Seven hours into the 24 Heures du Mans, the Flying Lizard No. 79 Porsche is back on track after a lengthy garage stop to repair damage from an on-track incident at the end of hour five. The No. 79 had been leading the GTE Am category at the time. The No. 80 Porsche is ninth in GTE Pro after multiple pit stops to repair suspension problems.

Porsche factory driver and French national Patrick Pilet started on the GTE Am pole in the No. 79. It was a clean start for the whole field, and although the No. 79 moved to second position at the start, Pilet soon regained the lead, which he held for his double stint. Near the two-hour mark, Spencer Pumpelly took over, maintaining the lead for his double stint. Pumpelly handed the wheel over to Seth Neiman at hour four. Neiman had an uneventful stint until the end, when, on his inlap, the car spun at the exit of Indianapolis, travelling across the track into the guardrail. After a lengthy garage repair to replace the front radiators, front and rear bodywork, exhaust, oil lines and undertray, the No. 79 returned to the track, now in eleventh place and 15 laps down on the GTE Am leader.

The No. 80 has had bad luck in this race from the start. In the No. 80, Joerg Bergmeister started seventh on the GTE Pro grid. By the one-hour mark, after battling some early race tire pressure issues, he had moved to up to sixth in class. He was settling into his race pace when he had an off-course excursion into the gravel trap at Indianapolis. He was quickly pulled out and back underway, but pitted immediately for the crew to look over the car and a driver change to Patrick Long.

Twenty minutes later, a damper came apart which sent Long limping slowly around the track back to the pits. (The damper was most likely the reason for Bergmeister’s earlier off.) The crew quickly replaced the damper but the garage stop cost the car several laps to the GTE Pro leader. Long headed out again, now in ninth position. Near the three-hour mark, halfway through his double stint, a tire puncture sent him back into the pits for a replacement left rear tire. At hour four, he turned the wheel over to Marco Holzer. Thirty minutes into his stint, Holzer returned to the pits for the crew to replace another damper, then just past the five-hour mark, Holzer pitted again to change a third. Now back on track, the No. 80 is P9, 10 laps down on the GTE Pro leader, the No. 74 Corvette.

Source : Flying Lizard Motorsports