The Michelin Pilot Challenge championship, IMSA's production car championship, for GT4 and TCR machinery, is set to get underway for the 2020 season, here at Daytona International Speedway. It is a brand new season. New teams, drivers, and cars, and we have 51 cars in chevron formation. This speedway has been around since 1959 and there has been racing here at the beach since the 1900s. The cars have been assembled in pit lane in chevron formation and we are set to go for the BMW Endurance Challenge joining IMSA Radio, with Jonny Palmer, Jeremy Shaw, Shea Adam, Joe Bradley, and Diana Binks on commentary for this motor race. Yours truly, was there, at Daytona in the International Horseshoe to watch the race the day before the Rolex 24 and as Jonny points out so rightly, it's chalk and cheese between the high banks here at Daytona and the flat, twisting, and yet relatively medium speed infield road course.
I was at the International Horseshoe to watch this race and let me tell you, while it is spectacular to see the cars flying by from that vantage point, if you ever do go to Daytona for the Rolex 24 and the Michelin Pilot Challenge, you can watch from the horseshoe, but you will have a safety fence in your line of sight for good reason. 51 cars will start this race. One of the BMW's was not able to qualify yesterday, but it did run in practice this morning in the warmup. There was an electrical issue on the car, the #26 Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4 in the hands of Scotsmen Steven McAleer and Robbie Dalgleish, sharing with Dutchman, Beitske Visser. We have 3.56 miles and 12 turns, with 31 degree banking on the turns and 18 degrees in the tri oval.
It'll be daytime for this motor race, the first of two four hour races scheduled for Michelin Pilot Challenge. You are going to be blown away by this race with 33 GT4 cars and 18 TCR touring cars all powered by four cylinder turbocharged engines, but from different brands. Kuno Wittmer was a star in the #13 AWA McLaren 570S GT4 with co-driver and countryman (both drivers from Canada), Orey Fidani. This is the pole sitting car, and on the outside pole, the #39 Carbahn with Peregrine Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4 being shared by Tyler McQuarrie and Jeff Westphal. KOHR Motorsports has a brand new car for this race and half a dozen cars that have just entered this race after the Roar test session. That's the #60 KOHR Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT4 to be driven by Nate Stacy and Kyle Marcelli, a duo of an American and a Canadian.
The McLaren is really strong on the straightaways. We have the #3 M1 Racing LLC McLaren in the hands of Corey Lewis and Sheena Monk. The best of the Porsche's, the Cayman Clubsport 718 GT4's is the #7 Archangel Motorsports car for Americans Alan Brynjolfsson and Trent Hindman. They are sixth, in dayglow yellow. Then comes the #46 Team TGM Chevrolet Camaro in the hands of Hugh and Matt Plumb. The engines have fired, and we're set to get this race underway as we stay locked on to this event. Anyone who qualified has to start. There are so many intracacies to this track. It's pretty incredible. It'll be equal for everyone as we have the outlap underway with four hours on the clock.
Kuno Wittmer qualified on pole of course. There are actually more cars in this race than we saw the next day at the Rolex 24. 51 cars in this race, 38 in the Rolex 24. We are going through the grid and we'll talk about the drivers and cars as the race goes on. That McLaren we mentioned, car #3 was ordered a week ago and delivered and here it is, ready to race. This is a wonderful field. 33 GT4 cars and 18 TCR's as we said. TCR is a worldwide series in America, Europe, Asia, Australia, you name it. Tim Lewis and Roy Block in the #5 KMW Motorsport Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR. Will we see rain? Maybe. It's been cold here at Daytona while yours truly has been here for the race. We're five miles inland from the Atlantic ocean. The lights atop the BMW safety car are extinguished and we're set to race, in a matter of moments.
We've got a lot of variety in this race. They are properly in Noah's Ark formation and Kuno Wittmer will dictate the pace as we get underway. Wittmer ran a 1:52 as his best qualifying lap. We will have a split grid. GS (GT4) cars go and then the TCR cars get underway. The safety car peels off and now, we're green! The #95 Turner Motorsports BMW moves, but cannot pass and had to back off. That's Connor Bloum sharing with Aurora Strauss and Nick Longhi. He didn't pass anyone and Kuno Wittmer leads Tyler McQuarrie moves ahead of both Nate Stacy and Bryce Ward who has started the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT4. Ward is fourth and then comes Corey Lewis and Trent Hindman. Trent Hindman has the headlights on and he's beside the McLaren for fifth out of turn six.
An early drive through penalty for improperly marked tires, for the #3 M1 Racing Monk/Lewis McLaren. We also watch the lead scrap as Tyler McQuarrie and Nate Stacy both arepressing hard. McQuarrie up high, in a dead heat with Kuno Wittmer and Wittmer is in the marbles and Nate Stacy makes a pass. Pit stop time for the McLaren for the penalty. Bryce Ward in Mercedes #57 is moving up. KMW Motorsports leads TCR with Tim Lewis Jr. driving their #5 Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR and he is closely pursued by the #94, the second of two Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic TCR's, in the hands of Bryan Ortiz sharing with Nikko Reger.
Harry Gottsacker is third in the #21 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Veloster N TCR followed by Brian Henderson in the sister Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic TCR, car #84 that he shares with Todd Lamb. The tail ender's in GS are behind the TCR cars as we watch Kuno Wittmer being hounded by Nate Stacy. 1:55.140 for Nate Stacy in the Aston Martin. The McLaren has the power down the straights and in the infield and the Aston Martin is running well. Dean Martin, the owner and Larry Rehagen, team owners, for KOHR Motorsports are Ford devotees. But, Nate Stacy has the goal of moving up to the GT Daytona class in the WeatherTech Championship and he needs manufacturer backing. Well, Ford does not run a GT3 Mustang, and Aston Martin has a GT3 spec car. So, it stands to reason why Stacy is in the Aston Martin for this race and this season in Michelin Pilot Challenge.
Kuno Wittmer extends his lead. Tyler McQuarrie is ahead of Bryce Ward. Tyler McQuarrie and Bryce Ward are half a second apart. The mishmash of cars in different places continues. We have the McLaren leading the Mustang leading the Audi leading another McLaren. Trent Hindman is next in the Porsche Cayman followed by Hugh Plumb in the Chevrolet Camaro GT4 and Sebastian Priaulx in the #15 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 that he is sharing with Austin Cindric. Then comes Connor Bloum in the #95 BMW M4. Kyle Marcelli explains that the Aston Martin is lighter but they are getting used to the car. They know they're fast but are untested for distance. Marcelli and his team want a respectable result.
From Michelin, we have official temperatures and we are ar 24 degrees Celsius air temp and 29 degrees Celsius track temp. That'll be in the operating window for the tires as we watch this wonderful scrap for the top three. The GT4 cars are so different but so equal thanks to the work from the IMSA tech team. Scotland's Robby Dalgleish is going very well. He won the MINI Challenge in both the United Kingdom (England), and Scotland. He is a Scotsman and is running 23rd overall right now and 23rd in class. Both of the Bimmerworld BMW M4's are running very well right now as we keep an eye on the #80 currently in the hands of Nick Galante sharing with Dillon Machavern, and the #82 sister car is being shared by James Clay and Devin Jones. Back to the #26. The full lineup in that car is Robbie Dalgleish who is teamed with Steven McAleer, another Scot, and they are sharing with Dutch lady racer Beitske Visser.
Into the pit lane comes the Turner Motorsports BMW #95 car with a flat right rear tire. The car had possibly gotten a penalty but they need new tires. They've refueled the car but the right rear tire is down and they are working on the rear bodywork on the right side and the tire carcass meanwhile has rolled onto the grass. Meanwhile, Nate Stacy is in a spot of bother and is wriggling all over the shop into the Bus Stop. He loses spots to Trent Hindman and to Hugh Plumb. The flailing carcass has damaged the wheel arch on the BMW M4 GT4 and there's steel strands from the carcass of the tire that have wound their way around the suspension! Goodness gracious! They have to get rid of that swarth off the suspension ASAP.
Nate Stacy will have dirty tires and has dropped to sixth overall. Trent Hindman and Hugh Plumb got through as Connor Bloum has come to the lane for repairs as we've stated. Kuno Wittmer runs 8/10ths of a second ahead of Tyler McQuarrie. Hugh Plumb aboard the #46 TGM Racing Chevrolet Camaro is flying right now! He set the fastest lap of the motor race thus far at 1:55.108. 1:52.6 is the ultimate Michelin Pilot lap record around Daytona as in turn six one of the Ford Mustang's has a spot of bother. That's the #59 car, in Martini retro livery, another KoHR Mustang, labeled as KOHRTEX Motorsports, obviously a play on the front end of the brain. Sharing the KOHRTEX Mustang are Rich Golinello and Bob Michaelian.
Smoke is pouring from the left side of the Bob Michaelian Mustang. Damage to the left front corner after bashing the tire wall out of the western horseshoe and we watch the TCR battle. Aurora Strauss should be into the BMW M4 GT4 #95 but she says the electronics were playing up and they have an issue with their anti-lock brakes, the ABS system. The ABS system may have contributed to the puncture. This race is a wild one and has been that way in the past. Aurora Strauss will be into the car next and Billy Johnson will finish the race out. Bob Michaelian is in the lane and the old hammer is bashing out the bodywork as the tire is also being undone.
Nothing that the old Birmingham screwdriver won't fix./ Kuno Wittmer leads over Tyler McQuarrie and Russell Ward. Yours truly is very confused because in the race program they have him down as Bryce Ward, not Russell. Did they use his middle name or something? This is perplexing. In TCR, (a much smaller field) we see Tim Lewis Jr. leading in class aboard the #5 KMW Alfa Romeo ahead of of Stephen Vajda in the #18 Team Premat Audi RS3 TCR (his co-driver is the team owner and vastly experienced Frenchman Alexandre Premat), and in third in class is another Audi, the #23 FAST MD car in the hands of Max Faulkner, the American, sharing with Canadian driver James Vance.
Tim Lewis is 3.6 seconds ahead. Kuno Wittmer is a second ahead of Tyler McQuarrie. We also watch the a battle for 15th and 16th spots. Jim Cox at the wheel of the #35 Riley Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT4 he shares with fellow American driver Dylan Murry (son of longtime IMSA competitor David Murry), and U.S. based Dutchman, Jeroen Bleekemolen, is racing ahead of the #22 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 in the hands of Hailie Deegan, and she shares that automobile with fellow Ford factory NASCAR driver Chase Briscoe. This is great racing. This is the best weather we've had all weekend, and will be the best weather we'll have as the Rolex 24 was much colder.
Stephen Vajda is really running well in the Alex Premat Audi. Vajda ran races in another championship, in the SRO series that we've covered here on the blog, and Alexandre Premat, he won as a co-driver for Team Penske with Scott McLaughlin last fall in the Bathurst 1,000, Australia's greatest motor race in the Australian Supercars championship. Chris Miller has the L.A. Honda World TCR car in the pit lane. But maybe he went back out. It is an early stop for Miller. Whoops. Forgive me and forgive Mr. Jonny Palmer. This the #73 LA Honda World Honda Civic TCR. Mike LaMarra is the starting driver, sharing with Matt Pombo.
Formation flying as well, look, for Hyundai. All three Bryan Herta Autosport Veloster's are there. Gavin Ernstone in the #61 Road Shagger Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR is also giving it a great ride so far in this motor race. Ernstone, the Brit, is paired with American Jon Morley in that automobile. Ernstone makes a good move on one of the Hyundai's for position. His race craft is surely improving. Jon Morley is a former open wheel racer and he was also a driver coach after spending a decade or so out of a race car. The #37 car had a plastic bag stuck to the grille of the car and it was beginning to overheat. They've tumbled down the order. They are 18th and last in TCR.
Kuno Wittmer leads by 6/10ths of a second over Tyler McQuarrie and Russell Ward is third on the road as we look at the replay of the Turner Motorsport #95 BMW. Tim Lewis is giving the Alfa Romeo a good ride in TCR, leading Steven Vajda, Max Faulkner, Ryan Norman, and Gavin Ernstone. This group of TCR cars is heading down the front straight, through the tri oval. Max Faulkner has changed to Audi after driving for Honda in 2019. Ernstone passes Stephen Vajda. Ernstone is pushing, pushing, pushing.
Ernstone has clear track and he will be getting down to the business of catching Tim Lewis Jr. in the Alfa Romeo. We've got a long way to go yet. Mike Skeen, driving the #2 car, is having a good run. Now, yours truly has to find this entry because it must have been a late edition to the grid. It is not listed in the official race program. This is the #2 Ave Motorsports Audi R8 LMS GT4, Mike Skeen sharing with Mark Brummond. Kuno Wittmer is in a bit of a pickle in the lead as he's caught between two TCR cars! He's nearly sandwiched between a Hyundai Veloster and an Audi!
Tyler McQuarrie is coming, fast. His Audi is much quicker than is the McLaren except on the straightaways. McQuarrie gets really good drive out of the west horseshoe. Yikes! These blokes were going around another Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai, car #33, shared by WeatherTech Championship regular Gabby Chaves (who didn't have a ride for the Rolex 24), and Ryan Norman. There was another Hyundai there too, for Forty7 Motorsports, car #47 of Dario Cangialosi and Alex Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos is in that car right now. Michael Johnson, actually, in the #54 JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi RS3 LMS TCR was in that scrap, not the #47. The #54 car has Michael Johnson and Stephen Simpson.
Michael Johnson is a racer with a disability, as he was injured in a motorcycle wreck, but is still able to drive. We are a half an hour into this race. Alan Brynjolfsson is done with his first stint, debriefing with team manager Mike Johnson, again, no relation to the aforementioned driver of the same name, and we are also looking for a pit stop from the #65 Murillo Racing Mercedes AMG GT4, Tim Probert at the wheel of it. Probert is sharing with two more American drivers, Brent Mosing, and Justin Piscitell. Max Faulkner has his hands full with Harry Gottsacker in the #21 BHR Hyundai Veloster and actually, he is about to be passed by team mate Mason Filippi.
The Murillo Racing Mercedes is in the lane, and it has gone to the garage. The sister car, #56, is Jeff Mosing, and he runs 17th overall. Mosing is sharing #56 with Eric Foss as we see now, the #95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 back on track. That's the Straus/Longhi/Bloum car. Check that. It is back on the apron with trouble. Connor Bloum has another right rear punctured Michelin tire. He'll get it back to the lane, maybe. It's another right rear puncture for that car! Ugh! He's barely hanging on and the carcass is gone. It is somewhat on the racing line. We're just half an hour into this race and poor old Bloum has three tires on his wagon.
He's back to the lane for service. Aurora Straus said something about electrical trouble dealing with the ABS. Wondering if the ABS is at fault. The pit crew seems to be happy with how things are going. These cars have five lug wheels on them, and not a central locking lugnut. Maybe a sensor has been damaged in the ABS by a flailing Michelin tire. Gavin Ernstone has passed Tim Lewis Jr. in TCR. Is there a problem for the Alfa Romeo? The Alfa is losing speed. Pit stop time now too for Nate Stacy in the KoHR Aston Martin. H is recovering and the Alan Brynjolfson/Trent Hindman Porsche Cayman is also in the lane. The Aston Martin's configuration is changing the pit crew's choreography.
It's a learning experience. We're getting close to the scheduled window for first pit stops in this motor race. The pits will be closed until all cars have formed up behind the leader. If you have made a green flag stop, you are in the pound seats. Some of the teams will be due stops soon. A Hyundai is slow out of turn six. It looks like the #98 machine. Maybe it is a Honda. Into the lane, the #22 Ford Mustangs is in the lane. Hailie Deegan is in the car. She is doing a double stint. Deegan has changed over to Ford Performance Racing and she also ran in the ARCA race at Daytona, which actually took place yesterday. Bryce Ward was also in the lane in the #57 Winward Mercedes. The #37 LA Honda World Honda Civic TCR was having a slow drive. That's Chris Miller and Shelby Blackstock and Blackstock is at the controls right now.
Ryan Norman tags Gavin Ernstone in turn six. Ryan Norman leads Gavin Ernstone. The top three cars in the overall are in the lane, #13, #39, and #4. McLaren, Audi, Mercedes. Kuno Wittmer out of the McLaren, Orey Fidani in. The #39 Audi crew had some tire issues with attaching the tire to the stub axle. The #4 Mercedes' pit stop was restricted by the fuel flow. This is five lugnuts onto the wheel, not a center locking wheel nut like on the WeatherTech cars. Robbie Dalgleish has moved up to 17th but that was before pit stops. He was in fifth on the road, and he continues to move up. The Scotsman is having a great race. Frank DePew has not pitted yet. DePew is in the #71 Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4 sharing with Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis.
Hugh Plumb is running well and so is Orey Fidani. Corey Lewis is in the lane for his stop. Frank DePew is in and Sheena Monk will take over the #3 McLaren 570S GT4. The McLaren does have one central locking wheel nut but it is recalcitrant on one wheel. The #71 Camaro is back on track. Andrew Davis is in the car, replacing Frank DePew. Hugh Plumb is the new leader of this race in the #46 TGM Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R. Orey Fidani is second followed by Tyler McQuarrie, Russell Ward, and Sebastian Priaulx. Jeroen Bleeekemolen is tenth but has set the new fastest lap of the race at 1:54.8, fastest lap thus far.
Hyundai used to use the i30N four door car but they don't sell it in the U.S. and they now have the Veloster. The i30N is sold in Europe and races there. It's the same platform. The #21 Hyundai just pitted for the first time and so the next car will come in. That's the Mark Wilkins, Harry Gottsacker car. Tim Lewis Jr. is back to the top of the tree over Ryan Norman and more tire woes for the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4! Another rear tire has gone pop on the BMW! Aurora Straus, Nick Longhi, and Connor Bloum are just not having the race they want!
They've got to be in limp home mode for 3.56 miles again. Ugh. Meantime, the #33 Hyundai Veloster is in the lane for Ryan Norman. It's his first ever pit stop. He is the champion from Indy Lights in 2019. Ryan Norman is not a champion in Indy Lights but he is a driver who has run in the series. Gabby Chaves was the Indy Lights 2019 champ. Tim Probert and company have not reappeared on track, so it could be game over for Murillo Racing. Meanwhile, the #7 Archangel Motorsports Porsche Cayman now has Alan Brynjolfsson at the wheel of it. He has taken over for Trent Hindman. Bryce Ward and Jeroen Bleekemolen are both right in the thick of it for the lead of this motor race as well. Well, this isn't the lead battle but it looks like it could be.
This is actually a battle for fifth as we still see Hugh Plumb in the #46 TGM Chevrolet Camaro GT4 as the leader of the motor race. Bleekemolen wants to pass Brynjolfson and he does. Then comes Shane Lewis in the PF Racing Ford Mustang GT4 in tenth place. That is the #40 PF Racing Ford Mustang, in blue, with Shane Lewis, James Pesek, and Jade Buford on the driver's strength. In eight minutes, we will have reached the one hour mark of four in this race. Jeroen Bleekemolen dives ahead of Bryce Ward into the Bus Stop. Russell Ward has made a pass on 2019 champion Tyler McQuarrie.
Hugh Plumb still leads the motor race. Russell and Bryce Ward are actually both involved with the Winward team. Russell Ward is now ahead of Tyler McQuarrie for third while Hugh Plumb is whistling off into the distance. In the lane, the #5 Alfa Romeo Giulietta for KMW Motorsport, pitting from the lead of TCR. Another puncture for BMW #95! Good grief! I think that car has had four punctures and it is likely to retire from the race. There's been a slew of TCR pit stops and the #84 Atlanta Speedworks Honda is in the lane as is one of the L.A. Honda World cars, and the sister #94 Atlanta Speedworks Honda has a problem of some kind. Pit stop time as well for the #61 Audi RS3 LMS TCR. Tire punctures should not be appearing but it's only on one BMW. This is very dangerous for the boys and girls at Turner Motorsports. A small brake fire for the Audi but no worries.
Bryan Ortiz remains at the wheel of the #94 Honda. Everything is working out for the #5 Alfa Romeo team. Hugh Plumb leads the race by eight seconds. Stephen Vajda is in the lead in TCR but has not pitted yet. Hugh Plumb in the Camaro leads Orey Fidani in the McLaren. Pit stop time for the #81 TWOth Autosport/Baseline Audi RS3 LMS TCR, is in the pit lane, and it is being shared by two Canadian drivers, Ron Tomlinson and Travis Hill. The leader in TCR is in the lane. Stephen Vadja is in the lane from the class lead and we look for Tim Lewis and Gavin Ernstone. Max Faulkner may be the new leader as we're an hour into this race. Faulkner of course is sharing the #23 FastMD Audi RS3 LMS TCR with James Vance.
We have a spin for the #47 Hyundai Veloster of Alex Papadopoulos, sharing with 2019 Formula 1600 champion Dario Cangialosi. We've got a big incident, a spin, on the backstretch with the #51 MCC Motorsport Mercedes AMG GT4. That car is white in the race program but is blue in the race, shared by two Brazilians, Atila Abreu and Leo Sanchez. Leo Sanchez is driving, making his North American debut, and ran a Porsche GT3 Cup car in Brazil and the Sanchez/Abreu duo won in a Porsche GT3 in Brazil last year. Also, Abreu is a veteran Brazilian Stock Car driver. The traffic is now clumped together. Many of these cars do not have the top speed that the McLaren 570S does. Poor old Connor Bloum has more issues, while the sister car is 23rd in the overall. That's the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 with the trio of Robby Foley, Bill Auberlen, and Vincent Barletta.
We are also observing car #24, the Ian Lacey Racing Ford Mustang GT4 shared by Frank Gannett II. and Drew Staveley. A spin too, for the #38 BGB Motorsports Porsche Cayman, being driven by Tom Collingwood from Canada, American John Tecce, and Belgian veteran Jan Heylen. Actually, I think Heylen is a Dutchman. #38 was in a precarious spot in turn one and thank God he didn't get hit! A lot of these cars have safety equipment on the right side of the car and couldn't see. John Tecce, from Ormond Beach, Florida, right up the road, at the wheel of it. The #39 Audi has higher top speed and the McLaren can have the power off the corner. The Aston Martin and the Mercedes are also in the thick of it.
The top three remain the same while we watch Hailie Deegan trying to pass one of the Mercedes. Jeroen Bleekemolen is chasing Sebastian Priaulx and Tim Probert, who Hailie Deegan is chasing, is 51st and last in the field. Tyler McQuarrie runs fourth with Russell Ward ahead. BMW #95 may have sorted out their tire troubles. We've got a collision off the western horseshoe. A TCR car has tangled up with an Audi R8 LMS GT4. It's Marc Brummond and Chris Miller who have gotten together. In replay, it's simple Marc Brummond spun out, and as he spins like a top, there's no place for Chris Miller in the Honda to go, and... crunch! Miller was forced to driver's left. Gavin Ernstone was a lucky chap to avoid that whole mess. This is our first Full Course Yellow after an hour and ten minutes.
The left front tire will be damaged, perhaps. They might get back into the race and the #37 Honda was having radiator issues due to a plastic bag. But it might be game over for the Miller/Blackstock Honda. The #2 is in the lane being repaired. Hugh Plumb's lead has evaporated and Orey Fidani is drawing closer. Russell Ward and Tyler McQuarrie are next up in the order. Plumb leads and Owen Trinkler in the sister TGM Camaro is next in line. TGM ran Mercedes last year and they've changed to the Camaro GT4.R for this season. Owen Trinkler is sharing the car with Ted Giovanis. Trinkler is now a lap down.
Orey Fidani has the #13 McLaren in second spot. He's in the fight for the lead here without question. Fidani is a Silver rated driver. He is also a former champion in Porsche Cup Canada in 2015. His father is one of the principals at Mosport in Canada (now Canadian Tire Motorsports Park). Some TCR cars were trapped between the safety car and their class leader, racing around to get caught up with the end of the crocodile. Then pit lane will be opened for action. The damaged Honda is being lifted onto the flatbed truck. The marshals are clearing up the tire carcass from the BMW and doing some track maintenance, some track cleaning, here at Daytona.
Honda #37 is indeed on the flatbed headed for the garage. Orey Fidani is fourth on the road behind Owen Trinkler and the #99 Automatic Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 that is a lap down in GS/GT4. That's driven today by Gary Ferrera and Kris Wilson. Max Faulkner leads Gavin Ernstone and Ryan Norman in TCR. The GS cars are in the lane. The TGM Camaro is first into the lane, refueling and changing tires. No driver change. Hugh Plumb will do another stint. Refueling is the restriction. The TGM Camaro has a good stop and the McLaren is still in the lane. One of the Audi's has also been released. Tyler McQuarrie brought the Audi in and Jeff Westphal may have gotten into the car.
Tyler McQuarrie is still in the Audi. Second place will go to the #4 Winward Mercedes and Indy Dontje, the Dutchman has taken over the driving chores from Russell Ward for the next stint. Third is still the #15 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 in the hands of Sebastian Priaulx. Then comes Mercedes #35 with Jeroen Bleekemolen driving. Hailie Deegan, meanwhile, in the #22 Multimatic Mustang, the sister car to the Sebastian Priaulx entry, is having tire trouble. Something is wrong with the left front wheel and there's smoke trailing from it. GT4 cars do not run carbon brakes, they run iron brakes. So it wouldn't be a brake issue. There has to be something amiss with the wheel, the left front, on Deegan's Mustang.
She was running 15th in the overall. The tire is rubbing and she'll hear a bad grinding sound in the cockpit. Yes. The left front tire is going down. The tire is gone and she's limping on the apron on the rim. She will get the car to the lane but you don't want to do further damage to the car. We will see the pits open for TCR and the yellow remains out. Both Bryan Herta Hyundai's are in the lane and so is the Alfa. The #5 KMW Alfa Romeo is pitting and it is down and away. So are the Audi's and Honda's. The #54 JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi RS3 LMS TCR has taken tires only. No fuel and no driver change. For the TCR cars, they were in the lane ten laps ago.
There will be three more stops at least and Hailie Deegan is in the lane and a few drivers have not pitted in TCR. There are still troubles with the #22 Mustang for Hailie Deegan. Now, in TCR this is the order. Max Faulkner leads ahead of Gavin Ernstone, Steven Vajda, and then the #74 Hyundai of A.J. Muss and Brian Henderson's #84 Honda. The #22 team mechanics are pushing the Mustang behind the wall. Hailie Deegan likely will be going behind the wall. Hailie is a Ford development driver moving up from the NASCAR K&N Series. Her father was a rallycross and X Games rally driver. A.J. Muss is a former snowboarder.
Before her car racing career, Hailie Deegan was an off road bike racer. You want to be out there racing and you are sitting there having the car fixed. Let's hope this is a quick fix and she is staying in the car. If this were a sprint race, a two hour event, Deegan would be out of luck, but this one is a four hour enduro and we are almost an hour and a half in, on elapsed time, and so she might just get back into the fight before long. Audi #2 is going behind the wall. Shane Lewis says that he and his team are still on the lead lap. They've had issues through the stint, but they aren't too bad. James Pesek is in the car right now.
The Lewis/Pesek/Buford Mustang is 13th overall right now and the banking does strain the tires. They've run in the wet until today. It's caught everyone off guard. This is the first time we've run all week with warm weather and we didn't have the same conditions at the Roar test either. Look for Jeroen Bleekemolen, Mike McCann Jr., Nate Stacy, and Andrew Davis. The car we want to keep an eye on is the #8 McCann Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4. Mike McCann Jr., the aforementioned driver is sharing with Britt Casey Jr. Green flag out again and Tyler McQuarrie leads into turn one over Indy Dontje. Hugh Plumb runs third and Jeroen Bleeekemolen is level with the Camaro coming to the kink.
Plumb runs hot into the west horseshoe trying to pass but has the door slammed in his face by Indy Dontje and he's trapped as the meat in the middle of a Dutch open sandwich. It's the Indy and Jeroen show, look. Eric Foss is being hounded by Trent Hindman, door handle to door handle onto the banking and we also look back to check on our pals in the TCR division. Max Faulkner leads in class over Brian Henderson and Gavin Ernstone. Actually, Chad Gilsinger probably has gone by Gavin Ernstone in the #89 HART Honda Civic. HART is Honda America Racing Team, a group of Honda employees from the factory, run the team, and the trio of drivers includes Chad Gilsinger, Cameron Lawrence, and Steve Eich.
Three wide for second! Hugh Plumb goes under Jeroen Bleekemolen! Yikes! Bleekemolen gets the drive o0nto the road course section. Yikes! These blokes are really playing smart after this yellow. You aren't just poking your nose in and risking crashing. Hugh Plumb and Eric Foss battle and so does Trent Hindman and Indy Dontje. Jeroen Bleekemolen is flying and is back to the lead passing Tyler McQuarrie as Eric Foss makes his move on Hugh Plumb. These two know each other well. The Mercedes has the straight line speed over the Audi. The GT4 Mercedes is a 4 liter turbocharged V8 vs. the 5.2 liter mid engine V10 Audi.
Balance of Performance equalizes these cars. The IMSA tech team has to very carefully sort out BoP. Bleekemolen leads the motor race from Tyler McQuarrie, Eric Foss, Hugh Plumb, and Nate Stacy. Nate Stacy has been moving up consistently and Indy Dontje is running well too. Beitske Visser in the #26 Fast Track Racing BMW M4 GT4, has been doing well. She is in the lane for service and is doing well in this race. What is wrong with the Classic BMW? They will put sticker Michelin Pilot tires on the car. They are changing tires, but having issuwes, and Hugh Plumb, the former race leader has gone off the road. There are dents and dings in the bodywork.
He's caught the wall, maybe. There's a mark on the left rear wheel arch. It's a minor mark but something is wrong as it's trundling to the pit lane and there is a TCR car in the lane, too. TGM has had some baffling things with both their cars and Owen Trinkler is still their one bullet in the gun at this stage while #46 is coming in. Box, box, box. Nothing looks apparent. The car didn't hit the wall. There's a slight mark on the left rear, actually, no. The rear axle may have been tweaked. The jack stands hav been pulled out if the air jack fails. Maybe the driveshaft has been tweaked and because of that it could be game over. One wheel is spinning, and they can't move the car. There might be a transmission trouble.
Ah. The driveshaft is gone. Game over for the #46 TGM Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R. Hugh and Matt Plumb are out. Troubles too for the #5 Alfa Romeo as it appears in the lane. Roy Block and Tim Lewis Jr. have issues of their own. They fueled the car and have opened the bonnet. The engine is running but maybe it's dropped a cylinder and the car might have a misfire or is on three of it's four cylinders. Rev the car and it's dead. It's got three cylinders. Poor old Roy Block and Tim Lewis are out. The exhaust manifold may be broken. They can fix the car but might not finish the race. Ugh. That's not good. KMW team boss Kevin Wheeler is not a happy man.
More woe for the #95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4. It's rolling again down the lane. Indy Dontje meanwhile is being caught by Nate Stacy and Nate Stacy wants the spot. Oh my! Anothwer car off the road and this is the #14 car that has spun and faces the wrong way. It was going for a pass and spun after cutting inside of the #99 Automatic Racing Aston Martin, forcing the Aston off the road and he spun as well, rotating backwards and into the tire wall with the side of the car. He's back in the motor race or so it seems. This is the #14 Bluff City/Autometrics Mercedes AMG GT4 that has spun off, being shared by three American drivers. Anton Dias Perera, Cory Friedman, and Dan Clark sharing the driving chores there.
#99 is back on it's way. That's the Gary Ferrera/Kris Wilson car. In the meantime, we have another sintilating battle, look, in TCR. Max Faulkner and Ryan Norman are battling for the lead and Ryan Norman does take the lead and here comes Mason Filippi in the second Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Veloster. The Alfa Romeo is being repaired. Norman leads Filippi and Faulkner. Hyundai, Hyundai, Audi, Honda. Matt Pombo is fourth in class. Three of the four TCR brands are being represented and Max Faulkner is going well, but Matt Pombo is flying too. Harry Gottsacker is not far behind in the second Hyundai Veloster.
The #95 BMW had tire pickup and they were checking as a precaution, the tires. No puncture this time. That car will have a major vibration. Four cars are locked together and one of the BMW M4's outbrakes itself, the #80 car, Nick Galante at the wheel of it. We also are keeping an eye on the #31 Team Hardpoint Audi R8 GT4 with Spencer Pumpelly driving, sharing with Rob Ferriol. Philip Ellis is in the #57 Mercedes, the Brit who lives in Germany right now. Jeroen Bleekemolen has begun to pull away from Tyler McQuarrie and Eric Foss remains in third spot. Tim Probert is in the lane with the heavily delayed #65 Murillo Racing Mercedes AMG GT4. Probert sharing with Brent Mosing and Justin Piscitell.
The #43 Aston Martin is moving up. This is another new team. Stephen Cameron Racing has their Aston Martin well placed with American drivers Gregory Liefooghe and Ari Balogh. Gregory Liefooghe is at the wheel currently. One of the Honda's is slow. Ryan Norman is pushing hard over the curbs, the all red #33 car with the giant N on the side and Hyundai on the roof and the bonnet. Mason Filippi is next. Max Faulkner in the Audi is third in TCR. All three BHA cars are in the top five in TCR while Jeroen Bleekemolen leads Tyler McQuarrie by 5.4 seconds and in third spot, Eric Foss. It's Audi, the meat in a Mercedes sandwich. It's again, German sausage in a pumpernickel bun. Jeroen Bleekemolen is on a Friday afternoon cruise here at Daytona some six seconds to the good over the McQuarrie & Foss show.
Bleekemolen is running away with this rac right now as we watch Orey Fidani scrapping with Nate Stacy. Their battle continues. In the meatime, we have seen a pit stop for Robby Foley at the wheel of the sister #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4, which has been running much better in this race than it's star-crossed sister car. Foley sharing #96 with Bill Auberlen and Vincent Barletta. Jeroen Bleekemolen extends his lead and he's run 53 laps, 189 miles. So, he's run the distance of a standard Formula 1 Grand Prix around Daytona so far, but there's a good chunk of the race still to go. We'll be at the halfway mark on the clock in about five minutes.
Orey Fidani passes Nate Stacy through the tri oval and Fidani goes up to fifth place. The TCR battle continues and sees Ryan Norman running ahead of Mason Filippi and Max Faulkner, while Harry Gottsacker has also made his way past Mat Pombo. Three Bryan Herta Hyundai's are in the top four along with Max Faulkner in the Aud RS3 and Bryan Ortiz in a Honda Civic TCR. We've of course seen the demise of the Alfa Romeo of Tim Lewis and Roy Block. It has long since been au revoir Tim and Roy, or should I say, arriva derci. The Mercedes battle continues for third overall among the GT4 cars, the Grand Sport entries as they are known in IMSA as Eric Foss is fending off the challenge from Indy Dontje. We'll see more pit stops in the next few minutes. Tom O'Gorman is in the booth with Jonny and Jeremy.
He has been watching this race, and not racing here today. But like the rest of us, he is watching the race today. Again, yours truly is right there, trackside, watching this motor race unfold. Tom O'Gorman was very close to being in the race for Honda, and he is a fan today instead of a driver. There's this huge blend of different tracks through the year and Daytona is one of the more unique places. The Audi is faster than the Hyundai in the draft, and wow, we see Sheena Monk run way wide in the Bus Stop in the #3 M1 Racing McLaren, and now, a Honda Civic is headed for the garage. It's the #89 HART Honda. That's Chad Gilsinger sharing with Cameron Lawrence and Steve Eich.
Mat Pombo is the best placed Honda right now and according to Tom O'Gorman, he's a wheel man. Oh dear me! The #23 Audi of Max Faulkner is slow on the apron, and he was applying the blowtorch to Hyundai earlier on. He's got to be either out of fuel or something has gone awry with the electronics. This will be a Full Course Yellow, and it seems there's smoke off the brakes. He's at the exit of NASCAR turn two. Game over for Faulkner and he's moving and stopped again. There's something left in the locker but maybe in the starter motor only. Ryan Norman leads from Mason Filippi and the #26 Classic BMW has a right rear puncture and it has come into a closed pit lane for emergency service.
This has been a BMW problem. There's a new wheel on the car and they are down and away, hopefully. Yes. He's back on his way. An hour and 55 minutes remaining. We're still under yellow as the Audi is being retrieved, and pit stop time for a couple of Mercedes' into the lane. Everyone into the lane for service. A slew of GS cars are in the lane with #35 in the pit lane. Dylan Murry gets into the car and Kuno Wittmer will be into the #13 McLaren while Jeff Westphal is taking over the Audi. No driver change for Trent Hindman in the Archangel Porsche. Andrew Davis hands the Rebel Rock Camaro to Robin Liddell and Seb Priaulx hands the #15 Mustang to Austin Cindric.
We'll see pit stops for TCR coming up as well. The #3 McLaren has pitted for tires and other teams are readying for pit stops as well. Insofar as tactical benefits, those who weren't getting good fuel mileage will be at an advantage before we go back to green. The Aston Martin's were worried about fuel consumption and they've been given a whole four liters of fuel for their tanks even though they wanted eight. No one really benefitted on fuel mileage after these rtecent pit stops. Robby Foley stayed out and so did Jan Heylen as both of them were a lap down and will be pointed by the safety car to go to the tail end of the crocodile. The TCR cars are now in the lane and we've run 58 laps, 206 miles.
Ryan Norman pits the #33 Hyundai Veloster and it's his first pit stop as he turns the car over to Gabby Chaves. Pit work continues. James Vance is suited and booted to take over from Max Faulkner. There's nothing worse than being rushed. Some drivers have to be ready before they get going and think through what they have to do while other drivers can scramble to get all their gear before the driver change. No time to get nervous. Everyone has a ritual and then, you get into the car and get down to business. When you clock in for a race you do have a job to do and you cannot ease into anything like you do in daily life.
51 cars in this motor race, absolutely incredible. IMSA has done very well with Michelin Pilot Challenge. GT4 and TCR work well together. The conditions have changed constantly this weekend. The #23 Audi we've been speaking about has just rejoined the race, four laps behind. We have also seen a mechanical black flag or "meatball" flag for the #74 Forty7 Motorsports Hyundai Veloster shared by A.J. Muss and Ben Waddell, and so the stewards will want that car in the lane to serve a penalty, stat. ...And, well, look who's here. The #5 Alfa Romeo is actually making it's way back onto the track.
They had trouble with the exhaust manifold. I thought that car was black, but it's dark, dark cherry red. The red is like Coca Cola or so it seems. The lights are out atop the safety car and we're ready to go back to green with an hour and 43 minutes on the board still. We're going back to green! Down to the first turn and we have a long run 'round the outside, the Winward Mercedes and the Murillo Mercedes, pressing each other hard. Philip Ellis has been charging like mad and he's into the top five. Orey Fidani has handed the McLaren #13 back to Kuno Wittmer who is second overall and Aston Martin is pressing hard as well.
In TCR, it's the Audi in the lead over Hyundai in second and third. Alexandre Premat leads Mike Lewis and Todd Lamb, the top three in TCR. Hyundai, Audi, Honda. Three wide for the lead in class in TCR! It's absolutely incredible! The TCR cars are flying and we see a penalty for the #13 McLaren for speeding in the lane! No! No! No! This can't happen! Yikes! We see the #22 Ford Mustang go off the road with vibrations through the onboard camera. Now, yours truly is not sure but it could be that Chase Briscoe is back in the car taking over from Hailie Deegan. The Turner Motorsports BMW was experiencing tire trouble, and the team and Michelin have said that their tire pressures need to be adjusted, and the Mercedes' are scrapping. It's the "Tangerine Dream" vs. the silver car and Jeff Westphal in the Carbahn #39 Audi is also back there.
TCR has Alex Premat leading and the whole rest of the field is scrapping back there. Too bad VW and Audi are not prioritizing TCR, even though they will service their cars and Mazda is coming next year. Premat has broken away. Audi has the top speed. The aero of a sedan has different characteristics than does a hatchback. Traffic becoming an issue for the GS cars, the GT4's. Phil Ellis has set a new fast lap and now, Eric Foss is second behind Dylan Murry. We have three Mercedes' in the top three and then an Audi and then another Mercedes and Kyle Marcelli is sixth in the Aston Martin. Gabby Chaves is back in the #33 Hyundai and Ryan Norman pitted the car before getting out.
It is his first time in sports car racing, coming from Indy Lights and he loves sports car racing. Good onya' mate. The Mercedes battle is nose to tail and side by side! This is for second. Foss is all over Ellis like a cheap suit! Yikes! The copper orange Mercedes is behind the silver and blue one. They eat up the Alfa Romeo TCR. All kinds of action at the top of the shop in GS. You need situational awareness and the Turner BMW is in strife again! That's probably the #96 car. It's just come out of the lane after a drive through penalty. Eric Foss is pushing, pushing, pushing and we see Mat Pombo vs. Mark Wilkins. It's Honda vs. Hyundai.
The TCR cars are all homologated similarly but they all race together really well as we see Mikey Taylor in one of the Audi's pushing hard against Mat Pombo and Mike Lewis. This is fantastic racing. Just fantastic. Stephen Simpson, the South African who we see in the WeatherTech Championship is also in the wars here. This is some fabulous racing. This is wonderful racing through the International Horseshoe. An hour and a half to go, exactly. Ah. Improper wave by procedure for the Forty7 Motorsports car, A.J. Muss and Ben Waddell have been slammed with a four minute penalty! Ouch! That smarts!
Turner Motorsports is having tire trouble. They may have installed something in their cars that is stressing out their tires. It may be a camber problem and the car is going into limp home mode. The tires from Michelin in no way are the trouble. The writing is on the wall, but something has changed they'll have to figure out before the next Michelin Pilot race which will be at Sebring and you will hear more about that before we finish this race. Phil Ellis has fastest lap at 1:54.295. Eric Foss defending from Jeff Westphal and Indy Dontje as well. Some bump drafting, look, through the kink. More trouble for the #46 TGM Camaro. Has the V8 in that car gone bang? There's smoke emanating out the back.
He's into the International Horseshoe and pulling off into the corner station. It's game over for car #46. Matt and Hugh Plumb are both champions in Michelin Pilot Challenge. 253 starts, 33 wins, 78 podium finishes, but not today. Another "Mr. BMW", James Clay is having a good race. The car is clean and fast and they've maintained their track position. They have something left in the locker. Clay is going to run the Pikes Peak Hill Climb again as he did last year. They've built an old E36 model BMW for Pikes Peak. Pikes Peak is scarier now, according to legendary driver Rhys Millen, since it is paved, than when it was a dirt road up the mountain.
Now, more bother for the #22 Multimatic Ford Mustang. Chase Briscoe is at the controls. That car is stopped dead stick on the road. Meantime, Phil Ellis is continuing to be monstered by Eric Foss. One more pit stop for everyone before this motor race ends. Traffic giveth. Traffic taketh away. The #26 Classic BMW BMW M4 passes the #18 Team Premat Audi RS3. Don't lose time. Manage errors. The #22 Mustang is trundling 'round with no speed. Hailie Deegan at the wheel of it and she's got no drive. That's a driveline. On the upshift, there was a horrid clunk, which may have pulled the driveshaft, ripping it out of the car. It's got to be game over. That's a mechanical noise that makes you wince.
Our colleague, Paul Truswell, a British racing commentator and statistician, he is beginning a new phase of his career with actually working on a team over in Europe, in sports car racing. But his idea is to go down afrer the race is over, and see the cars after they're covered in the grease and grime and clag, and have bits and pieces that are broken off, and not all shiny and new. That's where you hear the stories of endurance sports car races, from something as short as this event to the 24 hour race that ran here at Daytona the next day that you've all read about already. Every mark. Every battle scar, tells a story. You get the IMSA treatment.
The Audi's are cycling towards the front here in TCR. They can go just under an hour on fuel and the Hyundai blokes are getting irritated seeing the Audi's really try to reel them in. Oh dear. More drama, look, as the #73 L.A. Honda World Civic TCR has a right front tire flat. He is in the chicane as we speak. The #37 car had the same issue earlier. The tire is great. Michelin really helps with tire pressure and so forth. This is in NASCAR turns one and two. The carcass of the tire is right on the douhble yellow line. The faster car has to go high up on the bank and the slow cars stay low on the bank.
The #73 Honda is in the lane having the rim removed and getting a new tire. Two new front tires, and a splash of fuel that could stretch to the end but maybe not as we have an hour and 15 to go and the other tire was not seated, but it is now, and they are back out as the #74 Hyundai is in the lane, in the penalty box that they are now serving after probably arguing with the stewards about said fairness of the penalty and it's terrible for a driver to serve the penalty committed by the team driver, another bloke at fault and you have to serve the penalty. They've taken the cones out of the access road and this is tough for the drivers. One driver on the charge is the #8 Britt Casey Jr. driven McCann Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4 and he's moved up to a good place. The gap between Dylan Murry and Phil Ellis has come down.
Dylan Murry leads Phil Ellis, Indy Dontje, Eric Foss, and Jeff Westphal. The GS cars have all done 21 laps or so. We're 19 laps into the stint and we have an hour and 11 minutes to go. We've appreciated having Tom O'Gorman in the booth. Great driver. Mercedes has the top four places in the overall and we have more drama for the #15 Austin Cindric driven Motorcraft sponsored Ford Mustang for Multimatic. Spencer Pumpelly has the Hardpoint Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4 up to eight in GS, car #31. All of the leaders have run 20 laps on their current stint. Oh! A coming together at the Bus Stop with the TCR leader who has been biffed off the road by one of the Porsche's and the Multimatic Motorcraft Mustang is going behind the wall.
Also, the Automatic Racing Aston Martin is in the lane for fuel. Kris Wilson is in the lane in car #99. He will finish this race or so it seems. The bright green Cayman forced ALexnadre Premat off the road and thanfkully has not gained any places. Just over an hour to go. Jan Heylen made a very low percentage move. That was a dumb move from a driver as experienced as Jan Heylen, the Dutchman. Jan, Jan, Jan, what were you trying to do there sunshine? Two experienced drivers would have ended up crashed out in a smoldering heap. Ugh. We've now run 79 laps, 281 miles, and have just over an hour left in the race.
Pit stop time for the #57 Mercedes. Fuel and tires only for the Ward/Ellis car and no driver change. Nobody has done more than 22 laps in a stint. That's as much as a GS/GT4 car can do in green flag racing as Austin Cindric forlornly gets out of the #15 Mustang. Not good for Austin or Seb, Sebastian Priaulx. Jan Heylen is at fault for the incident he had with Alexandre Premat. Damage on the left rear splitter of the #57 Mercedes. We've also seen damage for the BGB Porsche, smoking badly. The leader, the #35 Riley Technology Mercedes will get new skins. Dylan Murry will be in good shape. New skins for the #39 Audi of Jeff Westphal and here comes Britt Casey Jr. in Audi #8. Keep an eye on the #64 TGM Camaro, the blue car, with Owen Trinkler at the wheel of it as we welcome Jonny Palmer back to the hot seat in the IMSA Radio booth.
Now, Devin Jones is looking to make a stop and will do so next time by. More woe for Porsche's as Jan Heylen is still losing a tire carcass and we could have trouble for the #7 Volt Racing Porsche Cayman. We do! The #7 car for Trent Hindman and Alan Brynjolfsson has stopped in the pit lane, literally stopped. It has no fire, no juice. #7 is not moving. It's stopped in the lane wih the lights on. Other cars are apporoaching the lane as the team is going to push it out of the way and it';s right in the way of cars trying to pit. One of the BMW M4's slithers around it. Apparently the car is out of fuel and has nothing to fire on to the box at the end of the lane. The #38 car meanwhile has indeed lost a tire. It's three wheels on my wagon and a right rear tire gone on an anticlockwise circuit like here at Daytona.
The #57 Mercedes is also trundling to the pit lane and it too has been in the wars. Phil Ellis was just in and he stays out on track as they've told him to stay out. Wait to see if you get the meatball flag. The left rear fender trim is loose and now, we have an hour to go as the #64 Owen Trinkler Camaro leads. The #82 and #13 cars have pitted. Kuno Wittmer is at the tail end of the lead lap. The #39 Audi has pitted and is down and away, and the #96 Turner BMW is going back behind the wall as it's sister car has done already for sure. Owen Trinkler now hits the lane. He is the last of the leaders to pit and we're into the final run to the flag with just 58 minutes on the board.
For fuel, the leaders can run 21-22 laps at the most under green flag conditions. Dylan Murry leads the motor race in the #35 Riley Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT4 that Jeroen Bleekemolen was driving earlier, and started by Jim Cox. Phillip Ellis is next followed by Eric Foss. Four Mercedes AMG GT's in the top four spots with Jeff Westphal next in the Audi R8 GT4 followed by the Aston Martin's of Kyle Marcelli and Gregory Liefooghe. Jeff Westphal has run very well sharing with Tyler McQuarrie. Dylan Murry and Phil Ellis are running 1-2 and Ellis will stay on track not worried about the loose bodywork on the right rear corner. That car has the fastest lap of the motor race 1:54.294. Ellis is German, from Munich.
Eric Foss is still third in a car I shall refer to here and now as the ginger tangerine special. That car is in an incredible shade of burnt orange. Indy Dontje next up. Alex Premat for his own team leads for Audi and it's a 1-2-3 for the Audi RS3 LMS with Road Shagger and Speed Syndicate next up. Mike Taylor is in the Speed Syndicate machine, from Pretoria, South Africa. Two TCR Audi's in the lane as the #61 Road Shagger Ernstone/Morley entry, and the #32 FAST MD in the hands of Mikey Taylor and William Talley, which I believe is the same as the aforementioned Speed Syndicate automobile. I think that Audi goes under both team names, to avoid any confusion. John Morley might have had a braking issue. Alexandre Premat has brought his Audi in and Stephen Vadja helped with the drink bottle and didn't get into the car.
The #32 car is still not oving. They are still fueling the car for Mikey Taylor and he's clear to go now with two new front Michelin Pilot tires. #61 will now fight with #18. Oh no! ANother puncture for the #95 Turner BMW! Right rear! This is getting ridiculous with the punctured tires and the Turner Motorsports cars! We've seen four, maybe five punctures for this car, and now, the #33 BHA Hyundai Veloster is in the lane, Gabby Chaves at the wheel of it. Chaves stays in the car. Hyundai is doing a watch party at their headquarters in Irvine, California. 50 minutes to go now. We watch the #57 Mercedes of Philip Ellis, chasing Dylan Murry in the #35 Mercedes. Indy Dontje has made a pass on Eric Foss.
Four Mercedes' followed by Jeff Westphal in the #39 Audi and then comes Kyle Marcelli in the #60 Aston Martin and then comes the identical car, the #43 Steven Cameron entry in the hands of Greg Liefooghe is next. The #98 Robins' Egg Blue Hyundai Veloster is moving up and that car comes to pit lane and he's just rejoined the race, going longer than anyone else in TCR making it's final stop with now 48 minutes to go. Turner Motorsports has swapped another tire and the IMSA and Michelin brass have been watching on along with IMSA Technical Director, Geoff Carter. After the race they'll take the car apart and figure out what on earth is going on.
Audi #61 lets the #80 BMW M4 by. That's Dillon Machavern in the Bimmerworld car. Dylan Murry leads Phil Ellis by just about 1.2 seconds. The #65 Murillo Racing Mercedes has lost bodywork, 28th in the overall with Justin Piscitell at the wheel of it. We've got 45 minutes left on the clock. They don't need a pit stop at this stage in the race as we are getting close to the end. Do you take the splash and dash early? Or, do you take it late? Did you take less fuel last time? There are numerous strategies you can play for that. You want the car as light as possible for the final segment of the race which we are in now with 44-45 minutes to go.
Think about drive times as well. Each driver in each car has to run a minimum of 40 minutes and they don't use any driver grading in this series really. Platinum drivers are not allowed in GT4/TCR or in Michelin Pilot Challenge altogether. Dylan Murry is only 18 years old, and has been racing in Michelin Pilot Challenge now for a few years. He's managing the pace running in the 1:54 range. Jeroen Bleekemolen was ready to go and he's been told to stand down from his driving stint and we've run 91 laps, 324 miles in this race, with Philip Ellis still reminding Murry that he's right there, just 8/10ths of a second out. Audi #18 with Alex Premat at the controls is in the lane. Stephan Vajda ran a great first stint, but there's an issue for the Audi.
The team is looking at something at the right rear, with the wheel. The bonnet is open too. A left front wheel rim is there but there's another tire puncture for the #84 Honda Civic TCR. Cars #56 and #39 are making their final stops of the race. Carbahn is good to go, and they have changed just rear tires. Into the lane now, Dylan Murry, with 40 minutes left on the clock. They will fuel the car. Jeroen Bleekemolen is still in the pit perch and so Dylan Murry will take the car to the end of the race with new tires on the right side. They are glossy sticker tires. It's Christmas for him. Jeroen Bleekemolen looking on from the pit box, nervously. Bill Riley has indeed made the call.
Audi #8 is in the lane and so is the #56 Murillo Mercedes as Eric Foss will take the car to the end. Their sister car was right in front, having a star crossed motor race. The #4 Winward Racing Mercedes is in the lane, and sad news, as the pole winning #13 McLaren of Kuno Wittmer and Orey Fidani, is going behind the wall. Game over. The polesitting car is out of the motor race so close to the end. What a shame. Only three McLaren's have entered this race. Make that two. There wasn't a third 570S entered in the motor race. From the race lead, Philip Ellis is in the lane and they will fix the bodywork? Maybe not. They are doing a normal pit stop, topping up the fuel tank, and they've taken rear tires only.
They did pull the bodywork off and Ellis is back into the action. It's a race now between #35 and #57! #35 is in the tri oval, and the #57 is in the pit lane. A number of GS cars have not pitted yet. There's a donut on the right side of the car after some contact. Game over for Alex Premat and Stephen Vadja. The car is in the garage. The TCR picture sees the #61 John Morley Road Shagger Audi followed by Mikey Taylor for Speed Syndicate and then comes Stephen Simpson in the #54 JDC-Miller Audi. Then comes all three BHA Hyundai's. Mike Lewis, Gabby Chaves, and Mark Wilkins, respectively. #35, Dylan Murry had to take evasive action passing Ryan Eversley in the #77 L.A. Honda World Civic that he shares with Tyler Hagler.
Kyle Marcelli in the Aston Martin, car #60 leads the motor race and has yet to hit the lane for his final pit stop. Dylan Murry runs second. 1:55.3 last lap time for Marcelli. Ryan Eversley is in the #77 limping 'round with a right front tire, flat. These TCR cars are front wheel drive compared to rear wheel drive for the GT4 cars. The #95 BMW is having yet another pobelm and is going slowly. Can it be another puncture? Good grief. #35 leads #57. The gap is hovering around a second and it's ballooned to nine seconds with Indy Dontje third, six seconds further in-arrears. Robin Liddell is next in the #71 Rebel Rock Camaro who has to stop yet and Jeff Westphal is next who has made his final stop, and then comes the #3 McLaren for M1 Racing with Corey Lewis and Sheena Monk.
They need to stop. Then comes Greg Liefooghe in the #43 Aston Martin who has also made his last stop. There was a wheel issue on the #56 Mercedes for Eric Foss. The car had to come back to the lane. Another right rear tire for the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW. It is game over for #95, making the hard left turn behind the wall. Retiring from the motor race, both Turner BMW's as we see the #60 car in the lane. This car has run 100 laps, 356 miles, still looking fresh as a daisy. Mercedes #35 with Dylan Murry goes to the race lead. 8.9 seconds is the margin between Dylan Murry and Phil Ellis, followed by Indy Dontje and Robin Liddell. Liddell has yet to make a pit stop.
Murry leads Ellis by 8.5 seconds. Robin Liddell has made a pit stop from fifth for fuel and tires and will take the car to the finish of the race. Stephen Simpson and Mikey Taylor are battling for third in TCR and Mike Lewis is next up in the #98 Hyundai Veloster as Jon Morley leads the TCR class in the #61 Road Shagger Audi. Jeroen Bleekemolen says Dylan Murry is running really well and says the race is not easy even with just 20 minutes to go. The GT4 cars are easier to battle each other with than a GT Daytona (GT3) car. Dylan Murry now leads German driver Philip Ellis and Dutchman Indy Dontje. McLaren #3 will need a pit stop and Corey Lewis has been giving the new McLaren a good ride along with Sheena Monk. She's done very well, too.
Stephen Simpson wants to pass Mikey Taylor and here comes Michael Lewis. Speed Syndicate vs. JDC-Miller vs. BHA. The TCR podium is anyone's guess. Audi #61 pitted a couple laps before Hyundai #98. Again, Dylan Murry leads by 7.3 seconds. Britt Casey Jr. is also working his way through the pack fo TCR cars. Stephen Simpson originally from South Africa isn now a naturalized American citizen. Slow car on the bottom, Sheena Monk, and we see a massive wreck! Wow! The orange #19 Ford Mustang GT4 has spun, hit the wall, and flipped over on it's roof! Canadian driver Scott Maxwell at the controls. He's upside down, plowed backwards into the tire wall and flipped.
The energy sent the car reeling onto its roof. Let's hope Scott Maxwell, the Canadian veteran, is OK. The rescue crews are there, but he might be trapped. No. He'll be OK. Hopefully he is talking to the marshals. There are 13 minutes left in the race as we are under Full Course Yellow. Sheena Monk has brought the #3 McLaren into the lane. Corey Lewis is actually driving and they ran out of fuel. They are a alp down to the leaders. We did not see the whole wreck, but it looked like Scott Maxwell came across Britt Casey Jr. Maxwell flashes the lightsd and he hit the brakes, didn't see the Aston Martin, turned sharp lef, skidding across the pavement, and flipped into the tire wall. The Aston was already there, pivoting in front of the Aston Martin.
We will have to look at this crash again as we paint pictures with words. The car jinks to the left and he slid across the pavement and dug in, flipping the car. It was the #99 Aston Martin of Kris Wilson who was also involved and Wilson made the Bus Stop chicane. Again, let's hope Scott Maxwell will be OK. We will do a wave by for TCR cars to head past the safety car, get pointed by, and rejoin at the end of the crocodile. Jon Morley leads Mikey Taylor and Stephen Simpson. Then comes Michael Lewis, Gabby Chaves, and Mark Wilkins. Time is ticking away and we might not go back to green. Travis Hill, by the way, is the first TCR car a lap down aboard the #81 Twoth Autosport Baseline Audi RS3 LMS TCR.
Maxwell was thinking of a move and didn't know the Aston was there. Youch! He went in sideways and into the tires, flipping over. He's out of the car and is walking to the ambulance, trying to get his breath back. The Ford Mustang weights 1550 kilograms, so that's a 3,000 pound car that took a mega sized wallop. He'll be monitored at the medical center. He had a birthday on January 20th and is a sports car racing veteran in a lot of series' in a lot of places. Maxwell was sharing with Marco Signoretti, a young driver, also from Canada.
We're not guaranteed a run to the flag and this race will likely end under yellow. Audi has exemplified their straight line speed in TCR. If we do have a restart, all the GS cars will be ahead of the TCR's. White flag this time by, and we'll be on the final lap. The cleanup is still going on. The tire wall has been destroyed. Don't celebrate until we see the checkered flag. John Morley and Gavin Ernstone, both are going to be very happy. It is the final lap. Race cars don't like going slow, but they'll make it. Audi will go 1-2-3 in TCR and Mercedes will win, and sweep the podium in GS/GT4. The 4.0 liter turbo V8's in the Mercedes AMG GT4's have been very reliable.
The race is over, and Riley Motorsports takes the BMW Endurance Challenge!
Overall/GS: #35 Murry/Cox/Bleekemolen Mercedes AMG GT4
TCR: #61 Ernstone/Morley Audi RS3 LMS TCR
Gavin and John, are very happy! They've won Daytona! So, we've seen a phenomenal race at the BMW Endurance Challenge! The next race, is during the "Super Sebring" weekend, which is the first of the traditional two hour races for Michelin Pilot Challenge. Hope to bring all of it to you through the season. Stay tuned for Sebring. We'll see you there in about six weeks. So long for now, everyone.
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