This is the story of what happened in the 24 Hours of Daytona, 30 years, back when it was sponsored by SunBank, and known as the SunBank 24. A classic race, to be sure. Racer magazine's Marshall Pruett, tells the tale.
http://www.racer.com/imsa/item/112998-pruett-the-ballad-of-the-1985-sunbank-24-at-daytona?showall=1&limitstart
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Friday, January 30, 2015
TV details confirmed for Bathurst 12 Hour
For those in Australia, the TV coverage for the upcoming Bathurst 12 Hours has been confirmed. For the rest of us, there will be a live online stream. Yours truly, hopes to watch. But, even if I cannot do that, there will still be a brief race report, right here on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog.
http://www.speedcafe.com/2015/01/30/tv-details-confirmed-bathurst-12-hour/
http://www.speedcafe.com/2015/01/30/tv-details-confirmed-bathurst-12-hour/
WEC: Shank targets Le Mans entry in 2016
It could be that Mike Shank Racing, will fulfill their intent, according to team boss, Mike Shank, and take their Ligier JS P2 Honda, to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 2016.
http://www.racer.com/wec-le-mans/item/112948-shank-targets-le-mans-entry-in-2016
http://www.racer.com/wec-le-mans/item/112948-shank-targets-le-mans-entry-in-2016
2017 LMP2 regulations
A meeting was set up to discuss what the LMP2 class regulations for 2017 will be. There are a couple of articles, on the same topic.
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/2017-lmp2-regulations-meeting-set-for-next-week/
...and HERE, is how that meeting, transpired.
Perspectives from motorsport.com.
http://www.motorsport.com/tusc/news/daytona-meeting-to-define-future-rules-held-today
...And Racer magazine.
http://www.racer.com/wec-le-mans/item/112926-aco-sporting-director-vincent-beaumesnil-on-lmp2-2017?showall&limitstart=1
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/2017-lmp2-regulations-meeting-set-for-next-week/
...and HERE, is how that meeting, transpired.
Perspectives from motorsport.com.
http://www.motorsport.com/tusc/news/daytona-meeting-to-define-future-rules-held-today
...And Racer magazine.
http://www.racer.com/wec-le-mans/item/112926-aco-sporting-director-vincent-beaumesnil-on-lmp2-2017?showall&limitstart=1
Thursday, January 29, 2015
10 things we learned from the 2015 Rolex 24 at Daytona
Motorsport.com News Manager, Steven Cole Smith, looks at ten things learned from last weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona.
http://www.motorsport.com/tusc/news/10-things-we-learned-from-the-2015-rolex-24-at-daytona
http://www.motorsport.com/tusc/news/10-things-we-learned-from-the-2015-rolex-24-at-daytona
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Jeromy Moore set for Porsche LMP1 Role
Former engineer for multiple Australian V8 Supercars series champion, Craig Lowndes, will now work for Porsche's factory FIA World Endurance Championship team. Here are the details.
http://www.speedcafe.com/2015/01/28/jeromy-moore-set-porsche-lmp1-role/
http://www.speedcafe.com/2015/01/28/jeromy-moore-set-porsche-lmp1-role/
Petition - Make TUSC pit stops safer
Driver David Heinemeier-Hanson has a petition, to make pit stops in Tudor Championship races, safer, reverting back to the old Le Mans rules of shutting the engine off, fueling the car first, and then, changing tires, after the fueling is complete.
https://www.change.org/p/imsa-make-tusc-pit-stops-safer-engine-off-fuel-first-then-tires?utm_medium=email&utm_source=signature_receipt&utm_campaign=new_signature&tk=KoIRzmDNgjSjEXJIHFdB91ngFT60GNsZq2sX9MRu8aQ
https://www.change.org/p/imsa-make-tusc-pit-stops-safer-engine-off-fuel-first-then-tires?utm_medium=email&utm_source=signature_receipt&utm_campaign=new_signature&tk=KoIRzmDNgjSjEXJIHFdB91ngFT60GNsZq2sX9MRu8aQ
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Rolex 24 race broadcast
Go to the link HERE, at IMSA.com to watch, and listen, and relive the entire 2015 Rolex 24. The race broadcast is divided into seven parts. Watch, listen, and enjoy.
http://www.imsa.com/articles/watch-listen-relive-rolex-24-daytona
http://www.imsa.com/articles/watch-listen-relive-rolex-24-daytona
big crash at the Rolex 24
Here is video footage of the mega crash I mentioned in the Rolex 24 race report, between Francois Perrodo, and Brandon Davis. Commentary by Fox Sports' Bob Varsha, and former sports car racer, turned analyst, Calvin Fish. This is going to hurt!
Tequila Patron ESM onboard lap at Rolex 24 at Daytona
Ride along at Daytona International Speedway, with Tequila Patron ESM's HPD ARX-04b at the start of the Rolex 24, last weekend.
http://www.motorsport.com/tusc/video/main-gallery/tequila-patr-n-esm-on-board-lap-at-rolex-24-at-daytona
http://www.motorsport.com/tusc/video/main-gallery/tequila-patr-n-esm-on-board-lap-at-rolex-24-at-daytona
Monday, January 26, 2015
2017 LMP2 Regulations Meeting Set For Next Week
A little late with this one. But, there will be a meeting about LMP2 regulations for the 2017 season... on a global basis, coming up, very soon.
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/2017-lmp2-regulations-meeting-set-for-next-week/
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/2017-lmp2-regulations-meeting-set-for-next-week/
TUSC 2015 - It just feels different this time
North American Sportscar blog writer, Matt Kistler, examines how the 2015 Tudor Championship season, will be different, and, for the better.
http://nasportscar.com/tusc-2015-it-just-feels-different-this-time/
http://nasportscar.com/tusc-2015-it-just-feels-different-this-time/
Summing up the 2015 Rolex 24
Final summary of the 2015 Rolex 24 from Fox Sports commentators Bob Varsha, Calvin Fish, Brian Till, and Tommy Kendall.
http://www.foxsports.com/video?vid=388919363977
http://www.foxsports.com/video?vid=388919363977
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Rolex 24: Hour 24
It's the last hour of the 2015 Rolex 24. Jordan Taylor has just pitted. Scott Dixon has one more lap on this fuel load. The #10 car has finished runner-up in this race for the last two years. Jordan Taylor needs to get the tire temperatures up. Mike Hull on the radio, tells Dixon to pit. He does. They take the pit entry diagonally so the car can stop on a dime in the pit box. There will be tires on this pit stop. He's on a long run, and will complete just shy of four hours. Jordan Taylor, meanwhile, is caught in traffic.
Just two cars are on the lead lap. 707 laps completed. 2,517 miles. Jordan Taylor is going try and close up. Here's the acceleration on the back straight, onto the front, and through the tri oval. One hour now remaining, boys and girls. 87 degrees track temperature. Scott Dixon has a slight advantage on fuel. Run it out 'til 20 minutes to go. One way to play it right, because of new IMSA rules.
If it's a short yellow, the pits are closed. It's going to be wild. The top speed of the Ganassi car has not been apparent. If they want it, with the turbocharged Ford V6, they'll have to turn up the wick. Dixon slightly wobbles in the chicane. The #22 WeatherTech Porsche gets a splash and a dash. Less than 50 minutes remain now. When will the leaders pit for the crucial splash and dash before the end?
If a yellow comes out, BMW has made a move on Corvette. How bad does Wayne Taylor want a win? Ganassi will have to pit before 30 minutes to go. Taylor will also have to roll the dice. It's going to be a barn burner of a finish! The #3 Corvette will pit. It's too risky not to. The windshield is cleaned. The tires are changed. Good stop. If Dixon stays out a lap or two longer than the window, it's going to be real close between these top two.
The #10 team will have to take a gamble, maybe. The #5 car is the defending race champion, series champion, and North American Endurance Cup, champions. Whoever wins this one, will earn it, without a doubt. Sebastien Bourdais is 29 seconds behind. This is now a two horse race. Who gets to pit lane first? Traffic ahead... a GT Daytona car. #5 hits the pit lane. If a yellow comes out, these chaps are in the catbird seat.
Now, will the leaders pit? Partial fuel load for the #5. If the #10 came in, they would not get the win. They'd still finish, but be out of contention for the victory. Forty minutes to go now. Colin Braun and Tom Kimber-Smith are on the same lap in Prototype Challenge. The #10 pits. These chaps are praying for a yellow. Pit now, pit now, pit now! Fuel only. The #02 car will need a stop. Dixon locks up through turn six! Fortunately, he continues.
Here comes Dixon. Dixon is taking lots less fuel. Timed stop. 18 seconds of fuel for the #10. 15 seconds for the #02. Jordan Taylor slices to the outside to avoid traffic. Dixon also has traffic ahead. We still have 37 minutes. Of 53 teams that started, a number of them, added a fourth driver. The Taylor brothers, are running only three drivers. It's all to play for, folks. We're coming down to the wire!
The WTR Corvette has been good in cooler conditions. Ganassi is still pushing. Antonion Garcia is a lap up on Dirk Werner's BMW in GT Le Mans. Colin Braun continues to lead Prototype Challenge. These guys have done very well, winning Daytona, Sebring, and Petit Le Mans, last year. In GT Daytona, it's the SRT Riley Motorsports Viper. Jonathan Bomarito was the only driver from the old factory Viper program, that had a plan, after Chrysler axed their factory Viper program.
Kuno Wittmer has done very well, though. Philipp Eng will finish out the race in the #58 Dempsey/Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT America. Twenty eight minutes to go in this race. Chip Ganassi, Tony Kanaan, and Kyle Larson, looking on. 727 laps in the books. Things can still happen. Don't count your chickens until they hatch. Team manager at Ganassi, Mike Hull, says, good drivers make the difference.
In eight attempts, Ganassi has won the Rolex 24, five times. Jamie McMurray is going to win, and be in rarified company, with a Rolex 24 victory, and a Daytona 500 victory. Colin Braun, was leading the Protoype Challenge class, but, is now on fire. He crashed, hitting the wall on the back straight. This iis an oil fire, clearly. He had a 40 second lead over Tom Kimber-Smith in second place. Wow. Problems for the #60 Ligier Honda with Matt McMurry at the controls.
The #54 car had contact with another car. They needed a splash of fuel and were going to make a final pit stop. But, it didn't work too well. No second straight win for Core Autosport, as team owner Jon Bennett, just described. Bennett is eloquent in his statement. But, there's clearly a quiver in his voice. You just wanjt to cry when you are this close in a 24 hour race, and it all slips away. This is a "short" yellow, and the pits are closed.
Lots of tension in the Ganassi pit. More drama, as there is more cleanup. The green flag may come out soon. Ricky Taylor is suited up and ready. But, he should not have to get back in th car. They are going to make a driver change. He's committed to the pit-in. This is bizarre. There will be a driver change. Is Jordan Taylor up against the 14 hour limit? Sebastien Bourdais is now up to second.
Jordan Taylor will be all over Scott Dixon. But, Taylor will need to serve a penalty, for pitting while the pits are closed. There was resignation in the exchange. Jordan Taylor was actually on the time limit. Jordan Taylor was also confused. Can you believe it? Lights are out atop the safety car. There are lapped cars between Dixon, and the #5 Corvette in the hands of Sebastien Bourdais (for the defending champs from Action Express Racing).
Green flag! Here we go. This is a sprint to the finish. Can Sebastien Bourdais run down Scott Dixon. Both these guys are Indycar regulars. Dixon has been the class of the field since sunrise this morning. Bourdais has been in the car a long time, too. We have just six minutes left in this 24 hour contest. GT Le Mans is going to be close between Corvette and BMW, with their factory cars. A mistake by a driver in other classes, can really put the cat among the pigeons.
The #10 is back in the pit for their penalty. It's no longer their race. They are out of the picture. Houston, we have a problem. Now, this battle in GT Le Mans continues. Bourdais makes his way by car #31. Three minutes left. This is getting tight for GT Le Mans. Two laps to go. Check this out. The GT Le Mans battle is not over. A lap and a half remains. White flag, this time by. Tom Kimber-Smith leads Prototype Challenge.
White flag. One lap to go. Ganassi Racing is goiong to win, and complete 739 laps, 2,631 miles. Jamie McMurray, Tony Kanaan, Kyle Larson, and Scott Dixon, are going to win the Rolex 24! Final time through the chicane. Ganassi Racing is going to win, with Ford, at the Rolex 24! Antonio Garcia brings Corvette a win in the Rolex 24, in GT Le Mans. In GT Daytona, SRT Viper, wins with Dominik Farnbacher and company! That lineup of winners is Farnbacher, Ben Keating, Al Carter, Kuno Wittmer, and Cameron Lawrence.
Then, in Prototype Challenge, it is the #52 team with Tom Kimber-Smith takes it, for his team, along with Mike Guasch, Andrew Novich, and Andrew Palmer. Sixteen winners. But, many of them, all receive Rolex Chronograph watches, for the first time.
Overall/Prototype: #02 Dixon/McMurray/Larson/Kanaan Riley Ford EcoBoost
Prototype
Challenge: #52 Kimber-Smith/Guasch/Novich/Palmer
Oreca FLM 09 Chevrolet
GT Le Mans: #3 Garcia/Magnussen/Briscoe Chevrolet Corvette C-7-R-
GT Daytona: #93 Keating/Farnbacher/Wittmer/Carter/Lawrence SRT Viper GTS-R-
Jordan Taylor is disappointed after not winning the race. They will have to try again, next year. We'll do this again, on March 21st at Sebring International Raceway, for the 12 Hours of Sebring. That's in seven weeks time, ladies and gentlemen, in mid-March. Yours truly, can't wait! So long for now, everyone.
Just two cars are on the lead lap. 707 laps completed. 2,517 miles. Jordan Taylor is going try and close up. Here's the acceleration on the back straight, onto the front, and through the tri oval. One hour now remaining, boys and girls. 87 degrees track temperature. Scott Dixon has a slight advantage on fuel. Run it out 'til 20 minutes to go. One way to play it right, because of new IMSA rules.
If it's a short yellow, the pits are closed. It's going to be wild. The top speed of the Ganassi car has not been apparent. If they want it, with the turbocharged Ford V6, they'll have to turn up the wick. Dixon slightly wobbles in the chicane. The #22 WeatherTech Porsche gets a splash and a dash. Less than 50 minutes remain now. When will the leaders pit for the crucial splash and dash before the end?
If a yellow comes out, BMW has made a move on Corvette. How bad does Wayne Taylor want a win? Ganassi will have to pit before 30 minutes to go. Taylor will also have to roll the dice. It's going to be a barn burner of a finish! The #3 Corvette will pit. It's too risky not to. The windshield is cleaned. The tires are changed. Good stop. If Dixon stays out a lap or two longer than the window, it's going to be real close between these top two.
The #10 team will have to take a gamble, maybe. The #5 car is the defending race champion, series champion, and North American Endurance Cup, champions. Whoever wins this one, will earn it, without a doubt. Sebastien Bourdais is 29 seconds behind. This is now a two horse race. Who gets to pit lane first? Traffic ahead... a GT Daytona car. #5 hits the pit lane. If a yellow comes out, these chaps are in the catbird seat.
Now, will the leaders pit? Partial fuel load for the #5. If the #10 came in, they would not get the win. They'd still finish, but be out of contention for the victory. Forty minutes to go now. Colin Braun and Tom Kimber-Smith are on the same lap in Prototype Challenge. The #10 pits. These chaps are praying for a yellow. Pit now, pit now, pit now! Fuel only. The #02 car will need a stop. Dixon locks up through turn six! Fortunately, he continues.
Here comes Dixon. Dixon is taking lots less fuel. Timed stop. 18 seconds of fuel for the #10. 15 seconds for the #02. Jordan Taylor slices to the outside to avoid traffic. Dixon also has traffic ahead. We still have 37 minutes. Of 53 teams that started, a number of them, added a fourth driver. The Taylor brothers, are running only three drivers. It's all to play for, folks. We're coming down to the wire!
The WTR Corvette has been good in cooler conditions. Ganassi is still pushing. Antonion Garcia is a lap up on Dirk Werner's BMW in GT Le Mans. Colin Braun continues to lead Prototype Challenge. These guys have done very well, winning Daytona, Sebring, and Petit Le Mans, last year. In GT Daytona, it's the SRT Riley Motorsports Viper. Jonathan Bomarito was the only driver from the old factory Viper program, that had a plan, after Chrysler axed their factory Viper program.
Kuno Wittmer has done very well, though. Philipp Eng will finish out the race in the #58 Dempsey/Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT America. Twenty eight minutes to go in this race. Chip Ganassi, Tony Kanaan, and Kyle Larson, looking on. 727 laps in the books. Things can still happen. Don't count your chickens until they hatch. Team manager at Ganassi, Mike Hull, says, good drivers make the difference.
In eight attempts, Ganassi has won the Rolex 24, five times. Jamie McMurray is going to win, and be in rarified company, with a Rolex 24 victory, and a Daytona 500 victory. Colin Braun, was leading the Protoype Challenge class, but, is now on fire. He crashed, hitting the wall on the back straight. This iis an oil fire, clearly. He had a 40 second lead over Tom Kimber-Smith in second place. Wow. Problems for the #60 Ligier Honda with Matt McMurry at the controls.
The #54 car had contact with another car. They needed a splash of fuel and were going to make a final pit stop. But, it didn't work too well. No second straight win for Core Autosport, as team owner Jon Bennett, just described. Bennett is eloquent in his statement. But, there's clearly a quiver in his voice. You just wanjt to cry when you are this close in a 24 hour race, and it all slips away. This is a "short" yellow, and the pits are closed.
Lots of tension in the Ganassi pit. More drama, as there is more cleanup. The green flag may come out soon. Ricky Taylor is suited up and ready. But, he should not have to get back in th car. They are going to make a driver change. He's committed to the pit-in. This is bizarre. There will be a driver change. Is Jordan Taylor up against the 14 hour limit? Sebastien Bourdais is now up to second.
Jordan Taylor will be all over Scott Dixon. But, Taylor will need to serve a penalty, for pitting while the pits are closed. There was resignation in the exchange. Jordan Taylor was actually on the time limit. Jordan Taylor was also confused. Can you believe it? Lights are out atop the safety car. There are lapped cars between Dixon, and the #5 Corvette in the hands of Sebastien Bourdais (for the defending champs from Action Express Racing).
Green flag! Here we go. This is a sprint to the finish. Can Sebastien Bourdais run down Scott Dixon. Both these guys are Indycar regulars. Dixon has been the class of the field since sunrise this morning. Bourdais has been in the car a long time, too. We have just six minutes left in this 24 hour contest. GT Le Mans is going to be close between Corvette and BMW, with their factory cars. A mistake by a driver in other classes, can really put the cat among the pigeons.
The #10 is back in the pit for their penalty. It's no longer their race. They are out of the picture. Houston, we have a problem. Now, this battle in GT Le Mans continues. Bourdais makes his way by car #31. Three minutes left. This is getting tight for GT Le Mans. Two laps to go. Check this out. The GT Le Mans battle is not over. A lap and a half remains. White flag, this time by. Tom Kimber-Smith leads Prototype Challenge.
White flag. One lap to go. Ganassi Racing is goiong to win, and complete 739 laps, 2,631 miles. Jamie McMurray, Tony Kanaan, Kyle Larson, and Scott Dixon, are going to win the Rolex 24! Final time through the chicane. Ganassi Racing is going to win, with Ford, at the Rolex 24! Antonio Garcia brings Corvette a win in the Rolex 24, in GT Le Mans. In GT Daytona, SRT Viper, wins with Dominik Farnbacher and company! That lineup of winners is Farnbacher, Ben Keating, Al Carter, Kuno Wittmer, and Cameron Lawrence.
Then, in Prototype Challenge, it is the #52 team with Tom Kimber-Smith takes it, for his team, along with Mike Guasch, Andrew Novich, and Andrew Palmer. Sixteen winners. But, many of them, all receive Rolex Chronograph watches, for the first time.
Overall/Prototype: #02 Dixon/McMurray/Larson/Kanaan Riley Ford EcoBoost
Prototype
Challenge: #52 Kimber-Smith/Guasch/Novich/Palmer
Oreca FLM 09 Chevrolet
GT Le Mans: #3 Garcia/Magnussen/Briscoe Chevrolet Corvette C-7-R-
GT Daytona: #93 Keating/Farnbacher/Wittmer/Carter/Lawrence SRT Viper GTS-R-
Jordan Taylor is disappointed after not winning the race. They will have to try again, next year. We'll do this again, on March 21st at Sebring International Raceway, for the 12 Hours of Sebring. That's in seven weeks time, ladies and gentlemen, in mid-March. Yours truly, can't wait! So long for now, everyone.
Rolex 24: Hours 22 & 23
The #01 Gannasi Riley Ford is out of the race. They go behind the wall. Game over. They could drop at least 60 laps. Unless they get the car out, they could finish 60 laps down, in seventh place. Ganassi has one bullet left, (the #02). The #10 car for Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor, and Max Angelelli, they seem to be becoming more comfortable. Jordan Taylor is going to take over the car from Max Angelelli. They have to pick up the pace, and maintain the gap.
Ganassi is replacing the clutch in the #01, as well as making other repairs for the finish of this race. Will Joao Barbosa finish in the #5 Action Express Corvette? Jordan Taylor, will be fresh, in the #10 car. At the end of 24 hours, it's mental preparation, and being tired. An hour and 55 minutes remain. Now, Max Angelelli, it looks like, will need to go to reserve before his pit stop. Check that. That was a Ganassi radio call, and they'll pit in another few laps.
Everyone (unless we see yellows), there will be the need for a splash and a dash. Angelelli is the one who will pit. Angelelli, out. Taylor, in. Action Express is also in the lane. One hour and fifty two minutes remain in this race now. Scott Dixon pits. He will stay in the car, and get four sticker (new) Continental tires. Fuel is added to the tank, too. Dixon has cold tires. But, he might be able to get out in front of Taylor. What's going to happen? Wow. Dixon might sneak out in front. Taylor almost gets balked by a GT Daytona car, but still makes a pass.
Taylor wants it. Dixon passes the #35 Flying Lizard Audi R8 LMS of Markus Winkelhock. Winkelhock lets the leaders go. Dirk Werner now leads GT Le Mans in the #25 RLL BMW Z4 GTE, which is fighting back after an off with Bruno Spengler, this morning. The GT Le Mans battle is going to be a humdinger, too. Garcia shaves of a thousandth of a second. Team manager, Bobby Rahal, looks on. There is no way a car that has run for this long, will be perfect.
Most of the rear bumper on the BMW is gone. But, there's no need for it. Ganassi Racing still has only one bullet, as the #01 is continuing to be fixed. Never mind. The car is coming back out of the garage. Something odd has happened to the car again, possibly. The gap at the front between Jordan Taylor and Scott Dixon, is down to 4.1 seconds. Oh no! Still no good for the Ganassi car. The #25 RLL BMW Z4 GTE pits. Dirk Werner stays in the car. Fuel and tires for the BMW. Clean pit work, for a very dirty, somewhat banged up race car.
Werner had to use the clutch to stop the wheels spinning while the tire was being changed. He selected first gear. In the old days, you had to shut the motor off. Not so in Tudor Championship competition. The #01 car is back to the garage, as Antonio Garcia and the #3 Corvette team go to the GT Le Mans lead. Now, they pit. They cannot afford to make a mistake. This is their penultimate pit stop before the end of the race.
Scott Dixon is now a second and a half behind Jordan Taylor. This was a good stop for Corvette. Taylor runs a 1:40.9. Dixon, ran a 1:40.2. The GT Daytona leading #22 Alex Job, WeatherTech car, is in. Shane van Gisbergen returns to the wheel. Get the tires up to temperature, for the compounds and the sidewalls. Ooh. The #009 Aston Martin is in trouble, again. Some argy bargy, too, between the #54 Prototype Challenge car, and the #93 SRT Viper, (Prototype Challenge, and GT Daytona class leaders, respectively).
Lucas Luhr is running well with the #24 BMW Z4 GTE. Luhr has run for other German giants such as Porsche, and Audi. So, he has had factory rides with them, and now, with BMW. So many different engine notes in sports car racing. Jordan Taylor continues on in the lead, over Scott Dixon, and Sebastien Bourdais. Traffic is still a factor even this late in the race. Dixon will need less fuel on a splash and dash stop if it stays green to the end.
Dixon is quicker. But, he still has traffic. The #44 Porsche 911 GT America is back on track, after hitting a possum earlier on. Lally is a vegan, and so, hitting a possum must have been quite an eye opener for him.
Ganassi is replacing the clutch in the #01, as well as making other repairs for the finish of this race. Will Joao Barbosa finish in the #5 Action Express Corvette? Jordan Taylor, will be fresh, in the #10 car. At the end of 24 hours, it's mental preparation, and being tired. An hour and 55 minutes remain. Now, Max Angelelli, it looks like, will need to go to reserve before his pit stop. Check that. That was a Ganassi radio call, and they'll pit in another few laps.
Everyone (unless we see yellows), there will be the need for a splash and a dash. Angelelli is the one who will pit. Angelelli, out. Taylor, in. Action Express is also in the lane. One hour and fifty two minutes remain in this race now. Scott Dixon pits. He will stay in the car, and get four sticker (new) Continental tires. Fuel is added to the tank, too. Dixon has cold tires. But, he might be able to get out in front of Taylor. What's going to happen? Wow. Dixon might sneak out in front. Taylor almost gets balked by a GT Daytona car, but still makes a pass.
Taylor wants it. Dixon passes the #35 Flying Lizard Audi R8 LMS of Markus Winkelhock. Winkelhock lets the leaders go. Dirk Werner now leads GT Le Mans in the #25 RLL BMW Z4 GTE, which is fighting back after an off with Bruno Spengler, this morning. The GT Le Mans battle is going to be a humdinger, too. Garcia shaves of a thousandth of a second. Team manager, Bobby Rahal, looks on. There is no way a car that has run for this long, will be perfect.
Most of the rear bumper on the BMW is gone. But, there's no need for it. Ganassi Racing still has only one bullet, as the #01 is continuing to be fixed. Never mind. The car is coming back out of the garage. Something odd has happened to the car again, possibly. The gap at the front between Jordan Taylor and Scott Dixon, is down to 4.1 seconds. Oh no! Still no good for the Ganassi car. The #25 RLL BMW Z4 GTE pits. Dirk Werner stays in the car. Fuel and tires for the BMW. Clean pit work, for a very dirty, somewhat banged up race car.
Werner had to use the clutch to stop the wheels spinning while the tire was being changed. He selected first gear. In the old days, you had to shut the motor off. Not so in Tudor Championship competition. The #01 car is back to the garage, as Antonio Garcia and the #3 Corvette team go to the GT Le Mans lead. Now, they pit. They cannot afford to make a mistake. This is their penultimate pit stop before the end of the race.
Scott Dixon is now a second and a half behind Jordan Taylor. This was a good stop for Corvette. Taylor runs a 1:40.9. Dixon, ran a 1:40.2. The GT Daytona leading #22 Alex Job, WeatherTech car, is in. Shane van Gisbergen returns to the wheel. Get the tires up to temperature, for the compounds and the sidewalls. Ooh. The #009 Aston Martin is in trouble, again. Some argy bargy, too, between the #54 Prototype Challenge car, and the #93 SRT Viper, (Prototype Challenge, and GT Daytona class leaders, respectively).
Lucas Luhr is running well with the #24 BMW Z4 GTE. Luhr has run for other German giants such as Porsche, and Audi. So, he has had factory rides with them, and now, with BMW. So many different engine notes in sports car racing. Jordan Taylor continues on in the lead, over Scott Dixon, and Sebastien Bourdais. Traffic is still a factor even this late in the race. Dixon will need less fuel on a splash and dash stop if it stays green to the end.
Dixon is quicker. But, he still has traffic. The #44 Porsche 911 GT America is back on track, after hitting a possum earlier on. Lally is a vegan, and so, hitting a possum must have been quite an eye opener for him.
Rolex 24: Hour 21
Here we go! Action Express locks the brakes. That's Christian Fittipaldi in the #5 Corvette Prototype, with the new C7 bodywork. Two Chevrolet V8's vs. two Ford EcoBoost V6's. Look at this monster gaggle of cars. Oh no. The Corvette #4 hits the PC car. There's damage to the right front of one of the Corvette's! That's the #4 machine! It will need to be fixed. Can they peel off the hood and right front corner? Likely.
Tommy Milner was taken by surprise, not by a Prototype Challenge machine, but by the slower #66 RG Racing prototype. They need to wait a few laps, to get into a fuel window, and will fix the damage, so they don't have to do an extra stop. They've got the nose, and a lot of damage to the fenders. Don't damage the bodywork fasteners either. The Corvette's and one of the BMW's are 24 laps ahead of fourth place GT Le Mans runner, John Edwards, in the sister BMW.
Corvette Racing goes to work. Shane van Gisbergen (Australian V8 Supercar star), is pushing, pressuring the Viper in GT Daytona. We;ve got just three hours to go now. Besides the other endurance races, the other races 2 hours and 45 minutes. Well, we have fifteen minutes more, than a standard Tudor Championship sprint race, to go. So, anything can happen here, folks. It's going to be a close one.
Sage Karam is leading. Now, we have Corvette still in pit lane. Ooh. Debris from the Corvette wreck! Watch out! The debris, is the headlight assembly. Now, the #4 Corvette is four laps down. So, they need a full course yellow, to catch up, and make up their lost laps. Oh wow. Sage Karam forces the issue on Christian Fittipaldi, and goes for second. Go ahead, sunshine. Use up the car. Team manager Mike O'Gara is cheering Sage Karam on, saying, "go man, go!"
O'Gara took over, when Tim Keene left to join the Deltawing team. In Prototype Challenge, the #54 car continues to dominate the class. They are a lap ahead of the #16 car, with Martin Plowman at the controls. Plowman has run sports cars, and Indycars. Mark Wilkins is driving the #54 and will hand over to Colin Braun. The #52 PR1/Mathiasen machine is third in class. Andrew Palmer is driving. So, three talented drivers are racing for Prototype Challenge honors, here, in the Rolex 24. In fourth, it's Stephen Simpson. But he's well behind.
Kuno Wittmer leads GT Daytona, after winning for the factory Viper team in GT Le Mans, last year. He ran really well at Le Mans a couple years ago. Kuno Wittmer is doing his best, looking to the future. In third in GT Daytona, it's the #63 Ferrari 458 Italia, piloted by Jeff Segal. Close battles in nearly every class, as we watch the last two hours and 49 minutes of this great race, unfold. Dorsey Schroeder is running well in his first sports car race in some years.
His broadcast colleagues at Fox Sports, continue to cheer him on. Racing drivers are able to focus, and they never blink. We are now just under the length of a standard Tudor Championship event. Meanwhile, Scott Dixon can't get by car #5, with Christian Fittipaldi at the controls. Ooh. Scott Dixon wiggles, and goes deep into turn six. Now, they're back onto the straightaway. The top four cars are covered by seven seconds or so. Wow! It's shaping up to be another very close Rolex 24.
Race leaders are going to pit soon. Allan McNish is an ambassador for Audi, and a British television F1 commentator. He waved the green flag for this race. Car #10 pitted. Can BMW hang on and win this race? We'll see, as Fox Sports' Andrew Marriott interviews BMW'S Jens Marquardt. The #02 is pitting, and Scott Dixon stays in the car. Fuel, tires, and a fresh drink bottle for Dixon. He's going for a monster stint, right to the end of the race.
Sage Karam is worrid that the clutch is slipping in the #01 car. Hitting the curbs, can affect the drivelines in the cars. Can Scott Dixon and company, win another Rolex? Dixon has one, after winning nine years ago, in 2006. Max Angelelli retakes the lead now. We're working 656 laps (2,335 miles). Sage Karam's issues continue. Maybe the gearshift isn't working. We've seen lots of transmission and traction control issues in this race.
Are the lower gears afecting the performance of the car? Joey Hand is going to take over the car, as a pit stop is imminent. Was Karam dabbing the clutch? We'll see what happens. The crew was ready, and they will do a service first. Joey Hand is set to take over. Lots of quick work for the Ganassi team. There was a real miscue on the communication here. These boys are going to lose time. This will hurt Scott Pruett's chances of eclipsing the tie he has with Hurley Haywood, for Rolex 24 wins.
It is nice to see Hurley Haywood back at the track. Now, Joey Hand takes the #01 car back on track. Hurley Haywood has five overall wins, his first, for Nissan, in 1994. Rumors are that Ganassi could change categories, and if they win, this yar, could be their last running at the Rolex 24. Kevin Buckler and the #007 Aston Martin team are still running strong, carrying an onboard camera, for Fox Sports.
The #01 car continues to deal with a slipping clutch. Joey Hand has to be very gentle with the throttle, treating it like there is an egg between his foot, and the pedal. Kuno Wittmer pits, and is in the leading GT Daytona SRT Viper. Dominik Farnbacher will take over the car, for the final stint. Ditto for the #22 WeatherTech AJR Porsche. Leh Keen hands the car over to Andrew Davis for the finish. Keen and Davis, have shared cars in sports car racing before.
Second gear is becoming an issue for Joey Hand's car. Max Angelelli is still in the race lead. We are nearing the end of the 21st hour. In five more laps, the #10 car will pit. Jordan Taylor, will take it to the end of the race.
Tommy Milner was taken by surprise, not by a Prototype Challenge machine, but by the slower #66 RG Racing prototype. They need to wait a few laps, to get into a fuel window, and will fix the damage, so they don't have to do an extra stop. They've got the nose, and a lot of damage to the fenders. Don't damage the bodywork fasteners either. The Corvette's and one of the BMW's are 24 laps ahead of fourth place GT Le Mans runner, John Edwards, in the sister BMW.
Corvette Racing goes to work. Shane van Gisbergen (Australian V8 Supercar star), is pushing, pressuring the Viper in GT Daytona. We;ve got just three hours to go now. Besides the other endurance races, the other races 2 hours and 45 minutes. Well, we have fifteen minutes more, than a standard Tudor Championship sprint race, to go. So, anything can happen here, folks. It's going to be a close one.
Sage Karam is leading. Now, we have Corvette still in pit lane. Ooh. Debris from the Corvette wreck! Watch out! The debris, is the headlight assembly. Now, the #4 Corvette is four laps down. So, they need a full course yellow, to catch up, and make up their lost laps. Oh wow. Sage Karam forces the issue on Christian Fittipaldi, and goes for second. Go ahead, sunshine. Use up the car. Team manager Mike O'Gara is cheering Sage Karam on, saying, "go man, go!"
O'Gara took over, when Tim Keene left to join the Deltawing team. In Prototype Challenge, the #54 car continues to dominate the class. They are a lap ahead of the #16 car, with Martin Plowman at the controls. Plowman has run sports cars, and Indycars. Mark Wilkins is driving the #54 and will hand over to Colin Braun. The #52 PR1/Mathiasen machine is third in class. Andrew Palmer is driving. So, three talented drivers are racing for Prototype Challenge honors, here, in the Rolex 24. In fourth, it's Stephen Simpson. But he's well behind.
Kuno Wittmer leads GT Daytona, after winning for the factory Viper team in GT Le Mans, last year. He ran really well at Le Mans a couple years ago. Kuno Wittmer is doing his best, looking to the future. In third in GT Daytona, it's the #63 Ferrari 458 Italia, piloted by Jeff Segal. Close battles in nearly every class, as we watch the last two hours and 49 minutes of this great race, unfold. Dorsey Schroeder is running well in his first sports car race in some years.
His broadcast colleagues at Fox Sports, continue to cheer him on. Racing drivers are able to focus, and they never blink. We are now just under the length of a standard Tudor Championship event. Meanwhile, Scott Dixon can't get by car #5, with Christian Fittipaldi at the controls. Ooh. Scott Dixon wiggles, and goes deep into turn six. Now, they're back onto the straightaway. The top four cars are covered by seven seconds or so. Wow! It's shaping up to be another very close Rolex 24.
Race leaders are going to pit soon. Allan McNish is an ambassador for Audi, and a British television F1 commentator. He waved the green flag for this race. Car #10 pitted. Can BMW hang on and win this race? We'll see, as Fox Sports' Andrew Marriott interviews BMW'S Jens Marquardt. The #02 is pitting, and Scott Dixon stays in the car. Fuel, tires, and a fresh drink bottle for Dixon. He's going for a monster stint, right to the end of the race.
Sage Karam is worrid that the clutch is slipping in the #01 car. Hitting the curbs, can affect the drivelines in the cars. Can Scott Dixon and company, win another Rolex? Dixon has one, after winning nine years ago, in 2006. Max Angelelli retakes the lead now. We're working 656 laps (2,335 miles). Sage Karam's issues continue. Maybe the gearshift isn't working. We've seen lots of transmission and traction control issues in this race.
Are the lower gears afecting the performance of the car? Joey Hand is going to take over the car, as a pit stop is imminent. Was Karam dabbing the clutch? We'll see what happens. The crew was ready, and they will do a service first. Joey Hand is set to take over. Lots of quick work for the Ganassi team. There was a real miscue on the communication here. These boys are going to lose time. This will hurt Scott Pruett's chances of eclipsing the tie he has with Hurley Haywood, for Rolex 24 wins.
It is nice to see Hurley Haywood back at the track. Now, Joey Hand takes the #01 car back on track. Hurley Haywood has five overall wins, his first, for Nissan, in 1994. Rumors are that Ganassi could change categories, and if they win, this yar, could be their last running at the Rolex 24. Kevin Buckler and the #007 Aston Martin team are still running strong, carrying an onboard camera, for Fox Sports.
The #01 car continues to deal with a slipping clutch. Joey Hand has to be very gentle with the throttle, treating it like there is an egg between his foot, and the pedal. Kuno Wittmer pits, and is in the leading GT Daytona SRT Viper. Dominik Farnbacher will take over the car, for the final stint. Ditto for the #22 WeatherTech AJR Porsche. Leh Keen hands the car over to Andrew Davis for the finish. Keen and Davis, have shared cars in sports car racing before.
Second gear is becoming an issue for Joey Hand's car. Max Angelelli is still in the race lead. We are nearing the end of the 21st hour. In five more laps, the #10 car will pit. Jordan Taylor, will take it to the end of the race.
Rolex 24: Hour 20
Dorsey Schroeder is enjoying his return to a sports car cockpit after being a commentator with his Speedvision, Speed Channel, and Fox Sports colleagues. Schroeder says you cannot coast anymore. Dorsey Schroeder is back at it, for sure. Jim Pace, Byron DeFoor, David Hinton, and Doug Smith, are the other drivers. Sage Karam in the #01 Ganassi car runs a 1:40.2. Michael Valiante brings the #90 VisitFlorida.com Corvette Prototype. Mike Rockenfeller gets into the car. They have had to add water to the car. Like the #10 car, they've finally figured out their traction control.
We've got good battles through the field, following the factory Corvette's, as they run 1-2. BMW is continuing to come back after Spengler's monster off course excursion. John Edwards is back at the wheel of the second BMW. Kuno Wittmer in the Viper is also in this fight. Now, the #912 factory Porsche 911 RSR, is behind the wall. Jorg Bergmeister is at the controls. Problem is, a crankcase pressure sensor. Mike Rockenfeller was having gearshift issues in the #90 Corvette Prototype. Those issues seem to be sorted out, for the time being.
Three hours, 45 minutes, remain, in this Rolex 24. The #90 car is having issues... again... with traction control. It's affecting the transmission, too. This will hurt their lap times. They are fifth overall, four laps down. Pit stop time for Wayne Taylor Racing. The top two are in. Now, there's a pit stop for the #02 car. Both Ganassi cars run 1-2 and are on the same lap. 626 laps completed. 2,228.5 miles.
Sage Karam, on cold tires, had a tough outlap, and smoked the brakes and tires. He did not want to cook the brakes, or, flatspot the tires. It's a fine line between getting all you can, and having something you regret, happening. You cannot afford a misstep, because you are back timing this race. Who will you have in the car for the finish? Scott Dixon is going to end the race. He's going to have to run a three and a half hour stint! Kyle Larson only did a single stint. There have not been too many yellow flags so far.
The temperature is increasing, from 39 degrees this morning when we started the morning, to 52 degrees at the present time. Jordan Taylor seems comfortable with the #10 Corvette Prototype at the moment. Correction. Max Angelelli is at the controls in the #10 at this stage. A decade ago, Wayne Taylor and Max Angelelli won. If they win today, they could win in two decades, with two generations of the same family.
Meanwhile, Kris Wilson has a problem with the #009 Aston Martin V12 Vantage. Could the electrics be playing up? We have a full course yellow because of the stricken Aston. The SRT Viper's in GTD are running well, but need to watch their engine temperatures and their radiators. Drivers can start making up laps now, with this yellow flag. It is the 17th yellow of the race thus far.
Ganassi may switch, from a new nose, back to the existing nose they were using, for the sake of downforce. They've changesd from a lower downforce, to a higher one. The one it has now, has louvers, to get rid of understeer. But it is costing straightaway speed. We're going to go back to green soon, for the last three hours and fifteen minutes, as hour twenty, (due to the yellow, primarily), has seemed to just fly by.
We're ready for a restart, just past the top of the hour.
We've got good battles through the field, following the factory Corvette's, as they run 1-2. BMW is continuing to come back after Spengler's monster off course excursion. John Edwards is back at the wheel of the second BMW. Kuno Wittmer in the Viper is also in this fight. Now, the #912 factory Porsche 911 RSR, is behind the wall. Jorg Bergmeister is at the controls. Problem is, a crankcase pressure sensor. Mike Rockenfeller was having gearshift issues in the #90 Corvette Prototype. Those issues seem to be sorted out, for the time being.
Three hours, 45 minutes, remain, in this Rolex 24. The #90 car is having issues... again... with traction control. It's affecting the transmission, too. This will hurt their lap times. They are fifth overall, four laps down. Pit stop time for Wayne Taylor Racing. The top two are in. Now, there's a pit stop for the #02 car. Both Ganassi cars run 1-2 and are on the same lap. 626 laps completed. 2,228.5 miles.
Sage Karam, on cold tires, had a tough outlap, and smoked the brakes and tires. He did not want to cook the brakes, or, flatspot the tires. It's a fine line between getting all you can, and having something you regret, happening. You cannot afford a misstep, because you are back timing this race. Who will you have in the car for the finish? Scott Dixon is going to end the race. He's going to have to run a three and a half hour stint! Kyle Larson only did a single stint. There have not been too many yellow flags so far.
The temperature is increasing, from 39 degrees this morning when we started the morning, to 52 degrees at the present time. Jordan Taylor seems comfortable with the #10 Corvette Prototype at the moment. Correction. Max Angelelli is at the controls in the #10 at this stage. A decade ago, Wayne Taylor and Max Angelelli won. If they win today, they could win in two decades, with two generations of the same family.
Meanwhile, Kris Wilson has a problem with the #009 Aston Martin V12 Vantage. Could the electrics be playing up? We have a full course yellow because of the stricken Aston. The SRT Viper's in GTD are running well, but need to watch their engine temperatures and their radiators. Drivers can start making up laps now, with this yellow flag. It is the 17th yellow of the race thus far.
Ganassi may switch, from a new nose, back to the existing nose they were using, for the sake of downforce. They've changesd from a lower downforce, to a higher one. The one it has now, has louvers, to get rid of understeer. But it is costing straightaway speed. We're going to go back to green soon, for the last three hours and fifteen minutes, as hour twenty, (due to the yellow, primarily), has seemed to just fly by.
We're ready for a restart, just past the top of the hour.
Rolex 24: Hour 19
We're ready for a restart. Joao Barbosa sets the pace for the restart. Barbosa, Taylor, Kanaan, Pruett... the top four. Don't lock the brakes. Ooh. Taylor tried to dive on the inside. Not a chance. Jordan Taylor will have an advantage. No. Maybe not. Barbosa is now leading. The bloke on the outside, always loses, just like the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Tony Kanaan is now pushing, and he is right with Joao Barbosa and Jordan Taylor. The Chevrolet V8 and the Ford EcoBoost V6 are running better.
Ford changed the plumbing, turbos, intercoolers, and waste gates, to make the motor more reliable. In less than five hours, we could see these blokes going for it for the finish. It will be a battle between three teams. Ganassi, Wayne Taylor Racing, and, Action Express. This is Kyle Larson's second Rolex 24, and now, he is more comfortable, driving a sports car. Larson won the legendary Chili Bowl for open wheeled midget cars earlier this month. Can he win the Rolex 24? We'll see.
Will the leaders run in lockstep? There's no point to force the issue right now. Suss out your competition. The track conditions are going to change, and get warmer. Phil Keen continues to give the #31 Whelen Corvette Prototype a good run. Phil Keen is tryi8ng to get by A.J. Allmendinger in the Ligier Honda. Scott Pruett is dropping a ways back from the lead pack, dealing with understeer at the moment. They've got work to do in the last four and a half hours, if they are going to win.
Michael Valiante and VisitFlorida.com Racing, is going for it. The Flis Brothers, built out a flooded Mitsubishi Eclipse, and rebuilt the car, to race, 20 years ago at the Rolex 24. They finished the race with that car, and it cost them $20,000. Jan Magnussen is running well. Augusto Farfus and the BMW have come back on track, and are clawing their way back. But, as far as Andy Lally and the #44 Porsche 911 GT America, is out.
They ended up with a possum, in their front trunk area, and they are out of this event. This is the first time in 15 years that Andy Lally won't finish the Rolex 24. Game over. Corvette's are still running strong, running 1-2 in GT Le Mans. Jordan Taylor is still closing on Joao Barbosa. He is figuring out how he can win... strategizing. Scott Dixon and Joey Hand will be the finishing drivers for Ganassi.
Sebastien Bourdais may finish the race for the #5 squad. The #54 Core Autosport car is still leading Prototype Challenge. They are having a great race, just like they did last year. They've earned it this year, so far. At this point in the race, sometimes, driver's can start hearing noises. There are sixteen Nascar spotters on teams here at the Rolex 24. Former driver, Stevie Reeves, is the spotter for Core Autosport. Reeves used to drive USAC open wheel cars.
Jordan Taylor is trying to pass Joao Barbosa. They have a really good handling car right now. Joao Barbosa also has lots of experience, and has won this race, twice, including last year. He pits this lap. Oh wow. Taylor goes with him. They touch! What on earth was that?! Barbosa is serviced and sent. The #10 is as well. But, they have an advantage. The #02 is in. Tony Kanaan, out. Kyle Larson, in.
The car is ready. Slow on th driver change. The right side door on the #02 car seems like it isn't latched properly. At low speed, the door on the #02 is still not latched. So, the team will need to fix it. Sage Karam straightlines the chicane on cold tires. He ran down the back straight, stopped, and continued. A GT Daytona class Porsche is slow. It's the #19 Muelhner Motorsports machine. We're going to be in the last three or four hours, soon. The fewest mistakes, win the race.
Cameron Lawrence is at the wheel of the #22 Porsche. Now the #19 comes in. Tommy Milner takes over for Oliver Gavin in the #4 Corvette C-7-R-. They clean the windscreen as there are no tear offs remaining. The FIA did some studies and with the surgical tubing on the shoulder belts, it, was less effective. That's why it was banned, but, surgical tubing on the lap belts, is still allowed.
Ford changed the plumbing, turbos, intercoolers, and waste gates, to make the motor more reliable. In less than five hours, we could see these blokes going for it for the finish. It will be a battle between three teams. Ganassi, Wayne Taylor Racing, and, Action Express. This is Kyle Larson's second Rolex 24, and now, he is more comfortable, driving a sports car. Larson won the legendary Chili Bowl for open wheeled midget cars earlier this month. Can he win the Rolex 24? We'll see.
Will the leaders run in lockstep? There's no point to force the issue right now. Suss out your competition. The track conditions are going to change, and get warmer. Phil Keen continues to give the #31 Whelen Corvette Prototype a good run. Phil Keen is tryi8ng to get by A.J. Allmendinger in the Ligier Honda. Scott Pruett is dropping a ways back from the lead pack, dealing with understeer at the moment. They've got work to do in the last four and a half hours, if they are going to win.
Michael Valiante and VisitFlorida.com Racing, is going for it. The Flis Brothers, built out a flooded Mitsubishi Eclipse, and rebuilt the car, to race, 20 years ago at the Rolex 24. They finished the race with that car, and it cost them $20,000. Jan Magnussen is running well. Augusto Farfus and the BMW have come back on track, and are clawing their way back. But, as far as Andy Lally and the #44 Porsche 911 GT America, is out.
They ended up with a possum, in their front trunk area, and they are out of this event. This is the first time in 15 years that Andy Lally won't finish the Rolex 24. Game over. Corvette's are still running strong, running 1-2 in GT Le Mans. Jordan Taylor is still closing on Joao Barbosa. He is figuring out how he can win... strategizing. Scott Dixon and Joey Hand will be the finishing drivers for Ganassi.
Sebastien Bourdais may finish the race for the #5 squad. The #54 Core Autosport car is still leading Prototype Challenge. They are having a great race, just like they did last year. They've earned it this year, so far. At this point in the race, sometimes, driver's can start hearing noises. There are sixteen Nascar spotters on teams here at the Rolex 24. Former driver, Stevie Reeves, is the spotter for Core Autosport. Reeves used to drive USAC open wheel cars.
Jordan Taylor is trying to pass Joao Barbosa. They have a really good handling car right now. Joao Barbosa also has lots of experience, and has won this race, twice, including last year. He pits this lap. Oh wow. Taylor goes with him. They touch! What on earth was that?! Barbosa is serviced and sent. The #10 is as well. But, they have an advantage. The #02 is in. Tony Kanaan, out. Kyle Larson, in.
The car is ready. Slow on th driver change. The right side door on the #02 car seems like it isn't latched properly. At low speed, the door on the #02 is still not latched. So, the team will need to fix it. Sage Karam straightlines the chicane on cold tires. He ran down the back straight, stopped, and continued. A GT Daytona class Porsche is slow. It's the #19 Muelhner Motorsports machine. We're going to be in the last three or four hours, soon. The fewest mistakes, win the race.
Cameron Lawrence is at the wheel of the #22 Porsche. Now the #19 comes in. Tommy Milner takes over for Oliver Gavin in the #4 Corvette C-7-R-. They clean the windscreen as there are no tear offs remaining. The FIA did some studies and with the surgical tubing on the shoulder belts, it, was less effective. That's why it was banned, but, surgical tubing on the lap belts, is still allowed.
Rolex 24: Hour 18
Oh boy. The #4 Chevrolet Corvette C-7-R-, (no, both Corvette's), get passed. Oliver Gavin has a tire issue. It's a tight pack, and Gavin locks up the right front brake, allowing the #25 BMW passed. The crew is diagnosing the issue, and fix the bodywork. They jumped on it right away. The front left corner, and inner fender, need some work. Bruno Spengler leads in the #25 BMW Z4 GTE. Marc Goossens has the Viper back on track, but tenth, in GT Daytona.
Work continues on the Corvette. They have to monitor engine temperature, and now, with the new bodywork, they'll have to watch the engine temperature. Ryan Briscoe almost has contact with a Prototype Challenge car. Briscoe is trying to keep pace with Spengler. Oh no! Spengler is off the road in a big way! That grass is damp. Let's see what happens. He dives beside the PC car, late on the brakes, can't get it turned, and has a wild, wild ride. Ugh!
Spengler went for the shortest way through the wet grass. But, that didn't work out too well. Spengler will come in, and hand over to Augusto Farfus. He wants to get by a Prototype Challenge car. A year ago, a GT LM car would just blow a PC car into the weeds. Not this year. The Prototype Challenge cars are much quicker than they were.
Oliver Gavin passes, putting Corvette back to 1-2 in GT Le Mans, as Augusto Farfus will indeed take over the BMW. It used to be, err on the side of caution. Not now. Six hours from the end of the race, you still have to execute. You have to push. You cannot sandbag anymore. Watch out for the fine, silty sand underneath the grass, which could overheat your radiator. Action Express is going for a championship. They are still fighting in this motor race.
Madison Snow has a slight mishap in one of the corners. A monstrous chunk of grass came out of the BMW. Bruno Spengler made a GT LM car, the most expensive riding lawn mower, ever. The strength of the front splitter is amazing. But, the under tray in the back of the car, has been compromised quite a bit. Brian Alder has spun his Prototype Challenge car, and is somewhat stuck in the wet grass.
Jordan Taylor wants to take the lead away from Joao Barbosa. He is on the attack at the moment. Jan Magnussen will be the next driver in the #3 Corvette C-7-R-. The car has been much more reliable this year than it was last year. Bruno Spengler passes Ryan Briscoe and gets back on the lead lap. The BMW still has pace. After eighteen hours, it's WTR, Core Autosport, Corvette, and Riley Motorsports, leading points for the North American Endurance Cup.
The #31 Whelen Corvette Prototype is running well, with Phil Keen at the controls. Phil Keen has been around for a while, winning a Radical SR3 championship. He was also a British GT racer at one time. Phil Keen was fourth in last year's British GT Championship. The top speed of the BMW Z4 GTE has been improved. If Bruno Spengler can stay in front, he'll pick up another lap and be on the same lap as the Corvette, should a yellow appear.
Scott Pruett is still going for it. He is a wine maker off the track. Joao Barbosa is expected to pit, and the #10 car will also dive for pit lane, soon. The cars that go a lap longer... they can leapfrog their competitor. Monitor the fuel mileage. Jordan Taylor got hung up behind a Prototype Challenge car, entering the Bus Stop chicane. Pit stop time for the top three Prototypes. Full service stops with no driver changes. Tires for the #10. Fuel only for the #5.
Warm tires on the #5. Cold rear tires on the #10. Barbosa begins to open a gap. Track temperature will begin to warm up. The #01 Ganassi Riley Ford EcoBoost pits for four tires. With the Corvette prototypes, sometimes the traction control has continued to play up. There are sensors for pitch and yaw. The #44 Magnus Racing Porsche is smoking. There's no oil on the road. But, the motor or the gearbox, must be cooked. It's a RUD. A rapid, unintended disassembly.
Once again, Joao Barbosa continues to lead. The #60 Mike Shank Racing Ligier JS P2 Honda is still running. But, they are losing time. They are trying to make up laps. Scott Pruett brings the #01 Ganassi Riley Ford EcoBoost in, for a new nose. The #64 GT Daytona Ferrari 458 Italia has crashed. Francisco, "Chico" Longo, was at the wheel. But, it's game over, for "Chico", and that car. Goodnight.
A.J. Allmendinger is currently at the wheel of the new Ligier JS P2 Honda. Mike Shank wants to win with this car. Oswaldo Negri Jr., John Pew, A.J. Allmendinger, and Mike Shank, love it. Scott Pruett brought the #01 car into pit lane, and the nose was changed.
Work continues on the Corvette. They have to monitor engine temperature, and now, with the new bodywork, they'll have to watch the engine temperature. Ryan Briscoe almost has contact with a Prototype Challenge car. Briscoe is trying to keep pace with Spengler. Oh no! Spengler is off the road in a big way! That grass is damp. Let's see what happens. He dives beside the PC car, late on the brakes, can't get it turned, and has a wild, wild ride. Ugh!
Spengler went for the shortest way through the wet grass. But, that didn't work out too well. Spengler will come in, and hand over to Augusto Farfus. He wants to get by a Prototype Challenge car. A year ago, a GT LM car would just blow a PC car into the weeds. Not this year. The Prototype Challenge cars are much quicker than they were.
Oliver Gavin passes, putting Corvette back to 1-2 in GT Le Mans, as Augusto Farfus will indeed take over the BMW. It used to be, err on the side of caution. Not now. Six hours from the end of the race, you still have to execute. You have to push. You cannot sandbag anymore. Watch out for the fine, silty sand underneath the grass, which could overheat your radiator. Action Express is going for a championship. They are still fighting in this motor race.
Madison Snow has a slight mishap in one of the corners. A monstrous chunk of grass came out of the BMW. Bruno Spengler made a GT LM car, the most expensive riding lawn mower, ever. The strength of the front splitter is amazing. But, the under tray in the back of the car, has been compromised quite a bit. Brian Alder has spun his Prototype Challenge car, and is somewhat stuck in the wet grass.
Jordan Taylor wants to take the lead away from Joao Barbosa. He is on the attack at the moment. Jan Magnussen will be the next driver in the #3 Corvette C-7-R-. The car has been much more reliable this year than it was last year. Bruno Spengler passes Ryan Briscoe and gets back on the lead lap. The BMW still has pace. After eighteen hours, it's WTR, Core Autosport, Corvette, and Riley Motorsports, leading points for the North American Endurance Cup.
The #31 Whelen Corvette Prototype is running well, with Phil Keen at the controls. Phil Keen has been around for a while, winning a Radical SR3 championship. He was also a British GT racer at one time. Phil Keen was fourth in last year's British GT Championship. The top speed of the BMW Z4 GTE has been improved. If Bruno Spengler can stay in front, he'll pick up another lap and be on the same lap as the Corvette, should a yellow appear.
Scott Pruett is still going for it. He is a wine maker off the track. Joao Barbosa is expected to pit, and the #10 car will also dive for pit lane, soon. The cars that go a lap longer... they can leapfrog their competitor. Monitor the fuel mileage. Jordan Taylor got hung up behind a Prototype Challenge car, entering the Bus Stop chicane. Pit stop time for the top three Prototypes. Full service stops with no driver changes. Tires for the #10. Fuel only for the #5.
Warm tires on the #5. Cold rear tires on the #10. Barbosa begins to open a gap. Track temperature will begin to warm up. The #01 Ganassi Riley Ford EcoBoost pits for four tires. With the Corvette prototypes, sometimes the traction control has continued to play up. There are sensors for pitch and yaw. The #44 Magnus Racing Porsche is smoking. There's no oil on the road. But, the motor or the gearbox, must be cooked. It's a RUD. A rapid, unintended disassembly.
Once again, Joao Barbosa continues to lead. The #60 Mike Shank Racing Ligier JS P2 Honda is still running. But, they are losing time. They are trying to make up laps. Scott Pruett brings the #01 Ganassi Riley Ford EcoBoost in, for a new nose. The #64 GT Daytona Ferrari 458 Italia has crashed. Francisco, "Chico" Longo, was at the wheel. But, it's game over, for "Chico", and that car. Goodnight.
A.J. Allmendinger is currently at the wheel of the new Ligier JS P2 Honda. Mike Shank wants to win with this car. Oswaldo Negri Jr., John Pew, A.J. Allmendinger, and Mike Shank, love it. Scott Pruett brought the #01 car into pit lane, and the nose was changed.
Rolex 24: overnight update & Hour 17
For centuries, poets and politicians alike use dawn as a sign of renewal and hope. So it is, at Daytona, too. Welcome back as we go to the end of this race. We have long way to go yet. The Ganassi team cars lead this race. The strong, stay strong. Ganassi is out front, because they are probably the most prepared team. Corvette Racing leads GTLM. Now, in the highlights, there was a real bad incident between the factory Porsche's.
Here's what happened. The #10 Wayne Taylor Racing car led. But, Action Express had problems,. and worked out the issue. Team boss Gary Nelson says there was a fuel pump issue with a connector. In hour ten, Kyle Larson ran a three and a half hour stint to take over the lead. The #10 led at halfway. The #1 HPD car stalled with David Heiemeier Hanson at the controls. The #60 Ligier crashed into the tires with John Pew at the wheel.
In GT Le Mans, the #62 Ferrari of Pierre Kasffer took the lead from Wolf Henzler. The #24 BMW was hit with John Edwards at the wheel. Suspension damage and exhaust damage sent them to the garage. Pierre Kaffer was also in the pits and the #62 Risi Ferrari 458 Italia was out with terminal engine issues. The two Corvette's still lead. Now, the #912 Porsche 911 RSR was collected by his team mate arl Bamber. The Aston Martin shut the door, and both the Porsche's crashed into each otheer.
Oliver Gavin led until suffering a tire puncture. Jan Magnussen took over and battled with the sister BMW of Augusto Farfus. In Prototype Challenge, Colin Braun in the #54 Core Autosport car leads. In GT Daytona, Ben Keating in the #33 SRT Viper has been leading. We have just over seven hours to go. Tony Kanaan leads overall with Colin Braun, Antonion Garcia, and Jeff Segal, leading their classes. 43 lead changes. 40 cars still race. Thirteen, are out, of the 53 starters.A
Joey Hand just pitted and so did Ricky Taylor. Tony Kanaan will pit and also, Colin Braun just took over the #54 car. But, they had tire damage. Right now, Bruno Spengler (2012 DTM champion), is at the wheel of the #25 BMW Z4 GTE. Graham Rahal is running well in that car. Look out for the BAR1 PC car. It was down the order, until Johnny Mowlem drove an epic stint. The top six overall are all Prototypes. The top three are on the same lap. Action Express is fourth, two laps down. The top four GT Le Mans cars are all on the same lap.
The top six GT Daytona machines are all on the same lap, too. The leaders have run 522 laps (1,858 miles) so far. Action Express pits. Joao Barbosa is getting behind the wheel. There's a flash fire on the car. But, everything is OK. Mike Rockenfeller runs fifth in class and overall in the #90 Spirit of Daytona car. The #02 Ganassi Riley Ford EcoBoost has pitted, but, they are doing a brake pad change.
He's down and away. Be prepared, is the path to success in racing. It's not only the Boy Scouts motto. The Michael Shank Racing Ligier Honda is still in this one. John Pew runs sixth overall at this stage. Joey Hand has now taken over the race lead after the sister car's aforementioned pit stop. Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen are having trouble, just as the sun is rising over the Atlantic Ocean. Colin Braun in the Prototype Challenge leading Core Autosport car, has punctured a left rear tire, for th second time.
He's made it to the pits. Be patient, though. These boys have five laps in hand ovr the second place car, in class. Calm atmosphere. The tire didn't delaminate and damage the bodywork, thank goodness. What a lovely sunrise. The #17 Falken Tire Porscehe 911 RSR is still running well. This is their first Rolex 24. The team made a btake change overnight. Patrick Long is at the controls at the moment.
Here's the Patron Cup standings. Ganassi, Core Autosport,. Corvette Racing, and, Jeff Segal in the #63 Scuderia Corse Ferrari 458 Italia. Pit stop time for both Ganassi cars. Joey Hand and Tony Kanaan stay in the cars. The #02 team is going to fix the brakes and check the temperatures on the brakes. Dial in more rear brake bias, and also, back down the pace, just a little bit. Watch where the safety car is. Make sure they get to the end of pit lane, before the safety car does. We're under yellow, to clear up that stricken Porsche.
If the class leader is behind you in your field of cars, you will be waved around. That's the new rule this year. The night was cold, but with no monsoon rains, like there were on Thursday and Friday night. Viper team boss Bill Riley says the TI Automotive team is still trying to figure out what the problem is. The electronics bring great things. But, it's a nightmare when things go wrong. The VisitFlorida Corvette is pitt. Richard Westbrook is in the car.
No longer can bungee cords be used on the shoulder belts. They can on the lap belts. Spectators, who run out of firewood. But, they use an old couch to burn it looks like. Now, we're back to green. The Prototypes move ahead of the GT LM machines. Ooh. Tony Kanaan runs wide. He has passed the #01 machine. Ricky Taylor leads. They've had electrical gremlins all weekend. But they are still in it. Now, we see Corvette's racing in GT LM. One Porsche is still out there. Again, the Porsche team has just one car.
But, they'll be in this fight. Tony Kanaan is pushing Ricky Taylor. Kanaan and Scott Dixon are good drivers. Dixon is known in Verizon Indycar competition, as a master of fuel conservation, and might be able to do some of that here in the endurance sports car ranks. Tom Papadopoulos is taking the #16 Prototype Challenge car around, and SpongeBob SquarePants is still in this contest. Whoa. A PC car locks up ahead of Richard Wessbtrook. He tries to get through turn six, and slides off the road!
His traction control is on the fritz. Is it off? Is it cutting in and out? That's even worse. Be careful, and don't give it too much welly. The Corvette's have had traction control issues throughout this race. Christopher Haase is in the pits, and he lost the front bonnet. But that is not where the engine is. Rolex 24 Grand Marshal Jochen Mass is in the booth with Fox Sports. Jochen ran this race five times, and has won Le Mans. Le Mans can be easier physically. But, you have similar weather in both races.
Racing is a human sport. Mass' opinion on the Porsche crash, is that it's never good for those things to happen. Established drivers should not be doing it, and neither should young drivers. The cars are so much more durable than they used to be. Drivers used to have to manage the systems on the car. At Daytona, the cars could run pretty quick. Watch out for the loads. There was a lot more fuel used with the old Group C/GTP prototypes. The transmissions were different, too, with no paddle shifters.
Ricky Taylor and Tony Kanaan still lead. Joao Barbosa is back on the lead lap. Jochen Mass says F1 is too technical now, and that's detrimental to the interest of the sport. It has to be made more sensible. If it doesn't work 100%, then, racing doesn't make sense. Jochen says, "we've been saying that for years." Cooper MacNeil is going to have to serve a penalty for jumpiung the start. We're seeing an era of people who were in F1, going sports car racing.
Mass says of the FIA World Endurance Championship, that, it too, is getting too technical. It's hard to race that way, even though the hybrid race cars are out there. No argument for Cooper MacNeil. But, is the Falken Tire Porsche headed for the house? They may have oil issues. We are fifteen minutes away from ending the 17th hour of this race, folks.
Earl Bamber i9s currently at the wheel of the #912 Porsche 911 RSR. He is still in it. The Falken Tire Porsche is back in pit nlane. Fourteen of the 33 drivers in last year's Indy 500, started this race. James Davison is back on track, after his unfortunate wreck with the errant Ferrari last night. Prototypes in pit lane. Both Ganassi cars are in. The #02 is in front of the #01. A driver change for the #01. The #10 Corvette had some issues. Ricky Taylor is in the car. But, they had a fuel hose and a tire air wrench still attached to the car! Fuel was out. But, they pneumatic air wrench was still on the wheel nut.
Joao Barbosa now leads. The GT class cars have now pitted. Tony Kanaan is locking up the tires, trying to get temperature through the brakes as we're back to green flag racing.
Here's what happened. The #10 Wayne Taylor Racing car led. But, Action Express had problems,. and worked out the issue. Team boss Gary Nelson says there was a fuel pump issue with a connector. In hour ten, Kyle Larson ran a three and a half hour stint to take over the lead. The #10 led at halfway. The #1 HPD car stalled with David Heiemeier Hanson at the controls. The #60 Ligier crashed into the tires with John Pew at the wheel.
In GT Le Mans, the #62 Ferrari of Pierre Kasffer took the lead from Wolf Henzler. The #24 BMW was hit with John Edwards at the wheel. Suspension damage and exhaust damage sent them to the garage. Pierre Kaffer was also in the pits and the #62 Risi Ferrari 458 Italia was out with terminal engine issues. The two Corvette's still lead. Now, the #912 Porsche 911 RSR was collected by his team mate arl Bamber. The Aston Martin shut the door, and both the Porsche's crashed into each otheer.
Oliver Gavin led until suffering a tire puncture. Jan Magnussen took over and battled with the sister BMW of Augusto Farfus. In Prototype Challenge, Colin Braun in the #54 Core Autosport car leads. In GT Daytona, Ben Keating in the #33 SRT Viper has been leading. We have just over seven hours to go. Tony Kanaan leads overall with Colin Braun, Antonion Garcia, and Jeff Segal, leading their classes. 43 lead changes. 40 cars still race. Thirteen, are out, of the 53 starters.A
Joey Hand just pitted and so did Ricky Taylor. Tony Kanaan will pit and also, Colin Braun just took over the #54 car. But, they had tire damage. Right now, Bruno Spengler (2012 DTM champion), is at the wheel of the #25 BMW Z4 GTE. Graham Rahal is running well in that car. Look out for the BAR1 PC car. It was down the order, until Johnny Mowlem drove an epic stint. The top six overall are all Prototypes. The top three are on the same lap. Action Express is fourth, two laps down. The top four GT Le Mans cars are all on the same lap.
The top six GT Daytona machines are all on the same lap, too. The leaders have run 522 laps (1,858 miles) so far. Action Express pits. Joao Barbosa is getting behind the wheel. There's a flash fire on the car. But, everything is OK. Mike Rockenfeller runs fifth in class and overall in the #90 Spirit of Daytona car. The #02 Ganassi Riley Ford EcoBoost has pitted, but, they are doing a brake pad change.
He's down and away. Be prepared, is the path to success in racing. It's not only the Boy Scouts motto. The Michael Shank Racing Ligier Honda is still in this one. John Pew runs sixth overall at this stage. Joey Hand has now taken over the race lead after the sister car's aforementioned pit stop. Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen are having trouble, just as the sun is rising over the Atlantic Ocean. Colin Braun in the Prototype Challenge leading Core Autosport car, has punctured a left rear tire, for th second time.
He's made it to the pits. Be patient, though. These boys have five laps in hand ovr the second place car, in class. Calm atmosphere. The tire didn't delaminate and damage the bodywork, thank goodness. What a lovely sunrise. The #17 Falken Tire Porscehe 911 RSR is still running well. This is their first Rolex 24. The team made a btake change overnight. Patrick Long is at the controls at the moment.
Here's the Patron Cup standings. Ganassi, Core Autosport,. Corvette Racing, and, Jeff Segal in the #63 Scuderia Corse Ferrari 458 Italia. Pit stop time for both Ganassi cars. Joey Hand and Tony Kanaan stay in the cars. The #02 team is going to fix the brakes and check the temperatures on the brakes. Dial in more rear brake bias, and also, back down the pace, just a little bit. Watch where the safety car is. Make sure they get to the end of pit lane, before the safety car does. We're under yellow, to clear up that stricken Porsche.
If the class leader is behind you in your field of cars, you will be waved around. That's the new rule this year. The night was cold, but with no monsoon rains, like there were on Thursday and Friday night. Viper team boss Bill Riley says the TI Automotive team is still trying to figure out what the problem is. The electronics bring great things. But, it's a nightmare when things go wrong. The VisitFlorida Corvette is pitt. Richard Westbrook is in the car.
No longer can bungee cords be used on the shoulder belts. They can on the lap belts. Spectators, who run out of firewood. But, they use an old couch to burn it looks like. Now, we're back to green. The Prototypes move ahead of the GT LM machines. Ooh. Tony Kanaan runs wide. He has passed the #01 machine. Ricky Taylor leads. They've had electrical gremlins all weekend. But they are still in it. Now, we see Corvette's racing in GT LM. One Porsche is still out there. Again, the Porsche team has just one car.
But, they'll be in this fight. Tony Kanaan is pushing Ricky Taylor. Kanaan and Scott Dixon are good drivers. Dixon is known in Verizon Indycar competition, as a master of fuel conservation, and might be able to do some of that here in the endurance sports car ranks. Tom Papadopoulos is taking the #16 Prototype Challenge car around, and SpongeBob SquarePants is still in this contest. Whoa. A PC car locks up ahead of Richard Wessbtrook. He tries to get through turn six, and slides off the road!
His traction control is on the fritz. Is it off? Is it cutting in and out? That's even worse. Be careful, and don't give it too much welly. The Corvette's have had traction control issues throughout this race. Christopher Haase is in the pits, and he lost the front bonnet. But that is not where the engine is. Rolex 24 Grand Marshal Jochen Mass is in the booth with Fox Sports. Jochen ran this race five times, and has won Le Mans. Le Mans can be easier physically. But, you have similar weather in both races.
Racing is a human sport. Mass' opinion on the Porsche crash, is that it's never good for those things to happen. Established drivers should not be doing it, and neither should young drivers. The cars are so much more durable than they used to be. Drivers used to have to manage the systems on the car. At Daytona, the cars could run pretty quick. Watch out for the loads. There was a lot more fuel used with the old Group C/GTP prototypes. The transmissions were different, too, with no paddle shifters.
Ricky Taylor and Tony Kanaan still lead. Joao Barbosa is back on the lead lap. Jochen Mass says F1 is too technical now, and that's detrimental to the interest of the sport. It has to be made more sensible. If it doesn't work 100%, then, racing doesn't make sense. Jochen says, "we've been saying that for years." Cooper MacNeil is going to have to serve a penalty for jumpiung the start. We're seeing an era of people who were in F1, going sports car racing.
Mass says of the FIA World Endurance Championship, that, it too, is getting too technical. It's hard to race that way, even though the hybrid race cars are out there. No argument for Cooper MacNeil. But, is the Falken Tire Porsche headed for the house? They may have oil issues. We are fifteen minutes away from ending the 17th hour of this race, folks.
Earl Bamber i9s currently at the wheel of the #912 Porsche 911 RSR. He is still in it. The Falken Tire Porsche is back in pit nlane. Fourteen of the 33 drivers in last year's Indy 500, started this race. James Davison is back on track, after his unfortunate wreck with the errant Ferrari last night. Prototypes in pit lane. Both Ganassi cars are in. The #02 is in front of the #01. A driver change for the #01. The #10 Corvette had some issues. Ricky Taylor is in the car. But, they had a fuel hose and a tire air wrench still attached to the car! Fuel was out. But, they pneumatic air wrench was still on the wheel nut.
Joao Barbosa now leads. The GT class cars have now pitted. Tony Kanaan is locking up the tires, trying to get temperature through the brakes as we're back to green flag racing.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Rolex 24: Hour 7
In GT LM, it's still a battle between Corvette, Ferrari, and Porsche. Magnussen, Beretta, Tandy. Joey Hand leads overall. 217 laps completed. 772 and a half miles. We have our sixth full course yellow, and a big wreck for the #51 AF Corse Ferrari, as well as the #007 Aston Martin. The Ferrari of Francois Perrodo, is toasted, with a busted radiator, and Brandon Davis, has damage to the front end and also to the suspension and the brakes. Prototypes are modular and come together like a big set of Lego's. GT cars don't.
The #81 and #51 crashed, and Francois Perrodo, was in the middle of the road. Brandon Davis was fine, and then, Francois pulled in, and clobbered the Aston Martin, giving team boss Kevin Buckler, a heart attack. I don't think Perrodo ever saw Brandon Davis. We're going to be coming to the end of the first day of coverage, folks. If you want to follow the overnight on IMSA.com, go ahead, folks. You might not get the best footage, depending on your connection. Yours truly is going to go to bed.
The temperature drops and the wind dies down as the night falls. It will be 39 degrees overnight, which is cold. Great for the engines. Not for the drivers who aren't in the cars. We'll be back at 6AM tomorrow, to go through to the conclusion of this great race. The stewards will surely analyze this latest accident as we watch it again. Brandon Davis has nowhere to go when Francois Perodo moves over, and... ker-runch!
The #02 car pits for a brief stop. Tony Kanaan is stillo at the controls... seventh overall. Play it smart under yellow, and you can get a lap back, or more than a lap. There was a nose change, too, probably for better headlights for the darkness. The #912 Porsche went down seven laps with an alternator issue. They are a lap down to the class leader. That's amazing. Green flag is back out. Sebastien Bourdais nails it, and is under attack from Ricky Taylor.
Another spin, and more contact among the Prototype cars, while the GTD cars fling debris all over the road. For the lead, it's Taylor vs. Bourdais. No pro wants to be passed on the outside of the kink as they fly up onto the banking again. Whoops. The #11 PC car is off. He was punted off the road. Bourdais stretches a lead over Ricky Taylor through Nascar turns three and four. How does anyone get through those accordion effects? The defending Prototype Challenge champions are in trouble.
Colin Braun has a flat left rear tire. He's on the apron in the tri-oval. Ricky Taylor is drafting Sebastien Bourdais. Core Autosport does pit and goes for fuel and four tires. No body damage to the car. Touch wood. No rush. Ricky Taylor is continuing to hound Bourdais. He had a shallow line in the Bus Stop. Ricky Taylor is catching up. In GT Le Mans, Nick Tandy leads with the factory #911 Porsche 911 RSR. They are separated by a very small amount. Jan Magnussen is pushing in the Corvette.
Alex Popow leads Prototype Challenge in the #8 Martini liveried Prototype Challenge racer. Popow is from Venezuela. PC has been the action class so far as Tony Kanaan flies around the outside. Popow hists pit lane. In GT Daytona, Dominik Farnbacher has the SRT Viper out front. There's debris after the earlier fracas. Farnbacher has a slight lead over Bill Sweedler's Ferrari, and Dion von Moltke's Audi. We're almost ready to sign off for tonight, fol;ks.
The #10 Corvette Prototype is leading overall. Jan Magnussen will have to get out of the Corvette C-7-R- and let Ryan Briscoe and Antonio Garcia, drive. The #7 Starworks car is running eighth overall in the hands of Ryan Hunter-Reay. Brendon Hartley and Rubens Barrichello are running well, too. Hartley has not driven the new Porsche 919 evolution yet. He'll be able to drive it, soon. The team is in a better spot than last year.
Patrick Pilet echoes the sentiments that teams have to stay out of trouble, keep pushing, and keep racing. Pilet is a factory Porsche GT driver. Don't take any risks during the night. When the morning comes... charge. Tweak your driver lineups. Back time the race to see who will take the car home towards the end, and this is true for all four classes. Put your strongest night drivers in the car. These cars are banged up, as we are only 1/3rd of the way home. We'll see you at 6AM central time tomorrow morning to find out, everyone.
GT Daytona is a superb class, even though it's the fourth class. It's going to be wild in GTD and in GT LM. GT LM is on it, racing cars we'd all dream of owning ourselves. This one is going to go to the wire. Sixteen prototypes... eight have led. 21 lead changes. We'll have all the highlights tomorrow morning. Porsche is running hard to stay with Corvette. What a race this is. Feel the traffic out, settle down, and go for it. We'll see you tomorrow morning at 6AM straight to the end.
Day one. Done. Night, to come. See you tomorrow. Have a great night, folks.
The #81 and #51 crashed, and Francois Perrodo, was in the middle of the road. Brandon Davis was fine, and then, Francois pulled in, and clobbered the Aston Martin, giving team boss Kevin Buckler, a heart attack. I don't think Perrodo ever saw Brandon Davis. We're going to be coming to the end of the first day of coverage, folks. If you want to follow the overnight on IMSA.com, go ahead, folks. You might not get the best footage, depending on your connection. Yours truly is going to go to bed.
The temperature drops and the wind dies down as the night falls. It will be 39 degrees overnight, which is cold. Great for the engines. Not for the drivers who aren't in the cars. We'll be back at 6AM tomorrow, to go through to the conclusion of this great race. The stewards will surely analyze this latest accident as we watch it again. Brandon Davis has nowhere to go when Francois Perodo moves over, and... ker-runch!
The #02 car pits for a brief stop. Tony Kanaan is stillo at the controls... seventh overall. Play it smart under yellow, and you can get a lap back, or more than a lap. There was a nose change, too, probably for better headlights for the darkness. The #912 Porsche went down seven laps with an alternator issue. They are a lap down to the class leader. That's amazing. Green flag is back out. Sebastien Bourdais nails it, and is under attack from Ricky Taylor.
Another spin, and more contact among the Prototype cars, while the GTD cars fling debris all over the road. For the lead, it's Taylor vs. Bourdais. No pro wants to be passed on the outside of the kink as they fly up onto the banking again. Whoops. The #11 PC car is off. He was punted off the road. Bourdais stretches a lead over Ricky Taylor through Nascar turns three and four. How does anyone get through those accordion effects? The defending Prototype Challenge champions are in trouble.
Colin Braun has a flat left rear tire. He's on the apron in the tri-oval. Ricky Taylor is drafting Sebastien Bourdais. Core Autosport does pit and goes for fuel and four tires. No body damage to the car. Touch wood. No rush. Ricky Taylor is continuing to hound Bourdais. He had a shallow line in the Bus Stop. Ricky Taylor is catching up. In GT Le Mans, Nick Tandy leads with the factory #911 Porsche 911 RSR. They are separated by a very small amount. Jan Magnussen is pushing in the Corvette.
Alex Popow leads Prototype Challenge in the #8 Martini liveried Prototype Challenge racer. Popow is from Venezuela. PC has been the action class so far as Tony Kanaan flies around the outside. Popow hists pit lane. In GT Daytona, Dominik Farnbacher has the SRT Viper out front. There's debris after the earlier fracas. Farnbacher has a slight lead over Bill Sweedler's Ferrari, and Dion von Moltke's Audi. We're almost ready to sign off for tonight, fol;ks.
The #10 Corvette Prototype is leading overall. Jan Magnussen will have to get out of the Corvette C-7-R- and let Ryan Briscoe and Antonio Garcia, drive. The #7 Starworks car is running eighth overall in the hands of Ryan Hunter-Reay. Brendon Hartley and Rubens Barrichello are running well, too. Hartley has not driven the new Porsche 919 evolution yet. He'll be able to drive it, soon. The team is in a better spot than last year.
Patrick Pilet echoes the sentiments that teams have to stay out of trouble, keep pushing, and keep racing. Pilet is a factory Porsche GT driver. Don't take any risks during the night. When the morning comes... charge. Tweak your driver lineups. Back time the race to see who will take the car home towards the end, and this is true for all four classes. Put your strongest night drivers in the car. These cars are banged up, as we are only 1/3rd of the way home. We'll see you at 6AM central time tomorrow morning to find out, everyone.
GT Daytona is a superb class, even though it's the fourth class. It's going to be wild in GTD and in GT LM. GT LM is on it, racing cars we'd all dream of owning ourselves. This one is going to go to the wire. Sixteen prototypes... eight have led. 21 lead changes. We'll have all the highlights tomorrow morning. Porsche is running hard to stay with Corvette. What a race this is. Feel the traffic out, settle down, and go for it. We'll see you tomorrow morning at 6AM straight to the end.
Day one. Done. Night, to come. See you tomorrow. Have a great night, folks.
Rolex 24: Hour 6
Less than a minute to go to award bonus points for the North American Endurance Cup. A.J. Allmendinger drops fast lap to 1:39.9 as Andrew Novich drops wheels in the #52 Prototype Challenge machine. Joey Hand uses the Aston Martin as a pick to pass. Don't hit anything, and don't hit anyone. Especially, not your team mate. Here are the NAEC points. There will be more points at 12 and 24 hours.
Prototype: #01 Chip Ganassi Racing - Joey Hand
Prototype Challenge: #54 CORE Autosport - Mark Wilkins
GT LM: #3 Corvette Racing - Jan Magnussen
GT Daytona: #93 Viperexchange.com Racing - Kuno Wittmer
Tor Graves has spun the #7 Starworks Riley BMW. Tor Graves has won three times in the FIA World Endurance Championship. But, he has not run in one of these cars, sharing with Ryan Hunter-Reay, Rubens Barrichello, and Brendon Hartley. Tor Graves cannot get the Starworks prototype restarted. Graves is from Thailand. There was a Prince, from Thailand... Prince Bira, who ran in Formula One for a while. The car restarts. More pit action.
Tons of action for Prototypes in the pits. Tony Kanaan came in at an odd angle. But, service was done. Both Ganassi cars had quick stops and so did Action Express Racing, with Sebastien Bourdais at the wheel. Pits are open for the GT classes as we wait for another green flag with seventeen and a half hours to go. The #22 WeatherTech Porsche is in. Alex Job was awarded the Bob Snodgrass award. Bob Snodgrass, was the late, great founder, of Brumos Porsche.
17-year-old Matt McMurry takes over for A.J. Allmendinger. Allmendinger has run ten Rolex 24's and he's won this race before. Allmendinger is asking questions about the right things to do to save fuel. Lug it and trundle around on the starter motor. Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney, and A.J. Foyt, could all race a bunch of different cars. That versatility in motorsports, is rare. A Mazda has now led in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
There's still a long way to go. Mazda wants to go to Le Mans. They are working on going to Europe with the FIA and the ACO's blessing. Not yet. Mazda is the only Japanese company to win Le Mans of course. The #02 Ganassi car is in the garage, getting the front splitter fixed. It's more efficient to work in the garage, because you gewt to have more people in the garage than in the pits. The nose boxes are now attached to the frames of the cars, and are not separate units like they used to be.
Corvette Racing wants to win in class at Daytona. They know they cannot win overall like they did way back in 2001. But, they are taking steps to win the championship. Finish races, and make the podium in every race. Car #02 is back on track. Tony Kanaan is out of the pits. But... still undder yellow. You've picked a fine time to leave me loose wheel. This tire is warming itself as it rolls down the lane. Francois Perrodo has lost his tire. His Ferrari 458 Italia, is now, a tricycle.
Finger trouble, and maybe one of his crew guys did not get it properly tightened down. Whoops. Another spin for a prototype. This is the #51 Ferrari of AF Corse. Now, the #02 Ganassi car is going to come back to pit lane to examine things. They did a splash and dash on fuel, and they are still eyeballing the nose. They've gone a lap down. But, one lap, is nothing in an endurance sports car race like the Rolex 24.
In replay, we see that Kanaan thudded a curb in the Bus Stop, running over the dirt, under yellow. He ran wide through the chicane, launching it over the curbs. The #51 Ferrari has a new wheel, with no dasmage. Sadly, the #57 Krohn Racing Ligier Judd, is out. They motor done blew up. Game over for the green car. Back to green, we have calamity corner, and a crash, bang, wallop. Gently, boys. Chain reaction, on cold tires.
Sebastien Bourdais wants by Joey Hand. Don't slide on the oil dry, trying to be a hero, because, you will crash into the fence. Guaranteed. The GT class cars are working their way through the tri-oval. In the old days, with no lights, it was truly dark. The lights are only lit 30%. Full lighting, like the Nascar boys use, would be blinding. If you are an armchair enthusiast, like me, go to an endurance sports car race.
There's lots more access to sports car drivers. They are used to it. Brandon Davis is at the wheel of the #007 Aston Martin V12 Vantage. What a gorgeous noise from the V12 motor! There is also the thunderous V8 Aston Martin. Pedro Lamy is in his civies (street clothes). But, he'll drive again soon. He is doing a full season in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Pedro Lamy is a former Formula One driver, who has done awesome things in sports cars, too. He's been doing it for 25 years.
Pedro Lamy ran for the Lotus F1 team, and his team mate was a young, future F1 champ... Mika Hakkinen. Olivier Berretta, is also an ex-F1 driver, who is now running for Ferrari. He was running for Corvette Racing. They let him go, and so, every time he sees the yellow cars, he probably is like, "OK, I'm not goiung to take this, sitting down. Eat my dust!" The #70 Mazda SkyActive diesel racer, has been retired, due to oil pump failure. That's only the third retirement in this race. Wow. But, there's sure to be lots more.
Ben Keating leads GT Daytona in the #33 SRT Viper, with Townsend Bell in the #63 Scuderia Corse Ferrari, in second. He won this race with Level 5 Motorsports, last year, with another Ferrari 458. Scotland's Rory Butcher is running well in the Tully's Coffee Porsche... known as The Coffee Rocket, along with Mike Skeen, Kuba Giermaziak, and car owner, Michael Avenatti.
Prototype: #01 Chip Ganassi Racing - Joey Hand
Prototype Challenge: #54 CORE Autosport - Mark Wilkins
GT LM: #3 Corvette Racing - Jan Magnussen
GT Daytona: #93 Viperexchange.com Racing - Kuno Wittmer
Tor Graves has spun the #7 Starworks Riley BMW. Tor Graves has won three times in the FIA World Endurance Championship. But, he has not run in one of these cars, sharing with Ryan Hunter-Reay, Rubens Barrichello, and Brendon Hartley. Tor Graves cannot get the Starworks prototype restarted. Graves is from Thailand. There was a Prince, from Thailand... Prince Bira, who ran in Formula One for a while. The car restarts. More pit action.
Tons of action for Prototypes in the pits. Tony Kanaan came in at an odd angle. But, service was done. Both Ganassi cars had quick stops and so did Action Express Racing, with Sebastien Bourdais at the wheel. Pits are open for the GT classes as we wait for another green flag with seventeen and a half hours to go. The #22 WeatherTech Porsche is in. Alex Job was awarded the Bob Snodgrass award. Bob Snodgrass, was the late, great founder, of Brumos Porsche.
17-year-old Matt McMurry takes over for A.J. Allmendinger. Allmendinger has run ten Rolex 24's and he's won this race before. Allmendinger is asking questions about the right things to do to save fuel. Lug it and trundle around on the starter motor. Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney, and A.J. Foyt, could all race a bunch of different cars. That versatility in motorsports, is rare. A Mazda has now led in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
There's still a long way to go. Mazda wants to go to Le Mans. They are working on going to Europe with the FIA and the ACO's blessing. Not yet. Mazda is the only Japanese company to win Le Mans of course. The #02 Ganassi car is in the garage, getting the front splitter fixed. It's more efficient to work in the garage, because you gewt to have more people in the garage than in the pits. The nose boxes are now attached to the frames of the cars, and are not separate units like they used to be.
Corvette Racing wants to win in class at Daytona. They know they cannot win overall like they did way back in 2001. But, they are taking steps to win the championship. Finish races, and make the podium in every race. Car #02 is back on track. Tony Kanaan is out of the pits. But... still undder yellow. You've picked a fine time to leave me loose wheel. This tire is warming itself as it rolls down the lane. Francois Perrodo has lost his tire. His Ferrari 458 Italia, is now, a tricycle.
Finger trouble, and maybe one of his crew guys did not get it properly tightened down. Whoops. Another spin for a prototype. This is the #51 Ferrari of AF Corse. Now, the #02 Ganassi car is going to come back to pit lane to examine things. They did a splash and dash on fuel, and they are still eyeballing the nose. They've gone a lap down. But, one lap, is nothing in an endurance sports car race like the Rolex 24.
In replay, we see that Kanaan thudded a curb in the Bus Stop, running over the dirt, under yellow. He ran wide through the chicane, launching it over the curbs. The #51 Ferrari has a new wheel, with no dasmage. Sadly, the #57 Krohn Racing Ligier Judd, is out. They motor done blew up. Game over for the green car. Back to green, we have calamity corner, and a crash, bang, wallop. Gently, boys. Chain reaction, on cold tires.
Sebastien Bourdais wants by Joey Hand. Don't slide on the oil dry, trying to be a hero, because, you will crash into the fence. Guaranteed. The GT class cars are working their way through the tri-oval. In the old days, with no lights, it was truly dark. The lights are only lit 30%. Full lighting, like the Nascar boys use, would be blinding. If you are an armchair enthusiast, like me, go to an endurance sports car race.
There's lots more access to sports car drivers. They are used to it. Brandon Davis is at the wheel of the #007 Aston Martin V12 Vantage. What a gorgeous noise from the V12 motor! There is also the thunderous V8 Aston Martin. Pedro Lamy is in his civies (street clothes). But, he'll drive again soon. He is doing a full season in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Pedro Lamy is a former Formula One driver, who has done awesome things in sports cars, too. He's been doing it for 25 years.
Pedro Lamy ran for the Lotus F1 team, and his team mate was a young, future F1 champ... Mika Hakkinen. Olivier Berretta, is also an ex-F1 driver, who is now running for Ferrari. He was running for Corvette Racing. They let him go, and so, every time he sees the yellow cars, he probably is like, "OK, I'm not goiung to take this, sitting down. Eat my dust!" The #70 Mazda SkyActive diesel racer, has been retired, due to oil pump failure. That's only the third retirement in this race. Wow. But, there's sure to be lots more.
Ben Keating leads GT Daytona in the #33 SRT Viper, with Townsend Bell in the #63 Scuderia Corse Ferrari, in second. He won this race with Level 5 Motorsports, last year, with another Ferrari 458. Scotland's Rory Butcher is running well in the Tully's Coffee Porsche... known as The Coffee Rocket, along with Mike Skeen, Kuba Giermaziak, and car owner, Michael Avenatti.
Rolex 24: Hour 5
Joey Hand is still leading overall in this race. The #911 Porsche pits, with Marc Lieb at the wheel. Ruam Dalziel is driving the #1 HPD ARX-04b. Right now, the team is happy with where they are. They are putting miles and laps into the car. Dalziel has won Sebring, Daytona, Le Mans, Petit Le Mans, and open wheel racing. The talent levels are immense. The team has had bell housing and transmission issues.
Mark Wilkins is running well in the #54 CORE Autosport Prototype Challenge car. Lots of really good drivers are in this race. Wilkins has won Daytona, Sebring, and Petit Le Mans. He is a plug and play driver. The #63 Ferrari pits in GT Daytona, for new, cold Continental tires, and, a new driver. The toughest corner on this whole track, is the curve at the end of pit lane. Do not crash leaving the pits on cold tires.
Leh Keen pits the #22 WeatherTech AJR Porsche. Cooper MacNeil might get in. Andrew Davis, is the fourth driver in that car. Ryan Briscoe leads GT LM in the #3 Corvette C-7-R-, while Joey Hand still leads overall. Dirk Werner is applying the blowtorch to Ryan Briscoe. Wow. The BMW Z4 has great downforce, but doesn't cut through thge air like the Corvette C-7-R- does. They have a little higher rev limit on their V8 engine. Towards the second half of the straight, he's coming. Deep on the brakes, no dice for the BMW.
The brake bias moves to the front. Corvette has the mid range power, and the top speed is not too different. They get passed by Alex Brundle in the #57 Krohn Racing Ligier Judd. The #912 Porsche is there, but not in the same fight. Dirk Werner at the controls of the BMW at the moment. Werner still has the edge as he closes on the Porsche. IMSA is giving some of these blokes more performance. BMW could not win last year. At a certain part of the straight, they are being gapped.
GTLM is quasi-factory, and GTD is privateer. Leh Keen, like other drivers, says, put laps in now., and push, push, push towards the end of the race. That is the name of the game in endurance sports car racing, folks, and what this blog is all about. Watcb tbe clock for points. This is crucial for Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, and Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.
The #01 Riley Ford is pitting. Lots of debris on the car, and in the grille area. No adjustments to the Ganassi racers right now. The #57 car of Alex Brundle is pitting again. Once again, this is a Ligier with a Judd motor. Sebastien Bourdais is at the wheel of the #5 Action Express Corvette. Fuel only on that stop. Max Angelelli is the overall race leader at the moment. The #90 car has also pitted, with Richard Westbrook now in the cockpit.
#60 pits now. A clean stop, for fuel, more or less. Nothing more. Whoops. There were tires, for A.J. Allmendinger. Issues for Magnus Racing and the #44 Porsche 911 GT America. Andy Lally at the wheel. #02 is in. They are single stinting tires. Jamie McMurray, out. Tony Kanaan, in. Full course yellow due to Lally's shemozzle with his slow Porsche. Andy Lally could not get back to the pits. He'll be towed back on the wrecker.
Max Angelelli was leading. But he had to pit, which will move him back. We are now under a full course yellow. It was a transmission issue for Andy Lally. The #10 of Max Angelelli is in the pits for a scheduled stop. Butr, he was caught out, because of being in the pits under yellow. You can only pit under yellow if you need a repair, or you will be penalized. They are out of sequence, and might be haivn an engine problem.
Under yellow, pit stops take place for GT LM cars, including both factory Corvette's. Joey Hand, Scott Pruett, Charlie Kimball, and Sage Karam, still lead this race. Core Autosport leads Prototype Challenge. Corvette's and the Risi Ferrari are leading GT Le Mans. Scuderia Corse leads GT Daytona. We continue under the safety car, and now, the wave by. Don't disadvantage a lower class car, and also, you will automatically get a lap back on a wave by.
Jan Magnussen is now in the #3 Corvette. Take care of the equipment. Heat the tire by using the brake pedal to generate heat through the calipers. We're green again. Some moves are being made. Everyone can pass when the green flag waves. Currently, it's a Ganassi 1-2. Sebastien Bourdais is going for it. We're nearly 1/4 of the way through the Rolex 24. But, there's a long, long way to go as of yet.
Daytona International Speedway is shrouded in darkness. Eleven hours of pitch black, before morning comes. We are now ready to award the first points in the 2015 North American Endurance Cup. Sprint for ten minutes, for the points. As we run, the two Ganassi cars are first and second. GT LM has gone over well. In the long night ahead, some will press on, and others will retire. Scott Pruett and Joey Hand will team up for all the races in the Tudor Championship for Ganassi Racing this year.
Hand, Kanaan, Allmendinger, Bourdais, and Angelelli, the top five. Mark Wilkins leads Prototype Challenge. Jan Magnussen leads GT Le Mans. Kuno Wittmer leads GT Daytona. We have seen four yellows in the first six hours.
Mark Wilkins is running well in the #54 CORE Autosport Prototype Challenge car. Lots of really good drivers are in this race. Wilkins has won Daytona, Sebring, and Petit Le Mans. He is a plug and play driver. The #63 Ferrari pits in GT Daytona, for new, cold Continental tires, and, a new driver. The toughest corner on this whole track, is the curve at the end of pit lane. Do not crash leaving the pits on cold tires.
Leh Keen pits the #22 WeatherTech AJR Porsche. Cooper MacNeil might get in. Andrew Davis, is the fourth driver in that car. Ryan Briscoe leads GT LM in the #3 Corvette C-7-R-, while Joey Hand still leads overall. Dirk Werner is applying the blowtorch to Ryan Briscoe. Wow. The BMW Z4 has great downforce, but doesn't cut through thge air like the Corvette C-7-R- does. They have a little higher rev limit on their V8 engine. Towards the second half of the straight, he's coming. Deep on the brakes, no dice for the BMW.
The brake bias moves to the front. Corvette has the mid range power, and the top speed is not too different. They get passed by Alex Brundle in the #57 Krohn Racing Ligier Judd. The #912 Porsche is there, but not in the same fight. Dirk Werner at the controls of the BMW at the moment. Werner still has the edge as he closes on the Porsche. IMSA is giving some of these blokes more performance. BMW could not win last year. At a certain part of the straight, they are being gapped.
GTLM is quasi-factory, and GTD is privateer. Leh Keen, like other drivers, says, put laps in now., and push, push, push towards the end of the race. That is the name of the game in endurance sports car racing, folks, and what this blog is all about. Watcb tbe clock for points. This is crucial for Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, and Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.
The #01 Riley Ford is pitting. Lots of debris on the car, and in the grille area. No adjustments to the Ganassi racers right now. The #57 car of Alex Brundle is pitting again. Once again, this is a Ligier with a Judd motor. Sebastien Bourdais is at the wheel of the #5 Action Express Corvette. Fuel only on that stop. Max Angelelli is the overall race leader at the moment. The #90 car has also pitted, with Richard Westbrook now in the cockpit.
#60 pits now. A clean stop, for fuel, more or less. Nothing more. Whoops. There were tires, for A.J. Allmendinger. Issues for Magnus Racing and the #44 Porsche 911 GT America. Andy Lally at the wheel. #02 is in. They are single stinting tires. Jamie McMurray, out. Tony Kanaan, in. Full course yellow due to Lally's shemozzle with his slow Porsche. Andy Lally could not get back to the pits. He'll be towed back on the wrecker.
Max Angelelli was leading. But he had to pit, which will move him back. We are now under a full course yellow. It was a transmission issue for Andy Lally. The #10 of Max Angelelli is in the pits for a scheduled stop. Butr, he was caught out, because of being in the pits under yellow. You can only pit under yellow if you need a repair, or you will be penalized. They are out of sequence, and might be haivn an engine problem.
Under yellow, pit stops take place for GT LM cars, including both factory Corvette's. Joey Hand, Scott Pruett, Charlie Kimball, and Sage Karam, still lead this race. Core Autosport leads Prototype Challenge. Corvette's and the Risi Ferrari are leading GT Le Mans. Scuderia Corse leads GT Daytona. We continue under the safety car, and now, the wave by. Don't disadvantage a lower class car, and also, you will automatically get a lap back on a wave by.
Jan Magnussen is now in the #3 Corvette. Take care of the equipment. Heat the tire by using the brake pedal to generate heat through the calipers. We're green again. Some moves are being made. Everyone can pass when the green flag waves. Currently, it's a Ganassi 1-2. Sebastien Bourdais is going for it. We're nearly 1/4 of the way through the Rolex 24. But, there's a long, long way to go as of yet.
Daytona International Speedway is shrouded in darkness. Eleven hours of pitch black, before morning comes. We are now ready to award the first points in the 2015 North American Endurance Cup. Sprint for ten minutes, for the points. As we run, the two Ganassi cars are first and second. GT LM has gone over well. In the long night ahead, some will press on, and others will retire. Scott Pruett and Joey Hand will team up for all the races in the Tudor Championship for Ganassi Racing this year.
Hand, Kanaan, Allmendinger, Bourdais, and Angelelli, the top five. Mark Wilkins leads Prototype Challenge. Jan Magnussen leads GT Le Mans. Kuno Wittmer leads GT Daytona. We have seen four yellows in the first six hours.
Rolex 24: Hour 4
David Heinemeier-Hanson spins, as Max Angelelli is into the #10 car and the #02 car pits. Ganassi is much more on top of their game than they were last year. They've had time to massage and work with the Ford EcoBoost V6 engine package, and have done more to practice pit stops, obviously. Christian Fittipaldi has moved up to second, and he's booking it, even though Karam is steadily incresing his lead. The #10 Wayne Taylor Racing machine, is starting to recover. The car has had electrical issues through the weekend, according to Jordan Taylor. But, things seem to be getting better.
Fittipaldi is struggling, and Max Angelelli, (currently in the #10 car, and signed for the endurance races), is hanging in there. Angelelli is a real scrapper. A.J. Allmendinger has taken over the #60 Michael Shank Racing Ligier Honda. Allmendinger is another driver who yours truly would call a "scrapper". Sean Johnston leads Prototype Challenge in the Performance Tech entry. He was a video gamer who played racing video games, and is now in th fourth year of his races. Johnston has run in Germany, and speaks fluent German.
Johnston did not win the prize. But, he wants to be a Porsche factory driver. You can become a racing driver, from video games. Jann Mardenborough and Lucas Ordonez, have done it. GT Daytona leader, (the #63 Scuderia Corse Ferrari), is in. Anthony Lazzaro, Townsend Bell, Bill Sweedler, and Jeff Westphal, are also on the driver's strength. The #22 AJR Porsche also pits with Shane van Gisbergen at the wheel. van Gisbergen is a veteran of Australian V8 Supercars, and still competes on that circuit.
Corvette Racing has always had great driver teams. But, crew chief Dan Binks says that this is the best of the lineups they've had with Ryan Briscoe and Simon Pagenaud. Madison Snow is down in the order in GTD. He balks both Leh Keen and Christopher Haase. Snow in a Porsche. Haase in an Audi. Dion von Moltke and Christopher Haase will drive together for the full season, as Bryce Miller will do only the endurance races.
Kuba Giermaziak locks the brakes. He is dealing with passing Madison Snow. Jamie McMurray passes Christian Fittipaldi. Starworks and teasm boss Peter Baron says that their motor is throttled back, and thus, they are four or five miles an hour slower with their car than they'd like. Graham Rahal was in pit lane, eighth in GT Le Mans. They had some work to do on the body. He is now three laps down.
The car raises up and pulls right under braking. So, there are handling issues for the BMW Z4 GTE right now, that could also be a suspension problem. The #49 Ferrari is also having some power issues. Pasin Lathouras is at the controls of that car at the moment. Car #01 makes another scheduled pit stop. Sage Karam stays in the car and the #10 takes over the race lead. We have not had many yellow flags. But, there could be a rash of them. You never know.
Action Express double stints the tires, putting on new tires. Sebastien Bourdais takes over from Christian Fittiipaldi. The #02 car pits for four tires, and also , a quick driver change wiuth The #52 Prototype Challenge machine of Mike Guasch, spinning. Guasch was Prototype Challenge champion in the Amercian Le Mans Series. Joey Hand has now taken over the #01 Ganassi Riley Ford EcoBoost machine.
Anthony Lazzaro leads in the GT Daytona class in the #63 Scuderia Corse Ferrari 458 Italia. The Viper's are also in the hunt in GTD. Joey Hand leads this race overall.
Fittipaldi is struggling, and Max Angelelli, (currently in the #10 car, and signed for the endurance races), is hanging in there. Angelelli is a real scrapper. A.J. Allmendinger has taken over the #60 Michael Shank Racing Ligier Honda. Allmendinger is another driver who yours truly would call a "scrapper". Sean Johnston leads Prototype Challenge in the Performance Tech entry. He was a video gamer who played racing video games, and is now in th fourth year of his races. Johnston has run in Germany, and speaks fluent German.
Johnston did not win the prize. But, he wants to be a Porsche factory driver. You can become a racing driver, from video games. Jann Mardenborough and Lucas Ordonez, have done it. GT Daytona leader, (the #63 Scuderia Corse Ferrari), is in. Anthony Lazzaro, Townsend Bell, Bill Sweedler, and Jeff Westphal, are also on the driver's strength. The #22 AJR Porsche also pits with Shane van Gisbergen at the wheel. van Gisbergen is a veteran of Australian V8 Supercars, and still competes on that circuit.
Corvette Racing has always had great driver teams. But, crew chief Dan Binks says that this is the best of the lineups they've had with Ryan Briscoe and Simon Pagenaud. Madison Snow is down in the order in GTD. He balks both Leh Keen and Christopher Haase. Snow in a Porsche. Haase in an Audi. Dion von Moltke and Christopher Haase will drive together for the full season, as Bryce Miller will do only the endurance races.
Kuba Giermaziak locks the brakes. He is dealing with passing Madison Snow. Jamie McMurray passes Christian Fittipaldi. Starworks and teasm boss Peter Baron says that their motor is throttled back, and thus, they are four or five miles an hour slower with their car than they'd like. Graham Rahal was in pit lane, eighth in GT Le Mans. They had some work to do on the body. He is now three laps down.
The car raises up and pulls right under braking. So, there are handling issues for the BMW Z4 GTE right now, that could also be a suspension problem. The #49 Ferrari is also having some power issues. Pasin Lathouras is at the controls of that car at the moment. Car #01 makes another scheduled pit stop. Sage Karam stays in the car and the #10 takes over the race lead. We have not had many yellow flags. But, there could be a rash of them. You never know.
Action Express double stints the tires, putting on new tires. Sebastien Bourdais takes over from Christian Fittiipaldi. The #02 car pits for four tires, and also , a quick driver change wiuth The #52 Prototype Challenge machine of Mike Guasch, spinning. Guasch was Prototype Challenge champion in the Amercian Le Mans Series. Joey Hand has now taken over the #01 Ganassi Riley Ford EcoBoost machine.
Anthony Lazzaro leads in the GT Daytona class in the #63 Scuderia Corse Ferrari 458 Italia. The Viper's are also in the hunt in GTD. Joey Hand leads this race overall.
Rolex 24: Hour 3
Jim Michaelian spins in one of the Porsche's as he almost clips the
#33 SRT Viper of Sebastiaan Bleekemolen. Corvette pits. This is
another standard stop for #3, with Antonio Garcia at the wheel. Clean
the windshield, with the glare, and also, with the darkness coming, in a
few hours. We are 45 minutes away from sunset, and, another full
course yellow. Jim Michaelian has stopped, losing drive in his Muehlner
Motorsports America Porsche 911 GT America.
Michaelian, is the promoter of the Long Beach Grand Prix. Both the Ganassi cars are pitting. But, #02 has a slow stop. Lead change in the pit lane. These two are going to battle all day. The GT cars will pit next lap... followed by the wave by, and the green flag. Lucas Luhr, the winningest driver in the old American Le Mans Series, is doing well in the BMW Z4 GTE. Patron Honda knows they need to get more miles under their belt. They are also going to do the FIA World Endurance Championship.
These boys are also doing the North American Endurance Cup (this race, Sebring, Watkins Glen, and Petit Le Mans). The #1 HPD Honda Turbo pits. David Heinemeier-Hanson is at the controls. A year sgo, we saw a monster wreck between Memo Gidley and Ferrari. Memo Gidley continues rehab, a year after that wreck. Memo is feeling lots better, and he is not in as much pain. It's still shocking to see the video of that crash. Memo Gidley, does not remember the wreck. It reminds him of the pain.
Time heals all wounds. Memo Gidley had surgeries, and is still under rehabilitation, physical therapy etc. We go back to green. Many cars run wide. Memo Gidley wants to be back in a race car. He knows the risk, wants to get back, but, also, wants to be at full strength. Gidley had his accident right at this point in the race, with the low sun in the sky. The glare is a big deal. Maybe the sun affected that accident.
Racer's enjoy speed, but also, camaraderie with fans, teams, drivers, and announcers. Great battle on the high banks between Corvette and Falken Porsche. Sage Karam in the #01 makes some amazing moves around GT cars. Karam finished ninth at the Indianapolis 500 last year. He is leading the Rolex 24 right now. Patrick Pilet takes over the GT Le Mans lead in the #911 factory Porsche 911 RSR.
The Ferrari went wide, and, Giancarlo Fisichella, was passed. Bruno Spengler is behind the wheel of the #25 BMW Z4 GTE. Dirk Werner will take over. Christina Nielsen has taken over from James Davison in the #007 Aston Martin V12 Vantage. Problems for the #11 RSR Racing Prototype Challenge car, which will go into the garage. They've broken a valve in the motor. Among the drivers, Bruno Junquiera, Jack Hawksworth, and Gustavo Menezez.
GT Le Mans is hotly contested between Porsche, Corvette, and Ferrari. The top seven in GT LM are from four makes, covered by a seven second blanket. The night is long at Daytona. It's a huge curveball thrown to the teams, and there's also thick fog that can come in. The west end of Daytona International Speedway is being revamped. There will be new views, and new concession stands, as well as new TV and radio media booths.
Next year, for the Rolex 24, it's going to be massive. Oh! Giancarlo Fisichella loops it in turn one in the Ferrari! He is being chased by the Corvette, gets loose, fights it, goes off camber, and spins all the way around, into a runoff spot. Many drivers wee added to the driver's strengths on some of the cars. Guy Cosmo did not have a ride until this morning. He is a free agent. So, he is helping out VisitFlorida.com Racing, sharing with Mike Rockenfeller, Michael Valiante, and Richard Westbrook.
There has been another off track excursion. It is easy to set tire pressures too low for cold air. So, the first time on the tire, the sidewall and the carcass can be damaged. In Thursday night practice, it was still warm, and early in the evening. The #66 RG Racing Riley BMW has had some issues. Shane Lewis, Mark Wilkins, David Cheng, and Robert Gewirtz, racing a car that was in the old Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series, campaigned by Steve Southard. The team, is housed in Southard's old shop.
The #17 Falken Tire Porsche pits. Wolf Henzler is back at the wheel. Sage Karam and Jordan Taylor run 1-2. WTR is second overall after their early problems. The sun has gone down. The track temperature has cooled from 90 degrees to 64 degrees. The traction control systems are critical on cold tires. Lots of teams have new cold tire throttle and traction maps, as Sage Karam almost didn't commit to the pit lane, and he has to slow down to 37 miles an hour by the cone on pit lane.
Time for fresh tires and fuel. Karam will do a double stint, and will stay in the car as his eyes are adjusting to the light. Risi pits and Giancarlo Fisichella exits the car, making way for one of his team mates.
Michaelian, is the promoter of the Long Beach Grand Prix. Both the Ganassi cars are pitting. But, #02 has a slow stop. Lead change in the pit lane. These two are going to battle all day. The GT cars will pit next lap... followed by the wave by, and the green flag. Lucas Luhr, the winningest driver in the old American Le Mans Series, is doing well in the BMW Z4 GTE. Patron Honda knows they need to get more miles under their belt. They are also going to do the FIA World Endurance Championship.
These boys are also doing the North American Endurance Cup (this race, Sebring, Watkins Glen, and Petit Le Mans). The #1 HPD Honda Turbo pits. David Heinemeier-Hanson is at the controls. A year sgo, we saw a monster wreck between Memo Gidley and Ferrari. Memo Gidley continues rehab, a year after that wreck. Memo is feeling lots better, and he is not in as much pain. It's still shocking to see the video of that crash. Memo Gidley, does not remember the wreck. It reminds him of the pain.
Time heals all wounds. Memo Gidley had surgeries, and is still under rehabilitation, physical therapy etc. We go back to green. Many cars run wide. Memo Gidley wants to be back in a race car. He knows the risk, wants to get back, but, also, wants to be at full strength. Gidley had his accident right at this point in the race, with the low sun in the sky. The glare is a big deal. Maybe the sun affected that accident.
Racer's enjoy speed, but also, camaraderie with fans, teams, drivers, and announcers. Great battle on the high banks between Corvette and Falken Porsche. Sage Karam in the #01 makes some amazing moves around GT cars. Karam finished ninth at the Indianapolis 500 last year. He is leading the Rolex 24 right now. Patrick Pilet takes over the GT Le Mans lead in the #911 factory Porsche 911 RSR.
The Ferrari went wide, and, Giancarlo Fisichella, was passed. Bruno Spengler is behind the wheel of the #25 BMW Z4 GTE. Dirk Werner will take over. Christina Nielsen has taken over from James Davison in the #007 Aston Martin V12 Vantage. Problems for the #11 RSR Racing Prototype Challenge car, which will go into the garage. They've broken a valve in the motor. Among the drivers, Bruno Junquiera, Jack Hawksworth, and Gustavo Menezez.
GT Le Mans is hotly contested between Porsche, Corvette, and Ferrari. The top seven in GT LM are from four makes, covered by a seven second blanket. The night is long at Daytona. It's a huge curveball thrown to the teams, and there's also thick fog that can come in. The west end of Daytona International Speedway is being revamped. There will be new views, and new concession stands, as well as new TV and radio media booths.
Next year, for the Rolex 24, it's going to be massive. Oh! Giancarlo Fisichella loops it in turn one in the Ferrari! He is being chased by the Corvette, gets loose, fights it, goes off camber, and spins all the way around, into a runoff spot. Many drivers wee added to the driver's strengths on some of the cars. Guy Cosmo did not have a ride until this morning. He is a free agent. So, he is helping out VisitFlorida.com Racing, sharing with Mike Rockenfeller, Michael Valiante, and Richard Westbrook.
There has been another off track excursion. It is easy to set tire pressures too low for cold air. So, the first time on the tire, the sidewall and the carcass can be damaged. In Thursday night practice, it was still warm, and early in the evening. The #66 RG Racing Riley BMW has had some issues. Shane Lewis, Mark Wilkins, David Cheng, and Robert Gewirtz, racing a car that was in the old Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series, campaigned by Steve Southard. The team, is housed in Southard's old shop.
The #17 Falken Tire Porsche pits. Wolf Henzler is back at the wheel. Sage Karam and Jordan Taylor run 1-2. WTR is second overall after their early problems. The sun has gone down. The track temperature has cooled from 90 degrees to 64 degrees. The traction control systems are critical on cold tires. Lots of teams have new cold tire throttle and traction maps, as Sage Karam almost didn't commit to the pit lane, and he has to slow down to 37 miles an hour by the cone on pit lane.
Time for fresh tires and fuel. Karam will do a double stint, and will stay in the car as his eyes are adjusting to the light. Risi pits and Giancarlo Fisichella exits the car, making way for one of his team mates.
Rolex 24: Hour 2
The best laps in this race so far, (to get an idea of the pace we are setting), are in the 1:40 and 1:41 bracket.
We are coming to the end of the full course yellow as we look in on Leh Keen in the #22 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT America in GT Daytona. Alex Job, won an award at a ceremony last night... a Rolex watch. His dad, was a jeweler. The car is in pit lane. We are looking at a driver change. There are new rules this year, saying, no bungee cords for the safety belts, to yank them out of the way. Wolf Henzler and Bryan Sellers are in the #17 Falken Tires Porsche 911 RSR. These boys are back, for their first Rolex 24. Tom Long runs the #07 Mazda diesel.
Scott Dixon and Scott Pruett are going to battle once we go back to green, now. It's go time! The acceleration cone is right there, and you can overtake anywhere. Ricky Taylor remains in the #10 Corvette Prototype. There's not a lot of grip in the International Horseshoe. Jan Magnussen, Bill Auberlen, and John Edwards, all battle in GT LM. Corvette vs. BMW. We head back onto the banking. Let's see which tires can step up to the plate with performance. Falken Tire Porsche, are not able to dial in their car, after a December test.
The weather, affects the grip. Andy Meyrick works through traffic in the Deltawing. The Porsche passes Jan Magnussen in the Corvette. Nick Tandy is still pushing. The factory GT LM Porsche's are defending champions in the Rolex 24. Oh wow! Tandy goes straight. Come to a stop, and continue. Good job. Maybe Jan Magnussen still wants to push and force the issue. There was argy bargy between the Corvette boys earlier on of course. The Falken tires might come to temperature quicker than the Michelins on the factory cars.
Prototype, Prototype Challenge, and GT Daytona, all run spec Continental tires. Jeroen Bleekemolen in an SRT Viper, battles a Porsche. James Davison is in the #007 Aston Martin V12 Vantage, and he is coming up on the Viper and the Porsche in GT Daytona. Jamie McMurray wants to win the Rolex 24. If he does, he'd join A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti in winn ing both the Daytona 500 and the Rolex 24. The Bus Stop, is dirty, and has lots of mud tossed up on the curbs. Oh. The Deltawing is off. ...And, Damien Faulkner spins his GT Daytona Porsche 911 GT America.
Andy Meyrick in the Deltawing is alkso having issues. The Porsche is on the outside into turn one, and Faulkner spun after locking the brakes. This was on the tri-oval, intoi the first turn. A locked brake was the culprit. Damage to the left rear corner. In the garage, it's the #31 Corvette Prototype of Max Papis. The steering is an issue, and so the suspension will also be replaced. The Deltawing is off the road, and it's unsure if it will continue. Turn left to get to the safety crews. But, if you turn right, you are out on an island.
It used to be, much like at Le Mans, only the driver could work on the car. But now, a crewman can actually be down on the fence, telling a driver, how to make repairs, and bring tools. The newly designed EMCO gearbox may be busted in the Deltawing. Scott Dixon and Scott Pruett continue to run 1-2. If Pruett can win this weekend, he'll take the record for most victories in history in this race. James Davison has won five straight poles (going back to last year), with TRG and Aston Martin. That car is in the GT Daytona division. TRG was the overall winner of the Rolex 24, with a Porsche 911, in 2003.
We are back to racing, now. Oswaldo Negri Jr. passes Scott Pruett. The Chevrolet Corvette prototypes, (some of them), are having traction control trouble. Adjusting the traction control, helps with tire wear, and also, helps with getting your foot in the throttle earlier. Minimum intervention, maximum affect. Now, the Corvtte's are still battling, but get separated by Johnny Mowlem in a Prototype Challenge car. That is car #16.
Bill Auberlen and Wolf Henzler are battling. BMW isn't quick enough. But, they should have reliability. The Corvette boys go side by side. But, there was no passing attempt. Get some room in the braking zone. Scott Dixon continues to lead Joao Barbosa. Riley Ford vs. Corvette vs. Ligier Honda. Oh! The #2 Patron Racing HPD ARX-04b of Johannes van Overbeek has an issue. Henzler splits the Corvette's in GT LM. ESM has had issues with the gearbox casing, eating engines alive. Meanwhile, Magnussen wants by Gavin, and got sideways.
Henzler does not defend. Corvette has the pace. Keep it clean. Don't put a wheel off. Don't hit anyone. Don't hit anything. We have had two full course cautions so far. Ganassi continues leading the VisitFlorida.com Corvette Prototype. The Ganassi Ford's are fast, strong, and solid. They hav a wicked driver lineup, too. Car #01 pits for it's second stop. Pruett is in. Four tires and fuel... blowing out the radiators, as well. Pruett stays in the car. Pruett is a record winner of this race, tied with Hurley Haywood.
Scott Dixon has had a couple gorgeous, clear laps. Teams are feeling out fuel mileage. How far do you go on full tanks? 24 laps is the target. Scott Dixon has now gone two additional laps than Scott Pruett on fuel. He had 33 laps this most recent stint. In the next stint, Dixon will hand off to Jamie McMurray. They have eleven more tear offs on the windscreen. Again... a 37 mile an hour limit in pit lane. The battle in GT LM with the factory cars, continues. Wright Motorsports pits their #58 Porsche 911 RSR.
Patrick Dempsey is on the driver's strength. The car is wearing the colors of the great Brumos Porsche dealer. ESM is still having real engine issues. The've blown eight motors. Now, Johnny Mowlem has spun again, tangling with another car. Mowlem got a tap from another car. It's the #73 Park Place Motorsports GT Daytona Porsche 911 GT America. Dr. Jim Norman at the controls. The #4 Corvette gets punted, and gets slammed by Park Place.
Oh no. The #24 RLL BMW Z4 GTE has a left rear tire down. Bill Auberlen knows how to drive. But, the tire stays on the rim... fortunately. If it shreds, then, there's real trouble. Auberlen was fourth in GT LM. Paul Dalla Lanna spins his Aston Martin V8 Vantage in turn one. A close call for the GT LM contender. He is well off the track. No yllow needed. Something seized in the driveline. Scott Dixon still leads.
The Mazda prototype lead a lap for the first time with their prototype. Jonathan Bomarito is back running for Mazda. He is able to guide his younger co-drivers. These boys are 15 miles an hour faster than they were last year. The Mazda is no longer slow. It is a tiny 2.2 liter twin turbo four cylinder... running biodiesel made from chicken parts and other things. The car's exhaust, smells like a box of French Fries. Jonatahn Bomarito is back at Mazda. He won the 24 Hours for Mazda in 2010.
Tom Long is in the pits. The car is loaded with smoke. But, it is from tires... not the motor. Antonio Garcia is at the wheel of the #3 Corvette C-7-R- now, as the monstrous Chevrolet V8 thunders on the banking. The BMW Z4 GTE goes by, because Garcia is going to pit. He's only gone five laps. Was there a tire that went down? Likely. The #911 Porsche 911 RSR of Patrick Pilet takes over the GT LM lead.
We have a spinner. It's the TRG AMR Aston Martin, again. It's the sister car to #007, (#009), with Derek DeBoer at the wheel. Mazda's issue is a high pressure fuel line that came loose. Another car off. It's a Prototype Challenge racer. There's a clutch issue for Aston Martin, and that car is on the rollback, going to the garage, to be fixed. Scott Dixon continues to lead this race. Johnny Mowlem has continued to lead Prototype Challenge with the BAR1 machine, with a SpongeBob Squarepants graphic. Who'd have thought a sponge, was so aerodynamic!
Oops. A Ferrari is slow. Johnny Mowlem is back in America after three years racing in Europe. Rui Aguas is at the wheel of this slow Ferrari. But, he continues. He has lots of development miles in a 458 Italia. Jordan Taylor, has sorted the electrical issues. They seem to be coming back to life. Oh no. Flat left rear tire on the #93 SRT Viper with Cameron Lawrence at the wheel. Tonight, it's supposed to be very cold.
Shane van Gisbergen is back at the Rolex 24. Ooh. More battling between PC cars and Porsche's. Alex Popow continues in one of the Martini cars. Dorsey Schroeder is now taking over the #50 Riley BMW. WEll, he just came back from a stint. He is a colleague of the boys who cover sports cars for Fox Sports, and it's his first race in a sports car, in 12 years. 76 laps... 270 and a half miles, completed. A long, long, long way left to run.
Racing legends David Hobbs and Darrell Waltrip, tweet that they are watching this race. The #50 car is back in the garage. David Hinton (one of the team drivers), says the brakes are an issue. David Hinton is President of a historic racing group, that will run vintage cars from the past of the Rolex 24. The quality and number of cars for that vintage race, it was incredible. In Europe, people love the Rolex 24, just as much as Le Mans, it's sister event.
Car #5 will make a pit stop, and do a driver change. Joao Barbosa will get oput of the Mustang Sampler Corvette Prototype. Christian Fittipaldi takes over. These blokes won the Rolex 24 last year and won the inaugural Tudor Championship. The MSR Ligier Honda is pitting, too. The program came together not even two months ago. Thy were on pole for this race, and are running well so far. Just incredible! Oh boy. We've got another BMW with a tire problem. This is the GT Daytona #97 Turner Motorsports BMW.
The #10 Corvette pits, with Jordan Taylor in the car. Tracy Krohn is at the wheel of the #57 Ligier Judd he owns. Alex Brundle is one of the other drivers, along with Olivier Pla. Krohn, an oil man... is also racing in the car, and he owns it, too. The sun is starting to sink and lots of glare as the sun will set in the west later on, before the many hours of darkness at Daytona. Sage Karam has taken over the #01 Ganassi Riley Ford EcoBoost while Scott Dixon continues leading, in the sister car.
One of many things that distinguish the Rolex 24, from Le Mans, is the amount of darkness (a maximum of nighttime hours, and cold), while Le Mans, is in June, in summertime, with a minimum amount of darkness, and warmer weather. Patrick Long is the wheel man in the #17 Falken Tire Porsche 911 RSR. Jamie McMurray has taken over from Scott Dixon in the #02 Ganassi Riley Ford EcoBoost.
This is multi-class racing at it's best into the International horseshoe. Prototype, Prototype Challenge, GTLM, GTD, all together.
We are coming to the end of the full course yellow as we look in on Leh Keen in the #22 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT America in GT Daytona. Alex Job, won an award at a ceremony last night... a Rolex watch. His dad, was a jeweler. The car is in pit lane. We are looking at a driver change. There are new rules this year, saying, no bungee cords for the safety belts, to yank them out of the way. Wolf Henzler and Bryan Sellers are in the #17 Falken Tires Porsche 911 RSR. These boys are back, for their first Rolex 24. Tom Long runs the #07 Mazda diesel.
Scott Dixon and Scott Pruett are going to battle once we go back to green, now. It's go time! The acceleration cone is right there, and you can overtake anywhere. Ricky Taylor remains in the #10 Corvette Prototype. There's not a lot of grip in the International Horseshoe. Jan Magnussen, Bill Auberlen, and John Edwards, all battle in GT LM. Corvette vs. BMW. We head back onto the banking. Let's see which tires can step up to the plate with performance. Falken Tire Porsche, are not able to dial in their car, after a December test.
The weather, affects the grip. Andy Meyrick works through traffic in the Deltawing. The Porsche passes Jan Magnussen in the Corvette. Nick Tandy is still pushing. The factory GT LM Porsche's are defending champions in the Rolex 24. Oh wow! Tandy goes straight. Come to a stop, and continue. Good job. Maybe Jan Magnussen still wants to push and force the issue. There was argy bargy between the Corvette boys earlier on of course. The Falken tires might come to temperature quicker than the Michelins on the factory cars.
Prototype, Prototype Challenge, and GT Daytona, all run spec Continental tires. Jeroen Bleekemolen in an SRT Viper, battles a Porsche. James Davison is in the #007 Aston Martin V12 Vantage, and he is coming up on the Viper and the Porsche in GT Daytona. Jamie McMurray wants to win the Rolex 24. If he does, he'd join A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti in winn ing both the Daytona 500 and the Rolex 24. The Bus Stop, is dirty, and has lots of mud tossed up on the curbs. Oh. The Deltawing is off. ...And, Damien Faulkner spins his GT Daytona Porsche 911 GT America.
Andy Meyrick in the Deltawing is alkso having issues. The Porsche is on the outside into turn one, and Faulkner spun after locking the brakes. This was on the tri-oval, intoi the first turn. A locked brake was the culprit. Damage to the left rear corner. In the garage, it's the #31 Corvette Prototype of Max Papis. The steering is an issue, and so the suspension will also be replaced. The Deltawing is off the road, and it's unsure if it will continue. Turn left to get to the safety crews. But, if you turn right, you are out on an island.
It used to be, much like at Le Mans, only the driver could work on the car. But now, a crewman can actually be down on the fence, telling a driver, how to make repairs, and bring tools. The newly designed EMCO gearbox may be busted in the Deltawing. Scott Dixon and Scott Pruett continue to run 1-2. If Pruett can win this weekend, he'll take the record for most victories in history in this race. James Davison has won five straight poles (going back to last year), with TRG and Aston Martin. That car is in the GT Daytona division. TRG was the overall winner of the Rolex 24, with a Porsche 911, in 2003.
We are back to racing, now. Oswaldo Negri Jr. passes Scott Pruett. The Chevrolet Corvette prototypes, (some of them), are having traction control trouble. Adjusting the traction control, helps with tire wear, and also, helps with getting your foot in the throttle earlier. Minimum intervention, maximum affect. Now, the Corvtte's are still battling, but get separated by Johnny Mowlem in a Prototype Challenge car. That is car #16.
Bill Auberlen and Wolf Henzler are battling. BMW isn't quick enough. But, they should have reliability. The Corvette boys go side by side. But, there was no passing attempt. Get some room in the braking zone. Scott Dixon continues to lead Joao Barbosa. Riley Ford vs. Corvette vs. Ligier Honda. Oh! The #2 Patron Racing HPD ARX-04b of Johannes van Overbeek has an issue. Henzler splits the Corvette's in GT LM. ESM has had issues with the gearbox casing, eating engines alive. Meanwhile, Magnussen wants by Gavin, and got sideways.
Henzler does not defend. Corvette has the pace. Keep it clean. Don't put a wheel off. Don't hit anyone. Don't hit anything. We have had two full course cautions so far. Ganassi continues leading the VisitFlorida.com Corvette Prototype. The Ganassi Ford's are fast, strong, and solid. They hav a wicked driver lineup, too. Car #01 pits for it's second stop. Pruett is in. Four tires and fuel... blowing out the radiators, as well. Pruett stays in the car. Pruett is a record winner of this race, tied with Hurley Haywood.
Scott Dixon has had a couple gorgeous, clear laps. Teams are feeling out fuel mileage. How far do you go on full tanks? 24 laps is the target. Scott Dixon has now gone two additional laps than Scott Pruett on fuel. He had 33 laps this most recent stint. In the next stint, Dixon will hand off to Jamie McMurray. They have eleven more tear offs on the windscreen. Again... a 37 mile an hour limit in pit lane. The battle in GT LM with the factory cars, continues. Wright Motorsports pits their #58 Porsche 911 RSR.
Patrick Dempsey is on the driver's strength. The car is wearing the colors of the great Brumos Porsche dealer. ESM is still having real engine issues. The've blown eight motors. Now, Johnny Mowlem has spun again, tangling with another car. Mowlem got a tap from another car. It's the #73 Park Place Motorsports GT Daytona Porsche 911 GT America. Dr. Jim Norman at the controls. The #4 Corvette gets punted, and gets slammed by Park Place.
Oh no. The #24 RLL BMW Z4 GTE has a left rear tire down. Bill Auberlen knows how to drive. But, the tire stays on the rim... fortunately. If it shreds, then, there's real trouble. Auberlen was fourth in GT LM. Paul Dalla Lanna spins his Aston Martin V8 Vantage in turn one. A close call for the GT LM contender. He is well off the track. No yllow needed. Something seized in the driveline. Scott Dixon still leads.
The Mazda prototype lead a lap for the first time with their prototype. Jonathan Bomarito is back running for Mazda. He is able to guide his younger co-drivers. These boys are 15 miles an hour faster than they were last year. The Mazda is no longer slow. It is a tiny 2.2 liter twin turbo four cylinder... running biodiesel made from chicken parts and other things. The car's exhaust, smells like a box of French Fries. Jonatahn Bomarito is back at Mazda. He won the 24 Hours for Mazda in 2010.
Tom Long is in the pits. The car is loaded with smoke. But, it is from tires... not the motor. Antonio Garcia is at the wheel of the #3 Corvette C-7-R- now, as the monstrous Chevrolet V8 thunders on the banking. The BMW Z4 GTE goes by, because Garcia is going to pit. He's only gone five laps. Was there a tire that went down? Likely. The #911 Porsche 911 RSR of Patrick Pilet takes over the GT LM lead.
We have a spinner. It's the TRG AMR Aston Martin, again. It's the sister car to #007, (#009), with Derek DeBoer at the wheel. Mazda's issue is a high pressure fuel line that came loose. Another car off. It's a Prototype Challenge racer. There's a clutch issue for Aston Martin, and that car is on the rollback, going to the garage, to be fixed. Scott Dixon continues to lead this race. Johnny Mowlem has continued to lead Prototype Challenge with the BAR1 machine, with a SpongeBob Squarepants graphic. Who'd have thought a sponge, was so aerodynamic!
Oops. A Ferrari is slow. Johnny Mowlem is back in America after three years racing in Europe. Rui Aguas is at the wheel of this slow Ferrari. But, he continues. He has lots of development miles in a 458 Italia. Jordan Taylor, has sorted the electrical issues. They seem to be coming back to life. Oh no. Flat left rear tire on the #93 SRT Viper with Cameron Lawrence at the wheel. Tonight, it's supposed to be very cold.
Shane van Gisbergen is back at the Rolex 24. Ooh. More battling between PC cars and Porsche's. Alex Popow continues in one of the Martini cars. Dorsey Schroeder is now taking over the #50 Riley BMW. WEll, he just came back from a stint. He is a colleague of the boys who cover sports cars for Fox Sports, and it's his first race in a sports car, in 12 years. 76 laps... 270 and a half miles, completed. A long, long, long way left to run.
Racing legends David Hobbs and Darrell Waltrip, tweet that they are watching this race. The #50 car is back in the garage. David Hinton (one of the team drivers), says the brakes are an issue. David Hinton is President of a historic racing group, that will run vintage cars from the past of the Rolex 24. The quality and number of cars for that vintage race, it was incredible. In Europe, people love the Rolex 24, just as much as Le Mans, it's sister event.
Car #5 will make a pit stop, and do a driver change. Joao Barbosa will get oput of the Mustang Sampler Corvette Prototype. Christian Fittipaldi takes over. These blokes won the Rolex 24 last year and won the inaugural Tudor Championship. The MSR Ligier Honda is pitting, too. The program came together not even two months ago. Thy were on pole for this race, and are running well so far. Just incredible! Oh boy. We've got another BMW with a tire problem. This is the GT Daytona #97 Turner Motorsports BMW.
The #10 Corvette pits, with Jordan Taylor in the car. Tracy Krohn is at the wheel of the #57 Ligier Judd he owns. Alex Brundle is one of the other drivers, along with Olivier Pla. Krohn, an oil man... is also racing in the car, and he owns it, too. The sun is starting to sink and lots of glare as the sun will set in the west later on, before the many hours of darkness at Daytona. Sage Karam has taken over the #01 Ganassi Riley Ford EcoBoost while Scott Dixon continues leading, in the sister car.
One of many things that distinguish the Rolex 24, from Le Mans, is the amount of darkness (a maximum of nighttime hours, and cold), while Le Mans, is in June, in summertime, with a minimum amount of darkness, and warmer weather. Patrick Long is the wheel man in the #17 Falken Tire Porsche 911 RSR. Jamie McMurray has taken over from Scott Dixon in the #02 Ganassi Riley Ford EcoBoost.
This is multi-class racing at it's best into the International horseshoe. Prototype, Prototype Challenge, GTLM, GTD, all together.
Rolex 24: Hour 1
We are underway in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, thirteen minutes into the 24 hour odyssey. Tires and car performance are starting to settle down as we watch a battle between Chevrolet and Aston Martin in GT Le Mans. Looking for who is ahead in Prototype right now. Who is the overall leader? The odyssey has begun. In Prototype, Ganassi Racing is now ahead with their Ford EcoBoost V6 motor. Scott Dixon is ahead right now. Oswaldo Negri Jr. in the polesitting Ligier JS P2 Honda, is struggling a bit. They are two seconds behind the leaders at this point. The car is running well so far, having put the new Ligier together, late in December.
The Ligier cannot start quick enough on cold tires. They do have tire durability. Honda powers the car. Mike Shank Racing won the Rolex 24 in 2012. The Deltawing of Andy Meyrick is up there, too. The car is finding speed. They need reliability with this little car. It's got four wheels, but looks like it has three wheels. It flies on the straight. It's a cross between a dart and a bobsled. Former Ganassi Racing team manager, Tim Keene, is now team boss at Deltawing.
The Deltawing is beginning to fly. It is not a toy. It's a real race car. Half the weight, half the power, and half the drag. The defending champions in the #5 Action Express Corvette are moving up. Joao Barbosa, (inaugural Tudor Championship champion from last year, and one of the defending champs at the Rolex 24), is moving up steadily. Shane Lewis in the #66 Riley BMW spins in the chicane, with Shane Lewis at the controls. He spins, but, also almost gets T boned by a Ferrari 458 Italia!
The brakling into the Bus Stop chicane, is very hard, from 180 miles an hour. Defending Indy 500 champion, Ryan Hunter-Reay, has run nine Rolex 24's. He wants to win. We are a few hours away from darkness. That is going to be a biggie. You cannot see as a driver, in the dark, so well. Rely on headlights, and your spotter, on the radio. Hunter-Reay is racing for Starworks in Peter Baron's Riley BMW prototype. The era of top drivers running different kinds of cars, is back. Racers are racers. They don't carwe what kind of car they are driving.
The Deltawing is pressuring Scott Pruett. Andy Meyrick is at the wheel. Colin Braun leads in the Prototype Challenge class, spec cars, with Chevrolet V8 motors. Markus Winkelhock and Christopher Haase battle in GT Daytona, both driving Audi R8 LMS Ultra's. You have to deal with traffic. Now, a half hour in, the Deltawing, pits. The pit lane exit is tough in daylight. But, it's also very difficult in the dark. It's going to be cold tonight. Watch out for cold tires. We see smoke from the Deltawing. They have a smaller fuel tank.
Gianmaria Bruni and Oliver Gavin battle in GT Le Mans. Bruni is pushing hard. GT Le Mans has open tire rules. Michelin, and Falken, for instance. These boys have different compounds. Jan Magnussen is in the Corvette. Jan Magnussen and Oliver Gavin battle, with the #911 Porsche 911 RSR. Nick Tandy is in the Porsch, and he's giving Gavin a tough run for his money. Watch out, blokes. Don't crash!
Let's back up a moment ladies and gentlemen. Here's our top runners in the overall. All Prototypes. Scott Dixon leads in the #02 Riley Ford EcoBoost, followed by Oswaldo Negri Jr. in the MSR Ligier Honda. Third, Scott Pruett in the sister #01 Riley Ford EcoBoost for Ganassi Racing. Fourth, Joao Barbosa, in the #5 Action Express Chevrolet Corvette Prototype, and sixth, the second Ligier #57 for Krohn Racing, with Judd V8 power. Olivier Pla is at the keyboard in that car right now.
This track is 3.56 miles long, with the infield inside the tri oval. The road circuit is very different, and turn six, shows the speed down the straight. This is a simple track, but very demanding. Rubens Barrichello is seventh overall in the #7 Starworks Riley BMW. He's got a door that is loose. Barrichello is an F1 veteran. But, he also ran Indycars, and Brazilian stock cars. He won the championship in Brazilian stock cars. The Mazda is coming along well. They have a new cylinder head which should help the reliability of their diesel four cylinder motor.
Former SRT Viper, but longtime Mazda driver, Jonathan Bomarito, is back at Mazda. Gavin and Tandy battle, passing the GT Daytona SRT Viper. No factory cars this year in GT LM. Just the private GTD cars. Fuel and tirres for MSR and the Ligier. The #1 ESM HPD ARX-04 is also pitting. The second factory Porsche 911 RSR #912 is having issues. Frederic Makowiecki is at the wheel. But, he's eight laps down. He can make up time.
The #01 Riley Ford pits. Scott Pruett stays in the car. Ricky Taylor also pits the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette Prototype. They do not have traction control available. They also have a miss in the engine. Spirit of Daytona in car #90, pits. Jordan Taylor says that without electronic driving aids, the car is undriveable. If you switch the traction control off, the car drives like a pig. This is the same with a road car. Another Corvette Prototype pits. It's the #31 entry for Marsh Racing. Max Papis is at the controls. He was the hero of this race in 1996, driving a Ferrari 333SP, finishing second to Wayne Taylor's Riley & Scott Oldsmobile, only 65 seconds behind. At the time, the closest finish in history.
Oliver Gaving continues leading GT Le Mans. Nick Tandy in the Porsche, continues to push. Gavin pits. Team mate Jan Magnussen was in a lap earlier. 37 mile per hour pit lane speed limit. The car has been loose through the bus stop. The issue is... is it loose into the corner? Or, is it loose out of the corner? The Bus Stop chicane, is a big time corner on this track. Don't put a wheel off early in a 24 hour race. The #10 Corvette prototype continues to have issues with traction control. They need to find the issue, after winning Petit Le Mans at the end of last year.
The new Chevrolet Prototype motor has a lot more torque. Porsche and BMW pit in GT Le Mans. Bill Auberlen is in the #25 BMW Z4 GTE for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. He's been running for BMW for 20 years. Scott Dixon continues to lead in the #02 car, who got a great jump when this race started. Meanwhile, Alex Popow spins. Renger van der Zande also had an off earlier. Daniel Serra leads GT Daytona in a Ferrari 458 Italia. There is a big speed difference between GT LM and GT Daytona.
GT LM has more aerodynamic goodies and downforce. But, the GT Daytona car is quick on the straight. Oh wow! Tandy tries the Corvette's. But, he touches the Vette and almost loses it! Maybe he got pinched by a Corvtte. B careful! Nick Tandy is the terrier in these Porsche's. Watch out. He's drafting Gavin on the banking, and hits the flat. He almost touches the grass. If you get it wrong, you'll wreck. Porsche management says, "hey guys, look out." We have a full course yellow. Satoshi Hoshino of Japan, is stopped on the apron.
The engine is revving. But, no one is there. Bear with yours truly, folks. Following Fox TV's broadcast, and timing and scoring, on IMSA.com. Do both, won't you? Turn on your television, and click online to www.imsa.com, and check this race out. In 1962, at the first race, A.J. Foyt was on pole. Dan Gurney won, even though his car was out of fuel. He used the banking to get across the line, and did not run out of fuel. Now, with the Audi incident, Satoshi Hoshino clips a curb, spins, and spins the wheels over, but cannot find a gear. Watch out. If you use the clutch too much, it could hurt the transmission.
Darren Law is team manager. He used to drive for Flying Lizard. Hoshino has experience in Porsche's and Ferrari's. Not sure he has enough in an Audi, and also, on this big Daytona track. Byron DeFoor is driving the #50 Riley BMW, looking for a cure for Alzheimer's. But, on January 10th, DeFoor had a monstrous wreck in testing just two weeks ago, when it flipped over. But, the car was fixed, and they are running for charity. This is real racing. Chaps, this isn't a video game.
Dixon and Pruett for Chip Ganassi Racing, run 1-2 right now. Working lap 33, of many, many, yet to be run. Graham Rahal is another driuver for BMW, and the team his dad Bobby owns in GT LM. Porsche, Corvette, BMW, Ferrari, and Aston Martin, are the top makes. John Edwards is in the same car, sharing with Graham, and other drivers. We've completed an hour.
The Ligier cannot start quick enough on cold tires. They do have tire durability. Honda powers the car. Mike Shank Racing won the Rolex 24 in 2012. The Deltawing of Andy Meyrick is up there, too. The car is finding speed. They need reliability with this little car. It's got four wheels, but looks like it has three wheels. It flies on the straight. It's a cross between a dart and a bobsled. Former Ganassi Racing team manager, Tim Keene, is now team boss at Deltawing.
The Deltawing is beginning to fly. It is not a toy. It's a real race car. Half the weight, half the power, and half the drag. The defending champions in the #5 Action Express Corvette are moving up. Joao Barbosa, (inaugural Tudor Championship champion from last year, and one of the defending champs at the Rolex 24), is moving up steadily. Shane Lewis in the #66 Riley BMW spins in the chicane, with Shane Lewis at the controls. He spins, but, also almost gets T boned by a Ferrari 458 Italia!
The brakling into the Bus Stop chicane, is very hard, from 180 miles an hour. Defending Indy 500 champion, Ryan Hunter-Reay, has run nine Rolex 24's. He wants to win. We are a few hours away from darkness. That is going to be a biggie. You cannot see as a driver, in the dark, so well. Rely on headlights, and your spotter, on the radio. Hunter-Reay is racing for Starworks in Peter Baron's Riley BMW prototype. The era of top drivers running different kinds of cars, is back. Racers are racers. They don't carwe what kind of car they are driving.
The Deltawing is pressuring Scott Pruett. Andy Meyrick is at the wheel. Colin Braun leads in the Prototype Challenge class, spec cars, with Chevrolet V8 motors. Markus Winkelhock and Christopher Haase battle in GT Daytona, both driving Audi R8 LMS Ultra's. You have to deal with traffic. Now, a half hour in, the Deltawing, pits. The pit lane exit is tough in daylight. But, it's also very difficult in the dark. It's going to be cold tonight. Watch out for cold tires. We see smoke from the Deltawing. They have a smaller fuel tank.
Gianmaria Bruni and Oliver Gavin battle in GT Le Mans. Bruni is pushing hard. GT Le Mans has open tire rules. Michelin, and Falken, for instance. These boys have different compounds. Jan Magnussen is in the Corvette. Jan Magnussen and Oliver Gavin battle, with the #911 Porsche 911 RSR. Nick Tandy is in the Porsch, and he's giving Gavin a tough run for his money. Watch out, blokes. Don't crash!
Let's back up a moment ladies and gentlemen. Here's our top runners in the overall. All Prototypes. Scott Dixon leads in the #02 Riley Ford EcoBoost, followed by Oswaldo Negri Jr. in the MSR Ligier Honda. Third, Scott Pruett in the sister #01 Riley Ford EcoBoost for Ganassi Racing. Fourth, Joao Barbosa, in the #5 Action Express Chevrolet Corvette Prototype, and sixth, the second Ligier #57 for Krohn Racing, with Judd V8 power. Olivier Pla is at the keyboard in that car right now.
This track is 3.56 miles long, with the infield inside the tri oval. The road circuit is very different, and turn six, shows the speed down the straight. This is a simple track, but very demanding. Rubens Barrichello is seventh overall in the #7 Starworks Riley BMW. He's got a door that is loose. Barrichello is an F1 veteran. But, he also ran Indycars, and Brazilian stock cars. He won the championship in Brazilian stock cars. The Mazda is coming along well. They have a new cylinder head which should help the reliability of their diesel four cylinder motor.
Former SRT Viper, but longtime Mazda driver, Jonathan Bomarito, is back at Mazda. Gavin and Tandy battle, passing the GT Daytona SRT Viper. No factory cars this year in GT LM. Just the private GTD cars. Fuel and tirres for MSR and the Ligier. The #1 ESM HPD ARX-04 is also pitting. The second factory Porsche 911 RSR #912 is having issues. Frederic Makowiecki is at the wheel. But, he's eight laps down. He can make up time.
The #01 Riley Ford pits. Scott Pruett stays in the car. Ricky Taylor also pits the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette Prototype. They do not have traction control available. They also have a miss in the engine. Spirit of Daytona in car #90, pits. Jordan Taylor says that without electronic driving aids, the car is undriveable. If you switch the traction control off, the car drives like a pig. This is the same with a road car. Another Corvette Prototype pits. It's the #31 entry for Marsh Racing. Max Papis is at the controls. He was the hero of this race in 1996, driving a Ferrari 333SP, finishing second to Wayne Taylor's Riley & Scott Oldsmobile, only 65 seconds behind. At the time, the closest finish in history.
Oliver Gaving continues leading GT Le Mans. Nick Tandy in the Porsche, continues to push. Gavin pits. Team mate Jan Magnussen was in a lap earlier. 37 mile per hour pit lane speed limit. The car has been loose through the bus stop. The issue is... is it loose into the corner? Or, is it loose out of the corner? The Bus Stop chicane, is a big time corner on this track. Don't put a wheel off early in a 24 hour race. The #10 Corvette prototype continues to have issues with traction control. They need to find the issue, after winning Petit Le Mans at the end of last year.
The new Chevrolet Prototype motor has a lot more torque. Porsche and BMW pit in GT Le Mans. Bill Auberlen is in the #25 BMW Z4 GTE for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. He's been running for BMW for 20 years. Scott Dixon continues to lead in the #02 car, who got a great jump when this race started. Meanwhile, Alex Popow spins. Renger van der Zande also had an off earlier. Daniel Serra leads GT Daytona in a Ferrari 458 Italia. There is a big speed difference between GT LM and GT Daytona.
GT LM has more aerodynamic goodies and downforce. But, the GT Daytona car is quick on the straight. Oh wow! Tandy tries the Corvette's. But, he touches the Vette and almost loses it! Maybe he got pinched by a Corvtte. B careful! Nick Tandy is the terrier in these Porsche's. Watch out. He's drafting Gavin on the banking, and hits the flat. He almost touches the grass. If you get it wrong, you'll wreck. Porsche management says, "hey guys, look out." We have a full course yellow. Satoshi Hoshino of Japan, is stopped on the apron.
The engine is revving. But, no one is there. Bear with yours truly, folks. Following Fox TV's broadcast, and timing and scoring, on IMSA.com. Do both, won't you? Turn on your television, and click online to www.imsa.com, and check this race out. In 1962, at the first race, A.J. Foyt was on pole. Dan Gurney won, even though his car was out of fuel. He used the banking to get across the line, and did not run out of fuel. Now, with the Audi incident, Satoshi Hoshino clips a curb, spins, and spins the wheels over, but cannot find a gear. Watch out. If you use the clutch too much, it could hurt the transmission.
Darren Law is team manager. He used to drive for Flying Lizard. Hoshino has experience in Porsche's and Ferrari's. Not sure he has enough in an Audi, and also, on this big Daytona track. Byron DeFoor is driving the #50 Riley BMW, looking for a cure for Alzheimer's. But, on January 10th, DeFoor had a monstrous wreck in testing just two weeks ago, when it flipped over. But, the car was fixed, and they are running for charity. This is real racing. Chaps, this isn't a video game.
Dixon and Pruett for Chip Ganassi Racing, run 1-2 right now. Working lap 33, of many, many, yet to be run. Graham Rahal is another driuver for BMW, and the team his dad Bobby owns in GT LM. Porsche, Corvette, BMW, Ferrari, and Aston Martin, are the top makes. John Edwards is in the same car, sharing with Graham, and other drivers. We've completed an hour.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Rolex 24 at Daytona: The five greatest races
Some of yours truly's favorite editions of the Rolex 24 from the past, have made this list. Will tomorrow's/Sunday's race be another classic? We'll find out, together, here on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog.
http://www.foxsports.com/motor/story/rolex-24-at-daytona-the-five-greatest-races-012115
http://www.foxsports.com/motor/story/rolex-24-at-daytona-the-five-greatest-races-012115
Ten Years Later, Taylors Seek Another Rolex 24 Win
Can Jordan and Ricky Taylor give their family another win in the Rolex 24 at Daytona? Ten years ago, their dad Wayne did it, in 2005. It was his second. He first won the 24, in 1996 at the wheel of a Riley & Scott World Sports Car, with an Oldsmobile Aurora V8 for power.
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/ten-years-later-taylors-seek-another-rolex-24-win/
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/ten-years-later-taylors-seek-another-rolex-24-win/
Your Daytona 24 User's Guide
All you need to know about the Rolex 24 tomorrow, whether you are at the track, or, like yours truly will do, are watching the race on Fox Sports.
http://nasportscar.com/your-daytona-24-users-guide/
http://nasportscar.com/your-daytona-24-users-guide/
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Negri Takes MSR Ligier JS P2 Honda to Rolex 24 Pole
We have a polesitter for the 53rd running of the Rolex 24! Oswaldo Negri Jr., and Michael Shank Racing, with their new Ligier JS P2 Honda.
Negri Takes MSR Ligier JS P2 Honda to Rolex 24 Pole
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/negri-takes-msr-ligier-js-p2-honda-to-rolex-24-pole/
Also, the GT class polesitters have been decided.
Gavin, Davison Score GT Poles at Daytona
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/gavin-davison-score-gt-poles-at-daytona/
...And, MSR's Ligier, with A.J. Allmendinger at the wheel, is fastest in night practice.
Allmendinger Leads Night Practice at Daytona
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/allmendinger-leads-night-practice-at-daytona/
Negri Takes MSR Ligier JS P2 Honda to Rolex 24 Pole
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/negri-takes-msr-ligier-js-p2-honda-to-rolex-24-pole/
Also, the GT class polesitters have been decided.
Gavin, Davison Score GT Poles at Daytona
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/gavin-davison-score-gt-poles-at-daytona/
...And, MSR's Ligier, with A.J. Allmendinger at the wheel, is fastest in night practice.
Allmendinger Leads Night Practice at Daytona
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/allmendinger-leads-night-practice-at-daytona/
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
more pre-race Rolex 24 news
In the coming days, leading up to the 24 Hours of Daytona, we'll look at some of the major headlines for that race, and then, in a separate post, look at news from other sports car racing championships.
Daytona Tuesday notebook
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/daytona-tuesday-notebook/
Daytona Wednesday notebook
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/daytona-wednesday-notebook-2/
Hand: "I've Wanted to be on this Program Since I Was a Kid"
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/hand-ive-wanted-to-be-on-this-program-since-i-was-a-kid/
Dwyer Confirmed for Full Season; Mazda's Confirm CTSC Entries"
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/ctscc/dwyer-confirmed-for-full-season-mazdas-confirm-ctsc-entries/
Shank: "We'll Continue to Get Better and Better"
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/shank-well-continue-to-get-better-and-better/
Aschenbach Fastest in CTSC Daytona Wednesday Practice
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/ctscc/aschenbach-fastest-in-ctsc-daytona-wednesday-practice/
Daytona CTSC Thursday Notebook
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/ctscc/daytona-ctsc-thursday-notebook/
Hindman Paces CTSC Practice 3 at Daytona
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/ctscc/hindman-paces-ctsc-practice-3-at-daytona/
Negri Leads Opening Practice at Daytona
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/negri-leads-opening-daytona-thursday-practice/
Daytona Thursday Notebook
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/daytona-thursday-notebook/
Daytona Tuesday notebook
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/daytona-tuesday-notebook/
Daytona Wednesday notebook
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/daytona-wednesday-notebook-2/
Hand: "I've Wanted to be on this Program Since I Was a Kid"
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/hand-ive-wanted-to-be-on-this-program-since-i-was-a-kid/
Dwyer Confirmed for Full Season; Mazda's Confirm CTSC Entries"
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/ctscc/dwyer-confirmed-for-full-season-mazdas-confirm-ctsc-entries/
Shank: "We'll Continue to Get Better and Better"
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/shank-well-continue-to-get-better-and-better/
Aschenbach Fastest in CTSC Daytona Wednesday Practice
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/ctscc/aschenbach-fastest-in-ctsc-daytona-wednesday-practice/
Daytona CTSC Thursday Notebook
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/ctscc/daytona-ctsc-thursday-notebook/
Hindman Paces CTSC Practice 3 at Daytona
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/ctscc/hindman-paces-ctsc-practice-3-at-daytona/
Negri Leads Opening Practice at Daytona
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/negri-leads-opening-daytona-thursday-practice/
Daytona Thursday Notebook
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/daytona-thursday-notebook/
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