. The positions thus remain fixed with two Peugeots (n°9, n°8) in front of the n°1 Audi.

After dawn and the numerous slips and other mechanical problems, most of the teams no longer experienced major problems. However, Harold Primat has restarted the abandonment ball. By making a mistake in the turn Porsche, the former Pescarolo driver dashed the hopes of theAston Martin n°009, who already didn't have much left, following his many problems.

Primat was imitated a few minutes later by Bakkerud, driver of the No. 10 Audi R15 for the Kolles team. While he was running at low speed, within the peloton, behind the safety car, the Dane blocked the wheels, violently hitting the safety wall. Returning to his stand in slow motion, he offers his mechanics a great challenge.

And definitely, this morning is not dedicated to the firm with the rings. The No. 15 Audi R3, with Romain Dumas at the wheel, missed the Indianapolis chicane and ended its race in the gravel. The Frenchman can however restart, despite two pit stops in the following quarter of an hour.

In LMP2, the Porsche RS Spyder of the Essex team still holds the lead and it is a new victory in an endurance race which is looming for, among others, Emmanuel Collard, also entered in FIA GT. Three laps away, the other Spyder, that of Navi Team Goh, continues its journey.
In GT2, it’s always the Ferrari 430 from the Rizi Competizione team which leads the way, leaving the #430 F 97 two laps behind and the #997 Porsche 76 three laps behind.