Chaz Mostert has never driven this race car until this week. Mostert put an M6 GT3 on pole for the Bathurst 12 Hours back in February. The Australian Supercars veteran, he is in his first U.S. based race. A brief off course excursion for the #85, the Banana Boat, which spins off the road. That was a really close shave for Katherine Legge! Yikes! It's a double edged sword for these blokes, and ladies, competing for championships. We say a prayer for Marshall Pruett, and his wife, who are going through some tough times right now. Pruett is a great journalist/racing photographer. The #6 Acura will not win this year. He brakes into turn three, and, bang! He's smashed the wall, and heavy damage for Montoya. He was by himself, and must have hit the curb. The car yaws to the right. A locked brake, or, a mismatched downshift, perhaps.
A small mistake can jump out and bite you. That is one of the troubles with this particular circuit. So, it is an unfortunate race for Juan Pablo Montoya, Dane Cameron, and Simon Pagenaud. They will have a winless season in 2018. Again, it is game over for Acura Team Penske and Juan Pablo Montoya, as the #25 BMW is caught at the end of pit lane. They should have stayed where they were, losing a lap after running out of time to connect the front clip. Take your medicine, run with the pack, and then, put the hood back on the car, with a new nose. The structure and the wiring were damaged. The #48 Lamborghini was also in the pit lane.
Turn three is a blind uphill braking zone, into turn three. This is where Juan Pablo Montoya had a problem. There is the ability to lose the car into the turn. The straighter you go, the deeper you get into the corner. There's very little margin for error. The data shows the car was working fine. Montoya just made a mistake. Helio Castroneves was not happy. Endurance sports car racing is so, so tough, especially on a track like this. Ricky Taylor in the sister #7 Acura is leading the motor race. People are getting a little antsy on the restarts. Corvette leads Porsche in GT Le Mans, currently. Check that. Chaz Mostert in the BMW has the lead right now. #24 and #67 did not pit, and the poor old lads from the #25 team have a pit lane speed penalty. Dear me. They dinged the radar gun.
Richard Westbrook is following behind Chaz Mostert. Cadillac has had great fun, and they are looking forward to a championship, and are optimistic, according to brad President, Steve Carlisle. They are looking ahead to 2019. There will be seven Cadillac's on the grid at the 2019 Rolex 24, and they've also clinched the manufacturer's championship. Ford will clinch the manufacturer's championship in GT Le Mans. The manufacturer's championship is most important, and they do still want to celebrate their drivers who win championships, but the manufacturer's championship is the biggest deal. The cherry on the sundae. Spencer Pigot is second in Prototype and second in the overall.
Bringing in other great drivers, makes you step your game up as an individual driver. Penske are thrashing to get the #6 Acura back on the road. Juan Montoya says that the rear tire locked up. Montoya is philosophical, yet bummed. Acura Team Penske will come back strong, next year. This is a high quality and very deep field despite only consisting of 37 cars total, 14 of which are Prototypes. Ricky Taylor leads the motor race, currently. Romain Dumas is being chased by the two Porsche 911 RSR's of Laurens Vanthoor and Nick Tandy. These are gorgeous cars with the 1998 Porsche 911 GT1 paint scheme. That 911 GT1 was the 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, 20 years ago. That car, did a somersault at Road Atlanta in the inaugural 1998 Petit Le Mans.
The team had a great lineup at Le Mans, and also, had a huge crash here at Petit. The Porsche is also a tribute to the late, great Dave Maraj who owned and ran Champion Racing. Maraj of course, was sadly killed in a boating accident earlier this year. Rest In Peace, Dave Maraj. We have a problem for the #96 BMW M6 GT3 as dYLAN machavern gets clipped, and... bang!, right into the armco! Ugh! Spearing into the gravel is no fun. So, poor old Dylan Machavern and his co-drivers Don Yount, and Finnish GT veteran, Markus Palttala.
The leading Acura is in the pit lane. Ricky Taylor, out, and there is a new driver. The #10 Cadillac also pitted. The #55 Mazda RT24P of spencer Pigot, has lost a wheel, on the left rear. Thank goodness it is under yellow. You've picked a fine time to leave me, loose wheel. Machavern had a double hit, and there was no room for him without smashing the wall. The BMW safety car still leads the field. Eric Curran still leads the motor race as Romain Dumas just pitted the #54 CORE Autosport car. Watch for Land Motorsports, the defending champions of the Petit Le Mans, with Christopher Mies, Daniel Morad, and Sheldon van der Linde, leading the race.
We are back to green! Eric Curran, followed by Helio Castroneves, and Jordan Taylor. It is hard to double stint rear tires, which also affects the balance on worn front tires as well. later in the stint. The Cadillac had some wing taken off the car in the Balance of Performance adjustments. Joey Hand is leading GT Le Mans, with Laurens Vanthoor second in class. BMW still runs well even with the repair job.
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