A big stack up as we go back to green, and Jamie McMurray goes to the lead of this motor race. Max Angelell avoids Jamie McMurray, spinning on cold tires. Did McMurray damage the Riley Ford Prototype? Andrea Bertolini, has taken over the #72 Ferraru 488 GTE. Olivier Pla, is running well, with the #60 MSR Ligier Honda. Pla, will race for the Ford GT team, but, in the FIA World Endurance Championship. It is awesome to see the mechanical grip of these new GTLM cars. The traffic into the turn six braking zone, is heavy.
CORE Autosport is running their strategy for using their silver rated drivers. #10 will be penalized. So will the #28 Konrad Motorsport Lambroghini Huracan GT3 of Lance Willsey. Jonathan Bomarito is leading overall and in Prototype. Sharing the driving chores in the #54 CORE Autosport car, are Jon Bennett, Colin Braun, Mark Wilkins, and Martin Plowman. At night, drivers can go faster, because they have less fear, and don't have the same reference points, as in daylight. Olivier Pla and Jonathan Bomarito, are running identical lap times. It's Honda vs. Mazda. The new 3.5 liter Honda V6 is a stout motor, as mentioned earlier on.
Antonio Garcia continues to drive the Corvette, for this duration. Let's enjoy the sound, of this V8 monster. The Corvettes run 1-2 in GT Le Mans, currently. Corvette has come to the fore. Right now, Corvette and Porsche continue to dominate GTLM. Davide Rigon, is in the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE. Michael Christensen, is running the #912 Porsche. Lucas Luhr, has taken over the #100 BMW M6.
Patrick Pilet and Andrea Bertolini, are also in contention. A few gremlins, with the Ford's. It's a surprise, because in testing, there were no issues. But then again, testing, is not the same as racing. They did a long test at Sebring, which is the ultimate endurance track. Bruno Spengler was buying lottery tickets, during the test session earlier in the month, when the jackpot was up. The talent line up in terms of road racing, this is the best we've seen.
Maurizio Mediani, is driving the SMP Racing BR01 Nissan prototype right now. With Prototype Challenge and GT Daytona, you should have Silver and Bronze drivers, meaning Pro/Am's who don't earn their living, driving race cars. But, there is a gray area there. A lot of drivers, are pro's, and some, are semi-professional. The DeltaWing, crew is thrashing, to get the car together. The car, being a Prototype, is modular. As long as they don't damage the tub, they should be OK. They are very motivated.
Pit stop time for the #11 Lamborghini Huracan GT3. They are in the lane, pitting. They have a wiring harness issue. Bill Sweedler cannot change gears if he is not going in a straight line. New wiring, and a new steering wheel, are in order. The #67 Ford GT, pits. They are running quickly, with Ryan Briscoe at the wheel. The #98 Aston Martin V8 Vantage has a drive through penalty, for spinning it's wheels, on the jacks. Matthias Lauda got out of the car, and Pedro Lamy is now at the controls.
The traffic intensity here, is much more intense, than at Le Mans, even though the number of starters, in this year's race, is similar, to Le Mans. You will lose 30 seconds coming down pit lane at 60 kilometers per hour (37 miles an hour). You have to be cool, and you cannot affordto have penalties. Second in GT Daytona, is Mario Farnbacher in the #23 Alex Job Racing Porsche. His brother, Dominik Farnbacher, driving for Viper, is right behind him. James Davison is driving the #007 TRG Aston Martin, the V12 version.
Jonathan Bomarito and Olivier Pla, both pitted. The Mazda, had an open door to deal with, and Bomarito went off the road on cold tires, too. Johnny Adam pits the #31 Whelen Engineering Action Express Chevroletr Corvette Prototype. Paul Miller Racing is pitting the Lamborghini. Madison Snow, will take over, from Bryan Sellers. These boys have had to practice their driver changes. The #10 Corvette Prototype also pitted, and Rubens Barrichello takes over from Max Angelelli. The #01 Ganassi Racing Riley Ford Prototype, is in.
Brendon Hartley brings it in, sharing with Andy Priaulx, Alexander Wurz, and Lance Stroll. No driver change. Lance Stroll is doing a great job, as Christian Fittipaldi passes the #01 in the #5 Corvette Prototype. The #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE is in. Olivier Beretta, will start his stint. The Lamborghini Huracan is doing well at Daytona. How will it perform, for the rest of the season? The next race, is the legendary 12 Hours of Sebring, in March, of course.
#62 is back on track, and as mentioned, Olivier Beretta is back at the wheel, replacing Davide Rigon. Olivier Pla, is now in the overall lead of this motor race. The #67 Ford GT has a cut right rear tire. Stefan Mucke is driving right now. Mucke is in for one race. In FIA GT competition, these two crashed, when both, were in different cars (Aston Martin, and Nissan, respectively). Now, they are more agreeable. #38, in Prototype Challenge, spins out. He either got tapped or got in hot. He lost it by himself. Brandon Gdovic at the wheel.
He started in stock cars, and has become a road racer, sharing with James French, and father/son drivers, Jim and Josh Norman.
No comments:
Post a Comment