Spa 24 Hours Super Pole

More coverage from Spa.  Check out the Super Pole session.

Spa 24 Hours qualifying

Here is the qualifying session for the 24 Hours of Spa.  The race may be over.  Yours truly couldn't write aboiut the whole race, because of some delays with the network broadcast highlights show.  Stay tuned for a race report, coming soon.  Here are videos of pre-qualifying, and qualifying to wet your appetite for great Blancpain Endurance Series GT3 racing.

IMSA action + Spa 24 Hours

So much racing still to talk about, yet, so little time, to extrapolate on the details of these great motor races.  Stay tuned, as promised, for updates on some of the previous IMSA Weathertech Series races, as well as, (eventually), a full rundown of what happened in the Spa 24 Hours which is currently taking place.  Might have an abbreviated report of who wins, tomorrow morning, for the Spa 24.  Looking forward to bringing you the action.

Spa 24 Hours entry list

Yours truly is not sure when he will be able to cover the Spa 24 Hours.  Perhaps once there is a YouTube video of the race highlights.  But, for now, if you are going to follow the race in any way, shape or form, this weekend, here is the official entry list from the Spa 24 website.

http://www.24hoursofspa.com/entry-list

More news from the 24 Hours of Spa

Before the race tomorrow, more news on the 24 Hours of Spa.

Rosenqvist Leads Mercedes Mercedes AMG 1-2-3 in Pre-Qualifying
http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/rosenqvist-leads-mercedes-amg-1-2-3-in-pre-qualifying/

Lucas Ordonez has WAY too much fun, riding shotgun, sans a second racing seat in the Nissan GT Academy Nissan GT-R.

VIDEO: Ordonez Goes for A Wild Ride in Nissan GT-R at Spa Parade
http://sportscar365.com/features/videos/video-ordonez-goes-for-wild-ride-in-nissan-at-parade/

Spa Thursday Notebook
http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/spa-thursday-notebook-6/

Gotz Tops Qualifying 1 at Spa
http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/gotz-tops-qualifying-1-at-spa/

Van Gisbergen Quickest After Qualifying 2 at Spa
http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/van-gisbergen-quickest-after-qualifying-2-at-spa/

Soucek: "We Are One of Those Cars Everyone is Looking At"
http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/soucek-we-are-one-of-those-cars-everyone-is-looking-at/

Gotz Leads Mercedes-AMG Sweep in Super Pole at Spa
http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/gotz-takes-htp-mercedes-to-24h-spa-pole/

Spa Friday Notebook
http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/spa-friday-notebook-5/

Gotz Loses Spa Pole to Schmid
http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/gotz-loses-spa-pole-to-schmid/

Official qualifying results have yet to be released.  If they are, stay tuned for a second update later today.

24 Hours of Spa news

More headlines as we look ahead to this weekend's running of the 24 Hours of Spa Francorchamps, the crown jewel race in the Blancpain Endurance Series calendar.

Baguette to Replace Kox at 24H Spa
http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/baguette-to-replace-kox-at-24h-spa/

Lago Lamborghini Gallardo Tops Bronze Test at Spa
http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/lago-racing-lamborghini-gallardo-tops-bronze-test-at-spa/

Spa Tuesday Notebook
http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/spa-tuesday-notebook-2/

McLaren, Van Gisbergen Lead GT Challenge Title Fight into 24H Spa
http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/mclaren-van-gisbergen-on-top-in-gt-challenge-entering-24h-spa/

Derani: "It's a Great Opportunity to Have My Feet in GT Racing"
http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/derani-its-a-great-opportunity-to-have-my-feet-in-gt-racing/

Spa Wednesday Notebook
http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/wednesday-spa-notebook/

Eng: "We're Still Improving the BMW M6 GT3 in Every Session"
http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/eng-rowe-were-still-improving-the-bmw-m6-gt3-in-every-session/

Emil Frey Planning Jaguar F-Type GT3
http://sportscar365.com/industry/emil-frey-planning-jaguar-f-type-gt3/

Haase Tops Mixed-Condition Free Practice at Spa
http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/haase-tops-free-practice-at-spa/

Kaffer: "Blancpain GT Is Quite A Strong Championship"
http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/kaffer-blancpain-gt-is-quite-a-strong-championship/

24 Hours of Spa entry list & test day

A link to the entry list, and news about the test day, for this weekend's 24 Hours of Spa Francorchamps, the crown jewel event in the Blancpain Endurance Series.

24H Spa Entry List Released
http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/24h-spa-entry-list-released/

...and

Varied Weather Conditions Highlight 24H Spa Test Day
http://sportscar365.com/blancpain/varied-weather-conditions-highlight-24h-spa-test-day/

More FIA WEC headlines

We have now concluded coverage of the Nurburgring 6 Hours.  But, there's plenty more news coming from the FIA World Endurance Championship as we look ahead to their inaugural visit to Mexico in early September.

Ricky Taylor Joins Larbre for Three-Race WEC Program
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/ricky-taylor-joins-larbre-for-6h-mexico/

Ford Planning Four-Car 24H Le Mans Effort Through 2019
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/ford-planning-four-car-24h-le-mans-effort-through-2019/

Future Unclear for Rebellion Racing
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/future-unclear-for-rebellion-racing/

FIA, ACO Considering Locking In 2017 Le Mans GTE-Pro BoP
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/fia-aco-considering-24h-le-mans-gte-pro-bop-lock-in/

News after the 6 Hours of the Nurburgring

Wrapping up Sunday's FIA World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of the Nurburgring.  More FIA WEC and general sports car racing news, on the way.  Stay tuned. 

Porsche Outduels Audi for 6H Nurburgring Win
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/porsche-outduels-audi-for-6h-nurburgring-win/

Vasselon (Toyota): "We Were Not in the Race"
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/vasselon-toyota-we-were-not-in-the-race/

KCMG Porsche Excluded Post-Race
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/kcmg-porsche-excluded-post-race/

Nurburgring Post-Race Notebook
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/nurburgring-post-race-notebook-2/

Nurburgring Content Recap
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/nurburgring-content-recap-2/

VIDEO: 6 Hours of the Nurburgring Highlights

Highlights from yesterday's fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the 6 Hours of the Nurburgring.  More FIA WEC and other sports car racing news, to come.

6 Hours of the Nurburgring: Hour 6 (the finish)

Neel Jani and Andre Lotterer are really pushing each other.  We're entering the final hour.  The rules change.  The best is yet to come.

We are seeing Neel Jani and Andre Lotterer bangiung wheels!  Argy bargy ahoy!  Sports car endurance racing turned into a demolition derby?  Apparently so.  Damage to the diffuser on the Porsche.  Romain Dumas is not happy.  Andre Lotterer has likely gotten into the back of the Porsche.  Andre Lotterer has come alive as we get down to business in this race.  Audi passes, and gets hit by the SMP Racing LMP2 car.  It was the LMP2 class Gibson.  Andre Lotterer didn't like being washed out in turn one.  So... bang!  We have our fifth full course yellow to recover the debris from that wreck.  The #1 Porsche 919 has pitted and Timo Bernhard is now in the car, to finish this race. 

The earlier Ford fire was due to a stuck fuel inlet valve.  Aston Martin has had a good race, but Ferrari has been playing catch up, in LM GTE Pro.  We have 47 minutes left in the race now.  ...And, we are under our sixth full course yellow flag.  A battle ensues in LMP2 with Jonny Kane and Antonio Pizzonia.  One of the Manor cars was spewing brake dust, signaling imminent brake failure.  It must have been the sister car #45, as the #36 SignaTech Alpine, pits.  Nicolas Lapierre has had two straight Le Mans wins in LMP2 with two different teams.  Alpine is double stinting their tires.  Gustavo Menezes is at the controls of the French Blue racer. 

Toyota #6 goes another lap down.  Both Porsche and Audi have gotten the same fuel mileage.  Yes it is true, and you can pay many Euros, and go as fast as you want in your car or on your motorcycle.  Olivier Pla in the #66 Ford GT, has been issued a penalty for a pit infringement, and the #2 Porsche has also been given a penalty.  They could be passed for fourth by the Toyota with Sebastien Buemi at the keyboard.  The verdict is in from Race Director Edoardo Freitas.  Porsche is changing the diffuser and releasing it from under the rear deck.  It's like trying to take sofa down a stairway and it is just too big.  Audi will battle for second.  Loic Duval ahead of Andre Lotterer.

35 minutes remain in the 6 Hours of the Nurburgring.  Make that, just over a half hour.  It is 6:30 P.M. Central European Time, and 11:30 A.M. Central Standard Time in America.  A strong race for Aston Martin in LM GTE Am.  The switch to Dunlop tires, seems to work for Aston Martin.  Neel Jani has dropped away from the front running trio.  Porsche seems to have this race covered with car #1.  Jani is ahead of Sebastien Buemi in the first of the Toyota's.  Nicolas Lapierre holds an advantage over Bruno Senna in LMP2.  22 seconds is the gap.  Senna has newer tires.  Lapierre has to keep digging. 

Gianmaria Bruni leads Sam Bird in LM GTE Pro.  Those boys are 1-2 and have fought their way through the field, over the third place car, the Ford GT of Olivier Pla.  Pedro Lamy leads LM GTE Am over Wolf Henzler.  Ford extends their involvement with sports car racing until 2019 and BMW, could get back into sports car racing on a factory basis at Le Mans as soon as 2018, having last competed and won there, way back in 1999.  Under 20 minutes to go now.  The ESM Ligier Honda is third in LMP2.  Ryan Dalziel behind the wheel right now. 

The next race on the schedule (starting the second half of the FIA WEC season), is the inaugural 6 Hours of Mexico at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico, in five weeks, and it will be run the first weekend in September.  Until then, so long, everyone.  Ford is in the lane.  #66 serves their penalty.  The infraction on which the penalty was based, happened two hours ago.  Olivier Pla remains at the controls and will finish.  Nicki Thiim is also running well in the Aston Martin.  Thiim has passed Pla on course with 15 minutes left. 

Wolf Henzler in the #78 KCMG Porsche 911 RSR is second behind the #98 Aston Martin of Pedro Lamy.  The #83 Ferrari is running well, and Paolo Ruberti is back in the #50 Larbre Competition Corvette.  Bruno Senna is off the road.  Agricultural racing through the gravel for Senna.  Shadows growing long at the Nurburgring as we approach 7:00 P.M. Central European Time, with ten minutes to go.  Porsche and Audi split the top four places in their home race in Deutschland.  The race has been very dramatic.

Timo Bernhard runs two wheels off on the right side.  Alexandre Imperatori is at the controls of the #13 Rebellion, in the LMP1 privateer class.  Nick Heidfeld in the sister Rebellion is second, and they had issues with the nose and the front bulkhead on the car.  Some of the Aston Martin drivers pay a visit to the Porsche garage.  Drivers want to win, but they know they have to take care of their fellow drivers out there, in this amazing era of the hybrid Prototype.  Audi continues to hire from within their company, and shows they have a solid effort.

All of the big manufacturers run programs to develop drivers and crew members, raising the sport to a higher level.  This win is huge for car #1 as they'll get a full 25 points for this win, the champions from last year.  Lots of racing miles remain and we have five races left when the checkers wave in Germany in a couple minutes.  We will see the checkers this time.  Porsche will win at The Nurburgring.  He will do one additional lap. 

30 seconds to go.  This race will be over, real soon.  We are at the top of the hour.  A wall of tire debris off to the side of the road.  But that won't worry Mark Webber as he goes for his fifth WEC win and his second straight at the Nurburgring!  Mark Webber,  Timo Bernhard, and Brendon Hartley, win the Nurburgring... Porsche's home race!

Overall/LMP1: #1 Bernhard/Hartley/Webber      Porsche 919 Hybrid

             LMP2: #36 Lapierre/Menezes/Richelmi   Alpine A460 Nissan'

             LM GTE Pro: #51 Bruni/Calado               Ferrari 488 GTE

             LM GTE Am: #98 Dalla Lana/Lamy/Lauda   Aston Martin V8 Vantage

The next FIA WEC race, is at the beginning of September, for the inaugural race in Mexico City, Mexico at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.  September 3rd is the race date.  So, in five weeks.  We'll see you, live, from Mexico City, looking forward to another great race as the championship heats up.  So long, from the Eiffel Mountains and the Nurburgring, everyone.

6 Hours of the Nurburgring: Hour 5

Will the LMP1 cars take just two more pit stops?  We are on lap 132 in this race right now.  The #71 AF Corse Ferrari is in the lane, and Sam Bird is out of the car.  Pippo Derani is running very well right now for ESM.  They are fifth in LMP2 right now, passing the Strakka car.  ESM is not sure they will stay in WEC or run in IMSA next year.  Denmark is a tiny country, but produces lots of great racing drivers.  Ford vs. Ferrari resumes as the win for LM GTE Pro.  James Calado is now at the wheel of the #51 AF Corse car.  Khalid Al Qubaisi may have been replaced by Patrick Long in the Abu Dhabi Proton machine.  Oh!  Contact!  Porsche on Porsche!  Marc Lieb was too committed to the corner!  Yikes!  That gives Porsche team management a heart attack!

Rare mistake by Marc Lieb.  Ker-rash!  Wouldn't be surprised, if Lieb gets a penalty.  We have another full course yellow.  Debris on the road, and the #88 Porsche has spun off.  This will determine the stewards decision.  #88 is stuck in the gravel trap.  Bad move.  Similar to Brendon Hartley's wreck at Silverstone at the season opener back in April.  Pit stop time for the top contenders.  Full Course Yellow.  Incident between cars #2 and #88, under investigation.  This is the fourth full course caution of the race.  Everyone is headed for the pit lane.  Both Porsche's and both Audi's pitted.  Neel Jani is in the #2, and that Porsche could very well get a penalty.  They had to change the nose on the car.

There's a broken dive plane on the #2 where he tapped the GT car.  The Porsche pits were stacked with both cars in the lane at the same time.  Loic Duval and Andre Lotterer take over the driving chores in the #8 and #7 Audi R18's.  The #88 car was retrieved from the gravel trap.  We await the decision of the race stewards.  The stewards have asked the management of the #2 Porsche to come for a meeting.  Track cleanup is very effective right now, and we have just over an hour and a half of racing remaining, here at the Nurburgring.

Here comes the green.  We're green again, as the two Toyota's go wheel to wheel!  Stephane Sarrazin and Sebastien Buemi are going for it.  Loic Duval also loses control and the back end of the Audi starts dancing around! I wonder if his foot slipped while we were going to green or still under full course yellow.  Yikes!  We have bright sunshine and blue skies.  There was heavy rain earlier in the week.  The weather changes in the Eiffel Mountains very quickly.  Alpine built small displacement cars in France, and Alpine ran in the small displacement Index of Performance class back in the mid 1960s.

Drivers have to be aware that their bosses are looking over your shoulder, all the time.  Hundreds of millions of dollars are invested by manufacturers to win these races.

1. Put up a lap time.
2. Don't break the race car.

Pippo Derani, at age 22, is amazed at where he is as a racing driver right now, as are those of us (like yours truly), who cover the sport.  It's go time for Mark Webber, for sure.  No word on penalties for the #2 car as yet.  Car #2 reported to the stewards for causing a collision.  If Jani has to serve a drive through penalty, he will lose position.  No chance of rain, about 75 degrees, and an hour and a half of racing remains in the 6 Hours of the Nurburgring.  Porsche has been told to reverse positions and car #2 will get a penalty.  Porsche boss Andreas Seidel knows what the situation is.  But, Mark Webber is not a fan of team owners.

Race Director Edoardo Freitas hammered the drivers saying "do not hit slower cars!"  Now, hit the lane, for the drive through penalty, for the Porsche.  Where is the #8 Audi?  The #8 just nabs him with a pit lane delta of 25 seconds.  The headlights on these Prototypes, are so intense, the GT drivers get their vision obscured.  So they have only three flicks of the lights allowed before making a pass.  Ambient temperature and track temperature are very close, but usually, the track temperature is warmer.

GTE Pro cars are vert quick, but they don't have the lightning acceleration of the hybrid LMP1 cars.  The #6 Toyota of Stephane Sarrazin has been issued a passing flag at turn four.  Marc Lieb accepts that he hit the #88 Porsche 911 RSR.  One of them racin' deals.  The Audi porpoises over the bumps.  One hour and thirteen minutes left to go.  One more blog entry on this race, coming, before we wave the checkers on this motor race ladies and gentlemen.  The #12 Rebellion AER was in the garage briefly.  They have a solid lap lead over their team mate, as Nick Heidfeld is driving.  A man who had a good Formula 1 career, who took a pole with Williams, but never a Formula 1 win, as Loic Duval takes a place.

Black and white flag for the #67 Ford GT of Harry Tincknell.  Stefan Mucke is in good shape on fuel in the sister car.  Neel Jani goes outside and Loic Duval locked the brakes, and washed Neel Jani off the road.  Awkward!  Nick Heidfeld had pole in Formula 1 here in 2005, finishing second, for Williams, with Mark Webber as his team mate.  Webber wrecked on lap one.  Neel Jani has not shown the pace to clear Loic Duval by now.  Mark Webber has a 30 second lead at the moment.  Webber has not won yet, and only has three and a half points!  Loic Duval holds Marc Lieb.  Mark Webber is allowed to get away.  Porsche will run their 2015 spec battery pack for the rest of the season.

It's a series of hundreds of lithium ion cells encased in a metal shell.  Andre Lotterer runs deep on the brakes.  We are coming to an hour to go.  Mark Webber draws his lead out more.     

6 Hours of the Nurburgring: Hour 4

Neel Jani leads this race by a good ten seconds.  Stefan Mucke hangs onto the lkead as Nelson Panciatici has a bit of a moment in the #35 Alpine.  Nick Leventis leads LMP2 in the #42 as the #44 Manor LMP2 of Tor Graves from Thailand is off the road.  Matthew Howson from Norwich, England, is in the car.  Antonio Pizzonia has run Formula 1, IMSA, and other series.  Pizzonia ran with a couple of races with some of these drivers.  Silver rated drivers who have had long careers like Stefan Johansson and Scott Pruett still want to race.  'Tis true, that racing drivers never retire.  The Nurburgring is under new management, and is finding it's way back to fiscal health. 

With their problems, G Drive has fallen to 33rd and last in the running order.  Neel Jani is ten seconds ahead of the sister Porsche 919 in the hands of Timo Bernhard.  Bernhard is quicker.  Good battle between Patrick Long and Yutaka Yamagishi.  As a Bronze rated driver, Khaled al Qubaisi has to do an hour and 45 minutes to score points.  Gentleman drivers have been the backbone of sports car racing over the years.  We see a problem with the #4 ByKolles car.  The CLM P1/01 AER.  He is stranded on course and will bring out the third full course yellow of the race.  Oliver Webb is at the controls. 

There was smoke out of the #4 ByKolles car.  It's got burning bodywork and finally, the marshal with the fire extinguisher hits it.  Another countdown to green as David Heinemeier Hanson comes close to Joel Camathias in a sister Porsche.  Paul Dalla Lana leads LM GTE Am in the #98 Aston Martin V8 Vantage.  5, 4, 3, 2, 1.  Track is back to green.  Battle for the lead in LM GTE Pro between Nicki Thiim and Gianmaria Bruni.  Gianmaria Bruni passes Nicki Thiim for the LM GTE Pro lead!  Marc Lieb and Brendon Hartley have taken over each of the Porsche's.  Porsche 1-2.  Audi 3-4.  Toyota 5-6.  Mike Conway is 52 seconds behind Marcel Fassler and over a minute behind the race leader.

Olivier Pla passes Richard Lietz.  Yutaka Yamagishi moves out of the way.  Game over for the #26 G Drive car.  No mechanic's hands on that car.  It is out.  Saw a ;problem with the #42 Strakka machine.  It was a close moment in the final corner.  Porsche #2 of Marc Lieb is navigating traffic right now.  You see the same car, but with a different driver.  With the data available the BoP between turbocharged and normally aspirated cars, it's an incredible thing.  The Ford GT40, the namesake of the new Ford GT, had the number 40 because of the height of the roof line.  Mike Conway is in the lane, but, he's now in the garage.  They've had problems with the 2.4 liter turbocharged V6.  The #5 is on their third motor, and if they have a new motor, it's a pit lane penalty at the next race.

Nicolas Lapierre is in the #36 Alpine and working his way through LM GTE Pro traffic.  One has to wonder if Toyota is having turbo issues, which is what took them out of contention at Le Mans.  Mechanics working all over the car.  Stephane Sarrazin is now into the car.  Two hours and 12 minutes to go.  Clouds remain overhead, but, we do not expect any rain.  Lucas di Grassi is making ground on the Porsche's.  Maybe we will still have a deluge of rain.  We'll have to find out.  Loic Duval has not driven the Audi yet today.  Kamui Kobayashi has taken over one of the Toyota's.  The Nurburgring is the tighest, shortest track the championship runs on all year.

Pit stops coming for Porsche.  The cockpit temperatures in these cars are monitored and have to be within the ambient temperatures that are forecast for the races.  Does Porsche have problems with the dashboard in one of their cars?  The electronic data display isn't working.  We are coming up on two hours to go at the Nurburgring.  In replay we see Vitaly Petrov take a position and dive for pit lane in one fell swoop.  Petrov's career went from Formula 1, to DTM, to sports cars.  The #13 Rebellion is running well in the privateer LMP1 class, with Matteo Tuscher at the wheel of it,

For position, Antonio Pizzonia passes Nick Leventis.  Jonny Kane will finish the race for Strakka.  Leventis' family has an olive oil business and he also recruits and tests new drivers, management, nutrition, and fitness.  Strakka was going to do a private LMP1 car.  But, they couldn't.  The Asian Le Mans Series is also picking up attention, as the championship clinch helps earn a berth into the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  For the new LMP2 cars next year, the 450 horsepower Nissan engines will be replaced with motors with 600 horsepower.  LMP2 teams in WeatherTech competition, might not get to race at Le Mans, if they have to change engines.  They will have to team up with teams from Europe.

Two hours to go now. 

6 Hours of the Nurburgring: Hour 3

Francois Perrodo has beached his Ferrari.  Full Course Yellow, freezing everyone at 80 kilometers an hour on the track.  80 kilometers an hour is 50 miles per hour.  GT cars asre pitting.  Pit lane speed limit is 60 kilometers an hour (37 miles an hour).  #88, pole sitter in LM GTE Am, has had a pit fire, or, they are getting the windshield really clean.  Has there been another pit fire?  Khaled al Qubaisi has stayed at the wheel of the #88 Abu Dhabi Proton Porsche.  In LMP2 drive time is an hour and fifteen minutes for the Pro Am driver as car #35 exits the lane.  Hats off to the corner workers.  Races could not happen without them.

Danish driver David Heinemeier Hanson is part of the #88 squad.  The car could not get restarted.  The fire was put out.  But, this is not how you win races in a World Championship.  Heinemeier Hanson is not a full-time driver.  He is an internet developer.  He's run Prototype and GT racing.  10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.  Green!  We're back to racing.  Hearing the Porsche accelerate with the energy boost sounds like the Starship Enterprise.  Mark Webber. Andre Lotterer, and Lucas di Grassi are the top three.  Andre Lotterer uses all the curbing, and he's well into his double stint. 

Alex Wurz is still involved with Toyota, and is President of the Grand Prix Drivers Association, and is the reserve driver for Toyota.  RGR By Morand, does not have Monsieur Morand racing with them.  We will see these cars racing in Mexico and in the U.S. at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, coming soon.  For the Mexico City race, it will be run at high altitude, and special rules have been issued for that event specifically.  It looks like, earlier in the weekend, the drivers and mechanics had a Lego building contest.  Clearly, the pitr crews are more proficient at it, than the drivers.

We aren't even halfway yet and more tight battles for position in LM GTE Am!  Christian Ried passes Yutaka Yamagishi.  Porsche vs. Corvette.  Lots of tire buildup off line.  If weather comes, it isn't expected until towards the end of the race, at the five hour mark.  Mathias Lauda is up there, Niki Lauda's son.  Christian Ried, passes offline.  Will the stewards look at that?  Watch out when you arein your own battle and get overtaken by a Prototype.  Matthias Lauda keeps the lead in LM GTE Pro.  Gustavo Menezes puts a lap on Maurizio Mediani.  Dominik Kraihamer makes contact with another car, but keeps the lead in the non hybrid LMP1 class. 

The #8 Audi leads the #7 in the championship.  The clouds are building here in the Eiffel Mountains.  Moments ago, Andre Lotterer let Lucas di Grassi by, to take second, and chase down the leading Porsche.  Toyota is running well, with their 2.4 liter turbocharged V6, using braking energy.  Audi recuperates under braking as does Toyota.  But, Porsche, uses the braking and also, the turbocharger.  You start adding systems to a race car, and all that does is add weight.  Audi didn't want to because the diesel engine is so heavy.

The design of the car has to be considered for how much the driver needs to see.  Timo Bernhard will get into thje #1 Porsche 919 Hybrid for the second time, soon, taking over from Mark Webber.  The #4 ByKolles car pits and Oliver Webb takes over from Pierre Kaffer.  Simon Trummer is the third driver in that lineup.  #26 is in the garage.  The G Drive team has tumbled down the order and it looks like they have gearbox, starter motor, or alternator issues.  Gustavo Menezes leads for Alpine who won Spa and Le Mans.  Menezes is sharing with Nicolas Lapierre and Stephane Richelmi.  We wonder what the issue for G Drive coulod be.  Suspension?  Axle?  Gear selector?  Hmmm. 

#1.  Box, box, box.  Hit the lane.  In Europe, it's box.  Not pit.  Lucas Di Grassi leads.  Timo Bernhard is going to take the reins of the #1 Porscge.  Timo Bernhard should get back out in fourth ahead of the Toyota's.  The #5 Toyota just pitted with Anthony Davidson at the wheel.  Too early to pit.  He ran 26 laps in his stint whereas earlier, they were going 32 laps.  Audi hits the lanee with both cars.  #8 leads #7.  Patrick Long, Khalid al Qubaisi, and David Heinemeier Hanson, are being black flagged for exceeding track limits. Porsche #2 has had traction problems all day.  Lucas di Grassi does a double stint and into the #7 goes Marcel Fassler.

Eric Schuyjens is the new lead race engineer for Audi.  Lucas di Grassi is busy with his steering wheel with all the adjustments, as busy as my fingers typing this race report.  Anthony Davidson had to get a new nose, as he bounced the Toyota off the rumble strip, someplace.  We have our second full course yellow of the race and Romain Dumas pits his Porsche ahead of schedule.  Neel Jani will take over.  Debris is retrieved, and it could have been from the Toyota.  Neel Jani and Timo Bernhard run 1-2.  The #6 Toyota pits.  Mike Conway takes over from Stephane Sarrazin. 

We are back to green now with Neel Jani in the lead.  The Prototypes seem to shred their tires here.  Bigger cornering loads here at the Nurburgring.  Gianmaria Bruni has taken over the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE from James Calado.  Their team mates, Sam Bird and Davide Rigon, have won this year already.  The #66 Ford GT of Stefan Mucke leads LM GTE Pro and is 20th in the overall.  Ford GT, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, and Ferrari 488 GTE, top three in class.  Neel Jani thunders past these cars.  The LM GTE Pro blokes are battling for position.  Neel Jani is flying at a much greater closing speed.  But, don't pick up the clag on the tires.

AMR produces very good results.  Nicky Thiim is closing in on Stefan Mucke for the LM GTE Pro class lead and the Audi does not know where to go.  The Audi just disappeared.  We still have sunshine at the Nurburgring, almost halfway into this race. 

6 Hours of the Nurburgring: Hour 2

Nicki Thiim pits the Aston Martin.  The Aston and the Ford pit.  Andy Priaulx takes over for Harry Tincknell.  Oh! Fire in the lane!  Fuel spill for Ford!  They were in with a shot at Le Mans, and it's spwing out of the filler cap, which ins't supposed to happen!  Holy cow!  The vent didn't close on the fuel rig.  Abu Dhabi Proton is in the lane.  An hour and 45 minutes is the minimum drive time in GT.  Andy Priaulx says he's OK.  Fuel spilled onto the exhaust system.  A small fire?  No way.  That was a volcano!  Once they disconnect the fuel buckeye, the system should shut down.  It's not like fueling your road car at the gas station where the pump clicks off automatically.  A couple LMP2 cars battle.  Brendon Hartley continues to lead right now.

Sebastien Buemi in the Toyota, was in the lead, briefly.  Buemi has a WEC championship.  1:40.3 is the fastest lap thus far and Sebastien Buemi set that lap.  Marc Lieb is pushing but he says he's got a traction issue and understeer.  Bad combo.  That won't work.  Every team manages the pit stops differently.  Here in WEC, you cannot service the car while refueling.  The #67 car is out.  Game over.  Brendon Hartley, Timo Bernhard, and Mark Webber, have a lot of business to take care of in the points standings.   They hardly have a good amount of points on the board.

The Ford squad had a fuel valve failure, causing the fire we saw in the previous hour.  Oliver Jarvis is closing in on Brendon Hartley.  Oliver Jarvis is closing.  Nicolas Minassian and Ricardo Gonzalez battle in LMP2.  Oliver Jarvis is now leading.  In LMP2 at Oak Racing, they have Dunlop tires while ESM has Michelin's.  You can only change tire brands once in the season.  The FIA watches the Prototypes very closely for how much hybrid energy is put through the car to avoid anyone getting a competitive advantage.  Andre Lotterer cannot use the energy boost for overtaking.  Lead this motor race, but don't use too much energy on settings for the car.

Hey.  The #67 car is now back in the race!  The car was not too damaged after the fuel fire.  They could get back into the race.  Ooh!  Hartley is not reading the traffic well and keeps getting chopped by the Audi.  Hartley gets caught by the #86 Porsche 911 RSR for Gulf Racing, of Mike Wainwright who he hit, and because of that, flipped, at the season opener at Silverstone, England, back in April.  Wainwright shares with fellow Brits Adam Carroll and Ben Barker.  G Drive Racing is running well with Alex Brundle, Rene Rast, and Romain Rusinov.

Joel Camathias has taken over the #78 KCMG Porsche 911 RSR from Wolf Henzler.  Francois Perrodo is passed by an LMP2 car.  The LMP1 cars slice through traffic.  David Cheng has gone off the road with his LMP2 car and has gotten back on course.  Mark Webber is likely going to take over the #1 Porsche soon.  Mike Wainwright is off the road just a shade.  In LM GTE Am, Francois Perrodo is all over Joel Camathias.  Perrodo shares with Emmanuelle Collard and Rui Aguas.  Perrodo is a Bronze rated driver, rated based on results an participation, by an FIA committee.  Those ratings can be goofy.

Tires are ready for the #1 Porsche.  Hartley can't get the handling on the car and he's in the lane.  It's very early.  Box now, full service, for a slow puncture in the tire.  Hartley out, and Mark Webber, in.  This puts Porsche off their strategy.  Michelin tire engineers are studying the tires.  Lewis Williamson replaces Danny Watts in the Strakka LMP2 car.  He is a silver rated driver having a good drive.  An off and on for the #37 of Viktor Shaytar.  Danny Watts will be driver coach for Strakka Racing.  Oliver Jarvis and Andre Lotterer lead right now ahead of Brendon Hartley in the Porsche and the Toyota's of Sebastien Buemi and Kamui Kobayashi.

#7 is in the lane and Andre Lotterer will stay in for a double stint.  The two Toyota's are fourth and fifth overall and in LMP1.  Lucas Di Grassi takes over the second Audi R18.  Lucas di Grassi is now leading.  Sebastien "Boomer" Buemi, is second in the Toyota TS050.  Oliver Jarvis did well in the Audi and di Grassi has taken over.  Less than four hours and 15 minutes to go.  Now, folks, the shadows have gone away, and the clouds have collected.  We could indeed see rain before this race is complete.

Porsche #2 is pitting.  Romain Dumas will take over from Marc Lieb.  He wins the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, within a week of each other!  Sebastien Buemi now moves into the race lead.  We have not seen Schlasse Eiffel, the famous Nurburg castle, which is more visible, for the 14 mile Nordschleife.  Box, box, box, for Toyota.  Fuel, tires, and a driver change.  Both Toyota's pit together, again.  You don't have to stack pit stops in WEC like in Formula 1.  Stephane Sarrazin takes over the #6 Toyota TS050 Hybrid.  Battle for position in GTE Pro.  #71 Ferrari of Sam Bird, and the Ford GT.  Not sure who is in the Ford.

Paolo Ruberti is back racing after braking his back in a crash and missing Le Mans.  The crash was at the other great German speed palace, the Hockenheimring.  Olivier Pla, is running for Ford in the WEC and also for Krohn Racing in the European Le Mans Series.  Clouds have rolled in in western Germany.  We are nearing the end of hour two.  We've got a full course yellow flag according to timing and scoring, here at the Nurburgring.    

6 Hours of the Nurburgring: Hour 1

We are at round four of the FIA World Endurance Championship.  The 6 Hours of the Nurburgring from the legendary Nurburgring in the Eiffel Mountains of Germany.  Hills, trees, and a castle, set the scenery for this fabulous race track.  The green inferno.  Enter the legend.  Feel the race... next!  We are at round four of the FIA World Endurance Championship.  Le Mans, last time out, was amazing.  You remember, I'm sure... Toyota being denied victory in the last few minutes, and Porsche winning.  Ford, also returned to glory for the first time in many years. 

Porsche leads a wide open field for the championship.  Qualifying took place on a wet/drying track.  Abu Dhabi Proton with Khaled Al Qubaisi and Pat Long are on pole.  Marco Sorenson and Nicki Thiim are on pole in LM GTE Pro.  LMP2 sees G Drive on pole with Roman Rusinov and Rene Rast.  In LMP1, the #7 Audi R18 eTron Quattro with Andre Lotterer and Marcel Fassler, racing without Benoit Treluyer who is hurt.  But, stand by.  Six hours of the world's greatest sports car racing, coming up!

This is the Sudschleife.... as opposd to the Nordschleife, the north course, which is the legendary course right next door.  3.2 miles for this course, with 17 corners.  We are in western Germany.  Here we go!  We are racing at the Sudschleife!  The 6 Hours of the Nurburgring is on!   Very tight in LMP2 and four wide!  One Porsche has split the Audi's.  Porsche was dominant in practice and Audi came to the fore in qualifying.  Timo Bernhard splits the two Audi's.  Bernhard was one of the winners here last year.  Audi and Porsche are from Germany.  Toyota has theiur factory in Cologne, 90 miles away from the Nurburgring.  The longest straightaway is barely half a mile long.

These hybrid cars are going for it.  Don't abuse the curbs.  G Drive leads LMP2 with Rene Rast at the wheel in his home race.  Tire temperatures and pressures are getting into the sweet zone.  LMP1 Hybrids are opening the gap.  The Aston Martin's are going for it in GT.  The Ford's and Ferrari's are in hot pursuit as there's smoke from one of the Aston's.  The AF Corse Ferrari's had a horrid race at Le Mans, and need to bounce back.  Harry Tincknell feels the heat from Gianmaria Bruni.  Tincknell will finish the WEC season with Ford.  Stefan Mucke drives the sister car.  Ford scored double points at Le Mans.

The #45 Manor is here but was not entered in time for Le Mans.  Matt Rao, Richard Bradley, and Roberto Merhi share the car as Tincknell locks the braks coming up to the Schumacher esses.  The Nurburgring is a high downforce circuit compared to the long straights at Le Mans.  Will Benoit Treluyer be well enough for the next round in Mexico?  Maybe.  That race is in early September.  You will hear about it.  The Aston Martin is still on the course.  The smoke was temporary it seems.  The high downforce package will be used for the last six races of this season including here.

#7 is leading.  The whining sound you hear under braking, is the hybrid recovery system.  It is not the turbocharger, even though it kind of sounds like a truck, because of the Audi's diesel motor.  It is sunny at the Nurburgring right now.  Patrick Long and Wolf Henzler battle in LM GTE Am and Stefan Mucke races Gianmaria Bruni.  Ford vs. Ferrari.  Will rain hit halfway through this race?  We'll see in hour three or four.  ESM has switched from Dunlop to Michelin tires.  Pippo Derani can drive a loose race car, but neither Chris Cumming nor Ryan Dalziel like it. 

Judge when you brake and how hard, and also acceleration.  There is an art to recovering and using the energy.  You are sailing, basically.  You have to be within fuel thresholds while you are in competition.  These boys are like fighter pilots.  The Manor cars are being passed.  Don't exceed track limits.  I don't like Balance of Performance and I don't like track limits.  There's time for opinion, and yours truly will say, that he does not appreciate these new rules.  It's hard to do this, when you are feeling and looking for places to go.  How can you know where the limit is?  Put a gravel trap or a wall there.

Timo Bernhard has won at the new Nurburgring, and five times on the old course in the Nurburgring 24 Hour GT endurance race.  Traffic jam time as Timo Bernhard is closing on the Audi of Marcel Fassler.  We've completed 12 laps of this race already.  Richie Stanaway in the Aston, Gianmaria Bruni in the Ferrari, and both Ford's of Stefan Mucke and Harry Tincknell, are going for it.  Nicky Thiim had a huge crash in a very rare, one of seven, Koenigsegg Swedish hyper car.  But he came out without a scratch and is now racing his GT Aston Martin.  Timo Bernhard tries Marcel Fassler.  This is wild racing right now.

Audi holds off Porsche.  Marcel Fassler is giving Timo Bernhard nothing, and Oliver Jarvis and Neel Jani in the sister cars, are going for it.  Toyota does not have the high downforce setup for the Nurburgring.  Kazuki Nakajima and Mike Conway run fifth and sixth, currently.  Ford's and Ferrari's are still tussling in LM GTE Pro.  Ferrari is the bread, and Ford is the meat in the sandwich.  Or, the bratwurst in the bun, if you will.  Bernhard tries for the lead, and no grip into the braking zone, so, he loses out to the Audi!  Marcel Fassler defends, and Wolf Henzler in the KCMG GT Porsche, almost gets chopped! 

There's prestige for leading on home turf for Audi and/or Porsche.  Wolf Henzler in the #78 KCMG Porsche 911 RSR made contact.  Patrick Long leads in the #88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR.  Long didn't race at Spa back in May.  Richie Stanaway leads Gianmaria Bruni, Stefan Mucke, and Harry Tincknell.  Marcel Fassler wants by and here's Timo Bernhard again!  He wants the lead and wants it bad, here at the Nurburgring.  This is the shortest track these guys have raced on.  A 33 car field is really bunched up.

Fassler defends and Neel Jani makes contact with the Ford, and spins the Porsche 919!  He made contact with Harry Tincknell.  He tried to take advantage of Stefan Mucke, but it didn't work.  He locked the brakes.  He was in too deep. You tend to run a lot of front downforce.  But, if you use a lot of braking, there's pitch on the front end.  They go through the final corner... Jaguar corner.  Mucke washes out wide and Gianmaria Bruni is right on him through the Mercedes Arena.  Mercedes does not race in FIA WEC at the moment.  They do in Formula 1.

The #4 ByKolles car with Pierre Kaffer, is running well.  CLM and ByKolles are also based in Cologne, Germany, just like Toyota.  They had a horrid Le Mans with two engine fires.  Wondering if the LMP1  non hybrid cars will continue.  The privateer cars may run a DRS system by collapsing a wing element.  There cannot be a DRS on the front wing.  Too dangerous and too complex.  Oliver Jarvis has a run on Timo Bernhard and makes the pass.  45 minutes into this race.  We are close to the end of the first hour of racing.

Pit action, as Oliver Jarvis hits the lane.  No penalty for the collision between Neel Jani and Stefan Mucke.  Neel Jani is charging back after his spin.  In replay, Harry Tincknell passes Gianmaria Bruni.  Also, Davide Rigon is right in the fight.  Ford now has a four year program through 2019 as you have heard.  Audi is headed for the lane.  #7 is in.  The diesel gets less fuel than the gasoline car does.  Audi is diesel.  Porsche uses gasoline.  Balance of Performance is a real bugaboo.  Stefan Mucke has caught Richie Stanaway in the Aston Martin.  Andre Lotterer takes over the #7 car.  Oliver Jarvis is doing a double stint.  With two drivers, you have to do single stints.  Benoit Treluyer misses this race, because of falling off his mountain bike.

Jani in the lane.  30 laps into this race.  Benoit Treluyer will lose points.  Not good to have bike accidents when you are a racing driver.  #2 Porsche in the lane.  Bernhard out, and Timo Bernhard in.  Both Toyota's pit at the same time.  Highly unusual.  Lots of testing has happened since Le Mans.  Porsche tested at Barcelona.  Porsche and Audi tested.  Toyota did not.  Mucke goes across the curbs.  Toyota had 90 seconds to make a decision, but what they came up with cost them everything at Le Mans.  Chaps, that's why we run the races. 

The cockpits are hot with the heat and humidity today. 

FIA World Endurance Championship news from the Nurburgring

Lots of headlines to cover headed into tomorrow's FIA World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of the Nurburgring from the Eiffel mountains of Germany.

Porsche, AMR Get BoP Breaks; No Change to Ford For 6H Nurburgring

http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/porsche-aston-martin-get-performance-breaks-no-change-to-ford-for-6h-nurburgring/

VIDEO: Driving a LMP1 Hybrid
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/video-driving-a-lmp1-hybrid/

LMP1 Teams to Debut High Downforce Aero at Nurburgring
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/lmp1-teams-to-debut-high-downforce-aero-at-nurburgring/

Williamson: "It's About Grabbing the Opportunities That Arise"
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/williamson-its-about-grabbing-the-opportunities-that-arise/

VIDEO: Strakka's Post-24H Le Mans Weathered Car
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/video-a-weathered-car-after-le-mans-for-strakka-racing/

Porsche Out Front As LMP1 Title Fight Heads to Nurburgring
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/lmp1-title-fight-heads-to-nurburgring/

Tequila Patron ESM Switches to Michelins
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/tequila-patron-esm-switches-to-michelins/

Mixed LMP2 Grids Possible Next Year
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/mixed-lmp2-grids-possible-in-2017/

ESM Evaluating 2017 Options in IMSA, WEC
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/esm-evaluating-2017-options-in-imsa-wec/

Nurburgring Thursday Notebook
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/nurburgring-thursday-notebook-2/

We have covered the FIA WEC all year.  But, here's what happened in the first three races, in case you missed any of the action.

VIDEO: FIA WEC Rounds 1-3 Highlights
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/video-wec-rounds-1-3-highlights/

Calderon (RGR Sport): "Most of The Team Has Remained Intact"
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/calderon-rgr-sport-most-of-the-team-has-remained-intact/

Lieb Tops Nurburgring Free Practice 1 For Porsche
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/lieb-tops-nurburgring-free-practice-1-for-porsche/

Turner: "Running Two Drivers Is Very Efficient"
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/turner-running-two-drivers-is-very-efficient/

Ruberti Returns After Back Injury
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/ruberti-returns-after-back-injury/

Porsche Crashes in FP2; Webber Fastest On Friday at Nurburgring
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/porsche-crashes-in-fp2-fastest-on-friday-at-nurburgring/

VIDEO: Nurburgring Friday Highlights
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/video-nurburgring-friday-highlights-2/

Nurburgring Friday Notebook
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/nurburgring-friday-notebook-4/

Mondain (Michelin): "Our Work Has Been Rewarded In LMP2"
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/mondain-michelin-our-work-has-been-rewarded-in-lmp2/

Buemi: "It Was Very Difficult To Accept What Had Happened"
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/buemi-it-was-very-difficult-to-accept-what-had-happened/

Webber Quickest In Damp FP3 at Nurburgring
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/webber-quickest-in-damp-fp3-at-nurburgring/

Duval: "We'll Be Much Closer Than Last Year"
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/duval-well-be-much-closer-than-last-year/

Strakka Rules Out LMP1 Privateer Program for 2017
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/strakka-rules-out-lmp1-privateer-program-for-2017/

Thiim, Sorenson Put Aston Martin on GTE-Pro Pole at Nurburgring
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/thiim-sorensen-put-aston-martin-on-pole-at-nurburgring/

Audi Locks Out Front Row for 6H Nurburgring
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/audi-locks-out-front-row-for-6h-nurburgring/

VIDEO: Nurburgring Qualifying Highlights
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/video-nurburgring-qualifying-highlights-2/

Nuburgring Saturday Notebook
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/nurburgring-saturday-notebook-3/

Stay tuned, once again, tomorrow morning, for full race coverage of the 6 Hours of the Nurburgring, right here on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog.

GT3 & LMP3 at Le Mans

Bonus post.  Here are the pictures of the cars that competed in the support event for the 24 Hours of Le Mans for LMP3 and GT3 class machinery.

http://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/Le_Mans-2016-06-19g.html

IMSA coverage

Folks, yours truly has much catching up to do, with respect to sports car racing.  Lots of action stateside with IMSA this weekend at Lime Rock Park, but also, with the FIA World Endurance Championship at the Nurburgring, in Germany.  Here's how things might work.  Action from the Nurburgring FIA WEC round will get top billing this weekend, so, stay tuned, for news from the World Endurance Championship, tomorrow, followed by the 6 Hours of the Nurburgring, on Sunday.  Then, yours truly will try hitting the rewind button, and getting to some of the IMSA action that has been missed, including races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and at Belle Isle in Detroit, from earlier in the year, back in May, that took place before the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  So, stay tuned.  Lots of racing action yet to come your way.

Sportscar Retrospective - An Interview With Chip Robinson

Historian and race weekend meteorologist for NASportscar.com, Doug Schneider, interviews sports car racing great, Chip Robinson.  Check it out, HERE.

http://nasportscar.com/sportscar-retrospective-an-interview-with-chip-robinson/

more posts on the way

Yours truly still needs to catch up on news and race reports from the world of sports car racing.  More to come.  Stay tuned.

Mid-Season IMSA Team Power Rankings

Yours truly, has to catch up, with a few of the IMSA races yet, from earlier in the season, and will have to catch up later on with this weekend's action coming up from Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut.

http://nasportscar.com/mid-season-imsa-team-power-rankings/

1967 24 Hours of Daytona

From a Facebook group, Sports Car Prototypes and Endurance Racing.  

***

Pace lap at the start of the legendary 1967 Daytona 24 Hours. It was also the height of the Ford - Ferrari War and Ford pulled out all the stops shipping an armada of 7-liter Ford Mark II's to only two factory cars from Ferrari. The #23 Ferrari 330 P3/4 driven by Lorenzo Bandini and Chris Amon won the race with the #24 Ferrari 330 P4 of Mike Parkes and Ludovico Scarfiotti coming in second. A NART Ferrari 412 P of Pedro Rodriguez and Jean Guichet came in third. What about the factory Fords? Well, most of them succumbed to faulty transmissions. Seems they had faulty heat treated output shafts and mechanics replaced almost a dozen transmissions. Ferrari finished 1-2-3 after several losses to Ford. No one gave Ferrari a chance at Daytona in '67 especially with 4-liter cars up against the 7-liter Fords. Ferrari's win was considered, back then, one of the best comebacks in the history of endurance racing. When the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 made its public debut at the Paris Salon, in the autumn of 1968, it almost immediately became known as the “Daytona.” The nickname became the unofficial title given, by the media of the time, supposedly in recognition of the Ferrari 1-2-3. victory in the Daytona 24-Hour Race in 1967. However, the unofficial name has stuck, and continues to be widely used today. Eric della Faille photo.
 

10 Questions with Ed Bennett, IMSA CEO

An interview with IMSA CEO Ed Bennett, by Matt Kistler of NASportscar.com.

http://nasportscar.com/10-questions-with-ed-bennett-imsa-ceo/

The 1966 Can-Am Championship, with John Surtees

A brief, but wonderful interview, with John Surtees, about winning the inaugural Can Am championship, 50 years ago, in 1966.

http://www.motorsportretro.com/2016/07/john-surtees-1966-can-am-championship/

Happy Birthday, Chris Cord

A belated Happy Birthday to Chris Cord.

Happy Birthday, to former IMSA sports car driver Chris Cord, who also happens to be the grandson of E.L. (Errett Lobban) Cord, the founder of the Cord Corporation, that built cars in late 1920s and '30s, such as the Cord L29, Cord 810, and Cord 812, and was merged alongside Auburn and Duesenberg.

https://thisdayinmotorsporthistory.blogspot.com/2016/07/1987-imsa-camel-gt-drivers-champion.html?spref=fb

SRO Outlines Sporting Regulation Changes For Spa 24

Minor regulation changes ahead of the Belgian twice-around-the-clock race.

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2016/07/15/various-sporting-regulation-changes-ahead-of-spa-24.html

Mobil 1 Sports Car Grand Prix race broadcast

The race broadcast, of the Mobil 1 Sports Car Grand Prix.  Check it out, HERE:

http://imsatv.imsa.com/video/072016/2016-mobil-1-sportscar-grand-prix-race-broadcast

Winner & highlights of the Mobil 1 Sports Car Grand Prix

The track formerly known as Mosport, (now Canadian Tire Motorsports Park), has a rich history and many fantastic drivers (most of whom ran in Formula 1), have competed here.  Drivers like Sir Jack Brabham, Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jackie Stewart, and James Hunt.  Jack Brabham won the first F1 race here in 1967.  The second half of the season kicks off at a track known for sustained high speeds.  In Prototype and GT Le Mans, the points standings are close, and the rivalry between Ford and Corvette in GT Le Mans is hot and heavy.  IMSA Weathertech Sports Car Champion action, coming at you, next!

There are only four races left for the Prototypes.  Joao Batbosa and Christian Fittipaldi, lead the points, by a scant margin of seven over their team mates Dane Cameron and Eric Curran at Action Express Racing, while also seven points in-arrears, is the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Chevrolet Corvette Prototype of brothers Ricky and Jordan Taylor.  Mazda will also be fast.  They want their first IMSA WeatherTech Championship race win, today.  Traffic will be a big deal.  GT Daytona cars did not race here at CTMP last year, and now, with full GT3 spec cars, they are much, much faster.  CTMP is amazingly quick.  The Prototypes have tremendous speed on corner entry here at CTMP.  So, even with the speed of the GTD machines, everyone will have to be on their toes today.

GT Le Mans, is probably the most intense battle we'll see all day as Ford closes in on Corvette Racing's points lead, a lead that the yellow cars have held, since the season opening twice around the clock marathon at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.  Ford and Corvette have combined to win four of five races, five of six, if you count Le Mans.  Antonio Garcia has pole in GT Le Mans.  But, Dirk Mueller is also very close behind.  This track is old school.  The first half of the track is like a roller coaster.  Moss corner and the Mario Andretti straightaway are two of the key parts on this track.  Another palace of speed.

Today's race is scheduled to last two hours and 40 minutes.  Tristan Nunez in the Mazda, carrying the 1991 Le Mans winning paint scheme, has pole.  As we get the green, it's Ricky Taylor getting a massive jump on the outside of the front row!  Did Taylor jump the start? The marshals will keep a very close eye on that.  Corvette leads the GT field to the green flag, while the two Ford's already touch!  Not this early in the race!  Gently, boys.  We also see the Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE tap the left rear wheel of one of the BMW RLL BMW M6 GT's!  Giancarlo Fisichella, the Italian veteran, is getting after it early.  The Porsche's won GTLM here last year.  But, they are at the back of the grid, and that's how far the development has come in GTLM so far this season.

Alex Riberas in the #23 Team Seattle Heart of Racing Porsche 911 GT3 leads the GT Daytona field.  Ricky Taylor wanted the lead at the green, and got it.  He touches the brake exiting turn one, but the Mazda of Tristan Nunez is all over him!  Nunez wants the lead for Mazda, badly.  Mazda has the pace to win this race today, if they can keep their noses clean.  The flowing undulations here at CTMP are just breathtaking, making this track another of those speed palaces we find around the world in sports car racing.  Christian Fittipaldi runs third in the Action Express Racing Chevrolet Corvette Prototype.  Tom Long in the sister Mazda Prototype to Tristan Nunez, is next in line.

Meanwhile, Marc Goossens in the #90 VisitFlorida.com Racing Chevrolet Corvette Prototype, has gotten around the identical car, the sister car for Action Express, #31, with Whelen sponsorship, in the hands of Eric Curran.  Goossens is now fifth as they dive through turn four.  Fittipaldi runs wide at the apex of Moss corner, turn five, which is a pause in speed, more than a true braking zone.  John Pew is giving the Mike Shank Racing Ligier Honda a good run as we get started.  But the DeltaWing team, they have not found the speed here at CTMP and run four seconds or so in-arrears of the MSR racer.

There is so much apex speed through the first half of the lap here at CTMP, unless you hit traffic in the first half of the lap, it's very difficult to pass here.  ...And, the road, is narrow, too.  The Prototype cars run 45 minutes or so on a full tank of fuel, before needing to make a pit stop.  It's a definite three stop race today if we are clean and green for a good chunk of the race.  Race control is looking at the GTLM start as we see Corvette, Ford, and BMW running together.  Today was the first earned pole for Corvette #3 since the 2015 Rolex 24 and the first pole for Antonio Garcia, since the 2014 race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Ford and Chevrolet are 1-2 in the championship.  We have not seen this battle rekindled on the track until this race began.  Shades of the glory years of racing, in the 1960s.  Ford vs. Chevrolet.  A classic duel in American motorsports, and American sports car racing.  Bill Auberlen has also made a great start jumping to third in class in GTLM getting around team mate at BMW, Lucas Luhr, and the second Ford GT.  Since the previous race at Watkins Glen, Balance of Performance adjustments have been made as the Ford has lost a bit of boost and the BMW M6 GT has not been touched.  We saw Bill Auberlen and Dirk Werner on the podium, just a week or so ago at the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen.

Ricky Taylor gained an advantage at the start.  But, race control will not take action to hand out an penalties.  Everything is copacetic at the moment.  Stephen Simpson is at the head of the class in Prototype Challenge right now.  The weather today is lovely with temperatures in the 70s, low wind, and low humidity.  We look at the three P's.  Performance, position, and patience.  Tristan Nunez can stay with Ricky Taylor, but can't get the pass made.  The downforce will be taken away from the front dive planes on the nose.  Nunez is really making a name as a Prototype driver.

Mazda is really working on trying to win a race.  Nunez passes Taylor in traffic, reading the situation, even though Taylor was committed to the apex in turn ten.  Nunez is constantly being told by the team on the radio, to be patient and work the traffic carefully.  Not all drivers want that information while they're racing.  But it seems to be working for Tristan Nunez.  Nunez made the pass on Taylor when he was balked by one of the factory GTLM Porsche's.  Antonio Garcia continues to lead GTLM in the #3 Chevrolet Corvette C-7-R-, but hot on his heels are the #66 Ford GT in the hands of Dirk Mueller, and the #25 BMW M6 of Bill Auberlen.

Richard Westbrook in the sister Ford and Lucas Luhr in the sister BMW complete the top five in class.  Corvette has a slight upper hand over Ford at the moment, as the BoP adjustments take hold.  Earl Bamber in the Porsche said he cut one of his best ever qualifying laps, but, he still cannot keep up with the leaders in GTLM.  Alex Riberas has a four second cushion on the second place GT Daytona car.  That's the #6 Stevenson Motorsports Audi R8 driven right now, by Andrew Davis.  Coming next in GTD is the #16 Change Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 with Spencer Pumpelly at the controls, with sponsorship from Monster Energy.

Nunez has pulled out three seconds ahead of Ricky Taylor.  The Prototype Challenge cars driven by Alex Popow and Jon Bennett are starting to come alive.  Next up in GT Daytona are Patrick Lindsey in the Park Place Racing Porsche, followed by Bret Curtis in the Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT.  Riberas has set fast lap in GT Daytona at 1:18 flat and no one else in the division is within 4/10ths of a second.  So, Riberas is cruising right now.  Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini.  Car #911 came to the pit lane.  Nick Tandy is struggling with softer Michelin tires.  They are losing time on the road.  They came in and changed to harder compound Michelin tires, to find pace.

CTMP is pretty abrasive.  GTLM on a fuel load can go an hour or so, but this will eat up the tires.  Christian Fittipaldi is gaining on Ricky Taylor for second.  Tristan Nunez, meanwhile, has checked out and is eleven seconds up the road.  Maybe the soft Michelin tires are not working as they should.  Make your tire compound choice on the fly.  There's a crossover point where it will work or not work.  Track temperature will build up.  Ford and Porsche have both paid attention to this.  Oh dear.  We have a crash, on the front straightaway.  Well, at least it's a tandem spin.  John Pew has spun the MSR Ligier Honda, and one of the Prototype Challenge cars.  It could be the car with Mark Kvamme at the wheel.

Kvamme is sharing that car with Britain's Richard Bradley, who we've seen in the FIA World Endurance Championship.  Kvamme stays on the road.  We stay green.  Incidentally, Starworks, will enter a third PC car for the next race we will run at Lime Rock Park.  Details to come, at the end of this race report.  Dirk Mueller and Bill Auberlen fight through traffic allowing the Corvette leading GT Le Mans, to get away.  Our leader, Tristan Nunez threads his way through traffic.  Believe it or not, the GT3 based GT Daytona cars, are far quicker in a straight line than the GT Le Mans cars.

Former Corvette factory driver and racing veteran Ron Fellows, is now the owner of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.  Ron Fellows is also an ambassador for Corvette.  Fellows has had great accomplishments as a driver, including Le Mans wins, NASCAR success, and success in the Trans Am series.  Three abreast into Moss corner, isn't going to work, gentlemen, as Giancarlo Fisichella has the squeeze play put on him by the sister Porsche 911 RSR.  Earl Bamber at the wheel.  Tristan Nunez is still leading.  Ricky Taylor is second.  Christian Fittipaldi is still third in car #5.

The #100 BMW is in the lane.  Lucas Luhr lost power steering, not something you want to lose here at CTMP.  The plan is to fix the car and continue running for points.  The long loads in these corners, are tough on power steering.  Cooling systems have to be added to the power steering systems.  The steering locks up and it's diabolical when it happens.  The #70 Mazda hits pit lane, while Tristan Nunez is continuing to lead in the sister car.  Cooper MacNeil in the #22 WeatherTech Porsche 911 GT3 is trying to come back through the field.  The team started from pit lane due to a fuel leak in the morning that needed to be fixed.

Corvette Racing hits the pits.  The #4 is in for routine service and a driver change.  Tommy Milner replacing Oliver Gavin for the time being.  #55 pits from the lead and Tristan Nunez will hand the car over to Jonathan Bomarito.  The team has had to use a manual jack to get the tire change done as the air jacks on the car, are not working correctly.  The rear tire didn't get put on either.  A fraught time for Mazda at the moment.  #3, the sister Corvette is now in, and Jan Magnussen takes over.  Christian Fittipaldi also brought the Action Express car in from third place.  Joao Barbosa is in #5, as the sister car of Dane Cameron, he wants to make a move!

Three wide!  Action Express sandwiches the Mazda!  Dane Cameron wants to make a pass for the lead, around the outside!  Cameron makes the move on Joao Barbosa!  The troubles with the air jacks for Mazda cost them 15-20 seconds.  #10 is now in the lane.  Fuel, tires, and a driver change for the WTR entry.  Ricky Taylor, out.  Jordan Taylor, his brother, into the car.  Can Dane Cameron beat Jordan Taylor to turn one?  Yes!  Taylor tries to defend, runs wide, on cold tires, and is passed by Joao Barbosa.  Whoops!  One of the Turner Motorsports GTD BMW's has spun.  This is in turn eight.  Michael Marsal at the controls.  He may have pulled off to the runoff area in turn eight.

The #90 car was leading this race, but is now in the lane for fuel and full service.  If it goes to a full course yellow, pit lane would be closed, and your strategy would be turned on it's ear.  Marc Goossens came to the pits in the nick of time.  Ryan Dalziel should take over the car, as the GT Le Mans cars make their scheduled pit stops.  Dirk Mueller brings the #66 Ford GT to the lane, and Joey Hand will take over.  #67 also pits, at an odd angle, coming across the nose of the sister car.  Richard Westbrook, out.  Ryan Briscoe, in.  The #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE has also made a scheduled pit stop. Toni Vilander now at the wheel of the Risi entry.

BMW is now in the lane with car #25.  Bill Auberlen turns the car over to Dirk Werner.  Alex Popow also brings the #8 Starworks entry to the lane and Renger van der Zande will take over.  The #54 CORE Autosport car is also in, in Prototype Challenge.  Colin Braun should take over from Jon Bennett.  GT Daytona points leader Christina Nielsen, she still runs down the order from her competition in class.  In modern racing, the best way to set up a car, is before the race weekend, with a driver, in a simulator, back at the factory, to get an idea of how the car will perform on a given race track.

Ryan Dalziel has now passed Jordan Taylor, and the #55 Mazda with Bomarito at the wheel, is in recovery mode, after making a mistake on the pit stop.  Taylor, meanwhile, runs VERY wide!  Yikes!  On the Mazda pit stop, with their air jack issues, they couldn't get the right rear tire properly tightened down.  Dane Cameron sets fastest lap of the race so far at 1:10.4.  He is 3/10ths of a second quicker than the fast lap set by Tristan Nunez in the Mazda, earlier.  Barbosa runs second now.  Dane Cameron loses time through Moss corner.  His team mate Joao Barbosa is catching him, in lapped traffic.  Ryan Dalziel and Jordan Taylor are also caught among the backmarkers in GT Le Mans and GT Daytona.

Ricky Taylor says he did not jump the start.  Stephen Simpson has nearly a minute in hand in the Prototype Challenge lead over his pursuer, James French.  Mazda has had a great run, but the pit lane incident, has been a setback for them.  Time is running out in the season, and if you have to go for it, now is the hour.  Jan Magnussen continues to lead GTLM, but Dirk Werner in the BMW is on a real charge to the front.  Werner runs a 1:15.4, while every other contender in GTLM can only muster a 1:16.  Corvette has won at CTMP many, many times.  Ron Fellows and Jan Magnussen have both won here many times.  Magnussen has six wins total, and five, with the Corvette team.  CTMP is a fun track.

Jan Magnussen is also racing in a series in his home country of Denmark.  Corvette's Doug Fehan says they have a depth of knowledge that no other team has.  They have an advantage on the Balance of Performance side of things.  Ford, BMW, and Ferrari, have new race cars.  They didn't test at CTMP.  Corvette has raced here for the last 17 years and has won eleven times.  We are now under our first full course yellow as Mazda, could be done for the day.  The rear axle on the car, has broken.  No drive in the car.  Pit stops have come and gone for the Prototype contenders.  The #31 car now leads, and they perhaps took only left side tires.  WTR had a decent pit stop, and the #70 Mazda has serviced the car, as their sister car has run into trouble.

Car #90 has also pitted.  Mario Farnbacher pits from the class lead in GT Daytona.  Madison Snow also brought the #48 Castrol/Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 to the lane.  Snow's team mate, Bryan Sellers has also been very quick.  The #9 Stevenson Audi and the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW in GTD have also pitted.  Trouble for the #9 Audi.  Now, we go back to green here at CTMP!  Dane Cameron is now charging after Ryan Dalziel.  The leading Prototypes go after the top three in GT Le Mans.  Corvette, Ford, and BMW.  Ryan Dalziel has escaped the traffic, and he can now, whistle off into the distance.

Jordan Taylor, looks to the outside, sweeping around the #5 and getting by the #25 BMW!  Joao Barbosa now tries to recover.  Dalziel took two tires, and that is how the #90 car got the race lead.  The #60 MSR Ligier Honda is being held in the penalty box at the end of pit lane, for an improper pass around.  The stewards hold you for the lap you gained, and an additional lap.  So, that will cost MSR dearly.  Oswaldo Negri Jr. is in the car.  The battle for the lead ensues between Ryan Dalziel and Dane Cameron.  Dalziel took two tires on the previous stop, while Cameron took four fresh tires.  Ironically, Dane Cameron's dad, is the engineer on the #90 car.

The action is hot and heavy between the Prototype and GT Le Mans contenders.  Multi-class sports car racing is truly, a high speed chess match.  Jordan Taylor is running very well.  The #10 car is the defending champion here at CTMP.  Meanwhile, in GT Le Mans, the lead battle is boiling.  Jan Magnussen in the Corvette vs. Dirk Werner in the BMW M6 and Joey Hand in the Ford GT.  Tommy Milner in the sister Corvette is close behind.  The top two in GTLM separated by nothing while the third place Ford, has to contend with a Prototype Challenge car.

We remember, fondly, Carl Haas, who, along with fellow team owner, Paul Newman, once raced as fierce rivals.  But, they became allies, when Mario Andretti said to Newman and Haas, "I'd like to drive for you both."  The team then, turned into a juggernaut.  Mario Andretti, his son Michael, Nigel Mansell, Cristiano da Matta, and Sebastien Bourdais, Newman/Haas Racing won eight Champ Car championship titles.  In 28 years, the team scored 107 race wins in Champ Car.  Christian Fittipaldi also drove for them.  At age 86, Carl Haas, passed away.

Haas was a Hall of Famer, and an icon in racing, with his trademark Havana cigar.  He is a legend, who will be truly missed.  Rest In Peace, Carl Haas.

CTMP, for many years, as we continue to glimpse back into history, was the heart and soul of the Can Am series and held more Can Am races than any other track.  Oh dear!  The #23 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 in GT Daytona, loses a wheel.  The car is now in pit lane, on the air jacks, being serviced.  This is a short yellow.  This has championship implications in GT Daytona, and also affects the #73 Park Place Racing Porsche 911 GT3 with Jorg Bergmeister at the controls.  The team was ready for a pit stop, but with the yellow, the pits remain closed.

The pits will stay closed until after the green flag reappears.  Bergmeister has to be in fuel saving mode for the moment.  Since 1999, Porsche has had eight wins in GT Le Mans, and Jorg Bergmeister, was part of four of those victories, here at CTMP.  The GTD cars are just slightly slower than the Prototypes, and now, we are back to green flag racing!  Cameron, Taylor, and Barbosa, are the top three.  Stephen Simpson leads Prototype Challenge over Tom Kimber-Smith.  We have exactly one our remaining in the Mobil 1 Sports Car Grand Prix.

Joel Miller has taken over the #70 Mazda Prototype from Tom Long.  We have a battle royal in GT Le Mans at the present time, ladies and gentlemen.  A few GTLM cars pitted under the yellow before this last short caution flag, including Ryan Briscoe in the Ford, Fred Makowiecki in the Porsche, and Toni Vilander in the Ferrari.  So, they have a lot more fuel.  Everyone will need one more pit stop to get to the finish of this race.  Jorg Bergmeister, leading in GT Daytona, has made his way to pit lane.  This is a full service stop and Jorg will stay in the car.  The tires going onto the car are a scrubbed set.  Thus, they will come up to temperature, faster, than a new set of tires.

Dirk Werner wants to find a way by Jan Magnussen right now.  Joey Hand, and the sister Corvette, both dive for pit lane, and they are inside their fuel window, with less than an hour to run now.  The Corvette takes four tires.  Same strategy for the #66 Ford.  Alessandro Balzan in the GT Daytona class Ferrari, also pitted.  Magnussen now dives for the lane from the GTLM lead.  Porsche #911 also pits.  Antonio Garcia takes over the Corvette.  There will be a penalty for the Porsche for something, according to the IMSA marshals.  We await the pit stop of the #6 Stevenson Motorsports Audi R8 leading in GT Daytona.

Dirk Werner now brings the BMW to pit lane.  Did Werner have a clean lap?  He needed to gain time on hot tires, as Antonio Garcia, his competition, for Corvette, left the lane with cold tires.  The #6 Stevenson Audi has a short pit stop and Robin Liddell stays behind the wheel.  Two left side tires, and fuel, for #6, to make it to the end.  The #911 will get a drive through penalty, for spinning the wheels in the pit lane.  Meanwhile, Dane Cameron has passed Ryan Dalziel for the overall race lead.  Dane Cameron slices to the inside of Ryan Dalziel coming up on a group of GTLM traffic.  Dane Cameron knows he needs a win, as we are getting into the second half of the 2016 IMSA season.
Dalziel got squeezed by Toni Vilander.

Folks, we are now getting very close to the end of this race.  Less than an hour remains.  Things have been turned upside down in GT Daytona.  Right now, the #27 Dream Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 of factory Lamborghini pilot, Fabio Babini, leads in class.  Jeroen Bleekemolen has brought the #33 ViperExchange.com Racing, Gas Monkey SRT Viper GTS-R- closer to the GTD lead.  Viper didn't race here last year, but won, in 2014 at CTMP.  It was their first win in the newly reformed IMSA series.  Babini will still need to make a pit stop for Lamborghini.  Last week at Watkins Glen the team didn't make the start of the race and had to use their spare car.

Cedric Sbirrazauli is the starting driver for Change Racing, along with Babini.  Tommy Milner is now up to third in GT Le Mans, chasing Ryan Briscoe and Fred Makowiecki.  In Prototype Challenge, Renger van der Zande, has jumped from fourth, to second.  He is within striking distance of PC leader Stephen Simpson.  van der Zande is flying, and has Tom Kimber-Smith right behind him.  Now in pit lane, it's the #90 Corvette Prototype.  Ryan Dalziel stays in the car.  Dane Cameron continues to lead this race.  Milner passes Werner in GT Le Mans.  Briscoe continues to lead in class in the Ford GT.

Ford wants their third consecutive IMSA win, and fourth in a row, if you count their triumph at Le Mans last month.  Werner is held up by the #27 GTD Lamborghini and Antonio Garcia, capitalizes.  #31 is pitting.  Left side tires only, and fuel, for Dane Cameron.  A full fuel load will be needed if we stay green, for cars to get to the finish.  Did #31 get enough fuel in the tank?  #10 now hits pit lane.  Joao Barbosa also pits.  You have to pit, so as to not get caught by a yellow.  #10 takes fuel and only rear tires.  No front tires.  Jordan Taylor has to watch out, as he has hot front tires, but cold rear tires.  Ryan Briscoe ducked into pit lane taking fuel only, and no tires.  Good strategy call by Chip Ganassi Racing.

Antonio Garcia has now taken over the #3 Corvette.  Jordan Taylor is running very competitively, turning a lap at 1:10.6.  Ryan Briscoe has done a best lap of 1:15.9 while the BMW of Dirk Werner ran a 1:15.4.  Briscoe is a half a second slower than Werner.  Dirk Werner chases Tommy Milner for the final podium place in GTLM.  Mazda has shown great pace, but in the races, they just can't quite get things together.  They have a lot of talent and a lot of heart on that time.  We watch a battle in GT Daytona between Jeroen Bleekemolen in the Viper, and the Turner BMW M6 GT piloted by factory BMW driver, Jens Klingman.  This is virtually for the class lead since Fabio Babini in the Lamborghini, has to stop.  Babini, in the Lamborghini.  That does have a nice ring to it!

Bret Curtis, team mate to Jens Klingman, has done very well.  We are closing in on the final 30 minutes of this race.  Bleekemolen and Klingman, even though neither has pitted, they are now right on the tail of Fabio Babini.  We also see Lawson Aschenbach in the sister Stevenson Audi, #9 trying to get a lap back.  But, now, Klingman dives inside not just the Viper, but also, the Lamborghini!  What a move!  A piece of bodywork has been dislodged from the front end of the Viper.  Is there some water, spraying out from the radiator?  The Viper hits pit lane.  There's a problem, with car #33!  Wow!

There's heavy damage and the water pressure is dropping.  Maybe they've holed a radiator.  Bleekemolen does bump Babini's rear bumper.  That does the damage.  The crew replaces the radiator in pit lane, hoping to get out ahead of the #23 Porsche for points towards the GT Daytona championship.  Alessandro Balzan in the Scuderia Corsa Ferrari, moves up to fourth place.  Bryan Sellers is up to third in class in the Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini.  Turner Motorsports is running very well.  Keep in mind, they won in GTD here in 2014, with the BMW Z4 which, at that time, was piloted by Finn Markus Palttala and, Dane Cameron, who now leads this race for Action Express.  Tommy Milner, meanwhile, passes Fred Makowiecki in GTLM.

Dane Cameron now leads Jordan Taylor in the overall, by 7.5 seconds.  Looking into some news, that you have heard here on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog.  Mercedes, could join the ranks in IMSA next year with a GT3 car and also, a car that will meet the new DPi formula for next year.  Acura also has a GT3 car testing on U.S. soil.  Jens Klingman leads GT Daytona, with just over 15 minutes left in this race.  Fuel mileage could factor into the last few minutes of this race.  The GTLM leading #67 Ford GT has dropped it's pace a little bit.

Fred Makowiecki in the #912 Porsche runs wide.  Antonio Garcia makes the pass, and now, he is being chased, by Dirk Werner in the BMW.  We are closing in on the checkers here at CTMP.  Down into Moss corner, there's a bit of a fracas involving the #66 Ford GT of Joey Hand, and the #100 BMW M6 GT piloted by John Edwards.  Hand is frustrated with Edwards not moving over, and simply, nudges him out of the way, and into a slight spin.  Edwards is fighting power steering trouble with the M6 and has been for a good chunk of the day.   

Dane Cameron works his way by the Turner BMW and Joey Hand wants to do likewise.  Dane Cameron has a very comfortable lead, of over 14 seconds.  Less than ten minutes to go.  Taylor and Barbosa are behind, but Cameron needs a buffer in the points and that's working out.  It will be three points, if Barbosa passes.  Dalziel had closed up within four seconds of Barbosa, but the gap has ballooned to 13 seconds.  So, did Dalziel have an issue?  Ooh.  Jordan Taylor has a brief off/on moment.  Every position is critical, as after today's race, there will be three rounds left in the championship.  No call from race stewards on the earlier #66/#100 incident.  A racing deal, as they call it.

Barbosa is closing on Jordan Taylor.  By not taking front tires, could Taylor be dealing with some understeer?  Barbosa almost has him, but then, he has a huge wiggle out of the corner!  He just nicked the curb!  What a mega save!  Points as they run, with just five minutes left in this race, Fittipaldi and Barbosa would have a mere two point lead on Cameron and Curran, with the Taylor brothers five points back.  Jordan Taylor has run out of front tires and is locking the front brakes.  Action Express finished 1-2 at Watkins Glen last weekend, and they could get their second straight 1-2 finish, here at CTMP.

Problems, for the DeltaWing, as it is nosed into the tires, with four and a half minutes to go.  Sean Rayhall at the wheel of it.  He has crashed at the entrance to turn three.  There's not enough time to clear the wreck.  Rayhall backs it out of the tires as Jordan Taylor fights for grip.  He runs wide and doesn't want to cord one of those worn tires on the front.  Oh boy!  Another off track excursion, as the #44 Magnus Racing GT Daytona Audi R8 of Andy Lally is off the road and into the tires.  He has gone off at turn one.  Did someone try to go down the inside and spear him off the road?

#44 was spun out, earlier, having a ding dong with Jorg Bergmeister in the #73 Porsche.  This incident happened in turn three, while his most recent off, was in turn one.  Did he cut a tire in that fracas with Bergmeister?  Lally spins backwards, and... ker-runch!  Clouting the wall backwards, Lally could have very well cut a tire down in that moment with Bergmeister earlier on.  Something broke on the car, and the impact was pretty big.  The two of them were battling for sixth place.  This will change things in the GTD points chase.  Alessandro Balzan and company will pad their points lead in GTD.  Meanwhile, Dane Cameron leads by 21 seconds and should win this race, barring a mishap.

We go full course yellow with a lap to go.  So, this race will end, under yellow, and it looks like Dane Cameron and Eric Curran, will win the Mobil 1 Sports Car Grand Prix!  Prototype Challenge honors go to Colin Braun and Jon Bennett for CORE Autosport.  In GT Le Mans, the third straight win for the #67 Ford GT of Ryan Briscoe, and Richard Westbrook.  GT Daytona goes to the Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT of Jens Klingman and Bret Curtis.  Dane Cameron, has won eight races in IMSA.  Andy Lally is out of the car, and is fine.

Overall/Prototype: #31 Cameron/Curran       Chevrolet Corvette Prototype

             Prototype
             Challenge:  #54 Braun/Bennett         Oreca FLM Chevrolet

             GT Le Mans: #67 Briscoe/Westbrook     Ford GT
  
             GT Daytona: #96 Klingman/Curtis         BMW M6 GT

Richard Westbrook gets quite the 39th birthday present!  Third straight win for that car in IWSC competition this year!

The next race on the IMSA schedule, is at the bull ring at Lime Rock Park, in Lakeville, Connecticut, in ten days time.  Only Prototype Challenge, GTLM, and GTD, will race there.  Prototypes will not.  Also, stay tuned, as a few of the previous races still have to be covered from Laguna Seca, and Detroit.  So, lots of IMSA WeatherTech action, yet to come your way, on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog.   

FIA Proposes GT World Series; Convergence Talks to Resume?

The FIA wants to put together a GT World Championship.  So, talks that failed about a convergence formula, two years ago, might start again.

http://sportscar365.com/gt/fia-proposes-gt-world-championship-gt-convergence-talks-to-resume/

FIA WEC news

Two weeks until the next race for the FIA World Endurance Championship at the Nurburgring in Germany.  But, until then, let's take a look at some of the latest news.

Dumas: "I'm Sad for Toyota, But That's Part of The Game"
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/dumas-im-sad-for-toyota-but-thats-part-of-the-game/

Williamson to Make LMP2 Debut for Strakka at 6H Nurburgring
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/wec-debut-for-williamson-with-strakka-racing/

Alex Brundle: "It's Great to Be Back in the World Championship"
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/alex-brundle-great-to-be-back-in-the-world-championship/

Tincknell to Complete WEC Season With Ford
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/tincknell-to-complete-wec-season-with-ford/

Rearranged GTE-Pro Lineup at Aston Martin Racing
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/rearranged-gte-pro-lineup-at-aston-martin-racing/

Treluyer Ruled Out of 6H Nurburgring Due to Spinal Injury
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/treluyer-ruled-out-of-6h-nurburgring-due-to-spinal-injury/

Pizzonia Replaces Stevens at Manor for 6H Nurburgring
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/pizzonia-replaces-stevens-at-manor-for-6h-nurburgring/

Riley Submits Viper GTS-R Entry Request for 6H COTA
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/riley-submits-entry-request-for-viper-gts-r-for-cota/

IMSA's BoP Process Explained

Sportscar365 looks at the process of achieving the Balance of Performance, in IMSA competition.

http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/imsas-bop-process-explained/

Action Express Holds Narrow Lead in Patron Endurance Cup After The Glen

How things stand, in the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup, after the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, last Sunday, with one round of the endurance championship, remaining... the Petit Le Mans, at Road Atlanta, in Braselton, Georgia, in October.

http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/action-express-holds-narrow-lead-in-patron-endurance-cup/

pre-race news before CTMP

News before the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, takes to the track, to race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, tomorrow.  FYI.  Yours truly, has an event scheduled, tomorrow.  But, the race, will be blogged, in it's entirety, when ample time, is available to complete the race report.  Plus, there will be more stories, highlighted in individual posts.  Stay tuned for that.

Gutierrez, Rayhall, Yacaman Set for Third Starworks PC Entry
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/gutierrez-rayhall-yacaman-set-for-third-starworks-pc-entry/

Honda Still Evaluating Future DPi Effort
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/honda-still-evaluating-future-dpi-effort/

The latest Double Stint Podcast.

Double Stint: Watkins Glen Recap; Jeff Segal Interview (7-5-16)
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/double-stint-watkins-glen-recap-jeff-segal-interview-7-5-16/

Michelin GTLM Insider: The Pressures of Competition
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/michelin-gtlm-insider-the-pressures-of-competition/

Ford Hit With BoP Changes For CTMP
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/imsa-makes-gtlm-gtd-bop-changes-ahead-of-ctmp/

Acura NSX GT3 Begins U.S. Testing; 2017 Program Being Finalized
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/hpd-finalizing-acura-nsx-gt3-program/

Continental Tire Keys To The Race: CTMP
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/continental-tire-keys-to-the-race-ctmp-2/

First On-Track Photos Of Acura NSX GT3 Revealed
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/first-on-track-photos-of-acura-nsx-gt3-revealed/

WTR Corvette DP Tops Rain Affected Practice 1 at CTMP
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/wtr-corvette-dp-on-top-in-rain-affected-practice-1-at-ctmp/

Keating, Riley Exploring 2017 GTD Options
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/keating-riley-exploring-2017-gtd-options/

Merceds-AMG Planning 2017 GTD Program
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/mercedes-amg-planning-2017-gtd-program/

Mercedes-AMG DPi Unlikely for 2017
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/mercedes-amg-dpi-unlikely-for-2017/

Taylor Quickest on Mixed Condition Friday at CTMP
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/taylor-quickest-on-mixed-condition-friday-at-ctmp/

CTMP Friday Notebook
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/ctmp-friday-notebook-4/

Sbirrazzuoli: "We're Not Going to Waste the Opportunity"
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/sbirrazzuoli-were-not-going-to-waste-the-opportunity/

MSR Ligier Honda Goes Fastest, Then Crashes in Practice 3
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/msr-ligier-goes-fastest-then-crashes-in-practice-3/

Garcia Gives Corvette First GTLM Pole of Season at CTMP
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/garcia-gives-corvette-first-gtlm-pole-of-season-at-ctmp/

Nunez Puts Mazda on Pole at CTMP
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/nunez-puts-mazda-on-pole-at-ctmp/

Again, tomorrow, stay tuned for more news.  Then, a race report in full, on the IWSC race at CTMP will follow.

Tincknell To Complete WEC Season With Ford

Harry Tincknell will finish the FIA World Endurance Championship season, at Ford, alongside Andy Priaulx and Marino Franchitti.

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2016/07/08/tincknell-to-complete-wec-campaign-with-ford.html

IMSA: AMG aims to add GT3 model in GT Daytona

Mercedes hopes to race the AMG GT3 in the IMSA Weathertech Sports Car Championship GT Daytona category.

http://www.racer.com/imsa/item/131775-imsa-amg-aiming-to-add-gt3-model-in-gt-daytona

How It Felt To Drive a Ford GT in the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Harry Tincknell shares his perspective on driving a Ford GT at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  Tincknell, of course, was sharing the team's #67 car, with fellow Brits Marino Franchitti and Andy Priaulx.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/motorsports/a29857/how-it-felt-to-drive-a-ford-gt-in-the-24-hours-of-le-mans/

IMSA: German Brand closing in on DPi Program

Could AMG race in the DPi category in IMSA, next year?

http://www.racer.com/imsa/item/131739-imsa-german-brand-closing-on-dpi-program

Watkins Glen Will Always Be a Legendary Racing Circuit

According to Road & Track magazine, the legend of Watkins Glen International Raceway, will continue to flourish, now that the track has been upgraded.  This is certainly true.  Watkins Glen, is a true palace of speed, like so many of the great race tracks, around the world, that have particularly hosted sports car racing... think of Sebring, Daytona, Le Mans, Nurburgring, Mosport, and Spa Francorchamps.  Watkins Glen, definitely makes that list.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/motorsports/a29833/watkins-glen-sahlens-six-hour/

IMSA: Fords hit with special BoP changes for CTMP

Because of Ford's recent dominance, at Le Mans, and at Watkins Glen last Sunday, IMSA is making a change in the Balance of Performance, just before this weekend's action at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

http://www.racer.com/imsa/item/131683-imsa-fords-hit-with-special-bop-changes-for-ctmp

IMSA Data Analysis: Watkins Glen

Data analysis, from the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, last Sunday.

http://nasportscar.com/2016-imsa-data-analysis-watkins-glen/

6 Hours of The Glen Race Broadcast

The race broadcast, from the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen.

Part 1
http://imsatv.imsa.com/video/072016/part-1-2016-sahlens-six-hours-glen-race-broadcast

Part 2
http://imsatv.imsa.com/video/072016/part-2-2016-sahlens-six-hours-glen-race-broadcast

Watkins Glen wrap up

Wrapping up the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen before the WeatherTech Sports Car Championship moves on to race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, this weekend.

Ford Sweeps GTLM at Watkins Glen
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/ford-sweeps-gtlm-at-watkins-glen/

Action Express Scores 1-2 in Eventful 6H Watkins Glen
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/action-express-1-2-in-wild-6h-watkins-glen/

PHOTOS: Watkins Glen Weekend Gallery
http://sportscar365.com/features/photography/photos-watkins-glen-weekend-gallery/

VIDEO: Watkins Glen Race Recap
http://sportscar365.com/features/videos/video-watkins-glen-race-recap/

Continental Tire Beyond The Podium: Watkins Glen
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/ctscc/continental-tire-beyond-the-podium-watkins-glen/

More WeatherTech Championship news to come, between now, and the race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.  Plus, yours truly still has to rewind and blog the races from Laguna Seca and Detroit.  Stay tuned for those reports, as well.