Race Director Beaux Barfield, is still looking into track conditions,
but doing so, in a pretty fun way, in a road legal Porsche 911.
Katherine Legge says that DeltaWing was hoping for a dry race. That
car, does not have the weight, downforce, or tire width, to be
competitive, in the wet. The small front tires on the Deltawing,
dissipate the water well. There's not enough weight, to get into the
aquaplaning situation, because of the smaller contact patch. But, the
car holds the road pretty well, it appears.
One of the
biggest problems, is visibility on the car, for a fogging windshield.
It is hard to get air into the cockpit of the Deltawing, for
defrosting. Lights out on the safety car, and we are ready to restart
this race. The #8 Starworks Martini liveried Prototype Challenge car is
pitting. This car, is one of the few, with a four driver line up. It
is being shared by Renger van der Zande, Alex Popow, Mike Hedlund, and
Mirco Shultis. The restart is going to be a tricky situation. Track
position will be critical at this stage, especially if the race is
called early.
There's still a lot of water on the front
straightaway. We are back to green. Can everyone get through on this
restart? Yes. But, the visibility, is rubbish. Wolf Henzler is up to
third in class in the Falken Tires Porsche in GT Le Mans. As a driver,
with the bad visibility, it is difficult to tell what kind of other car,
or class of car, your competitor, is driving. Prototype Challenge
cars, are about a second slower than the GTLM machines. John Edwards,
slides his BMW Z4 GT, in the wet! Yikes! Nice car control!
With
BMW in front in GTLM this will play into the manufacturer's
championship. This is outstanding driving, in the rain. Don't touch
the paint. Patrick Pilet has passed Wolf Henzler and wants by John
Edwards. Let's talk physics. The grooves in the tires, have a volume
to them. If the amount that it's hitting at any point in it's rotation,
is greater than the volume in those grooves, the tire will come off the
ground. That's aquaplaning. Stakes are high in GTLM, because of the
possibility of this race,ending, at any time, due to weather.
It's
still a battle, in the championship hunt, between Porsche AG and
Bavarian Motorworks. Oh boy! Pilet is down the inside of Edwards!
This is good stuff! Hang on to your hollyhocks here, boys! Spectacular
motor racing! The Porsche made that pass, because the weight of the
car, is predominantly over the rear wheels. So, it will have, a better
power to weight ratio, compared to front engine cars like the Corvette
or the BMW.
Incidentally, Porsche also leads GT
Daytona, as Magnus Racing and the #44 have taken the lead in that
category. Patrick Pilet has found the sweet spot in handling on the
Porsche 911 RSR. Meanwhile, Dane Cameron is 1.8 seconds clear of
Sebastien Bourdais, and he is running very well.
We now see, a big accident. The Mike Shank Racing Ligier JS P2
Honda, is totally destroyed! This team has fought valiantly. But, John
Pew, has crashed, and utterly torn this motorcar, to pieces. Game
over. This is heartbreaking for Mike Shank Racing. This brings out the
safety car, and a full course yellow. John Pew goes off the road at
the bottom of the esses. This is a spot, on the road, where you are
guaranteed to hit the wall, no matter what. Simultaneously, the #85
Prototype Challenge car, takes a spin, down through turn ten. John Pew
is out of the car and should be fine. But, one of the guardrails may
have been moved, in the impact.
He was moving at a
fairly low speed. But, John Pew lost control, and absolutely clobbered
the retaining wall! These cars have traction control. But, traction
control can't help you beat the laws of physics. MSR exhausted all
their bodywork, and all their emotions. Dane Cameron is back in the race lead, as we look for another restart. Rediscover the race track. Visibility is still compromised. Four prototypes, and then, the top seven GT Le Mans contenders, are all on the same lap.
Patrick Pilet nearly takes a position from Scott Dixon in the Ganassi Riley Ford EcoBoost Prototype. Jorg Bergmeister passes John Edwards, and Tommy Milner, is right behind in the Corvette. Milner wants by Edwards. Edwards has to get by the Corvette's in order to keep up with the Porsche's. The sister BMW (#25) comes to pit lane. Bill Auberlen, Dirk Werner, and Augusto Farfus, are on the driver's strength in that car. Farfus is now at the wheel.
Pit stop time as well, for car #31. Oh boy! A spin for John Edwards in the #24 BMW! Sebastien Bourdais, will take over the race lead. #31 has a flawless pit stop. A brief problem, for one of the Mazda Prototype's. Sebastien Bourdais, continues to lead this race. Car #31 made a driver change on their pit stop, and Eric Curran is now at the controls. Robert Renauer, at the wheel of the #44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT America, does some agricultural racing.
Bill Sweedler tells his co-driver Townsend Bell, to run his own race, and not worry, yet, about the Aston Martin team of Christina Nielsen and Kuno Wittmer. The regular racing line is so slick, you can't touch the throttle. Pinch the corner, to gain traction. As this fourth hour of Petit Le Mans comes to a close, let's look at the leaders in the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup, which rewards and awards points and finishes, in the big four endurance races of the season. The Rolex 24 at Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, and here, at Petit Le Mans.
These cars, and their driving teams, are current leaders, in the NAEC, for this race.
Prototype: #5 Action Express Racing Chevrolet Corvette Prototype
Prototype Challenge: #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsport Oreca FLM Chevrolet
GT Le Mans; #3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C-7-R-
GT Daytona: #93 Riley Motorsports SRT Viper GTS-R-
The #911 Porsche is in pit lane, as we come to the end of the fourth hour of racing. Pilet is very comfortable in the car, even with the rain. The Corvette's are currently 1-2 in GT Le Mans. Tommy Milner leads Jan Magnussen, and Wolf Henzler in third. Scott Dixon runs third overall, and he has Corvette's chasing him down.
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