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.
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