The #7 Toyota lets go, the #8 Toyota regains the lead at Spa midway through the race

Toyota still remains in the lead of the 6 Hours of Spa at the halfway mark, but the Japanese brand saw its No. 050 TS7 Hybrid lose control of the event, in favor of the No. 8 sister car, currently entrusted to Fernando Alonso.

However, the No. 7 seemed to have the upper hand in this third hour, in almost normal track conditions, mainly marked by the loss of the right front wheel for the BR1 No. 17 – SMP Racing of Egor Orudzhev in the line right of Kemmel. The debris spread by the Russian while returning to the pitlane forced the race management to reissue a new Full Course Yellow.

A procedure which saw Fernando Alonso (Toyota n°8) go sideways off-track at Pouhon before the two Toyotas returned to the pits.

Big spin for @alo_oficial, last year's winner of the TOTAL 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps! #WEC #6HSPA @Toyota_Hybrid pic.twitter.com/YbU8FsSIUa

— WEC  (@FIAWEC) May 4, 2019

More fear than harm for the Spaniard who can continue his race, but is unable to reduce the gap on the leading No. 7 Toyota, Kobayashi counting more than 40″ in advance.

But there was a twist at 3h08″ from the finish, as the No. 7 entered the pits and was pushed into its box. The mechanics begin dismantling the sidepods of the LM P1 hybrid prototype, to intervene on a sensor problem.

The #7 car has returned to the track in the hands of @ pechito37 following a sensor issue.

We now have @kazuki_info in the #8 #TS050 HYBRID having taken over from @alo_oficial.#Toyota #6HSPA #PushingTheLimitsForBetter #ToyotaGAZOORacing pic.twitter.com/OgYWKIKjjn

- TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WEC (@Toyota_Hybrid) May 4, 2019

After several minutes of immobilization, the No. 7 finally leaves but seems to have lost any chance of victory overall.

Alonso, returning to the pit lane for a sixth time, dominates these 6 Hours of Spa with a comfortable lead of almost 2′ over the #13 Rebellion R3 of Gustavo Menezes and more than 2’30” over the #1 BR11. XNUMX – SMP Racing by Vitaly Petrov.

In LM P2, Signatech Alpine still dominates with the No. 470 A36 of Pierre Thiriet, but the No. 07 Oreca 38 – Jackie Chan DC Racing of Ho Pin Tung is in ambush at around ten seconds.

The most indecisive fight seems to concern the GTE Pro, since Aston Martin, Ferrari et Porsche There is a fierce fight, which for the moment is to the advantage of the No. 97 Vantage of Alex Lynn ahead of the No. 488 Ferrari 71 of Davide Rigon and the No. 911 Porsche 91 of Richard Lietz.

Clearwater Racing with the No. 488 Ferrari 61 of Matteo Cressoni is still leading the category.