Hurley Haywood makes the point that the Porsche 911 RSR (the new one), is not mid engined per se, but it has had the motor moved forward from where it was. They've worked very well. The Ford GT started with a blank piece of paper, for a race car that can be driven on the road, while the 911 is a platform car. One of the Prototype Challenge entries has made it to pit lane. So is the #85 entry. Hurley Haywood has applied his name to an IMSA racing scholarship. Porsche is looking at young drivers to keep in the sport of racing for a while. Porsche Cup racer Jake Edison is someone who was selected for this scholarship. Jake was the bloke who was chosen for the award. Porsche have a sure passion about motor racing.
Now, diving into the lane, is the #5 Action Express Mustang Sampling Cadillac. In the Porsche Cup series, the cars are equal, showing the driver's ability. Albuquerque jumps out and gives the car now, to Joao Barbosa for the next stint. Jordan Taylor also pits the #10 WTR Cadillac. Jordan Taylor stays in the car, but will have four new tires. The #22 ESM Nissan stopped for fuel and tires, and so did the #13 Rebellion entry, getting fuel and tires, handing the car to Nick Heidfeld. At JDC Miller for the #85 Oreca, there was routine service, and a driver change as Misha Goikhberg takes over from Stephen Simpson. There will be a film about Hurley Haywood's life, and a biography written about his career.
The film will be released next year, and so will the book. The film will deal with his career from the '70s, '80s, and '90s, and his driving partnership with the late, great, Peter Gregg. Porsche is always innovative in their design, and they surprise people with their car designs. Haywood first ran a 1969 Porsche 911 S which is a stock, production car. But the shape is now the same, and also, it is far more advanced. Porsche is instantly identifiable as a brand and a design. Keep an eye out for the book and the movie, next year, about Hurley Haywood. Now, we have an update on GT Daytona pit action. Both Mercedes AMG GT3's have visited pit lane (#33 and #50).
The stops were routine, and both cars had driver changes. The mechanics were looking at the front grille. They were cleaning huge chunks of rubber out of the grille. There's lots of tire buildup that gets into these cars in the front grille area. Mazda has had a fraught race as we've talked about. Tristan Nunez does have car #55 pounding around on the track, but, the car is still in it's development phase. When you change bodywork, the engine and auxiliary parts that go with it, don't always fit into the car the way you think they should or could.
Is there left side bodywork damage on the #5 Cadillac? We are still unsure if the rear brake lights on the #68 Ford GT are still working. Alessandro Balzan pits the GT Daytona class leading #63 Ferrari 488. They've been running under the radar, but they know how to win. Christina Nielsen is getting back behind the wheel. A Prototype Challenge car that was in the pit lane, exits. This middle section of the race, shows where the gaps are, and everyone is working out their tactics. No cruising. There's still a lot of hard pushing. We have a distance update. We are 123 laps (460 miles) into this race. We've completed over 1/3rd distance.
The points for the NAEC are given out at four hours, eight hours, and the end. Five, four, three, two. That's the points scoring structure. Make sure your car is leading, to get the points. Joao Barbosa settles into a pace. The gap is 20 seconds between first and second. Something has fallen off one of the Ford GT's. It's a cover of some kind. It looks like the cover for the fuel filler when the fuel man puts the probe into the tank to fill the car. The taillight and the turn indicator on the #68 Ford GT are both out of order. Ford leads GT Le Mans, and the gap is 13 and a half seconds, between Richard Westbrook and Sebastien Bourdais.
Ford is four seconds ahead of the sole remaining Chevrolet Corvette C-7-R- in the race, car #3. Olivier Pla is fourth in class, being chased by the #62 Ferrari 488 GTE in the hands of ex Formula 1 pilot, Giancarlo Fisichella. Fisichella is ready for his stint, as he drank a huge bowl full of coffee to get energized. Ford and Ferrari are pulling away from Patrick Pilet's Porsche. The Porsche North America/CORE Autosport Porsche factory cars have not factored into the GT Le Mans battle, all race thus far. Porsche has not had the pace of Corvette, Ford, or Ferrari. Weather is critical. Heat and cooler temperatures, alter the aerodynamic pressure and also the balance of the car's handling. The tire compounds will change. Harder compounds in the heat of the day. Softer compound in the cooler night conditions.
Into the pit lane comes Ford #67. Full service, and a driver change. Richard Westbrook, out. Scott Dixon, into the GT. No real damage to the Ford. New Michelin tires are on the car. Scott Dixon is on his way now, back into the fight. Some GTD cars have scattered off the road. There's been a coming together between the #50 Mercedes AMG GT3 and the #86 Acura NSX. The whole left front wheel on the Mercedes is askew. The Acura had spun and stalled in Sunset Bend, turn 17. The piece that fell off the Ford GT was the glass, the mirror, from the wing mirror on the door. There's sure suspension damage on the Benz. That wheel is not at the proper angle, toed in like no tomorrow. There's been contact to damage it, or the wheel has come off the hub.
Cooper MacNeil is at the controls of the Benz #50 as he limps it back to the lane. He's going to wreck if he's not careful. They had a similar issue with broken left front suspension at the Rolex 24. Cooper, sunshine, you've got to get off the track, now. You're going to wreck the car. The wheel snaps the car to the left violently. This is very dangerous and necessitates a full course yellow flag. The left hand suspension and the steering arm, which is oriented to the left side, are broken, and this causes the car, to jerk violently in that direction as MacNeil is doing his best, but maybe should pull to the side of the road and check in with the marshals.
The #86 Acura loops it in turn 17 and that's what triggers this mess. He's going along a good clip, and then... screech! He gets a free ride on the whirligig. No thud. He starts the motor, slams the car into gear, and drives away. These are two totally unrelated mishaps. Cooper MacNeil is still trundling home. The #48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini is now in pit lane. So is the Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3. MacNeil is still beating that Mercedes to pieces, trying to get home. Whew! Mercifully, Mr. MacNeil has found his way to pit lane, and the team is going to dive on that car. All hands on deck at Mercedes. Close racing between the #27 Dream Racing Motorsports Lamborghini and the #13 Rebellion Oreca, with the Lambo going off track.
Cooper MacNeil hands the Mercedes to Gunnar Jeannette. The tire was torn up, but still had air in it. The upper A arm broke away from the hub assembly. The team is going to change the entire hub assembly to a new one. Sebastien Bourdais leads Mike Rockenfeller in GT Le Mans right now. Cooper MacNeil says the Mercedes was wandering all over the road. The #33 Mercedes pits. MacNeil limped around in first gear, with zero steering, as the wheel would catch and pull the car to the left. That is the same thing that caused the injuries to driver Memo Gidley at Daytona in 2014.
Fisichella and Pla are a bit too close for comfort exiting pit lane. There will be a major temperature fluctuation between the afternoon and evening, and this makes the balance of the car a little fuzzy. The #73 Park Place Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 pits. The #3 Corvette is pitting, and we have more GTLM updates. The #911 Porsche has pitted and so has the #62 Ferrari. The #68 Ford had a close call in the lane, and it has a taillight problem. No driver change for Corvette #3. Tires and fuel only. Cadillac still leads, and are 1-2. Joao Barbosa and Jordan Taylor are the top two. Scott Dixon moves to second in GTLM. Mario Farnbacher and Christina Nielsen run 1-2 in GT Daytona. James French and Sean Rayhall are 1-2 in Prototype Challenge, seventh and eighth in the overall.
Joao Barbosa pits from the lead in the #5 Cadillac and directly ahead of the leader is the #13 Rebellion Racing Oreca Gibson of Nick Heidfeld. Just fuel and tires for the #5 Cadillac. No driver change. The #10 Cadillac will do an extra lap. Mike Rockenfeller continues driving the #3 Corvette. Joey Hand has taken over the #66 Ford GT from Sebastien Bourdais. Stephen Simpson pits the JDC Miller Motorsports Oreca Gibson. We have a battle ensuing in GT Daytona between the #33 Mercedes AMG GT3 in the hands of Mario Farnbacher, and the #48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 with Dion von Moltke at the wheel of it.
#48 is seventh in class trying to hold on to the lead lap. The #20 Prototype Challenge entry for Daniel Burkett, has damage. Burkett is currently driving, alongside Buddy Rice and Don Yount. Burkett is from Canada and is known as the "Manitoba Missile". That car is mired down in 42nd spot in the overall. The #2 Nissan Ligier is still in the garage being repaired. We've lost the #4 Corvette, and also the #52 Ligier of Tom Kimber-Smith, and of course, the #50 Mercedes AMG GT3 is still being worked on after it's wreck from the suspension breakage. Jordan Taylor pits the #10 Cadillac. They made 31 pit stops at the Rolex 24 compared to 32 pit stops for Action Express, and that's how they won the Rolex 24.
Tires and fuel only for Taylor. Stephen Simpson lost time on his pit stop in the #85 car. Did the #13 Rebellion make time up on #5? They were trying to get back one of two laps they are down to the leaders. Katherine Legge is sixth in GTD in the #93 Acura NSX. The #31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac is in the lane. They had big problems at Daytona and have had trouble here at Sebring too. Fuel and tires only as Mike Conway stays at the wheel. The #38 Performance Tech Racing Prototype Challenge entry pits. That is the team that won in class at the Rolex 24. Fuel only for that car. James French is at the wheel at the moment.
Sean Rayhall is at the wheel of the #8 Starworks Prototype Challenge entry. 2017 is the final year of Prototype Challenge cars in the big show. The #2 Ligier Nissan is back on track with Pippo Derani at the wheel. They will continue their development during this race. Nick Heidfeld is one lap behind the #85 JDC entry. The #66 and #67 Ford's are battling for the GTLM lead. The #24 BMW M6 GT has had it's trials today. John Edwards is at the controls. The car had a vibration earlier. We have an hour to go before the next chunk of points is handed out for the North American Endurance Cup, for the longer races including the Rolex 24, the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 6 Hours of the Glen, and the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.
The NAEC is different from the overall series championship for IMSA. Finishing the races is very important. The #8 Starworks car of Sean Rayhall pits for four new Continental tires, and fuel. No driver change. These chaps are still hanging in there, but they've had their dramas. Adding oil or other fluids to the car, is part of these stops, with pressurized bottles that feed the fluid into the motor. The gap between first and second has come down. Jordan Taylor has turned the best lap of the #10 Cadillac's race thus far. The gap is down to 20 seconds between the leaders as we work lap 145. That's 542 miles if you are keeping score at home for race distance.
When the sun sets the temperature drops, that will change how these cars feel to the drivers. We approach 20 minutes to 4PM Eastern Time here at Sebring. Rebellion pits earlier than we thought they would. The #911 and #912 Porsche's are still on the lead lap, but just haven't been there. They ran very well at Daytona in the wet. Maybe this track isn't slick enough for the Porsche as the #13 car is back in the lane, perhaps with problems. Nick Heidfeld brought the car into it's pit box.
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