We are at another legendary palace of speed. It used to be known by one name. Mosport. It is now Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. But, the track, still has a definite legacy. This is the halfway mark in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. We are ready to race north of the border, eh? We are an hour east of the city of Toronto. This track is one of the greatest in the world, and we are set for the Mobil 1 Sports Car Grand Prix. The cars are on track, ready to race. BMW has momentum after their victory in GTLM. Acura in GTD is the same way. Both marques won last weekend at Watkins Glen.
The real story is in GTLM. We have Porsche wanting a victory, anywhere in the world. Their new car has been fast, and needs a win. Dirk Werner has pole in GT Le Mans. Gianmaria Bruni has good history here at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. New paved runoffs are on the track now. But, if you get it wrong, this place will bite you. Gunnar HJeanette went off the road in qualifying. The car is repaired. Michael de Quesada found the limits, and so did Jack Hawksworth. They didn't make it for qualifying, but they will line up on the grid while Sage Karam and Scott Pruett earn their first ever GT Daytona pole. James French and Pat O'Ward are ready in Prototype Challenge, and we are ready to race, now!
We are green! Misha Goikhberg wants by Ricky Taylor as Jonathan Bomarito moves ahead of the ESM entry. Marc Goossens is pushing, slciing under Eric Curran. Tom Long in the second Mazda, is side by side into turn four. Ricky Taylor is beginning to build a cushion. BMW is 1-2 with Porsche 3-4 in GT Le Mans. The BMW M6 GT has massive torque. Some GT Le Mans cars qualified on soft tires. BMW didn't. Manufacturers are running together in GTLM. BMW, Porsche, and Ford. Most times on this track, you are in corners, at high speed. The Stevenson Motorsports Audi is moving up along with Acura and Lamborghini.
Brand diversity in GTD is immense. Christina Nielsen and Alessandro Balzan just have two points in the lead of GT Daytona points over the Acura squad. There is a threat of rain that could turn this race on it's ear. Ricky Taylor has Misha Goikhberg all over him. Stephen Simpson, his co-driver also wants a piece of this pie. Goikhberg is from Russia, but he lives in Canada, so CTMP is his home track. The #90 Visit Florida Riley Gibson is running well. Renger van der Zande and Marc Goossens have had terrible luck so far, anhd it continues as the car is stopped at the side of the road.
The car is quick in high downforce trim. Will there be a full course yellow here? Goossens is actually back on track. So, maybe he's saved himself at this stage. The #10 has to stay ahead of the #5. Electrical issues for the Visit Florida team. Sometimes, like a computer, you have to shut the car down and restart it for the bugs to go away. Four classes racing together on an amazing 2.5 mile track. Split second decisions are crucial and so is what theweather will be. It's 70 degrees with humidity and if it moves in, we could see rain.
Mosport is 2.5 miles. Moss corner is the slowest turn and then, fly up the Mario Andretti straightaway. Down to fourth gear, third gear, staying to the right, through the rollercosaster and bake onto the front straight, down throughu turns one and two that are some of the most amazing in racing. 140 miles an hour into the bumpy turn three. Turn four, flat out, and back on the brakes headed for Moss corner again. Ricky Taylor has opened a margin between himself and Misha Goikhberg.
Bill Auberlen leads GTLM and is co-driving with Alexander Sims. These blokes won at Watkins Glen last weekend of course. Alexander Sims realizes real seat time to learn tracks, is the best way to go. Simulators aren't the best. Corvette needs to focus and they need track position as they battle with the Ford GT boys, according to Antonio Garcia. Corvette could gamble if need be, according to Garcia. You just can't Corvette out of the picture. They've won here at CTMP eleven times in their last 16 visits. Pit stop time for Visit Florida, and a mechanic is working on the electrical system.
You find a mechanical problem, but not an electrical problem. The British Gibson 4.2 liter V8 has had the electrical bugs worked out of it. But this issue for Visit Florida is still electrical. Sage Karam in the Lexus battles with one of the Audi's. We also have Katerine Legge and Bryan Sellers scrapping. It's Acura vs. Lamborghini. Acura continues to tweak the car and does not really havre a magic bullet for how they're doing.
Andy Lally was not saiisfiedwith the balance of the car, and the same is true with Katherine Legge. The ABS system in the GT3 cars, the Acura duo is struggling. You have to have confidence for racing at a track like CTMP with it's high speed turns all over. Stirling Moss won the first professional race in a Lotus 19 here at Mosport in 1961. Misha Goikhberg is pressing Ricky Taylor, and could pounce if Taylor is trapped in travffic. Goikhberg has been quite a bit quicker than Stephen Simpson, his co-driver. Misha Goikhberg has been with this team for seven years, since 2010. Goikhbrg had a great run at Detroit, and at Watkins Glen, and he knows this track.
Jonathan Bomarito is fourth, and is giving chase to Scott Sharp. It's Nissan vs. Mazda. Jonathan Bomarito qualified the car. Ryan Dalziel is Scott Sharp's team mate and now, Pippo Derani is a full-time team mate to Johannes van Overbeek. Katherine Legge got snookered by the outright speed of the Prototypes. That section of track is extremely fast! Survival is the key to all of this. Bill Auberlen is still leading, ahead of BMW M6 team mate Martin Tomczyk. BMW, Porsche, Ferrari, Corvettte, and Ford, running liner stern. Joey Hand is in the #66 Ford GT, and can't get a handle on his race car.
Ryan Briuscoe is in the sister Ford. Gianmaria Bruni will be someone to watch in the Porsche. An hour in, we'll see pit stops and we'll see teams play a two stop strategy. Consistency over a full stint on Michelin tires, is hopefully going to be Ford's strong suit. We are a half an hour into this race now. Coming through turns two and three, that's tough. Sage Karam won pole here in 2012 in the Pro Mazda open wheel series. Lexus continues to improve as a team. Scott Pruett says the focus will be on little things. He is also mentoring the youngr drivers in the team such as Sage Karam, Robert Alon, and Jack Hawksworth. Every driver on the team has talent and wants to go for it.
Lexus is developing the car, and also developing the drivers. The #912 Porsche of Laurens Vanthoor ran off the road in Moss corner. Dirk Werner and Martin Tomczyk are pushing hard. This is Tomczyk's CTMP debut as well. He got deep on the brakes and there was a little casual contact. Ooh! The traffic is immense now. Prototype, GTLM, and GTD are together, stacked up up the hill. Ooh! A touch between the Acura and the BMW! Yikes! The GTLM cars are moving by. Laurens Vanthoor wanted to go for it. But he decided discretion was surely the far better part of valor on that little move.
Traffic is becoming an issue. Ricky Taylor got snookered, and here comes the Banana Boat, the #85 yellow Oreca Gibson sponsored by Hi-Tide boat lifts. Goikhberg goes for it on the outside before the turn into turn nine and there was a rub between the two of them. The #5 Cadillac is in pit lane. Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi, who won last weekend at Watkins Glen, has been slightly behind the eight ball this weekend. It was not a clean stop for those boys who have lost a full lap. 22 seconds is the pit lane delta. Misha Goikhberg pits the banana boat, with dive plane damage. Goikhberg stays in. Tires and fuel, and Goikhberg continues. Joey Hand is in the lane for service with Ford. They will need just one more stop if we stay green. But, a yellow would throw a spanner in the works.
The #10 Cadillac is in the lane. No driver change this time. Just tires and fuel. Keep equipment and tires in your pit box. The Mazda does not have the downforce for this track. Jonathan Bomarito is in the car. Some areas of Canada are pretty warm, but not at Mosport. Low 70s are the temperatures we are seiing during this race so far, with cloud cover. Where will the #66 car be? Dirk Mueller is now in the #66 Ford GT. Ford is playing strategy to compete with BMW and Porsche. Porsche #912 is in the lane. Gianmaria Bruni takes over for Laurens Vanthoor. Cadillac #5 with Joao Barbosa at the controls has a tire going down.
Dane Cameron is in the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac. #5 in and out with a new left front tire and a splash of fuel. Pit stop time for the #911 Porsche. Dirk Werner out, Patrick Pilet in. Change to a medium compound Michelin tire. Once again, the #90 is stopped on course and gets going again for a local yellow. No full course caution flag. The #75 SunEnergy Mercedes AMG GT3 is in the lane. Many of the GT Daytona cars are pitting. Lawson Aschenbach has taken over the #57 Stevenson Motorsports Audi. John Edwards is now at the wheel of the #24 BMW. A puncture also for Bruni in the #912 Porsche! Deary me!
The carcass of the tire didn't flail around damaging the bodywork. So, Michelin tires are very resilient. Bruni is doing very well as the new recruit for Porsche. He and Laurens Vanthoor seem to be quite a potent driver pairing. The #14 Lexus RC F GT3 has just completed scheduled pit work. Ricky Taylor continuesn to lead. There are 250 guests of thir sponsor Konica Minolta here in Canada to watch. The downforce and speed of these cars on this track are amazing. The #48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini is in the lane, and they've shown great speed with both Bryan Sellers, and co-driver Madison Snow.
Big dvelopmenhts for the #14 Lexus. They incurred one of two drive through penalties. There was a spinning tire, first, and now, an Allen wrench is stuck in the rear wing and the marshals dinged them for that, too. Lexus #15 in the lane. Robert Alon, out. Jack Hawksworth, in. Lexus is shooting for a good finish. They've been on a rollercoaster all year. Goikhberg gets a run on Taylor. Joao Barbosa wants to stay on the lead lap and Goikhberg tries outside! He is again inside, too! GTLM is part of this scrum as well. GTLM cars will be as fast as the Prototypes at Moss corner. But downforce is the key.
,Lexus #15 was penalized for tire spin while the car was on the air jacks. Corvette pits too. Jan Magnussen out, and Antonuo Garcia into the #3 entry. Corvette Racing has won three races in IMSA. Chevrolet does reverse pit strategy to what Ford did. Goikhberg passes Taylor for P1 and he needs to work his way through traffic. Misha Goikhberg is in the lead, being hounded, and trying to clear a lapped car through Moss corner and up the Mario Andretti straightaway. When the Corvette went to pit lane, that caught Ricky Taylor off guard, and Misha Goikhberg gets around him. Pit entry is very tricky here at CTMP.
We watch Jeroen Bleekemolen in the #33 Mercedes AMG GT3, pressing Scott Pruett. Stephen Simpson is buried in traffic trying to stay on the lead lap. Check that. Misha Goikhberg is still at the wheel of it. Simspon will take the car to the finish. There is some debris on the Mario Andretti straight. WTR needs to think big picture for the championship. They don't want to get into other's messes. BMW has a head of steam, and John Edwards is pushing Patrick Pilt. Talk about pushing, it's a drag race off the finaln turn. Pilet sticks the pass. Here comes Edwards another time, door to door through the notorious turn three here at CTMP. Through Moss cornr, and up the Mario Andretti straightaway.
Tgere was a piece of tire carcass from the sister Porsche on the side of the road, and back to turn one, plummeting downhill to turn two on the way through another lap of this race. The Players 200 was the big race here, back in the early 1960s. Quite the rich history here at CTMP. Misha Goikhberg continues to open a gap. The #5 Cadillac is a tenth of a second off of the #10 Cadillac. Cadillac is going for win number seven as Gianmaria Bruni is pressing Tommy Milner. Porsche vs. Corvette. There was a damaged valve stem of one of the tires, possibly for Corvette.
In pit lane, ESM. We are halfway into the race. One hour and 20 minutes gone. Both Nissan's in, and also, Mazda. Pippo Derani is now in the #22 as Jonathan Bomarito hands over the #55 Mazda RT24P to Tristan Nunez. Driver changes in both Nissan's (#2 and #22). The Mazda is left hand drive, while the Nissan is right hand drive. Right hand corners, which are a lot of this track, seems to be suitable for a right hand drive car as Ryan Dalziel is at the controls of the #2 Nissan DPi. Nissasn started this program very late. Could they win yet this year? We'll see.
Misha Goikhberg and Ricky Taylor are both in pit lane. Christina Nielsen and Alessandro Balzan are going for a sixth straight podium in GTD. Both leaders pitted. Misha Goikhberg falls out of the car Stephen Simpson is back in the car. Ricky Taylor came in as well and beat the #85 car out of the lane. Stephen Simpson is now in the #85 car. Misha Goikhberg has been racing with JDC Miller Motorsports for seven years, since 2010. Jonathan Bomarito is a cool customer and a hard charger at the same time. Richard Westbrook in the Ford is pursuing the Corvette. Well, correction. It is a Corvette in a Ford sandwich as Gianmaria Bruni hits the lane for fuel and tires with just an hour or so of racing left.
The #90 car has chronic problems and it's game over as the car went back to the paddock area. We watcb footage of Niki Lauda racing at Mosport. Just incredible! The only change between then and now, is technology. That was Lauda racing in 1976. Jordan Taylor got balked, and had to give up the lead to Stephen Simpson, who ran his fastest lap at 1:08.9. Taylor checks up, and Stephen Simpson went through in a flash. Commitment is key to success here at CTMP. GTLM cars are in the pit lane for their second and final stops of this race with just an hour to go. A serious scrum in GT Daytona. It's unreal. The battle for sixth. Jeroen Bleekemolen, Tristan Vautier, Scott Pruett, Gunnar Jeanette and others.
Jeroen Bleekemolen is racing every weekend. Lots of these drivers were at Spa Francorchamps for the test day for the 24 Hours of Spa in a few weeks. Timo Bernhard, the Le Mans winner, will field a team at Spa. The #48 Lamborghini pits and Madison Snow is now in the car. Jeroen Bleekemolen gets passed by Tristan Vautier. Has the #3 Corvette leapfrogged the #67 Ford? We could see rain before this race is over.; It is not uncommon for one side of the track to have rain and the other half to be dry. This is a similar case to weather that was fortunately not seen in the Formula 1 race in Austria earlier today.
Pit stop time for GTD and GTLM contenders. These are the final stops of the race for these teams. Alessandro Balzan will stay at the wheel of the #63 car which goes for scrubbed Continental Tires. Jorg Bergmeister is back in the #73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche, and he and Patrick Lindsey are giving it a good run with 55 minutes to go here at CTMP. Drama for the #38 Performance Tech Prototype Challenge entry as we see a full course yellow flag. Raindrops are falling and there's a car on fire at the bottom of turn two. It's one of the Nissan's. Pippo Derani was in trouble. He's fine, and out of the car. He will also race with Ford in the FIA WEC race at the Nurburgring next Sunday,.
Ryan Lewis in the #20 entry leads Prototype Challenge. The top two drivers have seen their leads evaporate. It is game on now. Lewis is sharing with main driver Don Yount. Half of this track nis soaking wet now, while the other half is dry as a bone. #10 has to go to wets. The back side of the track is soaked, while there's dry pavement on the front of the track. AMG Mercedes had the equivalent of a 40 hour work week of service to fix their car. The #28 Alegra Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 pits with Michael de Quesada, and hometown favorite, Canadian Daniel Morad sharing the driving chores.
The #5 Cadillac pitted again for slicks. Now, there may not be any more rain. These rain tires will be chewed up if we don't see more water. Less than 40 minutes to go. The GTLM lead battle heats up as John Edwards in the BMW M6 GT takes the lead. Tristan Nunez passes Jordan Taylor. He's skating all over the road as Stephen Simpson splits traffic! Wow! Alexander Sims is pushing Patrick Pilet. All the GTLM cars are on slicks right now. Pilet can't get the tires to work. Could Pilet have clag on his tires? Some drivers on wet tires, and some on slicks. Acura #93 is second in class, but losing ground to the Audi as the sun comes out and will be drying the rain off the road. There will be a rush to the lane. Get off these wet tires ASAP and get back on slicks.
Ryan Dalziel is gaining on the lkeader. The PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports #52 Ligier has speed with David Ostella at the wheel of it. But Ostella runs wide in the third turn. It's greasy out there, mate. The rain has made this track slick. Slick tires on the #10 Cadillac, and that's why Jordan Taylor is currently having issues. But if it dries out entirely, then, he'll have an edge on the slick tires. Madison Snow is fifth in GT Daytona. Jens Klingman is phsing in the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3 in GT Dayttona as well. Dirk Mueller chases Antonio Garcia. These boys are 1-2 in GTLM points as Alexander Sims has passed John Edwards and Patrick Pilet for the GTLM lead.
Jeroen Bleekemolen wants by Jens Klingman. Stephen Simpson, for JDC Miller Motorsports, still leads. They are the team, from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Actually, the suburb of Savage. #85 has pitted and has gone back to slicks. The #10 Cadillac is now back in the race lead. We have 38 minutes left. Will #10 need a splash and dash before the end? Cadillac #31 is second, with Dane Cameron at the controls. Ryan Dalziel, under pressure from Tristan Nunez, spins off the road after a mismatched downshift and spinning the car in turn four while it's so greasy on the road. Jordan Taylor could be in fuel save mode.
The #38 Performance Tech Motorsports car of Patricio O'Ward is now back in the class lead as Lawson Aschenbach leads GT Daytona in the #57 Audi R8. Conserving fuel is the key for Aschenbach. Tommy Milner wants by Dirk Mueller in GTLM. The car has not had a good balance all weekend. The #16 Change Racing Lamborghini is having fuel issues. Gianmaria Bruni is pressing his way through in the Porsche. Third in GT Daytona is the Ferrari #63. They are looking for another podium. Acura #93 is going for three in a row in GTD. Should Stevenson bobble, Acura might have a chance.
Alexander Sims leads Patrick Pilet and John Edwards at the moment. Alexander "The Professor" Sims is surely going for it, coming up on Ozz Negri in the sister #86 Acura NSX. We are now under full course caution as the #4 Corvette and the #10 Cadillac have both gone off the road. Three wide into the corner, catching Tommy Milner, driving off the ehend of the arth into a cdolossal wreck! Damage to both cars. The pits are now closed. The Cadillac is a wounded bird and would be penalized if they pitted because this yellow comes within 15 minutes after the previous one. Wow. We're really getting close to the end of this one. Jordan Taylor had a head of steam, made contact, anc crashed.
The Cadillac #10 will need a new rear clip because the rear wing is damaged. Dane Cameron is second, and they could be in position to win their first race of the year. How long will the cleanup take? This race has had some amazing twists and turns, just as the longer event at Watkins Glen did last weekend. We will go green soon. Milner was trapped in that accident by the #66 Ford GT of Dirk Mueller. Car #10 stays out even though the stewards want him to fix it. Cadillac #31 of Dane Cameron leads. Hre coimes Stephen Simpson! Barbosa in the sister Cadillac spins! This is amnazing with just ten minutes to go. Simpson is coming fast with less than ten minutes to go.
Pits are open. One of the Porsche's is in the lane as Lawson Aschenbach still leads GT Daytona. Wow. This is gettingn hor and heavy. Pilet is in the lane and so is the #10. Problemns for the #10 Cadillac with a broken wishbone, and a problem with Porsche #911. Dramas in these last few minutes. Game over for car #911. Engine, gone. More argy bargy in GT Daytona as Stephen Simpson is now second. Ryan Dalziel is third with Tristan Nunez in fourth. Dane Cameron runs his fastest lap of the race at 1:09.5. Six minutes to go. Cadillac could win another one.
Dane Cameron is being hounded by Stephen Simpson. The Porsche team has to be aggravated with zero wins here in IMSA or in FIA WEC GTE competition. Dane Cameron has the bit between his teeth as Whelen Engineering wants their first 2017 win. We have a big scrum in GTD. Balzan is phsing and there's more rain with three and a half minutes to go! Wow! It's bucketing down with rain now. Alexander Sims and John Edwards for BMW lead GTLM. BMW will take points away from Ford and Corvette. Balzan leads Lally in GTD. Simpson is trimming the margin for the lead down. Cadillac vs. Oreca Gibson. Two minutes remain now.
The rain is here. Dane Cameron is leading but just by 1.8 seconds. Ryan Dalziel drops behind Stephen Simpson. Dane Cameron has protection now. He has it with traffic, but Simpson is coming in a hurry. Simpson gets trapped by GTD cars. Oh! A wreck and a car is upside down, it's David Ostella in the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Prototype. The grip is there and then it's gone. The Canadian dcriver is out of his home race. Let's hope he is OK. White flag, and yellow flag. So, the race is over. It's been a monster of an event as Sims is also off the road! Ooh!
Ostella slid off, dug in, and lazily rolled over. Wow. David Ostella will be fine. This weather nis like a summer's day in the UK. It's the final lap of the race. Cadillac and Whelen Engineering are going to win here at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. They've won here at Mosport before, having taken the win last year. So, it's their second win at CTMP in as many years. Cadillac in the rain, wins seven straight! The perfect season continues for Performance Tech!
Another win for BMW in GT Le Mans with Bill Auberlen and Alexander Sims. In GT Daytona, Stevenson Motorsports and Audi win in class with their #57 Audi R8 in the hands of Lawson Aschenbach and Andrew Davis.
Overall'/Prototype: #31 Cameron/.Curran Cadillac DPi-V.R
Prototype Challenge: #38 French/O'Ward Oreca FLM Chevrolet
GT Le Mans: #25 Auberlen/Sims BMW M6 GT
GT Daytona: #57 Aschenbach/Davis Audi R8
As the cars pull into victory lane and parc ferme, the sun is back out. What a race this was! Two wins in a row for BMW. Audi wins in GTD. Next up for the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship is back stateside at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut. It is an all GT race. We look forward to that, in a couple weeks. We'll see you, from Lime Rock. Take care, everybody, and so long for now.
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