I want to say sorry to the team for going off tonight and ending the race for car 62, the Czech rued afterwards. I made a mistake at the top of Eau Rouge and couldn't keep hold of the car. Tim (Mullen) did a fantastic job at the start of the race and got us right up into contention. I wanted to continue the good job he had started. The crew worked very hard this morning to repair the car after the warm-up so I am sorry we couldn't get a good result for them.
That was a pretty uneventful run for me, Sugden added. I had no choice but to drive across the debris from Tomas' accident when I first went out, so I was a bit concerned that I had picked up a puncture. The tyres were all ok while we were under the safety car, but as soon as we started racing again I could feel there was something wrong so I pitted for new rubber.
Niarchos suffered a second minor off' at just after 2am when he ran across the gravel trap to avoid a spinning GT3 Porsche, but a stirring stint from Sugden saw the #63 car make up more than six laps on the
Ferrari ahead, and when the latter unexpectedly pitted at just after 7:30am Scuderia Ecosse found themselves up into sixth. With the rain coming down, a heavy off for Rui Aguas in the sole remaining AF Corse Ferrari on the exit of Eau Rouge at Raidillon then promoted the Scottish entry to fifth with seven hours of the race left to run.
The car is feeling really good, Niarchos confirmed. I had a great time out there. I had no dramas apart from my quick trip across the gravel to avoid that Porsche, and I'm happy to report all is well and the car is in one piece!
