The battle for the lead of this motor race between the two Cadillac's is hotting up instantly once again. The gap between them when the #5 car pitted was 4.5 seconds, and now, it's 5.4 seconds. Car #10 did one more lap (21 laps) on the stint, and #5 can only do 20 laps on a fuel stint. Once again, the distance on a fuel load is roughly somewhere between 75 and 78 miles. We don't have pit lane times available. Fittipaldi was in on lap 200. Taylor was in on lap 205. 205 laps means we've gone 767 miles. The interval between the leading Cadillac's is now 9.3 seconds. We are also following some of the GTD cars such as the Lexus and the Lamborghini. No tire warmers in the sports car championship. No electric tire blankets or tire warming ovens. All you can do is leave them out in the sun at the back of the pit lane.
In the colder weather we had at the Rolex 24 at Daytona back in January, some teams were taking five to six laps to have the tires up to full operating temperature. Operating pressure is also a factor. If the tires are not fully up to pressure, the cars scrape the ground with the undertrays. Let's check out current class leaders.
GT Daytona: #33 Ben Keating Mercedes AMG GT3
GT Le Mans: #68 Billy Johnson Ford GT
Prototype: #5 Christian Fittipaldi Cadillac DPi-V.R
Fittipaldi leads Ricky Taylor by eleven seconds. This has been quite the motor race so far. It is indeed still old fashioned endurance sports car racing. This race has become a 12 hour sprint race over the last number of years. Ricky Taylor looks to make inroads on Christian Fittipaldi. It never used to be this way. It used to be a really long, draining, tough event. The reliability of these cars is amazing, even compared to cars from only years ago. The #85 JDC Miller Motorsports car has been running well, and now, the #13 Rebellion Racing Oreca Gibson is back in the race. A fan emailed in to the IMSA Radio crew and mentioned that the Gibson motor has the alternator right on top. So, the problems they were experiencing had to be a lot deeper inside the engine than just the alternator.
We follow on track with the cameras, the #75 SunEnergy Racing Mercedes AMG GT3. These boys have had an interesting Sebring so far. Tristan Vautier who started the car, is now back at the wheel of it. They had a fuel leak at the end of the morning warmup, and had to start from pit lane. They had drive through penalties after Boris Said had avoidable contact. Speaking of avoidable contact, Jan Magnussen nudges the #23 Alex Job Racing Audi R8. This is through the Tower Turn, where there is a water tower, hence the name. Crunch. That's torn a rear dive plane off the car. Townsend Bell at the controls of the Audi.
On lap 211, Ricky Taylor lays down the fastest first sector time the #10 Cadillac has had in the whole of the race so far. 211 laps. 789.1 miles. Townsend Bell is running consistently and he's following the BMW for Turner Motorsports driven by Jens Klingman. Michael Christensen in the #28 Alegra Motorsports Porsche is next. Ben Keating is still the class leader, but only by 6.2 seconds over Matteo Cressoni. Bryan Sellers has also made a pass on Christopher Mies in the Land Motorsports Audi. Sellers is in the #48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini. Some great scrapping in GTD. Matteo Cressoni and Bryan Sellers are both capable shoes.
However, so is Ben Keating, giving the rest of the blokes and lassies in GTD a run for their money. Mercedes was very quick in qualifying, and of course Tristan Vautier put the #75 Mercedes AMG GT3 on the class pole. The leading Prototype Challenge entry of Patricio O'Ward is in the lane for service. That car has run 206 laps (770 miles). Patricio O'Ward out. Kyle Masson in. They will change four tires (sticker tires), and fuel is added. A perfectly timed stop. In the pit report, we hear a pl-ling sound. Someone dropped a wrench. Has Matteo Cressoni entered pit lane again? Yes. The team has expected him. Alessandro Balzan will get into the car, and they have changed to sticker tires and added fuel. Teams are beginning to back time this race already.
The #52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsport prototype has picked up a trash can liner on the back of the car. Mike Guasch is at the wheel of the PR1 Mathiasen car at the moment. Taylor has pulled in the gap on the #5 car. We are close to 6PM Eastern Time here at Sebring. Any second now, something remarkable could happen. The pace is hot, and the temperature has also been hot. The track is getting gradually greasier. Bryan Sellers is half a minute behind Ben Keating in GT Daytona. Temperatures will obviously drop as the sun goes down. Sunset is at 7:36 P.M. Ben Keating is in the lane, and hands over to "Super Mario" Mario Farnbacher. Four tires for the Mercedes and plenty of fuel.
Christian Fittipaldi is being eaten up by Ricky Taylor. Traffic played a factor. Taylor is the shark, smelling blood in the water. The #90 Visit Florida entry is back on track and getting new tires. Rene Rast is now at the controls. They are hoping to use the rest of the race as a test session. The #70 Mazda pitted to download data, and are diagnosing a misfire in the car. Eric Curran is very quick, but the car #31 is off the pace of the leaders. Bryan Sellers and Christopher Mies are pushing hard in GTD, with Austin Cindric in the #15 3GT Racing Lexus is third in class. Billy Johnson leads by four seconds over Ryan Briscoe and Dirk Werner battling for second and third. This is the GTLM fight, as we move to the last third of the race.
219 laps (819 miles), now done and dusted. That's a real long drive on a Saturday. Christian Fittipaldi has been on track for the last 20 laps and yes, he pits, and so does Ricky Taylor. The two of them almost collide at the entrance to pit lane! Yikes! Conventional wisdom dictates that one car will need less petrol than the other. There was five laps between the two which is a quarter of a stint. Fuel only for #5. Fuel, tires, and a driver change for #10. What a quick stop for #10! Who is the new driver for the #10? Both teams changed tires. How will the two cars and their drivers negotiate the traffic? Alex Lynn is now in the #10.
It is shocking that we've had so few yellow flags today. Just three have happened. Just under four and a half hours left to run. 1.7 seconds between Alex Lynn and Christian Fittipaldi. This is great racing indeed, and surely not a snore. Four different categories race at the same time in these endurance races, obviously. Christian Fittipaldi has been super fast all week and is indeed so in the race. Alex Lynn is making his sports car debut. He has been an open wheel racing man for some years including as a Formula 1 test driver. Into the lane comes the #15 Lexus RC F GT3. #15 actually drove straight through the lane. That's odd. Wait. He stopped. Austin Cindric handed the car over to Jack Hawksworth.
\
Into the lane now comes the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE. Giancarlo Fisichella has been at the wheel of it for a good while now. James Calado will take over. New Michelin tires, and fuel. The sun is going down towards pit in and produces a photogenic haze around the cars as they sit in the lane. Very cool. In GTLM, Ford GT #66 and Chevrolet Corvette #3 will go to the top two positions in class. Dirk Mueller at the wheel of the Ford, and Jan Magnussen in the sole remaining Corvette in the race. Billy Johnson is third in the second Ford, with Fred Makowiecki and Ryan Briscoe completing the top five in class. Makowiecki in Porsche #911 and Briscoe in Ford #67.
We have now run 224 laps (838 miles). Alex Lynn is used to having tire warmers in GP2 and in FIA WEC. No tire warmers in IMSA. For many years, drivers dealt with going out on cold tires. Alex Lynn is your leader right now. Christian Fittipaldi is 1.8 seconds behind, in second. Kyle Masson continues to lead Prototype Challenge. Starworks Motorsports is second. We've discussed GT Le Mans. Four wide on the road! Oh my! That's the Cadillac, the SunEnergy GTD Mercedes, the Visit Florida Multimatic Riley, and one of the factory GTLM Porsche's!
Alex Lynn was on the extreme right into turn seven, and didn't need to be that far offline. Christian Fittipaldi closes up. #90 as mentioned, is back on track after lengthy repairs. That's the same chassis used by the factory Mazda team. Rebellion's race is going from bad to worse. They've been trying to retrieve data, plugging the computer into the outside which is a penalty. It has to be hooked up inside. There's something wrong underneath the engine and gearbox, trying to make things work with telemetry. This was the pole sitting car in the race, and they had high hopes. Bart Hayden and the boys have had a fraught race today.
Rebellion's main focus this season is the FIA World Endurance Championship, as they move from LMP1 to LMP2. The team has learned a lot about the car having raced at Daytona and Sebring. Some people are running older chassis', but everyone in LMP2 in the FIA WEC will race the Gibson engine. They've won with their own design the Rebellion R-One, which is now a museum piece. Christian Fittipaldi is three seconds or so behind Alex Lynn. He stretches the lead to 3.3 seconds. Keep clicking off the laps. That's the name of the game in this race.
Mario Farnbacher, Alessandro Balzan, Christian Engelhart, Bryan Sellers, and Christopher Mies are the top five in GT Daytona at the moment. Eric Curran pits the #31 Cadillac, working his 226th lap. In GT Le Mans Jan Magnussen leads by 35 seconds over the #68 Ford GT of Billy Johnson, followed by Fred Makowiecki, Ryan Briscoe, Dirk Mueller, and Toni Vilander, who is still not feeling all that great. Jan Magnussen is now in pir lane for service. Tires and fuel only as he stays in the car. Take ten or eleven laps to find a full second, and then, if you lose ten seconds in the lane, that effort is totally destroyed.
Michael Christensen hands over the #28 Alegra Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3, who won in class at the Rolex 24. Daniel Morad should be the next driver in the car. It is. Cedric Sbirrazuoli is in the #27 Lamborghini. We have just over four hours still to run here at Sebring. Patrick Lindsey has taken over the #73 Park Place Porsche 911 GT3. Chris Miller pits from third in the #85 JDC Miller Motorsports Oreca. Four new tires and a new driver for the yellow bird. Misha Goikhberg is now at the controls. Goikhberg is back in the race for his second stint. Goikhberg has lost a little ground to Eric Curran, but they are still third in class. Alex Lynn is running respectable and consistent lap times to be sure. Problems for the #14 Lexus RC F GT3, as it slows on track. Sage Karam at the wheel of it.
He pulls off track near the Gendebien curves. Team boss Paul Gentilozzi is on the radio saying, "turn the car on again." But, it stalls. This is a pretty car, but it's not in a good place. This will be a full course yellow flag for sure. We will end hour eight under yellow. There are slow zones, and virtual safety cars etc. Drivers just cannot slow down when there's a wreck or a stalled car. Drivers just don't slow down when the yellow flag comes out. The cars are speeding by when the marshals and safety vehicles are on the raceway. It's been about two hours since the last full course yellow. This is our fourth one of the race, with just about four hours still to run. The leaders are 3/4 of the way through a fuel stint.
The field bunches up behind the safety car. The #14 Lexus is being towed to pit lane.
No comments:
Post a Comment