Welcome, to the finale of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. Championships are on the line today, at the 21st renewal of the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, in Braselton, Georgia. 34 cars in total, take the start. Who will be on the Wall of Champions today, at Road Atlanta. Team Penske is one of the contenders for the championship. They must finish eighth or better in the #6 Acura, with Dane Cameron, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Simon Pagenaud. Porsche has won six races this year in GT Le Mans. They have two cars in contention. If the #912 finishes seventh or better in class, they win the title, or, their team mate in the #911 car that can also win. Mario Farnbacher and Trent Hindman have won just one GT Daytona race this year, but they will be champions as soon as the green flag falls. Justin Marks is the team's third driver.
This is also Scott Atherton's final race. He retires after this race, and has given the command to start engines. So, we are ready to bring the action. There are four legendary endurance events, and today at Petit Le Mans is the final one of those, in addition to being the final race of 2019 itself. This race was the brainchild of the late, great, Dr. Don Panoz. This is actually the 22nd running of this great event. Road Atlanta, it's a tough, intense and narrow track. It's hot in the race cars, and this is the narrowest circa in IMSA. You are walking a tightrope with an enemy throwing swords at you.
On pole, Felipe Nasr, in the #31 Whelen Cadillac. Kyle Masson, James Calado, and Corey Lewis are on the class poles.
Whelen Engineering has come alive, and can possibly win the race, and maybe the championship today. That's Felipe Nasr, Pipo Derani, and Eric Curran. PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports is in the driver's seat for the LMP2 championship. The final races are today, for the factory Ford GT's and for the two front engine Chevrolet Corvette C-7-R's before the new, futuristic Corvette C-8-R comes to the fore, with a mid engine next year. This race is ten hours. No more. No less. It's time to go racing. Manage traffic, make wise decisions, and watch out for darkness in the last three hours.
Go! Argy bargy between the acura and the Cadillac. the Mazda's are going to push dane Cameron as well. Felipe Nasr leads. They still can win the title. Nasr has been dominant in practice and qualifying and his gap is growing already. Meanwhile, Mazda and Acura seem to be flying, and off is jON bennett in the #54 CORE Autosport Nissan, Jon Bennett at the wheel of it. He slides not a spin over the top of the hill, look. Grabbed the short shift too early, spun up the rear tires, and lost traction. A lucky escape for Jon Bennett, sharing with Colin Braun and Romain Dumas. Ferrari vs. BMW vs. Ford vs. Porsche in GT Le Mans. All nine cars within 6/10ths of a second.
You see a Coca Cola Porsche just like the Bob Akin car that ran in the 1980s as a 935 and a 962. This is Porsche's lead car. The Ford GT drivers need work for next year since the factory cars won't be back. Corey Lewis is leading Jeff Westphal in GT Daytona. The #48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini leads the #63 WeatherTech Ferrari and the #33 Wynn's Mercedes. Mario Farnbacher and Trent Hindman are GTD driver's champions! But, they want the race win, too. The action is fast and frantic in the opening stages here at Petit Le Mans.
It is all about time, but Felipe Nasr has caught the GTLM and GTD cars. Be decisive. That's what you need to do as Ricky Taylor is being hounded by Filipe Albuquerque. We are 50 miles or so north of the ATL, Hot 'Lanta, Georgia's capitol. Set up the line through the esses after going through the downhill. Right hand corner, turn seven, slowest turn on the circuit. Speed down the back straight but watch out for turn 10 down the hill, and watch out for the beach, the big gravel trap on the side of the road. The esses are amazing. Watch out for the Snake Pit and the Beach. Dane Cameron is fourth, as Filipe Albuquerque is third, and Ricky Taylor is second. Save fuel in the first stint. The Michelin Endurance Cup is also at stake with points at four, eight, and ten hours at the end of the motor race.
Felipe Nasr is growing his margin and must be having a great time as we see argy bargy in GTD with Richard Heistand and Justin Marks. The #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3 with Robby Foley at the wheel of it, is flying as well. Coming up, fast, is also the #29 Land Motorsports Audi R8. It was the quickest GTD car in qualifying, as the time was scrubbed for a penalty. Ricardo Feller is currently in the lead. Nasr is cooking, with a none second lead in this motor race already. This is already a knockdown fight between AXR and Team Penske. Ricky Taylor has been put down a spot and now, Dane Cameron is monstering Filipe Albuquerque. For Dane Cameron, he is working traffic well, but the pressure is turned up all the way.
Nasr and AXR want to win, they want to have the championship. The Cadillac and the Acura are equal in weight. A number of drivers are saving fuel right now, not even half an hour into the race. Road Atlanta is packed with fans. We are still celebrating 50 years of IMSA. The new Michelin Tower has been built and is a centerpiece of the circuit. AXR has not led since April at Long Beach. Some argy bargy, look, between Justin Marks and Richard Heistand. That's MSR Acura vs. AVS Lexus. Corvette in the lane in GTLM for a pit stop. There's a tire pressure problem with the #4 car, a blistered Michelin tire for Tommy Milner, Oliver Gavin, and Marcel Fassler. Pit stop time, too, for the #25 BMW M8 GT. Connor De Philippi, Tom Blomqvist, and Colton Herta.
Blistering tires will happen if you go aggressive on a softer compound, it'll affect the balance of the car. Some pavement sections have been sealed here at Road Atlanta, for more grip. The traffic is heavy. Renger van der Zande at the wheel of the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac, chasing the #24 BMW M8 GT. James Calado in the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE, is running very well. Everyone on a team has to be reading from the same sheet of music, just like in a band. Pit stop time, or so it appears, for one of the Acura's. Same for the #10 machine, the WTR Cadillac in the hands of Renger van der Zande, Jordan Taylor, and Matthieu Vaxiviere. The leader is in the lane, too. The #31 went a lap longer than the Acura.
The sister car, Filipe Albuquerque is also in the lane as Penske also stops. Trouble for Mazda it seems, as they overshoot their pit spot. That's the #77 Timo Bernhard driven RT24P. Per the rules, you can't use reverse in the lane. AXR runs 1-2 at this moment. Corey Lewis leads GTD. James Calado is leading GTLM for Ferrari, over Porsche. Poor old Robby Foley had two brake calipers explode on his outlap in qualifying, fourth in class in GTD at the moment. No damage on the #96 BMW. He is sharing that car with Bill Auberlen who has to be the most experienced driver in the field. The cast iron brakes, put a hole in the oil pan of the BMW. Its Bill Auberlen's birthday, and he could tie Scott Pruett for the most career IMSA wins if he wins in class today.
Corey Lewis is being hounded by Jeff Westphal for the GTD lead. They won last year here at PLM with Cooper MacNeil, Jeff Westphal, and Daniel Serra. MacNeil and Vilander have had back-to-back podiums. BMW #24 is pitting for what appears to be a scheduled stop. The #912 Coca Cola historic livery Porsche is in the pit lane. Laurens Vanthoor is in the lane. BMW #24 is in trouble. It's dropped a couple cylinders. The motor has gone bang, with the Phillip Eng at the controls. The #911 Coca Cola Porsche is in the lane. Ferrari #62 in the lane as well, as we have seen a split strategy for the Porsche's. A driver change in the #62 Ferrari that has had a tire vibration. Alessandro Pier Guidi is now at the wheel of the Ferrari. It is good to see Risi Competizione back.
Many IndyCar drivers are in the field, as we see the Corvette #3 in the lane, Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen, and Mike Rockenfeller, sharing the driving chores. There will be a new driver lineup as the C-8-R is being introduced with it's new mid-engine layout with a flat plane crank V8 engine in the car. GTD pit stop time, as Bryan Sellers takes the wheel of it for the next stint in the #48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini. The #66 Ford GT is in, Joey Hand at the wheel of it, with a car that has been understeering. He has been told, "take care of the rear tires, mate." GTD pit stop time for the #63 Ferrari as well. Cooper MacNeil is in the car, and he will race tomorrow in the SCCA Runoffs at Virginia International Raceway, tomorrow.
Bryan Sellers wants to dive past Cooper MacNeil for the GTD lead. Simon Trummer in the #85 Cadillac Dpi-V.R for JDC-Miller Motorsports, not happy about being balked there. In LMP2, there are just two cars. Matt McMurry is champ, and has move past Kyle Masson. Laurens Vanthoor and Earl Bamber can be champions in GT Le Mans, finishing seventh or better. Poor old Marco Seefried was drafted into the Magnus Racing Lamborghini team, and they've had some trouble today so far. Don't bounce over the curbing. #6 is in the lane. #31 is in the lane as well. Pipo Derani is in, and Filipe Albuquerque is also in the pit.
Timo Bernhard is in the lane in the #77 Mazda.
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