Endurance... the sports car racing blog: September 2018

Sunday, September 30, 2018

more Blancpain GT Endurance pre-race before the finale in Barcelona today

Stay tuned for full coverage of the Blancpain GT Endurance season finale in Barcelona. But, before that happens, here's more news on changes coming to the championship, and other news from around Circuit de Catalunya.

Drivers Prepare for Blancpain GT Finale
https://sportscar365.com/sro/blancpain-gt/drivers-prepare-for-blancpain-gt-finale/

Black Falcon on Pole at Barcelona
https://sportscar365.com/sro/blancpain-gt/black-falcon-on-pole-at-barcelona/

Private Testing Ban, Pit Stop Changes for Blancpain GT
https://sportscar365.com/sro/blancpain-gt/private-testing-ban-pit-stop-changes-for-blancpain-gt/

Barcelona Qualifying Highlights
https://sportscar365.com/features/videos/barcelona-qualifying-highlights/

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Blancpain GT news headed for the finale in Barcelona

Friday, September 28, 2018

Bamber Nearly Breaks Laguna Track Record in 919 Hybrid Evo

Earl Bamber nearly smashes Laguna Seca track record despite not attempting record run...

https://sportscar365.com/historic/bamber-nearly-breaks-track-record-in-porsche-919-hybrid-evo/

New Porsche 935 Race Car Unveiled

Porsche takes wraps off reinvented 935 race car for track day competition...

https://sportscar365.com/industry/new-porsche-935-race-car-unveiled/

Thursday, September 27, 2018

New Aston Martin GT3 to Enter VLN Next Weekend

Aston Martin to debut new Vantage GT3 in VLN race on Oct. 6...

https://sportscar365.com/other-series/n24/new-aston-martin-gt3-to-enter-vln-next-weekend/

Automatic Racing Confirms California 8 Hours Return

Automatic Racing confirms Aston Martin Vantage GT4 entry for California 8 Hours...

https://sportscar365.com/sro/igtc/automatic-racing-confirms-return-to-california-8h/

Panoz team to continue racing in 2019

A few sources yours truly has found, that can confirm that Panoz will continue racing in 2019 to remember Dr. Don Panoz's legacy and to continue the great company and race car builder that he founded. They will be back as part of the 2019 grid in Pirelli World Challenge. Here are the articles, and links to their original sources.

Panoz To Continue Racing in 2019
http://www.dailysportscar.com/2018/09/27/panoz-to-continue-racing-in-2019.html

...and

Team Panoz Racing to Return in 2019 As A Tribute To Don Panoz

https://sportscarracingnews.com/2018/09/27/team-panoz-racing-to-return-in-2019-as-a-tribute-to-don-panoz/

FIA WEC news update, all about the new hypercar idea and regulations

FIA WEC news has come in this week, and what has been going on, focuses almost exclusively on the new plan for the championship to adopt hypercar regulations.

BMW's Jens Marquardt says "clarity" is needed in making decisions on what the new hypercar regulations will be.

Marquardt: "Clarity" Needed on Hypercar Regs
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/marquardt-clarity-needed-on-hypercar-regs/

Brown: McLaren Hypercar Decision By Early Next Year
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/brown-mclaren-hypercar-decision-by-early-next-year/

United Autosports making "Good Progress" on WEC Program

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/united-autosports-making-good-progress-on-2019-20-wec-program/

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

More LMP2 Sales for 2019 Set to Emerge - In North America!

“Significant new interest” in LMP2 sub-class.

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2018/09/25/more-lmp2-sales-for-2019-set-to-emerge-in-north-america%E2%80%A8%E2%80%A8.html

ESM racing the clock to firm up 2019 plans

101 days. That’s the window of time ESM under team owners Scott Sharp and Ed Brown, has, to sign a new sponsor and show up for the January Roar Before The Rolex 24 test session at Daytona International Speedway.

https://racer.com/2018/09/25/esm-racing-the-clock-to-firm-up-2019-plans/

Don't Get FS2, You Can Still Watch

If you do not get Fox Sports 2 on your cable or satellite TV package and are worried about missing the remainder of Petit Le Mans when it happens on October 13th, not to worry. Just make sure you are all set on a mobile device with the Fox Sports Go app.

https://www.imsa.com/news/092018/dont-get-fs2-you-can-still-watch

Objective Confirms Bathurst 12H Return

Objective Racing to return with McLaren 650S GT3 to Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour...

https://sportscar365.com/sro/igtc/objective-confirms-bathurst-12h-return/

Monday, September 24, 2018

Weekly Racing Roundup (9-24-18)

Reports from several GT, prototype and touring car races over the weekend...

https://sportscar365.com/features/roundup/weekly-racing-roundup-9-24-18/

Sunday, September 23, 2018

6 Hours of Silverstone Race Broadcast

The full race broadcast of last month’s third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship “super season”, the 6 Hours of Silverstone.

Saturday, September 22, 2018

more IMSA headlines

Some of the latest news from IMSA, headed for the finale at Petit Le Mans, three weeks from today.

Meet Corvette Racing Team Manager Ben Johnson

https://sportscar365.com/features/videos/meet-corvette-racing-team-manager-ben-johnson/

HART, (Honda America Racing Team), will not contest the Petit Le Mans.

HART Acura Withdrawn from Petit Le Mans

https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/hart-acura-withdrawn-from-petit-le-mans/

Jack Hawksworth’s latest column, checking in before Petit Le Mans in three weeks’ time.

HAWKSWORTH: A Breakthrough Year For 3GT, Lexus

https://sportscar365.com/features/commentary/hawksworth-a-breakthrough-year-for-3gt-lexus/

Friday, September 21, 2018

VIDEO: Panoz Memories On Film

Looking back with in-car video, and Don himself reviewing some of his own collection.

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2018/09/17/video-panoz-memories-on-film.html

Thursday, September 20, 2018

more news from the FIA WEC

Still more headlines from the FIA WEC.

FYI. Tickets are on sale NOW for the WEC race at Sebring next March if you wish to attend.

2019 Sebring Tickets to Go On Sale September 17th
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/2019-sebring-tickets-to-go-on-sale-sept-17/

Manor Ends LMP1 Involvement; Ginetta “Happy To Support” TRSM
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/manor-ends-lmp1-involvement-ginetta-happy-to-support-trsm/

New Porsche 911 RSR in Development; Switch to Turbo?
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/new-porsche-911-rsr-in-development-switch-to-turbo/

2019 ‘Super Sebring’ Schedule Released
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/2019-sebring-schedule-released/

Great news! Clashes with other sports car races have been avoided on the 2019-2020 FIA WEC calendar!

2019-20 Fuji, Shanghai Dates Changed; Clashes Avoided
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/2019-20-fuji-shanghai-dates-changed-clashes-avoided/

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

more news from Intercontinental GT Challenge

Lots of headlines from Intercontinental GT Challenge as we look ahead to next month's finale of the championship, the California 8 Hours at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.

US RaceTronics Enters California 8H with 15-Year-Old Aghakhani
https://sportscar365.com/sro/igtc/us-racetronics-enters-california-8h-with-15-year-old-aghakhani/

ARC Bratislava Switches California 8H Entry to BMW
https://sportscar365.com/sro/igtc/arc-bratislava-switches-california-8h-entry-to-bmw/

Audi Reveals Three-Car Factory Lineup For California 8H
https://sportscar365.com/sro/igtc/audi-reveals-three-car-factory-lineup-for-california-8h/

BHA Confirms Two-Car TCR Entry for California 8H
https://sportscar365.com/sro/igtc/bha-confirms-two-car-tcr-entry-for-california-8h/

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

IMSA headlines

Some of the major headlines from IMSA, as we look ahead in three weeks or so, to the finale at Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

Land Confirms Morad for Petit Le Mans
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/land-confirms-morad-for-petit-le-mans/

Laguna Seca Sights & Sounds
https://sportscar365.com/features/videos/laguna-seca-sights-sounds/

Alexander Sims' sports car future, may be brief as he has signed up to race in Formula E.

Sims Evaluating IMSA Future After Formula E Signing
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/sims-evaluating-imsa-future-after-formula-e-signing/

SAFE is FAST looks at relationships between drivers and engineers in IMSA Paddock.

Driver vs. Engineer: Developing a Relationship
https://sportscar365.com/features/videos/driver-vs-engineer-developing-a-relationship/

Ford GT Confirmed for Bathurst Demo Run
https://sportscar365.com/other-series/ford-gt-confirmed-for-bathurst-demo-run/

Falken to Run New Porsche GT3 in VLN

Falken Motorsports to run 2019-spec Porsche 911 GT3R in VLN...

https://sportscar365.com/other-series/n24/falken-to-run-new-porsche-gt3-in-vln/

Monday, September 17, 2018

Weekly Racing Roundup (9-17-18)

Race reports from the title-deciding GT4 European Series round...

https://sportscar365.com/features/roundup/weekly-racing-roundup-9-17-18/

Sunday, September 16, 2018

Blancpain GT Sprint Cup: Nurburgring

The finale of the 2018 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup, at the Nürburgring in Nurburg, Germany, in the Eiffel Mountains.

Pre-Race:

Leaders Tied Ahead of Nürburgring Sprint Cup Finale
https://sportscar365.com/sro/blancpain-gt/leaders-tied-ahead-of-nurburgring-sprint-cup-finale/

Ratel Considering Minimum Pit Stop Times for Sprint Cup
https://sportscar365.com/sro/blancpain-gt/ratel-considering-minimum-pit-stop-times-for-sprint-cup/

Vanthoor, WRT Top Opening Session at Nürburgring
https://sportscar365.com/sro/blancpain-gt/vanthoor-wrt-top-opening-session-at-nurburgring/

AKKA ASP Leads FP2; WRT Quickest on Friday
https://sportscar365.com/sro/blancpain-gt/akka-asp-leads-fp2-wrt-quickest-on-friday/

Qualifying:

Bortolotti, Stolz Score Nurburgring Poles
https://sportscar365.com/sro/blancpain-gt/bortolotti-stolz-score-nurburgring-poles/

WRT Repairing Title-Contending Audi; Likely to Start Race 1
https://sportscar365.com/sro/blancpain-gt/wrt-repairing-no-1-audi-likely-to-start-race-1/

Race 1:

GRT Wins Race 1 As Mies, Riberas Open Up Points Lead
https://sportscar365.com/sro/blancpain-gt/grt-wins-race-1-as-mies-riberas-open-up-points-lead/

There has been a change. A big change, in the race one results. Grasser Lamborghini has been disqualified. WRT Audi inherits the win. Mirko Bortolotti and Christian Engelhart were given a 30 second time penalty.

Mies, Riberas Inherit Race 1 Win as Grasser Penalized
https://sportscar365.com/sro/blancpain-gt/mies-riberas-inherit-race-1-win-as-grasser-penalized/

Lamborghini debuts the 2019 Evo version of the Huracan GT3.

Lamborghini Reveals Huracan GT3 Evo
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/lamborghini-reveals-huracan-gt3-evo/

Meet Lamborghini’s 2019-Spec Huracan GT3 Evo
https://sportscar365.com/features/videos/meet-lamborghinis-2019-spec-huracan-gt3-evo/

Nurburgring Weekend Notebook
https://sportscar365.com/sro/blancpain-gt/nurburgring-weekend-notebook-4/

Engelhart, Bortolotti Disqualified After Multiple Offences
https://sportscar365.com/sro/blancpain-gt/no-63-lamborghini-disqualified-after-multiple-offences/

Race 2:

Marciello, Meadows Win Race 2, Sprint Cup Title
https://sportscar365.com/sro/blancpain-gt/marciello-meadows-win-race-2-sprint-cup-title/

Nürburgring Race 2 Highlights
https://sportscar365.com/features/videos/nurburgring-race-2-highlights/

There may be another post to wrap up the action at the Nurburgring. The 2018 Blancpain GT Sprint Cup is over, and Raffaele Marciello and Michael Meadows are champions. Now that the Sprint Cup finale is in the bag, we look forward to the final event of the Blancpain GT Series overall season, the last Endurance Cup race of the year at Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, coming up in just two weeks.

Saturday, September 15, 2018

more memories of Dr. Don Panoz

We continue to, and will always remember the legacy of Dr. Don Panoz.

Scott Atherton on Don Panoz
http://www.dailysportscar.com/2018/09/14/scott-atherton-on-don-panoz.html

...and

Remembering the life of American Legend Don Panoz
https://beyondtheflag.com/2018/09/14/remembering-life-american-legend-don-panoz/

To me, Don Panoz can be put in a class with many of the other great race car designers who built and won with their own cars, the likes of Bruce McLaren, Carroll Shelby, Jim Hall, Don Nichols, and others. He is a legend and will forever be missed.

Friday, September 14, 2018

post-race headlines after IMSA at Laguna Seca

All the post-race coverage after the IMSA event at Laguna Seca, including the latest Double Stint Podcast.

Sims, De Philippi Take Second Straight BMW Win in GTLM
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/sims-de-phillippi-take-second-straight-bmw-win/

*They also won overall in the all GT event at Virginia International Raceway, which yours truly has yet to cover. So, stay tuned for a full, albeit delayed report on that race that took place in August.

Derani, Van Overbeek Win Wild Race at Laguna Seca
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/derani-van-overbeek-win-wild-battle-at-laguna/

Big Crash Mars Start of Monterey GP
https://sportscar365.com/features/videos/big-crash-mars-start-of-race/

Continental Tire Laguna Seca Post-Race Notebook
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/continental-tire-laguna-seca-post-race-notebook/

Crash Puts 'Big Hit' in Title Hopes for Albuquerque, Ford

https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/start-line-crash-puts-big-hit-in-title-hopes-for-axrs-albuquerque-ford/

CORE "Not Distracted" by Prototype Title Chances
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/core-not-distracted-by-prototype-title-chances/

New Team, Manufacturer Interest in WeatherTech Sprint Cup
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/new-team-manufacturer-interest-in-weathertech-sprint-cup/

The latest Double Stint Podcast, featuring, among other things, an interview with Pipo Derani, after his win at Laguna Seca.

Double Stint: Laguna Recap; Pipo Derani Interview (9-11-18)
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/double-stint-weekend-recap-pipo-derani-interview-9-11-18/

HPD Trackside: Laguna Seca Race
https://sportscar365.com/features/videos/hpd-trackside-laguna-seca-race/

Morad Poised for Land Audi Drive at Petit Le Mans
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/morad-poised-for-land-audi-drive-at-petit-le-mans/

Moorespeed, Hardeman Set for Sprint Cup With New Porsche

https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/moorespeed-set-for-sprint-cup-campaign-with-new-porsche-911-gt3-r/

Michelin GTLM Laguna Seca Recap
https://sportscar365.com/features/videos/michelin-gtlm-laguna-seca-recap/

Ricky Taylor’s latest commentary.

TAYLOR: A Case of ‘What Could Have Been’ at Laguna
https://sportscar365.com/features/commentary/taylor-a-case-of-what-could-have-been-at-laguna/

Risi Competizione Confirms Petit Le Mans Entry
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/risi-competizione-confirms-petit-le-mans-entry/

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Winner & Highlights of the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship Continental Monterey Grand Prix featuring the America's Tire 250

It is the penultimate race of the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, the Monterey Grand Prix/America's Tire 250 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California, on the Monterey peninsula. Last year, Laguna Seca saw an amazing duel between Dane Cameron and Renger van der Zande. Who will win at Laguna Seca, this year? Everyone loves coming here for the food, the weather, the landscape, and the racing. It is a picture perfect day in Monterey. Three driver's championships are up for grabs. The biggest surprise is the performance of CORE Autosport, who have had two straight wins. They will have Romain Dumas with them at the finale at Petit Le Mans in early October.

In GT Le Mans, each contender is desperate for different reasons. The #4 Corvette wants a win. The two Ford GT's from Chip Ganassi Racing. Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen have had no wins in 2018. In GT Daytona, Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers, they are the points leaders in the Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3. Others are chasing. Katherine Legge and Alvaro Parente in the #86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 want a good result. Wayne Taylor Racing are the defending champions. Now, they are 12 points behind their competition. Jordan Taylor earned pole, and he will staert the race. #10 has not won yet this year. Can they do it? Neither front row starter has a win yet. The second Acura is not in championship contention, the #6 car.

Here we go! Contact at the gREEN AND jOAO barbosa and the Porsche #811 ghave already crashed into each other before the green flag! Oh my gosh! One of the Ford GT's, the #66 aksi ghas danage. The #911 and the #66 are out of the championship now. This is not good for some of the GTLM contenders. Three cars are out of the motor race, on the spot. It's tough to pass here at Laguna seca. The cadillac got turned, and then, the GTLM Porsche has no place to go, with Nick Tandy at the wheel of it.

Joao Barbosa is back from injury. The Prototypes were stacked and the GTLM cars tried to accelerate. No dice. that was a massive hit right on the cockpit. Joao Barbosa and Filipe Albuquerque are definitely on the back foot. They will take no further part in this motor race. The #66 Ford GT clouted the Cadillac. Barbosa was turned around, and the Porsche... bang, right into the side of the car! So, the #5 got hit by both of them. There's nothing worse than a massive crash at the start of a motor race. Laguna Seca is a very challenging race track, and there's significant elevation change, and, low grip. Dropping five and a half stories down The Corkscrew is amazing. Fortune favors the bold, but not so much after the first turn shemozzle.

It's a gorgeous day at Laguna seca. Everyone just started to charge and do the land rush. Johannes van Overbeek in the #22 Nissan DPi was charging. In racing, you are eliminated with one wrong move. That does not happen in any other sport. Let's hope the rest of the race is a clean one. Steady there, chaps. Take it easy. The order at the front, has been jumbled here. On the restart, the cars will accelerate at the apex of turn 11. The restart will hopefully be less chaotic. Green, again, and we are racing now. The Prototypes calmly go through as Misha Goikhberg is trying to make a pass, and then, poor old Bill Auberlen gets turned around by his former team mate Justin Marks. The #14 Lexus had problems. Poor old #93 with Justin Marks and Lawson Aschenbach, they can't catch a break.

The Lexus lost control off turn 11. All the driver aids work, but physics can get in the way. The #14 Lexus RC F has damage on the right side, and it's game over for the #93 Acura NSX GT3. We have only run seven laps, and this race has turned into a demolition derby, a crash, bang, wallop. Again, low grip and high tire wear are a part of this race track. Be responsible. Drivers know they won't have much grip on this track. Once again, blokes, take it easy. Cadillac #31 is in the lane, but the pit lane is closed. He can't do any service. The red light is on at pit out. The Whelen Engineering Cadillac leads the championship overall. After this little mixup, their race could go pear shaped.
Nine laps have been run in the first few minutes.

Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller, those two might be out of luck for the championship. Mercedes #33 for Keating Motorsports and the #96 Turner Motorsports Liqui Moly BMW M6 GT3 have pitted. There's a split strategy, currently, on the pit stops. The yellow flag remains out. The field remains behind the safety car, as there's a problem for the #54 CORE Autosport ORECA. Something is wrong with Jon Bennett. He's crawling and then stopping just outside pit lane. Ah. Now he is able to get the car to pit lane. What is this all about? He had power. Maybe he was waiting for the clock to reach 30 minutes.

Ah. A driver change,. as Colin Braun will get into the automobile. He waited. The safety car is pulling away, and Colin Braun must get on track in order to gain points as we go back to green. Dane Cameron puts the power down. He and team mate Ricky Taylor are winless. now, Eric curran has passed Robert Alon in the #85 JDC-Miller Oreca, "the banana boat". Jonathan Bomarito in the #55 Mazda RT-24P is chasing Jordan Taylor. Bomarito is racing at his home track. Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen have Corvette running 1-2 right now.

The crash for the #66 Ford GT plays right into the Corvette squad's hands. CGR is going to have to place their hopes in the #67 car. John Edwards and Jesse Krohn are racing nose to tail with their two BMW M8 GT's. Porsche GTLM vs. Lamborghini GTD. Madison Snow leads in GT Daytona at the moment. Earl Bamber is moving up in the #912 Porsche 911 RSR. Rainey curve, turn ten, is another legendary corner here at Laguna Seca, named after American motorcycle racing champion, Wayne Rainey. Jordan Taylor is in trouble in the #10 Cadillac!

He's got transmission trouble. There's nothing but a box of neutrals in that Cadillac. He is crawling. Just when we thought WTR was going to turn their season around. Not the case, today, with one race to go in the championship. It's game over for Jordan Taylor. Now, under yellow, the GTLM cars are in the lane, getting in before the pits closed for this short yellow. Ford and Corvette in the lane. Lots of championship contenders have gotten into trouble during the race so far today.

We are set for yet another restart. No action taken on the first two starts as Pippo Derani spins the ESM Nissan DPi. Pippo Derani will joins Felipe Nasr at Whelen Engineering in 2019. Eric Curran will move to run the endurance races only. Big battle in GTLM! It's go time, and the Ford #67 has cut a tire. Richard Westbrook might have some big damage. Pippo Derani and Misha Goikhberg's earlier contretemps is reviewed by the stewards. No further action. The #25 BMW M8 GT is going for it. Meanwhile, the #67 us back underway. Westbrook goes inside Gavin, and there's some argy bargy between the two of them.

The Corvette didn't want to turn. The pit crew has to check that the toe link and the upright are not broken. It's cool in the Monterey peninsula, but the tempers in this motor race, are red hot. It's a broken steering racxk on the Ford GT. They are out of this motor race. Dane Cameron is looking for his first win of the 2018 season before it ends. Jonathan Bomarito, again, at his home track, is giving the Mazda a good run. Oliver Jarvis is having a good run, but the windscreen is full of fluid and other debris. When will the Prototypes pit? None of the leaders have done so, with 52 minutes on the board.

Side by side, the #31 passes the #99. Wayne Taylor says there was a catstrophic transmission failure. The differential blew out the side of the gearbox. This is a year to forget for WTR. Kyle Marcelli is applyiung the blowtorch to Madison Snow in GTD. Lexus vs. Lamborghini, and Snow is trying to hold on by the skin of his teeth to a possible championship. Renger van der Zande, and Jordan Taylor's alter ego, Rodney Sandstorm, handed out ice cream to the fans. Meanwhile, Madison Snow is hanging on for dear life on tires that are toasted at the moment, and Snow, replaced those tires that were totally knackered.

All three of the championships will go down to the Petit Le Mans, the final race of the year. Details on that race will come at the end of this race report. Mazda has a good setup here, after some changes in the Balance of Performance. The LMP2 based cars lost two liters of fuel while DPi spec cars gained two liters. Gunnar Jeanette is chasing Christina Nielsen in GT Daytona right now, The door isn't latched on the #58 car. What will the marshals say about that? Perhaps it didn't latch properly. Prototypes and GTLM cars are mixed in amongst each other as we watch the BMW M8 gt chasing the Corvette. The Acura DPi cars have been having some trouble with tire degradation.

Jarvis was quickest in the morning warmup. Can Mazda win their first DPi race today, at their home track? Jesse Krohn leads Earl Bamber in GT Le Mans at the moment. Pit stop time is coming up, and we see some damage to Mazda #77. Problems for the #77 Mazda. The engine is running. But, there is crash damage, and perhaps more trouble for the car. Penske is in wit the #7, Helio Castroneves at the wheel of it, changing over to Ricky Taylor. A tear off was taken off the windshield as well. Now, #77 is back underway, and the #6 Acura is in. Dane Cameron hands over to Juan Pablo Montoya.

Mercedes #33 pits. Jeroen Bleekemolen is back into the car after Ben Keating did his stint. Acura #6 overcooks it on cold tires! Juan Pablo Montoya, off the road! Yikes! He's back on, now. Cold tires won't pick up debris, thankfully. Felipe Nasr pressurizes Juan Pablo Montoya. Sebastian Saavedra and Colin Braun now run 1-2. PR1/Mathiasen vs. CORE Autosport. Braun in the pit lane. AFS/PR1 have changed from the Ligier to the Oreca chassis and it is paying dividends in Sebastian Saavedra's first race at Laguna Seca. Troubles for Bill Auberlen in the #96 BMW M6 GT3. The car has some damage. Now, the #52 car is in the lane. Gustavo Yacaman is going to get into the car, replacing the aforementioned Sebastian Saavedra.

Bill Auberlen is stopped on the hill to the Corkscrew. Both JDC-Miller cars in the lane. Now, Harry Tincknell is leading in his first race at Laguna Seca. Fuel only pit stop for the #48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini. Katherine Legge brings the #86 Acura to the lane before it closes. The tires are going away, and Legge hands over to Alvaro Parente. Jesse Krohn and John Edwards just pitted in the #24 BMW. Corvette could not pit before the lane closes, but they will be on the back foot, albeit sans a penalty.

BMW #25 in the lane. Alexander Sims hands over to Connor De Philippi. We are now set to go back to green with just over an hour to go. Montoya in the #6 Acura wants by Felipe Nasr. Now, Andy Lally is chasing Bryan Sellers. Harry Tincknell continues to lead this motor race. Can Mazda win at their home track? The win has been elusive for Mazda. Now, Gunnar Jeanette, Bryan sellers, and Andy Lally all battle each other in GT Daytona. Alvaro Parente might have an advantage on long runs for the tires. But, poor old Bryan Sellers might be in trouble. Sellers sets up a perfect pass on Gunnar Jeanette, and he is losing places.

Nasr and Montoya are locked together in second and third spot. The Montoya and Nasr battle is getting tasty, and we have more cars, bearing down on these two. Montoya and Cameron another driver pairing looking for win #1 in 2018. Now, we are under an hour remaining in this motor race. Harry Tincknell is working his way through GTD traffic. Three wide over the crest! Big lockup for Pippo Derani! Yikes! The battle for fourth is Ricky Taylor, Colin Braun, and Pippo Derani. Derani makes a move on Braun and makes it stick, blocking the CORE Autosport driver. There may have been a reactionary move there, which the stewards could call into question.

Derani moved to block at a very shallow angle, and had some argy bargy with Colin Braun. Braun says, "he's blocking me!" Race Director Beaux Barfield wants specifics about complaints and incidents. It'll be a warning, or no action. Derani moves past Ricky Taylor. Andy Lally in the Audi passes Jack Hawksworth in the Lexus. Pippo Derani has pulled away from Ricky Taylor. Taylor has his hands full with Colin Braun. Derani was defending, and then nearly blocking. Meanwhile, Juan Pablo Montoya wants by the #31 Cadillac, passing the #912 Porsche 911 RSR, Laurens Vanthoor at the wheel of it. Nasr forces the issue on Richard Westbrook in the #67 Ford GT.

Nasr uses the BMW M8 as a pick. Big move here, look, as the #4 Corvette in GTLM chops off the Acura. Look again, as we see issues for the ESM Nissan. This is the #2 car, with Ryan Dalziel driving. But, Derani in the sister car, he has closed right up on Montoya. Corvette hits the pit lane briefly. Harry Tincknell and Mazda make their final pit stop, as does Juan Pablo Montoya in the #6 Acura. This is going to be a battle royal to the finish. Derani and Montoya side by side, and Montoya on cold tires! Ricky Taylor has warm tires, and the over under, and Taylor makes the pass.
The #31 Cadillac has dropped to the back of the queue as Colin Braun leads, with Stephen Simpson second, in the #99 Red Dragon that started the accident at the start of the race.

Next up, is the sister car, #85, the "Banana Boat", with Simon Trummer at the wheel of it. Colin Braun and Jon Bennett could lead the points, by three, if the race ended now. But, there are stil 41 minutes to go. Both Lexus' in the lane, and Mazda has just made a stop but has elected to not fix the nose damage. Colin Braun is now into the pit lane, from the race lead. Stephen Simpson takes over the race lead, and he must pit as well. A four tire change is the order of the day for #54. Tire management is critical at Weathertech raceway Laguna seca, and some argy bargy between Montoya and Ricky Taylor! So, the Acura's are into some argy bargy and heavy battles here.

Montoya clears Connor De Philippi, running second to team mate John Edwards at BMW in GTLM. Harry Tincknell has a healthy lead over Pippo Derani, but, Derani is gaining. Another pit stop for the #48 Lamborghini. They are second in GT Daytona, and their rival, the Acura #86 leads in class. John Edwards leads Connor De Philippi in GTLM. Antonio Garcia is fourth in GTLM and he could move up. Can Pippo Derani catch Harry Tincknell? Derani has won the 12 Hours of Sebring, twice, so he knows how to win sports car races.

Now, more drama! Harry Tincknell has a problem, and he spins after Gustavo Yacaman slams the door in his face, look,. What does Mazda have to do, to win a race? Pippo Derani in the #22 Nissan has moved ahead. No action from the stewards. Now, Colin Braun has moved past Felipe Nasr, and Braun is set to chase down both Acura's, which incidentally, are on older tires than Braun is. Half an hour to go now. Traffic snookered Harry Tincknell. Alvaro Parente into the lane for the final time. Four scrubbed tires go on the car. Pit stop time, too, for Magnus Racing. Derani leads Montoya and Taylor. Now, Taylor cuts past Montoya because of the traffic. Colin Braun is closing, fast!

Braun goes past the sister #77 Mazda which is a couple laps down. Look here, boys, Colin Braun is coming. Jorg Bergmeister in the #73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 has gone to the GT Daytona lead. Colin Braun has the fastest lap of the race so far at 1:16.9. Colin Braun is closing on Ricky taylor and is right there. This is for the win, and if Derani has an issue, there's going to be something that could happen. Ryan Dalziel in the sister ESM car has had a litany of problems after some contact earlier. Felipe Nasr is under attack from Harry Tincknell in the Mazda. Tincknell is trying very hard to make up ground when he lost the lead after his spin and his contact with Gustavo Yacaman.

Many GTLM cars are gambling on fuel if there's just one more yellow flag. Richard Westbrook and the second Ford GT is in the garage. Now, Harry Tincknell is going after Felipe Nasr. He needs to move forward with just over 15 minutes left in the race. GTLM and GTD leaders both need to save fuel. Jorg Bergmeister has run very well in the #73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R, sharing with Patrick Lindsey. Bergmeister is followed by Bleekemolen, Sellers, and Parente. Bergmeister's tires are knackered. Now, Harry Tincknell is right on Felipe Nasr's gearbox. Tristan Nunez is up ahead in the sister Mazda, laps down, in the #77. Tincknell powers past Nasr up the hill. Does Nasr have anything left in the locker?

Sellers, Bleekemolen, Bergmeister, and others, are still fighting for GTD. Parente has caught Sellers! Pippo Derani, your overall leader. goes by. The checkers are coming. Don't miss a grandstand finish here at Laguna Seca. Dominos begin to fall as the #24 BMW M8 GT comes to pit lane. Laurens Vanthoor is second for Porsche. Alvaro Parente has passed Bryan Sellers! This is for points in GTD. Less than seven minutes to go in the race. Prototypes work through the traffic in GTD. Parente is right up to the Mercedes of Jeroen Bleekemolen. In turn 11 a alap ago, Parente got the lead, and now, he is all over Bleekemolen's gearbox, and makes it stick. Bleekemolen can't answer the call.

Sellers has to move past Bleekemolen if he has anything left in the locker. Great battle between Ricky Taylor and Colin Braun. Parente looks inside Bergmeister for the GT Daytona lead! Katherine Legge wants the win, and wants to close in the championship. Parente passes Bergmeister. Parente has the faster car. Less than four minutes remain. Argy baergy between the two Ferrari's, and there's damage to the #7 Acura! Oh my! Ricky Taylor was an innocent bystander there. Connor De Philippi leads GTLM. Alvaro Parente leads GTD. Laurens Vanthoor and Antonuo Garcia are closing. Harry Tincknell wants by Juan Montoya.

Two laps left. Laurens Vanthoor is right behind Connor De Philippi. Save fuel but don't let your rival pass. Derani, Nissan, and ESM lead overall. Did Ricky Taylor get back soon enough? #7 is in pit lane and he made it back. For Ricky Taylor, he was involved in a battle between Gunnar Jeanette and Townsend Bell. Bleekemolen wiggles in Rainey curve. Sellers hanging on with everything he has. Bleekemolen's tires are shot. Jorg Bergmeister has conserved both tires and fuel. White flag for Derani.

Colin Braun is second, and Felipe Nasr is fifth. The clock is at zero. Final lap. Does De Philippi have enough for one more lap? Laurens Vanthoor stumbled. Derani can coast after the Corkscrew. Nissan won at Sebring back in March. Derani moves to Action Express next year. Pippo Derani and Johannes van Overbeek win! In GTLM, Alexander Sims and Connor De Philippi win! Wow! De Philippi saved all the fuel. In GTD, the #86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 for Katherine Legge and Alvaro Parente, win GT Daytona.

Overall/Prototype: #22 Derani/van Overbeek Nissan DPi

GT Le Mans: #25 De Philippi/Sims BMW M8 GTE

GT Daytona: #86 Legge/Parente Acura NSX GT3

Our last challenge of the season, is the Motul Petit Le Mans in the red clay hills of northern Georgia, just outside of Atlanta, for ten hours of racing. The race happens in a month's time.

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

pre-race IMSA news from Laguna Seca

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Racing community pays tribute to Don Panoz

Tributes pouring in from across the motor racing world, remembering Don Panoz.

https://racer.com/2018/09/11/racing-community-pays-tribute-to-don-panoz/

Don Panoz's Dream Life Ends at 83

Founder of the American Le Mans Series and Panoz Cars was a visionary entrepreneur.

https://www.automobilemag.com/news/1287910/

In Memoriam: Dr. Don Panoz

Rest In Peace, Dr. Don Panoz, a true visionary in motorsports, a constructor of sports cars for the road and the race track, and the founder of the American Le Mans Series.

Don Panoz Passes Away at 83
https://sportscar365.com/obituary/don-panoz-passes-away-at-83/

Double Stint: Suzuka Recap; Tristan Vautier Interview (8-28-18)

The episode of Double Stint Podcast that aired after the Suzuka 10 Hours, featuring a race recap, and an interview with one of the winning drivers from the GruppeM team, Tristan Vautier.

https://sportscar365.com/sro/igtc/double-stint-suzuka-recap-tristan-vautier-interview-8-28-18/

Winner of the Suzuka 10 Hours

It’s time, for round three of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. A month or so after the 24 Hours of Spa, for the first time, the IGTC is racing in Japan, at the legendary Suzuka circuit, for the running of the Suzuka 10 Hours. After Bathurst, and Spa, comes Suzuka. On pole position, is the #28 HubAuto Ferrari 488 GT3 in the Pro Am category. British driver Nick Foster took the car to pole, and he will share the driving chores with David Perel of South Africa, and Hiroki Yoshida of Japan. We have a smaller, but still great entry for this inaugural race in Japan for the Intercontinental GT Challenge. 35 cars will take the start of this motor race.

Oh dear. There are problems for the aforementioned pole sitting car #28, however. A mechanic is checking the car, on the grid. Nick Foster manages to start the car, but he is not in the pole place, and is out of sequence on the grid. Foster and company could incur a penalty for having the mechanic working on the car at the start of the formation lap. What will the marshals have to say about that? Foster is back in position with the rest of the field, but drama even before the lights go out, here in Japan. Some really good drivers are entered in this race, and throughout the highlighted coverage, they will be mentioned should they play a vital part in this motor race.

This race, is essentially, the best of the European drivers and teams, meeting the best of the local Japanese drivers, and is a star studded field. Suzuka is fast, with long straightaways, but there are also a lot of corners, and the extreme heat is definitely going to play a part, with 35 GT3 cars out there racing. The race runs into darkness as well, so there is a bit of that element, although it isn’t nearly the same as starting the race in the dark at Bathurst, or, running from day, to night, back to day, as at Spa. Tom Blomqvist who was part of the winning team, Walkenhorst Racing, at Spa, is in another BMW M6 GT3, here at Suzuka.

Blomqvist is sharing the #91 Singha-Team AAI BMW M6 GT3, (the lone BMW in this field), with Akira Iida of Japan, and Thai driver, Piti Bhirombhakdi. We’re ready to race in Japan. The Honda NSX safety car pulls to piut lane. Nick Foster leads the field to the start/finish line. Red lights are on. Green lights, are on! Go! Miguel Molina is going up the center in the #27, the sister HubAuto Ferrari 488 GT3, in red. Molina is trying to split team mate Foster, and the #888 GruppeM Mercedes AMG GT3. Miguel Molina is trying to get alongside Maro Engel in the GruppeM car, the German sharing with Raffaele Marciello of Italy, and rapid Frenchman, Tristan Vautier.

Nick Foster is your leader, and for a number of years was a Porsche driver, now associated with Ferrari. Foster, used to race in the British Touring Car Championship, but then, decided to make his move into sports cars/GT racing. No drama so far and Nick Foster is beginning to eke out a lead over everyone else. This is a long race, even though it is shorter than some of the other IGTC races we’ve seen this year. Don’t make any silly moves on the opening lap and pitch the car out into the tooleys on lap one of a ten hour race.

Through the hairpin they go with Foster leading Engel and Molina. Fourth place is the new for 2018 Bentley Continental GT3 with Jordan Pepper currently at the controls. Pepper, the South African, is sharing with Brit Steven Kane, and Frenchman Jules Gounon. The sister car, (Bentley’s numbered #07 and #08), has Spaniard Andy Soucek, Vincent Abril from Monaco, and Belgian Maxime Soulet sharing the driving chores. Bentley, this year, has been focusing on the endurance races in the Blancpain championship instead of the sprint rounds, which serves them well for this race, and they have also run Bathurst and Spa so far this year. There’s a good battle forming between three different cars. The #11 Gainer Nissan GT-R GT3 with Hironobu Yasuda, the starting driver, is chasing the #175 SunEnergy1 Pro Am Mercedes AMG GT3, while being pursued by the #911 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3R.

This is a battle between Yasuda, Romain Dumas, in the Porsche, and the Mercedes whose lineup is Australian Kenny Habul, the team owner, Luca Stolz from Germany, currently in the car, and Canadian driver Mikael Grenier. Nick Foster is extending his lead as the HubAuto Ferrari’s are currently sandwiching the #888 GruppeM Mercedes AMG GT3, the Engel, Marciello, Vautier car. The Bentley is fifth overall, and the Manthey Porsche, who won the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring, earlier this year, is ninth. Incidentally, yours truly has wanted to cover the Nurburgring, but has not had time lately. But, stay tuned, as there could be a report on that race, coming in the not too distant future.

Romain Dumas, meanwhile, wants to get by Hironobu Yasuda. Laurens Vanthoor has moved up a spot. For this race, Vanthoor is in the #991 Craft Bamboo Racing Porsche 911 GT3R, and the Belgian is sharing with fellow Porsche factory GT driver, Kevin Estre from France, and rapid French rising star in GT3, Matthieu Jaminet. More great battles around the track as Frederic Vervisch, for Audi Team WRT battles Alexander Imperatori, driving the #18 KCMG Nissan GT-R. Laurens Vanthoor also makes his way by Stuart Leonard, in another Porsche vs. Audi battle.

Vervisch is sharing the #06 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8 LMS with countryman Dries Vanthoor (both Belgians), and also, Christopher Mies, the German, a regular Audi GT3 driver. Oh wow. A good scrap for 15th place as Vincent Abril in the Bentley, car #08, has his hands full with the #44 Strakka Racing Mercedes AMG GT3, with Oliver Rowland at the wheel of it, currently. Roland is sharing the third of three Strakka entered Mercedes’ with Maximilian Buhk of Germany, and Frenchman Adrien Tambay, whose father, Patrick Tambay, was a Formula 1 and sports car driver.

Diving into turn one, look, Abril has the preferred line and goes past Oliver Rowland. Not much has changed in the top three but check this out. There’s a challenge for fourth in the overall. The #23 KCMG Nissan GT-R wants by the #27 HubAuto Ferrari. Italian Edoardo Liberati is at the wheel of the Nissan, sharing with co-drivers Richard Bradley of England and Oliver Jarvis, also of England. Jarvis, will be familiar to IMSA fans as he has been racing a lot with the Mazda team, and Richard Bradley used to do a lot of driving with KCMG in the FIA World Endurance Championship, before the team refocused it’s efforts to GT3 competition.

Whoops! Action on and off the track, as we have a spin. Ben Barnicoat, in the McLaren has been turned around. Barnicoat is sharing the only McLaren 650S in the motor race, (essentially, the factory car for Garage 59), with regular team mates Andrew Watson (his fellow Briton), and Come Ledogar of France. Barnicoat is back in the race, and he had some assistance from one of the Honda NSX GT3’s, the #34 of Hiroki Otsu. Otsu, is driving the #34 Modulo Drago Corse entry, sharing with countrymen Ryo Michigami and Takashi Kogure.

Otsu tries to make an inside pass, hits the curb, and tips the McLaren into a spin. Barnicoat takes his turn on the whirligig as other drivers scramble to avoid him. No damage for Barnicoat, and he continues in the race. Vincent Abril, meanwhile, takes the Bentley for an off course excursion, but stays out of the gravel trap. Tom Blomqvist in the sole BMW M6 GT3 is moving through the field, and likewise for Ben Barnicoat in the McLaren that spun earlier. Hironobu Yasuda and Romain Dumas continue their scrap for eighth overall, and also, Alessio Picarielo has his hands full with Luca Stolz.

Picarielo is the young Italian Audi GT driver, who is sharing the #21 Audi Team Hitotsuyama R8 LMS with Ryuichiro Tomita of Japan, and Britain’s Richard Lyons. Stolz keeps pushing, and makes the pass on Picariello. Stolz moves into the top six with that pass. The Gainer mechanics seem a bit chagrined as Hironobu Yasuda is under pressure, look, from Romain Dumas. Some off road racing, and speaking of off road, Nick Leventis has thrown one of the Strakka Mercedes’ into the gravel trap. Poor old Nick Leventis has no one else to blame but himself, for that error.

Leventis, the Brit, is sharing the car with David Fumanelli of Italy, and Felipe Fraga of Brazil. Leventis just loses traction, spins off the road, and plows into the gravel trap which catches the car, and throws a ton of dust in the air in the process. But, that’s exactly what the gravel trap is designed to do. Local yellow flag at that corner, as two of the Japanese drivers are racing for position. For 25th spot, it is the #8 Team ARN Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 vs. the #18 Team UpGarage 86 MC Super GT prototype. Hiroaki Nagai is at the wheel of the Ferrari, and in the 86 MC, it is Takashi Kobayashi.

Nagai shares the Ferrari with Koki Saga, and Kohei Hirate. Yuki Nakayama and Takuto Iguchi are the co-drivers with Kobayashi in the 86 MC. Kobayashi makes the inside pass for 25th place. Nick Leventis has made it to pit lane and out of the gravel trap. A full service stop for Strakka, including fuel, tires, and a driver change. A good stop, for Strakka, 36 minutes into the race. Also pitting is the #88 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 for JLOC, the Japanese Lamborghini Owners Club. JLOC has two cars entered, one Pro and one Pro Am. Pitting, is the Pro entry, shared by Kazuki Hiramine of Japan, and Italian Lamborghini regulars Marco Mapelli and Andrea Caldarelli.

Otsu in the #34 Honda, has been dinged by the stewards and will have to serve a drive through penalty for the argy bargy with Ben Barnicoat earlier. In a battle for third between Nissan and Audi, Alexander Imperatori improves his position over Stuart Leonard. Imperatori, the Swiss driver, he shares the first of the KCMG Nissan’s with Japanese drivers Tsugio Matsuda, and the very quick Katsumasa Chiyo, or Chiyo-san as he is known, because he’s such a great driver and admired by his fellow racers in Japan, especially after a performance he put in to win the Bathurst 12 Hours a few years ago.

Stuart Leonard in the #17 Audi Sport Team WRT Audi R8 LMS has his hands full, in a car he is sharing with regular co-driver and fellow Brit, Jake Dennis, and the rapid South African Sheldon van der Linde, brother of Kelvin van der Linde, also an Audi pilot in this race, for a different squad. Gainer and Manthey still scrap nose to tail for eighth place. Nissan vs. Porsche. It’s still Hironobu Yasuda vs. Romain Dumas. We see in replay, the pass Imperatori made on Leonard, but there is no use in defending your position as we are barely 45 minutes into a ten hour endurance race.

Dumas is trying to attack Yasuda and has an Audi, a Mercedes, and another Porsche for company. The Balance of Performance, as dreaded as it is in sports car racing today, is definitely playing its part in the race as the organizers want it to, with another of the Strakka Mercedes AMG GT3’s in the lane for service. Luca Stolz in the #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes is eating up the KCMG Nissan, #23! Stolz makes his move for fourth, up the hill, as the Nissan runs wide, look. Edoardo Liberati is still right with him! Gently, boys! Pit stop time for Maro Engel in the #888 GruppeM Mercedes AMG GT3.

There is a driver change, and that’s crucial as the rotation is keeping the driver’s fresh. It is either Raffaele Marciello or Tristan Vautier stepping into the car now. Also, pit stop time for the Craft Bamboo Porsche 911 GT3R. Laurens Vanthoor could be making way for Kevin Estre to run his stint. Wow. The battle is on as Luca Stolz is applying the blowtorch to Miguel Molina. It’s Mercedes vs. Ferrari. Luca Stolz makes the move and says, “so long, sunshine.” Romain Dumas is still all over Yasuda. Will he have the chance to make a move stick this time? Dumas is going for it, but again, he fails and Huronobu Yasuda slams the door in his face.

Dumas wants to get away from this Nissan. The Le Mans winner, who was also quickest in the hill climbs at Pikes Peak in Colorado, and at Goodwood in England, he wants by the red and white car. They’re still nose to tail, look. Dumas right on the Nissan’s gearbox. Dumas is ahead, but he’s off the road! Miguel Molina ducks to pit lane to service the Ferrari, wearing the legendary #27 which saw so much success in Formula 1 in the hands of Gilles Villeneuve, and later on, Alain Prost and Jean Alesi. Dumas runs wide off the road! He goes off, then back on, and maintains seventh, with the Nissan bearing down on him, and one of the Bentley’s in hot pursuit.

In the background, look, it’s Vincent Abril. Dumas lunged at the Nissan and ran off the road, abusing track limits to a certain degree, something the stewards are no doubt looking at. Dumas realizes his mission and hits the afterburners and get away from Yasuda san. Now, it’s the turn of Vincent Abril to give Yasuda all he can handle. Closing up into the hairpin, it’s turbo V8 vs. turbo V6. Yasuda has so much experience here at Suzuka he’s able to keep the Bentley at bay. It’s a slipstream drag race and Vincent Abril, he’s going to make this move no matter what. Vincent Abril, with that move, inherits seventh spot.

Nick Foster in the #28 HubAuto Ferrari continues on his way in the lead of the motor race. As the race goes on the temperature cools, some cars may perform better. But not performing better right now is the Manthey Porsche! Romain Dumas drops from sixth to eighth overall. He is sharing the car with regular team mates Fred Makowiecki of France and German Dirk Werner, both also Porsche factory drivers. There may not be an issue with Dumas, as he’s back under power, look, trying to re-pass his competitor.

Dumas stumbles momentarily, and Yasuda makes the pass, but then, the Porsche man is able to come right back. These two blokes still run in seventh and eighth place with nearly an hour of racing on the board. We see Dumas, eager to make another pass on the Nissan. Will Godzilla budge? Dumas has the preferred line on the inside of turn one and takes the spot away. Drama for the race leader! Nick Foster has been handed a drive through penalty. This is for that mechanic doing checks on the car, 15 seconds before the green flag for the formation lap. The car will get a drive through penalty, which Foster is serving. Correction, ladies and gentlemen, this is the first routine pit stop for the #28 HubAuto Ferrari. So, Foster will need to serve the drive through penalty separately. David Perel, the South African will take over, and Luca Stolz in the #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes AMG GT3 inherits the race lead for now.

Just over an hour into the race, and the #28 Ferrari completes its pit stop but must still serve the drive through penalty. Perel is serving the drive through penalty, now. Luca Stolz still leads, as another Mercedes runs wide and off the road. Stolz is in the lane, from the race lead, for a scheduled pit stop. Nissan #23 moves to the lead, as the pit stop sees routine service, and Mikael Grenier, the Canadian, taking over for Luca Stolz. In the meantime there are more problems for the #42 Strakka Racing Mercedes AMG GT3, with Nick Leventis at the wheel of it. Felipe Fraga may be at the wheel now, but nonetheless, the car comes to grief out on the circuit, again.

The #888 GruppeM Mercedes AMG GT3, has taken over the race lead. Maro Engel, Raffaele Marciello, and Tristan Vautier, are the drivers of course. Vautier is behind the wheel right now. He is building up the advantage over the second place #27 HubAuto Ferrari 488 GT3 of Miguel Molina, sharing with Davide Rigon and Matt Griffin. In the meantime, the sister car, #28 has made it’s way back to the top ten. The #88 JLOC Lamborghini runs wide into the dirt, momentarily, with Marco Mapelli at the controls.

He loses a place to David Perelle. The battles in the race continue to simmer as we have just gone over one hour of ten in this inaugural GT3 race in Japan. Kohei Hirate, meanwhile, slots into 20th spot in the #8 ARN Racing Ferrari 488 GT3. Nobuteru Taniguchi in the #00 Goodsmile Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 is side by side with the JLOC Lamborghini. Taniguchi is sharing that car with Tatsuya Kataoka and Kamui Kobayashi, current Toyota LMP1 racer in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Taniguchi has the horsepower in that Mercedes with its large displacement V8, and he moves around the outside of the Lamborghini. No substitute for cubic inches, there.

That purple Lamborghini is dropping like a stone, isn’t it. Wow. Not having a good race so far, are the JLOC team. Now we return to the Porsche vs. Nissan battle, still steaming right along. Fred Makowiecki is now at the wheel of the yellow #911 Porsche 911 GT3R. The Gainer #11 Nissan GT-R is beginning to fall down the order. After Hironobu Yasuda’s stint, it is either of the other two drivers, Katsuyuki Hiranaka, or Kazuki Hoshino, currently in that Nissan. That car, too, has fallen like a stone into a lake, and is 18th in the overall.

Good battle for second place. Matt Griffin in the Ferrari is the rabbit, while Mikael Grenier in the #75 Mercedes AMG GT3, is the hound. Marco Mapelli loses another spot, to the Bentley #08. The chase continues as Grenier wants by Griffin, an hour and 20 minutes into the motor race. Marco Mapelli in the Lamborghini, he’s about to lose another place, to Katsumasa Chiyo in the #018 KCMG Nissan GT-R. Chiyo moves to 13th place. Is there a mechanical issue for the Lamborghini? Or, is the car being run at a far more conservative pace? That’s the question.

The Strakka Mercedes also gets past the JLOC entry. Christopher Mies in the #06 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8 also makes a pass on Mapelli. Fred Makowiecki is about to do likewise. Mapelli is a very good driver. But, it seems the Lamborghini is having a problem, or the team is trying to eke out more fuel mileage in order to save a pit stop later on in the race, and that is why Mapelli seems to be running slower than everyone else.

Tristan Vautier has built up a considerable lead over the rest of the field, as the McLaren makes its way off the road another time. We saw Ben Barnicoat put the car into the spin cycle earlier. Andrew Watson and Come Ledogar are the other pilots on the list, and yours truly does not know who was at the wheel this time. Tristan Vautier is building his lead as Matt Griffin is in hot pursuit in the #27 Ferrari. How iconic is a Ferrari with the #27 on the door? Think back to Formula 1, and the late, great Gilles Villeneuve, or even some other drivers who wore that number. Jean Alesi also comes to mind, even though he took his one sole F1 victory, with Ferrari.

BMW #91 is also off in the kitty litter once again. The car run by Team AAI from Japan, it just didn’t want to turn. Matt Griffin is keeping Mikael Grenier at bay, even though the Canadian is trying desperately to reel him in. There are battles within battles, here at Suzuka. We are at the hour and a half mark in the race now. Mapelli is down to 18th in the overall, and this has to be extremely frustrating for him. More battles rage on, here, look. Matthieu Jaminet has his hands full with Alvaro Parente. It’s Craft Bamboo Porsche vs. Strakka Mercedes. Parente is in the second of the Strakka Mercedes AMG GT3’s, and the Portuguese is sharing with Lewis Williamson and Maximilian Goetz, who may have already had stints in the race, the Brit and the German.

Parente makes the pass, but poor old Jaminet is forced wide and has other cars swarming him. Use this technique. Pounce, pass, and pull away. Action all over the track! We have the #17 WRT Audi challenging Marco Mapelli’s Lamborghini, and here comes monsieur Jaminet again as well! Lamborghini splits Audi and Porsche. Italian salami between two slices of German pumpernickel bread if you like. But, remember, all three of these cars are made by the same parent company, Volkswagen. Mapelli is being harried by Tomonobu Fujii in the D’Station Porsche #7 he shares with Porsche regulars Sven Mueller and Earl Bamber, from Germany, and New Zealand respectively.

Side by side and some argy bargy between Fujii and Mapelli! Oh dear. The battle for second overall continues to rage and rumble as Mikael Grenier fends off the pursuit of Matt Griffin. Grenier cut his teeth in the European Lamborghini Super Trofeo series last year, and now, he’s fully stepped up to racing thse mighty GT3 cars. The Canadian is in hot pursuit again, of Irishman Matt Griffin, who is one of Ferrari’s top GT drivers. Matthieu Jaminet now has his hands full with David Perel, as the South African driver in the yellow #28 HubAuto Ferrari is making a steady recovery.

Marco Mapelli in the “purple people eater” Lamborghini, he wants a piece of this fight as well. Mapelli wants the spot away from Perel, but the South African is going to slam the door in the Italian’s face. Marco says “give it up, David. You’ve got to earn it, you can’t buy it.” An hour and 50 minutes in and it’s still the Matt Griffin vs. Mikael Grenier story. Grenier turns in, Griffin brakes late, Grenier slides the big Mercedes and these blokes are side by side another time! Griffin barely staying ahead of Grenier who has that monstrous front mounted V8 under his right foot. Finally, Grenier puts the welly down, and gets past the red Ferrari. Yikes!

Good scrap for third place as well. It’s Nissan vs. Audi. Richard Bradley has the final podium place, as of now, and Ryuichi Tomita, wants it. Tomita is going for it as there’s dust in turn one as some hapless driver goes off the road for a moment. Hitotsuyama Audi goes ahead of KCMG Nissan. Bradley’s team mates in the #23 are of course the very rapid Oliver Jarvis and Edoardo Liberati, two Englishmen and an Italian. Pit stop time just before the two-hour mark. One of the Strakka Mercedes AMG GT3’s is in the lane for routine service. Fuel, tires, and a driver change, as per usual. Likewise, the #06 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8 makes a stop. Again, Christopher Mies, Dries Vanthoor, and Frederic Vervisch are the ones sharing that car.

Vanthoor gets into the car, for the next stint. Nearly two hours of this race, done and dusted. More and more action as the pit lane is becoming a very busy place. The KCMG Nissan is in for fuel, tires, and driver change. The #11 Gainor Nissan GT-R is also pitting. HubAuto also has the yellow #28 Ferrari 488 GT3 in for service. Nick Foster will retake the wheel, from David Perel. Their bronze rated driver, Hiroki Yoshida of Japan, will drive later on. Also in pit lane is the #10 Honda Team Motul Honda NSX being shared by the Japanese trio of Naoki Yamamoto, Hideki Muto, and Daisuke Nakajima.

Mikael Grenier also makes a scheduled stop for the SunEnergy1 Mercedes. Bronze rated driver, and car/team owner, Kenny Habul of Australia, will take over the #175 entry, as he is the only driver who has yet to do a stint so far in the race. Kenny Habul will indeed take over this gorgeous blue Mercedes with the spectacular flames on the front. A hammer and tongs battle ensues for 22nd overall, between Dries Vanthoor and Nick Foster. Audi vs. Ferrari, and this is classic GT3 racing at its very best.

Both these blokes have work to do, to climb up the order. Foster, after his drive through penalty, is starting to claw his way back. Kenny Habul has his hands full with Lewis Williamson in a battle for third. Habul has it, and Williamson wants it. Habul also loses out to Kelvin van der Linde in the #6 Audi Sport Team Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS he shares with Markus Winkelhock and Christopher Haase, two rapid German Audi factory drivers in their own right. #6 moves to fourth overall. Kenny Habul, is losing ground.

Habul is also passed by the #07 Bentley Continental GT3. That’s the car shared by Steven Kane, Jordan Pepper, and Jules Gounon. Meanwhile, Dries Vanthoor goes back by Nick Foster, who finds himself off in the gravel. He goes off and back on, and is delayed even more. Ex-F1 and current Toyota FIA WEC driver Kamui Kobayashi in the #00 Goodsmile Racing Team Mercedes AMG GT3, has his hands full with the rapid #991 Craft Bamboo Racing Porsche 911 GT3R. Kevin Estre is at the wheel of it, currently. Estre runs wide, and loses ground to Kobayashi.

Dries Vanthoor is gaining on Estre, and he is also dealing with the third Strakka Mercedes, car #44. That car, once again, is being shared by Adrien Tambay, Oliver Rowland, and Maximilian Buhk. Estre loses a place to the Mercedes. Dries Vanthoor and Nick Foster, split the Craft Bamboo Porsche of Estre! Yikes! Estre drops for 11th to 13th in the overall, and none of the Porsche’s are really having a good race so far. More problems for the #91 Team AAI BMW M6. Thai driver Piti Bhirombhakdi, is at the controls.

Will we need a safety car? Bhirombhakdi is trapped in the gravel, hence the purpose of it, but he needs to be rescued, which calls for a safety car. More trouble, as Earl Bamber in the #7 D’Station Porsche 911 GT3R is crawling out on the track, going very slowly. This is a double whammy for D’Station, because their sister car, the #77 is also in the garage. That’s the car of Japanese drivers Satoshi Hoshino and Tsubasa Kondo, sharing with New Zealander Jono Lester.

Fifteen minutes to go before the three hour mark and Fred Makowiecki is dodging and darting his way, look, through traffic. Audi, Bentley, Nissan, and Porsche are all represented here, as Makowiecki tries to work his way past the #54 Black Swan Racing Porsche from the U.S. driven by Tim Pappas and Marc Miller, both from the U.S., and rapid Dutchman Jeroen Bleekemolen. One of the Bentley’s, car #08 forces the #17 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8, wide. Jake Dennis, Stuart Leonard, and Sheldon van der Linde share that car.

Kenny Habul has Kelvin van der Linde in Audi #6 all over him, and we see a massive crash! Come Ledogar in the #58 Garage 59 McLaren 650S has just clouted the barrier! He’s become involved with the #07 Bentley, the Kane, Pepper, Gounon car, and it’s game over for the McLaren! Hard contact with the #7 Bentley, the McLaren spins, and… bang! It hits the Armco barrier with much force! The damage is done. Thank goodness no one else was involved, but indeed, Andrew Watson, Ben Barnicoat, and Come Ledogar, will have to call it a day.

This latest incident brings out a full course yellow. Come Ledogar is checked by the marshals and medics and says, “I’m OK”. Pit stop time once again, under Full Course Yellow. The #888 Mercedes is in the lane and so is another car we haven’t talked much about. This is the #777 Carguy Racing Honda NSX GT3. It is another Japanese team with all Japanese drivers. Among them, Takeshi Kimura, Naoki Yokomizo, and Kei Cozzolino. The #27 HubAuto Ferrari pits, and is pulled back by the crew. It’s a bit stuck, look. But, there’s no issue with the car. It’s just a very crowded, congested pit lane down there.

Get the pit stop out of the way now, as you’ll lose less time than trying to do it under green flag conditions. The bulldozer pickup truck safety vehicle is retrieving the busted up McLaren out of the gravel. The safety car comes out on course, and will point the leader by, and pick up the rest of the field. The lights are now on, and this is the race order behind the safety car at this point.

1. #888 Mercedes AMG Team GruppeM Mercedes AMG GT3

2. #27 HubAuto Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3

3. #43 Mercedes AMG Team Strakka Racing Mercedes AMG GT3

4. #07 Bentley Team M-Sport Bentley Continental GT3

5. #23 KCMG Nissan GT-R

6. #21 Audi Team Hitotsuyama Audi R8

7. #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes AMG GT3

8. #6 Audi Sport Team Absolute Racing Audi R8

9. #911 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3R

10. #08 Bentley Team M-Sport Bentley Continental GT3

11. #17 Audi Sport Team WRT Audi R8

12. #00 Mercedes AMG Team Goodsmile Mercedes AMG GT3

That is your top dozen, as we resume racing. The safety peels off. We are back green, three hours and nine minutes into this ten hour race. Drivers weave back and forth to clean and build heat in the tires, and one of the Bentley’s picks up a spot. The #888 GruppeM Mercedes leads the motor race, shared by Maro Engel, Raffaele Marciello, and Tristan Vautier, of course. Up to third spot, on the podium as of now, look, is the #43 Mercedes. That’s the second of the Strakka cars, having a very good run so far today. There are plenty of cars left in the race, and the sheer brilliance of being able to see these phenomenal GT3 machines racing, is a sight to behold.

After it’s excursion into the gravel trap, the #91 BMW M6 GT3 for Team AAI is back in the motor race. There’s some argy bargy between the SunEnergy1 Mercedes and the JLOC Lamborghini, #75 vs. #88 respectively. There’s even more trouble for the Lamborghini! The car is smoking heavily. Now, that has to be bodywork damage, rubbing on a tire. It isn’t mechanical. It’s bodywork damage rubbing on the left rear tire. As it continues to rub, that will cause the tire to deflate, and if he’s not careful, the whole tire could pop, like a balloon. Andrea Caldarelli is at the wheel, having taken over from Marco Mapelli and the third driver in this car is Japan’s Kazuki Hiramine.

Caldarelli should pit when he gets to the front straight as the last thing he needs to is to be pitched off the road and into the wall. Bentley #08 picks up a place over the Lamborghini with it’s tire issues. It was innocuous contact between the Lamborghini and the Mercedes, but Andrea Caldarelli got the worst of it, nonetheless. Caldarelli is indeed in the lane. It’s not worth it taking chances, and there’s still a long way to go. Andrea Caldarelli makes it to the attention of his pit crew and they change the flat tire. But, there’s more trouble on track, look. Edoardo Liberati is stranded with a Nissan that won’t move. Again, he shares this car with Richard Bradley and Oliver Jarvis.

Control, Alt, Delete, won’t work in this situation I don’t think, and the snatch tractor is retrieving the stricken Nissan, now. Nearing the four-hour mark, one hour before halfway, the #77 D’station Porsche is in pit lane for fuel and service. The car is back on track after being in the garage earlier, as Audi R8 #21 runs wide and back onto the track. Briefly, the SunEnergy1 Mercedes takes the spot, but dives to pit lane giving the place back to the Audi. Another pit stop has been made by the #888 Mercedes, the GruppeM machine.

Fuel, tires and a driver change, for the leading #27 HubAuto Ferrari. Matt Griffin will hand over to one of his co-drivers, either Davide Rigon or Miguel Molina. That car has completed 106 laps, 379.48 miles. Pit stop time for Bentley #08, as the car comes in from sixth overall. The Bentley Boys are not as quick, but they are staying on a good pace and in the sharp end of the field. Andy Soucek, Maxime Soulet, and Vincent Abril, the Spaniard, the Belgian, and the Monegasque, share that car. The Ferrari rejoins the race in eighth overall, car #27. Just past the four hour mark now, and we have a spin.

That’s the #21 Audi off the road. Ryuichi Tomita has looped it, out on track. He’s facing the wrong way but should resume. Too much speed into the corner, and Tomita simply spins the car, but doesn’t hit anything, fortunately. Meanwhile, the #7 Bentley is charging through the field, closing for second spot on the #43 Mercedes for Strakka Racing. The driver's strength of Jordan Pepper, Steven Kane, and Jules Gounon are working very well together. It's a good German scrap going on here, look. Porsche chasing Mercedes, chasing Audi.

Some argy bargy between the two of them, and the Porsche runs wide onto the gravel. Matthieu Jaminet is forced wide, and Maximilian Buhk goes through. Jaminet fights back and makes an inside pass. A great scrap this, 20 minutes shy of the halfway mark in the race. Four hours and 55 minutes in, five minutes to halfway, in comes the leading Mercedes from GruppeM for a pit stop. This car is running like clockwork and has had zero trouble. No damage. No wrecks. No pit delays. Now, teams are deciding that double stinting the drivers is the best thing to do.

Cycle everyone through, keep them fresh, and read the race. 134 laps, 480 miles, have been run so far. Drivers could even take triple stints if it were appropriate to do them. Some cars are slow, including the KCMG Nissan and the Bentley is really on its toes to exit the lane. Mercedes #75 is into the pit lane as well, and Mikael Grenier gets out while Kenny Habul gets in for another stint. Past the five hour mark now, so into the second half of the race and the Bentley and Nissan battle is still raging hot and heavy. But, #18 is off the road and into the kitty litter. Andy Soucek passed Katsumasa Chiyo, but now, Chiyo san is in the pit lane with smoke pouring out of the Nissan having collected a lot of gravel under the car.

Stones getting into all the wrong places. Now, we are at five hours and 36 minutes into the race and Kenny Habul loses a place to the #17 WRT Audi, the Stuart Leonard, Jake Dennis, and Sheldon van der Linde driven machine. He is being hounded by Dirk Werner, look, in the yellow #911 Manthey Racing Porsche. Werner tries the inside of Habul, and Habul slams the door in his face. Not so fast. Habul runs off the road! He loses two places after that little off course excursion. We have a car stranded on the front straight. It’s Kevin Estre in the #991 Craft Bamboo Porsche 911 GT3R. How has that Porsche come to a halt in such a peculiar spot, the last corner?

Was there contact between two Porsches? Werner’s front bumper to Estre’s rear bumper. Yellow flags wave, and now, at five hours and 55 minutes, in comes the leading Mercedes, the #888 car. Fuel, tires, and a driver change, as per usual. Maro Engel will get into the car. Also, the #991 Craft Bamboo Porsche is pitting. Right at the six-hour mark, the #43 Strakka Racing Mercedes makes it’s pit stop. That is the car of Lewis Williamson, Maximilian Goetz, and Alvaro Parente. Maximilian Goetz is far more at home in a GT3 car than he ever was driving the tin tops in DTM, and is a former Blancpain GT Endurance champion.

Maro Engel is pressing on, giving it everything in the lead of the motor race. Engel is working his way through traffic, and continues in the lead as we are past six and a half hours in. More off road adventures for SunEnergy1, and it’s off in the dust. As it comes back on, look, more damage to the bodywork. With ten minutes before the race turns to its seventh hour, the #11 Gainor Nissan GT-R goes past the #17 WRT Audi. This is a battle, would you believe, for 14^th overall.

Nissan, Porsche, Audi, and Ferrari, all running together. The Porsche tries the Audi on the outside, making the pass, but the Porsche runs wide! The Audi pounces on that misstep and goes back through on the inside. Seven minutes before the seventh hour of the race, the WRT Audi makes a pit stop and blasts its way back into the motor race. The #66 WRT Audi R8 is now in the pit lane. That’s the Mies, Vanthoor, Vervisch car. The race leading Mercedes is back into pit lane for a scheduled stop. Tristan Vautier, Maro Engel, and Raffaele Marciello are all doing some superb driving.

Jules Gounon is being hounded by Dries Vanthoor, look. This is a really good scrap. Gounon runs wide over the curb and Vanthoor takes advantage. There’s argy bargy and the Ferrari is off the road! Matt Griffin is off on the escape road, trailing a cloud of very expensive smoke. Game over for the Ferrari, that’s a bent right front wheel, look. The suspension is broken. That’s surely the end of the motor race for HubAuto. Matt Griffin drags the car into the lane, but there will be a long stop to repair the damage to the suspension and bodywork.

We are just past seven hours into the race, with less than three remaining. Vanthoor goes inside Gounon, Gounon runs wide onto the dirt, Gounon loses the place, comes across the road, and… crunch! Straight into the Ferrari he goes! Matt Griffin had no place to go, and he couldn’t just push the disappear button. Jules Gounon is going to get dinged by the stewards for that one. Suspension and bodywork damage, as well as a punctured tire for the Ferrari, mean it’s game over. The car is rolled back on the dollies into the garage.

Jules Gounon is slapped with a drive through penalty for that incident. The marshals warn everyone of a slow car using a white flag, and the slow race car is the #18 Team UpGarage 86 MC of Yuki Nakayama, Takashi Kobayashi, and Takuto Iguchi. Cars go by the stricken 86 MC, but not the #911 Porsche! He runs very, very wide into the gravel trap! He was perilously close to hitting the tire barrier! Yikes! The Porsche is loaded up with gravel now. He is under attack from the #21 Audi as the #7 Bentley is slow, limping. There’s got to be a fuel pickup or mechanical issue with the car as all the tires are fine. A small trace of smoke and the car slows down. Jordan Pepper is at the wheel of it, and another car is off the road, look.

That is the #2 Pro Am car of Kazuko Takahashi, driving the CarsTokaiDream28 Lotus Evora ABA-122. Takahashi is sharing with countrymen Hiroshi Hamaguchi and sports car veteran Hiroki Katoh, former LMP prototype racer. He ran out of road and almost clipped the barriers. Meanwhile, more problems for Bentley #7. Jordan Pepper is off the road another time. Did Pepper pull off with mechanical trouble? Was he spun ‘round by another car? Pepper runs wide and loses it on his own. The car will not reignite. The engine could be stalled. Mercedes #888 pits again from the lead, absolutely crushing the competition.

Fuel, tires, and a driver change for #888 with just over two hours to race. Bentley #07 has a puncture. Now, this could be a legacy of the earlier spin from Jordan Pepper. It could have been a puncture that flicked the car off the road. The light is fading at Suzuka. It is dusk, and the race will end in the dark. GruppeM is one of the leading teams in Blancpain GT Asia, racing both GT3 and GT4 spec cars. Let’s have a look at the running order.

1. #888 Mercedes AMG Team GruppeM Mercedes AMG GT3

2. #43 Mercedes AMG Team Strakka Racing Mercedes AMG GT3

3. #6 Audi Sport Team Absolute Racing Audi R8

4. #66 Audi Sport Team WRT Audi R8

5. #911 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3R

6. #00 Mercedes AMG Team Good Smile Mercedes AMG GT3

7. #44 Mercedes AMG Team Strakka Racing Mercedes AMG GT3

8. #8 Bentley Team M-Sport Bentley Continental GT3

9. #11 Gainer Nissan GT-R

10. #21 Audi Team Hitotsuyama Audi R8

11. #17 Audi Sport Team WRT Audi R8

12. #991 Craft Bamboo Racing Porsche 911 GT3R

Mercedes are running 1-2 now with GruppeM leading Strakka. Audi runs third. Eight and a quarter hours into the race, and the headlights pierce through the twilight here in Japan, as we will see a couple hours of darkness at Suzuka, but of course, nowhere near the darkness in the middle of the Ardennes forest in Belgium during the 24 Hours of Spa last time out in late July. The sole remaining Bentley, car #8 is stuck in traffic, losing time to one of the Honda NSX’s.

As the sun sets, we experience the singular magic of racing into the darkness. The race takes on a different feel, pace, and almost a different sound, as dusk has fallen here in Japan, Just an hour and 13 minutes left in the race as Dirk Werner looks to challenge Richard Lyons in the #21 Hitotsuyama Audi. Werner brakes late, and boldly passes Lyons for eighth overall. Mercedes #888 continues to lead. Mercedes run 1-2 here at Suzuka. The GruppeM Mercedes has only lost the lead on pit stop cycles, and it gains it back after the pit stops. The team has been unstoppable in this race.

Some teams are now making their final pit stops before the end. The #6 Absolute Racing Audi R8 is one of those cars, and it is being shared by Christopher Haase, Markus Winkelhock, and Kelvin van der Linde. They are third overall behind the two leading Mercedes’. Strakka and GruppeM both pit. Working lap 247, meaning we’ve covered 885 miles. Whoa! A flash fire out of the left hand exhaust for the leading Mercedes! The mechanic, who was polishing the number plate, puts the fire out with his rag. Keeping cool under pressure helps win endurance sports car races. We have one hour remaining at Suzuka.

Now for the final round of pit stops which sees the #66 WRT Audi blink first. The #6 Audi pits from the lead and will resume, around fourth spot. The #75 Mercedes makes its last stop. Mikael Grenier, Kenny Habul, and Luca Stolz have done very well in this race. 48 minutes now remain, and the Manthey Racing #911 Porsche makes its last stop of the race. The #00 Good Smile Mercedes is fifth overall, and being cheered on by fans and the pit crew alike.

40 minutes to go now, and the last stop for the #34 Modulo Drago Corse Honda NSX which got an early drive through penalty. Ryo Michigami, former Le Mans LMP1 racer, sharing with countrymen Hiroki Otsu and Takashi Kogure, should get a good finish. Just over 40 minutes remain, as the #8 Bentley upholds the honors for Crewe and the British brand, in hot pursuit of the Goodsmile Mercedes. The team may be called Good Smile, but there are frowns and worried faces in their garage. It’s Mercedes vs. Bentley. Tatsuya Kataoka vs. Maxime Soulet. Trouble for the #911 Manthey Porsche. Dirk Werner is slowing! Werner spins with just half an hour to go, and that’s very unlike him to just spin off the road.

GruppeM are nervous, almost in a tearful way. They are nervous, but excited, because they can sense a major win coming. Seven minutes remain in the Suzuka 10 Hours. Raffaele Marciello will bring the car home. The win beckons as we have gone over 10 hours, just slightly, and GruppeM is going to win the inaugural Suzuka 10 Hours for Maro Engel, Tristan Vautier, and Raffaele Marciello! They’ve led 222 of 276 laps, dominating this race! Strakka Racing will finish second with Lewis Williamson, Maximilian Goetz, and Alvaro Parente. Markus Winkelhock, Christopher Haase, and Kelvin van der Linde finish third for Audi. 276 laps, 989 miles. Just short of breaking the 1,000 mile mark in this race.

Tristan Vautier, Raffaele Marciello, and Maro Engel are the winners of the Suzuka 10 Hours!

#888 Vautier/Marciello/Engel Mercedes AMG GT3

There is now just one race to go in the 2018 Intercontinental GT Challenge, as the cars come stateside to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California on the Monterey Peninsula, at the end of October. The first Suzuka 10 Hours have had a great entry and a great race. It’s been all about Mercedes, winning a great race in great style. Sayonara, from Japan. So long, everyone.