It was 89 degrees at the race start. It's now 91.5 degrees. The track temperature is expected to reach 102 degrees, maximum. It's going to get hot. Ryan Dalziel continues to hold the lead. One year, Jim Busby in his Porsche 962, ran over a chunk of tire, and it punched a hole in the floorboard. The #60 MSR Ligier Honda pits, trying to get the setup right. Joey Hand pits the #01 Riley Ford EcoBoost. No tires. But, just fuel, and, a new nose, as the old nose, was damaged. They are raising the front end, on the #60, to take downforce away.
This race, is a 12 hour test session, in some ways. Fast drivers, like loose cars. But, to make a car last, you need understeer, or push. Three cars made an emergency pit stop. #70, #49, and #48. After practice, none of the engineerrs from porsche or Michelin, could be found. There is a high level meeting, for Porsche, and Michelin. The media is invited. The guys are polaying games, and Bib, the Michelin man, also reveals the secrts, of pit strategy. The Michelin boys, are playing, with Legos!
Pit stop time for GT machines, and GT Daytona cars, specifically. Alex Job Racing has both cars pitting. Ian James takes over from Mario Farnbacher in the #23 car. Ryan Dalziel still leads as we go back to green. Dalziel wants to lead a lap here. Tommy Milner is trying to pass his competition in GTLM. Jorg Bergmeister just got into one of the factory Porsche's. Milner has already grabbed two or three spots within half a lap. Giancarlo Fisichella has just taken over the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 458 Italia.
The Ferrari 458 Italia is on it's last legs. The new Ferrari 488 will be the new Ferrari for worldwide GT racing, in the future. Many of these corners, are tricky, as the road falls away, even though the track is flat. The #2 Tequila Patron car pitted, and the #1 did not. The #60 Ligier is still not running up to snuff. They were dominant at Daytona. They have had engine issues, and, have not had the speed.
Ryan Dalziel continues to lead. Ooh. The #16 of Tomy Drissi, and the #11 of Chris Cumming, spin. But, these are two of the best in the class. Dane Cameron is doing well, after having issues with braking on the #31 Corvette Prototype. He is feeling comfortable. Richard Westbrook is running well, too. Tomy Drissi is giving a shoutout to his dad, on the race car. He also designs billboards, for movies.
Conor Daly has bodywork damage. However, he's at the top of the table in Prototype Challenge. He qualified fourth in class. Joey Hand just ran a 1:58.6. Ryan Dalziel runs a 1:53.6. Traffic, is why the lap times differ so. #10 is in the lane. They have had a braking issue again. There is a newly mandated FIA fence in the Sebring pits. There are no pit boards on the front straight. The signaling is done out of turn 16, on the Ulmann straight.
Ooh! Alex Popow is really loose, through the Le Mans curve. That's snap oversteer. Mike Hedlund could not race at Sebring. Popow was drafted in. He's won lots of Prototype Challenge races. Patrick Pilet is giving the #911 Porsche 911 RSR a good run. Ooh. Westbrook was way out in the gray area. The #45 Flying Lizard Audi R8 LMS, is out. Game over for Robert Thorne, Colin Thompson, and Marco Holzer.
#57 spins and continues. Go to IMSA.com, and sign up for the newsletter. Keep up with the series. Check it out. Now, there will be a pit stop, soon, for one of the teams. We're an hour and forty minutes into this race. Richard Westbrook and Dane Cameron are battling. This sets us up for more intensity later in the race. You can't drop a lap. There are three checkered flags, with the bonus points. Back time the race. Ooh! Local yellow, as Colin Braun tries to dodge Richard Westbrook!
Jon Bennett is in that car. Oswaldo Negri Jr. has hit the tire wall in the Ligier Honda.
Ooh! That's a big lick through turns 14 and 15. It's at Bishop bemd. He tries inside a GT LM Porsche, and ker-rash! Negri whacks the wall. That was a violent wreck! Stay in the car until the marshals come to you. Bryan Sellers in the #17 Falken Tires Porsche 911 RSR, but, Negri Jr. spun on his own. He shares with John Pew and Justin Wilson. Negri Jr. didn't overly commit to the corner. But, he got bonked in the rear end of the car. The curbs are gapped at the top, and it was too much for the car, as it was loaded up.
We're still under yellow. The tire wall is askew, and there's still bits of bodywork. There is a ton of damage on the #60 car. Their race, is over. The chassis, could also be damaged. Pit stops begin, and we see wow! The #16 and the #57 get into a contact situation. Both GTLM and GTD cars pit. Earl Bamber takes over one of the cars. Nick Tandy is also on the Porsche driver's strength. When you list a driver in two separate cars, one driver, has to get points, in only one car. A crew member could have been knocked down in that incident between Tomy Drissi and Tracy Krohn.
Porsche has 18 overall wins, and 69 class wins at Sebring. They won both GT LM and GTD, last year. Daytona has a wide pit lane. Sebring, has a narrow one. Ryan Dalziel enjoys running the old, open top HPD car. It was the #50 50+ Racing Team Riley BMW that was in the pit, as Tracy Krohn, had his tires, partially in the middle lane on pit road. Pit stops continue, as we approach ten hours left to run in this classic race. More to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment