We are ready to roll for the second race of the Tudor United Sports Car Championship doubleheader at Laguna Seca Raceway. The big boys and the big toys, have come out to play. It's time for the Prototype and GT Le Mans race. Judging from the wicked action we saw in the Pro/Am race for Prototype Challenge and GT Daytona, this one should be just as if not more exciting, chaps. Hang onto your hats. This is going to be good.
The breeze has come up. The temperatures are dropping. You want (as a driver), to be in the best car with the best teams. Can a new team win in Prototype? Will there be a Ganassi or Action Express repeat? What about GT LM? Will it be Porsche, Corvette, or BMW? We're twelve minutes away from the green flag. The ongoing mission is to equalize the cars. The first three races have been won by the former Daytona Prototype cars. But, former LMP2 cars have taken three of the top five spots on the grid.
The challenge is, this is a sprint race. How will the first lap go? Not all of these Prototype teams employ professional drivers. The amateur guys have skill, but they don't quite have experience enough. Ed Brown and Johannes van Overbeek in the #2 Patron Racing HPD prototype, has pole for this race. Keep you guard up. This is the first pole for P2 spec cars in the Tudor Championship. Don't freak out under pressure. That's Johannes van Overbeek's advice to his team mate, Ed Brown.
Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas start seventh, looking for three wins in a row. The warmup was a little tough for Ganassi. But, they look to move forward from their seventh starting spot on the grid. We're ready, and the command to fire the engines, is coming. Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia have pole in GT LM. Garcia put the #3 Corvette C.7.R. on pole, and Magnussen will take over the car later on in the race. Nick Tandy is fastest in the North American factory Porsche 911 RSR. 14 drivers are within nine points in GT LM points.
Laguna Seca is a handling track. Look out for BMW and the factory Z4 GTE from Rahal Letterman Lanigan BMW. Stay out of the sandbox at the side of the track. Track position will be big. Very unlikely we'll see yellow flags. But the track narrows in a hurry. Weave the car side to side to scrub off the sand. Generate tire temperature, too. The track and ambient conditions are cooler. Ed Brown has pole, and he'll have to do his best.
Here we go. At the start, the #90 Corvette of Michael Valiante leads but Gustavo Yacaman flies to second in the #42 OAK Morgan Nissan. One of the Corvette's runs wide and the #912 Porsche 911 RSR spins. Michael Christensen at the controls. The cars plunge nine or ten stories through The Corkscrew. Ricky Taylor is chasing Memo Rojas as Gustavo Yacaman brakes deep on the outside, wanting to pass Michael Valiante. The Daytona Prototype spec cars have lost some restrictor space.
Christian Fittipaldi splits the two ESM HPD ARX prototypes! The heavier Daytona Prototype spec cars are just getting heat inside their tires. The P2 cars are 300 pounds lighter. Richard Westbrook qualified the #90 Spirit of Daytona Chevrolet Corvette prototype. They like the smoother circuits. Gustavo Yacaman wants it in the Corkscrew. He can't get there. Race clean. Here he comes. He wants the lead. These two had a dust up last time out at Long Beach. He'll defend in turn two.
This will hurt Yacaman's lap times. But, he wants to push. Stay cool. If a P2 car controls the pace, they can win. There's history at stake if a P2 wins in the Tudor Championship for the first time. GT LM is heating up with Jan Magnussen in the Corvette, the BMW Z4 GTE of John Edwardss, and the factory GT LM Porsche 911. Ricky Taylor and Memo Rojas are both moving up. The Ford V6 and Chevrolet V8 motors, have been dialed back by IMSA and the marshals.
The gap closes between Michael Valiante and Gustavo Yacaman. Christian Fittipaldi and Scott Sharp are also right there. These guys are going for it, not giving an inch. Yacaman attacked through the Corkscrew, and Valiante said, "no way, sunshine." The next lap, was the same. Yacaman slipped for a fraction of a second. Christian Fittipaldi can smell blood. He is a shark, searching for it's prey. Yacaman wants the outside. Can't do it. Two into one won't go here. The three behind are content to watch. However, Fittipaldi wants to draft by.
Yacaman has to defend. IMSA seems to be finding the sweet spot with equalizing the Daytona Prototype and P2 cars. No one is giving up track position. Memo Rojas joins the party. He too, wants in, in the Ganassi Racing Riley Ford EcoBoost. Richard Westbrook says his team will have to stay clean, and says, "I don't want to watch the race." Gustavo Yacaman would drive away if he got the lead. Magnussen, Edwards, Lietz and others, are starting to push. Corvette, BMW, Porsche, Corvette, Porsche, Viper. This will give us long, green flag runs.
The teams and drivers have not had a lot of track time. It's been a really compact race weekend at Laguna Seca for all these teams. Gustavo Yacaman may be losing pace. Alex Brundle says the aerodynamics are a bit in question, as there was a small bit of contact. The team is going with it's Plan A at the moment. Yacaman got dust on his tires. The small aero dive plane on the splitter, is bent. OAK and HPD battle. Nissan vs. Honda. We are 21 minutes in. Ed Brown pits, and Johannes van Overbeek takes over the #2 car.
They are not taking tires. van Overbeek will do a 45 minute stint. Two stop strategies for the Prototype teams. The P2 cars have more trouble getting tire temperature, because they are lighter weight. The #07 Mazda prototype is seventh while the sister car is 13th. This is a home race for Mazda. Speedsource is running well at their home track. The loads on the drivtrain are huge for the Mazda through the SkyActiv four cylinder diesel motor.
The leaders run in the 1:21 range, while Mazda is coming forward, just a second off, running 1:22s. Jan Magnussen begins to gap John Edwards somewhat. No pressure on Corvette or Jan Magnussen. Patrick Long shares with Michael Christensen in the #912 car. He says they are consistently the fastest GT LM car in this opening stint. Whoa! The Porsche did spin. Afterwards, no worries. Andy Priaulx is putting the sister #55 RLL BMW through it's paces. But, the #56 sister car pits. Dirk Muller takes over for John Edwards.
There may have been a flatspotted tire, or, just a change in strategy. There will be an advantage for BMW if there is a yellow and they need to pit. The #93 SRT Viper was thought to have been running well. Kuno Wittmer sharing with Jonathan Bomarito of course. Viper is still finding the sweet spot. The sister car #91 could have tire trouble. Either, the tire has pickup on it, or it's deflating. He locks the brakes, and is right between the Prototype leaders. Wittmer is told to stay out.
John Edwards did flatspot a tire. Alex Brundle takes over from Gustavo Yacaman in a scheduled stop for OAK Racing. Alex Brundle, reminds a lot of us of his dad Martin Brundle, a veteran of Formula One, and sports cars. Ricky Taylor pits the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette prototype, handing the car over to his brother Jordan. This team won here last year in Grand Am with Jordan Taylor and Max Angelelli. Can the GT LM cars run this race on one pit stop? Oh! Mi chael Valiante pits the #90 car. There's bodywork damage on the right rear of the car.
Richard Westbrook takes over. Climb the hill to the Corkscrew, and plunge down the hill out of the corner. Scott Sharp pits the #1 ESM prototype. Ryan Dalziel will take over the car as the tires are changed. Fuel is also added. Sticker tires all around. Alex Brundle attackd Richard Westbrook. Westbrook pushes, and slices through on Brundle into the Corkscrew. Give one driver room, and give up the corrner when it's lost. That's respectful racing in a sports car, or any kind of race car.
The #07 Mazda of Joel Miller runs off the road, and might have tub or chassis damage. Maybe it's got a holed radiator. Ooh. Damage to the #42. They need a nose change. They have a spare nose and are in a gap in the pit wall so they can get the parts replaced. Bruindle and Westbrook wanted to go inside. It was going on behind Miller's Mazda, and, crunch! The Mazda was an innocent bystander. The Oak machine is going behind the wall.
The Mazda must hav a busted radiator. There's damage to the Action Express Corvette. Game over for car #07. The Daytona Prototype cars are far more durable than the P2 machines. The GT LM battle is red hot. Corvvete vs. Porsche vs. BMW. Andy Priaulx is on a steep learning curve with learning Laguna Seca. Joao Barbosa has a part rubbing on the Corvette prototype. Dirk Mueller is at the controls of the #56 sister BMW Z4 GTE. Now, the #31 Whelen Corvette prototype with Boris Said at the wheel, has the race lead. But, he is one of two cars yet to pit.
The #42 car is back in action. The wishbone on th right side, was repaired. More specifically, the right hand corner of the car. Andy Priaulx pitted the second BMW Z4 GTE. Corvette, Porsche, BMW, Ferrari, are the top four in GT LM. Pierre Kaffer in the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 458 Italia, came from caboose on the field. Corvette, Porsche, Ferrari. Pierre Kaffer shares with former Formula One driver, and race winner, Giancarlo Fisichella.
The tire contact on the track, and the involvement of the suspension system = mechanical grip. Pierre Kaffer moved aside and let the prototype go by. Richard Lietz didn't quite let that happen. The GT LM guys are pushing their cars hard. Alex Brundle will get a stop and hold penalty, and the #90 car will also get a stop and hold. Not good. These penalties will push those cars back down the order. Ryan Dalziel battles Jordan Taylor for the lead. Taylor holds him off.
Dalziel can't quite get the power down. The contact between the #90 and #42 cars (a hip check), remains under review by IMSA stewards. The Tudor Championship is raising it's game to make the calls in the series. Former drivers will assist the stewards, just like Formula One. They need people who can read the races and read the incidents, the language of the race cars etcf. Antonio Garcia pits and there's an odd angle for one of the Porsche's in the pit. The Corvette was released and almost collided with the #912 factory Porsche.
Here's the #911 sister car. Nick Tandy takes over from Richard Lietz. #911 has had the advantage. Tandy does up his seatbelts without a crewman's help. Odd, because technically, a driver cannot see well enough, with his helmet on, to cinch up the safety belts. Less than 55 minutes to go now. Lots of pit action for tires and fuel, or just fuel. Ryan Dalziel has pulled the #1 HPD prototype off course. No full course yellow. Dalziel broke going uphill from the Corkscrew. There's a local yellow that means no passing. he's way off on driver's left.
Dalziel's gearbox, packed up. That's a shame. Everyone thought Patron Racing could win. Johannes van Overbeek still leads, and could win. But, he'll have to pit. van Overbeek leads Taylor, Barbosa, Westbrook, Oswaldo Negri Jr., and Scott Pruett. It's Honda vs. Corvette vs Riley EcoBoost Ford. The #93 SRT Viper had issues with the left front tire during their pit stop. Jonathan Bomarito is driving the #93 car. The #2 HPD prototype is in the pits from P1. Johannes van Overbeek gets new tires and a new drink bottle. He'll take the car to the checkers.
van Overbeek might have to stretch the fuel mileage a bit. Jordan Taylor takes over the lead. Can Wayne Taylor Racing make it two in a row at Laguna Seca? In GT LM it is now BMW, BMW, Ferrari, Corvette. Giancarlo Fisichella battles Antonio Garcia. Or rather, Fisichella has the spot, and Garcia, wants it. The plot thickens. Remember back to the PC/GTD race earlier. Fuel mileage is huge. Just ask Spencer Pumpelly, who's tank ran dry in his Flying Lizard Audi R8 LMS just before the checkered flag.
Jordan Taylor continues to lead. The Taylor brothers get along well. Max Angelelli will race in both remaining races for the North American Endurance Championship at Watkins Glen and the Petit Le Mans. BMW runs 1-2 in GT LM. This might change. The #56 car has to stop one more time. Risi Competizione runs third in GT LM. Pierre Kaffer wanted a new set of tires for the race, because there needed to be an advantage for the team. Kaffer is glad to be running with Risi Competizione again.
No worries on fuel for the Risi Ferrari. Risi needs a break. They have had two huge crashes in the first two races of the year. The #17 Falken Tire Porsche is running well. They are the only privateeer team run with support from Porsche North America. Wolf Henzler and Bryan Sellers are running well. Of course, they did not have the new car in time for the Rolex 24. So, they skipped that race. Scott Pruett continues to get the job done. He makes wine, and like vintage wine, he gets better. He's raced everything, and won almost everything.
Pruett ran very successfully in IMSA and Trans Am with Jack Roush. Ooh. There's argy bargy between Porsche and Corvette in GT LM. Scott Pruett is 8.7 seconds behind the leaders. He wants another race win. Pruett's style is that he jabs the throttle. It comes from go karts. In sports cars, you want to be more deliberate, rolling gently into and out of the throttle to accelerate and decelerate, to be more efficent, and save fuel. DP style cars are getting better fuel mileage because of the smaller air restrictor. It's like trying to breathe through a straw.
Nick Tandy, after contact, has an off center steering wheel in his factory Porsche. Oswaldo Negri Jr. is running well. Gear selection has been the Achilles heel for MSR this weekend, though their Ford EcoBoost V6 motor is running fine. The gearshift is electronically activated, and can lead to a lot of odd circumstances. Just over a half hour to run in this race. The drivers are being cautious, and the officiating is getting better. This is also the first natural terrain road course race of the year. Daytona is a combination of an oval and a road course. Sebring, is an airfield road circuit. Long Beach, is a street course.
Bill Auberlen pits his BMW for four tires and fuel. Tire degradation in the search for grip is a big deal. Auberlen came in first in class, but he's dropped down the order. The Ferrari and Risi Competizione is now leading in class. 27 minutes to go. The #4 Corvette C.7.R. is off and on. Oliver Gavin runs wide on the uphill to the Corkscrew, with too much speed. There's debris on the road. Look at the big picture. 14 drivers are covered by nine points in GT LM. Ooh. The Deltawing is slow. We have not seen a whole lot of Andy Meyrick and Katherine Legge today.
Garcia wants by Fischella in GT LM. Joao Barbosa is coming. Now, ther'e's really close moments with the Deltawing. It's slowing and nearly parked at the apex of the corner. The car might have a flat left rear tire. Just over 20 minutes remain in this race. Approaching 20 minutes remaining in this race. Jordan Taylor still leads Johannes van Overbeek. The Corvette's and Ford EcoBoost motors get air restrictor adjustments. This gives a ten horsepower advantage, which is more like 30.
There's a variety of tracks in this championship as Risi loses grip being passed by the Action Express prototype, and the Corvette goes by. Crew chief Dan Binks is ecstatic. Johannes van Overbeek has caught Jordan Taylor. The P2 car is quicker in the high speed corners on the second half of the lap. The Deltawing has headed for the pits. The car had a transmission failure. There's been a lead change. Johannes van Overbeek takes the lead.
Jordan Taylor either had a puncture, or had to clean his tires. He could have picked up debris, and either way, he ran wide, sweeping the car back and forth. There was just pickup on the tires, all the sand. That's what is happening with Jordan Taylor. We have less than 15 minutes to go. Can Ed Brown and company win? We spoke of him being in a pressure cooker scenario, being on pole as an amateur driver. The Mazda diesel has enormous torque and has sequential turbos on it, in a four cylinder motor. Bill Auberlen is booking it, and he's 9/10ths of a second quicker than the GT LM leader.
Huge lockup for the Porsche. It's Patrick Long and Jonathan Bomarito. Two California boys, having a blast racing, in factory race cars. Bill Auberlen is pushing Dirk Muller. If Muller will let him by, up the front straight is a good spot, and into turn one. Yup. Move over. Auberlen is through. Giancarlo Fisichella is now in front of Bill Auberlen. Dirk Muller will be penalized for contact with the #4 Corvette. Ah. He spun the Corvette. He pushed out and touchd the left rear of the #4 Corvette.
Auberlen tries passing Fisichella on the inside. Five minutes left in this contest. Ooh. The Ferrari gets twitchy. Car #01 needed a splash and dash. They did not get a yellow. Fisichella defends and runs wide. Auberlen forces the issue. Fisichella can't make it work. Don't play dodge 'em cars, boys. Auberlen moves ahead. Nick Tandy is Auberlen's next target. Bomarito trails Patrick Long, still. Less than three minutes to run in this race.
Nick Tandy, and oh! Tandy bangs Auberlen on the front straight! He hasn't lost any ground. The #911 car is second in GT LM, passing Giancarlo Fisichella in turn nine. A tough corner. There may be a penalty. The #3 Corvette has a four second lead as we approach the final lap. Bill Auberlen is right on the Porsche coming to the front straight. Auberlen got pushed onto the astro turf. One lap left. Where's the overall leader? Auberlen might have another go at Tandy. He tries at the top of the hill. Into the Corkscrew. This will be the day when the P2 car wins!
Extreme Speed Motorsports and their Honda, win! One corner to go in GT LM. Tandy defends. Auberlen rubs and gets through! Corvette wins. Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen win two in a row in GT LM. The pass between Auberlen and Tandy is under review because there was contact.
Overall/Prototype: #2 van Overbeek/Brown HPD ARX03b
GT LM: #3 Magnussen/Garcia Chevrolet Corvette C.7.R.
This was another caution free race for the Tudor Championship. The next TUSCC race is on the Raceway at Belle Isle, revisiting a street course, in Detroit, Michigan, coming up at the end of this month, in four weeks. The Prototype class, and the GT Daytona class, will be featured. No GT LM at the next race. It should be a good one.
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