When Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, was built in 1957, the racing was strictly for Grand Touring (GT) cars. Well, today, 57 years later, they are reunited for a GT sprint. Today, this is an old school GT rumble, while the Prototypes are silent. Corvette, BMW, Porsche and Ferrari are in the battle. Ferrari, Porsche, Audi, and BMW, are all in contention in GT Daytona, with just three races left in the season. We are on the Virginia/North Carolina border. This is the Oak Tree Grand Prix.
30 points covers the top five in GT Le Mans. Now, as mentioned on the blog before the race, there was a HUGE incident. In Saturday practice, Richard Lietz went off the road, slamming the tire barrier, and as he was sitting stationary, the factory Corvette C-7-R- of Antonio Garcia also got off on the wet grass, plowed over it, and, boom! Straight into the Porsche! Porsche and Corvette rebuilt their cars. But, both their drivers were injured in that shunt.
Corvette Racing fixed the car and made qualifying. The factory Porsche squad had more work ahead of them, and needed a new tub for the car. Jan Magnussen was treated and released for the hospital, but was not cleared to drive in the race. Jordan Taylor will replace Jan Magnussen, and co-drive with Antonio Garcia. Richard Lietz was at the wheel of the Porsche, and had an upper arm fracture. The car was not able to be repaired. Michael Christensen will start his original car (#912), and then, switch to the #911 chassis to partner Nick Tandy.
Lietz came back to Europe to recuperate. In the GT Daytona ranks, the points situation is even tighter, with a mere 25 point spread between first and seventh, and only three points separating Townsend Bell and Bill Sweedler from Leh Keen and Cooper MacNeil. James Davison put the #007 TRG Aston Martin V12 Vantage on pole in GT Daytona, after the car crashed and couldn't race last time out at Road America. We are located west of Richmond, Virginia, at VIR, and the track is 3.27 miles in length with 17 corners, new curbing, and new asphalt.
Watch for high speeds, on both straightaways. Pierre Kaffer starts from pole in the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 458 Italia, and becomes the ninth driver, in as many races in GT LM, to take a pole position this year. We're ready to race GT style at VIR. Ferrari and BMW on the front row. Pierre Kaffer vs. Andy Priaulx. Watch out for a very tight turn one as the field forms up nicely. Go! Kaffer leads and Dominik Farnbacher in the SRT Viper goes with him.
Jorg Muller goes inside Priaulx. This is the tight stuff through this first series of corners. The factory BMW's nearly touch going through turn three! Jordan Taylor and Bryan Sellers run side by side. Watch out through the tricky uphill esses. Fly up here at 150 miles an hour. Oh no! A Ferrari is off the road already! It's Pierre Kaffer, our polesitter! Kaffer's radiator is stacked with grass as he wedges between the two factory Corvette's.
Kaffer wants by Jordan Taylor. He'll be watching the water temperature gauge. But, there doesn't seem to be a ton of grass in the front radiator grille. Kaffer kept his foot planted in the throttle, and managed to get out of the grass, and back on the road. Kaffer's pole lap was remarkable as his team mate, Giancarlo Fisichella, suffered the same fate during practice, putting the 458 Italia, off the road. Andy Priaulx now runs second. You can't afford to give up track position in a race only including GT machines like this one.
Now, there's been an accident someplace. Al Carter and Mario Farnbacher have had a coming together. These are both GT Daytona cars. Carter in the #007 TRG Aston Martin. Farnbacher in the #23 Alex Job Racing Porsche. Nick Tandy in the #911 Porsche was also involved in this shunt. Tandy went off on his own to avoid the fracas between Carter and Farnbacher. Mario's brother Dominik Farnbacher is doing well in the #91 factory SRT Viper.
But, car #23 has right front suspension damage, as the #62 Ferrari makes a pit stop. Kaffer has overheating issues. Risi Competizione was hoping for a yellow, but it never appeared, and we remain under green. Mario Farnbacher is limping his way down the 4,000 foot back straight. Only twelve points separate the top drivers in the GT Daytona division. It's a battle between the Level 5 Ferrari, the Alex Job/Weathertech Porsche, and the Turner Motorsports BMW. We watch Jan Heylen pilot the #58 Porsche 911 GT America in GT Daytona.
This track is so high speed, you have to be on it at all times. If you get offline, you are going for a ride. Markus Palttala is second in GTD with team mate Dane Cameron in the #94 Turner Motorsports BMW. Leh Keen and Cooper MacNeil run third. The Porsche and Aston Martin have the straightaway speed in GT Daytona, while the BMW has cornering speed, but is eight and a half miles an hour slower in a straight line.
Nelson Canache Jr. passes Cooper MacNeil for third in GT Daytona. Nick Tandy is carving his way through GT Daytona traffic right now. This is a long race track. The keys to today's race will be not to bank on yellow flags, because of having just two classes, and having a wider race track to work with. Watch the tires. Tire management is critical, because the new asphalt here at VIR has lots of grip. Use patience, too, especially if you are a GT LM driver as the GT Daytona cars are just as fast down the straights.
Whoops! The #33 ViperExchange.com SRT Viper GT3 is off the road. Ben Keating is at the controls and has caught grass in the radiator of the car. He's definitely mowed the grass and down some re-sodding work. Keating has lots of experience on this race track. He's run a dozen Viper Club club races here, and has won, nine of them. So, he knows his way around this place. In replay, we can see that Keating got loose and may have had help from the #48 Audi R8 LMS of Bryce Miller.
Spencer Pumpelly in the #35 sister Flying Lizard Audi is also indulging in some autocross. He's off the road and back on. Pumpelly is doing double duty and will switch between both the #35 and #45 Flying Lizard Audi's. He got wide, had too much speed, clouted the curb, and sailed off the road into the grass. Crunch! Right over the curbs. That's a wallop, for sure. Fortunately for Pumpelly, the wheel was not bent out of shape. Andy Priaulx is running well at a track he's never raced on before. But, unlike any other GT LM manufacturers, BMW is still in search of a race win.
Dirk Muller is in the sister car. This track requires handling for all the corners, and horsepower, for the straightaways. There could be smoke emanating from the #007 Aston Martin. The car has lots of body roll, and may have a tire rubbing on a fender. The smoke isn't a braking issue. It's a hub seal, or something. Dominik Farnbacher leads overall and in GT LM. Andy Priaulx is second, with Kuno Wittmer in the sister Viper. Then, it's another BMW, and the privateer Falken Tires Porsche 911 RSR #17.
Corvette's run next with Jordan Taylor leading Oliver Gavin. Taylor is subbing for the injured Jan Magnussen of course. Magnussen is watching the race. He feels fine. But, he wasn't cleared to drive. The crush panel did it's job. But, another thing to take a hit was the data recorder inside the car. The shell is made of billet aluminum, and it looks like someone just squeezed it and put a big ripple in it. The impact was monstrous. A 16G hit with a lateral force of seven G's! That's seven, and sixteen times the force of gravity, folks. Yikes!
Taylor was here to run in a Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 R in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race. That's a race you will see the footage of, when the broadcast becomes available, via a link, here on the blog. Stay tuned. Oliver Gavin goes deep on the brakes into turn one, trying to pass Bryan Sellers in the Porsche. Sellers runs side by side with Gavin, tightening up the corner. Oliver Gavin should have the position. Sellers taps the brakes well before the braking zone, which suggests the brake pedal is soft.
Falken Tire did test at VIR before the huge BoP (Balance of Performance) adjustments. The #911 Porsche and the #555 Ferrari, (#911 is eighth in GT LM, while #555 is sixth in GT Daytona), have been called in for drive through penalties by the race stewards for jumping the start. Many drivers expressed concern in the driver's meeting before the race about getting bunched up at the start. At the start of this event, they were so bunched together that it was going to be a disaster if someone checked up.
Now, Tandy has gone off the road. Tandy was pushing too hard knowing he has to serve the penalty. Some cars probably just jumped out of line at the start. We are now getting reports that the penalty is being reconsidered by race control. He had a radiator grille full of grass, so, he got up behind his team mate, and the aero wash, sucked the grass straight out of the grille. On second thought, maybe that penalty will stand, as Tandy passed a car in his line on the starting grid, which is against the rules.
The Porsche North America team has appealed, and the situation is under review. You cannot pass the cars in your column of the grid at the start of the race. To the untrained eye, the GT LM and GT Daytona cars look similar. But, they are not. Let's compare the factory SRT Viper, to the customer car. On the GT Daytona Viper, there are louvers that extract air from under the nose. Those are not found on the GT LM Viper. The wing on the GT Daytona car is smaller, offering and creating less downforce. While, on the GT LM machine, the wing is wider, and set lower.
With the engines, the components on the GT Daytona car are more like a road going SRT Viper. The air box and intake manifold, are stock parts. The GT LM Viper has a custom built carbon fiber air box with sonic restrictors at the front. More jumped start penalties are being reviewed by IMSA. The #555 Ferrari's penalty is under review as the #911 Porsche serves it's penalty. Both these cars passed the #73 Park Place Motorsports GT Daytona Porsche. Dirk Muller resumes his battle with the #93 Viper that happened at Road America about two weeks ago.
Andy Priaulx slices through traffic. Marc Goossens says the Viper is running well and that he's gotten good communication from Dominik Farnbacher, who is currently in the car. Team manager Bill Riley said that the race will be a two stop race. Look at 55 to 57 minutes. But it will be tight in this two hour and 45 minute event. Farnbacher passes the #73 GT Daytona Park Place Motorsports Porsche in the hands of Patrick Lindsey.
Tire management is also crucial. Look for BMW to do really well with their tires as the race eases into long green flag runs. Dirk Muller kicks up some dust through the esses. The Viper's sonic restrictors kick in at 4800 RPM, while the BMW can rev a lot higher. 8.3 liter V10 vs. 5.5 liter V8. A fun thing to do is stand by the track, but close your eyes, and listen, to find out what kind of car and engine combination is flying past you at 180 miles an hour. The top four cars are at it. Now, the lead between Farnbacher and Priaulx is coming down.
Farnbacher leads Priaulx, but the lead is being cut down. Top four, separated by four seconds. The #48 GT Daytona Audi R8 LMS is slow. Meanwhile, the #93 Viper, approaching the esses, nearly does a wheelstand, and three of the four wheels are off the ground. Bryce Miller was really having issues with his Audi, telling the crew to stay off the radio, as it seemed the car was going to fall apart at any moment. They brought it in, and did a full service, sending Miller back out to do some exploratory laps. Miller will be coming back to pit lane, as there could very well be something broken inside that car.
The GT Daytona class leading #58 Porsche is in. Box, box, box. This is an early, but scheduled stop. They will do two driver changes today. Jan Heylen hands over to Madison Snow. Everything is going OK for the team even though they are concerned with tire wear. Markus Palttala leads in GT Daytona. Dempsey Racing and Snow Racing are working together. Patrick Dempsey is sixth overall in GT Daytona in the #27 car. The humidity level is huge this weekend. Now, Patrick Dempsey doesn't race as much as the other drivers. You have to get used to the heat. Cooper MacNeil and Michael Lewis are in front of, and behind, Dempsey.
Correction. That's the #23 Porsche of Mario Farnbacher, which is back on track, with new suspension, but is nine laps down. Another long spin for the #45 Flying Lizard Audi R8 LMS. Excuse me. #35. Dion von Moltke is at the wheel. It looks like contact was made between von Moltke and the #93 SRT Viper. The #55 BMW Z4 GTE is in pit lane. Tires and fuel only on this stop. Bill Auberlen stays behind the wheel. The #4 Corvette pits as Oliver Gavin gets out, and Tommy Milner, gets in.
Race control is now reviewing that kerfuffle between the Viper and the Audi. There are lots of marbles on the road right now... the small bits of rubber that come off the surface of the tires. There's minor damage on the right front of the #93 SRT Viper. The BMW was down and away before the Viper. It could be the Viper team is having a small fuel pump problem right now. John Edwards takes over the #56 BMW Z4 GTE from Dirk Muller and he'll do a double stint to the finish.
All these cars we speak of are in the top five in the championship as the #912 Porsche also pits. Patrick Long takes over from Michael Christensen. Christensen will finish the race driving the #911 sister car. The #3 Corvette will pit soon as they are second in class and second overall. Our overall leader in the #91 SRT Viper (Dominik Farnbacher), pits. Marc Goossens will take over the car. Team manager Bill Riley says everything is going according to plan.
The #3 Corvette pits, and Antonio Garcia takes over from Jordan Taylor, who put in a good stint. Keep in mind, Taylor has not been in this car since the 24 Hours of Le Mans, back in June. The #911 Porsche also pits. Nick Tandy has been off the road a few times. Tandy stays in the car. Another car in pit lane is the #007 Aston Martin. Al Carter and James Davison are running well, as the car arrived on Friday, and didn't make the first practice session before the event. The #93 Viper will receive a drive through penalty for contact on the road.
Pierre Kaffer leads GT LM in the #62 Ferrari, but, he'll need to pit. The team also needs a full course yellow to assist with track position. Virginia International Raceway is a daunting track. Fly around the track, and then, when you hit pit lane, you have to be at 60 kilometers an hour (37 miles an hour). Giancarlo Fisichella will take over the car. Lots of different tire rubber on the track, as Kaffer didn't think the car was handling well. We are now under our first full course yellow flag.
We are under yellow for the first time. Ben Keating has crashed his #33 SRT Viper in GT Daytona. His crw chief asks, "Ben, are you OK?" Keating says, "no! I need the emergency crews here to pull me out." "Copy", they say, to which Keating replies, "quickly! I've got smoke in the cockpit, and I don't like it!" The crew says "copy", again. Keating, now frustrated says, "quickly! I may be on fire. I need out, now!" He's been to the pits, and back out, losing laps. He got off the road, into the tires. He got into the tires and couldn't open the door.
But, he's back now. He's got dive plane damage, but also has grass all over the radiators. Now, some news from the Tudor Championship. Oak Racing will debut their Ligier HPD chassis at the next race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Corvette plans new DP bodywork for 2015. ...And, Riley plans to build an LMP2 car for the new regulations coming in 2017. Risi Competizione got the yellow they needed, and at the right time.
The #93 Viper still needs to serve a penalty. Under yellow, the #18 Muehlner Motorsports America Porsche 911 RSR has had huge contact on the rear end, with something. Pit lane is open for GT Daytona machines and Markus Palttala brings the #94 BMW Z4 GTE for Turner Motorsports, in. Both Flying Lizard Audi's are in. So is the #22 Weathertech Porsche. Leh Keen takes over for Cooper MacNeil. Their competition in the #555 Ferrari also pits. A driver change takes place between Townsend Bell and Bill Sweedler. Not sure who is in the car, though.
Townsend Bell has taken over that car. We are back to green flag racing and Marc Goossens is in the lead at the moment. On restarts, drivers can race side by side, unlike on the initial start of the race. Two Viper's lead two Corvette's, two BMW's, and two Porsche's. No Ferrari's. Now, the #93 Viper still needs to serve a penalty. The #62 Ferrari is seventh. Kaffer ran a 1:44 flat. He's 8/10ths of a second faster than everyone else.
The cars fly around the Oak Tree corner. There used to be a gorgeous, ancient oak tree that stood there. But, it became diseased, and was cut down in the last year. Whoa! Factory Porsche team mates are having a go at one another here. Nick Tandy tries to make a move on Patrick Long! Don't take each other out! It didn't take long before a protest came over the radio of "tell him to back off!" Now, at the other end of things, the #62 Ferrari has caught both of the factory yellow Corvette's. Giancarlo Fisichella has Tommy Milner right in front of him.
The Porsche team mates (even before the battles was saw moments ago), were engaging in a round of dodge 'em cars. Writer Ian Fleming said in his novels, "the first time, it's a coincidence. The second time, it's enemy action." Don't rough up your team mate. Patrick Long did say on the radio, "this might end in tears." The Viper team has been working on performance of the car in terms of restarts, and outlaps on new tires. Ooh! This isn't good. The #93 Viper is off and on, kicking up a load of dust!
Jonathan Bomarito has plowed up the south 40, in a big way! Bomarito says, "the car flew in the air when I hit the curb, and there's grass everywhere." Bomarito does a wheelie, and then, plows through the grass! That's a dirt shower. The worst kind. Once you lift the nose to a degree, the flat bottom of a sports car, takes off like a wing, providing lift, instead of downforce. So, your race car, works more, like an airplane. The #4 Corvette is also off the road, and has a flat left front tire.
The suspension and the front splitter could also be heavily damaged. Patrick Long in the #912 Porsche clipped Oliver Gavin. Just kissed the tire wall. Well, well. More bad news for Porsche, as the #912 now, absolutely shreds a right rear tire, and takes a lot of the bodywork with it, creating monster damage! Patrick Long has lost his cool, driving way too fast. All he'll do is destroy the Porsche at this rate. New tires aren't all the Corvette needs. The front left corner needs attention.
Marc Goossens leads at halfway. One of the marshals holds a yellow and red striped debris flag. There is likely to be a debris yellow. Jonathan Bomarito and the #93 Viper are now eightoverall, fifth in class. Cosmetic damage, but damage, too, to the dive planes, which are very important. The Viper almost flew. But, race cars, make horrendous airplanes.
OK, chaps. Lets return to GT Daytona and check out that lead battle. Madison Snow in the Porsche, Dane Cameron in the BMW, and Townsend Bell in the Ferrari. Whoops! We have another full course yellow. #73 Kevin Estre has clouted the tire wall. In the inaugural Tudor Championship season, we tend to average four and a half full course yellows per race, which tells yours truly, that something has to be done about race officiating and getting the slower cars to drive more professionally.
Estre crunches the tire wall in turn four. Watch out, because this track is fast, and the grass is wet. Pit stop time now. But, miscues at SRT Viper. Marc Goossens was past the pit entry when he was called in, and will be doing another lap. RLL BMW and Risi Ferrari both pitted. Well, Ferrari won the race off pit lane. Giancarlo Fisichella remains at the controls. We're still waiting for Antonio Garcia in the Corvette. Madison Snow hasn't gotten his 60 minutes in the car yet, in the #58 Porsche.
The latest round of pit stops, has been dedicated only, to changing tires. We are waiting for this yellow flag period to come to an end, and for racing to resume, folks. Some GT LM cars did not pit, and so, the #3 Corvette (being one that did not), will need to take a longer stop, before the end of this motor race. We are back to green for the GT cars at VIR. Marc Goossens is the race leader. There's a battle between the #3 Corvette and the #911 Porsche.
Nick Tandy battles Antonio Garcia. Tandy makes a clean pass to get by the yellow Corvette. The #58 Porsche in GTD pits just as the green flag waves again. Jan Heylen takes over from Madison Snow to finish this race. Heylen has to overtake the entire field in GTD. Battle for the race lead. Viper vs. Porsche, and the Viper locks up the brakes! These blokes are still on old tires. Look out! The Michelin's on the Viper might come off the car in the shape of cubes after that torture test.
Tandy's Porsche is coming alive and he's beginning to push. Tandy is a real scrapper. Virginia International Raceway opened in 1957 and had races run until 1974. But, then, the track lay dormant for 25 years, and a businessman named Harvey Siegel brought it out of mothballs in 2000. VIR was actually the first "country club" race track, because people can buy property and homes to live in, right at the race track. Then, they can park their race car in the garage, and go out on the track to race or run hot laps when it is available. Neat concept.
Giancarlo Fisichella passes the #4 Corvette. It is currently shown four laps down, and has had a fraught race, with Tommy Milner at the controls. Oh no! Trouble for the Porsche. Nick Tandy may be low on fuel and has to switch to the reserve pump. Race control forces a penalty on Townsend Bell for leaving pit lane with equipment attached to the car. Damien Faulkner in the #81 GB Motorsports Porsche takes the lead in GT Daytona.
They need fuel. Their shops are just inside the grounds here at VIR. That's GB Motorsports, with team boss, Cole Scrogham. Third now is the #63 Scuderia Corse Ferrari with Alessandro Balzan at the wheel. The #911 Porsche has a misfire. Tandy radioed the team to let them know. Fisichella is in the catbird seat as he is being chased by the RLL BMW Z4's of John Edwards and Bill Auberlen. Tandy's radio transmission to the team at Porsche AG was that the engine quit running altogether. It cut out, and wasn't even a misfire.
Watch out for wheel hopping. Dane Cameron's chief mechanic said, "you've got your front wheels a foot off the ground." Cameron asked, "did I look good doing it?" Now, let's be honest. The crew chief would reply, "hey, man. Quit with the silly games, and just drive the race car!" Charles Espenlaub takes the #46 Fall Line Audi R8 into the brush for a little autocross. But, the car collected grass in the radiators, and is beginning to overheat. Nick Tandy is back on the button, and is now pushing like you know what, to get by the Viper's.
This is war now, private. He's trying to trick you, and play games with your mind. You must stop at nothing to pass the red car. Actually, it's a full on war between all four makes. Porsche, Chevrolet, SRT Viper, and Ferrari. Antonio Garcia brings the #3 Corvette to pit lane. Viper beats Corvette out of pit lane. Some guys are good on fuel with less than an hour left. But, Fisichella, Auberlen, and Edwards, are three chaps who are NOT good to go on fuel. Roll the dice. Make one stop. But, in this case, a yellow flag would hurt much more than it would help.
BMW has a split strategy. It creates a domino effect, if you gamble. That's because other teams will do the same thing. Monkey see. Monkey do. We've got a fair old scrap for the GT Daytona lead. Damien Faulkner has it. Dane Cameron wants it. Faulkner needs to do a splash and a dash for fuel. But, there's more. Alessandro Balzan in third, is chomping at the bit, and he could put the cat among the pigeons here.
The #911 Porsche pits from fifth in class and in the overall. Michael Christensen takes over the #911 Porsche. It took too long for the driver change while tires and fuel were being taken care of. Now, more drama. Spencer Pumpelly has a severely flat left rear tire on the #45 Flying Lizard Audi R8. He'll make it to pit lane, but has to stay out of everyone's way. We return to the Cameron, Faulkner, Balzan story.
Strategist Don Salama thinks they are about a minute short on fuel. People are praying for a yellow. But, it might not work. Go for it. If there's a yellow, you can save fuel. You can't feather the throttle and save fuel. Push, push, push. Down the inside, Cameron passes Faulkner. Andrew Davis is also in this scrap, or close to it. Dane Cameron opens a gap over the Porsche. Someone said fuel over their radio as Faulkner and Balzan play dodge 'em cars. The BMW is minus one mirror now, too. When Balzan passed Faulkner, he knocked the left side mirror off the Porsche.
Giancarlo Fisichella leads this race overall, along with team mate Pierre Kaffer, who put the car on pole. After two huge wrecks to start the season, Risi Competizione is coming back into the picture. Tire wear has been greater here at VIR because of the grip with the new pavement. The GT Le Mans machines of course, have bigger wings and more aero help than the GT Daytona cars. Split strategy for the factory BMW RLL Z4's as #55 pits for a splash and a dash. Eight seconds worth of fuel is added to the tank/
Leh Keen passes Damien Faulkner for fourth in GT Daytona. The #56 BMW pits. So much for split strategy, as both may have come in at the same time. Edwards beats Auberlen out of the pits. Second in GT LM, and in the overall, is the #17 Falken Tires Porsche 911 of Bryan Sellers and Wolf Henzler. But, the #17 car has a load of sod in the radiator inlet. That's not good. Just about a half hour left in this race.
Andrew Davis and Leh Keen continue to battle. These two are looking for the last podium spot in GT Dayton, while the scrum rages between Cameron and Balzan for the race win. Cameron needs to try to save fuel. Each of these Porsche's is handling differently right now and they can help each others cause by working together. It looks as if car #58 is also beginning to move up considerably in the GTD ranks.
The two Porsche's are being chased by two Audi's. Dion von Moltke in one of the Flying Lizard machines, and Christopher Haase in the Paul Miller Racing R8 LMS. Giancarlo Fisichella leads. Will he roll the dice and make a pit stop before the end of this race? Henzler has to coast to save fuel. That can't be good for the Falken Tire squad. Crew chief Phil Howard says that they'll run short by a few laps. Another team praying for a yellow.
The good thing is, they aren't in the fight for the title. So, they don't have to worry too much abotu strategy. Coast. Just tap the brakes and shift the car into neutral, without banging through all the gears which would harm the transmission and burn fuel. Fisichella needs to pit. It's a long pit lane delta at VIR. So, if Fisichella takes more than six second of fuel, Edwards and BMW will pounce. The #62 Ferrari pits from the race lead.
A seven second, splash and dash on fuel is all that's needed. Fisichella is back in action. Wolf Henzler takes the race lead for now. Henzler, too, is a few laps short on fuel. Fisichella is now second overall, ahead of the BMW's. Meanwhile, Christopher Haase passes Dion von Moltke in the battle of the Audi's. Dane Cameron continues to lead. Team owner Will Turner tells Cameron on the radio, "hey, you passed a Porsche." The field will stack up. Alessandro Balzan did not take fresh tires.
Cameron hops the curbs. Five drivers are within two points for the GT Daytona championship right now. Townsend Bell is up to eighth in class. Oh no. The #911 Porsche is off the road. But, this isn't a crash. This is a mechanical failure. The Porsche's and the Audi's are catching the BMW in GT Daytona. The #17 Falken Tire Porsche is leading overall. But, there's a full course yellow! Oh boy! Go the lean fuel map, and shut off the motor and coast if you need to.
Porsche helps a Porsche. How cynical! Michael Christensen is told to stay with the car as a tow vehicle comes to help. IMSA passed a new rule, and that is (after the horrendous sprint car crash that killed young driver Kevin Ward Jr.), drivers must stay in the car until the safety crews arrive, unless there's an emergency, like a fire. Thirteen minutes left in the race.
Pit lane is open. The #17 is staying out. Falken Tire will have to watch out for Giancarlo Fisichella. Watch out, though. Because, there could be another caution. Yellows breed yellows. Pit lane is open for GT Daytona cars. Scrub the tires. Lots of rubber, and lots of different types of rubber on the track. Get ready to push like there's no tomorrow.
Here's some history. In 1971, VIR hosted the first race of the International Motorsports Association (IMSA). Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood won that opening event, called the Danville 300. The great Hurley Haywood was reunited with a couple of old Porsche's he drove here. A Porsche 911 and a Porsche 914/6. We're ready to go back to green. It's going to be a wild finish. Will one yellow breed another? It's going to be about seven minutes to go. Tug on your belts, take a deep breath, and hold on. Let 'er go.
Wolf Henzler leads the field down. Go! Giancarlo Fisichella timed it perfectly and is going to get around Henzler. Here come the RLL BMW's too. Cameron wants by the factory Porsche in GT LM while Alessandro Balzan wants by him. Shooting uphill through the esses. Henzler is gapping the Ferrari immediately. Fisichella runs wide. Uh oh. Fisichella should be fine, though, because he can book it, whereas the BMW will be running out of steam on the straight. Henzler is Fisichella's next target.
Look here. Henzler has to defend from Fisichella. This could get ugly! Fisichella looks to the inside. No. Close, but no cigar. Oh no! Henzler runs wide! Henzler shuts the door! Now, the two factory BMW's are breathing down these guys necks. Ahhhh! This is going to be a cracking finish! Fisichella trips on the curbs. Here's Oak Tree corner, sans the oak tree. Now, this thing is a doubel right hander. Henzler can't afford to drag the brake. But, Fisichella does just that, into Oak Tree!
Does Wolf Henzler have enough fuel to make it? It will be two laps to go. Can Falken Tire hold on? Henzler is getting a bad sportsmanship flag. This could open the door for the Ferrari. The stewards don't like one driver reacting to the moves of another. Auberlen in the BMW runs wide. He's under pressure from the Viper. This is the #93 car of Jonathan Bomarito. White flag lap. When you have a car in front, you can't see your turn in points.
Fisichella gets through the corner clean. He's right on Henzler's gearbox. Cameron and Balzan still battle in GT Daytona while Christopher Haase has pased Leh Keen. Townsend Bell is eighth in class. So, he may not retain the GT Daytona points lead. One lap remains. Side by side into turn one. The Ferrari is all over Henzler like a rash. Try the outside line. Don't touch. Hold your line. Henzler moves ahead a bit. Giancarlo Fisichella looks inside, and... taps Henzler, loosening him up. Edwards is right there.
He's thinking, "boy, if these two clowns take each other out, I could win." Edwards and Muller want their first win, too. Last lap at VIR. Don't spin the tires. This is it. Don't lock the brakes either. Break the draft on the straight. No weaving. This is it! Here comes the Ferrari making an inside move! Fisichella got him! Oh! They play dodge 'em cars again. No dice. The Ferrari will win this race!
Can Henzler hold off the BMW? Yes. Pierre Kaffer and Giancarlo Fisichella win it! In GT Daytona, it's the #94 Turner Motorsports BMW Z4 GTE of Dane Cameron and Markus Palttala who get the honors. They take their fourth win of the season.
Overall/GT Le Mans: #62 Kaffer/Fisichella Ferrari 458 Italia
GT Daytona: #94 Cameron/Palttala BMW Z4 GTE
The next Tudor Championship event is coming up, soon. It is the second to last event of the year... the Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The Americas, in Austin, Texas. All four classes for Prototype and GT will feature in that race. It will be run in conjunction with the Six Hours of COTA FIA World Endurance Championship event. Both races can be seen on Fox Sports, and both will be blogged, here, on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog. Stay tuned for that, fans.
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