LMP1 Leaders Hit Problems; Thiim Crashes at Spa

Photo: Laurent Chaveau

Four of the six hybrid LMP1 machines have had problems in the first two hours of the WEC Six Hours of Spa, while Nicki Thiim has had a strong impact with a tire barrier.

The first car to have problems was the No. 2 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Marc Lieb, which had hybrid issues just 20 minutes into the race.

Around 30 minutes later, Mike Conway collided with Victor Shaytar, resulting in significant cosmetic damage on the No. 6 Toyota TS050 Hybrid, which was later awarded a drive-through penalty.

With 75 minutes completed, the No. 1 Porsche which had led early in the race, had a front-left puncture. However, just 20 minutes later, and with Mark Webber now at the wheel, it picked up another puncture on the same wheel.

Soon after, the No. 7 Audi R18 also entered its pit garage with a broken floor, losing more than five laps.

This leaves just the No. 5 Toyota and No. 8 Audi without problems. Anthony Davidson leads in the Toyota, with the field just out of a Full Course Yellow period.

This yellow came as a result of a crash by Nicki Thiim in the GTE-Pro-class No. 95 Aston Martin V8 Vantage. He was tapped into a tire barrier at considerable speed and flipped over.

Although the Dane exited the car unharmed, the tire barrier was damaged and so had to be repaired.

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.