After 20 hours we still have no clue who will win the Hankook 24H PAUL RICARD. What could be better?
The #30 Ram Racing Mercedes had gradually built up a lead during the evening hours but they were completely unable to shake the #7 Herberth Motorsport Porsche 997 GT3 R. They ran 1-2 in that order into the small hours with one swap during a pit stop exchange. The Porsche appears to have the upper hand on the pit stop pattern, which may—but then again may not, make the difference.
More significantly, the Ram Mercedes had some wheel problems which cost them nearly a lap and dropped them to second. The Porsche’s chances were aided by a stellar early morning stint by Nicolas Armindo, setting the race’s fast lap along the way. A mid-morning set of fuel stops again left the Porsche in front, but the situation at the top is far, far from settled.
Third and fourth overall represent a fine comeback for the two cars involved in the first lap fracas. The #2 Hofor Racing Mercedes is many laps behind the two leaders but only three laps clear of the #4 Scuderia Praha Ferrari which lost much time in the pits early in the race.
There has been relatively little attrition throughout the field but several key A6 class runners have nonetheless fallen by the wayside. The #16 Simpson Motorsport Audi R8 LMS, which ran as high as third overall, has now given up the ghost with a destroyed gearbox. The #33 SPS Automotive Performance Mercedes was also in the hunt but persistent wheel problems—seemingly a common Mercedes malady, have left it in the box.
A flawless run by Ruffier Racing has left their #17 Porsche atop the 997 class. The second and third place cars, #55 Crubile Sport and #62 Porsche Lorient, have only had minor problems but the Ruffier team’s perfection has made the difference. Earlier the 997 class lost an important contender when the #52 MSG Motorsport Porsche retired with a broken shock absorber assembly.
Two of the three MARC Cars Australia entries have remained very healthy and taken control of the SP2 class. The Ford badged #92 has about three laps in hand over their Mazda liveried #93 teammate. The #22 Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini is a distant third in the class although it is noteworthy that a Hurracan has recorded the fastest speeds along the Mistral. The #66 ARC Bratislava Porsche Cup S was an early casualty in SP2 with a broken engine. Similarly, an early class leader, the #164 GC, is out with a broken suspension.
As with the 997 class so it is with A3T class that the leading team is there because of a near perfect run. In the case of the turbocharged touring car category the #208 Team Altran Peugeot 208 GTi runs about five laps clear of the #98 Bas Koeten Racing Seat Leon Cup Racer, the top remaining runner of the new breed of Seats, just ahead of the similar #95 car of Memac Ogily Duel Racing. The early class leader, the #100 Motorsport Development Seat Racer, is gone with a broken engine.
There have been some unique twists and turns in the GT4 spec SP3 class. The #206 Nova Race Ginetta is in a commanding lead. Second in class is their teammate, the #200 Ginetta. While it is nearly 90 laps in arrears, that it is still running is quite an accomplishment. Twice it has been returned to the pits on a flatbed truck. Soon after the start their Ford engine failed and a unit from a spare car was installed. Some 18 hours later the driveshaft snapped. There is no one else left standing in the class which means that the #200 is destined for a podium finish. This is likely to embarrass one of the drivers who decided to stand down after the engine problem—no trophy for him!
The Cor Euser Racing Lotus Evora for a time was leading SP3 but massive fluctuations in oil pressure and an eventual failure of the pump caused them to retire. The other SP3 runners are also gone. A wheel and brake assembly parted company at speed on the #161 Sorg Rennsport BMW E92 M3 while a drive belt failure, followed by a broken head gasket and subsequent engine dilemnas did in the #170 Speedworks Motorsport Aston Martin.
All three of the CUP1 class BMW M235i Racing cars are still running, thank you. Gradually the #67 Sorg Rennsport entry has pulled clear of the Duwo Racing run and Bonk Motorsport entered #79 with the #70 Mission Possible BMW a not too distant third.
The #112 Presenza Renault Clio has been in control of the A2 class for many hours. They are about eight laps ahead of the #122 Autosport GP Clio while a Creventic series stalwart, the #126 Team Sally Racing Renault, is back to third after several long delays. The Team K-Reijser Peugeot RCZ was the early leader in the class and have had a long, long stop to deal with fuel system issues and still hope to finish. Cars from the A2 small touring car category which have fallen by the wayside include the #99 RKC / TGM Honda Civic (broken gearbox) and the #36 Exigence Motorsport Clio which never started, having broken its engine in the morning warm-up.
The A5 class has largely collapsed. There is only one car left—barely. That is the #75 Hofor Racing BMW E46 M3 which has had innumerable wheel and driveshaft problems. Their teammates, the late entered #14 BMW, was the first car to retire—having chronic overheating. The Saxon Motorsport diesel BMW never featured in the contest and had a broken differential.
The #116 Sorg Rennsport Renault Clio is likely to finish between fifth and seventh in the A2 class. There is nothing remarkble about that. What is noteworthy is the driver lineup. It is the husband and wife team from Denmark, Richard and Tanja Nilsson. There are no third-fourth-fifth drivers on the roster. This hearkens back to endurance races of old when two-driver lineups were the norm at Le Mans and elsewhere. It has been over 20 years since that has been the case and while 2-driver crews have occurred now and again since then, there has never been a Mr. and Mrs. arrangement. It is perhaps emblematic of the friendly nature of the International Endurance Series that the Nilsson family is treating this affair as simply their choice of a vacation venue this summer. Indeed, between stints Tanja can be found lounging about in shorts and shirt, catching up on her reading while Rickard sweats through another stint. Then Rickard settles back with an iced tea, following the lovely lady’s progress. Racing can be fun—imagine that!
The design of the race cars is almost as important as the technical attributes when competing. The bright colors and artistic patterns help fans and teams to get more attached to their babies.
