The headlines after 4 hours of racing at Fuji: Audi still in control
16/10/2016
No.8 Audi continues to lead as Loic Duval takes his turn at the wheel after fine stints from Oliver Jarvis and Lucas Di Grassi.
Tactical battle sees ‘cat and mouse’ battle between all three manufacturers
After fourth pit stop shake-out Loic Duval re-takes lead by overtaking Stephane Sarrazin on main straight after 3hrs40mins
As he does so, Timo Bernhard emerges from pits in No.1 Porsche to join them and the three are covered by just two seconds !
Sarrazin and Bernhard then engage in ferocious on-track battle and swap places several times before the reigning champion makes his move on pit straight just before fifth hour begins
Loic Duval leads Timo Bernhard by just five seconds at four hour mark
No.5 Toyota TS 050 HYBRID 30-secs further back with Kazuki Nakajima returning to the wheel
Points leaders No.2 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Dumas/Lieb and Jani a distant fifth
No.7 Audi retired after affecting repairs but called in by technical stewards who informed Audi that the LMP race car no longer complied with the regulations after driveshafts were removed whilst car was being repaired
Rebellion Racing is P6 overall and on schedule for another LMP1 Privateer win as ByKolles car retired in third hour
LMP2 sees G-Drive Racing relinquish the lead as they continue out of sequence pit stops. RGR Sport driver Filipe Albuquerque takes over the lead but themselves slip back after fifth pit stops are completed.
G-Drive re-take lead and Alex Brundle has seven second lead over Signatech Alpine
Fourth hour of race punctuated by entertaining battle between Richard Bradley (Manor) and Gustavo Menezes (Signatech Alpine). The pair’s fight for second place wows the crowd.
The Manor car slips to fifth due to pit lane speeding penalty and resultant 20-second penalty. No.67 Ford GT leads LMGTE Pro as Priaulx holds off Mucke but two are covered by a mere 3.2 seconds
AF Corse remain third and fourth but No.51 now has 16-second cushion over stablemates
Paul Dalla Lana holds one minute lead in LMGTE Am over No.83 AF Corse Ferrari
No.78 KCMG Porsche 911 RSR holds third position in class as Larbre Corvette drops back
