It is hot, once again, in Texas, even though the Adavance Auto Parts Sports Car Championship has been moved to spring, from fall, here at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R has pole as we look at the starting lineup. GT Le Mans has been very exciting. BMW is on the class pole with John Edwards. Could BMW win GT Le Mans for the first time? In GT Daytona, it is also very intense. Eight different makes compete and Mercedes has won the last two rounds of the series. Porsche won the Rolex 24. Porsche, Lamborghini, and Audi fill out the first three rows of the starting grid here in Texas. Ben Keating wants points, and wants his first IMSA driver's title.
We're ready to race. Performance Tech, has really turned it on in Prototype Challenge. OK. We're ready to race, in Texas! Green! They climb into turn one, and Ricky Taylor is in the lead while Johannes van Overbeek is second, and Corvette gets turned around in turn one, through the esses for the first time. One of the Porsche's is pushing and the #4 Corvette and the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari, as well as the #67 Ford GT of Ryan Briscoe, they are all damaged, limping of the road. Risi Competizione just can't buy any luck! Giancarlo Fisichella has problems. Wow. This will be a short yellow.
Pit for emergency service. Giancarlo Fisichella qualified second, and Ryan Briscoe qualified fourth. Martin Tomczyk in the BMW goes inside. The #912 Porsche 911 RSR of Wolf Henzler barely gets by. Henzler is a sub for Kevin Estre who ran the FIA World Endurance Championship race at Spa we covered yesterday. The #2 Nissan DPi spins with Scott Sharp at the wheel of it, making contact with Marc Goossens. The radiator is gone on the #62 Ferrari. They're out of it. Corvette #4 is now in the garage. So, we might go back to green. But, five GTLM cars are out of this thing and only four are probably going to compte. Dirk Mueller has major suspension damage.
Porsche #912 is ready to race again as Ricky Taylor opens the margin over the Nissan in second. The Mazda battles the #90 Riley Multimatic. BMW leads GT Le Mans. Patrick Pilet is at the wheel of the #911 Porsche 911 RSR. The Risi team is surely done for the day. Giancarlo Fisichella cannot be happy. The #66 Ford GT has right rear suspension damage. It is toed out. The alignment is askew and the toe link on the right rear suspension needs to be replaced. Misha Goikhberg is going for it trying to pass Marc Goossens. BMW runs 1-2 in GT Le Mans. Patrick Pilet passes the #3 Corvette of Jan Magnussen.
Porsche has beeen knocking on the door for a win on many occasions this season so far. Leading GT Daytona, the #28 Alegra Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 is being driven by Daniel Morad and Porsche Carrera Cup driver Matthieu Jaminet of France, subbing for Michael Christensen. Christensen also ran at Spa in the FIA WEC race you read about yesterday. Ten minute base drive time for Prototype/GTLM. 45 minutes for Prototype Challenge at GT Daytona. Scott Pruett is fast in the Lexus. He's won here at Circuit of the Americas, in Prototype competition before.
Four classes, four championships, one race, here in IMSA. Ricky Taylor is pressing the bye bye button and going for it on this 3.4 mile track with 20 corners. Johannes van Overbeek is second with Eric Curran and Christian Fittipaldi coming next in two of the Cadillac's. The #912 car is back in pit lane after replacing the front bodywork. Wolf Henzler has gotten out of the car. Laurens Vanthoor has taken over. The #66 Ford is now fine, but the #67 car had an electrical issue and will be back on the speedway soon. Mazda #55 has a loss of power. The #55 RT24P has Jonathan Bomarito at the controls presently.
Ford is back on track. Jack Hawksworth is pushing with Robert Alon at the wheel of it. He started at the back of the grid but is coming quickly. Patrick Pilet applies the blowtorch to Alex Sims! Wow. This track is very wide and the curbing is something a driver can use to their advantage within track limits. John Edwards still leads, and Alex Sims has to defend from the attack by the Porsche. Turner Motorsport BMW vs. Lexus. Robert Alon is pressing the yellow BMW shared by Brett Curtis and Jens Klingman. Eric Curran is hounding Johannes van Overbeek right now. Ricky Taylor has a 12 second cushion, and is driving into the sunset at the moment. Taylor is in the zone.
Mercedes #75 has been quick, and just exited the pit lane. Tristan Vautier at the wheel of it. Temperatures are in the high 80s here in Austin, Texas. Patrick Pilet wants to undercut Alex Sims. Wow. Into the braking zone at turn 12, Pilet has it. Kenny Habul qualified and started the Mercedes #75. There was some contact nbetween Habul and the #22 Nissan DPi! Ker-runch! Wow! That was close. The #70 Mazda is in the lane with electrical issues. A fraught race for both Mazda's. The #22 Nissan had the front nose replaced after that contact. The Lexus program is showing good pace for a first year program.
Rohert Alon tries to get by Bret Curtis. No dice. Ke-thunk. A spin for BAR1 in the Prototype Challenge class. Robert Alon gets on the curb. Alon is a very good young driver, having also run in Prototype Challenge before. Ricky Taylor is 23 secconds to the good over the rest of the field. A battle is brewing in GT Daytona, as Katherine Legge gets chopped by Christina Nielsen. Cooper MacNeil is right there with a birds eye view. You can run two wheels off the red and white curbing and can't get four off onto the red curbing. Ben Keating and Corey Lewis scrap with each other here in GT Daytona.
The Mercedes AMG GT3 is very stout and is compliant over bumps, whether it's been here in IMSA, or in GT3 racing in Europe (the Blancpain series). Lamborghini and Audi are running well, as they have a common platform. Andrew Davis will pit the #57 Stevenson Motorsports Audi and Lawson Aschenbach will take over. Patrick Pilet is all over John Edwards like a rash Edwards will hand the car over to Martin Tomczyk. Action in the lane as Mercedes pits. Jeroen Bleekemolen replaces Ben Keating for this next stint.
Can Bleekemolen makeit for another 56 minutes on fuel? The #5 Cadillac pits as Joao Barbosa takes over from Christian Fittipaldi. These boys want to get back on terms with the #31 and the #10. This race could be run without a yellow. The #28 GTD Alegra Motorsports Porsche. Daniel Morad takes over the car from Matthieu Jaminet. The #10 Cadillac is in the lane for routine service, hoping to keep the lad which they should do. They are looking for their fourth straight win of the 2017 season. The ambient and track temperatures are beginning to warm up as ric Curran hits the lane in the #31 Cadillac.
Out lap for the #5 is quicker than the in lap for #31. Interesting. Meanwhile, the #48 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 is in the lane. Bryan Sellers takes over from Madison Snow. Paul Miller Racing is chasing Algra Motorsports. The #38 Performance Tech Racing car pits and James French stays at the controls. The #16 Change Racing Lamborghini is stopped at turn five and could cause a full course yellow. Antonio Garcia takes over the #3 Corvette C-7-R- from Jan Magnussen. Austin, Texas has food, is the live music capital of the world, and has a race track. Pits are open for the Prototype class. We have an hour and 40 minutes to go in this race.
Go for track position and pit now to make it to the end. John Edwards dropped away from Patrick Pilet. Did he slow down? Wow. He's still second in class. But the car might be in a spot of trouble. This team had electrical issues at Long Beach and couldn't find the culprit. The front runners in GTLM did not pit. Maybe this was a mistake. Corvette #3 goes tothe class lead in GT Le Mans. BMW's both in the lane. #24 and #25. Martin Timczyk is now at the wheel of #24. But there are proiblems for the second BMW.. Dirk Werner takes over the #911 Porsche. A costly stop for BMW #25 with Bill Auberlen at the keyboard.
We are preparing to go back to green. We prepare for a restart. In the restart zone, and now, we are back to green. Taylor whistles off into the distance over Joao Barbosa and Dane Cameron. Ricky Taylor is going for it, and did so in qualifying on Friday. Marc Goossens is also going for it, after rebuilding their Riley Mk. 30 Gibson after the practice wreck at Long Beach with Renger van der Zande, who lost the brakes and didn't start the race. The #31 Cadillac team also changed tubs after his wreck at Long Beach.
Jorg Bergmeister has been fighting the flu this weekend. He's pushing though and so is Jeroen Bleekemolen in the #33 Mercedes. Porsche has a very balanced car this season. Alessandro Balzan meanwhile, has to give up a spot for violating track limits. Jorg Bergmeister is also fighting back. Side by side scrapping between the two Action Express Cadillac's! Wow! Ricky Taylor has whistled off into the distance... again. Barbosa is hugging the corners. Tire pressure adjustments might be helping. The #31 car needs a result and so does #5. These blokes need to keep the #10 car at bay if they can.
The downforce on these Prototype cars is astonishing. Dirk Werner gets walloped by Jack Hawksworth into one of the slow corners. That turn is like the hairpin at Long Beach and can cause some real argy bargy. We have a stop and hold penalty for running a closed pit light for the #24 BMW and a penalty too for the #911 Porsche. The #93 Acura NSX in GTD has also been pinged for a red light violation. Daniel Morad, Jeroen Bleekemolen, and the #48 Lamborghini all battle. Ooh! Gunnar Jeanette makes a move and Ozz Negri is in this mess as well.
A Ford GT is also there as Gunnar Jeanette is making a move in the #50 WeatherTech Mercedes. Jens Klingman runs into Ozz Negri. Tristan Vautier was fastest in both Thursday practices. Vautier wanted to go IndyCar racing but is now a sports car driver. There were three cars that left pit lane when the exit was closed. Dane Cameron is fighting the #31 Cadillac as Stephen Simpson is hounding Scott Sharp. Jeroen Bleekemolen makes an move on Lamborghini #48 and also on the Porsche with Daniel Morad at the controls. The Porsche has really good straightaway speed. Matthieu Jamine put a spectacular stint earlier and he will get suited and booted to get back into the car for the finish.
We now have just over an hour left in the race. Daniel Morad has done very well and Bryan Sellers is pushing. The #57 Audi R8 has been on the button the whole race, running with Gunnar Jeanette, chasing Jorg Bergmeister and also, Tristan Vautier. Lawson Aschenbach says he is losing brakes. That's not good. He runs wide into the corner. Corvette is running well and they might be able to pull off a victory here in Texas. The #52 PR1/Mathiasen Prototype is in the lane. Tom Kimber-Smith is not racing here, but Marco Bonanomi is, with Jose Guttierez. Kimber-Smith's mom is still not doing well.
Pit lane is busy. BMW #25 in the lane and so is the #28 car. The temperatures are really scorching for the tires, and we are now less than an hour away from the end of this event. Back time the race from here. The #10 Cadillac has Ricky Taylor still at the wheel of it. The #48 Lamborghini and the #63 Ferrari pitted as the #3 Corvette hits the lane. Antonio Garcia is still at the wheel of it. Porsche #911 in the lane, and is the last lead GTLM car into the pits. Dirk Werner brings it in. John Edwards is now at the controls of BMW #24 with new Michelin tires. Patrick Pilet takes over Porsche #911, chasing down the Corvette. Dane Cameron is in the lane with Cadillac #31, and they should double stint tires.
The tires are still hot that came off car #31. SunEnergyOne is in the lane. Ricky Taylor will hand rhe #10 machine to his brother Jordan Taylor. #10 is in the lane, and we anticipate a stop. OK. This is pivotal. Jordan Taylor is able to go fast and save fuel at the same time. The #5 Cadillac is being pushed to it's pit stall. #31 might assume second place here pretty quick. If WTR wins, they will break a streak of three consecutive race wins by Chip Ganassi Racing in 2011, which was donje in the old Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series, which merged with the old American Le Mans Series, to create the IMSA WeatherTech championship. WTR is also going for two straight wins at Circuit of the Americas.
45 minutes now remain in this race. If you catch traffic in a Prototype into the S curves, you can lose 3-4 seconds. Alessandro Balzan has closed in on Bryan Sellers. Lamborghini vs. Ferrari for second in GTD as Mercedes leads with Jeroen Bleekemolen driving the #33 entry. Five brands fill the top five places in GT Daytona. Mathieu Jaminet is back at the controls of the #28 Alegra Motorsports Porsche. BMW and Porsche battle for fourth and fifth in GTD. Jaminet was forced wide in the battle with Jens Klingman. Once again, we remember, Holly Job, wife of Alex Job, who founded Alex Job Racing. She will be missed.
Stephen Simpson has his hands full with Ryan Dalziel for fourth place. Into the long, triplr apex right hander, Dalziel is surely having a go. He slides inside inton the braking zone as Stephenh Simpson protects the line. Simpson is stuck in the esses. He forces through. If he wouldn't have done that, he would have been toast, and fallen back down the order. Renger van der Zande was supposed to take tires in the #90 car, but didn't on his most recent pit stop. Those strategy mistakes can bite you, hard. Jose Guttierez makes a move and this shuffles some of the GTD cars as the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Ligier goes by. Balzan reads the situation to perfection. Dalziel gets by Simpson as Sage Karam goes by Jeff Segal. Michael Shank Racing will race the Indianapolis 500 and Sage Karam will also race at the 500. Jack Harvey will be the driver for MSR at Indy.
Stephen Simpson is doing very well in the #85 car. Their Gibson engine had the highest top speed in practice. The engine is fine. But the Oreca chassis seems to work better than the Ligier or the Riley Multimatic. Jordan Taylor pits and gets eight seconds of fuel. He could not save enough fuel as we run to the finish here in Texas. Mazda #70 is in the lane, too. WTR is still doing very well with the strategy game. Jordan Taylor leads by 30 seconds. The hill from pit out to turn one is about 13 stories. Wow! That's incredible! Alexander Sims is cutting into Antonio Garcia, but only slightly.
There is a bonus point for fastest lap. Joey Hand ran a 2:05.29 and now reduces it to 2:04.7. He beats Bill Auberlen, his old team mate, to fastest lap. Even on a bad day, you've still got to finish for maximum points in the championship. We have a fourth Mercedes in the form of the #87 ACS car with Mike Skeen and Dan Knox sharing the driving chores. The #991 Porsche for TRG with Harry Gottsacker and Parker Chase, running very well. Both of them are teenagers. Parker Chase is from nearby New Braunfels, Texas.
Smoke and a little flame off of one of the cars. It might be the #2 ESM car. They celebrated Cinco De Mayo on Friday. But, not sure about celebrations in this race. We are getting down to the nitty gritty. It's nearly time for the finish of this race. Tbe #2 Nissan DPi is on fire. They ignored the meatball flag for a mechanical issue. Let's hope the marshals can clean this up. Nothing showed up on the ESM telemetry. So, now they'll have to investigate. They are really disappointed, being denied their second straight podium. When it lit... boom! A four wheeled volcano. The clock is ticking down. Seven minutes to go. This will be a short yellow.
Jordan Taylor, Alexander Sims, and Alessandro Balzan, will all see their leads evaporate. ESM team boss Scott Sharp says that something maybe got on the headers. Now, Jordan Taylor might get away safe as he has GT traffic between himself and Dane Cameron. Green! Go! Five minutes left. Make that four minutes and change. Bryan Sellers gets passed by Tristan Vautier for GT Daytona honors. Alexander Sims gets balked and this opens the door for Jan Magnussen. Sims dives inside. Ooh! Smoke from the #4 Corvette.
It has been all Konica Minolta Cadillac today at Circuit of the Americas. They will have the white flag next time around and get their fourth straight victory of 2017. Also, they will have their second straight win at COTA. WTR has their car dialed in and got a lot more testing with the Cadillac than the Action Express duo did. Action Express chief mechanic Ian Watt is trying his best to unlock the speed for the Cadillac's run by that team. White flag flies. Last lap in Texas. Antonio Garcia and Corvette will win GT Le Mans. Joao Barbosa will catch Dane Cameron on this final lap, more than likely.
But, don't count your chickens just yet. Tough day for both Mazda DPi cars. Through the triple apex at turns 16, 17, and 18. Garcia heads for turns 13, 14, and 15. But, Jordan Taylor and Cadillac have four straight wins and Wayne Taylor's squad repeats at COTA! GTLM honors go to Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen! They win for the second time at Circuit of the Americas. Jeroen Bleekemolen and Ben Keating win GT Daytona. Patricio O'Ward and James French! Happy Birthday, Patricio O'Ward! Your gift, a win in Prototype Challenge in Austin, Texas!
Corvette Racing wins GT Le Mans with Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia. In GT Daytona, it is Riley Motorsports and Mercedes, and the #33 entry of Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen.
Overall/Prototype: #10 Taylor/Taylor Cadillac DPi-V.R
Prototype
Challenge: #38 French/O'Ward Oreca FLM 09 Chevrolet
GT Le Mans: #3 Magnussen/Garcia Chevrolet Corvette C-7-R-
GT Daytona: #33 Keating/Bleekemolen Mercedes AMG GT3
Next up on the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, it is the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic on the streets of Detroit, Michigan... "Motor City", at Belle Isle, and that race will be in a shade less than a month's time with three of the four classes. No GT Le Mans, as they get ready for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We'll see you, in the Motor City. So long, everyone.
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