Le Mans Series

LMS Barcelona 2009 – Race – Hour 6

And into the final hour of the Le Mans Series 1000KM of Catalunya…things really seem to have settled now with the smallest gap between class leaders almost twenty seconds in the LM GT2 category. In the other categories the gaps is even bigger!

The top teams are making their final stop at the moment. Boullion entered the pit lane and handed over the car to Tinseau, who had some trouble firing the car up again. The gap to the two Aston Martin Racing cars is still quite large though.

Even bigger gap to the #009 now as Miguel Ramos has spun his car at turn 4…and the Portuguese driver seems to have trouble getting the car fired up.

Stephane Ortelli has passed the stranded Aston and is now virtually on the podium!

With Miguel Ramos unable to get his Aston Martin away from turn 4 the race director decides to act and the safety car is back out again. Several LMP2 and GT2 cars seize the opportunity to make their final pit stop of the race.

The race is back on now! With the safety car in this lap the gap is only 8 seconds between first and second! The Quifel-ASM Team had a scare in the pit lane when their car refused to start up.

Green flag! Mucke is now only 4.5 seconds behind Tinseau…and closing in.

Mücke is putting the pressure on Tinseau. His last lap was 1.2s quicker and in two laps time the gap has gone to 2.176s…

With less than half an hour remaining in the race Mücke has every chance to win this one.

Mücke takes the lead! Tinseau hit traffic and was stuck behind a slower GT car, Mücke took advantage and went around the outside overtaking both the traffic as well as the Pescarolo. Considering the pace of Mücke in the last couple of laps he might walk away with it now…

Two laps after Mücke made the pass and the gap has gone up to just over three seconds already. In all other categories the gap between the leader and second placed car is over 1 lap.

Fifteen minutes remaining…Mücke is six seconds ahead of Tinseau. In GT2 Antonio Garcia is trying everything to pass Beltoise and take fourth place.

Ten minutes to go…Mücke is now eight seconds clear of Tinseau in the Pescarolo and still pushing. Ortelli is in third, too far away to take second. The gap between Garcia and Beltoise in GT2 is exactly 1 second. IPB Spartak Racing and Racing Box look set to take victory…over a lap on their rivals.

No changes…Mücke has decided to adjust his race pace…

Less than a minute to go, it looks like Aston Martin Racing is going to win on their first race.

Mücke has done it…after 209 laps and six hours of racing the German crosses the line and brings victory to Aston Martin Racing. Christophe Tinseau finishes second for Pescarolo with Stephane Ortelli in third for Team Oreca.

Andrea Piccini wins the LMP2 category for Racing Box, a nice start of 2009 after a disastrous 2008 campaign. Quifel-ASM Team takes second with the second Racing Box car finishing it off!

IPB Spartak Racing has clinched the GT1 win, after having started from the back. Alphand takes second place, with Larbre in third.

Lietz takes the checkered flag and wins the GT2 class for Felbermayr-Proton and Porsche. JMW Motorsport opens their 2009 account with a second place finish and Montanari in the Hankook-Farnbacher Ferrari is third!