The 2.4 mile layout of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course presents the next challenge to the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. It is round four of the season, as we prepare for the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio, coming your way, on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog... next! The track looks spectacular. It's green and pleasant because of a lot of rain. But any small mistake, you'll get bogged down and ned assistance from the tow truck. The Keyhole and The Carousel are two of the key corners, along with turn four, as we continue to celebrate IMSA's golden anniversary, 50 years. There is a great crowd here to see the race.
The field is very closely matched, and it's hard to pick a winner because of so little dry weather running this weekend so far. The tires, are crucial. Will they last? Also, will they warm up and get good temperature? Track position will be a big deal. It's not easy to pass at Mid Ohio. There's also a kink halfway through the back straight. Traffic will be a bugaboo and patience will surely be required. It's a three stop race if we go all the way. Tires will last just fine around Mid Ohio. But, the idea is that the heat will need to be put into the tires. That's critical. If you start on sticker tires, you are going to have to have the edge taken off of them. It'll be a two stop race for the GTLM and GTD cars. Do you go short? Do you wait and dry out the fuel tank entirely before hitting the lane?
The sun is now coming out as we see the cars rolling off pit lane and onto their warmup laps. The start is going to be pretty wild. Trust me. The GTD blokes with ABS braking systems, they will have something extra for their tires. Harry Tincknell, who normally races with Mazda here in IMSA, is tuned in for the broadcast from Europe. Of course, you have already read about how he went in the FIA World Endurance Championship race at Spa Francorchamps, that frantic, wild contest in the Ardennes forest, that also ran last weekend. Mazda is in a great position. Oliver Jarvis has been a star in qualifying. They have to win. But, Acura and Cadillac will both be tough. Ryan Hunter-Reay is the team mate for Jonathan Bomarito in Mazda #55.
Hunter-Reay, IndyCar veteran, and former Indianapolis 500 champion, wishes qualifying would have gone better for him. Hunter-Reay hasn't even had time to drive the car, or develop his skill on the simulator. He knows the lines on the track, but does not know the car necessarily, until now when he goes into the race. Acura won here last year, and that has been a highlight. They haven't had a good start in 2019 either, despite their competitiveness. They expect to do well at their sponsor's race. The sun is coming out, warming the track a little more as the cars circulate behind the safety car. 36 cars will start the race here on this undulating speedway. It's the first 2 hour and 40 minute sprint race. In GT Daytona, we look at the IMSA Sprint Championship.
This is the first of seven sprint races, and McLaren are here for the first time in IWSC competition with their lovely 720S model, qualified very well. This is the #76 Compass Racing McLaren 720S in the hands of Amrican drivers Paul Holton and Matt Plumb. We have seen them compete in Michelin Pilot Challenge in GT4 spec trim. But this is their first race in the WeatherTech Championship. The clock has started. That's the timing line. We are not yet under green flag conditions until we get halfway down the backstretch. Here we are then, coming up, for a start to this motor race. Green flag, and away we go! Helio Castroneves in the Acura jumped earlier than expected and had to back out of the throttle.
This allows Oliver Jarvis in the Mazda RT24P to sweep into the lead. Jarvis has Dane Cameron in the first of the Penske Acura's, right on his six, look. Oh boy! One of the Mazda's has been spun around in the middle of the road! Some argy bargy right from the very start! Guess what? Ryan Hunter-Reay saved the car. Yours truly was sure he was going to slide off onto the grass, but somehow, chaps, somehow he saved it! It's very slick out there. Helio Castroneves hit Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Pipo Derani in the #31 Whelen Cadillac is fourth right now. Renger van der Zande in the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac also had to take evasive action.
While all this has been happening, we have also seen equal amounts of argy bargy in the back of the field between P2 and GT Daytona machines. The #38 Performance Tech Motorsports Oreca, is trundling into the pit lane. Kyle Masson and Cameron Cassels, sharing the car, have started off on the back foot here. Helio Castroneves has some damage to the right front fender, well, the bodywork behind the fender, has had a bit of a shark bite taken out of it. Big damage, too, for the normally beautiful #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3 being shared by Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley. An unexpected pit call, and they are out. They were wearing the word tacos, on the front to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.
We are watching Helio Castroneves who is currently in sixth plac as Oliver Jarvis is being challenged once again by Dane Cameron. The stewards are reviewing the start. Ryan Hunter-Reay in the dark red crystal colored Mazda, clearing Joao Barbosa in the #5 Action Express Racing Cadillac. There might be some damage to the back of the car. Ryan Hunter-Reay has not been in this car before this week, but he's flying right now. We see a replay, and Ryan Hunter-Reay was turned around by Helio Castroneves who was trying to avoid the #31 Cadillac. It was kind of a pinball effect. On his first flying lap, Oliver Jarvis had a new record lap at 1:13.7, but then, Dane Cameron came back and lowered best lap down to a 1:13.3. Ryan Hunter-Reay, though, he lowers it still more to a 1:12.680. We watch the GT Le Mans battle, presently, and there is a major penalty coming as Patrick Pilet in the Porsche 911 RSR, has been called to the penalty box for jumping the start.
He is serving the drive through penalty now. Oh wow. He got really anxious and slotted past cars before the control line. Tommy Milner now leads GTLM in the #4 Chevrolet Corvette C-7-R- over the #66 Ford GT with Sebastien Bourdais at the wheel of it. The Ford GT is already wearing it's livery for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is a throwback, with a different shade of blue and also red, to commemorate Ford's 2016 Le Mans triumph. We will see four retro, throwback liveries, from Ford for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, next month, for their final outing at Le Mans as a factory supported team.
Laurens Vanthoor in the Porsche, the sister #912 is next, and he is followed by the two BMW RLL BMW M8's in the hands of Jesse Krohn, and Connor De Philippi, respectively. Richard Heistand in the #14 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 leads GT Daytona ahead of Trent Hindman in the Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 and Will Hardeman at the wheel of the #19 Moorespeed Audi R8 LMS GT3. Christina Nielsen in the #57 MSR Acura next up. Oliver Jarvis has clear track. Patrick Pilet has made his way past Parker Chase and now, Zachary Robichon. Parker Chase has the #8 Starworks Audi R8 LMS GT3 he shares with Ryan Dalziel. Zachary Robichon is in the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R he shares with Scott Hargrove. An all Canadian lineup in the lumberjack liveried Porsche, eh?
Oliver Jarvis lowers fast lap to 1:12.5. Oliver Jarvis eclipsed last year's pole time of 1:11.8 that was set by Helio Castroneves, and Jarvis continues to lead this motor race. BMW vs. Porsche in GTLM as the Acura had some bodywork blow off. The #38 Performance Tech LMP2 car pitted and repaired the rear wing and the suspension. Oliver Jarvis has 3/4 of a second ovr Dane Cameron, and here comes Cameron! Cameron dives inside Jarvis into the second turn! Wow. That was all down to the traffic, look. It looks like a real version of the Forza Motorsports video game out there on track at the moment as we have chamber of commerce weather out there, too. Through the section of track called Thunder Valley. Oliver Jarvis makes his way past both the Compass McLaren and the second AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus, the #12 in the hands of Frankie Montecalvo, sharing with Townsend Bell.
Oliver Jarvis is also caught off guard by another Sprint Cup GTD entry. This is the #74 Lone Star Racing/74 Hunting Ranch entry of Gar Robinson and Lawson Aschenbach. We've seen Gar Robinson racing in another championship, but this is his first outing of 2019 in IMSA. The Mazda is performing well, but it needs more momentum because of the small displacement engine. That's a 2.0 liter turbocharged 4 cylinder, 122 cubic inches, and the turbo needs time to spool up of course, before... boom!, he has all the power in the world. An early visitor to the pit lane is the #54 CORE Autosport Nissan DPi shared by Jonathan Bennett and Colin Braun.
Richard Heistand leads GTD still, but coming all the way from eighth in class, Trent Hindman in the Acura, he is now applying the blowtorch to the Lexus driver. Christina Nielsen also has the #57 Caterpillar sponsored MSR Acura NSX GT3 up into fourth in class, sharing with Katherine Legge. Colin Braun will finish out this race. So much action. The Michelin Pilot Challenge race was a barn burner as well, and guess what? We will have coverage of that race, too, coming up soon on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog. So, stay tuned for the action with your favorite cars, drivers and teams from IMSA's other production based classes, GT4 and TCR.
Sunshine and white fluffy clouds in the blue sky overhwead. Trent Hindman is pressing Richard Heistand, and here comes Oliver Jarvis, inm the leading Mazda. Traffic is there, and Hindman takes advantage of a bobble by Heistand, look. The #55 Mazda of Ryan Hunter-Reay, he has also managed to pass the #31 Whelen Cadillac in the hands of Pipo Derani. Everyone needs to cool down just a bit, as there's a long way to go yet. Patrick Pilet has stormed his way back to 21st overall. He is coming back up to the GTLM field. Drive through penalty for the #38 Performance Tech car. They have already been in the wars, and yet, they have been dinged by the stewards on pit lane for working under the car without using the proper jack stands for safety on the car, in addition to using the onboard air jacks of course.
Renger van der Zande is languishing down in eighth place in DPi at the moment, and has two more Cadillac's right on his six. The #50 Juncos Racing car in the hands of Will Owen sharing with Kyle Kaiser, and the #85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi-V.R., the first of the two "banana boats" as they are affectionately known. Goikhberg is getting a tow off Owen, look, and right at the apex of turn three, more woes for the #38 car! It doesn't appear there's any drive in the Performance Tech entry, and so, this could mean game over for that squad here at Mid-Ohio. Corvette Racing is taking advantage of this action, and Jan Magnussen will bring the #3 car to pit lane for scheduled service. Dane Cameron has a six second cushion over the two Mazda's of Ryan Hunter-Reay and Oliver Jarvis.
Helio Castrroneves has made his way around Joao Barbosa, and Dane Cameron continues to lead. #38 has made it to pit lane, thankfully. The engine was running, but he may have been stuck in gear, coasting into the lane. Colin Braun is coming through, but he is a lap down to his competition. Trent Hindman leads GT Daytona over Richard Heistand and Will Hardemann at the moment. Hardemann, give a call to him, running third with the MooreSpeed Audi. Tommy Milner leads Sebastien Bourdais, Laurens Vanthoor, and Connor De Philippi in GT Le Mans. Jesse Krohn is fourth in class. Ryan Briscoe in the sister #67 Ford GT might be on a fuel save, shared by Richard Westbrook and Ryan Briscoe.
Dane Cameron leads, and Oliver Jarvis is nibbling away at his lead as Cameron is dealing with traffic, a constant in sports car racing. 1:15.4 for Colin Braun in the #54 Nissan. Colin Braun is on a totally different strategy compared to the other DPi machines, as there's a scrape down the side of the #5 Action Express Racing Cadillac. There is damage to the left rear fender on car #5, and quite a bit of mud splattered on it as well. Early argy bargy for the #5 car. Colin Braun lowers his fastest lap to 1:14.6. Acura leads by 5.8 seconds over Mazda. Cameron, Jarvis, Hunter-Reay. Corvette and Tommy Milner lead Sebastien Bourdais and Laurens Vanthoor in GT Le Mans. It's Corvette vs. Ford vs. Porsche. In GT Daytona, Acura leads with Trent Hindman over class polesitter Richard Heistand in the Lexus, four seconds in-arrears of the Acura. Third in class is #19 Audi in the hands of Will Hardemann.
Christina Nielsen still holds fourth place in class. The #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3, it's game over for Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley. Pipo Derani is the best placed Cadillac at the sharp end of the the field, having run a best lap so far of 1:13.1. Corvette and Tommy Milner, as has been mentioned, they have been able, so far, to take advantage of Porsche's misfortune. Patrick Pilet, though, is steadily reeling in Ryan Briscoe. Tommy Milner gets it sideways as he tries to negotiate the #44 Magnus Racing GTD Lamborghini! That was a close shave! #44 is shared, as always by John Potter and Andy Lally. But that was a real close shave for Tommy Milner. Simon Trummer in the #84, the first of the "Banana Boat" Cadillac's, is carving his way through the field in a car he shares with Stephen Simpson.
Colin Braun, with his tactical move, has more fuel than anyone else in the DPi ranks so far. Colin Braun makes a move on the Juncos Racing Cadillac, that is car #50. Will Owen went back onto the racing line, but gave a small love tap to the #25 BMW M8 GT, Connor De Philippi at the wheel of it. Tommy Milner ekes out more of a gap over Sebastien Bourdais in GT Le Mans. Very little track time in the dry for everyone before today's race. Misha Goikhberg puts himself ahead of Will Owen in the midfield DPi battle. Acura has deep roots here in Ohio as their manufacturing facility is just up the road from the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Dane Cameron has a 5.4 second advantage over Oliver Jarvis, and Jarvis is just now starting to eat into that lead held by the Acura driver.
Trent Hindman has a fair old gap over Richard Heistand in GT Daytona, leading by 8.5 seconds. Will Hardemann is third, but Zachary Robichon, the Canadian, he has found his way past Christina Nielsen. Frankie Montecalvo is next in the sister AVS Lexus. Performance Tech is back in the garage, replacing a rear tail section on the car as Pfaff Porsche passes Magnus Audi. But the tartan color on that car, is not really considered a warm and fuzzy lumberjack shirt, but rather, a deliciously sweet tin of shortbread cookies. Robichon is now right behind Heistand. Patrick Pilet is set to come into the pits. The wing needs to be replaced on the Performance Tech car, which might be going behind trhe wall.
Nick Tandy will take over the #911 Porsche. They dropped the car before the tire was on the mounting pin! Hopefully that doesn't damage anything. They were very close to the wall. Nick Tandy had a great race in horrid conditions in the VLN at the Nurburgring. Dane Cameron still leads ovwerall with Tommy Milner leading GTLM and Trent Hindman leading GTD. It's really close between second and 11th in GTD right now. Acura #7 will pit for tires, fuel, and a new nose on the car for Helio Castroneves. All of the drivers have done really well to keep their noses clean so far. Keep your wits about you. That's the key.
The sun is somewhat out. This is a race that is challenging both physically and mentally. The #77 Mazda and the #3 Corvette are both about to hit the pit lane. 40 minutes expected for fuel for the DPi cars. Mazda #77 is in the pit lane. Oliver Jarvis will stay in the car, with new tires, and a new drink bottle. Antonio Garcia will take over Corvette #3. Antonio Garcia has never won atr Mid Ohio. We still have just over two hours to go in this race. The #6 Acura and Dane Cameron, in the lane, handing over to Juan Pablo Montoya. Down off the air jacks, fuel in, and the car is back on track. Acura #7 in the lane, too. Helio Castroneves gets out, and Ricky Taylor will get into the car, and the team changes the nose, and gets scrubbed tires. This car, was involved in a shemozzle on lap one.
Pipo Derani is in the lane as well. He will pit but stay in the car, and scrubbed tires onto the #5 Cadillac as Filipe Albuquerque takes over from Joao Barbosa. BMW #25 has Tom Blomqvist at the wheel, and will do tires and fuel. Blomqvist is sharing with Connor De Philippi of course. With the sun out, and high tire pressures, there's graining on the tires already as the #55 Mazda is in the lane. Dramas for the #67 Ford GT as Richard Westbrook, with his pink driving shoes, gets out of the car, handing over to Ryan Briscoe. But, the car is dropped off the air jacks before one of the tires is torqued onto the stub axle. It was properly seated, though. No worries. Jordan Taylor is into the #10 Cadillac, replacing Renger van der Zande, with brand new tires on the car.
Ricky Taylor is pushing, pushing, pushing, for track position and trying hard to get by Filipe Albuquerque in the #5 Cadillac. Ryan Hunter-Reay is trying to pass Pipo Derani, and Derani actually gets around the Mazda man. Acura leads by seven seconds. Juan Pablo Montoya in Acura #6 leads. Simon Trummer and Misha Goikhberg are both in the pit lane. In GTLM, Corvette #4 still leads. Tommy Milner, Laurens Vanthoor, Sebastien Bourdais, and others, have yet to make their first pit stops as far as the GTLM runners go. Nick Tandy sweeps past Richard Westbrook. Whoops! We have an Audi off the road, look.
It looks as if there was argy bargy between the Audi and the McLaren. Parker Chase and Matt Plumb have come a cropper at the exit of turn two. Parker Chase was skittering across the grass for a while before finding terra firma again. So many parts of the track here at Mid Ohio are single groove, and the traffic in this race so far has been bonkers. Oliver Jarvis, through the traffic takes over the lead of this motor race. Juan Pablo Montoya is caught in a phalanx of GTD machinery as we see three wide, and off the road, look, for the #57 Caterpillar Acura. Christina Nielsen gets biffed by Will Hardemann and goes off into the weeds slightly.
Oliver Jarvis now leads from Juan Montoya after the confusion, as if someone put M&M's into a bowl and just stirred them around randomly. In replay, we see the argy bargy between the Audi and the McLaren. Parker Chase gets a head of steam, and... thump. He spins the McLaren around, and Matt Plumb takes his turn on the whirligig. Parker Chase thought, "hey, the door is open for me. Not quite. Matt Plumb was just standing there, and I don't think anyone turned the handle, let alone opened the door. Ford #66 also dove for the lane and there was contact between Park Place Porsche and one of the BMW's. GT Daytona pit stops. The #33 Mercedes AMG GT3 pits, Ben Keating out, Jeroen Bleekemolen in. Toni Vilander is in the #63 WeatherTech Ferrari. Andy Lally takes over the #44 Magnus Racing Lamborghini, sticker Michelin's going on the car. Dirk Mueller also replaces Joey Hand in Ford GT #66. Steering trouble for Christina Nielsen in the #57 Acura.
The #12 Lexus is in the lane. Townsend Bell replaces Frankie Montecalvo. Alex Riberas replaces Will Hardemann in the #19 Moorespeed Audi, and Bryan Sellers takes over the #48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 from Ryan Hardwick. Bryan Sellers is in his home race here today and wants to do well. Jack Hawksworth will replace Richard Heistand in Lexus #14. We have a problem on course for the #33 Mercedes AMG GT3, as Ben Keating has the bonnet up on the car, right in his face. He can't see a thing. Bleekmolen has had major argy bargy somewhere, as there's good old fashioned steam pouring out of the radiator on that Benz, look.
Bleekemolen nails the back of the #85 "Banana Boat" JDC-Miller Cadillac! That's where that damage came from. This will be a long lap back to the pits. He's a long way from home. Even though GT3 cars have ABS, he just clattered into the back of Misha Goikhberg's Cadillac. Oliver Jarvis is back into the lead of the race as the #57 Acura comes back on track. There was no work done on the steering of that car, with Katherine Legge at the wheel of it. BMW #24 is in the lane. Jesse Krohn makes his first pit stop, and now, team mate John Edwards will get fresh Michelin tires, not scrubbed ones.
Ryan Hunter-Reay is closing on Pipo Derani. Hunter-Reay is trying to reel in Pipo Derani. Bleekemolen has made it inot the pit lane and in also, Tommy Milner from the GTLM lead, for fuel and tires. No driver change yet. Bill Riley's team has to break out the bear bond to tape down to the bonnet on the #33 Mercedes. Mercedes #33 will go to the garage. Bigger damage on that motorcar than we first thought. Maybe some aero was taken away from the Mercedes as Ryan Hunter-Reay passes Pipo Derani. Mazda now first and third, with an Acura the meat in the sandwich. The pit crew is pushing the Mercedes down the pit lane. Porsche #912 in the lane, Earl Bamber taking over for Laurens "Larry" Vanthoor.
A better stop for #912 and Earl does a small burnout headed out of the lane. Earl Bamber joins in front of Jordan Taylor and the #10 Cadillac. This race is the definition of crazy, bonkers good as the #74 Mercedes pits. Damage to Dirk Mueller on the #66 Ford GT. The rear fender, the brake light, they are gone. Porsche #911 is reeling in the Ford with the aforementioned damage. Alex Riberas is pressing hard ass well. Juan Pablo Montoya is stuck behind the #50 Cadillac and does get by. Montoya has to catch Oliver Jarvis now. The CORE Autosport Nissan is hanging onto the tail end of the lead lap in DPi. This race is a championship within a championship for the GT Daytona cars, the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup, and it's the first round of that series, but the fourth round of the overall championship.
Neither of the leading Porsche's in GTD have stopped. You have the "shortbread cookie box", the #9 car, and the #73 Park Place Motorsports entry. The GTD cars have run almost a full hour on their fuel loads without stopping. That's a tad shocking, blokes. Some argy bargy between Porsche and Corvette, look. #912 gets tagged by the #3 Corvette. Tommy Milner tags Earl Bamber. Juan Pablo Montoya has eaten almost a full second out of Oliver Jarvis' lead. We're just over an hour into this race. 45 laps done and dusted, 108 miles on the board so far. Katherine Legge has put in fastest lap for the #57 car so far. She is under pressure, from Townsend Bell aboard the Lexus.
The Corvette, does a wheelie over the top of turn five, look. Spectacular action here at Mid Ohio! Jarvis and Montoya are pretty close together going for the lead. Simon Trummer and Jordan Taylor, the two of them are battling for seventh spot. Corvette continues to hound Porsche as well as Will Owen runs a 1:13.9, the fastest lap so far for the Juncos Racing Cadillac. The two JDC-Miller Cadillac's went very long and the battle is on between #84 and #10 as we hear about a steward's decision. Traffic is ahead as the leader laps past Scott Hargrove in the Pfaff Motorsports Porsche. Marco Seefried is in the #73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R. Patrick Long has taken over. Patrick Lindsey, team owner, was racing in the Spa 6 Hours, affwcted of course by snow.
Nick Tandy passes Dirk Mueller. Porsche runs second and fifth, Corvette, first and third, and BMW, sixth and eighth. Trent Hindman is in the lane, and the #4 Corvette is slow on the front straight! He missed the pit lane completely! Big news here, boys and girls. Wow. The car has drive, but it's very slow. Pitr stop timwe for the GT Daytona leader. Trent Hindman out of the car, and Mario Farnbacher, ("Super Mario"), into the car. Jack Hawksworth has moved past. The #4 Corvette is still touring around slowly and is in the lane, now. No damage. No flat tires. What has happened to the car?
He's going straight behind the wall. No luck whatsoever for the #4. No chance for Oliver Gavin to drive. It looks to be game over, possibly. Mario Farnbacher has retained the lead in GT Daytona. Jack Hawksworth is 15 seconds in-arrears with a little over an hour and a half to go in the race. Oliver Jarvis still leads, and Ryan Hunter-Reay in the team Mazda is pressing along as well. Oliver Jarvis runs 1:13.7. We haven't seen a lap cut in the 1:13 bracket in quite some time, since this race began. Two Ford's on track together. Richard Westbrook is closing in on the damaged sister car of Dirk Mueller.
Ford will field four cars in four different liveries for Le Mans. 1:13.6 again for Jarvis as Juan Pablo Montoya is frustratingly caught behind Simon Trummer at the wheel of the "Banana Boat", JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac, car #84. The gap has now ballooned to 3.3 seconds between Jarvis and Montoya. MSR is also running their home race here at Mid Ohio. Retirements so far are the #96 BMW, and well, the #4 Corvette might not retire, but they have a broken rear axle on the car and it is being fixed as we speak. Gelato in the studio? Oh wow. Time for a caution so we can dig into that! Oh, stop it. We have to race more. It's clear sailing for the #77 Mazda. 1:13.8 was the lap record in 2018. But now, it's beens shattered at 1:12.4 by Oliver Jarvis, as Ricky Taylor has Acura #7 in the lane with some damage.
Thwey've changed tires on the car and put the fuel in it. One more pit stop to get home. Will Owen streaks past Ricky Taylor. Another spot of bother for the #38 Performance Tech Oreca, off the road yet another time. Matt McMurry in the #52 car, a rival in LMP2, has been running very well, too. That's the PR1/Mathiasen car of course, and McMurry is sharing the car with fellow American Eric Lux this weekend. Jarvis, in the lead of the motor race turns a lap at 1:12.56. Montoya and Jarvis are trading purple sector times, fastest of all in a given sector. Leading Prototypes will be into the pit lane very soon it appears.
Tristan Nunez is set to get into the #77 Mazda. The car is in the lane, and Tristan Nunez is into the car. Four lightly scrubbed Michelin tires going on the car, and a drinks bottle change, as well as a windscreen tear off, and fuel. Argy bargy between two Cadillac's with Jordan Taylor and Will Owen. Oliver Gavin is now at the wheel of the #4 Corvette, and they will be back on track. Acura #6 in the lane, four scrubbed Michelin tires, fuel, and Juan Pablo Montoya staying in the car. We need to see where the #77 Mazda is, Tristan Nunez at the wheel of it of course.
Fire the car, wait on the fuel, and that's a long stop for Montoya. Where is the Mazda? Here it comes. He loses the lead to Montoya! Oh my! Maybe the Acura short filled the tank? An hour and 20 minutes remain. Ryan Hunter-Reay leads the motor race, but he needs a stop. Filipe Albuquerque is now down a lap, and Felipe Nasr brings the #31 Whelen Cadillac to the lane. Full service and a driver change, and Felipe Nasr taking the car over. Simon Trummer hit the pit lane, and Stephen Simpson is into the car. Simpson will be busy this month of May as he is also going to be the spotter for IndyCar driver J.R. Hildebrand at the Indianapolis 500. We await the #55 Mazda to make a scheduled pit stop.
Ryan Hunter-Reay is in the lane with the #55 car, handing it over to Jonathan Bomarito. Acura Team Penske has come out ahead of the Mazda, 3.5 seconds ahead. Fuel and tires and a driver change for #55 as mentioned. The fuel is being filled, and it's out now. So, Bomarito whistles back into the race. Acura #7, Ricky Taylor battles Filipe Albuquerque in the #5 Cadillac. Tristan Nunez has taken the #77 Mazda over from Oliver Jarvis, and he is in hot pursuit of Juan Pablo Montoya as the #50 Juncos Racing Cadillac is now in the box for service. There's nothing in it between Acura and Mazda. Montoya leads Nunez, and Bomarito has gone behind Felipe Nasr? No. He's held third spot. He should stay there.
Jordan Taylor is next, followed by Filipe Albuquerque, and Ricky Taylor. Antonio Garcia has the #3 Corvette in the lead of GTLM over the second place #912 Porsche with Earl Bamber finishing the race. Next up is the #25 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GT, Tom Blomqvist at the wheel of it. Nick Tandy is coming, and fast. He is on a tear in fourth in GTLM. Mario Farnbacher leads by 7.5 seconds over Jack Hawksworth and Scott Hargrove followed by Bryan Sellers, and Kateherine Legge. Nunez, frustratingly, is getting balked by the Corvette down the backstretch. Poor old Tristan Nunez might be tearing his hair out since he's not on the lead lap.
Juan Pablo Montoya was struggling earlier, but now, he is cruising. Undulations and surface changes are putting strain on the tires here at Mid Ohio as Townsend Bell is reeling in Katherine Legge for fifth in GT Daytona. Honda V6 vs. Lexus V8. Tristan Nunez seems to be confident in his Mazda. The two Mazda's both run 171.9 miles an hour on the most recent lap through the speed traps. Ricky Taylor is running at 167 miles. He has aerodynamic flaws on that car, though. An hour and ten minutes to go. Antonio Garcia and Corvette lead GT Le Mans, as Corvette searches for their 100th victory overall in North America. 100 total was at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut a few years ago.
Mario Farnbacher, making his first visit to Mid Ohio, he has moved ahead of Scott Hargrove in the Pfaff Motorsports #9 Porsche. Connor De Philippi has not gotten back into the #25 BMW since the beginning of the race as Tom Blomqvist is still driving. Connor De Philippi drove the lion's share of the race here at Mid Ohio, last year. Dirk Mueller is still fighting on with his team mate Richard Westbrook and Dirk Mueller still doesn't have bodywork, and, oh dear. Katherine Legge has looped it in a 360 in turn ten. She is back on her way, now. She has lost three spots. The Ford's split the #74 Mercedes AMG GT3, Lawson Aschenbach at the wheel of it.
Jordan Taylor is closing on Colin Braun right now. The gap has come down as Nunez is trying to pass the damaged Ford. Montoya has gone through the keyhole already. Porsche #911 with Nick Tandy is in the lane. He may need one more pit stop. He hits his marks, and gets scrubbed Michelin tires. BMW #24 in the lane as well, and Corvette will also be in soon. All four tires changed on John Edwards' BMW. The BMW is down and away. There's some damage on the #9 Pfaff Racing Porsche, and more drama for the #76 Compass Racing McLaren. Porsche #9 has lost it's rearview mirror on the side of the car, and Paul Holtom has recovered from his spin in turn six.
Corvette #3 is in the lane. Antonio Garcia gets brand new slick Michelin tires, as well as fuel, and Antonio Garcia has to go for it. The car burbles away from the pit lane as Tom Blomqvist will stay in the car to the end of the race with one hour to go. Mario Farnbacher pits from the GTD lead. Katherine Legge is having more issues with Acura #57, slowing on course. She won't get the car back, on her outlap. Some of the Prototypes are hitting pit lane, now. Legge is back on track. Ian Watt calls the #5 AXR Cadillac to the lane, the #7 Penske Acura, the Lexus', and the Lamborghini #48, as well as the Scuderia Corsa Ferrari, and the Paul Miller Lamborghini.
#6 and #77 are out on course and Katherine Legge was jolly lucky, because she is back underway and we stay green. Making a move, it's Tandy trying to go by Blomqvist. Montoya leads Nunez by a second and a half. Jack Hawksworth is back on track. Where is Mario Farnbacher? Ryan Hunter-Reay has done an amazing job in the #55 Mazda. Ryan Hunter-Reay loves Mid Ohio. Montoya's margin is increasing over Nunez. Ford's run 1-2 in GTLM as Dirk Mueller is in the lane for service, but because of that, Earl Bamber is now in the lead and Antonio Garcia also gets leapfrogged by the Porsche as well. It's ten seconds, actually 12.1 seconds, for Bamber over Garcia. Dirk Mueller will do his best to go to the end. Richard Westbrook has been out on course for almost 50 laps in this stint.
He is now in the pit lane, look. So, he doesn't qualify particularly well, but then, boom. By the time there's an hour left in the motor race, Richard Westbrook, having run like gangbusters, he goes to first place in class in GTLM! We also follow the #48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan in GTD. Westbrook puts scrubbed tires on the car. Westbrook is back out of the lane and back on the track. Ganassi have indeed played the strategy here. Earl Bamber leads GTLM by 10.7 seconds. Garcia, Blomqvist, and Tandy are also in it. Lawson Aschenbach and Jack Hawksworth will do some position swapping in GT Daytona. Then comes, Scott Hargrove, 29 seconds back down the road. The Lone Star Mercedes gets sticker Michelin tires.
Side by side stuff, look, as Nick Tandy sweeps past the BMW M8 GT. They were stone last after a jumped start, and Nick Tandy has clawed and scraped his way through the field. So, here's an update. Juan Montoya leads by three seconds, followed by the Mazda's of Tristan Nunez and Jonathan Bomarito. Then comes Felipe Nasr in the #31 Cadillac. Theses four blokes are the only drivers on the lead lap currently. Now then, in GT Le Mans it's the aforementioned Earl Bamber, the Kiwi, leading it for Porsche, followed by Antonio Garcia, and Nick Tandy. So, at this point, the Corvette is surely the meat in a Porsche sandwich, or, the bratwurst between two buns as it were. Then comes the #25 BMW and both of the Ford GT's #66 and #67.
Mario Farnbacher leads GT Daytona over Jack Hawksworth, Scott Hargrove, Bryan Sellers, Ryan Dalziel, and Andy Lally. We have an Acura, a Lexus, a Porsche, a Lamborghini, and two Audi's in that aforementioned bunch. No yellow flags in this motor race so far, just 47 minutes shy of the end. Some teams are indeed hoping for a late yellow flag. Traffic ahead as Jonathan Bomarito is still scrapping with Felipe Nasr. Ricky Taylor is not too far away in Acura #7 either, hanging onto his Acura that has crash damage. Jordan and Ricky Taylor, two seconds apart, as Stephen Simpson has the wheel of the #84 "Banana Boat" Cadillac, having taken over from Simon Trummer.
The Konica Minolta Cadillac has been off the pace all weekend whether it's Jordan Taylor or Renger van der Zande driving. Andy Lally is 11th in the #44 Magnus Racing Lamborghini, a lap down. Ricky Taylor ran the fastest middle sector of the race so far and Jordan Taylor in Cadillac #10 is also pushing right now. The ebb and flow of this race is amazing, and we still have one more pit stop for the DPi cars. A couple laps and they'll be in the lane, bang on. The Mazda could pit sooner than the Acura. Right, we can get to the end, and take our stop first, or, should we stay out? Teams might not change tires. It might be just fuel only, a splash and a dash?
Tristan Nunez is held up by the BMW a shade. The weather is warming up a tad. There's a little chill in the air and Jonathan Bomarito pits fdrom third and they are going for four new tires. They are brand new Michelin tires? Maybe. It was hard to scrub in tires in morning warmup as the track was stone, stone cold. That was 27 seconds worth of work and petrol. The #76 Compass Racing McLaren is slowing on course, look. Matt Plumb is just coasting. Ah. Mazda #77 is in the lane, ladies and gentlemen. Let's see how this stop unfolds. Check that. 1-2 both in pit lane. It's the Montoya Acura in as well.
Scrubbed rubber for all four tires. New Michelin's for the Mazda. The race is on indeed. They both get down off the air jacks. The Acura is down and away first! They're going to be close! Tristan Nunez has to push, push, push! Cue the Jaws music. Nunez is the shark. Montoya is the poor little minnow having to swim against the current to keep away from a hungry Mazda driver. Cadillac #31 also in the lane from third overall. No chances taken with the Mazda. They ran out of petrol in qualifying on the last lap for Oliver Jarvis in the session. Felipe Nasr is waiting to complete service and Bomarito is now back to third. This is a sprint to the end of the motor race. #31 comes out well behind Taylor and Bomarito.
Nunez goes through. Whoops! I've confused myself. Now, in GTD, Mario Farnbacher has 8.1 seconds in hand as Jack Hawksworth is closing, fast. More "Jaws" music to cue up? Maybe. Then comes the tartan patterned Porsche, eh, the Canadian car of Scott Hargrove who is quite the hot shoe in Porsche's either here or in another championship. Bryan Sellers, Townsend Bell, and Lawson Aschenbach, they are close at hand in the GTD scrum as well. Ricky Taylor has gone up to third overall. He needs one stop more. Earl Bamber leads by nine seconds over Antonio Garcia in the GTLM class, and Nick Tandy is a further 7.5 seconds back. He has three laps less fuel in the calculation.
Juan Pablo Montoya leads this race by 5.5 seconds. There is still damage on the right front corner of the Penske Acura. Stephen Simpson, Nasr, Taylor, Simpson, Albuquerque, Vautier, and the Juncos Cadillac are next. #7 owes us a trip to pit lane yet. Less than 35 minutes to go here at Mid-Ohio. Big damage, look, to the #66 Ford GT. That's lost a left rear fender. With no left rear wheel arch, the rest of the bodywork has collapsed and is rubbing on the Michelin tire. He'll have to bring that car to the lane, belching smoke from that rubbing tire, before he gets dinged for a safety violation by the stewards. He pits immediately and #6 Acura is also in the lane for a short splash and dash. Where is he coming out? It's a short fill. He can't go ahead of Bomarito or Nasr. He'll come out behind the #31 of Felipe Nasr.
Jordan Taylor, and Stephen Simpson put in fast lap times. 1:13.6, his fastest of the motor race, for Stephen Simpson, and trouble for Colin Braun! He's out in no man's land, in China beach, the big gravel trap! Pits closed. Full Course Yellow, now. This is going shake things up to say the very least. Some cars will get on the lead lap as Colin Braun goes straight on at turn four and that is what locals call China Beach. Braun, will have a play in the sand, or not. Wot? No bucket and spade? We have ten cars on the lead lap in GT Daytona, all the way down to Parker Chase in the Starworks Audi R8. Actually, only nine cars on the lead lap, down to Toni Vilander in the #63 WeatherTech Ferrari 488 GT3.
Just a half an hour to go in the race now. Tristan Nunez has one more shot to get by Juan Pablo Montoya. No battle in LMP2. Car #52 has had a race of it's own, in 12th overall for PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports and they are in the lane. Only one taker for Prototypes. Matt McMurry will try to win. Eric Lux took the start. Matt McMurry will try giving his father, Chris, a former driver in IMSA/American Le Mans Series competition, a birthday gift in the form of a trophy. Bryan Sellers just put in his fastest lap before the yellow but the #12 Lexus was ahead. The #19 Moorespeed Audi pits and is still on the lead lap. Andy Lally, Toni Vilander, and Parker Chase, have been pointed by the safety car.
The pit lane is open, but maybe after the safety car is around the leader of the class, I think. Pits open for GT. No, maybe not. Commencing final wave by now. The top three are behind the safety car. Take a step or two back from the fence line as we are ready to roll. Now, Colin Braun is out of China Beach but he's in the pit lane with broken suspension. The pits were closed for GT cars, for emergency service. But the #19 car has to serve a drive through penalty on an all call for everyone in GT. They come into the lane to serve the penalty, now. There's a dark red rear fender on the front straight and it's another rear wheel cover off a Ford GT!
There was a dark, metallic red piece on the road belonging to a Ford. Thanks so much to the volunteers, marshals, and corner workers. Brilliant to see many people brave the bad weather and we have a tad over 20 minutes to go. Safety car lights are off. Take a deep breath. Get ready for the restart! Montoya gets the jump as Jordan Tahylor tries to get a lap back and might. The Mazda is down the road a piece. MooreSpeed have served their penalty. Ricky Taylor is not harrying the Mazda as the sister Mazda in third has some lapped traffic to contend with, and some argy bargy, a hp check between the Acura and the Lexus in GTD. Jack Hawksworth has taken the lead.
Hawksworth to the fore in GTD ahead of Mario Farnbacher. Nick Tandy is chasing back towards the front behind Tom Blomqvist, Earl Bamber, and Antonio Garcia. Montoya had a wonderful restart. He's always been on the button on cold tires, and was that way in his IndyCar career. Nick Tandy is closing on Tom Blomqvist. Tandy is in the slipstream of the BMW M8. The Cadillac in second is breaking away. 20 minutes to go. Porsche was crowned FIA WEC champions at Spa, as you read about here. Through Thunder Valley they go. The BMW and Porsche are very evenly matched. 1:14 dead for the race leader as the Mazda's are coming up and so is Felipe Nasr in the #31 Cadillac. Tandy is pressing, and some argy bargy, diving past the BMW! He hip checked the BMW. The classic NASCAR bump and run!
He had room inside, climbed the curb, and bang, right past the BMW when Blomqvist tried shutting the door. Tandy is going to say that Blomqvist parked him. Lexus vs. Acura in GT Daytona. Jack Hawksworth vs. Mario Farnbacher. Earl Bamber has checked out and Nick Tandy has rtacing room. 1:19.2 is personal best for Tandy, and that's got to be the best lap run in GTLM. No investigation for that argy bargy by the stewards, between the BMW and the Porsche. Bryan Sellers and Patrick Long are moving up in GTD. 15 minutes to go now. Does Montoya have enough left in the locker? Jordan Taylor is trying to catch his brother, and maybe the #911 car is fixing to pass the BMW another time.
Nick Tandy is sliding the rear Michelin tires. He had to have made a mistake. Antonio Garcia lays down his fastest lap of the motor race as the Taylor brothers chase each other and Tristan Nunez is matching Juan Pablo Montoya. Felipe Nasr is also catching Jonathan Bomarito who can't squeak out anything better than a 1:16.1. Three of the four classes have battles for the class lead as Townsend Bell loses a place in GTD to Patrick Long. Parker Chase scores his fastest middle sector. Argy bargy between Park Place Porsche and AVS Lexus, look. Townsend Bell was fair in the middle of the corner leaving him a car's width, and there's side damage on the #73 Porsche, fifth in class in GTD.
The mirror falls off the Park Place Porsche after that fracas. Tom Blomqvist dials in a 1:19.5 as his fastest lap of the motor race. 3.3 seconds between Tandy Garcia, and then, it's a further margin up to Garcia and Bamber. Tristan Nunez is caught in traffic. Nasr is slower than Bomarito who is still in the 1:16 bracket. The two Frod's have faded. Westbrook has passed Dirk Mueller. The short Full Course Yellow assuaged the fuel concern for GTLM and the leaders overall. Juan Pablo Montoya has stretched his advantage over Tristan Nunez. Acura are very confident with #6 car. No real worries for Porsche or Lexus either.
Montoya catches Antonio Garcia and the other GTLM cars are well clear so that the DPi and overall leader won't have much to worry about. Felipe Nasr has found clear track, trying to go for a podium. 1:13 dead for Nasr and he is eking out a gap on Bomarito. Scott Hargrove is coming, fast towards Hawksworth and Farnbacher in GTD. Wait! No, he's not. He's off the road in the gravel trap from third in class! Six and a half minutes left. Hargrove has spun sideways off the road into the tires. There wasn't another GTD car behind him. Did he miss a turn? Did something break on the car? Bryan Sellers will get on the podium!
Hargrove is beached in the gravel. The gap from first to second is six seconds as Felipe Nasr is closing up on Jonathan Bomarito. It's the minnow vs. shark story again. The major battle is on in GTD for the win. Lexus vs. Acura. Hawksworth vs. Farnbacher. It was Kyle Marcelli battling last year. The Mazda is being pressurized by Felipe Nasr. Cadillac has been on the back foot. Cadillac and AXR can salvage something here. Under four minutes to go. 1:12.8 for Nasr! That's 4/10ths behind Oliver Jarvis' fastest lap way back on lap six. Race control will leave Scott Hargrove's car on the gravel trap and they know he called back to the pit lane with just a local yellow. Put the onus on the drivers. Race smartly. The GTD battle continues. Hawksworth is edging out just a car length. The lead is under five seconds. Montoya is just managing this. Hargrove is out of the car. He's fine.
Side by sid stuff as we have a yellow, a local yellow. It's Bomarito vs. Nasr, look. Now, this is a no no. Clearly, both Jonathan Bomarito and Felipe Nasr have overtaken the Porsche under a yellow flag, and the stewards will nab them for this. Static yellow flag. Both these blokes will get pinged. Ricky Taylor will get points, and oh dear! Bomarito and the Mazda are out of fuel! The #31 is out of contention. Ricky Taylor could get a podium as #31 goes to the lane, and Andy Lally ends up doing fastest lap in GTD. 111 laps down so far. Less than a minute to go. Penske ahead by 2.1 seconds. Where is the leader. The GTD boys get another lap.
White flag. One lap to go. Mazda #77 is still in this! What does Tristan Nunez have left in the locker? Can he get through traffic? Can he close up on Juan Pablo Montoya? Nasr back on track. Ricky Taylor is right there for third. Jonathan Bomarito stayed on track after cutting a 1:24 lap. He was cruising, dropping like a stone. He could be on the reserve fuel pump. Montoya looks like he's going to get the win, but the GTD blokes, they'll still have one more lap to go. Montoya wins! Acura wins their home race for the second straight year. Earl Bamber and Porsche will win GTLM. But what will happen in GTD?
Down through turn three. Farnbacher has the run, and Hawksworth has to defend on the inside! Farnbacher almost loses it, look! Mario Farnbacher is fighting understeer like you can't believe. These two guys are throwing the cars about like saloon cars here, on the last lap for all the marbles in GT Daytona at Mid Ohio. Farnbacher sliding the tires on the Acura! For the second year in a row, Lexus wins GT Daytona honors at Mid Ohio! Laurens Vanthoor, Earl Bamber, and Porsche win GT Le Mans. Here are your class and overall winners.
Overall/DPi: #6 Montoya/Cameron Acura ARX-05b
GT Le Mans: #912 Vanthoor/Bamber Porsche 911 RSR
GT Daytona: #14 Hawksworth/Heistand Lexus RC F GT3
Jack Hawksworth and Richard Heistand win GT Daytona, and it's Heistand's first IMSA win! The next event is a short, speedy, street fight, at Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan. It will be an hour and a half event for DPi and GTD, with the Le Mans summer break, and the GTLM teams in France for the test day for the 24 Hours of Le Mans over that same weekend. See you at Belle Isle. Lots of amazing racing here today, at Mid Ohio! We'll see you soon, in Detroit.
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