Porsche Doing Everything To Close The Gap as Am Class Shuffles the Lead
- Nov 21, 2015
- 3 min read
Porsche #17 has made great advances in the second hour, pushing hard to catch up on the laps and time lost during the first hours disastrous pit stop. Porsche managed a thirty-one lap before having to pit which is good for them to know they can make the tyres last longer as the track darkens and begins to cool. From starting the hour in P20 Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley have managed to climb back up the time sheets for P6, five laps down on the leader. It is no longer about winning the race for Porsche but simply getting up to P4 in class. Audi #8 lead the class at the moment, which does mean Audi #7 only gains eighteen points, so Porsche #17 need five points to win, but the assumption is that if the status is the same towards the end of the race Audi #8 will let #7 through to take the twenty-five points. Toyotas position in the race will have an impact on the result of the championship; Porsche #17 still needs to get to P4 before the end of the race and currently Toyota could mess that up.
#47 still leads the LMP2 class and is pulling away from second-placed #26. In terms of the championship this isn’t enough for KCMG to take back the title as the gap is sixteen points and this would give them an advance of seven points. The second G-Drive car, car #28, is slowly slipping backwards. It was P3 behind it’s teammate but it was demoted by #36 for P4 and then by #42 down into P5 as it went wide off the track. #44 will not collect points for this race as it is the one and only race it has taken part in. However it could take a podium position if the chance comes up, and would stand on the podium if it did so.
#92 still leads the Pro class as #51 picks up the first warning about track limits at turn four. #91 needs to move up the field to help Porsche with the Constructor’s title as it is currently running P6 in class. The two Ferrari’s run P2/3 and at this point will gain the same amount of points as the Porsches. With the Ferrari’s having a four-point lead in the championship this would mean that they would win the Constructor’s title.
#83 has gotten up to the front of the Am class when the #50 Corvette ran wide off the track. This is exactly where the AF Corse needs to be to win the title. #72 is running in P6, so that would be a gain of eight points at the end of the race. The point gap before the race was nineteen so if the race ended like this now it would leave the #72 ahead by two points. The Aston Martin’s have tried a different tactic in the pits which has left them currently in P4 and P7. Their improved pace has not really shown in the race so far and whether they will be faster as the track cools in the night is unknown.
As the floodlights turn on the track goes dark. This will drop air and track temperature as we go into hour three. Toyota’s pace will really impact the way the championship unfolds as Porsche #17 sits four laps off the leader, three laps off of the Toyotas that currently hold the forth place #17 need to win.
(Image: www.fiawec.com)
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