Filipe Albuquerque is very strong now, but last year they didn't get 100% out of the Cadillac. The bar has been raised this year. BMW is developing the racing version of their new M8 in GT Le Mans, even before the road car is scheduled to appear according to BMW team boss Jens Marquardt. There are two IMSA cars and two factory cars in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Win on Sunday, and sell on Monday. That's how racing works. Porsche has pace, and they had a good run last year both in North America and Europe. Porsche has pace according to their rivals from Ford. Lots of cat and mouse in GT Le Mans. The C7 Corvette has been around for a long time and so is the Ford GT. Porsche has had a long, long history in sports car racing.
Nicolas Lapierre is running well in the #22 Nissan. But Action Express is tops so far. Joao Barbosa will be the next driver into the car. Filipe Albuquerque seems satisfied with the car, according to Barbosa, and team manager, Ian Watt. Wayne Taylor Racing and Spirit of Daytona continue to chase each other. Tristan Vautier is doing everything to get by Filipe Albuquerque and Albuquerque gives it to him. Spirit of Daytona is now in the lead, in their home race. Dominik Baumann is applying the blowtorch to Jeffrey Schmidt in the Land Motorsports Audi R8 in GT Daytona. Baumann tries the high line, and can't quite make it.
GTD has anti lock brakes, and traction control. Prototype and GTLM may have traction control, but no anti lock brakes. In the wet, the GT Daytona cars will be really stout. So, watch the weather as the race goes on. Pat O'Ward is fifth overall and fifth in Prototype. He is young gun, but the guy is a wheel man. No telemetry on the Performance Tech team's data display, nor in the car for O'Ward. Dial in the car, as the leader is in. Tristan Vautier and the blue Cadillac for Spirit of Daytona gets service. Dan Gurney, Mario Andretti, and Juan Pablo Montoya, are the three drivers who have won in IndyCar, Formula 1, and sports cars.
Fernando Alonso is in the pit lane for United Autosports. Could Alonso drive for Toyota at Le Mans? We'll find out. Watch out for cold tires. Alonso is getting used to it. Issues for Mazda, with a loose wheel. The wheel is gone on the #55 car. You've picked a fine time to leave me loose wheel. Not good. Left front tire, gone. Jonathan Bomarito at the controls. There are keepers that clamp the wheel down when the drive pins and the hub are secured. Maybe the drive pins were sheared off the nute or something, and now, he's dragging the car on the ground on the back straight. This is a long slog back to the lane.
Running on the tub and suspension creates more damage. Watch out. That's scary. Ricky Taylor is getting used to the Acura, and he has a problem with the door it appears. Ricky Taylor comes to the pits to fix the door. The latch on the door came undone. More close calls! Joey Hand has to back out of it in this huge scrum onto the road course section of the track! Yikes! Paul Dalla Lana is at the wheel of the #51 Ferrari 488 GT3. He has just gotten into the car, and is a very good driver, but he was the one that Joey Hand in the Ford GT had to clear. Juan Pablo Montoya was also dealing with passing one of the Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini's, in the hands of Rolf Ineichen of Germany.
There is a right to race other people in your class. If it is a faster car overtaking, they don't necessarily have carte blanche, but, you have to at least see each other. Dalla Lana has been racing an Aston Martin in FIA WEC the last few years. The Ferrari is a different car altogether. Olivier Pla is piloting the #2 Extreme Speed Motorsports Nissan DPi. It is his first race with ESM, but has a relationship with Ligier and Nissan. Pla does also have a contract in FIA WEC with Ford. Ford is into their third season in IMSA. The car is sorted, and the driver lineup is solid.
There is some smoke coming oiut of the Ford, but it shouldn't hinder them. Tire pressures are critical. Lower starting pressure on the banking creates issues with the tires. While the tire is heating up, the sidewall can be damaged. Cold tires on the banking... watch out! Olivier Pla and Pat O'Ward scrap for position. Problems for Mazda in he pit lane as we watch Fernando Alonso racing on the banking.
Mario Andretti says that the late, great, Dan Gurney was already in Formula 1, while Mario was running midget cars. Then, when Mario Andretti came to IndyCar, Gurney was road racing. Andretti really wanted to keep up with Gurney. As a human being, Dan Gurney was something special. A class act. GM 1-2. Albuquerque leads, Vautier P2. Paul di Resta is in the second United Autosports entry, a man with Formula 1 experience, and a former DTM touring car champion. There was a fire for the #82 GT Daytona car. A fire in the engine compartment has given the team trouble. Racing is cumulative. If you have a problem, you will be on the back foot.
The fire in the Risi pit is flared up, and the car will need to be fixed. Clean the fire extinguisher powder off of it. Fernando Alonso will pit for fuel soon. He leads this motor race. If there is a driver change, the same car will have a new driver who has a totally different driving style. Alonso is now in pit lane. There will be a driver change. Tires are being changed, and the fuel tank is being refilled. Not sure who is getting into the car. Ah. It is Phil Hanson, next up.
Alonso is having a great time, embracing the sports car racers and fans. He did the same thing racing the Indianapolis 500 last year. Barbosa leads. Matt McMurry is second in the #90 Spirit of Daytona Cadillac.
No comments:
Post a Comment