After suffering two punctures in the second half of the race, the No. 7 Toyota looked down and out. Yet here we are, at the end, with rain coming down and super-sub Jose Maria Lopez handed a shot at glory amid perhaps the most spirited drive of his career.
How did it happen? The No. 50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P, following its most recent stop, was forced to relinquish the lead due to its door issue. Nicklas Nielsen was spotted by the cameras repeatedly slamming the door to try and fix the issue.
However, he was unable to solve the issue and was eventually called in for repairs by the race director. This saw the No. 50 drop to fifth.
Is that all she wrote? Not quite. Nielsen certainly doesn’t think so, the Dane has been on a tear ever since trying to make up for the lost time. He’s also now out of sequence with the rest of the field, so it’s not yet clear how it will shake out in the final hour. Once it has taken its final stop, will it be able to make it to the flag on fuel?
After the No. 50’s unscheduled stop initially handed the No. 7 Toyota the lead, everyone pitted and handed the top spot back.
That happened moments after the No. 7 had taken second from the No. 51 Ferrari.
Jose Maria Lopez tried to make the move at Dunlop, but couldn’t quite force his way past Alessandro Pier Guidi. After kissing the side of the 499P, he would have to wait until the next run down Mulsanne to make the move.