A Lot Of Spinning in the Heavy Rain Of Hour Two
- Nov 1, 2015
- 2 min read
Porsche #17 manages to hold the lead through the second hour as teammates in car #18 make steady gains on the rest of the field. Half way through the second hour #18 was back up to fourth, having passed both the Toyotas, and was making gains on the two Audis. The privateer-classed #13 Rebellion took a spin into the gravel, causing the second full course yellow of the race. The end of the hour still sees Porsche #17 in the lead, in the best position for their driver’s championship campaign and for Porsche’s hopes of wrapping up the constructor’s championship.
The first full course yellow came at the expense of the #42 Strakka car, that spun at the start of the second hour and fell victim to the gravel traps. Having managed to get moving again the #42 headed straight to the pits to check for any damage. But the rain was coming down a lot heavier now as the green flag came back out and a lot of cars were struggling to keep it on the track. After G-Drive #26 had a spin under the worsening conditions their teammates #28 took the lead of the class, with the Morgan #29 car in third.
As the pit stops unfolded through the hour, staggered through strategy and weather-dictation, the lead of the Pro class swapped between Porsche and Ferrari hands. #91, #71 and #51 pitted through the full course yellows brought out by the #42 Strakka and #91 came out with the advantage, leading the class into the third hour. Unlike the Am class the Pros appeared to be better at keeping the cars on the track, and it showed that the changing conditions were potentially a little too much for the Am drivers to handle.
The Aston Martin #98 holds the lead as everyone else in class appeared to be pirouetting off the tarmac. The lead was passed from #77 to #88 to #98 to #96 within the first quarter of an hour as the pit stops began to unfold, but as the rain hardened the cars began to fall off the track. #77 spun at pit entrance as #88 followed them into a spin only a few moments later. The #50 Corvette had a spin, managing to get back onto track but impending the Toyota #2 as it rejoined the race. Throughout all of this AF Corse #72 and championship leader picked up a 30-second stop/go penalty.
With the heavy downpour of rain, who else will fall victim to the non-grip nature of the dampening track? Audi #7 have still not been penalized for their contact with #18 but it is unsure if they will as they try to chase down the flying #17 that’s pace seems unaffected but the wet weather.
(Image: www.fiawec.com)
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