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.
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