Sturm explained that he recognised the difficulties Kobayashi was having in bringing the fresh set of slick tyres on his GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercar up to temperature behind the safety car, amid tricky conditions that prompted race control to declare a wet track.
The Pure Rxcing Porsche GT3 driver's overtake on Kobayashi, exiting Acque Minerali on the first lap following the restart, was followed by a pass on the Ferrari 499P LMH of Miguel Molina that moments before had taken the lead from the Toyota into Rivazza.
