An early morning downpour made for an interesting start to the 29th Motul Petit Le Mans. With the air dry and track damp, the field of 54 cars took the start on wet weather tires. There was some drama beyond the weather. The LMP2 polesitter PJ Hyett reported steering issues on the pace laps and came in to change the steering wheel. Even before the start, GTD contender Heart of Racing struck engine problems. The #27 Aston Martin was sent back to the paddock for repair.
While there were issues for some, there was joy for others. Jack Aitken, Action Express and Cadillac clinch the GTP championships by taking the green flag. Porsche and Penske have officially clinched the Michelin Endurance Cup in GTP as well. Now how Laurin Heinrich will be scored in reference to teammates Felipe Nasr and Julien Andlauer is another story.
That Didn’t Take Long…
With the track rapidly drying, it did not take long for the field to switch to slicks. The GT classes were first to switch at the ten-minute mark with the prototypes falling shortly thereafter. After the stops for tires, BMW seized the lead through Sheldon van der Linde in the #24 car. During those pit stops, Salih Yoluc knocked over the RFID reader at the exit of pit lane in the #36 DXDT Corvette. In response, race control handed the Turkish driver and stop and five-minute hold penalty. When the five minutes were completed, Yoluc rejoined four laps down.
Turner Over and Out
The DXDT penalty would be easier to stomach compared to what struck Turner. At the half-hour mark, Francis Selldorff returned to the pits with the #96 BMW low on power. Race control ordered the vehicle behind the wall. Once the car was returned to the garage, the culprit was found to be a broken radiator hose. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done. Once the hose was repaired, the team tested to see if the engine could run and the temps ran too high. The team had no choice but to retire the car.
Time for a Break
The first yellow of the day would come fifty-two minutes in the race as John Farano found the barriers after going wide in the grass at Turn 1. Farano was able to get going under his own power. Undoubtedly, there was very heavy damage to the #8 Oreca at the front and left side. With pit stops taking place, BMW Team WRT kept Van der Linde out front despite Laurens Vanthoor knocking the left front tire out of the hand of the BMW mechanic. Race control responded with a drive-thru penalty for the #6 Porsche after the restart.
Why Have One Penalty when you can have Three?
While Vanthoor had to serve a drive-thru, Jon Field was given a much heavier hand by race control. First, Field left the pit box with equipment attached to the #37 Oreca for a drive-thru. Then, Field ran the stop light at the pit exit to earn a stop and sixty-second hold. Finally, as the field was resetting for the restart, Field did an improper pass around. The payment for that foul is a stop and two-minute thirty-eight second hold, the equivalent of two laps. Safe to say a rough stretch for the Intersport Racing team.
Yellows Breed Yellows
Lap 54 would see the second full course yellow. Phil Fayer locked up the tires on his #2 United Autosports Oreca going into Turn 10. Fayer, off the racing line, would go into a spin and land in the gravel trap. The car would remain stuck, needing to be recovered by the AMR Safety Team.
Shortly after returning to green came one of the most unusual yellows of the season. Shortly before the 90-minute mark, Salih Yoluc and Sheena Monk both ran wide at Turn 1. While Monk returned to track with no issue, Yoluc struck one of the sponsorship boards. Yoluc rode with the board on the nose of his Corvette for a lap and a half. Then, Yoluc had the – rather foolish – foresight to stop at Turn 9 and drop the board on the racing line. Yoluc would earn a drive-thru penalty for unjustifiable risk for his troubles.
Race control made the call for the third full course yellow of the race. But not before both Meyer Shank Acuras were able to make it to the pits for fuel, giving them advantage over the rest of the GTP field. The quick thinking by the team would give them a 1-2 for the restart.
Warrior’s Heart
After an hour and forty minutes, Heart of Racing did persevere to get the car out of the garage. After turning their first laps under yellow, however, the car was found to not have full power under green. Zacharie Robichon brought the car back to the pits for checks before returing to the action again.
Leaders
At the two hour mark, Nick Yelloly leads an Acura 1-2 with teammate Colin Braun three seconds in the rears. Earl Bamber for champions Action Express round out the top three in GTP.
Misha Goikhberg leads LMP2 for Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen. Championship contenders PJ Hyett and Jeremy Clarke lie second and third.
In GTD PRO, Sandy Mitchell leads for Pfaff on a supposed off-strategy call. Casper Stevenson for DragonSpeed is second in the Corvette with Triarsi Ferrari in third in the hands of Miguel Molina.
Finally, Triarsi is out front of GTD with Robert Meginnis in the #023 Ferrari. Russell Ward is second in the Winward Mercedes with Frankie Montecalvo rounding out the top-3 in the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus.
Featured Image: The #93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura – Photo Courtesy: Meyer Shank Racing
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