Nicklas Nielsen leads the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps for Ferrari, but he is being hounded by Alpine’s Fred Makowiecki, with the Frenchman a second or so behind the Ferrari after the first pitstops. However, the race is under safety car as two LMGT3 have had issues in separate incidents.
Nielsen, in the #50 Ferrari, led away from pole with his Ferrari teammates Phil Hanson in the yellow #83 AF Corse Ferrari and James Calado in the sister #51 factory car second and third.
Calado got by Hanson on the outside of Les Combes on the first lap, cementing a scarlet 1-2.
However, Makowiecki in the #36 Alpine was on a charge. The Frenchman started sixth but advanced past Will Stevens, in the #12 Cadillac, and the #94 Peugeot of Loic Duval, making short work of both in the opening stages.
He was now fourth, with Hanson ahead. He very quickly passed the Briton at La Source, with Hanson going onto the gravel on the outside to try and defend.
But Makowiecki was through and he then set about catching Calado in the #51 Ferrari.
The Frenchman got on the back of Calado but, for a little while, couldn’t find a way past the red Ferrari. The two ran line of stern but with Makowiecki’s clearly superior pace, it wasn’t going to take long to pass. And that he did, with a brilliant move on the outside of Eau Rouge and Raidillon, to take second.
Ever since, he’s been trying to catch Nielsen, with a shorter pitstop aiding this and reducing the gap to under a second. But the gap has opened back up to 3 seconds and he now has Calado to worry about too, half a secon d back.
In fourth is Kevin Magnussen in the #15 BMW. He started 11tyh but moved up rapidly through the field, and now sits just 11 seconds behind Nielsen.
Peugeot’s Paul Di Resta is fifth in the #93 9X8. Sixth is Mike Conway in the #7 Toyota, who started sixth. The Briton had a right front slow puncture and had to pit, so is off strategy.
Seventh is Ferdinand Habsburg in the #35 Alpine, while eighth is Will Stevens in the #12 Cadillac.
Al Harthy leads for BMW in LMGT3
In the LMGT3 class, Ahmad Al Harthy leads in the #46 WRT BMW. He started ninth and has advanced through the field, taking the lead through the course of the pitstops.
Ryan Hardwick is second in the #92 Manthey 1ST Phorm Porsche, 5 and a half seconds off the back of Al Harthy.
Third is Stefano Gattuso in the #88 Proton Ford Mustang GT3. Fourth and fifth in class are Francois Heriau in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari, while fifth is polesitter Arnold Robin the #78 ASP Lexus.
Yasser Shahin in the #31 WRT BMW has gone off at La Source after contact at the bus stop, while Petru Umbrarescu in the #87 ASP Lexus has also stopped on the Kemmel Straight. Therefore, a virtual safety car followed by a regular safety car is out and has neutralised the race.
