Big moment for one of the Audi's as Christopher Haase moves past the Walkenhorst BMW. The Wright Motorsports Porsche is retired, and a key moment as Chaz Mostert spins Markus Winkelhock. Poor old Winkelhock, got dizzy. Meanwhile, the HubAuto Ferrari, with Nicjk foster at the wheel, and the Acura NSX GT3 of Mario Farnbacher went behind the wall, and came back out. Tim Slade leads this motor race by ten seconds over Raffaele Marciello and Matthieu Jaminet. chaz Mostert, just recently pitted. They had a drive through penalty. An hour and 25 minutes to go now here at Laguna Seca. Augusto Farfus is at the controls in BMW #42 AS jaminet squeezes by the PF Racing Ford Mustang GT4. John Miller is second in GT4 in the Jorgensen Strom BMW M4 GT4.
It is a fair fight. Bentley #107 and Mercedes #44 as well as Porsche #912, they have all been plagued with mechanical woes during this motor race as we watch Audi, undefeated here at Laguna Seca. But, they are not in the lead right now, boys. Ferrari is, at this time. HubAuto Corsa, they have had the speed all day here at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. So, lots has gone on while yours truly was taking a nap. Dirk Werner, Tristan Vautier, and Jules Gounon, are caboose on the field as Kelvin van der Linde has his hands full with Maro Engel. It is Land Audi vs. GruppeM Mercedes. Two cars score points for each manufacturer. Mercedes might not be the dominant car, but they will still score a bundle of points.
Audi has two cars in the top five, one for Ferrari, and one for Porsche as we are seven minutes away from the final pit window of this motor race. Porsche sits in third, and Romain Dumas says that the brakes, the rear brakes, are used up insofar as the pads are concerned. Dumas says the slower cars are frustrating. Crank the brake bias to the front, which is not optimum for the ABS systems on these GT3 cars. Diamond the corner in the Andretti hairpin. if you have to win the brake bias to the front, the balance of the car is going to change, and it might combine with understeer, too. That's a struggle.
It's surprising to see the pads unprepared by Porsche after they won endurance races already in North America this year, as we watch the Ford Mustang in GT4 with Jade Buford at the wheel of it. Spencer Pumpelly is at the wheel of the #67 TRG Porsche. Maro Engel chases Kelvin van der Linde for fifth overall, however, it is still Ferrari leading the motor race overall. Tim Slade is still having a great run today at Laguna Seca. Augusto Farfus chases Kelvin van der Linde. The #10 WRT Audi of Dries Vanthoor is still in this scrap, too. Vanthoor sweeps around the outside of the BMW. This is live, as if by magic, he sweeps by and pushes the bye bye button.
The margin is now 17.5 seconds. Not one driver in the #27 Ferrari, including Miguel Molina, have raced here at Laguna Seca. Augusto Farfus is pushing hard and he clears Kelvin van der Linde as we're closing in on an hour to go. Audi ducks for pit lane. Raffaele Marciello in the pit lane as well, and he'll finish out this race. But, don't miss that clock with 65 minutes for your stint. #999 has used two of it's three joker seconds. There is a minimum time for the pit stops, and you get only three jokers for going under a second on your stop, for the 100 second allotted time.
1:39.413 for the third joker for the Mercedes boys. It is a get out of jail free card, but they can't do it now with only 64 minutes on the board. Park Place and GruppeM also in the lane. The last driving stint is counted from the time the car crosses the pit lane line to the end of the straight before the checkered flag falls. Perfect joker time for Matthieu Jaminet at 1:39.351. Maro Engel is in the #888 Mercedes at 1:40.094. Sven Mueller was screaming out of the pit lane as well.
Raffaele Marciello stays in the car to the conclusion of this race. They had a problem with the pressures on the rattle guns to get the nut off the wheel on a tire change. Watch the #42 car as well. That's the BMW running alternate strategy. Augusto Farfus at the wheel of it. Rainey curve, that is a tough corner just before the front straightaway. A battle for eighth ensues into the Andretti hairpin. Tim Slade bring the ferrari into the lane for the final stop. Alex Buncombe who started on the front row, he is up three minutes on the pit time. They have had diffuser issues. The car is fast, but the aerodynamics on that car have been compromised.
Many of these cars are gorgeous aesthetically. That Nissan is a hot rod. Good stop for the #27 Ferrari. Cleanly executed, no worries on the tires or the fuel. 1:39.528 is the time and Tim Slade takes the joker. 57 minutes on the board, look. Raffaele Marciello is second. Nick Foster actually is going to take the car to the finish. It's like trying to go for fast lap and you wind up off into the weeds cursing to yourself, "why the (expletive), did I do that?!" Over seven hours of eight, completed in this race. This is the only global international series for GT cars. Nick Foster continues leading. He and his team mates are up by 15 seconds.
Team boss Jerry Lynn says that they needed new air bottles for the compressed air source for the rattle guns. This team has been around for only about two years, with Ferrari manufacturer and driver support. They neglected to switch to the spare compressed air tank for the rattle guns. The Honda Team Motul Acura NSX GT3 has just completed it's final stop. The Audi of Kelvin van der Linde gives Maro Engel a love tap, a little biff and barge there. He was dirt tracking it. HubAuto Corsa leads by 16 seconds over Raffaele Marciello and Sven Mueller. So, it's HubAuto vs. Park Place vs. GruppeM to the finish.
45 minutes remain as Dries Vanthoor is trying to put a lap on Maro Engel, and Engel isn't giving up. Poor old Porsche are in brake trouble. Confirmation now, that BMW took fuel only for their final stop and you cannot do a fuel up and tires at the same time. Augusto Farfus and Nicky Catsburg, both, they are going to have knackered Pirelli tires. Foster continues leading by 17 seconds as we see Nicky Catsburg in the lane with one sticker Pirelli tire. Trouble for these boys, with the air jacks. This is going to be a killer for the boys who won the 2018 Spa 24 Hours.
Play it safe. Short stopping isn't the way to go. Engel and Vanthoor continue their battle, and Vanthoor is keeping an eye out. 1:40.452 for the pit stop for Nicky Catsburg. Alexandre Imperatori is following Maxime Soulet, who is a lap down, and now Imperatori is going to go after Catsburg down through Rainey curve. That turn, named for world motorcycle racing champ, Wayne Rainey of course. Imperatori recognizes the mission. Nicky Catsburg has completed his stop for Walkenhorst, and they have four tires on that BMW M6 GT3. He just punched in a 1:24.9, a time we haven't seen for hours.
Nick Foster is dominating. He's motoring right along at 17 seconds ahead of everyone else. Marciello, Mueller, and Vanthoor, as well as Farfus, Engel, van der Linde, and Catsburg, are next. Marciello keeps dropping wheels off. Sven Mueller and company have had a braking issue on the Park Place Porsche. The rear pads are not burned up, but they are close to it. Dries Vanthoor is the youngest driver in the field at 20 years of age. Mueller hasn't slowed the Porsche down. Farfus is in the top five in the Schnitzer BMW, as Nick Foster whistles by. Maxime Soulet, has been running OK, but Bentley has not had the race they wanted.
Kelvin van der Linde has had two straight wins here. But today, he might have to settle for a lower place. he is coming to the Corkscrew, down the rahal straight, through the Corkscrew, and into Rainey curve. That's a serious drop down the Corkscrew. Riding in the car with onboard camera, you get a little queasy watching that. Nick Foster, is in management mode. Nicky Catsburg, though, he is applying the blowtorch to Kelvin van der linde as Dries Vanthoor has an amazing save up the uphill! He lost it, fully loaded, mid apex, speeding through the sand!
We will go 15-20 laps beyond the old distance record. The PF Racing Mustang has been in control in GT4. The car has driven fantastically all day, according to the drivers. James Pesek has been a great driver today, even though he has the least experience on the team. This is a great learning experience for future endurance races for him. Chad McCumbee began in NASCAR. In November 1957, a Ferrari won the first race at Laguna Seca, and another Ferrari may just be a winner at Laguna Seca today.
They are ahead by 15.8 seconds. A great joy of international racing is seeing special drivers do special things, and Raffaele Marciello is still pushing like no tomorrow. He's flying right now. His trouble is, though, Nick Foster is really clicking off some wonderful laps of his own. So, it is the Prancing Horse leading and the Three Pointed Star, chasing. Is there a bonus for a factory driver who takes a customer driver to the win? The last time a global GT series ran here was in 1997 and '98 with the FIA GT Championship. The track record for those cars was 1:19 with Prototypes that ran on the road, and these GT3 cars are just four seconds slower.
These are the cars that young kids who love cars, have on posters in their bedrooms, and adults have them framed in their living rooms if they are car people. Sven Mueller continues to put in the laps as we see a battle between GT3 and GT4. Dries Vanthoor passes a humdinger of a battle in GT4, with Jade Buford being harried by the Porsche Cayman GT4 of kevin Woods and Chris Bellomo, right on his six. Nick Foster still leads in the final 15 minutes of an eight hour race, with no yellow flags.
Andrezej Lewandowski is running well in the Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo with the same motor as the GT3 Lamborghini and less downforce, but it is quick. Jade Buford is going to take the PF Racing Ford Mustang to GT4 victory. It has had success in GT4 in Blancpain GT America. The battle for second in GT4 with John Miller's BMW shrinking over Spencer Pumpelly in the #67 The Racer's Group Porsche Cayman GT4. Nick Foster has just had a bit of a wiggle through the Corkscrew! He's super deep into the corner, up on the curb, and he stays in it! His life passed before his eyes. He read the situation, didn't overreact, and still made it.
Tim Slade and Miguel Molina had to be overreacting in the lane as he was doing the Scandinavian flick through The Corkscrew. Maybe he backed off. You can't take it easy. Raffaele Marciello will have a podium and so will Sven Mueller. The driver trio that won at Bathurst were out of the motor race here, early, but Porsche will still gain points. If you are Porsche, you hope for Ferrari to win to take points away from Mercedes. Two minutes to go. Dose mas. Dries Vanthoor is going to get fourth place. Bring it home, accept your position, and gain the points you are going to get. BMW is going to get double points and so will Audi. They need a break after the bad luck at Bathurst.
HubAuto Corsa is going to get the big one. Through the Corkscrew one more time. No white flag in international competition. He may have to reel off one more lap. Keep hitting your marks. No mistakes. The white flag is like the blue flag here. It is the passing flag. Foster is 13 seconds up on Marciello. Back off, don't make any mistakes, and you've got it in the bag. Once more through Rainey curve. Stay clear of the traffic. One more time through Turn 11 and a power slide! Ferrari wins the California 8 Hours! That could have gone so badly!
Foster wins it with a flourish. Marciello and company are second and Porsche, with Sven Mueller, are third. Audi and BMW complete the top five. What a wonderful race! That final turn was a heart in the mouth moment!
Overall/GT3: #27 Foster/Slade/Molina Ferrari 488 GT3
GT4: #40 Pesek/Buford/McCumbee Ford Mustang GT4
GT Cup: #88 Konopka/Lewandowski/Mikulasko Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo
Celebrate, boys! You deserve it. Nick Foster, wanted to try and do a burnout. But, he nearly wrecked. miguel Molina is really happy and says the car was fantastic. Tim Slade says this win is #1 in his career. He and Nick Foster drove opposite cars in Asia, last year. As a trio, those boys, sent it. Come across adversity, and adjust it. Risk vs. reward. They risked it, made it, and looked like geniuses. GruppeM managed their race for Mercedes well, and the #911 Park Place Porsche delivered for the brand, despite their braking issues. Sven Mueller says that the brakes were busted, but they can be happy with P3.
Mathieu Jaminet can be happy with his result, and so can Romain Dumas. Dumas says that he and his team mates just wanted to finish the motor race. Track position was the crucial thing today. They will be stronger, next time. We have established a new record distance. 327 laps. Green flag start to finish with just local yellows. GT4 winners, Buford/Pesek/McCumbee, finish 15th overall. What a fantastic race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. That was eight hours of great racing. We were worried about tire degradation, and thankfully, did not see as much. The last two races we've had in the fall at Laguna Seca, have been arid. But, it is greener than usual. It is owned on public land run by Sports Car Racing association of the Monterey Peninsula.
Three races are now left in the Intercontinental GT Challenge. The next one is the crown jewel. The 24 Hours of Spa Francorchamps, at the mighty Circuit de Spa Francorchamps in the Ardennes forest of Belgium, in late July. Really good champagne is sprayed on the podium. Don't spray all of it. Drink some of it. No yellow flags. BMW's short stop strategy was an ace up their sleeve with the exception of their penalty they had from the stewards. ferrari had trouble early on pit stops, but they had their strategy in their back pocket. Champagne spray, and confetti everywhere.
The checks are presented. Drivers you don't often get to see, get to race in this championship. No weak links in any of the GT3 teams. The champagne is flying in victory circle! HubAuto Corsa pushes their winning Ferrari to parc ferme. The next race is the legendary 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium, in July. Nissan's and Acura ran well early with the argy bargy starting early. Farnbacher got passed for second by Alex Buncombe. martin Tomczyk and Garry Paffett renewed their battle. Oliver Jarvis had an off, and then, Raffaele Marciello was slicing and dicing through the field.
Luca Stolz dove past the Bentley for 14th, and Lewis Williamson did likewise. Dries Vanthoor pushed maybe nearly too far, passing the Walkenhorst BMW. Miguel Molina has to go for it coming to second. Dirk Werner sliced through the field as well, but the Wright Motorsports car was out of the motor race, and braking issues for the Park Place car. A key moment when Martin Tomczyk slammed Markus Winkelhock. Poor Winkelhock was dizzy, and even more so after that spin.
HubAuto Corsa and Nick Foster drove outside Christiopher Mies, and made it work, parking one the GT4 cars. Romain Dumas slices through Rainey curve and mechanical problems for the pole sitting Acura. Dries Vanthoor and Nick Foster both had close shaves, but saved it. Foster and company, win. It's been a treat and a privilege to bring you all the action from Laguna Seca. Take care, everybody, and we will see you, this summer, for the diamond jewel in the crown, the 24 Hours of Spa Francorchamps.
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