The #2 Patron Racing HPD ARX-03 is back on track. The #3 Corvette is now seventh in GT LM. But, their team car #4, leads in GT LM. The #4 Corvette makes a scheduled pit stop. Action Express Racing still uses an H pattern transmission, instead of a paddle shift system. A couple pit stops for Starworks. We watch the two SRT Viper's with their beautiful, old livery in red and white, back. Oreca ran the cars, and had great success in North America and Europe. Christina Nielsen in the #30 NGT Momo Porsche in GT Daytona, is the second female driver in this race, along with Katherine Legge in the Deltawing.
Kuno Wittmer pits the Viper in GT LM from eighth overall. There will be a driver change. Jonathan Bomarito and Marc Goossens share the #93 car. Goossens is now in the car. Loosen your belts, but don't unbuckle when you come in for a driver change. We watch the #10 car pit. Routine stop. Jordan Taylor takes over from Max Angelelli. The #55 BMW Z4 GT also pits. Jordan Taylor had a mullet for 18 months, and just recently chopped it off for charity. There were tons of photographers around. The #5 Action Express Corvette pits and heads back out on track. Flying Lizard and Krohn Racing also make pit stops. It's been a pretty clean race so far.
We've got the same distance as a sprint race yet to run. Two hours and 45 minutes. Oh wow! Traffic in the way. A slower Porsche was trying to get out of the way, but couldn't quite do it. No harm. But' it's an interception as Fittipaldi got passes by Taylor going up the hill. Shall we dance? The #94 Turner Motorsports BMW pitted. They run first in GT Daytona, with Markus Palttala still at the wheel. John Pew runs seventh in class and in the overall in the #60 Michael Shank Racing Riley Ford EcoBoost as Markus Paltalla is still leading GT Daytona.
The HANS (Head & Neck Support) Device, has slots to guide the seatbelts in. But, sometimes, the belts get hung up if you aren't smooth about it. Jim Downing and his brother-in-law Bob Hubbard, invented it. The #555 car is running well with Townsend Bell at the wheel. This is the Level 5 car in GT Daytona. Action Express, Corvette Racing, RSR Racing, and Turner Motorsports, gained points for the halfway mark in this race. Scuderia Corse pits their #63 Ferrari 458 Italia with Jeff Westphal, Alessandro Balzan, and Brandon Davis, on the driver's strength.
GT Daytona is designed for the Porsche's, because other cars in the class like Ferrari's and Audi's, are designed for the GT3 class in Europe, like the Blancpain Endurance Series or the Blancpain Sprint Series. Rumors persist that Ferrari might come backTr to prototype racing, soon. Tristan Nunez has taken over the #07 Mazda prototype. Nunez's mom was texting and driving, and almost crashed with their family in the car. So Nunez is trying to raise awareness of what is a real serious issue.
Richard Westbrook continues to lead. The technology is so advanced, you can't have a lifelong mechanic work on the car. You have to have engineers and aerodynamicists work on these cars. Technology is incredible. Richard Westbrook returns to pit lane and Michael Valiante will take over. Westbrook just did a double stint. Watkins Glen is a very physical track in a high downforce situation, with fourth gear, fast right handers. Your helmet doubles in weight, and hurts your neck.
The body has tremendous forces exerted on it. The G forces are incredible. Road Atlanta is another very physical track. Jan Magnussen is running in the #3 Corvette. It's very hot in the closed cockpit cars, too. Cool suits help. But, not too much. Gustavo Yacaman is in the #42 OAK Racing Morgan Nissan. Yacaman chases the SkyActive Mazda prototype and passes. Contact in turn one. Ryan Lewis spins his Prototype Challenge car. Lewis gets forced inside by an Audi, with Marco Bonanomi at the wheel. Lewis' left rear tire is flat.
How could Bonanomi not have seen him? Bonanomi is damaged, with a right rear tire that's flat. Whoa! The officials are not going to like this, in the spot where the long and short courses meet. Bonanomi had a huge crash at the 24 Hours of Le Mans of course. Ryan Lewis was leading Prototype Challenge. He won't be scored for this particular lap and neither will Bonanomi. He went to the left, straightened out, and plowed into the prototype. That's a bizarre wreck. He pulled right in front of a battle between the BMW and the Ferrari in GT LM.
The #09 car lost a lap but had a quick fix. Bonanomi took a boatload of grass with him. He's got superficial damage. But, if the radiator is blocked off, the engine could overheat. Bonanomi knows the Audi R8 because he races one in the Italian GT Championship. Christian Fittipaldi still leads, but, he's had an off, and there's grass in the front of the car. He needs to pit and maybe have someone take over from him. Team owner for RSR, Paul Gentilozzi, has a problem with Bonanomi, and also says it's a mystery as to what happened. Bonanomi didn't clear the prototype.
There was plenty of room to maintain the line. Ten minutes left in hour four. It's hard to know if a car sees you, or doesn't. Bonanomi will have a stop and hold penalty from the IMSA stewards. Gustavo Yacaman tries to pass Richard Westbrook. These guys are not the best of friends. The P2 car is very quick in certain places, whereas the Daytona Prototype is slower in the corners, faster on the straightaways. We're near the end of the fourth hour. Marco Bonanomi has a drive through penalty for speeding in the pit lane, adding insult to injury.
Michael; Valiante stretches his gap to Gustavo Yacaman. The #55 BMW Z4 pits. Bill Auberlen is out of the car. The #56 sister car also pitted. This race hasn't quite gone BMW's way today. There's still time. We're counting backwards from the end of the race for stint length for fuel and tire usage. Both Corvette's are pitting. The #4 is in as Tommy Milner takes over, and Antonio Garcia takes over the #3 from Jan Magnussen. Back time the race. Eliminate pit stops and figure out fuel strategy. GT LM cars go 55 minutes. So, they can't go one more stop, without a yellow.
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