Some decent lighting exists at this track. But it varies depending on the turns, as some areas are very light, and others, are very dark. Simon Pagenaud is holding up both of the Mazda's. Nunez squeezes by Pagenaud! Yikes! Correction, that's Spencer Pigot, and Pigot is a hot shoe. The #77 Mazda has set sail for the time being. Luca Stolz's lead in GT Daytona has evaporated. Trent Hindman has closed up in a massive way. Laurens Vanthoor, meanwhile, is working on going past Luca Stolz, and here comes Oliver Gavin as well! Don't throw it away. We are way past the halfway mark in the motor race. Hindman is in full attack mode.
What will happen in turn ten? Hindman slides past Stolz. Stolz does not have the grip on his Mercedes AMG GT3. Mazda #77 pitted for fuel and tires and a driver change to Tristan Nunez, and assuming the overall lead, is Robert Alon in the #85 Hi Tide Boat Lifts JDC-Miller Oreca Gibson, "the banana boat". Johannes van Overbeek has made what is likely his last drive in a sports car for the foreseeable future. He has won at Daytona and Sebring in his career, and is hoping still, to win Petit Le Mans. Thank you, Johannes. He really stepped up in his quest, transitioning from GT cars to Prototypes. He'll be missed as a nice guy and a great driver. Timo Bernhard makes a great move, and Daniel Morad. The Magnus Racing Audi is having another issue with a flat left rear tire. Is there some suspension geometry setup that has gone wrong?
Connor de Philippi and Ryan Dalziel make scheduled pit stops. Dalziel is back on track, and De Philippi follows him out. The Magnus Racing Audi is now back into pit lane. The tire is shredded without a doubt, and the Gainsco "Red Dragon" is also back in the pits. Graham Rahal has run a very good stint. Acura's are unstable through turn three, totally committed in that section of the circuit. You have to finesse that curve. Patrick Pilet goes inside in turn five, and overshoots the corner. He didn't see Andrew davis, who was coming out of the pit lane on cold tires.
The GT Le Mans scrap is intense. #4 vs. #912. Now, the #48 Lamborghini makes an early visit to the pit lane. Hopefully nothing was wrong with the tires. Cory Lewis has caught up to Trent Hindman who took off like a scalded cat earlier. Roger Penske started his career in sports cars, and he had the 917/10 and 917/30 Porsche's in Can Am, and he won at Nassau in the Bahamas. He has his IndyCar, NASCAR, and sports car programs today. Of course, he has won so so many Indianapolis 500s. Meanwhile, Graham Rahal has a one second lead on Tristan Nunez, and Renger van der Zande is chasing. This scrap is getting very tasty.
Mazda wants their first win. The #10 Cadillac, they have not won since dominating the opening five races of 2017. Now, Tristan Nunez gets snookered, and van der Zande goes by, passing Chaz Mostert in the #25 BMW M8 GT. The driver lineups, some of which will be new, next year, should be incredible. There will be more Cadillac's in the championship next year. Now, Robert Renauer has the lead in the #58 Wright Motorsports Porsche Consulting Porsche 911 GT3R in GTD as well. This has been a great one so far, and there's still, oh, three and a half hours to go.
It is a dead even tie in the Prototype points championship. The CORE Autosport team could win the championship. They would be able to go for the Le Mans invite, or, the championship, but they can't have both. Corvette and Ford still battle in GT Le Mans. Snow and Sellers in GTD, would win by four points if the race ended now. But, there's a long way to go yet. What will the pit strategy be? Will any more yellow flags fall? We have had a lot of green flag racing. There are other cars that just want to win.
Wayne Taylor says the Cadillac needs five miles an hour more to be in it with Nissan and Acura. It has been a strange year this year for WTR. But, they will be back. WTR has gotten better as Jordan Taylor has been in the simulator as well as in the car, and give credit to the pit crew, too, members who have come from all walks of motorsports life from drag racing, IndyCar, and sports cars. Pit stop time for the #10 and Jordan Taylor replaces Renger van der Zande for this stint. Spencer Pigot wants to have a career where he can still do IndyCar and the endurance races in IMSA.
Pit stop time for the #5 Cadillac. Jonathan Bomarito has gone into the race lead with the #55 Mazda. Tristan Nunez just got out of the Mazda. Can these guys be in contention for a win in this race? Nunez had no drink bottle for a while, in the #77 machine, as Lucas di Grassi is now in that car. Colin Braun has a John Deere Skid Steer bulldozer that he uses to make motorcycle jumps in his spare time. Marino Franchitti is in a sports car now, for the first time in about a year and a half. The last car he raced, was an Austin 835 at Goodwood.
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