In front of thousands of excited fans and under bright skies, the 6 Hours of Shanghai got off to a dramatic start today at Shanghai International Circuit.
The LMGTE Pro championship- leading No.51 AF Corse Ferrari was unfortunately involved in a first lap accident with the No.47 KCMG LMP2 car which had slowed on track due to a fuel pump issue, and the resulting damage put the F458 out of the race.
Gimmi Bruni, who with Toni Vilander could potentially have been able to win the GT Drivers’ championship today, was understandably upset about the event: “It was crazy, he (Alexandre Imperatori) had a problem and was still on the racing line. I had nowhere to go and no time to react.”
The Safety Car was brought out for eight laps while the cars and debris were cleared from the track, and the action got underway again 23 minutes into the race. The No.97 Aston Martin Vantage V8 of Mücke/Turner, which started the race from GTE Pro pole position, continues to lead ahead of the No.92 Porsche 911 RSR of Makowiecki/Pilet, with the No.71 AF Corse Ferrari of Rigon/Calado and the No.91 Porsche Team Manthey entry of Bergmeister/Lietz in close pursuit in third and fourth places.
Aston Martin Racing – winners of this race last year – is also holding a 1-2 lead in the LMGTE Am category. The No.95 Vantage V8 of Heinemeier-Hansson/Poulsen/Stanaway has a narrow advantage over the No.98 sister car of Dalla Lana/Lamy/Nygaard with the No.90 Ferrari 458 Italia of 8Star Motorsports holding third in class. The Ferrari of the all-Italian driving crew of Roda/Ruberti/Cressoni pitted earlier than its rivals so is slightly out of sequence with its competitors as it has made two pit stops against everyone else’s one so far.
12:27:11 Toyota #7 takes 3rd from Audi #2
12:26:20 Toyota #8 leads by 11 seconds from #14 Porsche after pit stop
12:24:33 1:49.470 fastest lap for #8 Toyota
12:21:09 Porsche #20 now in 8th after tyre blow out
12:19:13 Duval now in Audi #1
12:18:32 Leading Toyota #8 into pits Davidson in
12:16:19 Porsche #20 running slowly left rear tyre blown
12:14:17 Toyota's now 1st and 2nd #8 leads #7
12:10:49 Both Porsche's into pits - #8 Toyota takes lead
12:09:53 In GTE Am #98 Aston leads from #95 Aston and #90 Ferrari
12:08:46 In GTE Pro #92 Porsche leads #99 Aston and #97 Aston
12:06:59 Audi #2 and #1 into pits
12:06:25 In P2 #26 Ligier leads from #30 HPD and #27 Oreca
12:03:52 Toyota #8 now up to 3rd place
12:02:52 After 1 hour #20 Porsche leads #14 Porsche #2 Audi and #1 Audi
12:01:27 P2 leader #26 Ligier pits
11:59:06 Rebellion #13 into pits
11:57:16 Ferrari #71 and #12 Rebellion into pits
11:53:59 Toyota #8 now only under 9 seconds behind leader
11:50:42 Porsche #20 of Hartley takes lead from #14 Porsche
11:49:16 Toyota #8 now under 15 seconds behind the leading Porsche
11:45:15 1:49.625 fastest lap for Buemi in #8
11:44:08 The two Audi's #2 and #1 now only 3 seconds behind the leading Porsche's
11:41:56 Leading Toyota #8 is 20 seconds behind the leading #14 Porsche
11:37:29 The 2 Toyota's now in 5th and 6th
11:36:20 The 2 Porsche's lead the 2 Audi's by 5 seconds after 14 laps
11:33:22 Toyotas have now cleared the P2 class now in 7th and 8th
11:29:14 1:49.974 fastest lap for Toyota #8
11:27:28 Aston #98 of Lamy leads GTE Am
11:26:23 Ligier #26 leads P2 from #30 HPD
11:25:22 Aston #97 leads GTE Pro
11:23:24 Green Flag
11:22:13 Safety car in this lap
11:20:10 Toyota #8 back into pits for more fuel
11:19:25 Porsche's #14 and #20 in first and second
11:16:45 Ferrari #90 into pits
11:15:40 Toyota's #7 and #8 into pits
11:14:49 Pit entry now open
11:11:38 Still a lot of debris on the track
11:09:43 KCMG Oreca #47 appeared to have power problem
11:12:19 Porsche #14 leads behind safety car from #8 Toyota and #20 Porsche
11:03:29 Safety Car
11:03:05 Oreca #47 has lost a lot of bodywork in clash with #51 Ferrari
11:01:20 Porsche #14 leads into first corner
11:00:32 Green Flag
Full results can be found HERE
Fiona Miller
Photo: SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT (SHANGHAI, CHINA), 6 HOURS OF SHANGHAI, SUNDAY 2 NOVEMBER 2014. The No.97 Aston Martin Racing vantage V8 leads the LMGTE categories after the first 90 minutes of racing.
