A battle on the banking in GTD between Mercedes and Ferrari. DragonSpeed Racing wants to go to Le Mans this year. Meanwhile, the aforementioned GTD battle sees Mario Farnbacher and Sam Bird, dueling. The #81 DragonSpeed Oreca 07 is off the road at the Bus Stop chicane, and the driver is trying to restart it. The car has crunched the barriers someplace, as it is missing it's rear wing. This wreck happened under braking at turn six. Not sure the boys at DragonSpeed are going to have spare parts this time, and it may be game over for #81. Fuel and tires on a pit stop for the second place #66 Ford GT in GTLM. A driver change for the #33 GTD Mercedes. The #31 Cadillac, and the third place GTD #86 Acura is in the lane, too. A flurry of pit stops will happen. But, the pit lane is closed. #86 did not stop in it's pit box.
#81 heads to the garage. The #86 Acura NSX was coming in and decided to trundle through the pit lane. Paul Dalla Lana's #98 Aston Martin was meandering all over the road just now. We run under yellow. Corvette #4 hits the pit lane. Actually a couple cars pit for emergency service. The #4 and the #22 ESM car. The Audi R8 is not as fast on the straights as it is in the corners. The Ferrari 488 is the fastest car in GT Daytona. Horses for courses, is the philosophy. Some cars are better on some tracks while other cars are better on other tracks. We go to Sebring, Florida, for the 12 Hours of Sebring, in mid March, and it is another classic race that we look forward to.
We're still under yellow right now. We're going to be up to seven hours of cumulative time behind the safety car and over 100 laps of safety car time. The #11 Lamborghini just came out from behind the wall. That car has been in the wars the whole race, having to have made 27 pit stops. Sam Bird and company have made 29 stops, but some, have been to serve penalties. Pippo Derani has just pitted the #2 Nissan. James Dayson has pitted the #88 Starworks Prototype Challenge car, and Alex Popow took over the driving. We are currently on lap 568. This means, 2,022 miles have been completed. With the weather this year, no way will we see any kind of distance record.
Pippo Derani has gained one of his two laps back. The defending Rolex 24 champs, have had a challenging 2017 race. GT cars are making pit stops. One of the Porsche's is in the lane, along with Ferrari, one of the Corvette's and a number of the Ford GT's. #3 Corvette in the lane. Four tires and fuel. Mike Rockenfeller is now in the car. #69, #68, and #67, are in for Ford. The Ferrari is in and Toni Vilander will take over from James Calado. The Ford's have lost time after getting caught by the #48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3, and the Ford mechanics are fuming after getting their cars held up.
We have the standard distance (2 hours 45 minutes) of an IMSA sprint race, left to run. James Calado also gets in the faces of the Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini crew. Giancarlo Fisichella is in the Ferrari now. The #57 Stevenson Audi boxed in the #48 Lamborghini. So, it was a tough thing. A lot of pit stalls, for 55 cars. Years ago, 75-80 cars started this race. One of the factory GTLM Porsche's is in the lane. It's #912. That car gained one of two laps back, and it is one lap down to the GTLM leaders. Safety car dives for pit lane, and we restart with two hours, 40 minutes, left in the twice around the clock odyssey that is, the Rolex 24.
Cars are being released from the lane, including the #15 sole remaining Lexus, and possibly, the #991 Porsche 911 GT3 for The Racer's Group. The Racer's Group, won overall, at the Rolex 24, with a Porsche 911, back in 2003. The fastest GTLM lap set earlier in the race was the #66 Ford GT at 1:43.385. The four Ford's were fastest, followed by the Ferrari, the Porsche, and the Corvette. Hand and Rockenfeller are eight seconds apart. Fred Makowiecki is in the #911 Porsche. The fastest lap in car #67 was by Richard Westbrook, Tony Kanaan fastest in #69, Dirk Mueller in #66, and Stefan Mucke in #68. Giancarlo Fisichella has the fastest lap for the #62 Ferrari.
In the Porsche's #911 and #912, Fred Makowiecki, and Kevin Estre, have gone fastest in terms of lap times. In the Corvette's, the fastest laps they've run have been by Antonio Garcia, and Marcel Fassler. How many more pit stops are needed if it stays green? If it is green, two pit stops will suffice for the leading Cadillac's in Prototype. Make that three. Jordan Taylor leads Christian Fittipaldi by 3.1 seconds. Sam Bird has gone by Jeroen Bleekemolen for the GT Daytona lead. Jules Gounon is possibly back in second. Bleekemolen is third, followed by Lawson Aschenbach and Tom Dyer, followed by Mark Wilkins.
Joey Hand had an eight second advantage in GTLM, and he's stretched it to nine seconds. Mike Rockenfeller has his hands full with his rivals. The #20 Gas Monkey Prototype Challenge car, in the hands of Buddy Rice, has some damage, but is still pounding around. Giancarlo Fisichella has passed Harry Tincknell. The Ferrari 488 definitely has the straight line speed. The #18 DAC Racing Lamborghini has an issue on course, with Indy Lights driver Zachary Claman at the controls. Zachary is 18, and making his sports car debut in this race. Some of the top runners in GTLM are actually tussling for fifth place in the overall.
Alexander Sims in BMW #19 is a lap down to the rest of the GTLM leaders. Kevin Estre in Porsche #912 is a couple laps down too. We have exactly two and a half hours left. Fisichella tries Johnson and can't make it. Jordan Taylor leads Christian Fittipaldi by 5.1 seconds. There's a yin and yang between the top two Cadillac's as Rene Rast is third in the #90 Multimatic Riley, followed by Pippo Derani in the #2 ESM Nissan. Fisichella takes the #62 Ferrari off the road as he tries to pass Billy Johnson on the outside, but it didn't work. Billy Johnson forced him wide, slamming the door in Fisichella's face.
Fred Makowiecki is right behind Fisichella. 39 cars are still circulating on the speedway. Clumps of cars can form every few laps, that are far behind. But, this is an indication of perseverance of many teams. Jordan Taylor leads by 9.3 seconds as Giancarlo Fisichella has worked his way back to the Ford's with Fred Makowiecki behind. Sam Bird leads Jules Gounon and Jeroen Bleekemolen in GT Daytona. Lap times are now back to where they were at the beginning of the race. These chaps are pushing hard, and not cruising to the flag by any means. Pole time was 1:36.9, and Jordan Taylor cut a 1:38.2 last time by. More bodywork issues for the #29 Audi R8.
Audi #29 is second in GT Daytona. Maybe that car has also picked up debris on the front. These cars will be stripped and rebuilt at the end of the race. The Audi does not lose speed to the Mercedes on the banking. But both brands have just not had the straight line speed, compared to the Ferrari's. In about four minutes, Prototype teams can split the last part of the race into three 45 minute stints on fuel. Giancarlo Fisichella is now ahead of Harry Tincknell and Billy Johnson, putting him third in class. Mike Rockenfeller is trying to reel in Joey Hand, but in tenth in class, 31st overall, is Ryan Briscoe in the slower, fourth Ford GT.
Giancarlo Fisichella trails Mike Rockenfeller by 1.7 seconds. The #81 DragonSpeed Oreca 07 Gibson has retired from this race. Game over. No more spare parts. Taylor's lead over Fittipaldi balloons to 10.5 seconds. Wayne Taylor Racing vs. Action Express Racing. Visit Florida and their Multimatic Riley with Rene Rast, and Pippo Derani in the ESM Nissan DPi with it's 3.8 liter motor, is fourth overall. ESM car #22 is eighth in Prototype, 25th overall, with Bruno Senna driving. Giancarlo Fisichella blows away Alexander Sims in the "art car" #19 BMW M6 GT. Fisichella is challenging Rockenfeller into the International Horseshoe. No dice this time.
Car #90 is now in the pit lane. Tires and fuel, and Rene Rast will finish the race. Nose to tail between Jeroen Bleekemolen and Lawson Aschenbach right now. Car #90 went 23 laps on this most recent stint. A lot of that, has been under yellow. The Multimatic Riley does not have the fuel autonomy that the other Prototypes like the Cadillac's do. Jordan Taylor is booking it, leaving Christian Fittipaldi in the dust. Ford, Ferrari, Chevrolet, Ford is the order in GTLM. Don't count out Ryan Briscoe, even though he's a number of laps down. #5 Cadillac is in the lane. Christian Fittipaldi gets out of the car, and a driver change takes place.
BMW #19 pits. #19 will have a new driver. The #10 Cadillac will pit and Jordan Taylor should stay at the wheel. Fuel and tires only. New sticker Continental tires. Here's the fuel mileage breakdown. Rene Rast in the #90 Multimatic Riley, can run 23 laps in a stint. Each Cadillac can go two laps longer, as both #5 and #10 ran 25 lap fuel stints. Well, factor in a caution period, to give them extra mileage. BMW #19 had a quick pit stop. The GTLM battle continues to simmer. The #2 Nissan had gotten back to the lead lap, briefly, before Jordan Taylor went by, putting it another lap down. Taylor works his 595th lap, equaling 2,118 miles.
Ricky Taylor may get in the #10 before the end of the race. Jeroen Bleekemolen and Lawson Aschenbach continue to scrap in GT Daytona. The #2 ESM Nissan has pitted. Pippo Derani stays in the car, and fuel and tires are added. The two Acura's are nose to tail. #86 ahead of #93. Sam Bird still leads GT Daytona. 573 laps, (2,040 miles) done by the GTD leader. Again, Jeroen Bleekemolen is still driving Mercedes #33. A quick spin for the #85 JDC Miller Motorsports Oreca 07 Gibson in the chicane. The Swiss driver, Mathias Beche is at the controls. That car runs fifth in Prototype, 13th overall.
Jordan Taylor leads Rene Rast now, by 20.4 seconds. Pippo Derani is third. We see the #38 Performance Tech Motorsports Prototype Challenge car coming out the pits. Kyle Masson is totally unchallenged, with a 30 some odd lap lead over both BAR1 Motorsports entries. Don Yount is at the wheel of car #20, and Trent Hindman, at the wheel of car #26. No real battle in Prototype Challenge. Jordan Taylor still holds the lead. If the race stays green, the Cadillac's will need to stop for a splash and dash, six laps or so before the end. Car #90 will also definitely have to pit. Giancarlo Fisichella is running really well and trails Joey Hand just by 3.4 seconds for the GT Le Mans lead. The #63 GTD Scuderia Corsa Ferrari has spun.
Never mind. Sam Bird, has stopped, and there was a lot of smoke out of the back of the Ferrari. Jules Gounon in the #29 Audi takes the GT Daytona class lead. Jeroen Bleekemolen in second, and Lawson Aschenbach in third. Smoke is coming from the motor. A full course yellow. A dramatic end to hour 22 as we try and find out what happened to cause the motor to seize up on the #63 Ferrari.
No comments:
Post a Comment