It's time to add auto racing's most famous track... the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, to the inaugural Tudor United Sports Car Championship. 50 cars are slated to take the start in this race. 48 cars to be precise.
The skies are cloudy, and rain was in the area. But, not anymore. Every driver wants to win at Indy. But, there are only four races to go in the season. We are seeing a points battle for the championship between Wayne Taylor Racing and Action Express Racing. But, don't count out Spirit of Daytona, or Oak Racing, either. They are still very much in the hunt for the inaugural Tudor United Sports Car Championship crown.
Scott Sharp and Ryan Dalziel for Patron Racing, are on pole. But, they have yet to win this season. Could they break through and win at The Brickyard? The championship battle is as close as ever, with only a 26 point spread between the top five in the Prototype division. Chip Ganassi Racing has a new and different lineup for this race at Indianapolis. Memo Rojas injured his back in that big wreck last time out at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in the warmup. So, for Indy, Scott Pruett will be teamed with Ganassi development driver, Sage Karam. Chip Ganassi has many wins at Indianapolis in the Indy 500 and in the Brickyard 400. Ganassi wants his first win here, in sports car competition.
Leading the points in Prototype Challenge is still the #54 Core Autosport car driven by Jon Bennett and Colin Braun. But, they've had a litany of issues leading up to the race here at Indianapolis. They stayed out on track after the reconnaissance lap, and will have to start shotgun on the field because of that error. Watch out for Starworks in Prototype Challenge. These guys have two overall wins in sports cars at Indy. So, they'll be there to pounce, should Core Autosport run into problems.
There's a close battle in GT Le Mans points coming into Indianapolis with a mere 19 point spread between Corvette, BMW, and SRT Viper. A further point separates these three from the second factory Viper. The sister cars for Corvette and BMW, respectively, as well as both factory Porsche's, aren't far away either. Here at Indianapolis, Corvette Racing wants to snatch their fifth straight GT LM win this year. To keep the playing field level, the Corvette's are carrying success weight, here at Indy.
Porsche, BMW, and Ferrari, are all given rules breaks to gain speed. Giancarlo Fisichella has pole in GT LM for Ferrari. Fisichella has experience at Indianapolis, running eight times in the United States Grand Prix when Formula One cars ran at "The Brickyard" for a number of years. In GT Daytona, things should be interesting. This weekend, Dane Cameron will team with Paul Dalla Lana, because, his regular co-driver, Markus Palttala, ran at the 24 Hours of Spa for the Blancpain Endurance Series, a race you will see and read highlights of, here on Endurance... the sports car racing blog, soon.
We have four classes, 48 cars, and the shortest lap distance of the whole season. We're ready for the Brickyard Grand Prix. Let's turn 'em loose! It's time to go sports car racing at Indy. Go! Scott Sharp takes the race lead with Gustavo Yacaman second. The #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette Prototype got right to the wall! Sage Karam slides inside, locking the brakes, going for the lead! He slides around both ESM Honda's. Now, will that spot stick?
Oh boy! Yacaman gets spun around by the #5 Action Express Corvette! Turn one at Indy is calamity corner! Yacaman is on the grass, trying to get on the racing line as drivers definitely played dodge 'em cars into turn one. Argy bargy everywhere! Yacaman has to settle down, as he must now work his way through GT traffic. Christian Fittipaldi to the outside of Scott Sharp, for the lead! The #5 car has damage to the grille leading to the radiator.
Fittipaldi finished second in his debut at Indianapolis. That was to Jacques Villeneuve in the 1995 Indianapolis 500. Fittipaldi shares this car with Joao Barbosa of course. There's damage to the tow hook on the car where it would connect to a tow truck after an incident. But, the rest of the car looks fine. Karam could have gotten hip checked in that incident. Yours truly was right, and agree with Fox Sports' sports car analyst and former driver Dorsey Schroeder about that assessment.
Fellow analyst and former driver, Calvin Fish, has a different idea. It could have been Karam saw Fittipaldi coming, and jinked to the right to get out of the way. The marshals still have to suss out what Christian Fittipaldi did wrong in hitting the #42 car, the Oak Morgan Nissan. Stewards will have to take the argy bargy into account before assessing blame to anyone. Giancarlo Fisichella leads GT LM in the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 458 Italia. He finished on the podium in the United States Grand Prix at Indy for Formula One, back in 2006.
At that time, he was team mate to Fernando Alonso in a factory Renault. Fisichella has experience here. But, keep in mind, the road course has been reconfigured from it's old F1 setup, to suit not only the sports cars, but also, the MotoGP motorcycles who will race at Indy in a few weeks. Check those results on my motorcycle racing blog, entitled 2 Wheelin', when the time comes. John Edwards, right behind, is in the second of the factory BMW RLL Z4 GTE's, and before this race, he also ran in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, that took place on Friday, too.
It should be noted, you will see the broadcast of that event, when yours truly is able to post the link. Stay tuned. Fisichella is being balked by a Prototype Challenge machine, and Edwards is now all over the back of that Ferrari like a rash. Ferrari needs some good luck and a win at Indy would be great relief for the Risi team who has had a torrid time in Tudor Championship competition this year. Now, back to BMW. Andy Priaulx, in his first drive at IMS, is hounding team mate John Edwards, trying to push BMW to the front in class.
The BMW will be held up by the Prototype Challenge car if he can't get by, allowing Fisichella to whistle off into the distance. The reconfigured part of the Indy road course mean they no longer fly in the opposite direction through turn one on the oval. Instead, they snake their way through a series of three corners, before heading out onto the front straight. Looking at the key stories of this race, they will be to watch the restarts, because the P2 cars could get swamped easily by the Daytona Prototype spec machines. Prestige vs. championship. Do you go for a win at "The Brickyard"? Or, do you settle down, and think championship, with the season coming to an end soon?
Watch out for drivers who are really quick, but not regulars in sports cars. Names come to mind like Sage Karam and Jack Hawksworth. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is tough on tires. So, watch out for lots of rolled up rubber, or, "clag" as it's affectionately known to racing drivers. The infield road course has been resurfaced, making for better grip, but also, for more tire wear. Ten drivers in this field have also run at the Indianapolis 500 before. Scott Sharp should be hitting the mark now where the P2 spec car shows speed with warm tires.
It takes longer for the P2 spec cars to warm the tires compared to the heavier Daytona Prototype spec cars. Michael Valiante driving the #90 Corvette Prototype, and Sage Karam in the #01 Riley Ford EcoBoost, have each been given a furled black flag by the race stewards. Charles Putman in the #46 GT Daytona Audi R8 LMS will also serve a stop and hold penalty for contact with a fellow GT Daytona competitor. John Edwards in the #56 BMW Z4 GTE has taken over the lead from Giancarlo Fisichella in GT LM.
Fisichella had a skid in turn one, got in hot, and locked the brakes going across the grass. He braked way too late and paid the price for it. The factory BMW's are in the pound seats at the moment, because normally, they get swamped on the starts in GT LM. But now, they can run their consistent lap times, with their competitors from the other factories giving chase. Car #25 leads Prototype Challenge at the moment. This is the Oreca Chevrolet with Luis Diaz and Sean Rayhall sharing the driving chores.
Paul Dalla Lana leads GT Daytona in the #94 Turner Motorsports BMW Z4. We haven't seen him race in IMSA because he is also doing a full season in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Aston Martin and their factory squad of course. They've run three races. The last of which, was the 24 Hours of Le Mans that you read about, here. So, Dalla Lana has not been in a race car in a month or so. Dalla Lana is benefitting from racing in Europe as far as experience and driving skill.
Second in class is the #555 Ferrari 458 Italia in the hands of Bill Sweedler at the moment. Uh oh. The #31 Whelen, Marsh Racing Corvette Prototype is in the box with nose damage. Eric Curran is sharing with Burt Frisselle this weekend. Boris Said is still recovering from his big wreck last time out at Mosport (Canadian Tire Motorsports Park), and what led to that practice wreck, was a steering failure. Jordan Taylor is not running where he wants to in the #10 WTR Velocity Racing Corvette Prototype. The diffuser that adds downforce to the back of the car, is the area of concern at the moment.
The diffuser is loose as one of the stays broke. We are under our first full course yellow in the Brickyard Grand Prix. The #91 factory Dodge Viper is missing a door. OK. Yours truly had to go to this extreme. But, the ol' snake, got it's doors blown off. Dominik Farnbacher at the wheel, is getting some free air conditioning, but, no help in the aerodynamic department. New livery on the #91 Viper, while the #93 retains the iconic red and white paint scheme. We return to green flag racing, with Christian Fittipaldi in P1, But, Sage Karam is hounding him for the overall lead.
Scott Sharp is slow to gain speed in the #1 Honda prototype. Sharp has sunk from second to fifth, and the "Yac attack", Gustavo Yacaman, is on his gearbox. Oh wow! For the second straight race, a Corvette gets spun off the road right in the middle of traffic! It is car #3 of Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia. There's more wrecking behind. There's a GT Daytona Porsche, (the #81 Tully's Coffee car), and a Prototype Challenge racer, in this mess.
Matt Bell is at the wheel of #81, filling in for Ben Barker, who is running the Porsche Super Cup in Europe, in support of the F1 race in Hungary. Chris Miller is the Prototype Challenge driver, as we see a bent left rear wheel on the #81 Porsche. Miller loses a hunk of fender off his machine. Gustavo Yacaman has made his way past Scott Sharp. The Corvette got turned around by the #73 Park Place Porsche in the hands of Patrick Lindsey and Patrick Long. We have come out of one yellow flag, going straight into our second one.
The GT LM class is in a real stack up here. Edwards gets boxed in, and Fisichella tries to move inside of Magnussen. The #73 Porsche hops the curb, turning the Corvette around. Dominik Farnbacher has more problems with the #91 SRT Viper. Not only is the right side door missing, but also, there's damage now to the left front corner. Joao Barbosa continues to lead Sage Karam. 48 cars on a 2.4 mile track is a lot. Roughly, 20 cars per mile!
We watch a replay of the Viper's shunt. He hits the left front corner of the car. This is a one-off white livery for sponsor, T.I. Automotive. Dominik Farnbacher brings the car to the pit lane. Honda is looking for their third consecutive win at Indy, this season, having already won the two Indycar races (the road course event, and the Indianapolis 500). Boris Said misses this race, but also misses the next round of action at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
There have also been (as mentioned on this blog), performance adjustments for the Prototype, GT LM, and GT Daytona Balance of Performance. The SRT crew thrashes to redo the bodywork on the Viper. Aerodynamically, this will hurt the car, and also, the front brake ducting is missing. It will have braking issues, and aerodynamic drag to contend with. We're back to racing, with another restart here at Indianapolis.
Fittipaldi, Taylor, Karam, Valiante, and Yacaman, are the top five. Sage Karam goes inside Christian Fittipaldi into turn one. Tight quarters, and it looks like Fittipaldi will hold on. Michael Valiante wants to pounce. Yacaman locks up and is sliding into turn four. The #31 Whelen Corvette Prototype is in the garage now. Back in Gasoline Alley, their race could be run. Bad news for the Viper squad. They will be penalized for working on their damaged car in a closed pit lane, with a stop and hold penalty.
Stop me if you've heard this. We are under yellow at Indy, again. This is our third full course caution, as Paul Dalla Lana makes contact with another car, and is beached in the gravel trap. Nelson Canache Jr. in one of the Flying Lizard Audi R8 LMS cars, also spins. Ed Brown is currently wheeling the sister #2 Patron Racing Honda Prototype. Just about all the prototypes make pit stops and ESM does driver changes, tires, and fuel on their cars. Sage Karam pits the #01 Riley Ford EcoBoost for fuel and tires, but stays in the car.
Jordan and Ricky Taylor pit, with damage to the #10 Konica Minolta Corvette Prototype. The diffuser on the #10 car is still loose. Also, the #5 Action Express Corvette pitted for fuel, tires, and a driver change. Cosmetically, it's not pretty. But, aerodynamically, the repairs are just fine. The Prototype Challenge are allowed to pit next, and then, it will be the turn of the GT Le Mans and GT Daytona machinery. Keep in mind, the rules are that in the amateur classes (Prototype Challenge and GT Daytona), drivers have to do a minimum of an hour drive time to score points.
Now we see GT Le Mans cars arriving for service. The #911 factory Porsche pits, with Nick Tandy staying in the car, and his co-driver assisting. The Risi Ferrari was first out, but the #55 BMW Z4 GTE chops across his nose exiting pit lane. John Edwards in the sister BMW has nose damage, but comes out ahead of the #93 Viper, followed by the sister factory Porsche and the second of the yellow factory Corvette C-7-R's. This is Andy Priaulx's first time at Indy. He is a three-time touring car champion in Europe and also has endurance racing experience.
His fellow BMW driver, Joey Hand, had to do the same thing when he went to DTM a number of years ago. The yellow remains out for track repairs as safety crews are fixing a curb. Concrete crumbled, so, that got under a curb plate, and will need to be cleaned, hammered, and welded. Watch out for our famous tire clag. These things can become huge! They can house themselves in the fenders of the cars and do some damage. They may look like a T Rex tooth, or a jalapeno pepper. But, they're a royal pain. Taste it to see if it's any good.
Blech! That's more than pencil eraser. I just got tire, in my mouth! Gross! Water! Water! Zero nutrition. All clag. The odd situation with repairing the curbs, continues, here at "The Brickyard". The #63 GT Daytona class Ferrari 458 Italia is in pit lane. So is the #45 Flying Lizard Audi R8 LMS. Spencer Pumpelly takes over for Nelson Canache Jr. We are now just past the one hour mark, and the Pro Am drivers, have gotten their chance to score points in this race. The track verge has been fixed, and we're going back to racing.
We're turning them loose, again. There's two GT Daytona cars ahead of the pack. The #94 Turner Motorsports BMW Z4 and one of the Audi R8 LMS's. Joao Barbosa gets a good restart. But, he'll have to clear these two lapped production based cars, first. Spencer Pumpelly goes side by side with Paul Dalla Lana and shuts the door on the #5 machine. Ooh. This is close. Here comes Gustavo Yacaman on Sage Karam. Cold tires, and GT drivers who won't give way. The lapped Audi is the sister car, #35, in the hands of Dion von Moltke.
Now, back at the sharp end. Yacaman is trying hard, using different lines to try and pass the #5 machine. Ryan Dalziel runs fourth behind Sage Karam at the moment. The Honda motor has had the air restrictor opened since the last race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. Imagine running, or working on a treadmill, breathing through a straw. That's what it's like for the engines with the restrictors on them. The opening up of the air inlets, gives the car more power and speed off the corners and down the straightaways.
It seems that the longer the green flag runs are, the more it will play into the hands of the P2 machines. Weight, fuel flow, fuel tank size etc. also equalize the cars. Cars running behind the leader have to be concerned with aero wash, because the wind buffeting off the other cars causes the cars behind to lose downforce which equals grip in the infield section here at Indianapolis. We look back to the GT Daytona battle, and see Christopher Haase leading in the #48 Paul Miller Racing Audi R8 LMS. Haase shares the car with Bryce Miller of course.
It's hard to hear in the pit lane because of the engine noise that ricochets and reverberates off the massive grandstands at Indy and it's hard for anyone, including pit reporters, to hear themselves think down there. Ryan Dalziel is reporting an engine misfire on his Honda prototype. The battle in GT Daytona is heating up. Christopher Haase in the Audi has Mario Farnbacher's Porsche right on his back door, and in third, it's the rapid Alessandro Balzan in the #63 Ferrari 458 Italia. Haase defends his line. A couple of the Prototype Challenge machines want to spoil this party.
Jack Hawksworth (an Indycar rookie), is driving the #08 RSR Racing Prototype Challenge car. Nick Tandy leads GT LM in the factory Porsche over Jonathan Bomarito in the second SRT Viper, Giancarlo Fisichella in the Risi Ferrari 458 Italia, Patrick Long in the sister factory Porsche, and John Edwards in the first of the BMW Team RLL BMW Z4's. At this stage of the event, the sun is becoming a major issue. It's at a level where it's right in the driver's eyes. Fisichella is sharing his #62 Ferrari with regular co-driver, Pierre Kaffer.
Bruno Junquiera is leading Prototype Challenge. He was close to a Formula One career, and didn't get there. But, he has been polesitter for the Indy 500 before. Second in class is the #05 CORE Autosport machine in the hands of Colin Braun who has taken over from car owner, Jon Bennett. The Risi Ferrari is off the road yet again. It's easy to miss the braking marker with the sun in your eyes. Jack Hawksworth is next in class. He had a severe wreck before the Indycar race at Pocono leaving him with a myocardial contusion (a bruised heart). He came back to racing last weekend, at the Indycar event in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Alex Tagliani typically drives the RSR Prototype Challenge car. But he is on a one race ban following a practice wreck at Watkins Glen. Paul Gentilozzi, who owns the team, has won many road racing championships as a team owner and as a driver in IMSA and the former SCCA Trans Am Series. Fourth in class is the #38 PC car of Canadian driver David Ostella. His co-driver James French did the opening stint and ran very well.
Joao Barbosa continues to lead as we reach halfway in this race. Karam and Yacaman still run second and third. Ryan Dalziel is suffering from a misfire on his Honda powerplant, but is just 4/10ths behind Yacaman. Someone, either locked the brakes, or blew a motor. It seems to have been the former. Scott Sharp believes the misfire for the ESM machine is in the traction control system. Ryan Dalziel was using the traction control on low speed corners as you're supposed to. But, something went wrong. They've cycled the settings, but haven't cleared up the issue.
We are seeing once again, a battle between two top Prototype teams. It's a renewal of the rivalry between Oak Racing and Spirit of Daytona. They've been at it hammer and tongs earlier in the year. Particularly at Watkins Glen in the Six Hours there a month ago. The #91 SRT Viper spins in turn one. The driver got in hot after being blinded by the sun. With Balance of Performance adjustments, you have to reprogram your traction control and essentially rebuild your whole car as a team or a constructor. Everything you change, changes something else. So, you might have to run the engine and chassis on the dynomometer again, or, reprogram the ECU (Engine Control Unit).
There's no time for track testing, because usually, the notices come within a week of a race happening, or being about to happen. Marc Goossens is now at the wheel of the Viper. If he loses it, you know there's an issue, because Goossens has loads of experience, and is a real wheel man. Oh no! More synchronized spinning! Two Prototype Challenge machines go around in turn one. Right in front of the leaders, too! Sage Karam passes Joao Barbosa in that confusion. The #56 BMW gets into the back of the #5 Action Express Corvette Prototype.
The Prototypes, with more downforce, are more effective with braking than are the GT cars, and they expect the driver to brake at the same rate, which cannot happen due to physics and weight. Sage Karam caught Joao Barbosa by surprise. Gunnar Jeannette in car #52 was one car that got turned around. The problems escalate for the #62 Ferrari 458 Italia. The track is slick, and Risi Competizione crew chief, Beakie Sims is saying that everyone is fighting for grip out there.
The Ferrari now has a bigger air restrictor, but also has a bigger rear wing, taking downforce away from the car. John Edwards and Tommy Milner battle for position. BMW vs. Corvette in GT LM. This track at Indianapoilis, is a huge unknown for everyone, because sports cars only race here, once a year. One year at this race, it rained. Also, this is a new configuration for the road course section of the track. With the track being slipperier now, it plays into the hands of the Porsche because it will have more traction with the rear engined configuration.
A flatspot on a tire creates friction when the tire skids and stops rotating. To avoid it, adjust the brake balance, and brake smoothly into the braking zone. Tires have to have compounds and constructions to reduce that friction. The #55 BMW almost spins trying to go down the inside of a Corvette in the braking zone for turn one. Meanwhile, the #1 Patron Racing HPD prototype is pitting. Scott Sharp and Ryan Dalziel are doing four fresh Continental tires and a load of fuel, looking for their first win of the year, after their sister car won at Laguna Seca back in May.
This should be their last stop with less than an hour to go in the race. The #42 Oak Racing Morgan Nissan also pits. There's an issue with fueling the car for Gustavo Yacaman and Ho-Pin Tung. They seem to have a vent issue. Bubbles were not seen in the fuel vent to tell the fueler to pull the hose out of the fuel vent opening. This is frustrating because it cost the team at least five seconds on pit lane. The mechanic on the other side of the car, came over and smacked the vent man on the helmet saying, "you fool! Didn't you see the fuel vent needed to be off?!"
Sage Karam has been giving the #01 Ganassi Riley Ford a great run all day. Karam pits. Don't make a mistake. Follow the pit lane speed limit. 60 kilometers an hour, or 37 miles an hour. The service time is included along with a 47 second delta time to enter and exit the pits. The #5 Corvette Prototype takes over the lead of the race. Sage Karam pits and Scott Pruett takes over. The radiator was blown out, with a lot of debris in it. The #56 BMW is in pit lane with Dirk Mueller taking over from John Edwards to bring the car home.
Surgical tubing, like rubber bands is used to yank the seat belts out of the way when they are released, to make the driver change go smoother. The GT LM class leading #911 Porsche has a problem. Nick Tandy will take the car to the paddock in Gasoline Alley. The car will have to be retired with engine woes. The #93 SRT Viper pits. No driver change. Just fuel and tires. The #3 Corvette pits and so does the race leading #5 Action Express Corvette Prototype. 45 minutes is the fuel window for Prototypes. There are 52 minutes left in this race. So, unless we see a late caution, a splash and dash could be in order.
Four tires and fuel for this car. No driver change. Joao Barbosa is in the car. Jordan Taylor in the #10 car takes over the overall lead. Jonathan Bomarito leads GT Le Mans in the #93 SRT Viper. Townsend Bell and Bill Sweedler lead GT Daytona in their #555 Ferrari 458 Italia. Bell had a big crash that led to injury in the Indianapolis 500. But, he is back, and could win at Indy, in a sports car today, in class. Second in class is the #007TRG Aston Martin Vantage driven by James Davison.
James Davison, like Townsend Bell, is a driver (one of five in this event), who ran the Indy 500 back in May. Davison is Australian, and lives in Indianapolis because he wanted to race at the Indy 500, but now has a solid home in sports car racing. The #555 machine, pits. If Bell and Sweedler hold on for a class win, it will do them well in the points over their close rivals from the #44 Magnus Racing Porsche camp who have had a fraught race at Indy and have not been seen much in the race today.
But, this team also has a small problem, getting the air hose for the air impact wrench hung up under the front splitter and wheel well of the car. Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen want their fifth class victory in a row in GT LM. They likely won't get number five in a row here at Indy. But they've put in a good race. Bruno Junquiera still leads Prototype Challenge over his team mate at RSR, Jack Hawksworth. Colin Braun, David Ostella, and Sean Rayhall complete the top five in class.
One thing that race drivers and team owners are, is superstitious. It's rampant in the sport. There are lots of goofy things. But, we're serious here at Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog. So, yours truly, cannot mention some of those things. Sorry, chaps. Hawksworth wants to chase down Bruno Junquiera. For the last half hour of this race, you would think anyone would go to soft compound tires. GT LM teams have leeway because of the tire battle. But, the spec Continental tires for the other three classes, only have certain compounds and constructions that are suited to the speedway here at Indy.
Just over a half an hour to go in the race now. If there isn't a yellow flag, the fuel strategy could be a problem for the race leaders. Ganassi and ESM both want to save fuel. Scott Pruett is not effective at saving fuel with his driving style. Ryan Dalziel is coming. But, he spun a while ago, and has to play catch up. Dalziel had a very close shave with his spin, getting really close to Scott Pruett. A lot of these guys are praying for a late yellow to make it on fuel. Bruno Junquiera continues to lead Prototype Challenge.
Hawksworth is closing the gap, though, as he's 2.5 seconds behind. The #93 Viper continues leading GT Le Mans with Jonathan Bomarito at the controls. Pierre Kaffer is second, 15 seconds behind. Ferrari also leads GT Daytona with the #63 Scuderia Corse machine shared by Alessandro Balzan of Italy, and Jeff Westphal of the United States. Pierre Kaffer has gotten his seat stuck, and can't reach the pedals. It's a bit like if yours truly was set up to drive a race car. I digress, my height is six feet. But, if someone shorter than me got in a car, they've have to adjust the pedals and the seat.
Plus, if you loosen your belts to accomodate the seat travel, you're uncomfortable. Kaffer runs wide. The gap in GT LM is growing. As the race comes to an end, we have to think about fuel strategy. Joao Barbosa leads Scott Pruett, with Richard Westbrook and Ryan Dalziel following. The #01 and the #90 are fuzzy on fuel. Wayne Taylor is trying to strategize. But, the trouble is the busted diffuser. Ryan Dalziel is chasing Richard Westbrook and it's another DP vs. P2 configuration battle.
20 minutes to go. Westbrook was the slowest of the top ten cars. He is saving fuel. Ryan Dalziel is trying to make his way by. This team did fuel saving strategy to win the Six Hours of the Glen last month. Westbrook has been amazing in Daytona Prototypes after he's been a GT racer as well. These two cars share completely different roots from the American Le Mans Series and the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series. Track position and fuel will hurt Dalziel's chances.
Westbrook locks up. He wanted to use the Mazda prototype as a pick;. But, Dalziel is having none of it, passing, no matter what. Crew chief Troy Flis wants a yellow. They're a couple laps short. Maybe Joao Barbosa is good on fuel. The #7 Prototype Challenge car is off the road. The car was bouncing up and down through the infield. But, no harm, no foul. John Martin at the controls, of that Starworks Prototype Challenge entry. Starworks won both races here in 2012 and 2013. But, RSR has it all their own way in Prototype Challenge right now.
Jack Hawksworth wants by Bruno Junquiera. These two drivers stopped within a lap of one another. Therefore, their situations are similar as far as getting to the end of this race. Ryan Dalziel makes a splash and dash pit stop. He was out of fuel. Barbosa might have enough fuel to get to the end with hitting the box. Ho Pin Tung runs fifth overall. He'll need a splash, too, having a lot of single seater experience, and in sports cars. The #42 car will pit. Also, one wonders how much fuel the #01 car has. Scott Pruett is trying to save fuel. He's 7.2 seconds behind the #5 car.
The #60 Mike Shank Racing Riley Ford EcoBoost has had a better race, but, not the best. Ozz Negri explains that there's a small window for setting it up well. It's tough for Negri, but also for his Pro-Am team mate, John Pew. The best battle on track is that of the two RSR Prototype Challenge machines. The #42 takes a splash and a dash and now, the #01 car will do likewise. Ricky Taylor is sixth, and with the pit lane delta and so many cars coming in, the #10 car could gain some places.
Action Express is still wondering how we'll they'll do. Joao Barbosa has been told he'll be fine. If his competitors pit, he can coast to the corners. Now, Richard Westbrook is called to the pits for fuel. Three laps runs to four minutes. So, Barbosa might need a splash and dash. The #01 and the #90 pit. Now, if this is the case, Babrosa will undoubtedly, (not, might), need the splash and dash. How much time has Ricky Taylor been losing? The #46 Fall Line Audi R8 LMS runs wide.
Action Express engineer Ian Watt says to Barbosa he should be OK. We don't know the fuel numbers. Jonathan Bomarito leads by eleven seconds over Pierre Kaffer in GT LM. Kaffer has three seconds on Patrick Long in the second Porsche factory car. The #60 MSR Riley Ford EcoBoost (which had one more lap in hand compared to their fellow Ford V6 powered team at Ganassi), pits. Now, the leaders are going through a debris field, a Prototype Challenge battle, and a GT Daytona battle! Yikes!
Less than six minutes to run. It's now or never. Oh! Heart stopping moment in the braking zone with Westbrook squeezing by a Prototype Challenge car, and a GT Daytona Ferrari, at the same time! Paul Gentilozzi must be telling his drivers, "don't hit each other", as Westbrook runs wide on the dirt. Jordan Taylor has leapfrogged Negri and Dalziel. But, he's behind Pruett and Westbrook. Johannes van Overbeek could be in trouble with fuel, running second in the #2 ESM HPD prototype. Ryan Dalziel is right behind Taylor, who still has diffuser damage.
Johannes van Overbeek's Honda motor is sputtering. He needs to pit for fuel. Alessandro Balzan leads GT Daytona ahead of the #48 Paul Miller Racing Audi R8 LMS of Christopher Haase. The #2 machine pits. Hawksworth has now moved ahead of Bruno Junquiera. Even though there's just about a minute of racing lft, Barbosa needs to back off the pace to save fuel. Ooh. A fracas with GT Daytona traffic. Townsend Bell was in a pickle, trying to hold off Jeroen Bleekemolen for a win in GT Daytona. Barbosa will have to do one more lap.
White flag this time by. Hit reserve fuel for a precautionary measure. RSR switch spots. Rocketsports will see Jack Hawksworth perhaps win at Indy after leading 31 laps in the Indy 500. All sorts of contretemps today. But, Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi win Indianapolis! In
Overall/Prototype: #5 Barbosa/Fittipaldi Chevrolet Corvette Prototype
Prototype
Challenge: #08 Hawksworth/Cumming Oreca FLM 09 Chevrolet
GT Le Mans: #93 Bomarito/Wittmer SRT Viper GTS-R-
GT Daytona: #63 Balzan/Westphal Ferrari 458 Italia
It's first-time wins for GT Le Mans and Prototype Challenge with the driver teams of Jonathan Bomarito and Kuno Wittmer, as well as Jack Hawksworth and Chris Cumming. But, it's the second win for both our Prototype class winners and in GT Daytona The next race, as the season is now in it's stretch run to the end, is at another legendary venue. It's Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, coming up in a mere two weeks.
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