The pass around is happening, and the cars are lining up for the restart. Temperatures are cooling off. At the time of the red flag, track temp was 77 degrees. It has dropped ten, to 67 degrees. At night, the tire compounds will be softer. The #02 Ganassi Riley Ford EcoBoost was going to pit. But the pits are closed. Maybe they are having radio troubles. Emergency service can be performed under yellow, to get around for the order. But, pit stops will be required for either full service, or penalties.
SMP Ferrari is pitting to change a flat tire. One of the top V8 Supercar drivers, Shane van Gisbergen, is running in this race with the Alex Job Porsche in GT LM. Car #22. The pits will open for Prototypes and then GT's. Both Ganassi cars will pit. Action Express and Wayne Taylor Racing both pit. Back to car #22. van Gisbergen shares with Cooper MacNeil, Leh Keen, Louis Philippe Dumoulin, and Shane Lewis. Oak Racing is piting with their team of Olivier Pla and company. Pla shares with Gustavo Yacaman, Oliver Webb, and Romain Rusinov.
Car #02 pits for full service. In the American Le Mans Series, it used to be, when you pitted, you had to stop in your pit. There is a new Delphi safety light and every car has this, to let everyone know the race track is under yellow. More pit action. In the amateur classes, "silver" level drivers have to put in a certain amount of time, otherwise, their teams will be disqualified. The #73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche and the #72 SMP Ferrari both pit. Corvette lost a lot of time on their pit stops while SRT Viper had good stops.
We are still under yellow. The Corvette's have a rear view camera with some high tech systems within them to help see what is behind them. Everyone remains behind the safety car. Different drivers wear their helmets differently. It's personal preference. Robin Liddell and Jan Magnussen are the two drivers in the Corvette's right now. Alex Welch pits the #32 GMG Audi R8 LMS. The #44 Magnus Porsche does, too, with John Potter at the wheel.
The #32 car needs it's headlights and was black flagged. Now, we're back to racing. Accelerate from the Bus Stop, and go. Some guys get their laps back. The Corvette goes down the inside, and is pushing Viper and Porsche. The Pro drivers hang on better on the outlaps on cold tires. Dominik Farnbacher is going for it. This is great GT racing with BMW, SRT Viper, and Porsche. There's an issue with the #8 Prototype Challenge car.
Eric Lux is in the car, taking over for Renger van der Zande and Sam Bird. They are changing the nose and the front bodywork. Graham Rahal is running well with the BMW. But the BMW Z4 doesn't quite have the straight line speed. He's being overpowered by a GT Daytona Ferrari, but, underbraking, it's a different story. Christian Fittipaldi runs a 1:44 flat (1:44.033). Christian Fittipaldi still leads overall.
Dusk comes into effect quickly, and goes not really into night, but into a twilight zone of artificial light. The race doesn't slow down, but it deepens. Each team figures out their internal rhythm, and how the car performs throughout the long haul. Battles are all over the track. It's still Viper vs. Porsche in GT LM with Christian Fittipaldi leading Prototype, and the overall. There are many cars still out on track. Farnbacher 1:45.86, Kuno Wittmer, 1:45.86. Identical fast laps for the Viper's. The Porsche is on a hundredth behind.
Shane van Gisbergen is co-driving with Cooper MacNeil in the #22 Porsche. Cooper MacNeil's dad David is the team owner and is the boss of WeatherTech. He is also the owner of the WeatherTech company, and he will have an ad in the Super Bowl next weekend. David MacNeil was also a former race driver. Fittipaldi continues to lead. But, Tony Kanaan is hanging in there with the EcoBoost Ford. It's cool, and humid. Milo Valverde is being penalized in the #556 Ferrari.
He did not stop at the end of pit lane when it was closed. Valverde shares with Scott Tucker, Terry Borcheller, Guy Cosmo, and Mike LaMarra. Jeff Segal, Michael Avenatti, and others, are in their own battle. Jeff Segal is now at Level 5, moving away from Aim Autosport. Bob Faieta runs for GB Autosport who is right ahead in the #81 Porsche. Faieta is sharing with Damien Faulkner and veteran Patrick Huisman. Mario Farnbacher has a challenge from Michael Avenatti. Viper's run 1-2 in GT LM as Ryan Briscoe is sixth in class with the new C7R Sting Ray.
The chassis on this car is much stiffer than the last generation Corvette. Ryan Briscoe has run prototypes and Indycars, and says the stiffness of the new Corvette chassis, is as stiff as a prototype. The fit and finish on that car, is also spot on. The Viper's were given a 66% weight break after the Roar Before The Rolex 24 test session at the start of this month. The Deltawing has crunched into the tire wall. What has happened to it? Katherine Legge is at the controls.
The #4 Corvette is also off the road. There's going to be something wrong with the water system. Katherine Legge speared into the tires. There's damage to the body. But it's difficult to see if it's damaged. Robin Liddell is driving the #4 Corvette and will need to come to the pits to make sure there's nothing wrong with the radiator. Is their fluid on the tracK/ The grip level could be changing, too. The Corvette is in the pits. Now, Christian Fittipaldi will pit, too. Daytona is dirty, simply because of the high banks.
Christian Fittipaldi pits and will have a tire change. Fittipaldi has clar sailing. Tony Kanaan pits the Ganassi car. The Deltawing is pitting, and just has cosmetic damage. Katherine Legge shares with Gabby Chaves, Andy Meyrick, and Alexander Rossi. Ed Brown is not only a driver, but he's the CEO of Tequila Patron. Points will be given at certain hour marks in the four endurance races, including four times here at the Rolex 24 at hours six, twelve, eighteen, and 24.
We look forward to Sebring, Watkins Glen, and the Petit Le Mans, later on in the year. Max Angelelli takes over the Velocity Worldwide Corvette after Wayne Taylor finishes his one and only stint. The #01 Ganassi car pits again. Another yellow flag. It's Duncan Ende in the #09 Prototype Challenge machine driven by Duncan Ende. Ende is sharing with David Heinemeier-Hanson of Denmark, Brazil's Bruno Junquiera, and Gustavo Menezes of the U.S.
The car spun and he could not get going. This is another full course yellow.
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