Just an hour and 57 minutes left now. The fresh drivers will be put in for the finish. Porsche plays offense, blocking a move from their competitors at BMW in GT LM. Ferrari celebrates the 50th anniversary of the winning Ferrari GTO. It's Ferrari's 60th anniversary, and also, the 50th anniversary of Momo, created by the late, great Gianpiero Moretti, who won this race with a Ferrari 333SP back in 1998. Interestingly, Ferrari might come back to Le Mans with a prototype that could win overall, sometime in the not too distant future.
We'll have to see how that develops, or if it does. We anticipated going back to green. But, the #93 Viper with Rob Bell at the controls, is stalled. We're ready for a restart. Sebastien Bourdais leads. We've run 637 laps (2,267 miles). It's go time. Taylor has to pressure Sebastien Bourdais. He's comfortable with the car, and is in the zone. He doesn't have to worry too much. He can just drive the race car. Wayne Taylor along with Jordan and Ricky Taylor, would be only the second father/son team to win the Rolex 24. John Paul Sr. and John Paul Jr. did it in a Porsche 935 in 1982 along with Rolf Stommelen.
There was a close call with Patrick Dempsey and one other car. We watch the #555 Ferrari. Alessandro Pier Guidi, who is a silver rated driver, and he's run the fastest lap in GT Daytona. Jan Heylen is second in class with the #58 Porsche. Also, Dempsey was run into by Renger van der Zande in a Prototype Challenge car. Magnus Racing is still pounding around. They won't win their class in the race this year like they did last year. But, they have a full season ahead. Aston Martin, BMW, and Audi run together. Augusto Farfus, Brandon Davis, and it is unclear as to who is driving the Audi.
An hour and a half remains in the Rolex 24. The #4 Corvette is back on track. The outer casing of the gearbox was repaired. Mike Rockenfeller knows he and his Spirit of Daytona team mates are not quick enough to win the race today. Rockenfeller will compete in DTM with Audi in Germany again this year. Yours truly has another general car racing blog that highlights DTM. The #01 car goes behind the wall once again. It also looks like the #90 car just isn't balanced. It could be the weather, too. It's a lot warmer than it was in qualifying.
The #64 Ferrari slides off the road with Ken Wilden at the controls. This is the second of the three Scuderia Corse cars. Kenny Wilden sharing with John Farano, Rod Randall, and David Empringham, an experienced sports car and open wheel racer. Wilden, too, has a lot of sports car experience. Sebastien Bourdais has a ten second lead over Jordan Taylor. It is game over for the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Riley Ford. They are out. Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr are well off the pace, after winning the American Le Mans Series championship last year.
The #01 is ninth in class and they will get points. The leading #5 Corvette still has a question mark about it's transmission, too. The #07 Mazda SkyActiv D prototype could be out. Joel Miller at the controls. They'll tow him in, fix the car and see if they can finish. Bourdais runs a 1:39.7 compared to Jordan Taylor at a 1:40.4. It's go time. Bourdais has found a way around the shift linkage issue. I'ts back and forth with sequential boxes. Shift, and then, relocate where the shift point is. Push forward to go down, pull back, to go up, unlike an H pattern gearbox.
Calum Lockie is running for Aston Martin... 13 years ago, Lockie ran a Marcos LM600. Lockie passed Dale Earnhardt, when he ran at the Rolex 24 in 2001. The sponsor on this car is a seller of expensive paintings. Calum Lockie races a pre-war Maserati. Nick Tandy still leads in GT LM. They are still a lap up on the BMW Z4. Now, they have 32 laps on their current stint. They will need one or two more stops before the end of this race.
Don't overstep the boundaries of your fuel economy, because you could ruin your chances of a good race result, or even, as in the case of this car, a potential class win in GT LM. An hour and nine minutes to go as Sebastien Bourdais will pit. Bourdais locks up the brakes into the pits! Did he overshoot the speed limit? Joao Barbosa takes over the car for the final push. How will Barbosa do with the shifter issue? Max Angelelli takes over the #10 car.
The pit entry by Sebastien Bourdais, anywhere you bust the 37 mile per hour speed limit, you'll have to pay for it. Patrick Pilet takes over the #911 Porsche for the finish. They have a lap lead over the BMW. But they need to save fuel. They might need a splash and dash. Borudais drifts the car going into the pits. He had to get around the slower GT Daytona BMW Z4. It looks like the car will be ready. Wally Dallenbach Sr. (a racing legend in his own right), reaches over to shake Bourdais' hand.
Joey Hand will pit in ten minutes. They are out of the fuel window. John Martin of Australia, pits the sister Action Express Corvette. He'll hand the car over to Brian Frisselle. The #9 car is still having transmission trouble, unlike the sister car. Just over an hour to go to the end, folks. This is going to be something. Stay tuned for the finish.
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