Welcome to Road America, in beautiful Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, in dairy country. This lovely palace of speed, is the longest track on the IMSA schedule, at four miles exactly in length. We have two hours and 40 minutes of motor racing through the countryside, coming up. 14 corners are a part of this four mile loop. Turns one, five, eight and 11 at Canada Corner, are the major passing places, and don't forget the carousel and the kink as well. This is a lap made for heroes. In qualifying, more lap records have been set. In this, the 50th anniversary of IMSA, 57 new lap records have been set! Simply astonishing. The #6 Acura from Team Penske, of Dane Cameron, was faster in qualifying than any prototype car in IMSA since 2008 at Road America. In 2008, Lucas Luhr pulled off the feat, at the wheel of the Audi R10 1,000 horsepower diesel LMP1 open cockpit racer.
The Daytona Prototype International cars are amazing machines. Mazda are on a two race win streak. They are fighting Acura. Acura wants to break Mazda's win streak this weekend, but it will be a tall drink of water for them to be able to do it. In GT Le Mans, it is Corvette at the top of the tree ahead of a couple really fast Ford GT's and then come the German army of Porsche and BMW. Corvette needs a W. They still want their 100th North American win as Tommy Milner is back in the car alongside Oliver Gavin in the #4 car. Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia in the sister #3 are playing catch up. Milner's hand is still sore, but he doesn't have a chalk, a big cast, on his hand.
In GT Daytona, it is the Keating Motorsports #33 Wynn's sponsored Mercedes AMG GT3 on pole position with Ben Keating, the car owner, and Jeroen Bleekemolen. The McLaren 720S GT3 has had a Balance of Performance adjustment, more horsepower, and less weight. Matt Plumb has that automobile in third place on the GT Daytona grid, sharing with Paul Holton. It is a battle of the Oreca's in LMP2 as well. Matt McMurry went real quick in qualifying, but he has to start caboose on the field in the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Oreca. They changed drivers in both of the LMP2 cars in this race. We have sad news, that Jean Paul Driot, the team boss from DAMS, fought bravely against a short illness. DAMS synonymous with motor racing.
We remember Jean Paul Driot, who ran in Formula 3000 and in sports car racing, with his team. Driot was 68 years old. Jean Paul Driot was very passionate about racing, and had the heart of a lion, and a love for straight up, black coffee. Rest In Peace, Jean Paul Driot. We are about ready to rumble here at Road America for the next two hours and 40 minutes. Pit strategy will be critical. Minnesotan Patrick Kelly, now living in L.A. is making his racing comeback. OK. It's time to race at Road America. The safety car pulls off, uphill into pit lane, and the field is under the control of the #6 Penske Racing Acura DPi of Dane Cameron. It's green flag, and away we go!
It's a battle already, between the Acura's and the Mazda's headed for turn one. Renger van der Zande and Simon Trummer are scrapping already! It's the #10 Konica Minolta Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac vs. the similar car for JDC-Miller Motorsports. Corvette, Ford, and Porsche are the cars battling in GT Le Mans, and here come the two Mazda cars already! It's team mate wars at Mazda between the #55 and #77! Oliver Jarvis hangs on, and then comes the #31 Action Express Whelen Cadillac. Renger van der Zande has rocket propulsion right now, look. Oliver Jarvis was pinched at the start by Helio Castroneves. It's super competitive in GTLM, too as we are on lap one.
Ryan Briscoe could've been polesitter today, but he's been set back a little bit, ruing the fact his fastest lap was erased for track limits. That Gulf liveried Ford GT, with the heritage livery is really flying at the moment. In GT Daytona, Bill Auberlen, he is looking for a way around one of the AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3's at the moment. That's the #14 entry, Richard Heistand at the wheel of it. Bill Auberlen would become the most successful IMSA driver in wins today, if he wins in GT Daytona, joining Scott Pruett with the record. No change for Mazda as Oliver Jarvis continues ahead of Jonathan Bomarito. Oliver Jarvis will register fastest lap of the motor race so far. But, it is his team mate who gets it at 1:52.8 after Jonathan Bomarito finds the time.
The GT Daytona battle is still hot and heavy. Patrick Lindsey has the #73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 right behind the sister AVS Lexus, the #12, currently in the hands of Frankie Montecalvo. Montecalvo follows the #63 Cooper MacNeil driven Ferrari 488 GT3, the WeatherTech car at their home race. It is the 30th anniversary of operations for WeatherTech. Everything is clean and green so far as we are just mere minutes into the race. Don't overextend the tires as 1:52.734 is a new lap record in race conditions at Road America. Acura, and Dane Cameron have set the time. GTLM is really heating up. Laurens Vanthoor has the rest of the field, bearing down on him. Oliver Gavin has broken free from the gate and Ryan Briscoe is chasing him down, and everyone else is fighting for third.
Laurens Vanthoor vs. Jan Magnussen, followed by Tom Blomqvist, Jesse Krohn, and Patrick Pilet. Porsche could clinch the GTLM manufacturer's cup today. The first ten minutes of this race have flown by. Dane Cameron leads the sister Acura by a tenth of a second it seems. 1:52.577, new lap record for the #77 Mazda. Seven brands in the top seven places in GTD, look. Wow. Ben Keating's margin in the lead of GTD has ballooned to 1.22 seconds. The Acura's and Mazda's have not begun to pull away from the Cadillac's. Everyone is away well. No tires are ready for any of the teams just yet. The pit crews are keeping an eye on the TV monitors, but the Prototypes are catching the GTD cars, very quickly, despite the length of this circuit. Pipo Derani and Renger van der Zande are on brand new tires, and everyone else, is on scrubbed tires.
The big V8 Cadillac's are hanging right in there with the Japanese brands from Acura and Mazda, and their V6 and inline four cylinder engines, respectively. Unlike the Acura and Mazda cars which benefit from turbos, the Cadillac's rely on cubic inches for their big V8 power. Simon Trummer, piloting the #84 "Banana Boat" JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac, he is losing time to the leading group hand over fist. Quicker laps still, for Dane Cameron. He's cooking right now aboard that Acura. We have Cooper MacNeil chasing Anthony Imperato, and Trent Hindman has passed his team mate Bea Figueredo (Ana Beatriz). Behind Cooper MacNeil are still Frankie Montecalvo and Patrick Lindsey.
In LMP2, look, it's a scrap, a serious one at that, between Patrick Kelly, and Cameron Cassels. Cassels, the Canadian driver, scored victory in the Am class in Lamborghini Super Trofeo. GT Daytona is the GT3 platform, and IMSA can make BoP changes to the cars. Track position is critical and so is tire strategy. That lowdown torque of the Cadillac V8's, they have the power over the turbo cars. Advanced Engine Research, who build Mazda's motors, have been able to make more power and get more reliability out of the motors. Helio Castroneves is caught in traffic. Matt Plumb and Paul Holton have the McLaren in GT Daytona, being passed. Corey Lewis has now caught Ben Keating and Oliver Jarvis has to sweep past this GT Daytona battle.
This is really competitive. They climb the hill to complete another lap. Acura leads with Dane Cameron over Helio Castroneves, followed by the Mazda's of Jonathan Bomarito and Oliver Jarvis. Pipo Derani remains the best of the Cadillac's at this stage. Patrick Kelly just barely leads LMP2 and Corvette still leads Ford and Porsche in GTLM. The Acura's now lead the top Mazda by three seconds or so. Ben Keating, Corey Lewis, Zachary Robichon, and Matt Plumb, are the top four in GT Daytona. Mercedes, Lamborghini, Porsche, McLaren.
The Ford GT running the red, white and blue livery, #66, has an edge on the Corvette #3 and the Porsche's, and Oliver Gavin is still leading GTLM. Patrick Pilet is going for fuel saving, and Cameron Cassels has gone around Patrick Kelly in LMP2. An early stop, might be a way to throw the strategy and here comes Patrick Pilet to the lane. #911 is trundling down the pit lane. A different crew is in this race, as Car Chief and front tire changer, Adam, had a baby this weekend, baby Luca. That was tires, fuel, and a driver change, just a splash of fuel. Corvette #3 is in the lane, with Antonio Garcia getting new tires. Execution on pit stops is critical.
We see Pipo Derani still fending off the challenge of Renger van der Zande. Misha Goikhberg at the wheel of the #85 "Banana Boat" JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac, has had a spin, and has plummeted to the tail end of the running order in DPi. Position swaps at Mazda, too, as Jonathan Bomarito goes around Oliver Jarvis. Jarvis lost three seconds. The Acura's have a gap over the Bomarito driven Mazda at this point. Will Acura split their strategy? We've been racing now for 25 minutes, and we'll wait five or ten more minutes, 3-4 laps, before we see Prototypes diving for the pit lane.
Patrick Kelly is warned by the stewards for some argy bargy with the #8 Audi for Starworks, Parker Chase at the wheel of it, as Hugh Plumb kicks up some dust in the McLaren going off and on. Jon Bennett in the CORE Autosport Nissan and Jan Magnussen in the #3 factory Corvette have both come into the pit lane. Antonio Garcia is next up into the #3 Corvette. CORE Autosport won this race at Road America, last year. Ah, there's the Nissan, with it's retro livery, headed back on track. Oh dear! Trouble with the left rear wheel for Ben Keating in the #33 Mercedes! That wheel is askew, rubbing on the bodywork, creating some very expensive smoke. Has there been a collision, some argy bargy somewhere on the circuit? Matt Plumb, as noted earlier, also did some agricultural racing.
Helio Castroneves dives for the pit lane from second overall in Acura #7. Four tires for Castroneves and in the lane, too, the #31 Cadillac. Pit stop time, too for Pipo Derani in the #31 Whelen Cadillac DPi-V.R. Ben Keating is doing very well to get his wounded Mercedes back to the lane. In replay, we see that Keating ran wide and caught the curb. He could have been biffed, but I don't think that was the case. He's dropped the wheel off the end of the curb, pulling the driveshaft off. Now, Mazda runs 1-2 as Penske Acura are in the lane with the #6 car. New tires and a driver change. Juan Pablo Montoya is in the #6 car, replacing Dane Cameron. Tristan Nunez is now into the #77 Mazda. The Keating Mercedes is now in the lane. He will be in service for a good while, getting that motorcar fixed. Side by side stuff here, look, at Penske! Gently, boys. They do touch there. Oh dear. The pit crew won't like this as Helio Castroneves passes Juan Pablo Montoya.
Mazda pit from the lead of the motor race. It's the #55. Will Harry Tincknell get in the car? Not yet. New tires and new drinks bottle for Jonathan Bomarito. Fuel and tires for the WTR Cadillac and both Banana Boat Cadillac's are in the lane. The #33 Keating Mercedes is also being fixed right in the pit lane as the broken suspension is being tended to. Now, we see the two Acura's are about to go by the Mazda for the race lead! Will the Mazda go a lap down coming out of the pit lane? Well, he isn't a lap down, but he's going to end up third in the overall. The drop off at the end of the stint costs Mazda. Ryan Briscoe, look, has caught Oliver Gavin and the blowtorch is now being applied in GT Le Mans! It looks like the undercut is working.
Ryan Briscoe is monstering Oliver Gavin. This is good racing in GT Le Mans. The Ford is very light on it's tires, climbing up the hill to the front straight. What a gorgeous afternoon. We had pop up thunderstorms on Saturday here. Pipo Derani has caught the Mazda's. In GTLM, Corvette #4, as we said, is being monstered by the #67 Ford, the Gulf liveried car. The leaders are working their way past the GTLM lead battle. Gavin extends his lead. Filipe Albuquerque runs seventh overall at the wheel of the #5 Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R, cutting the quickest lap of the race for that car so far, and Colin Braun has taken over the #54 Nissan, and has the fastest lap of the motor race at 1:51.810. Pipo Derani, meanwhile, the Brazilian is determined to close up on the Mazda duo.
Laurens Vanthoor continues to lead GT Le Mans for Porsche. Antonio Garcia, and Vanthoor's Porsche team mate, Nick Tandy, both of them have made their scheduled visits to the pit lane. We're close to having two hours to go as Jonathan Bomarito sets the fastest lap the #55 Mazda has run, carving out the margin between himself and Juan Pablo Montoya. Corvette and Ford continue their battle in GTLM, and as we know, there is a question mark about Ford's continued involvement in IMSA for next year. Will they be back, or won't they? Rumors have been swirling, about Ford building a DPi car. However, these rumors, for now, have been quashed. Ford will not build a DPi car to the current spec, and wait for the new spec DPi platform to arrive in 2022.
Ford is very interested in the new formula with hybrid technology included in the rules and freedom for aero and styling. A full set of rules, as we heard in the IMSA State of The Series address, will be presented in the first quarter of next year, in 2020. DPi, as it stands now, is doing very well. We have seen a great battle between the two Penske Acura's. No tire blankets allowed in IMSA, and so it takes time to get the Michelin tires up to temperature. Someone at Penske would have been on the radio to the drivers saying something like, "simmer down, chaps. There's a long way to go yet." Th Mazda cuts its way through GT Daytona traffic, Jonathan Bomarito at the wheel of it, absolutely booking it, gaining on the leaders.
Ben Keating will continue in Mercedes #33 to complete his minimum drive time before handing the car to the flying Dutchman, Jeroen Bleekemolen. Four tires and fuel, too, for the #25 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GT, Tom Blomqvist at the wheel of it. John Edwards has taken over the sister BMW, #24. Corvette and Porsche pass the Bavarian cars. Antonio Garcia and Nick Tandy pitted much earlier of course and are on a totally opposite strategy to Bavarian Motorworks here. Nick Tandy wants a bite of the cherry, an opportunity to get past the BMW. Oliver Gavin and Laurens Vanthoor still have yet to stop at the head of GTLM. Wait. #67, the Ford has overtaken Oliver Gavin. Where did Oliver Gavin go?
The Ford is four seconds up the road now. The #4 Corvette is now chasing the Ford and the Porsche is being backed up at the moment. But now, Oliver Gavin is into the pit lane as Cory Lewis is leading GT Daytona in the #48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini. He is passed, too, by Pipo Derani at the wheel of the #31 Whelen Cadillac. Off and on, look, at Canada Corner, is the #912 Porsche! The GT Le Mans points leader now feeling the pressure! Laurens Vanthoor is back on track but he's lost the spot to Dirk Mueller who is right on Oliver Gavin's gearbox. But now, Gavin is in the pit lane. Trent Hindman also pits from a top ten place in GT Daytona. Fuel and tires for Trent Hindman. Hindman also drove in Michelin Pilot Challenge. Yours truly has been busy, and hopes to write about more Michelin Pilot Challenge. So, stay tuned for that.
Tommy Milner takes over the #4 Corvette and does so now, for the first time since racing at the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen. Down into Canada Corner, as we watch in replay, was there some argy bargy between the Ford and the Corvette? Nope. Briscoe just muscled right by the Corvette. There may have been a brush between the two cars. With new tires, Tommy Milner starts on his stint. The stops for GT Daytona are in full swing. We are 46 minutes into the race. The #74 Lone Star Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 is in the lane, shared by Gar Robinson and Lawson Aschenbach. Now, the Ford GT team is the most fuel efficient in GTLM. Ryan Briscoe has eight seconds in hand over team mate Dirk Mueller. The Ford's also have a considerable cushion over their rivals from Porsche.
Nick Tandy cannot seem to find an advantage after making his pit stop. Tandy has Tom Blomqvist's BMW sandwiched between himself and the Corvette at the moment. John Edwards in the sister BMW is also there. We've got a Ferrari and a Lexus battling for position in GT Daytona as the GTLM cars are pushing to get past the two GTD cars. Edwards is being held up and dives down tthe inside of the Lexus while being balked by the Ferrari. Dear me. Pit action is busy in GT Daytona, as we see the top seven cars in the class all in the lane at the same time. Anthony Imperato got tripped up, and there's a driver change for the #14 Lexus. Jack Hawksworth into the car. Bill Auberlen into the #96 BMW and Katherine Legge into the #57 Caterpillar Acura.
The order in GT Daytona, falls right into place on the stops. Ryan Briscoe has made his pit stop and Dirk Mueller has also come to pit lane. Laurens Vanthoor is in the lane as well. GTLM will need two more pit stops before this race is done and dusted. Joey Hand is into the #66 Ford GT. Porsche #912 remains in the lane, maintaining it's third place in class, Earl Bamber at the wheel of it, the flat six motor, screaming back onto the track. The #33 Mercedes AMG GT3 did have a broken suspension and the tire still had air in it, it was not flat.
One hour and 45 minutes to go, as everyone has done one pit stop. Helio Castroneves leads Juan Pablo Montoya now by 1 and 3/4 seconds. Then comes Jonathan Bomarito followed by Tristan Nunez. Pipo Derani is the best Cadillac right now, 11 seconds ahead of Renger van der Zande. Filipe Albuquerque in the #5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac, is followed by Colin Braun in the #54 CORE Autosport Nissan. There's symmetry between all four classes with each class one lap behind the others. Jonathan Bomarito is coming closer to Juan Pablo Montoya. In GTLM, Antonio Garcia leads in the #3 Corvette over the #25 BMW of Tom Blomqvist, and then, the #911 Porsche 911 RSR in the hands of Nick Tandy. John Edwards is next in the sister BMW #24, followed by Richard Westbrook leading Tommy Milner, Joey Hand, and Earl Bamber.
In the GT Daytona category, it is Bryan Sellers leading in the #48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini, followed by Porsche Young Professional, Australian Matt Campbell, followed by Matt Plumb in the #76 McLaren. A battle for second, look, now between Jonathan Bomarito and Juan Pablo Montoya. The Mazda has a loose taillight or something from the right rear of the car. The taillight has popped loose. He's not driving the wheels off it, but he's seemingly driving the lights off it. Seven different brands in the top seven in GT Daytona at the moment. Both Mazda's will be in the lane. Harry Tincknell gets into the car.
Whelen Engineering and Wayne Taylor Racing are scrambling their pit crews and we have just under an hour and 40 minutes of racing to go. We have passed by the one hour mark in this race. Both Acura's and one of the Mazda's are into the pit lane here, look. Both Mazda's are down there. Ricky Taylor is now in the #7 Acura. Tristan Nunez will stay in Mazda #77. A tear off is what affected the Mazda's taillight. Montoya stays in the #6 Acura and he slides right past the Mazda! Wow! Coming out of the lane, Montoya got a good deal there. There's nothing in it between the top three. Again, track position is critical. Vary the fuel load.
From here, all of the top four blokes will need to stop twice more. Clouds are gathering around the track, covering up the sunlight. But, they are white, puffy clouds. It's hot out there. Harry Tincknell is now at the wheel of the #55 Mazda and the tire degradation is also an effect of the heat according to Jonathan Bomarito, as Mazda is going for a hat trick. Allan McNish is mentoring the Joest Mazda boys as he raced for Joest back in the Audi days. Three Cadillac's have cycled through to the top of the leaderboard. Renger van der Zande, Filipe Albuquerque, and Simon Trummer, for Wayne Taylor Racing, Action Express, and JDC-Miller, but all of them will be headed for the lane, soon.
Jordan Taylor has gone back on track in Cadillac #10, as Katherine Legge spins the #57 Acura which is recalcitrant to restart. The right front corner of the #73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche, has also been crumpled, look. Legge runs right up the back of Patrick Long into turn five on the uphill, and the #91 Porsche for Wright Motorsports is the car that actually taps Legge into rotation. Cue the 1979 Herb Alpert instrumental of the same name.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDlugOA1w1E
Legge is off the road once more and she's got mega damage on the right rear of that automobile. Dennis Olsen actually clipped Katherine Legge it appears, the #9 plaid Porsche. The Acura is pitting out of sequence. Ricky Taylor in the #7 car, and Patrick Long has run out of luck, as his tire has blown out just past the pit lane and now the bloke is going to have to trundle around four miles of this circuit before he can limp the Porsche back to the lane to the attention of the crew! Oh my! There's a carbon piece wedged under the #7 Acura. The fuel probe didn't even come over the wall. The Park Place Porsche will only continue to lose time.
Katherine Legge will need to fix the damage on the car, go back out, and then, take the penalty for the wreck, for incident avoidance, or rather, an avoidable collision. Porsche #911 is in the pit lane. Nick Tandy makes a pass in the lane itself. Right rear puncture for the #38 Performance Tech LMP2 car. Nick Tandy will stay in the car. Four new Michelin tires, and a full tank of fuel. James French gets tires and fuel in the LMP2 car as well. The remains of the #73 Park Place Porsche is in the lane with big damage. Some of the bodywork slides right off the car. The front bumper slides seven or so feet down the pit lane, the nose is dangling askew, the radiator is twisted, as a giant has used it as a braid. This car, is busted, toasted, and absolute junk. It's got to be game over.
The rear damage is minimal, but the front is surely crumpled,. as Harry Tincknell gets past Juan Pablo Montoya. Mazda lead now with an hour and 26 minutes of this motor race left. Patrick Long will complete a lap and then, come in and replace the severely damaged splitter. That car is going to be a pure bugaboo to drive. Dennis Olsen has to serve a penalty for hip checking Katherine Legge, and Olsen is in the lane. Tincknell leads. Bryan Sellers leads in GT Daytona in the Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini over the #9 plaid colored Pfaff Porsche with Matty Campbell driving, and then comes the Matt Plumb driven Compass Racing McLaren 720S GT3, car #76.
The terminal speeds of the DPi cars are just amazing. Patrick Long is coming into the pit lane. It's danger time for Juan Pablo Montoya. He can't let Harry Tincknell in the Mazda get away, coming through Hurry Downs and into the Carousel. Tristan Nunez has the bit between his teeth as well, and has Juan Montoya in his sights as well. We've got an hour and 20 minutes still to go, so we're essentially halfway home. Get the fuel right on the long lap here at Road America and watch the wear on the left front tire as we watch in replay, Juan Montoya being harried by Harry Tincknell. Montoya weaves about three times, and so the stewards shall be looking at that for sure.
Juan Pablo Montoya resets the lap record at 1:51.765, pulling in just 3 or 4 tenths on Harry Tincknell as Tom Blomqvist wants by Bill Auberlen, and here comes Antonio Garcia. Blomqvist was balked by one of the "Banana Boat" Cadillac's. Matty Campbell has caught Bryan Sellers in GTD. BMW, Ford, and Chevrolet, leading GT Le Mans as there is damage to the right rear undemeath the bumper. The aerodynamic diffuser is broken. Park Place Motorsports, the "Patmobile" is behind the wall for repairs. There is some damage to the fender, the rear valance of the BMW M8 GT. Richard Westbrook and Tommy Milner are in hot pursuit.
Road America is called "America's National Park of Speed" for a reason, and this race has been clean and green so far with no yellows as Colin Braun tries to pass the #5 Cadillac. He has made a pass on Filipe Albuquerque, and Filipe Albuquerque is trying to make a move, but he can't get there. The GTLM and GTD battles are hot and heavy as well. Mazda leads with Harry Tincknell by 2.8 seconds. John Edwards leads GTLM, and Lamborghini leads GTD, the #48 Paul Miller Racing car. The extra time going through pit lane mitigates making an extra pit stop as the leader goes off the road, trying to pass the #76 McLaren. He got his left tires off in the dirt, allowing for the Acura to cloxe back in, as Tincknell cleans the clag off his tires.
Katherine Legge is back on track, being hounded by her class rivals in GTD, the Paul Miller Lamborghini and the Pfaff Porsche. Montoya tries the inside, but Harry Tincknell has to hurry with the Acura right on his gearbox. Just an hour and ten minutes to go. Bryan Sellers vs. Matt Campbell in GTD. No dice for Campbell. He's going for it. Tristan Nunez will pass this battle, fortuitously. Matty Campbell is tryi8ng in turn five, but Sellers holds him off. This is some great racing! Katherine Legge is laps down after contact, and a penalty. Matt Plumb in the McLaren is eating into this battle as well.
John Edwards has Joey Hand all over him. Patrick Long and the Park Place Porsche have come back on track with new bodywork. Tristan Nunez, meanwhile hits the pit lane from third in the overall. Oliver Jarvis is back into the car, and the car has scrubbed Michelin tires from the morning warmup. A clean windscreen, and Jarvis is back in the fight. One more stop before the end of the motor race before the #77. Jarvis will go to the end, but have Mazda got a fresh set of boots at the end of the race for Oliver Jarvis? Obviously, they do. The sister car, Harry Tincknell hits the lane, from the race lead. Fuel, tires, and a drink bottle for Harry Tincknell as well as a squirt bottle of fresh water for Tincknell to stay hydrated.
Tincknell wants to stay ahead of the #86 MSR Acura NSX GT3 and he does. Now, Tincknell has Ricky Taylor right behind, and here comes Ricky Taylor! This is crucial. Mazda have to keep the track position over the Acura. Tincknell is getting the scrubbed tires up to speed. Acura #6, Montoya, responds and heads to the lane. Dane Cameron will get back into the #6 Penske Acura, with sticker Michelin tires for the car. Dane Cameron is nowhere near the Mazda and he's lost places to the sister Acura as well. Jordan Taylor leads this motor race from Felipe Nasr now, by 1.2 seconds. John Edwards is losing time, dropping loads of it.
The BMW's chew up their tires and are knackered by the end of the stint. Tommy Milner in the lane for scheduled service. 89 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius), ambient temperature, and 106 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius) for track temperature. The last hour of the race, looms. We shall see the final pit stops for both the GT categories, soon. Jordan Taylor leads Harry Tincknell on the pit stop exchange by some 25 seconds. In LMP2, Matt McMurry and James French have both pitted. McMurry got new tires, but no new Michelin's for James French. Fuel only and a cleaning of the air ducts on the #38 Performance Tech automobile, as Jordan Taylor now pits handing the lead to Harry Tincknell.
John Edwards is also in the lane for BMW. He will have to stop again for new tires. Less than an hour to go. The V8 engine in the BMW is misfiring just a bit. Ricky Taylor gets a nose change for the #7 Acura, and sticker Michelin tires. Penske are losing time as they had one tire adrift that wasn't ready. James French has fallen off the road at turn three and the #24 BMW is crawling! Something is wrong with that BMW, look. He's got tropuble. He's got some power but not too much. He's on limp mode, or is the pit lane speed limiter jammed. Wow. Terrible luck for BMW here at Road America! They got penalized for being a few millimeters too low in post qualifying scrutiny. Now, there's probably a terminal issue with the BMW M8.
The cars have been fast, but again, they failed the tech checks after qualifying. The car dropped five millimeters instead of three millimeters. Oliver Jarvis resets fastest lap of the motor race at 1:51.1. So, this could be a new lap record. The Ford GT #67 did a brake pad change in practice, and there are new brakes for the BMW. Brake changes are very unusual in sprint races. They are far more common in the Michelin Endurance Cup races we see at places like Daytona and Sebring. The #48 Lamborghini is in the lane for a scheduled stop and it could be the final stop for this team. Compass Racing and Lone Star Racing have also pitted their respective cars, the #76 McLaren and the #74 Mercedes.
The BMW has brake fluid pouring out of the car. The brakes are gone on that car. It's full service on the #48 machine and it's rolling down pit lane, and poor old BMW can't buy luck here. Matt Campbell is now the GT Daytona class leader. Matty Campbell is the only GTD car still on track who hasn't pitted. Meanwhile, Harry Tincknell it is, who continues in the overall lead of this motor race. Mazda are searching for three race wins in a row. Seven years ago, in 2012, was Mazda's last win in IMSA Prototype races, right here at Road America in the American Le Mans Series as both Ford's pit together in GTLM.
Richard Westbrook gets new tires in the #67 Ford and Joey Hand takes a stop in the #66 car. Matt Campbell took a stop in GT Daytona, and the Aussie gets out right in front of Bryan Sellers in GT Daytona. It's Campbell vs. Sellers, and the battle is switched on, now. Felipe Nasr is fourth overall in the #31 Whelen Cadillac. BMW #25 heads to the pit lane. Antonio Garcia in the #3 Chevrolet Corvette cycles to the front of GT Le Mans. James French is off the road at corner seven in the #38 LMP2 machine.
Connor De Philippi has taken over the #25 BMW from Tom Blomqvist. Richard Westbrook still has Joey Hand, his Ford GT team mate, to scrap with, as he also makes his way past the McLaren 720S GT3, Paul Holton at the wheel of it. Mario Farnbacher is in this group in the #86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3. Zachary Robichon says that the Pfaff team is in a good place for a possible victory. Robichon says he is not sure about pit strategy. The GTD cars are good to go for the final 45-46 minutes of this race. Sellers is right on top of Campbell at the moment, through the Carousel. There's less weight on the front as the fuel burns off, and the front end of the car gets lighter with all the weight of the motor in the middle or the rear of the car.
Bryan Sellers actually drove a Porsche for 6-7 years, remember. Porsche vs. Lamborghini vs. Lamborghini vs. BMW in GTD. Bill Auberlen is back there, along with Mario Farnbacher and Paul Holton. In GTLM, Antonio Garcia leads by 46 seconds, but needs more time to hold the lead. Richard Westbrook is good to go on pit stops. Corvette #3 is the only car still needing to stop. Tommy Milner will have tight calculations before the end of this race. Matt McMurry leads James French in LMP2. Harry Tincknell leads by 4.5 seconds over Dane Cameron in DPi and the overall, and Oliver Jarvis is still scrapping to try to give Dane Cameron fits. Oliver Jarvis is being held up by the #52 LMP2 car.
Jan Magnussen will be getting into the #3 Corvette, and the problem they have is they've got two spare batteries and a couple of alternator belts at the ready on pit wall. If the alternator is not charging, the battery will go dead and won't be able to start the car after the pit stop. Nick Tandy has had to come back into the pit lane, and of course BMW was having their brake issues earlier on for the #24 Edwards/Krohn car. So, the #67 Ford GT is going to come back into the lead of GTLM with a cushion of six or so seconds. Tommy Milner is pressurizing Westbrook right now. Meanwhile, Dane Cameron has Oliver Jarvis looming large, going for the lead of this motor race with just under 36 minutes left on the board.
Jarvis has a run on Cameron but isn't close enough. Dane Cameron didn't have a clean exit off Canada Corner but came through Bill Mitchell corner and down the sfront straight. Jarvis is inching up closer and closer, and the "Banana Boat" Cadillac is giving Dane Cameron a tow. He is not trying too hard to get past the JDC-Miller Cadillac. Oliver Jarvis is closing up and quickly. The #24 BMW continues to deal with braking issues but stays out of the way of the prototypes. Oliver Jarvis is trying to pass Cameron into turn one and he can't make it past the Acura, going by the #8 Starworks Audi R8 in GT Daytona. That's the Ryan Dalziel/Parker Chase car. Antonio Garcia is in the lamne for fuel and replacing the battery.
Nissan #54 is off the road, spinning, and going back on. Garcia stays in the car in the #3 Corvette. They are replacing the two batteries, and with the alternator issue, Corvette will now have a road to hoe here. They didn't change the alternator belt at all. The car should have enough juice to get to the end and the #77 Mazda is hitting the lane. Colin Braun was helped off the road by the sister #4 Corvette and this contretemps is being reviewed by the stewards. Fuel and new tires for both Oliver Jarvis and for Dane Cameron. Jarvis will beat the Acura off the pit laner. Nope. Dane Cameron leads Jarvis out of the lane as Felipe Nasr makes his final stop from fourth with half an hour to go.
Harry Tincknell should make his last pit stop anytime now. Oliver Jarvis is being monstered by Stephen Simpson in the #84 JDC-Miller Cadillac DPi-V.R. Simpson is not on the same lap. No action from the stewards on the incident between Corvette #4 and Nissan #54 as we now see Mazda #55 in the pit lane. Harry Tincknell has fuel added to the car and four new tires bolted on. The Taylor brothers nearly wrecked in the lane! Ooh! That was close! Harry Tincknell has not given up the lead. He's back in the lead of this motor race with less than 30 minutes to run. Stephen Simpson slams the #77 Mazda, as we watch in replay. That looks like a racing deal.
Deja vu all over again for the luckless #73 Park Place Porsche, which has lost the front bodywork, again! The whole bumper is off of it. That bumper will have to be bolted to the frame somehow, or at least clipped. They need more tape. He has the splitter but he doesn't have the bumper or the valance on that car. They need a lot of bear bond to keep that thing together. They are looking for points for the Sprint Cup Championship, looking for the final points of the Sprint Cup championship at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, two races from now.
Harry Tincknell has 4.9 seconds in hand over Oliver Jarvis. Dane Cameron runs inbetween. He is the meat in the Mazda sandwich. Dane Cameron trails the Mazda. 24 minutes to go. 69 laps, 279 miles, completed. Dane Cameron continues to push, putting in his fastest lap of the motor race at 1:51.5, closing within four seconds of the race leader. Oliver Jarvis still has to contend with the Stephen Simpson driven Cadillac. Ford #67 leads GTLM. 65 laps, 263 miles completed by the class leader. In GTLM, they have three different Michelin slick tires to choose from with three compounds and three constructions.
John Edwards of course, was leaking brake fluid earlier which resulted in a total brake change on the #24 BMW. Mazda continue to lead with Harry Tincknell, but Dane Cameron is closing in. The #73 Porsche for Park Place is back behind the wall yet again. The weather is closing in before the race ends. Will we see raindrops before this race is over? The wind is picking up, and the temperature is cooling. We might just get away with it before this rain hits. Meteorologist Bruber has the definitive word, and it's my fault if we don't get away with rain before the race ends. Harry Tincknell has four seconds over Dane Cameron.
It's game over for CORE Autosport and the Nissan team, having contact with the #4 Corvette. The #14 Lexus, us iff the road somewhere having been having a little bit of bish, bash, bosh, with the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3. Matty Campbell and Bryan Sellers still lead in GT Daytona and there is another good scrap between the #44 Magnus Racing Lamborghini, Andy Lally at the wheel of it, and the #91 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R in the hands of Dennis Olsen. Dennis Olsen has already had a penalty for his incident with Katherine Legge and Patrick Long, earlier. Sixth through tenth in GT Daytona are all within sight of each other.
Tommy Milner, meanwhile is closing up on Richard Westbrook. Porsche has not had the horsepower here at Road America all weekend, as the gearbox has packed up on the #54 Nissan. They also had driveline issues at Watkins Glen. Jack Hawksworth has been warned about incident responsibility for his fracas with the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3. The BMW is indeed ahead of Hawksworth. Hawksworth did give Auberlen some hip and shoulder there. Auberlen is through on Hawksworth. Auberlen has been shown a yellow card. Toni Vilander has gone by Townsend Bell who is also about to be mugged by both Andy Lally and Dennis Olsen.
Olsen is off the road in the kink, and back on! Yikes! That was close! The car just didn't turn into the corner as we now have ten minutes on the board. We could have a new race distance record. We've completed 77 laps and so, this is a new distance record. Car #33, the Keating Motorsports Mercedes is in the lane for fuel. Townsend Bell got mugged there by Toni Vilander. Opportunistic driving from the Flying Finn. Tincknell is quicker than Cameron through traffic. Matt Campbell leads in class in GT Daytona. Through turn five we watch the GTLM battle between Ford and Corvette.
The points battle in GTLM will continue on to the next race, of which you will see the details at the end of this blog post. Corvette #4 dives to the pit lane with five minutes to go. Tommy Milner only gets a timed fuel stop. The #76 McLaren is out of fuel. He was weaving the car back and forth coming uphill into the pit lane. Paul Holton is crawling up the hill. He may have had a broken rear suspension. It's fuel indeed for Paul Holton, and this throws the cat among the pigeons. The #74 Lone Star Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 has also had a fuel splash and dash, and this is going to be close. The McLaren has trouble restarting.
But, he's back in the race. GTD is going to be very close. What will the overall do, with two and a half minutes to go? Joey Hand and Richard Westbrook in the Ford's are now separated just by about four seconds. Connor De Philippi will salvage something for BMW although Antonio Garcia is flying, trying to pick up points. Dane Cameron is right with Harry Tincknell and here comes #77. This is going to be a grandstand finish at Road America. Ricky Taylor is ahead of the race leader. Dane Cameron, the sister Penske Acura is flying. Taylor is trying to get the leader backed up in traffic. Bill Auberlen is used as a pick in the GTD BMW. It's both Mazda's and both Acura's battling for the win,l and it's the final lap.
Who will win the Road Race Showcase? The other Acura won't be a factor. The leader goes wide, and he's hit the Acura! Oliver Jarvis is going to try and jump the Acura! Harry Tincknell defended, reacted, cutting across the road, something you are not supposed to do. The marshals will be looking at that. raffic ahead. This is a drag race through turn 14. Who has the power? Mazda does it! A hat trick for Mazda and the second race win of the year for the #55! Wow! What a finish!
Overall/DPi: #55 Tincknell/Bomarito Mazda RT24P
LMP2: #52 McMurry/Kelly Oreca LMP2
GT Le Mans: #67 Westbrook/Briscoe Ford GT
GT Daytona: #9 Campbell/Robichon Porsche 911 GT3R
Mazda score the hat trick! They've been flying lately. Matt McMurry and Patrick Kelly win LMP2. Richard Westbrook and Ryan Briscoe win GT Le Mans for Ford, and Porsche scores the victory in GT Daytona, the Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R of Matt Campbell and Zachary Robichon. The next event is the second and final all GT event at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, the Michelin GT Challenge, coming up, next weekend. Stay tuned for that.
No comments:
Post a Comment