The #70 Mazda is 179 laps down. They were in the garage for five hours and 57 minutes. Just under six hours, to do a full gearbox change which they thought was a clutch issue. I mention this because now we are looking at cars that have actually retired from this race and won't see further action. It's game over for the #24 BMW Team RLL BMW M6 GT, with internal transmission issues. The team of John Edwards, Martin Tomczyk, Nicky Catsburg, and Kuno Wittmer, has already headed for the house. Game over. We saw yesterday, that the Lexus RC F GT3 #14 smashed the wall, and thus they too, are already in the house. Race finished for Scott Pruett, Sage Karam, Ian James, and Gustavo Menezes. Another creation can be loaded back on the truck, for the long journey back to the shop to prep for the 12 Hours of Sebring, next month.
The #59 Manthey Racing Porsche, lost an oil line and the engine went ka-blammo. Not a good day for Steve Smith, Matteo Cairoli, Reinhold Renger, Harald Proczyk, and Sven Muller. We saw the #16 Change Racing Lamborghini in the wars, and it has had a couple crashes. Jeroen Mul crashes at the west hairpin and the chicane. The #73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche got mugged by the Starworks Prototype Challenge car, in the early afternoon on Saturday. Matt McMurry and company, including Norbert Siedler, Patrick Lindsey, and Jorg Bergmeister, are out. The #51 Ferrari 488 GTE for Spirit of Race had a misfire which caused it to retire, and likewise for it's drivers, Peter Mann, Maurizio Mediani, Alessandro Pier Guidi, Davide Rigon, and Rino Mastronardi. It's a shame, because Rigon, Pier Guidi, and Mediani, are quick shoes in Ferrari GT cars.
Those are the announced retirements, and we have plenty of walking wounded who are just soldiering on out there, putting on laps, putting on miles, to gain points and to test their cars. The #67 Ford GT is still in the garage getting the rear end damage fixed from it's crash. Amazing how the Lamborghini Huracan's keep on ticking. None has retired. The Huracan runners have had a major catalogue of woe. Their theme song might be "Hell In A Bucket" by The Grateful Dead. "I'm going to hell in a bucket, but at least I'm enjoying the ride." A fraught race for the Lamborghini's where the bullfighter has had luck with his sword finding them. I reference this, because of the bull being the brand logo.
In Dubai, the GT3 Huracan's were upstaged by the Super Trofeo spec cars. The #15 Lexus may still be in the pits. Well, actually, it has to be retired. We have moved into the second half of the race. The #4 Corvette pits. Tommy Milner had a spin. Let's check fuel mileage. Car #10 ran 27 laps, and #5 did 26 laps. Rene Rast in car #90 ran only 23. Does the Multimatic Riley not have the fuel range of the Cadillac's? That could be. We shall find out. Lap times are improving a little. The #22 Nissan still does not have a very clean windshield and the wiper is not helping that cause whatsoever. Patrick Pilet brings the #911 car to pit lane after a 29 lap stint. 103 miles. 28 laps was the target. 99.6 miles. So, they are eking out almost an extra full lap. 3.4 miles.
Pilet accepts fuel. No tires. Kevin Estre in the #912 will come in on the next lap. Joey Hand leads GTLM for about three laps. Estre hits the lane and so does the #21 Konrad Motorsports Lamborghini in the hands of Marco Mapelli. Ryan Briscoe stuffed the #67 Ford GT into the wall, and they spent an hour in the garage fixing it, but it is now back in the fray. The car had to have more than just bodywork repaired. Toni Vilander in the #62 Ferrari will pit soon, and he may do a double stint. Giancarlo Fisichella did a single. Joey Hand puts a couple wheels off and back onto the pavement. The going is treacherous.
Joey Hand makes his way past the #57 Stevenson Motorsport Audi R8. Jeff Segal leads GT Daytona in the Acura over Connor De Philippi in the Audi. The #63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari is in pit lane and Alessandro Balzan will hand the car to Christina Nielsen. Katherine Legge is fourth, in the sister #93 Acura NSX for Michael Shank Racing. Now, the race leader dives for the lane. The WTR team was not necessarily ready for a stop, but one is happening for the overall leading Cadillac. Christina Nielsen was the car that the #10 had to negotiate, and she has trouble exiting from her pit stop. Fuel and tires for the #10 Cadillac. No driver change.
The #10 car had a cut tire. We now have a full course yellow. This is a stroke of luck for WTR and Max Angelelli at the controls. We have a car in the wall at the Bus Stop. We have a tank slapper for the #54 Flex Box CORE Autosport Porsche in GT Daytona. Nic Jonsson at the wheel of it. The car is facing the wrong direction. This crash is farther up the track. Jonsson lost the car under braking on the way into the corner. He spun and slammed the wall. He lost it in front of the #29 Audi, and may have hit another car.
Nic Jonsson can't get out of the car. It's pinned to the wall on the driver's side, on the left side of the automobile. Jonsson spun on his own. What precipitated Jonsson's smash in the first place? This is the ninth full course yellow of the race. Both #90 and #5 pit for tires and fuel, but no driver changes. #5 passes #90 in the lane, and #31 also passes, but Eric Curran in the other Action Express Cadillac is five laps down. The weather radar is looking worse. Lots of green means more rain. This year's Rolex 24 has been a tough old slog, and it continues to be.
Heavier rain might sneak north of us. Pippo Derani took over the #2 ESM car and Bruno Senna took over car #22. Heavier rain is here. We are definitely under yellow, as the GTLM cars pit for tires. There is a car that has new damage on the front. Actually more Prototypes are coming in. Prototypes run white headlights, while the GT cars have amber gels over their lights. Corvette #3 and Ford #66 pit, although the #66 is serviced and sent. They all came out the way they came in. #68 is still in the lane. #66, #68, and #69 came in. #68 is getting a new nose.
There are three reasons why the Ford may be getting a new nose. Repairs to damage, better lighting for nighttime, or, for aerodynamics. The other nose, was broken. The two Porsche's did not pit, because they were in six laps before the full course yellow. Was there damage on the #29? Yes. The rear wheel arch, possibly. Jeffrey Schmidt is in the car. Ozz Negri is in the leading #86 Acura. Mario Farnbacher is in the #33. Shane van Gisbergen is in the #50. Katherine Legge in the #93. Legge was awarded by the MSA national motorsport body in the United Kingdom. More rain to come yet.
This is our ninth full course yellow just after 3AM. Max Angelelli leads Renger van der Zande. Pippo Derani is next followed by Eric Curran and Spencer Pigot. This is the top six. In GTLM, Kevin Estre leads Patrick Pilet. Ford #66 has been the pathfinder. Toni Vilander in the Ferrari is next. Harry Tincknell is back driving the #69 Ford, with Billy Johnson in the #68. The first GTLM car a lap down is the #3 Corvette. Harry Tincknell was the slowest Ford driver of the lot. Alex Popow brings the #88 back to the garage. Keep going. Only five Prototype Challenge cars are in the class, as we get back to green.
Cars are coming out of pit lane, too. These folks were trying to get a lap back. Stone cold tires. Rene Rast is right in the mix as is Marcel Fassler in the #4 Corvette. The whole field is together, but the weather and the spray is getting worse. The conditions are horrendous. Will this rain become nigh on impossible? We've gone from tricky to difficult, to very difficult, to nigh on impossible, and "ahhh!" as in screaming with eyes bugging out of your head and your hair on fire. Everyone has to tiptoe around. No grip at all. Billy Johnson is right up his team mate's tailpipe. Antonio Garcia is trying to get his lap back.
The #62 Ferrari passes the Corvette. The #22 ESM car is in there, with no grip even with extra downforce. He can't use the downforce. Bruno Senna at the wheel. Max Angelelli brings the Cadillac to the pit lane for a penalty. He has lost the lead now, to Rene Rast. This is the first lead for the #90 as Max Angelelli takes a drive through penalty without stopping. Because the car came in unannounced, the fueler put the probe in before the man with the fire extinguisher was ready. A brief off for a PC car in the International Horseshoe. The #10 Cadillac had been leading for three hours. The #88 car comes back out from behind the wall. Give a call to the marshals and to "Rooftop Ray", the cameraman. The rain is coming straight down with no wind.
Water gathers on the road. Mathias Lauda is currently driving the #98 Aston Martin, way down in 21st in GT Daytona. 21st in class means he's way down in the overall running order. Max Angelelli can hardly find his braking point in this wet weather. The JDC Miller car is ahead of the Cadillac. ...And, we have another full course yellow, for weather, obviously. The Bus Stop chicane is the problem child of the Daytona International Speedway. We have confirmation of a full course yellow from IMSA, in the hand signal of someone playing the piano while falling down a mine shaft. Criminy!
There have been several instances of rain soaked races at the Rolex 24 over the years. There's time to catch up. Marshals are out in the snatch vehicle to check track conditions. At the 1989 Rolex 24, there was fog that stopped the race, and, fog always hits the Nurburgring for their 24 hour race. It has also happened at Silverstone for the Britcar 24 Hours in England. The two Porsche's chose not to pit during the previous yellow. If they come in they will lose track position. They will get more fuel. So, flip a coin. This is going to be a long yellow. But people are driving too fast past a safety vehicle. Watch out, folks! You are driving too fast.
Porsche 911 RSR's have come to the fore in the rain in GTLM. The #38 car still leads Prototype Challenge with Nick Boulle at the controls. Six of eight makes have led the GT Daytona class. The GT3 cars are running well, but the Lexus is not GT3 homologated yet. The Acura's have led for a while. Both have had a turn in the lead. We've lost a good number of cars in the first half of the race. It has been raining for seven hours. BMW #24 broke the gearbox internally. Lexus #14 crashed out having it's left front destroyed. The #59 Manthey Porsche blew a motor after an oil line came off. The #16 Lamborghini had two massive crashes with Jeroen Mul and Brett Sandberg. The #73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche was accosted by a PC car and smashed into the wall.
Ferrari #51 (the GTD polesitter), had a mysterious misfire. Maurizio Mediani ended his race a while ago. #8 and #88 Starworks cars are still running. The #70 Mazda is somehow back into the race after a litany of issues. The #54 Porsche spun and slapped the wall with Nic Jonsson at the wheel of it.
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