A couple of the Lamborghini's did indeed come together. Cars #27 and #48 are the two. The Lamborghini manufacturer reps will be miffed. We're into the final two hours of racing at this scenic track. Cadillac #5 pits from the lead. Filipe Albuquerque is at the wheel. But now, Joao Barbosa will take over and finish the final stint taking it to the checkers. Stephen Simpson has taken over the #85 car. The DPi cars just go about 40 minutes on a full fuel tank. We saw an Action Express 1-2 here last year. What will happen as we get closer to the finish of this race? Embedded in the image of the graphics on the #5 Cadillac, and it's patriotic paint scheme are images of the U.S.A. and the words We The People, the beginning of the Constitution. There are also images of Mount Rushmore.
We've talked about the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup. We've passed halfway. Right now WTR, Performance Tech, Porsche, and Riley AMG led at halfway. Acura in the lane, and so is Corvette. Jeff Segal takes over the #86. Segal is back underway. Tommy Milner takes over from Oliver Gavin in the #4 Corvette C-7-R. Milner has fresh, cold Michelin tires. Jan Magnussen in the sister car #3 now leads GT Le Mans. The #93 Acura NSX for MSR has done a stop and a driver change, promoting Scott Pruett leading GTD at The Glen in the #14 Lexus RC F GT3. Pit stop time for Shane van Gisbergen in the #50 Mercedes and also, the aforementioned #14 Lexus as Sage Karam is going to take over.
Shane van Gisbergen is sharing with Cooper MacNeil and Gunnar Jeanette in the #50 Mercedes. #50 picks up a spot. Filipe Albuquerque and Joao Barbosa are both Portuguese, but they know the car, both of them, and know each other. Albuquerque has run IMSA, Le Mans, Blancpain GT and more. Raindrops are coming into the picture now. Sage Karam is having the blowtorch applied by the Audi R8 #57 in the hands of Lawson Aschenbach. The #28 Alegra Motorsports Porsche of Daniel Morad is leading GTD but temporarily. Corvette #3 is pitting. Scott Pruett had a huge wreck a third of the way into his career in an IndyCar. He broke his legs and his back, but has come back so, so strong.
Scott Pruett's plaque for his induction does not have the right visage of his face on it. Someone who cast the trophy got it wrong. Olivier Pla is trying hard, passing one oif the ESM cars. If there was a yellow, Olivier Pla could put the cat among the pigeons running a record lap at 1:33.896, quicker than Pippo Derani's pole time. BMW leads GT Le Mans, and Acura leads GT Daytona. Jens Klingman is turning up the wick. The guy is very quick. BMW likes him as a driver. There may have been contact bettween Tommy Milner and a PC car. Some damage to the front of the #4 Corvette. The Prototype Challenge racer has more significant damage.
Ominous clouds continue to hover over the track. It may not rain. But the skies might open. At Daytona, in the rain, back in January, the Acura's did very, very well. But also, if you can get around the Nurburgring in the wet, you can get around any speedway in the wet. Jan Magnussen believes Corvette could do well if it rains. The #5 Cadillac also pits as does the #85 machine. John Edwards and Alex Sims are trading fast laps. 1:41.927 for Edwards. 1:41.922 for Sims. Gianmaria Bruni is running very well on his Porsche debut.
The #48 Lamborghini has a cut down tire. They were in the top five in class and had a shot. Poor old Madison Snow, will not be happy. Problems too for the #55 Mazda RT24P. Bryan Sellers will take the car to the flag with bear bond on the front end. Wolf Henzler and Bryan Sellers ran together for Falken Tire Racing a couple years ago before that team disbanded. Oh no! Bruno Senna is stopped on the road down towards turn one. A yellow will put the cat among the pigeons here. Gianmaria Bruni is going to have to fit in at Porsche. He won't get the same attention he got at Ferrari. But, he's got pace. There's no question of it.
Porsche is not sure their rivals from BMW can make it to the end of this race on fuel. The BMW heads for pit lane. 61 minutres to go in the race. Joao Barbosa leads.
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