Le Mans Pre-Race Notebook

Photo: Brian Cleary/BCPix.com

***There will be increased security for French President Francois Hollande’s visit to Le Mans on Saturday. A similar level of security was present when then-French Prime Minister Francois Fillon made a visit in 2011.

***Two cars returned in time for morning warmup after incidents during the week. The No. 67 Team AAI Porsche 911 GT3 RSR did an engine installation overnight to return to the track, while the No. 46 Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca 05 Nissan changed tubs after Thursday qualifying, as its primary monocoque was damaged by debris.

***The new TDS tub, chassis No. 3, was actually KCMG’s second chassis, but was given to the French squad as it was better prepared than Oreca’s spare fourth tub. It’s undetermined if KCMG will take delivery of another chassis post-race.

***While the No. 50 Larbre Competition Corvette C7.R crashed during morning warmup, it appears driver error, rather than a similar mechanical issue that affected the No. 63 Corvette C7.R, was the cause of the accident. The team is thrashing to repair the car, but if the No. 50 car does not start, it would leave the grid at 54 cars for today’s race.

***Minimum drive time in the LMP1, LMP2 and GTE-Am classes is four hours. The maximum drive time is no more than four in six hours, or 14 hours in total.

***In case you missed Sportscar365’s pre-race resource guide, filled with TV and stream times, Andy Blackmore’s Spotters Guide and more, it is linked here.

***Full TV cameras will be run overnight for the first time during the race, which marks a change from the usual array of on-boards and start/finish straight shots.

***FOXSports.com will provide a live video stream featuring in-car cameras in the No. 64 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R race car and the Corvette Racing pit throughout Saturday and Sunday’s race.

***Corvette Racing’s Jordan Taylor got a surprise visitor during the Le Mans parade on Friday, when a fan brought a plush replica of Taylor’s dog Fonzie. A video of that is linked here, and Taylor and fans’ annual “U.S.A!” chant at the parade followed.

***Michelin serves as tire technical partner for 40 of the 56 cars (14 LMP1, 4 LMP2, 9 GTE-Pro, 13 GTE-Am). In the race, LMP1 cars have 12 sets and all other classes have 16 sets. There are no limits for wet or intermediate tires. Overall, Michelin has 7,000 tires (split 2,500 for LMP1, 700 for LMP2 and 3,800 for GTE, including 250 Hybrid intermediates), 15 trucks, 50 fitters, 25 technical team advisers and 15 engineers on site.

***Dunlop partners with the remaining 16 cars, 15 in LMP2 and the JMW Motorsport/GB Autosport Ferrari F458 Italia in GTE-Am. Both in LMP2 and GTE-Am, teams have 16 sets for the race.

***This year marks Krohn Racing’s tenth year as a team at Le Mans, all featuring Tracy Krohn and Nic Jonsson behind the wheel. Krohn and Jonsson’s streak of 10 years in a row together eclipses the previous record of nine, held by Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello!

***AF Corse teammates Emmanuel Collard and Olivier Beretta start their 21st and 20th consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans, respectively, today, as the two most experienced drivers in the field. Collard’s No. 83 Ferrari F458 Italia starts second in GTE-Am with Beretta’s No. 71 Ferrari F458 Italia rolling off fourth in GTE-Pro.

***There are 46 rookies competing at Le Mans for the first time, split between 22 in LMP and 24 in GTE. In LMP1 and LMP2 it includes Simon Trummer, Daniel Abt, Earl Bamber, Nico Hulkenberg, Tsugio Matsuda, Alex Buncombe, Max Chilton, David Markozov, Pipo Derani, Gustavo Yacaman, Ed Brown, Jon Fogarty, Chris Cumming, Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, Mikhail Aleshin, Mitch Evans, Gaetan Paletou, Zoel Amberg, Ivan Bellarosa, Jose Ibanez and Pierre Perret.

***The GTE rookies between GTE-Pro and GTE-Am include James Calado, Michael Christensen, Marco Sorenson, Alex MacDowall, Fernando Rees, Richie Stanaway, Ben Keating, Marc Miller, Duncan Cameron, Alex Mortimer, Matteo Cressoni, Townsend Bell, Jeff Segal, Bill Sweedler, Michael Avenatti, Kuba Giermaziak, Jun-San Chen, Alex Kapadia, Han-Chen Chen, Gilles Vannelet, Mike Parisy, Marco Seefried, Francesco Castellacci and Mathias Lauda.

***Between the 46 rookies, there are five cars, the No. 34 OAK Racing Ligier JS P2 Honda, No. 45 Ibanez Racing Oreca 03R Nissan, No. 99 Aston Martin Vantage V8, No. 62 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari F458 Italia and No. 68 Team AAI Porsche 911 RSR that feature all-rookie lineups.

***Ben Keating, Roald Goethe and Stuart Hall are the three drivers pulling double duty between LM24 and the Aston Martin Festival. Keating is in a TRG-AMR Aston Martin Vantage GT4, with Goethe in a Gulf Racing for ROFGO Aston Martin Vantage V8, and Hall in an invitational entry, in a glorious Lola Aston Martin V12 LMP1 car.

***Porsche France celebrated the official opening of the Porsche Experience Center Le Mans. The Experience Center is ideally located on the 2.9 kilometer racetrack “Circuit Maison Blanche,” and offers customers and all Porsche enthusiasts an exclusive brand experience.

Larbre Corvette Crashes in Warmup at Le Mans

Photo: ACO

Larbre Competition driver Gianluca Roda crashed the No. 50 Corvette C7.R at Porsche Curves in Saturday morning’s warmup for the 83rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Ten minutes from the end of the session, the Italian lost control of the Corvette and hit the outside wall, sliding down the grass before coming to a stop.

Roda was able to get out of his car under his own power, but the French team will face an uphill struggle to repair the car in time for the start of the race.

Filipe Albuquerque meanwhile set the pace, lapping the Circuit de la Sarthe in 3:19.423, faster than any of the Audi R18 e-tron quattros went in qualifying.

The Portuguese driver, who celebrates his 30th birthday today, outpaced his Audi teammates, who set the second and third fastest time in the session.

Fourth fastest was the No. 18 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Neel Jani, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb, 0.001s quicker than the No. 17 sister car.

In LMP2, the Jota Sport Gibson 015S Nissan was fastest, ahead of the Greaves Motorsport Gibson and pole sitting KCMG Oreca 05 Nissan. Both the Greaves Gibson and KCMG Oreca set a 3:39.960.

The No. 97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage of Stefan Muecke, Darren Turner and Rob Bell beat the two AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italias in GTE-Pro, while the No. 88 Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR was quickest in GTE-Am.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans will start at 3:00 p.m. CET, 9:00 a.m. ET.

24H Le Mans Resource Guide

Photo: ACO

Gear up for the 83rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Sportscar365’s resource guide, which includes handy information and  links to follow the twice-around-the-clock French endurance classic.

Schedule:

Wednesday, June 10
4-8 p.m. (10 a.m.-2 p.m. ET) Free Practice
10 p.m.-12 a.m. (4-6 p.m. ET) Qualifying 1

Thursday, June 11
7-9 p.m. (1-3 p.m. ET) Qualifying 2
10 p.m.-12 a.m. (4-6 p.m. ET) Qualifying 3

Friday, June 12
10 a.m.-6 p.m. (4 a.m.-12 p.m. ET) Pit Walk
5:30-7:30 p.m (11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. ET) Drivers Parade

Saturday, June 13
9 – 9:45 a.m. (3 – 3:45 a.m. ET) Warmup
3 p.m. (9 a.m ET) – Start – 24 Hours of Le Mans

TV/Streaming Schedule (North America -all times ET):

8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. on FOX Sports 2
7 – 8 p.m. on FOX Sports 1
11 p.m. – 12:30 a.m. on FOX Sports 2
3:30 – 7:30 a.m. on FOX Sports 1
7:30 – 9 a.m. on FOX Sports 2
9 – 9:30 a.m. on FOX Sports 1
Entire Race Streamed Live on FOX Sports GO
Corvette On-Board

TV Schedule (Europe -all times CET):

2:45 – 9 p.m. – Eurosport 1
9 – 9:30 p.m. – Eurosport 2
9:30 p.m. – 8:30 a.m. – Eurosport 1
8:30 – 9 a.m. – Eurosport 2
9 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. – Eurosport 1

Twitter:

@Sportscar365
@JohnDagys
@TonyDiZinno
@MarcelTenCaat

Other Links:

Le Mans Web TV
LM24 App (iOS) (Android)
Entry List
Spotter’s Guide
Live Timing & Scoring
Radio Le Mans

Porsche Prepared, Confident in Search of Win at Le Mans

Photo: Porsche

“Last year we said we have to say what happens. This year we are confident to say we can win it.”

The words are interesting from Neel Jani, who captured the pole position for today’s 83rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans courtesy of a new record lap around the 8.4-mile Circuit de la Sarthe at 3:16.887.

Porsche Team’s desire to convert its undoubted, unquestioned one-lap pace into its first win of the FIA World Endurance Championship season, and more importantly its first overall win at Le Mans since 1998, is obvious.

The actuality of it happening depends on one of its three Porsche 919 Hybrids finally avoiding the reliability pitfalls that have interrupted its quest to win at Silverstone and Spa to open the season, and that took it out of a successful Le Mans a year ago.

Timo Bernhard, in what was then the team’s No. 20 Porsche, recorded the first laps led for the Porsche 919 Hybrid at Le Mans, starting on Lap 37.

While this car factored in for an overall podium in their race debut, a powertrain issue after more than 22 hours took it out of the race.

The sister No. 14 Porsche was classified fifth in class, 31 laps down, and limped home to the finish despite a drivetrain problem.

To further prepare for this year’s Le Mans, Porsche Team technical director Alex Hitzinger confirmed the team did four 24-hour simulations, split two apiece between Aragon and Paul Ricard.

“Of course, you encounter issues. It’s a brand new car,” Hitzinger told Sportscar365. “You can’t expect not having any issues.

“But you keep going and going, and go through more and more problems. Everybody’s pushing.”

The opening two races of the season have seen the No. 17 Porsche retire at Silverstone with a drivetrain issue after two hours, and rally back to a podium in Spa after suspension issues there.

Overall, Hitzinger downplayed any reliability concerns going into the race, and the drivers noted the improvements year-on-year at Le Mans.

For Jani, who will share the black, polesitting No. 18 car with Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb, he expects the increase to the 8 MJ subclass this year to pay immediate dividends.

“Our engine is very small, in the V4. We need this electric power, especially here, to help us on the straights,” Jani told Sportscar365.

“At Le Mans, we don’t have the advantage of top speed we have on other circuits like Silverstone or Spa. Here, everyone is at 100 percent with this concept.”

Brendon Hartley, who will share the red No. 17 Porsche with Bernhard and Mark Webber, described how to set the car up on a razor’s edge.

“It’s always a concern for the reason that we’re all pushing the boundaries,” Hartley told Sportscar365. “It’s not easy to harvest and deploy so much energy through a hybrid system.

“When you’re in competition, everyone is pushing the limits. Reliability is tricky when the competition is so fierce.”

Hartley’s antipodean countryman Earl Bamber of New Zealand explained the importance of having a third car to be able to ensure the best shot at victory.

“At the end of day, all three of us are here to get the best for Porsche,” Bamber told Sportscar365. “It’s so close between all three manufacturers, plus Nissan joining, I don’t think any of the manufacturers can hold a car back to try and get points.”

Bamber enters in an interesting situation, as he’s making his Le Mans race debut as well and does so in the fastest car over one lap.

Bamber, who will share the white No. 19 car with fellow LMP1 Le Mans rookies Nick Tandy and Nico Hulkenberg, said having had Spa to prepare for Le Mans was absolutely crucial.

“It’s definitely a lot more comfortable,” he said. “Spa was perfect for us, as we got used to the whole team, the whole race weekend. The racing is fantastic in LMP1 as well, and we got used to the traffic.”

Hartley noted how much more fully integrated he is into the Porsche environment as a factory driver in year two of the LMP1 program.

“Driving the car quickly is one thing, but it’s all the pressures that come with being a factory driver that took me a while to adapt to,” Hartley said.

“It’s not that anyone here puts pressure on you, but in the end you feel it.

“You’re representing Porsche. You have thousands of fans. You have huge budgets. You’re working with such a big team.

“I have to say it took me a while to feel comfortable. Now I absolutely feel comfortable inside the team.”

It’s a sentiment Jani, formerly of Rebellion Racing, also shared in his second year in a fully factory program.

“Clearly everything has improved quite a bit,” Jani said. “Last year Le Mans was our third race as a team. The teammates were new, mechanics new, engineers new… everyone new.

“Now one year later we’ve done more races, and also the car we’ve improved quite a bit. We’ve improved it everywhere. We are a lot more confident this year.”

Jani might be the hungriest to secure the win, as he, Dumas and Lieb have come second – by a combined 18.034 seconds over 12 hours of racing at Silverstone (4.610) and Spa (13.424) – to the No. 7 Audi R18 e-tron quattro of Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler this year.

That trio is also seeking its fourth Le Mans win in five years.

“We are here, and we can say we are here to try to win this race,” Jani said. “But on the other hand, we clearly know it’s Le Mans… you can’t win Le Mans. Le Mans lets you win.”

Keating: “It’s Pretty Unbelievable All of the Stars Aligned to Get Here”

Photo: Brian Cleary/BCPix.com

While the odds were stacked against them, on multiple fronts, the Dodge Viper GTS-R has returned to Le Mans, but in a different guise and with different goals from its last appearance two years ago.

The discontinuation of the factory SRT Motorsports program at the end of last year left the Riley Technologies-built GTE cars parked, but an initiative from Bill Riley and Ben Keating has seen the V10-powered beast and much of its ex-factory crew back together for the French endurance classic.

“Believe it or not, [Le Mans] wasn’t even on my radar,” Keating told Sportscar365. “It almost seemed unobtainable. We talked about it in December for the first time as a ‘Wouldn’t it be neat?’

“There was really only one car available to run here. The 93 won the championship and went into the [Chrysler] museum. The No. 91 was the only one left.

“It was a matter of convincing Mopar and Dodge to allow us to use the car. I had a meeting with the [Chrysler] guys in Auburn Hills and that went fairly well. Then it was a matter of getting an invite.”

reserve list, but sat there for more than two months until the race’s one-and-only pre-event withdrawal.

While the team pushed ahead with plans prior to being officially confirmed, securing the Le Mans entry in mid-April saw the official green light be given for the Viper’s return to La Sarthe.

“Getting the whole effort [together] is such a huge undertaking,” Keating said. “It’s pretty unbelievable that all of the stars aligned to get here.

“It’s just a surreal experience. There’s nothing like this in the U.S. anywhere.”

The Texan, who owns Viper Exchange, the world’s largest Viper dealership, wanted to go about his first Le Mans the all-American way, instead of simply just renting a ride with another team.

He’s brought his TUDOR United SportsCar Championship co-driver Jeroen Bleekemolen, as well as Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge standout Marc Miller for the effort with the ex-factory GTS-R.

“The cheapest way to do this race is to buy a seat with a European team,” Keating said. “But to bring the whole Riley team over and doing it in a Viper is a totally different experience.

“It wouldn’t be as much fun to just buy a seat in a Ferrari. To be able to run in a Viper, representing the U.S. and the Viper nation…”

Riley has flown the flag for America this week, with the No. 53 Viper qualifying fourth in GTE-Am, the best of U.S.-based teams in any class.

After taking top class honors at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January, Keating and the team have the unique chance of winning the two cornerstone 24-hour races in the same year.

Despite having shown the potential for success so far, Keating realizes the challenge that lies ahead.

“The goal has to be a mistake-free race,” he said. “It’s not like Daytona where you have the opportunity to make up laps with a safety car that bunches up the whole field.

“If you lose 5 or 10 seconds here, the only way to make it up is by driving faster or someone else making a mistake.

“I don’t want to wish bad on somebody else to be able to do well. It means we have to have a mistake-free race. That’s the only way to make it to the podium.

“The mantra for the whole team is keep it on the blacktop and not make any mistakes.”

But above all, Keating is enjoying the experience of a lifetime and hoping to continue the Viper’s winning legacy.

“We had a team dinner [last] Sunday,” he said. “I stood up and said a few words and that was the point of the conversation.

“I’m excited to be here. I’m excited to be here in a Viper and I’m excited to be here with those guys that have been working so hard on it for so long.

“They mesh together so well. I really think our team is a competitive advantage.”

Audi Leads, Race Behind Safety Car After Alpine Crash

Photo: Audi

Porsche and Audi continue to battle for the lead at the 83rd 24 Hours of Le Mans, with the lead changing hands from one German manufacturer to the other.

After eight hours and 125 laps completed, while running behind the safety car, it is the Audi of René Rast, Filipe Albuquerque and Marco Bonanomi that leads the race, ahead of the No. 17 Porsche 919 Hybrid, now driven by Mark Webber.

The No. 19 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Nico Hülkenberg has taken fourth place, after Romain Dumas in the No. 18 Porsche missed his braking point twice, ending up in the tyre barrier at Mulsanne Corner the second time.

Dumas brought the slightly damaged Porsche back to the pits, where the Porsche crew replaced the front-end of the car and sent the car back out again.

Towards the end of the eighth hour Paul-Loup Chatin crashed the No. 36 Signatech Alpine crashed heavily at Mulsanne Corner. The accident put the race under its third safety car period since the start.

The No. 47 KCMG Oreca 05 Nissan continues to lead the LMP2 category, Richard Bradly almost a lap ahead of the second placed Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca. The G-Drive Racing Ligier JS P2 has worked itself up to third place after eight hours.

Jordan Taylor leads GTE-Pro, the No. 64 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R less than a second ahead of the No. 97 Aston Martin Vantage V8 of Rob Bell. Alex MacDowall is third, just five seconds further behind.

Pedro Lamy in the No. 98 Aston Martin leads the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia and the No. 72 SMP Racing Ferrari 458 Italia.

Porsche Continues to Lead Le Mans After Six Hours

Photo: Brian Cleary/www.bcpix.com

Six hours into the 24 Hours of Le Mans Porsche continues to lead overall. Mark Webber in the No. 17 Porsche 919 Hybrid leads, ahead of a charging Benoit Tréluyer in the No. 7 Audi R18 e-tron quattro.

After 93 laps around the Circuit de la Sarthe the difference between the Porsche and the Audi was just 1.824 seconds, with the third Audi, the No. 9 of Filipe Albuquerque a further 7.523 seconds behind.

Matt Howson in the pole-sitting No. 47 KCMG Oreca 05 Nissan, with the No. 46 Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca 05 Nissan in second place, albeit 1 minute and 45 seconds behind. Murphy Prototypes made it an Oreca top three.

There was drama for Greaves Motorsport just after eight o’clock, with Gary Hirsch having to stop his car on the side of the track, while running in second place. Marshals pushed the Gibson 015S Nissan to a safe place, where the Swiss driver tried to find and fix the issue.

In GTE-Pro the No. 99 Aston Martin Vantage V8 moved back into the lead, with Fernando Rees over 23 seconds ahead of the No. 64 Corvette C7.R of Jordan Taylor. Darren Turner remains in third place, despite a spin at the Forza Chicane.

GTE-Pro Lead Battle Takes Center Stage After Fourth Hour

Photo: Brian Cleary/BCPix.com

While the LMP1 class continues with a Porsche vs. Audi battle up front, a battle of three manufacturers is occurring at the head of the GTE-Pro class field in the 83rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans after four hours.

Tommy Milner in the No. 64 Corvette C7.R, Darren Turner in the No. 97 Aston Martin Vantage V8, Fernando Rees in the No. 99 Aston Martin Vantage V8 and Davide Rigon in the No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia were all covered by less than five seconds after the race restarted from its second safety car period.

Rees led coming out of the safety car period before Rigon got past shortly thereafter. But once Rigon got caught in traffic, he fell back behind Milner and Turner, who seized the opportunity against the less experienced driver at Le Mans.

Turner then hounded Milner for a period of time, although his charge was halted when just before the fourth hour he spun on his own at the first chicane on the Mulsanne straight.

It dropped Turner about 10 seconds back of Milner, now leading in the sole remaining factory Corvette, Rees and Rigon.

Brendon Hartley continues to lead overall in the No. 17 Porsche 919 Hybrid, ahead of Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 9 Audi R18 e-tron quattro.

Audi Crash, Barrier Repair in Third Hour Puts Race under Safety Car

Photo: Gerlach Delissen Photography

One of the leading contenders in LMP1 had an accident just at the end of the third hour, in the form of Loic Duval in the No. 8 Audi R18 e-tron quattro.

Duval was approaching a gaggle of traffic in a slow zone on the run to Indianapolis.

However, as the Frenchman attempted to overtake Giancarlo Fisichella’s No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia going into the kink just before the corner on the far right, the right front of the Ferrari contacted the left rear of the Audi and pitched Duval across the track, into the barriers.

The damage was more cosmetic for the Audi and Duval limped the car back to the garage. In under five minutes, the Audi mechanics replaced the nose assembly, while Lucas di Grassi took over driving from Duval.

Meanwhile repairs are ongoing to the damaged barrier, and the accident has put the race under its second safety car period of the race.

While Duval and Fisichella were the two cars involved, several others took evasive action to avoid the accident, including the No. 50 Corvette C7.R and No. 18 Porsche 919 Hybrid, which were near the kink in the slow zone just before impact.

There has also been drama in the GTE ranks. Nicki Thiim took the GTE-Pro leading No. 95 Aston Martin Vantage V8 into the garage with power steering issues, per the team.

Under the safety car, Christian Ried stopped on course in the No. 88 Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR with fire under the hood exiting the second chicane. Ried was running second in the GTE-Am class.

In the fourth hour, under the safety car, leaders are Brendon Hartley (No. 17 Porsche 919 Hybrid, overall and LMP1), Nicolas Lapierre (No. 47 KCMG Oreca 05 Nissan), Fernando Rees (No. 99 Aston Martin Vantage V8, GTE-Pro) and Victor Shaytar (No. 72 SMP Racing Ferrari F458 Italia, GTE-Am).

Jeroen Bleekemolen also led for most of the third hour in the No. 53 Riley Motorsports Dodge Viper GTS-R in GTE-Am, in the car he shares with Marc Miller and Ben Keating.

Lotterer Snatches Lead after Second Hour at Le Mans

Photo: John Dagys

Andre Lotterer took the lead on Lap 30 of the 83rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and has the No. 7 Audi R18 e-tron quattro up front at the end of two hours.

Timo Bernhard had led in the red No. 17 Porsche 919 Hybrid, but lost the lead to Lotterer after the second round of pit stops.

Bernhard led following a 22-minute safety car period to remove the No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR from the Mulsanne straight, which Porsche Team Manthey indicated was a drivetrain issue that put the car out of the race.

Shortly after the restart, the star turn came from the three-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, Lotterer, in the No. 7 Audi.

Lotterer completed a two-in-one pass of Neel Jani in the No. 18 Porsche, then Bernhard, to take Audi’s first lead of the race. He pitted at the one hour and 39 minute mark for his second stop of the race.

Both Porsches pitted later, with Bernhard’s coming a full eight minutes later after Lap 27 of the race. Bernhard exited ahead of Lotterer and Jani, but lost the lead a couple laps later.

The lead changed hands in LMP2, with the polesitting No. 47 KCMG Oreca 05 Nissan back ahead of the identical chassis fielded by Thiriet by TDS Racing.

Nicki Thiim retained the GTE-Pro lead in the No. 95 Aston Martin Vantage V8, while the best battle in class came for fourth.

Polesitter Richie Stanaway in the yellow-and-red No. 99 Aston Martin and the sole remaining factory Corvette, the No. 64 Corvette C7.R driven by Oliver Gavin were frequently side-by-side in a battle for fourth in class.

That occurred before James Calado got them both for fourth just before the end of the two-hour mark in the No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia.

Andrea Bertolini and Pedro Lamy exchanged the GTE-Am lead in the second hour, with Bertolini still up front at the end of the two-hour mark as Lamy was again first to pit in class from the lead.

Two Americans had separate spins but resumed; Tracy Krohn recovered from a spin at the first chicane on the Mulsanne straight in his No. 40 Krohn Racing Ligier JS P2 Judd, while Ed Brown resumed after a spin at Mulsanne corner in the No. 31 Extreme Speed Motorsports Ligier JS P2 Honda.

However, shortly thereafter, Krohn made contact with the other ESM Ligier JS P2 Honda, the No. 30 car driven by Scott Sharp, just before the two-hour mark.

Krohn was then stuck in the gravel, while Sharp was able to resume after the contact. It produced a slow zone between Zone 10 and Zone 11 on the 8.4-mile Circuit de la Sarthe.

Team Seattle/AJR Wins GTD in Detroit

Photo: Brian Cleary/BCPix.com

Courtesy of a pit stop done several laps earlier than their rivals, the No. 23 Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT America pair of Ian James and Mario Farnbacher leapt to the GT Daytona class lead and held it through to the finish in Saturday’s Chevrolet Sports Car Classic.

The pair also won at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March, but this race was not as dramatic as the finish there.

READ: Track Workers Taken to Hospital after Post-Race Accident

James started the No. 23 car from fifth place in class and pitted on Lap 18, four or five laps before the rest of the GTD class.

Once the pit stop cycle was completed and Farnbacher in the car, he held on until the finish by a winning margin of 2.679 seconds.

Unofficially, the No. 007 TRG-AMR Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3, driven by James Davison and Christina Nielsen in their second race of the day, finished in second ahead of the polesitting No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Audi R8 LMS of Christopher Haase and Dion von Moltke.

The No. 22 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT America and No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT America completed the top five

The No. 007 Aston Martin, No. 22 Porsche, No. 73 Porsche and No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT America were involved in a post-race accident.

All drivers, James Davison, Leh Keen, Spencer Pumpelly and Jan Heylen, all confirmed either by themselves or via their teams that they were OK, with Heylen evaluated and released from the infield care center.

Cameron, Curran Score First Win Together in Detroit

Photo: DarrenPierson.com

An Action Express Racing Corvette DP has won Saturday’s Chevrolet Sports Car Classic, but not the polesitting and defending TUDOR United SportsCar Championship title-winning No. 5 car driven by Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa.

Instead, their teammates, Dane Cameron and Eric Curran in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering-backed car, have secured their first win together as teammates in Saturday’s 100-minute race.

Cameron made a pass of Jordan Taylor with 28 minutes remaining, then held off a late charge from Barbosa in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling-backed car to secure the win.

Barbosa was likely to come home in second, but spun at Turn 3 on the final lap, which promoted the No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Ligier JS P2 Honda of Ozz Negri and John Pew to a surprise second place finish.

The No. 5 car made it home in third despite the last lap spin.

Neither the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Riley-Ford nor No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Racing Corvette DP threatened for the win, and both had an incident during the race.

Joey Hand in the No. 01 car contacted Ozz Negri in the No. 60 car entering Turn 5, while the No. 90 car of Richard Westbrook had a spin exiting Turn 3.

Meanwhile Jordan Taylor incurred a drive-through penalty in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP after contact with GT Daytona class driver Townsend Bell, in the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia.

The Starworks Motorsport Oreca FLM09 of Renger van der Zande and Mirco Schultis won in Prototype Challenge after a battle of survival.

Van der Zande made a pass on James Vance in the polesitting No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports Oreca FLM09 after a restart and was able to streak away from there.

The No. 85 JDC/Miller Motorsports Oreca FLM09 of Stephen Simpson and Mikhail Goikhberg was second with the No. 38 car of Vance and pole-sitter James French in third.

After a first lap pit stop to fix the left front suspension and nose assembly, CORE autosport ended a trying weekend in fourth place.

Contact, meanwhile, between the No. 11 RSR Racing Oreca FLM09 and No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports in Turn 1 took them both out of the race. Bruno Junqueira spun and was hit by an oncoming Tom Kimber-Smith.

Track Worker Taken to Hospital after Post-Race Accident

Two track workers are being evaluated following an accident on a wet, slippery track after the checkered flag in Saturday’s Chevrolet Sports Car Classic.

As of 2:50 p.m. ET, per IMSA, a track safety worker is in the infield care center being evaluated, and another track safety worker is going to a local hospital for evaluation.

As of 3:30 p.m. ET, IMSA confirmed the track safety worker taken to the infield care center had been evaluated and released.

As of 6:10 p.m. ET, IMSA released the following update: “Safety worker injured in Detroit IMSA race Saturday will remain overnight in local hospital for further evaluation.”

READ: Team Seattle/AJR Wins GTD in Detroit

Jan Heylen, who was one of four drivers in the GT Daytona class involved in the accident, has been evaluated and released from the infield care center.

The accident occurred after the checkered flag involving the No. 007 TRG-AMR Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3, the No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT America, No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT America and the No. 22 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT America.

Heylen’s No. 58 car was stopped on course in Turn 1, with less than two minutes remaining in the race, and a safety truck was on course to remove it.

As the conditions were wet and slippery heading into Turn 1, Davison lost control of his car following the checkered flag and hit the safety truck, with his left front of his car going underneath the truck, and lifting it off the ground.

Davison reported to Sportscar365 that he aquaplaned and was sore, but made it to the podium for podium ceremonies.

Alex Job also confirmed to Sportscar365 that Leh Keen, who was driving the No. 22 car, was also OK. Keen, per the team, crashed in Turn 1 just before the No. 007 car and safety truck.

Spencer Pumpelly, who was driving the No. 73 car, also slid off course into the accident. He wrote on Twitter, “I had a huge crash before start finish. Not sure if TV showed anything but the end of it. I’m fine. We finished 5th but the car is toast.”

Stay tuned to Sportscar365 for the latest medical updates.

Detroit Track Worker Remains Hospitalized with Serious Injuries

A track worker remains in a Detroit area hospital after sustaining serious injuries, although in stable condition, following a post-race accident in Saturday’s Chevrolet Sports Car Classic at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park.

According to IMSA, the unidentified male sustained broken ribs, a collapsed lung, as well as injuries to his spleen and kidney after being involved in a multi-car GTD accident following the checkered flag in the 100-minute race.

Track workers were attending to the No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT America of Jan Heylen in Turn 1 when James Davison’s No. 007 TRG-AMR Aston Martin V12 Vantage slid out of control, in wet conditions, into the rear of a safety truck.

Two additional GTD cars were collected, with all drivers having escaped injuries in the accident.

“IMSA has been informed that the safety worker at a Detroit area hospital who was injured during Saturday’s race is in stable condition with a number of broken ribs, collapsed lung and a non-operative injury to his spleen and kidney,” a statement from IMSA read.

An additional track worker was evaluated and released from the trackside medical center immediately following the race.

Bill Ford Named 24H Le Mans Starter

Photo: Ford

William Clay Ford Jr., the Executive Chairman of the Ford Motor Company, has been named the honorary stater for the 83rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Ford, the great-grandson of Henry Ford, will wave the tri-colour flag to get the race underway, following in the footsteps of his uncle, Henry Ford II, who served as the starter in 1966.

“The history of my family is very closely linked to the legendary La Sarthe circuit event,” Bill Ford said. “Fifty years ago, the duel with Ferrari out on the track became one of milestone periods in the history of motorsport.

“It’s a great honor to come to the Le Mans 24 Hours this year and drop the flag to start this legendary endurance race as my uncle did back in 1966.”

The appointment of Ford as honorary starter adds more fuel to the reports that the Detroit manufacturer will be officially announcing its return to the French endurance classic at Le Mans next month.

The much-reported factory Ford GT effort would coincide with the 50th anniversary of Ford’s first overall win the race.

Bill Ford joined the company’s Board of Directors in 1998 and has been Ford’s chairman since 1999, before being named executive chairman in 2006.

He becomes the second American to serve as race starter in the last three years, following IMSA Chairman Jim France in 2013.

Revised Class Structure, New Rules for 2016 Bathurst 12H

Photo: John Dagys

Organizers of the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour have announced rules changes for next year’s race, which includes a revised class structure, adoption of the FIA driver classification system, as well as the appointment of Claude Surmont as the event’s technical director.

The event, scheduled for Feb. 5-7, 2016, will see a reduction to four categories, including Class A (GT3, split into Pro-Am and Am), Class B (GT3 Cup Cars), Class C (GT4) and Class I (Invitational).

Cars previously entered in the production car classes will remain eligible to compete in the new combined Invitational category, with a benchmark lap time of 2 minutes and 10 seconds in place.

Additionally, vehicles homologated up to 2015, along with having competed in the Blancpain Endurance Series, will be eligible for next year’s race, ruling out any new GT3 cars that would be homologated for 2016.

The event will continue to use a two-tier driver classification model, although now embracing the FIA’s medallion-based driver rating system.

Platinum and Gold-rated drivers will be considered ‘Seeded’, while drivers of Silver and Bronze status will be ‘Unseeded’.

Entrants in GT3 (Pro-Am) will be allowed a maximum of two seeded, or professional drivers, with the Am subclass only allowing one seeded pilot.

There will be no restrictions on drivers in other classes, with up to four drivers now allowed in all classes.

Adjustments to the minimum and maximum driver times have also been made, with three-driver combinations allowed a maximum driving time of 280 minutes per driver, and four-driver squads 240 minutes per driver.

“Recent changes within the FIA have enabled us to get any driver categorized under the FIA system,” event director James O’Brien said.

“This change now puts the onus on the driver to get classified by the FIA and reduces the burden on the Organizing Committee. We hope this initiative will result in a more transparent, robust and fairer system all round.”

SRO’s Surmont, meanwhile, has been brought on to serve as technical director for the event, which will continue to utilize the Balance of Performance produced for the Blancpain Endurance Series.

“Continuing our collaboration with SRO Motorsports Group, we are pleased to appoint Claude as our technical director for 2016,” O’Brien added.

“His international experience with GT3 machinery should ensure our technical processes are run to the same high standard that all SRO series’ operate at.

“The event has secured its place on the international GT endurance calendar. However, we aim to continue the event’s growth such that it becomes a ‘blue riband race’ attracting the very best teams and drivers from around the world.”

Entries for the race, which will again be broadcast live on the Seven Network in Australia and streamed around the world online, opens on July 1.