We continue here at Petit Le Mans, and this blog entry will take us through the balance of the event. With the wave arounds, the #6 Penske entry can get back into the race. Pippo Derani in the Nissan DPi leads with Brendon Hartley in the sister car next. Renger van der Zande, and Eric Curran are up next. Antonio Garcia leads over Toni Vilander and Tommy Milner. Andy Lally, Sheldon van der Linde, and Sage Karam are the top three in GT Daytona. We're back to green flag racing with everyone on slick tires. Take advantage of track position, now. The Nissan boys have the advantage because of the problems for Penske. Ooh. The Ferrari slams the door in the BMW's face and the Ford takes advantage. Joey Hand vs. the BMW in the hands of John Edwards, Martin Tomczyk, and Nicky Catsburg.
Olivier Pla and Eric Curran are scrapping. The #52 Ligier has lots of grip. Pla is the defending PLM race winner. Pla shares with Jose Guttierez and Julien Canal. Ricky Taylor is building and growing as a racing driver. We saw that at the season opening Rolex 24 at Daytona back in January. Jeff Gordon was on that team, and today, after winning the Rolex 24, he is in the Fox Sports broadcast booth. The #29 Monoplast by Land Audi R8 is running extremely well. They've run the TPNAEC events, but Sheldon van der Linde is flying. He's a touring car racer in Audi TT Cup and TCR. But he may go ahead and be a full-time sports car driver, next year.
Road Atlanta is a very narrow track. So, be decisive in your moves. We watch Lexus vs. BMW in GTD. Some argy bargy between the GTLM BMW and a Prototype Challenge entry. Christina Nielsen is now a double champion in GT Daytona. Nielsen is optimistic, and of course she knows what happened to team mate Matteo Cressoni with the Penske prototype. But there's a long way to go yet, boys and girls. The #25 BMW M6 GT and the #911 Porsche 911 RSR will have drive through penalties for jumping the restart. #25 has Bill Auberlen sharing with Alexander Sims and Kuno Wittmer, while the #911 Porsche is driven by Patrick Pilet, Dirk Werner, and Nick Tandy.
Many years ago, some of the prototypes had big, back flip crashes here. Porsche in 1998 and BMW in 2000. There are two major blind corners here at Road Atlanta as Renger van der Zande got loose going past a lapped car. We have an update. There have been negotiations and the marshals have rescinded the penalties that were supposed to be given to those cars. We watch the Stevenson Motorsports Audi #57 in it's final race. We'll miss you guys. Lawson Aschenbach, Andrew Davis, and Matt Bell share the car. Lots of aerodynamic downforce on these GT3 cars.
Stevenson has run so well in many categories of sports car racing over the years. Let's hope their drivers and crewmen find new opportunities. Jesse Krohn at the controls of the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3, sharing with Justin Marks and Jens Klingman. The J team, is going for it. Motul oil company, is partnering with Le Mans and Petit Le Mans. They have won races and sponsored racing in Europe since 1954, sponsoring this event as well. Kenny Habul goes off the road in turn five in the #75 Sunenergy One Mercedes AMG GT3. Habul probably had to check up there for a moment. He is sharing with Tristan Vautier and Dion von Moltke, paying tribute in their paint scheme to the late Chester Bennington of the band Linkin Park.
The #24 BMW M6 GT of Martin Tomczyk is being pursued by Trent Hindman in the #48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3. Andy Lally is continuing to run well. Points will be awarded at hours four and eight. Ooh! Three wide between GT Daytona machines! The first sector of the track only allows for cars to pretty much go single file. Cadillac #10 is in the pit lane. Fuel and tires for Ricky Taylor as he stays at the wheel of the car. In comes Renger van der Zande as well. They won last time out at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
The red clay here in Georgia, mixing it with rain... ooh. That's sticky stuff. Don't get that onto your windscreen. Meanwhile, there's still a lot of action in GT Le Mans. The #5 Action Express Cadillac is in the lane for new tires with Christian Fittipaldi at the wheel. #5 is going for their fourth NAEC title. They are looking to complete something like 20,000 laps. Wow! Jose Guttierez is now at the wheel of the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Ligier as Brendon Hartley brings the second of the ESM Nissan's to the lane.
The traffic is intense! Renger van der Zande cuts a pass really close. If he senses the slightest gap, he'll go for it. Bill Auberlen also wants by the #86 Acura NSX GT3. Jeroen Mul did not give way to the Prototype. Ooh! Eric Curran and Ricky Taylor are engaging in some argy bargy. Brendon Hartley first ran here at Petit Le Mans in 2012. Three classes side by side down the back straight. Nick Heidfeld has won here at PLM for Rebellion Racing before. Andy Lally brings the #93 entry to the lane. Mike Shank invited fans to come and sign the race car, last night.
We still have a hammer and tongs battle between the Stevenson and Land Audi R8's. There's a battle between one of the Porsche's and the #67 Ford GT. Ozz Negri Jr. is at the wheel of the #86 Acura NSX GT3. Ooh! He's off the road at turn one. This is cut and thrust racing. Negri Jr. takes out some of the billboards going up the hill. The #16 Lamborghini may have tapped him. The #96 BMW pits and Justin Marks is now at the wheel of it. He is a plug in and play kind of driver. The #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE is in the lane. Giancarlo Fisichella replaces Toni Vilander.
The #75 Mercedes has picked up a couple of the WeatherTech billboards. He's lost the two signs but they need to be retrieved by the marshals as Bill Auberlen brings the #25 BMW M6 GT into the pit lane. There's some slight damage to the front of that racer. Track position is everything in GT Le Mans right now. Road Atlanta has made some major improvements to the track. In the past, there's been issues with the track flooding, but not anymore. penske, Wayne Taylor Racing, and Whelen Cadillac are all pitting. So is JDC Miller in the #85 yellow bird.
We continue under yellow, with GTLM and GTD pit stops to comee. Oh no!. A huge fire in the pit lanew for the #912 Porsche 911 RSR! Gianmaria Bruni was at teh wheel of the car. The valve on the fuel rig stuck open, and, boom! At least Bruni will be back on track. That's like flambeing food. Unreal! We're an hour and a half into this race as we prepare to head back to green. No GT cars are inbetween the Prototypes as they battle. Ryan Dalziel and Bruno Senna have taken over the ESM entries. We are working the 59th lap (150 miles). Lexus and Acura battle in GT Daytona.
Oh man! The #66 Ford GT is harrying his way through, threading the needle! Joey Hand is doing some bonkers driving, trying to catch up, as he's third in class in GT Le Mans. The #3 Corvette C-7-R- is ahead, and Jan Magnussen and Corvette have clinched the GT Le Mans championship title here in 2017. There has been a wreck out on track. Cannot tell who is involved. We remain under yellow.
Right now, yours truly can get the online onboard camera feed, but not the broadcast. We remain under full course yellow. Now, the revs rise, and we are back to green flag action. Unfortunately. years truly is still just getting onboard camera views right now and not the full race broadcast. Ryan Hunter-Reay will be into the Cadillac #10 soon. Bruno Senna brings the #22 ESM Nissan to pit lane. Ooh! The Change Racing Lamborghini goes off and on briefly. Mercedes has done well in their first season in IMSA. Mercedes AMG that is.
Jeroen Mul in the Lamborghini and Tommy Milner went off the road. The grass in the radiators will be an issue. Ryan Dalziel pits the #2 Nissan DPi. Ricky Taylor will now go to the lead in the #10 Cadillac. ESM has announced their sprint race driver lineup for next year already. Dane Cameron is in his final race in the Whelen Engineering Cadillac before moving to Penske and Acura, next year. Filipe Albuquerque and Joao Barbosa will be full-time at Action Express. Felipe Nasr is coming from Formula 1, to the team. Mathias Beche is racing in fourth spot right now. He had an issue in practice yesterday.
HJe and Antonio Garcia got together in practice. Beche, from Switzerland, is sharing with Nick Heidfeld and Gustavo Menezes. Stephen Simpson is at the wheel of the #85 JDC Miller Motorsports Oreca. BAR1 and others in Prototype Challenge could move to Prototype next year along with the factory involvement from Acura and Mazda with great names like Penske and Joest. CORE Autosport will also come to Prototype competition in the Oreca with the Gibson motor.
Eric Curran is on a move right now. The #31 Cadillac is into the pit lane. Eric Curran is out of the car. Mike Conway will take over. The driver changes are crucial, especially since these Prototype cars are so tightly compacted for aerodynamics sake. Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen are the champions and running well in this race even though they didn't qualify as well as they wanted to. The training for endurance sports car races is a lot like training for a triathlon. Juan Pablo Montoya is in the lane and he will get into the car. Montoya, Helio Castroneves, and Simon Pagenaud, again, are the driver lineup for Penske Racing.
The new Acura is a smooth car with a smooth motor. The Gibson motor is not as refined. Ricky Taylor pits the #10 Cadillac. Ryan Hunter-Reay will get into the car, the IndyCar regular, champion, and Indianapolis 500 winner. We are two hours and 20 minutes now into this motor race. Action is everywhere here in Georgia. The Nissan duo for ESM has cycled back to the front. Bruno Senna leads. Bill Auberlen and BMW lead GT Le Mans. 400 starts for Bill Auberlen at BMW. Wow. Michelin will extend their involvement to all classes, in IMSA, in 2019.
Problems for the #10 Cadillac. There is a small fire igniting on the Cadillac. Is this a problem with liquid spewing out of the car? Yes. Oh dear. The marshals are taking a look at what could be happening. The North American Endurance Championship is on the line, battling with the #5 Cadillac. Is it game over for WTR? Maybe they've dodged a bullet here. But, iut looks bad, actually. There's not a lot of urgency. Ryan Hunter-Reay has had the engine let go. Silverware in a cuisinart. Ka-blammo. Game over. GT Daytona sees some drafting. Lamborghini, Porsche, Audi, Ferrari. Wow! CORE Autosport will be in Prototype next year.
Ricky Taylor has won the Prototype championship. The team does not know what the problem could be as of yet. We are under yellow for debris on the front straight. Austin Cindric has grass in the radiator of the #15 Lexus. He runs wide, and destroys more signage. He got out on the marbles. Grass and red Georgia clay in the radiator is an issue as ESM runs 1-2. More trouble as the #50 WeatherTech Porsche 911 GT3 of Cooper MacNeil, Gunnar Jeanette, and Patrick Long. Pit stop time for Prototypes. The safety car is back on track after Austin Cindric's issues.
Now, Juan Pablo Montoya gets the wave by. BMW still leads GT Le Mans. We look forward to the new BMW M8 coming next year. There was a problem for the #6 car. He runs up on the back of the Ferrari 488, running into the dirt, and having to restart the car. Wow. One of the Porsche's was back there, too. If he locked up the rear tires, he could have stalled the car. Wow. They'll try to make another pit stop. No damage. No penalties. But, this is a learning experience. They've won sports car races. But the team has to adjust to this form of racing.
Juan Pablo Montoya is at the wheel of the car. He has to catch up and he might lose about half a lap here. Stephen Simpson is flying in the #85 yellow bird. Mike Conway is now at the controls of the #31 Cadillac. Simpson leads overall right now. He's threading the needle in GT traffic. Don't get too aggressive. We're three hours into a ten hour event. Bruno Senna is battling Mike Conway as well. Senna goes inside Conway nand moves past. Senna also races for Rebellion in the FIA World Endurance Championship as the Lan Motorsport Audi goes off the road and does some agricultural racing.
Tnis isn't endurance racing anymore necessarily. Back in the day, you had to save the car. Not necessarily true these days. Everyone is pressing it 100% even though we're only 30% of the way through this one. Oliver Gavin spins the #4 Corvette and we see Lawson Aschenbach with suspension issues in the #57 Audi R8 in what is Stevenson Motorsports' final race. Marc Goossens is in the #90. Jonathan Bomarito is driving a one-off race with Visit Florida. A torrid pace has been set here at Petit Le Mans so far. Bruno Senna is closing on Stephen Simpsonl. The red mist is showing. There's a battle in GTD too between Ian James in the sister #14 Lexus, and the #73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3.
Simpson runs wide off 10A and gives Bruno Senna the race lead, as Mike Conway is also pushing hard. Team boss Tim Keane is running this effort for Action Express. Conway tries ands Simpson defends. Maybe Simpson's tires are knackered. Conway will have more torque. Simpson holds the inside line and Conway can't quite get there. Choose your spot, and then, take the sposition away. Joao Barbosa is also right there. Barbosa wants to make a move. But, watch for the bonus points at four hours, coming up in about 55 minutes. We still have a long way to go here.
Mike Conway continues harrying Stephen Simpson. Simpson's tires are busted. He's all over the road. JDC Miller Motorsports was worried about tire degradation during pracitce. The wather today is totally different. Ooh. Joao Barbosa moves over on Gustavo Menezes to keep the Rebellion at bay. Cadillac President Johann De Nyschen says that the brand will be ready to continue to race and win in IMSA next year. Katherine Legge is ahead of Jeroen Bleekemolen in the Acura vs. Mercedes battle in GTD. Scott Sharp runs off the road in turn three. Keep your hands straight, and don't steer away from where you are.
Jeroen Bleekemolen pits the #33 Mercedes, but it was a slightly iffy stop, not costing Bleekemolen much time. Simpson loses time to Mike Conway as Bruno Senna leads this motor race. The Prototype battle continues as Joao Barbosa is feeling the heat from the #13 Rebellion Oreca Gibson, with the Ligier of Marc Goossens, next up. Some cars get through traffic better than others. Is it the platform? The setup? Or, is it the knowledge of other drivers and how they perform? It's a combination of all three really. The competition level in sports car racing is amazing. Dirk Mueller is fourth in GT Le Mans for Ford. Nick Tandy is running well in the Porsche. They are curtailing their FIA WEC program, so, many drivers will have an open door to come back into GT racing.
The #912 car of Gianmaria Bruni had that fire earlier today. Gustavo Menezes won the FIA WEC LMP2 championship in 2016 as a Silver rated "sneaky silver" driver, and he was upgraded to a gold driver rating from the FIA. Stevenson Audi wants to go out on a high note when this race is over. Connor de Philippi and Michael Christensen battle in GT Daytona as the #16 Change Racing Lamborghini Huracan goes off the road with Brett Sandberg at the wheel of it, after racing for Black Falcon in a Mercedes AMG GT3 in Blancpain Endurance Cup competition. Scott Sharp is making his way in the Nissan as we have six and a half hours left in this race.
This race has always been a great one. We'll see you in a few hours.
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