It's time, for the second and final all GT production car contest of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship season, at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, another speed palace that has been around for over six decades and has been a part of IMSA's history for a good while now. The track is 3.27 miles with 17 corners. Watch for the Horseshoe, the old Oak Tree corners, Madison Avenue, the Rollercoaster, and also, the Hog Pen. We have a two hour and 40 minute race coming up, for round ten of the general championship, with two races to go. It's the penultimate event of the Sprint Cup championship. It's a Grand Touring festivalfor today's race as the cars are on track behind the safety car.
21 cars, eight GT Le Mans machines, and 13 GT Daytona cars, are set to take the start. Everyone right now, is concerned about fuel consumption before we get going. There's a little shuffling after qualifying. You could only use slick Michelin tires. Five teams went ahead and used wet weather tires, and they were moved based on the declaration to change back to slick tires. The factory GTLM cars are at the front of the field. Any of the makes (Porsche, Ford, Chevrolet, and BMW), they all have a chance. The Ford GT, might get it's last chance to try and win here at VIR. Dirk Mueller and Ryan Briscoe, they will be flying, and we've talked about Briscoe's co-driver in the #67 Ford GT, Richard Westbrook, and the need for him as the blokes on IMSA Radio say, to use a light foot with pink, fluffy, comfortable slippers on it.
Fuel saving is a big deal and Westbrook is a master of that. Westbrook is really able to use the go juice when he can. The field forms up. There are very few safety cars here at VIR, historically. But watch out, so you don't end up going off the road and absolutely mowing the lawn out in the infield because then, the grass will collect in the radiators, and the car will overheat if you're not careful. We could go full green flag the whole time. Take a deep breath, cinch down those belts, and we're ready to rumble in the Michelin GT Challenge, with a Porsche and Corvette front row. Two Ford GT's are on the second row of the grid.
We look atop the flag stand, and there's our old pal, Bib. Bibendum, the Michelin Man, he's ready to wave the green flag. We are underway here at VIR! Already, the Porsche's are trying to sweep past the Corvette, look, and go for the lead of this motor race. Nick Tandy just goes for it straight away and has the preferred line around the horseshoe, streaking past the Corvette as if he were standing still. It's the hare, outrunning the tortoise on this opening lap, but there's still a whole race left to run. Nick Tandy, the night before this race, was watching Late Model stock car racing at the local short track, the legendary South Boston Speedway, and he even had the chance to give the command of "gentlemen, start your engines!"
Well, clearly, all that short track argy bargy that the stock car boys get into, has rubbed off on him. He was a short track stock car racer early in his career, in England. Tandy shot out like a bullet from a gun, or a rocket off the launchpad. Laurens Vanthoor is also in this fight early on, and so is the Corvette, the #3 car of Jan Magnussen sharing with Antonio Garcia. Nick Tandy also blew past Joey Hand in the Ford GT, the #66 car. The Ford's wanted to play fair with each other and Nick Tandy said, "bye bye, boys" and went for it. Trouble in paradise for the #12 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3. Frankie Montecalvo at the wheel of it, he has damage to the bodywork on that automobile already.
Frankie Montecalvo will have new tires. But, he will need the damage repaired as well which is going to set him back just a shade. We've got carbon fiber debris from the Lexus, on the road. The marshals will be looking at that. Don't tell me the two Lexus boys had a contretemps right at the start of this race, please. Spare me the thought! Oh dear! The second Lexus is also in the lane. Not good news for AIM Vasser Sullivan as this race gets underway. Check that. Correction on the other pit visitor. That's the #57 Caterpillar Acura NSX GT3, Katherine Legge, sharing this weekend with British IMSA newcomer, Alice Powell. The AVS crew clears the grille out on the Montecalvo car. There was some aero push, or some argy bargy. Hard to tell.
That was through turn ten, cresting the hill to Oak Tree corner. Grass in the radiator is a big consequence. One of the vertical slats in the diffuser is missing. That car is going to have a handling concern. The Lexus has had tire issues earlier in the season, and in the high speed stuff, they'll feel it. Porsche's absolutely rocketed away and they're still leading Jan Magnussen and then, the two Ford's. Zachary Robichon leads Trent Hindman, Richard Heistand in the #14 Lexus RC F GT3, and Robby Foley in the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3, followed by Corey Lewis in the #48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini, and the #76 Compass Racing McLaren 720S GT3 with Matt Plumb currently at the keyboard.
Laurens Vanthoor runs a 1:41.55. Earl Bamber set fast lap last year, and Giancarlo Fisichella, driving a Ferrari has the outright lap record set in 2015. Alice Powell had a puncture on the #57 Acura after she got biffed by the #96 BMW, the Robby Foley/Bill Auberlen machine. The Lexus had nothing to do with the incident. Start running laps, saving fuel. Get into a rhythm if you aren't in a scrap with another car. Don't burn off fuel if you aren't moving forward. The two Porsche's extend their lead. Laurens Vanthoor is setting sail for the hills. He's on a road trip here. Porsche could seal the manufacturer's cup if things go well today. Mathematically it might be there, but not yet, technically.
Battling your team mate, means that the driver has to be let off the leash. Let's go race. Throw caution to the wind, but don't crash your team mate. Porsche are flying right now. The leader has run a 1:41.2, Laurens Vanthoor. The cool weather is perfect conditions for racing. We watch Zachary Robichon leading GT Daytona in the plaid Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R, car #9. Robichon sharing with Scott Hargrove. Alice Powell is in for Christina Nielsen, who was running in the Suzuka 10 Hours for Intercontinental GT Challenge. You can see a video of the entire race from Suzuka if you scroll through the posts here on the blog, the recent posts.
MSR are fighting hard just as they always do. The #86 car has had better luck than #57 and that was the opposite, last year. Teams have to stick together. One car can have great luck and the other can have awful luck. But teams have to stick together. That's just the way it is. Trent Hindman is steadily reeling in Zachary Robichon, munching away at the gap like Pac Man. Corey Lewis, meanwhile is reeling in Robby Foley who also has in his path, one of the AVS Lexus RC F GT3's. That's the Richard Heistand car, sharing with Jack Hawksworth, and poor old Heistand is the cork in the bottle at this moment, trying not to get eaten up by Mr. Foley.
OK. Foley isn't letting go, and now, he has to release! He's lost it! He's rotating, and so is the #48 Lamborghini of Corey Lewis, right in front of Matt Plumb in the McLaren! Three cars have all gone off the road and resumed, but this whole shenanigans began with Foley getting into some argy bargy with Heistand, and then, one by one, look, the dominoes just start falling. Plumb and Lewis are back on the road, but the lucky chap here, is Ben Keating. He's made out like a bandit, and is rubbing his hands together saying, "suckers... I told you so! I win! You lose!" Patrick Lindsey, too, is moving up in the #73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R.
Robby Foley is going to head for the lane. Fuel and new tires for Robby Foley, but he's got a right rear puncture as well. Robby Foley will have to drive slowly, and right on Madison Avenue, the tire carcass is gone. But, it's going to be a Full Course Yellow because of the tire carcass off that BMW. FCY. FCY. Foley comes into a closed pit lane and changes the tire under emergency service, but he'll need a pit stop again. Porsche was building up a good lead, but now the gap is going to close up again, and somebody is about to put the cat among the pigeons here, really soon, when we go back to green.
Foley got checked up, running into Richard Heistand, and then, he gets rotated by the Lamborghini, and there was also contact with Matt Plumb. One tire only for Turner Motorsports and Foley is back on track, but he'll be dinged with an emergency service penalty by the stewards as well. Turner Motorsports has had four consecutive podiums and they are second overall in the GT Daytona championship as well. Richard Heistand had been moving backwards and so, he was in a spot of bother for sure. Alice Powell and Frankie Montecalvo are still on the lead lap in GT Daytona. Powell, will get to queue up at the back of the crocodile.
All the GTLM cars are coming to the pit lane. Nick Tandy has been saving fuel like crazy. Patrick Pilet will take over the #911 Porsche for the next stint, and here come the Ford's, the BMW's, and the Corvette's. Tires and fuel for Ford, BMW, and Corvette. Even with a driver change, look, #911 has beaten their sister car out of the pit lane, into the lead of this motor race. That's Nick Tandy's right foot and his fuel saving skills. Well done, Nick Tandy. Kudos. Maybe the pit crew short fueled the car for track position as well. Full fuel loads have to be run to a certain number of seconds, depending on which class. Six sets of tires, at least in GTD.
Porsche, Corvette, Ford, and BMW, are all in their numerical order. How refreshing! MSR Acura has both cars, Turner, headed in for full service, and Pfaff Motorsports, their Porsche stays on track. Compass McLaren, PMR Lamborghini, and both Lexus' are in. Fuel only for Lexus #14. Ben Keating gets new tires and goes into place right after his stop. Then comes Lamborghini, McLaren, and the #74 Mercedes AMG GT3 for Lone Star Racing. That's the Gar Robinson/Lawson Aschenbach car. No driver changes in GT Daytona. There is a minimum drive time in GTD but not in GTLM. Pfaff has been able to come out ahead of Turner Motorsports. Robichon is the GTD Sprint Cup points leader, with Robby Foley and Bill Auberlen right behind him in the standings, and sneaking up.
The class split is going on, with GTLM cars ahead of GTD. Patrick Pilet will lead Laurens Vanthoor, and here comes Vanthoor as we go back to green. Vanthoor wants the outside line, and they're racing! Deary me! No team orders, look, as Pilet is pushing, pushing, pushing. But, Jan Magnussen must be a giggling schoolboy, cackling like a madman inside his helmet as he's gaining on the boys from Zuffenhausen, look. Meanwhile, a spot of agricultural racing for the #44 Magnus Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 in turn three. A quick off and on for John Potter, who is now making up time, sharing with usual co-driver Andy Lally.
No team orders at Porsche. Right now, they are going for it, wanting the drivers' championship points, never mind the manufacturers' cup right now. Pilet is loose through the roller coaster. Laurens Vanthoor is flashing the lights at his team mate, wanting to be let by or so it seems. Joey Hand is reeling in the Corvette's, and the BMW M8 GT's are back there, too. We've got just over two hours of this motor race still to go. Zachary Robichon is moving away from Cooper MacNeil, Richard Heistand, and Trent Hindman, and Alice Powell is moving up, in sixth, trying to reel in Ben Keating at the moment.
Robichon is stretching the gap over MacNeil right now. Trent Hindman is pushing to get past Richard Heistand, Heistand is going on the defensive. He will not let the Acura to pass. Hindman is going for it with new Michelin tires on the car. They fly down Madison Avenue headed for the Roller Coaster once again. Heistand still has a couple car lengths in hand over the Acura. The rear tires can go away on the Lexus very quickly, but it has the grunt, the oomph, to stay ahead of the Acura. V8 power for Lexus vs. V6 power for Acura, and two extra cylinders can surely help. A king size battle for GTLM honors between the #912 Porsche and both of the Corvette's. New fast
Stay on the road, look after your tires. Trail braking into turns 11 and 12 for Laurens Vanthoor. Matt Plumb in the McLaren is booking it right now, making up ground on his rivals. Another pit visit for BMW #96. Stop and hold penalty, coming in for it's previous penalty, on the wrong pit sequence, for a ten second penalty. There's a five car breakaway developing in GT Daytona. Zachary Robichon os moving ahead as Trent Hindman is trying to make his way past the Lexus. The Mercedes of Ben Keating is back there, through The Snake. There is a new lap record from Patrick Pilet at 1:41 dead. 1:41.078.
Porsche continues to lead in the overall, Patrick Pilet ahead of Laurens Vanthoor. New fast lap for Vanthoor and Corey Lewis has passed the McLaren as they go two wide into The Snake, and that's a bear. Meanwhile, Frankie Montecalvo is back on the lead lap in the #12 Lexus RC F GT3. Corey Lewis hip checked the McLaren. Zachary Robichon's lead has ballooned to seven seconds over Cooper MacNeil, but poor old Matt Plumb got zonked by Corey Lewis. He's dropped to the back of the queue. Lewis is trying to make a move on Montecalvo but decides discretion is the better part of valor. Robichon leads Cooper in GTD by eight seconds with Richard Heistand third.
In fourth is Trent Hindman, and Corey Lewis nearly makes a pass but can't quite make it. That's a replay of the incident from the overhead helicoptrr camera. The top eight in GTLM are separated by eight seconds. Porsche over Corvette, Ford, and BMW, as McLaren hits the pit lane for service. New tires, but only on the left side, and a full tank of fuel for the car. He's serviced and sent. Things are going from bad to worse for Turner Motorsports. They have to install a new right rear shock on the car. The suspension is damaged. The Porsche's have now pulled the pin, 45 minutes into this race.
Soon, Laurens Vanthoor will have to hand over to Earl Bamber. The Porsche's are very stable and compliant around VIR as the #48 PMR Lamborghini is in the lane for some bear bond, and the orange block of doom, the jack stand, or jack stands, are under the car. Pfaff Motorsports will also head to the pit lane very soon. We have gone past the 45 minute mark in the race. Richard Heistand is the minnow, the Trent Hindman, is the shark. But, he's fast in the wrong areas and can't get a run on the Lexus especially out of Hog Pen. Lexus is now in the pit lane, look. Their pit board has broken. They went to dangle it and it went ke-thunk right onto the pit lane.
Townsend Bell is now into the sister #12 Lexus. We await Pfaff for their first pit stop. The #9 Porsche of Zachary Robichon screams down Madison Avenue. Ford GT #66, slides through Oak Tree corner, and Oliver Gavin also nearly goes off the road, as Hand makes a pass on him. Joey Hand is now fourth in the overall. 1:41.0-1:41.1-1:41.2, those are the lap times we've seen from the leaders as Cooper MacNeil pits the #63 GTD Ferrari, and Toni Vilander now takes over the car from Cooper MacNeil. A great, nicely executed pit stop by Scuderia Corsa. Meantime, Patrick Pilet is pushing and so is Laurens Vanthoor, with no pressure as the Corvette's are moving behind just a tad. The #33 Mercedes has made a pit stop.
Ben Keating has done a very good stint, and it likely is Jeroen Bleekemolen in the car. It is. Pfaff is in the lane from the GT Daytona lead. Zachary Robichon is in, and he will hand the car to Scott Hargrove, as there is some ire rub on the left rear fender of the car. This is Scott Hargrove's first race in a while, with new Michelin tires on the car. Zachary Robichon ran a best lap of 1:44.9, and the next best, Trent Hindman at 1:45.1. Jack Hawksworth runs an identical lap time, and now Trent Hindman leads GT Daytona, after pitting around 15 laps ago. Hindman has six seconds in hand over Patrick Lindsey who has five seconds over Alice Powell.
More pit stops seem to be in the works with less than an hour and 45 minutes to go. Patrick Long will be getting into the #73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche. It's the Patrick and Patrick show, and Long is called "The Ginger Ninja". Acura #86 is in the lane. So is the Park Place Porsche #73, and both are back out on track. #86 is behind one of the Lexus', and the #33 Mercedes. Gar Robinson now moves into the GTD lead in the #74 Lone Star Racing Mercedes AMG GT3, sponsored by 74 Ranch Resort. Corvette is in the pit lane, after getting nerfed by the #67 Ford GT. It looks like the #4 car.
Some argy bargy indeed between Corvette and Ford. Tommy Milner takes over the car. The team put a new motor in the car just before qualifying. Toni Vilander is now chasing Mario Farnbacher in GTD as well. It's the #86 MSR Acura vs. the #63 Scuderia Corsa WeatherTech Ferrari. Scott Hargrove has a slim lead over Jack Hawksworth in the lead battle in GTD. BMW's #24 and #25 had been running in tandem, but John Edwards must have spun, as he is way behind the sister car and the two of them are way behind in the class. We have to hear if Chip Ganassi will be coming back to IMSA next year.
Again, VIR has been around for over six decades. Porsche leads Porsche over both Corvette's and both Ford's as well as both BMW's. Tommy Milner has dropped to last in class in the #4 Corvette after his scheduled pit stop. We're getting close now to an hour and a half to go in this race. It can be advantageous to be the first driver to do your last pit stop of the race. We are looking for pit action in a couple more laps. Will Nick Tandy take over the #911 car until the end of the race? Pilet has moved ahead of Vanthoor and so on and so forth throughout the GTLM field. Strategy is affecting things.
But, it's all going to squish back together before this race is done and dusted. Guaranteed. Lawson Aschenbach has now taken over the #74 Lone Star Racing 74 Ranch Resort Mercedes from Gar Robinson, as the #67 Ford GT has spun. Ryan Briscoe has rotated at the horseshoe. He locked the rear tires at the end of the braking zone into turns one and two. Brake and turn in. It's very similar to turn one at Lime Rock Park, and you have to diamond the corner. We are indeed in the window for GTLM pit stops to go with two more stops before this race ends. Scott Hargrove is still leading GT Daytona, doing a fabulous job. Hawksworth and Bleekemolen are the two blokes still behind him. Jeroen Bleekemolen did very well in the late model stock car races at South Boston Speedway of course.
Mario Farnbacher, Toni Vilander, and yes, Matt Plumb, is behind those two, still hanging on in the #76 Compass Racing McLaren. Patrick Pilet is in the lane for service, and now, Nick Tandy will finish the race out. Pilet and Tandy won this race in 2015, but Patrick Pilet was solo champion that year. 2015 was the last win at VIR for Porsche in GTLM. Patrick Long is probing for seventh spot in GT Daytona behind Townsend Bell in the #12 AVS Lexus RC F GT3. Will he doe the over/under? He's in it. Bell moves over and they are super evenly matched on the straight. Patrick Long is pushing. Some big argy bargy there! That's naughty. Bell comes across two full lanes.
They're even, for the time being, look. Quite the kerfuffle there. The stewards will be watching that one closely. Bell was surely saying, "no way, sunshine." The power is the advantage for Lexus and the handling and traction are advantageous for the Porsche. Through the roller coaster and down Madison Avenue again, and Bell turns into Long! Oh no! These two have a history. The same thing happened last time out at Road America. Laurens Vanthoor still leads, but it is decreasing, being whittled away by the Corvette with Jan Magnussen at the controls. In now, Magnussen, and the Ford #66 with 80 minutes to go.
Antonio Garcia will take over the car. "The King of Spain" won here in 2017. Dirk Mueller is into the #66 Ford GT and the Corvette gets out of the lane first, by a nose. Earl Bamber will get into the #912 Porsche. Tom Blomqvist will also take over the #25 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GT from Connor De Philippi. Tandy dives inside Garcia into turn four and makes his move. Porsche #912 is in the lane for service as Laurens Vanthoor hands over to Earl Bamber. It's a drag race between the two Porsche's and Bamber has beat his team mate. #911 gets snookered by a BMW. Ryan Briscoe is the official leader as he has yet to pit.
Meantime in GTD, the two second advantage of Scott Hargrove has evaporated, and Jack Hawksworth has gone around him with Jeroen Bleekemolen also right on his gearbox. The top running Ford GT is in the lane. That's the leading GTLM car, the #67. Jeroen Bleekemolen is now hounding Scott Hargrove. Ford are right on the money on their pit stop as Richard Westbrook is back on track. BMW in the pit lane, too. This is the #24 entry in for it's penultimate stop with an hour and 15 minutes to go. John Edwards finished his stint, handing over to the flying Finn, Jesse Krohn. Lexus leads GT Daytona as we have less than an hour and 15 minutes to go.
Hargrove gets a bit of a nudge from Tom Blomqvist. Nick Tandy resets fastest lap of the race and a new lap record at 1:40.781. Patrick Long and Townsend Bell continue their joust. These two blokes have been going at it hammer and tongs for a while now. Long fakes to the left and back to the right, and he slides right down the middle of the Roller Coaster! That was a brilliant pass! He completely snookered Townsend Bell! That was genius! What a pass! That was through the Roller Coaster and into Hog Pen. Unreal. Just a shade over an hour of this race left. New fast lap. Earl Bamber is the one to set it. Porsche has been class of the field this whole weekend so far.
The Porsche squad have split their strategy. They've differentiated the stops by four or five laps between Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber. Tandy was stuck behind one of the BMW's. You can only run single file through the s curves in The Snake. We still have the Lexus, Porsche, Mercedes battle in GTD as well. That is currently what we are looking at in picture. How much further will Earl Bamber be able to go into the race? Will they do a timed fuel stop and not bother with tires? The Porsche can be frugal, in relative terms, on it's fuel mileage. Poor old Scott Hargrove has been having to play catch up and fortunately, he's hanging right with Jack Hawksworth while Jeroen Bleekemolen can't make inroads.
Mario Farnbacher is next in the Acura. Bamber has to play follow my leader with the Magnus Lamborghini. That's a GTLM car vs. a GT3 car which is what GT Daytona is of course, all of them being GT3 spec cars. Lexus, Porsche, Mercedes, again, is the order in GTD. Mario Farnbacher follows in the Acura, followed by Toni Vilander in the Ferrari, and the McLaren in the hands of Matt Plumb. In the lane, now, the GTD leader. They may have to do one more stop for both fuel and tires before the end of this race. This stop is taking care of those ideas. Something is wrong with the drink bottle! Oh man! That's not good. They had to reach into the passenger compartment, and AVS is going to be on the back foot now.
They may not be hurt too badly, but they'll be playing catch up. He's slow and something might be going on with the Lexus. Something is wrong. The car is not up to snuff. Now we know what the trouble is. They were adding a backup battery, a slave battery to the car, because the original was not charging. So, this can mean just one culprit. The alternator in that Lexus, is on the fritz, somehow. By IMSA rules, you have to start the car under it's own power. You cannot jump start the car. That's how the rules are written in the technical and sporting regulations.
It was a good run for this car and now with an hour to go, they've probably used up alln they've got. They won both at Mid Ohio and Detroit in the Sprint Cup championship. So now, the battle for GT Daytona honors is between Scott Hargrove and Jeroen Bleekemolen, as "Super Mario" Farnbacher is closing, fast. He's inching away from Toni Vilander as well. The gap is growing. The gap has ballooned to five seconds. Mario Farnbacher is gaining pace, Toni Vilander is losing pace, and poor old Jack Hawksworth is back in the pit lane. Time to pack it up for AVS? It could be. They are taking the back window off the car.
They are going to look at a drive belt off the back axle of the car. There's something on top of the diff that they have to attach to. Paul Holton gets into the #76 McLaren. The McLaren will head back out on sticker tires after getting fuel as well. Holton will take the car to the end of the race. But things are going pear shaped for Lexus. Antonio Garcia is six seconds behind the Porsche's but keeping them honest, and then comes Dirk Mueller in the #66 Ford GT. Tommy Milner is next up, running on a different strategy, followed by Richard Westbrook in the #67 Ford GT. In GT Daytona, the Pfaff Porsche continues to lead both the Wynn's Mercedes and the MSR Acura along with the Ferrari and the Park Place Porsche followed by the sole remaining AVS Lexus #12 of Townsend Bell.
Katherine Legge and Andy Lally are next up in the order. Fuel and sticker tires in the pit lane for Jeroen Bleekemolen and the Paul Miller Lamborghini is likewise in the lane. The #12 Lexus also just pitted, as did the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW. Bill Auberlen in the BMW, Bryan Sellers in the Lamborghini. Katherine Legge and Andy Lally are still scrapping, through the Oak Tree turn. A couple mid-engined, svelte coupes. So many different manufacturers and equalized performance in GT Daytona. GTLM has been kind of predictable all day.
But, there's still time left in the race. The GTLM battle may get spicy. We'll see. Toni Vilander pitted for fuel and tires. Patrick Long cannot hear his team. They have signaled Patrick with the day glow yellow pit board, and Scott Hargrove is in the lane for new Michelin tires and fuel, as we see debris on the road that should not cause a yellow. Acura #86 is in the lane, and here comes the Corvette, whop is blocked from his pit lane exitg. It's a clean exit for the #86 Acura and "Super Mario" moves ahead of his Canadian nemesis.
Bleekemolen is going to dust Hargrove here, look. Well, he's trying to dust him. Hargrove may have the last laugh here, maybe. Meantime, more grunt from the AMG allows Bleekemolen to thunder past the higher revving Porsche. That's better traction out of Oak Tree corner, too. Bleekemolen now has Farnbacher's Acura on his shopping list. Toni Vilander is chasing, and right up the tail of the Ferrari of Toni Vilander is Lawson Aschenbach in the #74 Mercedes AMG GT3. Patrick Long will be ruing the issues he had with Townsend Bell earlier. Through Madison Avenue, Bleekemolen clears Farnbacher.
Nick Tandy is steaming right up behind Earl Bamber. The gap has shrunken quite a bit. Tandy's car is lighter on fuel but within the next couple laps he'll head for the pit lane. He should dive in for the lane in a couple laps. Jeroen Bleekemolen is the new leader in GT Daytona. Earl Bamber has cut laps in the mid to high 42 range, and he was doing 1:41 laps earlier. Are the Porsche's losing pace? They are, but it's due to traffic and not necessarily a car issue. We've run 63 laps, 206 miles. It looks like the final pit stop for Corvette #3, Antonio Garcia at the wheel of it, and the Ford is also in for it's final stop as well. Dirk Mueller in the #66 car.
These two blokes came in simultaneously the last time. Corvette is off the air jacks first, and momentum goes to the Corvette, separated by a nose. That was pretty close there, and a mistake for Garcia! He's slid wide on cold tires! Wow. No tire warmers for the sports cars like there are for Formula 1. Porsche are ready to pit, and Nick Tandy is in the lane for fuel and tires. The mechanics will get their snacks, a little later before this race is over. The Porsche screams out of the lane after a 23 second fuel fill for 43 minutes remaining in this race.
Earl Bamber will have to book it, as the undercut is going to favor Nick Tandy, more than likely. Richard Westbrook is coming, but he has one more pit stop. He can stretch the fuel mileage with the Ford GT. He will need a long yellow flag. They need to roll the dice in the next eleven minutes because the pits are closed in the last half hour of the race. At the top of the Rollercoaster it's getting too close for comfort between Tommy Milner and Dirk Mueller, and well, the inevitable has happened. Thump! He's rotated the Ford, has Milner, and both these chaps are off the road, look, at the top of the Rollercoaster.
Excuse me, it was Antonio Garcia barging Dirk Mueller. He went for a gap that was nonexistent and paid the price as he's clogged the front radiator full of grass. That's some serious lawnmower action for poor old Garcia. "The King of Spain" has been reduced to a court jester, at least temporarily, here. Poor old Garcia is going to have to clamp on the brakes to eject and unload all those grass clippings from the rad of the Corvette. The rad, being the radiator. No doubt the stewards will look closely at that dust up. Tommy Milner, stops, and unloads the grass clippings on the apex of one of the corners, before he continues.
Now, Milner is back in front of his old adversary, the Ford, and his team mate, Garcia, is back in the picture as well. Deary me. The plot thickens, and the next chapter of this little novelette is about to be written, maybe in disappearing ink. Novelette? There's nothing romantic about this bitter rivalry. Ah yes. The stewards are reviewing that fracas coming through the Roller Coaster earlier. Where are the Porsche's? Nick Tandy got by Lawson Aschenbach right away. It's so unusual for Antonio Garcia to make a mistake. The #911 is about to pit next time 'round. They might be scrubbed Michelin tires. Check that. It's the #912 of Bamber. Bamber is in the lane. Now, no action from the stewards on the Corvette/Ford incident.
Garcia didn't intentionally slam the door on the Ford. Pit stop time, fuel and tires for Earl Bamber, gunning the motor and he's gone, and here's Tandy! Tandy passes his team mate for the lead of this motor race with just 37 minutes to go. No team orders for Porsche North America. Richard Westbrook now dives into the pit lane for his final stop, from the lead of the motor race, which might just put the Porsche boys in the clear. It wasn't even close between the two Porsche's. The GT only races are very competitive, and we get a lot of green flag racing. Richard Westbrook is in the lane for the final time in this race.
It's a timed stop it appears. Westbrook has jumped his team mate and the two Corvette's. They are third. Westbrook has scrubbed tires on. Now, it's a fair fight between Porsche, Ford, and Corvette, and there goes Antonio Garcia! Here comes the Ford's. Three wide at the bottom of the esses, and the two Corvette's have blown past the two Ford's! Jeepers! Tons of action here, about to give your race commentator, a heart attack! Jeez! Westbrook threw the block on Mueller, and then, the two Corvette drivers saw the opening and squeezed through. We will miss the low rumbling thrum of the V8 Corvette.
Now that the FIA WEC season has begun, Corvette are running out of time to try and get their new mid engine design homologated for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We may see the big bruiser, the C-7-R- with it's thundering V8 at Le Mans, just one more time, in 2020. We shall see. The GT Daytona battle is heating up. Mercedes, Acura, Porsche, and Ferrari are running nose to tail within mere seconds of each other. This is going to be a grandstand finish, ladies and gentlemen. Toni Vilander is coming back into the picture. Meanwhile, Antonio Garcia and Tommy Milner can race each other hard, yet clean.
The Corvette boys have to be very cautious in this last half an hour. Can they all go full power and full rich to the end? You need to bring some more power. If the race finishes this way, they shall wrap up the manufacturer's cup, but still have to race for the driver pairings for the final two events of the season at Laguna Seca and Petit Le Mans. Earl Bamber is reducing the deficit to his team mate. They are both hitting GT Daytona traffic at the moment. The sun is coming out as the race is closing in on the finish. We've been seeing more GTLM cars lately, or maybe it is only me. BMW in GTLM has not been on pace this weekend. Troubles in the south pit for the #14 Lexus. Jack Hawksworth has continued to have battery trouble. Game over. He's turned everything off, and is crawling out of the car.
"Battery's gone" he says to the safety worker. Brake, ease the car into the apex. Through turns three and four and into The Snake. Full power through the right hand corner, under the bridge, headed for rthe esses, flat out. Use all the curb and all the road. Brake, down a gear through Sunset, and into Oak Tree. Back to the power down Madison Avenue, up through the gears, check the gauages, up over the crest, and then, you are past the 100 board on the brake markers into the Rollercoaster and tap the brakes into Hog Pen, and back onto the front straight. The straight is very long even though it has a bend in it into the horseshoe. It's a long way between Hog Pen and the horseshoe.
The run to the start/finish is uphill. Andy Lally passes Townsend Bell. Bill Riley says the Mercedes team is saving fuel. So much in motor racing is a compromise, and fuel strategy is a big part of that. Stay out front to save fuel. The GT Daytona Balance of Performance is really good at the moment. Mario Farnbacher is indeed the GTD championship leader. But, with less than 20 minutes still on the board, we have a Full Course Yellow out on the circuit. Two safety vehicles on the circuit, and the #57 Acura of Katherine Legge has clouted the tire wall! She's out of the car under her own power. The tires are scattered and the Armco is bent, in the Sunset Bend area right in front of the track villas.
Katherine Legge saved having a big incident in qualifying, and now, the front end, and the front right suspension has been ripped off the car. She got under the tire bundles and the Armco needs repair. This will not be a short yellow, even though there is no allowance for the cars to pit. The rollback is loading the car and so is the backhoe to put the new tire bundles in place. The marshals have found the wheel and tire that have been ripped off the car. She got out of the car under her own power, speaking to the paramedics. The safety crews have been prompt to make repairs.
Good for IMSA finishing races under green flag conditions, and we do not end under yellow. The green/white/checker deal does have a drawback if there is a wreck. Katherine Legge will be taken to the infield medical center for a checkup. We'll get a few more minutes of racing before the finish. The Nissan GT-R safety car leads the field. This will be a dash for cash. Porsche vs. Corvette vs. Ford, and BMW vs. BMW, Noah's Ark style. Nine cars are possible winners in GT Daytona, too. The tires are going to come back to life for the final ten or so minutes of this race. McLaren #76 pitted with a shade over an hour to go, and they catch a break under the yellow. The lights are out on the safety car.
Katherine Legge's crash was caused by a tire failure. Now, we are back to green with just over eight minutes to run. Great restart from the Porsche's and the Corvette's and the Ford's are pressing on well. Side by side action in GTD as Paul Holton and Andy Lally are pushing. Jeroen Bleekemolen leads GTD for Mercedes. The two Corvette's are not done yet. Uphill once again they go. GTRD is heating up and here comes Patrick Long. Antonio Garcia is trying to hang onto the back of the Porsche's but the Porsche's are putting a tremendous amount of daylight between themselves and the Corvette's.
Porsche #912 has recorded fastest lap of this race. Tire failure for Katherine Legge, and Michelin will be looking at that issue. The car stood up very well in a high speed crash. The cockpit safety cell held up. There had to be a mechanical problem on the car. Best wishes to Katherine Legge. You've not missed anything in GT Le Mans. Four seconds between the top seven. Jeroen Bleekemolen is being challenged by the Acura, the Porsche, the Ferrari, and more. Patrick Long is still in the GTD fight. Can Antonio Garcia catch up to the Porsche's? That's the question with just over four minutes to go. The #67 Ford GT of Richard Westbrook is coming as well.
The Porsche's have the legs on everyone else. But the scrapping is still heavy between Ford and Chevy. Nick Tandy is in the clear right now and he just set a fast lap time. 1:41.2 for Nick Tandy. The pole time was a 1:40.6. Half a second from the pole time. Tandy has clear track. Westbrook has a target to aim for in front. But, Nick Tandy, he has the clear air and the downforce. No need to be the rabbit. No excuses. The worst part about chasing is, you can get fixated on a target and follow a bloke off the road should he run wide onto the grass. No such worries here. Richard Westbrook is flying, and with 90 seconds to go, the #76 McLaren spins out of Hog Pen with Paul Holton. Oh dear.
This is it. It's the final lap at Virginia International Raceway. White flag this time around? Yes. Tandy is flying. White flag is out. It's the final lap. 1:40.7 for Tandy, 1:40.8 for Bamber. Just incredible! 1:40.638 is fastest lap of the race, by Earl Bamber. Toni Vilander will reach the podium in GTD and there are problems for the plaid Porsche for Scott Hargrove and Pfaff Motorsports! Hargrove runs wide out of the horseshoe! Oh boy.; Three makes in the top three in GT Daytona. Bleekemolen, Farnbacher, Vilander. Meanwhile, Nick Tandy and Porsche win VIR with Patrick Pilet!
Laurens Vanthoor and Earl Bamber are second, and Porsche are GT Le Mans manufacturer's champions in 2019! Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen are the GT Daytona winners for Bill Riley and Mercedes Benz! This is the last time we'll see Keating's team at VIR since he is going racing now in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Pilet becomes the winningest GTLM driver with 12 wins, since the American Le Mans/Grand Am merger back in 2014.
Overall/GT Le Mans: #911 Tandy/Pilet Porsche 911 RSR
GT Daytona: #33 Keating/Bleekemolen Mercedes AMG GT3
Just two races now remain in the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship season, and all three classes will race at each of them. Next time out, it is the final sprint race of the year, at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey, California, which is coming up, next weekend, so, ten days from now. See you then, everyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment