Seikel Motorsport - SPA 24h 2003

2003 SPA 24h - SEIKEL MOTORSPORT #72 & 73

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16h26 CET	Finally the dramatic race ended with a great result of the Seikel Motorsport Porsche, #72 that finished in the third place overall and in the second place in the NGT class. The end of the race was dramatic, the Porsche being followed by close by the #1 Viper. In fron, #22 Ferrari, that finished second overall had an engine problem in the very 10 minutes to the end. Alex Caffi was the driver to finish the race and to bring Seikel Motorsport a fantastic result for the 2003 edition of the 24 hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
15h26 CET	#72 car has just done a splash and dash, changing also the rear tyres. The finish will be very close, because the #1 Viper of Larbre Competition is just one lap behind and is gaining some 4 seconds per lap. With all calculations, the battle for the 3rd place will be played in the very last lap of the race.
14h56 CET	One hour still to go and #72 Porsche is running in 3rd place overall and 2nd at NGT class. The gap to the first car is 10 laps. Alex Caffi is driving now, having new sets of that it proved to be very good Yokohama tyres.
12h30 CET	After an hour stint of swiss driver Andrea Chiesa, Luca Ricitelli entered the car at 12h30, with three and a half hours left from the 2003 Spa 24h race. Since 9h30, the car went on with slick tyres but now the crew decided to use the rain Yokohama tyres. The car is running in 3rd place overall and 2nd place in NGT class while is still raining .
10h40 CET	Unscheduled pit stop for the car because of a left rear tyre puncture. At the last stop, the team hadn't changed the tyres. No other problem for the car, it is still running 4th overall at 9 laps behind the leading Porsche.
10h30 CET	Gabrio Rosa enters the car for the first time this edition as the track is dry. #72 Porsche is in 2nd NGT class and 4th overall.
09h30 CET	Alex Caffi has just entered the car and will continue with slick tyres. The rain has stopped but some sectors of the track are still wet. #73 Porsche is defending its 2nd place NGT and 5th overall at 7 laps behind the leading car.
07h40 CET	Car #72 in the pits with a driver change (Luca Drudi in the car). New rain set of tyres only for the rear wheels, as decided to treat the understeer behaviour of the car. 2nd NGT and 5th overall.
05h20 CET	Car #72 in the pits with a driver change (Andrea Chiesa will replace Alex Caffi), refueling and new Yokohama rain tyres. Alex run in slick tyres but considered that Andrea to continue with rain type. The car is still in 2nd place NGT ant 5th overall and is raining all over the track.
04h40 CET	Car #72 is in 2nd place NGT class and in 5th place overall at 5 laps behind the leader (#50 Freisinger Porsche). Alex Caffi is still in the car and he has some 10 more laps to do. No problem for the car.
03h19 CET	After nearly 11 hours of racing, #72 car is running in 3rd position in NGT class and 5th in overall standings while car # 73 was taken out of the race because of an engine breakdown. So far, the race went on in wet conditions, with the safety-car coming out many times because of different accidents. A few minutes ago, the remaining Seikel Motorsport car has made a pit-stop for refueling, new slick tyres and driver change. Alex Caffi is back in the car and is actually driving. It is not raining anymore but the track is still very slippery and wet on some of the sections.
01h09 CET	#72 Porsche is in 3rd place in NGT class, with 157 laps completed (one lap behind the leader, #50 Porsche) and 5th overall with Luca Ricitelli preparing to get into the car.
July 27th 00h45 CET	Unfortunatelly, the car #73 is out of the race with engine problems. The official announce hasn't been made yet.
23h41 CET	#73 Porsche is still in the garage with not many chances to get back on the track. #72 is in 3rd place at NGT in very poor weather conditions.
July 26th 23h30 CET	After another caution and safety-car, the race is restarted at 23h27. #72 Porsche did a very good race so far, standing in the 2nd position (NGT class) and 4th overall. Andrea Chiesa replaced Alex Caffi at 23h00. The second Seikel Motorsport Porsche (#73) is now in the garage. The mechanics are trying to fix the problem. In fact, at the last pit-stop, when Tim Bergmeister got into the car, the engine couldn't start.
July 26th 22h27 CET	Green flag, #72 is in the 4th place and #73 in the 9th position in NGT class.
July 26th 21h40 CET	The safety-car is on the track once more because of an accident in the F1 straight. The Seikel Motorsport cars are running currently in 6th place (#72) and in 12th (for #73) on NGT class, with no incidents or technical problems.
July 26th 20h30 CET	A new stint for both Seikel Motorsport's cars while is still raining. Alex Caffi and John Lloyd are in their cars now.
July 26th 19h20 CET	The safety-car is out for the second time in this race, because of a heavy rain. The cars are running in the 8th position for #73 and in 12th for #73. A problem with the heating system made Phil Collin to came into the pits to allow the team to fix it.
July 26th 18h10 CET	Seikel Motorsport cars had just made their first pit stop. With heavy rain over the circuit, new Yokohama rain tyres are on the cars. Luca Ricitelli replaced Andrea Chiesa in the #72 while Phil Collin replaces Tony Burgess. The position in the NGT class are 7th for #73 and 8th for the #72 cars.
July 26th 17h40 CET	The restart of the race is done now, after one hour that the pace car was on the track. Actually it starts raining at Spa and the cars and the teams are preparing for the first pit-stop.
July 26th 16h40 CET	The start of the race happened in good conditions for both of the Seikel Motorsport cars. The #72 is running actually 8th place and the #73 in the 12th position. At 16h37 the pace car came into the track because of a big crash at Radillon corner. The drivers are driving grouped for the moment.
July 26th 15h00 CET	LIVE JOURNAL The start of the race for the 2003 Spa 24h race will happen in about one hour time. Actually the drivers are presents at the official presentation and parade. Swiss driver Andrea CHIESA is the driver to begin the race for the # 72 car and Tony BURGESS #73. We will be back soon with the latest informations and photos. You can hear Tony Burgess's impressions just before the start.