It is the second, and final street course race of the year, for the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, at Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan. Daytona Prototype International/LMP2, and GT Daytona, are the represented, featured classes. GT Le Mans teams, are in France, preparing for tomorrow's test day for the 24 Hours of Le Mans that is coming up in two weeks. But, with that said, this race in Detroit, should be a competitive one. Weather could be a factor, as there may be rain throw in. It is an Acura front row lockout with Juan Pablo Montoya and Helio Castroneves. Cadillac and Acura have won the last few years, in Dpi and GT Daytona, respectively. Zach Robichon and Patrick Long, in the #73 Park Place Motorsport, is also in competition, ready to go for it.
Four races so far, and four different winners in Dpi this year so far. Juan Montoya and Dane Cameron are looking to repeat. Parity is big in GTD. Lamborghini won the opening enduros. But, we have Acura, Lexus, and Porsche in contention for this street fight in the Motor City. We're set for the action, here in Detroit. This race will be 100 minutes. Juan Pablo Montoya has scored his first IMSA pole for this race. Jonathan Bomarito qualified third in the Mazda, the #55 Mazda RT24P. All Acura front row. We're set to race. Go!
Jonathan Bomarito gets a great start and Pipo Derani dives around Montoya, as we have the #63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari and the Paul Miller Lamborghini in the wall already, and we go Full Course Yellow. Big damage, look, for the Ferrari which got into a tangle with Ryan Hardwick at the wheel of the Lamborghini. Turns one and two here on Belle Isle, it's really tight and compressed. Track position is key around this place and MacNeil crashed into Hardwick. Ryan Hardwick makes it to pit lane, but poor old Cooper MacNeil must be rescued by the marshals.
This course is 2.3 miles with 14 corners, and it is bumpy all over the place. The corners are indeed wide open. Turn two takes high commitment. It can really catch drivers out. Turn three is a hard right hander. Turn seven, down the back straightaway, is the final passing zone, and the back straightaway has a curve in it. Traffic management, controlled aggression on passes, and pit stop strategy are the big deals as far as race strategy. One stop is necessary. 40-45 minutes for Dpi who need fuel save, and an hour or so for GT Daytona.
All street courses punish you if you make a mistake. But here at Belle Isle, it's a major deal. Save fuel under yellow, chaps. That's the big idea. Hey, check out the IndyCar race after this one, and then, check out the party barge. This year is the 30th anniversary of the Detroit GP. We're back to green and here comes Derani! Renger van der Zande almost hits Joao Barbosa, and Simon Trummer is right in there, too. Trummer has been really quick. Juan Pablo Montoya leads Jonathan Bomarito, and too much rear brake for the #55 car! He is being monstered, look, by Pipo Derani. Park Place vs. MSR in GTD.
Matt Plumb in the #76 Compass360 Racing McLaren 720S GT3, will be penalized for lining up on the wrong side of the grid. Pipo Derani, the defending race champions, are steaming right along right now. They are the championship leaders, but they are not dominating, as we are at the halfway mark of the 2019 IMSA season. The Cadillacs are running extremely well. Renger van der Zande continues to hound Joao Barbosa. Everyone is settling into a rhythm, and the #48 Lamborghini is back on track. They have some slight bodywork damage, and that's about it. No alignment issues on the car, but they stopped in a closed pit lane, so they will have to take fuel, and take a penalty on their next fuel stop.
Zach Robichon, the young Canadian rookie, leads GT Daytona from pole, after the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3, they ended up being penalized. Patrick Lindsey, the owner of this team is at Le mans with Project 1 Motorsports. He is going to fly nine drivers over to Le Mans for the test day, tonight, after this race is over. We will cover the test day, here on the blog. So, stay tuned for news about that. Also, we will have wall to wall coverage of the 24 Hours of Le Mans itself. Two weeks from now, is like Christmas for sports car racing fans. Join us, on Saturday, June 15th, and Sunday, June 16th. Acura continues to lead Cadillac in the overall and in DPi right now.
Tristan Nunez, he is flying, trying to pass the three Cadillac's up ahead. In Dpi, if it ran green the whole time, they'd need a splash and dash towards the end. Derani and Bomarito are chasing Juan Pablo Montoya. Robby Foley has made up five places after he was penalized. Derani and Bomarito are all over Montoya like el cheapo suito here, look. Pipo is scrambling, flashing the lights. John Potter in the #44 Magnus Racing Lamborghini is ahead in GTD. You have to wait, don't leapfrog the car in front of you right away.
Bomarito passes Derani, with the AVS Lexus as a pick. Juan Pablo Montoya is putting a tremendous amount of daylight between himself and the Mazda. The AVS Lexus has Richard Heistand at the wheel of it. There's no grip offline. Fuel is more important than track position for Pipo Derani, and he's frustrated right now. We have a Full Course Yellow on track as the #50 Juncos Racing Cadillac has clouted the wall, in the hands of 23 year old Brazilian driver Victor Franzoni. Big damage as Franzoni spins, and clouts the barrier, right in front of the #85 JDC-Miller Cadillac of Misha Goikhberg. Pit stop time, now.
The games begin. Juan Pablo Montoya has led the whole race so far. Time for driver changes as Harry Tincknell is now in the #55 car. Felipe Nasr takes over the #31 Cadillac, Dane Cameron is in the #6 Acura, and Ricky Taylor into the #7 Acura. Penske team manager Tim Cindric has a strategy for these guys. So far so good on the weather, but, things might change. GTDk cars now in the pit lane. Patrick Long takes over the #73 car. MSR has #57 and #86 in the lane, as Katherine Legge takes the wheel in the #57 automobile. Trent Hindman and Mario Farnbacher, they have a slow stop. Everyone should be good on drive time, as 30 minutes was the minimum requirement, and we have an hour to go in the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic.
Mario Farnbacher, has crashed. He slammed the wall in turn 13, running behind the Compass360 McLaren, car #76. He lost control in turn 13 and slammed the wall. Game over. It sounds like the left rear tire let go, or something broke in the car. They had a failed air gun in the pit lane. Did the wheel nut come off? If so, the tire, rolled off the car and that put Farnbacher... crunch!, straight into the wall. We are back under yellow. The safety workers scramble to clear up the car, and maybe, fix damage to the barrier.
We are back to green flag racing and side buy side stuff between the Acuera's. Here comes felipe Nasr. ricky taylor has been swamped by team mate Dane Cameron. Tristan Nunez has not pitted yet. Ricky taylor is defending against felipe nasr, with his brother jordan taylor in the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac, watching. dane Cameron is going to pass Tristan Nunez as Nunez makes a mistake. This is for the lead of the motor race. A one stop strategy for the #77 car. It may rain in another half hour, and rain may be a factor in the IndyCar race taking place after this.
Jack Hawksworth is all over Patrick Long for the GT Daytona lead. Katherine Legge and Jack Hawksworth, are next up. Get good drive off turn six. Long runs wide, and here comes Hawksworth! Zach Robichon has had help from countryman, and pal, Roman De Angelis, to learn this circuit. Townsend Bell took advantage of a move on katherine Legge, and Jack Hawksworth had the advantage over Patrick Long. Bill Auberlen is coming back into the picture too. Hawksworth, Long, Bell, Legge, Dalziel, Aschenbach, the GTD class is stacked with talented drivers. Bill Auberlen wants his 59th career IMSA win.
Katherine Legge and Christina Nielsen share the #57 Acura. All the GTD cars are getting slight air off one of the corners on the circuit. This is round two of seven in Michelin Sprint Cup for the GTD cars. Pit stop time again for the DPi cars. These could be the final stops of the race. Dane Cameron, and Felipe Nasr, among others, came in. Jordan Taylor slammed the wall, somewhere, and he has bodywork damage. Ah. He ran wide, and slammed the tire barrier in turn seven. Dane cameron hits the lane, and gets new tires. Ewe have a Full Course Yellow in the middle of green flag pit stops. Just about a half an hour to go.
Rain is coming, fast, here in Detroit. That'll make the IndyCar race interesting. We might stay dry in IMSA. Yours truly, covers IndyCar, but, on a different blog. We are ready to go back to green flag racing. Dane Cameron leads, and Stephen Simpson tries a move in the "Banana Boat". No dice. Contact and Harry Tincknell is in the barriers! He didn't want to give it away over Stephen Simpson, but paid the price, and now, Tristan Vautier wants by Oliver Jarvis. Tincknell is one of 11 drivers who will travel to Le Mans, right after this race is over, for the test day tomorrow. Again, stay tuned for test day coverage, on the blog, tomorrow.
Colin Braun had a birds' eye view of the argy bargy between the Mazda and the JDC-Miller Cadillac. Bang! Tincknell slams the wall, as Simpson was committed to try to make the pass on turn in. Half an hour to go in the race. Tincknell gets going, but has big damage on the left side of the automobile. The sister #77 Mazda is still in contention. Harry Tincknell is climbing out of the car. Too much damage to continue. Game over for the Mazda boys. We're green again at Detroit. The Penske Acura's remain 1-2.
Colin Braun is pressing the WTR Cadillac which is losing bodywork. Jordan Taylor is in attack mode, as Oliver jarvis spins the #77 Mazda. Stephen Simpson, right between Taylor and Nasr, and Nasr moves by. Pit stop time for WTR. Argy bargy between Nasr and Simpson. Are GM going to be beaten on their home turf? Felipe Nasr goes by Ricky Taylor. Nasr wants by Dane Cameron. He wants to go back to back at Belle Isle. Jack Hawksworth continues to lead GT Daytona ahead of Katherine Legge and Townsend Bell.
Dane Cameron leads Felipe Nasr, and Nasr is coming. Nasr has actually been spending time in the IndyCar paddock, and he wants a test in an IndyCar. 1.81 seconds, now down to 1.5 seconds between Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr. Just under 14 minutes left in the race. There's lightning within eight minutes of the track. We have to keep the NBC Sports TV crew, safe. Lexus had big drama with their tires here last year, when there was a different tire brand, and they have experience in a different championship with a different car, as well. Ten laps, now nine, to go. Felipe Nasr has been the fastest car on the track. Can he run down the Acura?
Dane Cameron is flying as well. Nasr is just 1.1 seconds behind. Cameron slots in a 1:20.9, fastest lap of the motor race. JDC-Miller is in the top five, with both Stephen Simon Trummer and Tristan Vautier. This does not count for points in GTD. They have their own WeatherTech Sprint Cup championship. We watch Paul Holtom in the McLaren and a spin for Katherine Legge, too. Nasr is charging. He's right on top of Dane Cameron now, through turns 1`2 and 13. Bryan sellers gives Cameron some room and slams the door on Nasr.
It is game on right now. Nasr clears the Lexus. It's game on, now. Nasr is right on Cameron's tail. Mano e mano between Nasr and Cameron. Nasr runs wide! The raindrops are falling here at Belle Isle. No action on the collision between Katherine Legge and Bill Auberlen, as Dane Cameron is eking out a gap on Felipe Nasr. Four and a half minutes to go. Did Felipe Nasr use up his tires? Nasr wants to win for Cadillac and GM. Nasr has three minutes to do anything with Dane Cameron. White flag next time around.
Felipe Nasr sets his fastest lap, and he will need a flyer to get past the Acura, but it may not happen. White flag. One lap, 2.35 miles left. Nasr is putting on the afterburners. Nasr runs out of time. Cameron and Montoya, win. They beat Cadillac on their home turf. AIM Vasser Sullivan wins GT Daytona, with the #14 Lexus RC F GT3, of Jack Hawksworth and Richard Heistand.
Overall/DPi: #6 Cameron/Montoya Acura ARX-05b
GT Daytona: #14 Hawskworth/Heistand Lexus RC F GT3
The next IMSA event, is round three of the Michelin Endurance Cup, the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen at Watkins Glen International Raceway in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, at the end of June, and, the next sports car race, is the grandest of all, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the finale for the FIA World Endurance Championship "super season", in two weeks. Stay tuned for that.
No comments:
Post a Comment