After what seems like an eternity, since yours truly attended the season opening BMW Endurance Challenge at Daytona International Speedway, in January, finally, in spite of the Coronavirus pandemic, the cars and stars of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge are back in action, for the Advent Health 120, a two hour race set to take place 'round the torturous, bumpy, yet historic airfield circuit known as Sebring International Raceway in the central highlands of Florida. Amid the Spanish moss and the orange groves, in sweltering summer heat, we are ready to see the gladiators of the IMSA production car classes of GT4 and TCR, take to the track once again. It's been six months since we've had any racing in MPC competition.
We have a smaller field this time around, compared to Daytona where we saw 50+ cars start the race. This time, 35 entries, roughly split evenly between GT4 and TCR are set to go. It is a gorgeous day, here at Sebring. This is the original home of the American Formula 1 Grand Prix and the birthplace of international endurance sports car racing in America. If only the concrete could speak, it would tell amazing stories. This track is pressed into service actually for an hour and 20 minute race. The cars are rolling, on track. We have some really good variety at the head of the field in Grand Sport, the GT4 cars that are represented.
That is a hallmark of this series. Aud, BMW, Aston Martin, Mercedes, Ford, Porsche, and BMW. We saw Tyler McQuarrie, in a hot qualifying session, nearly smash the lap record in the #39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Audi R8 GT4 that he is sharing with Jeff Westphal. This is the first time the boys at CarBahn have run the new aero kit on this Audi, and they didn't use it at Daytona in January. Five Hyundai Veloster's are at the top of the tree in TCR. The drivers in that lineup to look out for are #21 Harry Gottsacker, sharing with Mark Wilkins, and #98 Mason Filippi sharing with Michael Lewis.
The start/finish line is the usual spot. The pit lane for this event will be different. We are not using the main pit lane on the front straight. We are using the spare pit lane which is used by the FIA World Endurance Championship when they race here, near the Gendebien curves, parallel to the backstretch. It's parallel to the Ulmann straight. Don't get confused about the cars headed into the other pit lane. We do have access to two pit lanes here at Sebring. Tyler McQuarrie did very well in qualifying. This will be a wide open race. We have lots of clouds around and we could see rain before this race is done and dusted.
That could turn things on their ear if mother nature decides to turn on the faucet. In qualifying, Gavin Ernstone in the #61 Road Shagger Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR he shares with Jon Morley, Ernstone went into the wrong pit lane. These two blokes won in TCR at Daytona, six months ago, what seems like an eternity now because of the worldwide virus pandemic. But, we are set to get back to racing, GT4 and TCR style, here at Sebring. The Cadillac safety car dives for pit lane. They are coming 'round Sunset Bend, and we anticipate a green flag, now! Round two of Michelin Pilot Challenge 2020 is go! Tyler McQuarrie has the lead into turn one and Robby Foley already wants a piece of the action for second spot!
Foley is pushing ahead of Nate Stacy at the wheel of the #60 KOHR Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Those two are side by side and speaking of side by side, we've got dodge 'em cars, look, between two of the Mercedes AMG GT4's! Deary me, that's a rotation! Now, these two chaps bumping and boring each other off the circuit this early, might call for a penalty from the stewards. Our Daytona winner, the #35 Riley Motorsports Mercedes of Dylan Murry and Jim Cox, getting into fisticuffs with the identical car, #4 of Russell Ward, sharing with Indy Dontje, the Dutchman, for Winward Racing. Both drivers are back in the race, but the Cox driven purple and orange Mercedes has been delayed by this shemozzle.
That argy bargy we see from Ward and Cox is a tad unnecessary this early, even though this is a sprint event. Two into one just won't go. Russell Ward wanted to force the issue on Jim Cox who had the preferred line, and these two blokes turn their motor race into a crash, bang, wallop for no good reason. What a shame as the two of them cqualified well. Meanwhile, the Aston Martin is pressurizing Robby Foley. Robby Foley will have a busy day. He is sharing the #95 with Bill Auberlen and then, he will change cars to the #96 sister Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 that he will co-drive with Vincent Barletta.
The first green flag lap for these drivers, since January, is clean. #39 leads by two seconds as Tyler McQuarrie is bish bash boshing it at the moment. Behind the top three, we have two Ford Mustang GT4's. Chad McCumbee is the starting driver in the #40 PF Racing Mustang he shares with James Pesek, and the #22 Multimatic Motorsports Inc. Mustang is being driven today by Seb Priaulx and Scott Maxwell. Jeff Mosing in the first of the Murillo Racing Mercedes AMG GT4's is also running well. Mosing sharing that automobile with Eric Foss. The sister car, #65 is being piloted by Tim Probert and Kenny Murillo, the team owner. Nate Stacy, meanwhile, is still shadowing Robby Foley. He wants by the BMW and soon.
Harry Gottsacker is leading TCR in the #21 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Veloster N TCR, and he is working his way through the back half of the GS field while doing so. He is behind Sheena Monk in the #3 Motorsports In Action McLaren 570S GT4. Leading TCR at the moment is another Hyundai Veloster N TCR. That's the orange #33 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian entry, Ryan Norman, sharing with Gabby Chaves. Another Hyundai is also in the hunt in TCR. #47 for the namesake team, Forty7 Motorsports, with the duo of Ben Waddell and Alex Papadopoulos. The next Hyundai in the queue is car #29, another BHA/Curb Agajanian entry for the pairing of Parker Chase and Spencer Brockman.
Harry Gottsacker has moved around Sheena Monk. Six cars are separating one and two in the TCR division. Tyler McQuarrie still leads the overall. The TCR cars have a lot of downforce, they're powerful,and they're nimble. If the rain comes, the TCR cars will be bish bash boshing it around Sebring. They accelerate and put down power very well, but take care of the tires. They are front wheel drive. The rear wheels on a front wheel drive car, stop the exhaust and mufflers from dragging the ground. This is a quote that can be attributed to our pal, and racing commentator, Martin Haven. The two Ford Mustang's of Chad McCumbee and Scott Maxwell are pushing hard trying to gain ground. McCumbee in the all pink #40 car, and Maxwell in the white and gray Motorcraft liveried #22.
Wow. Harry Gottsacker is applying the blowtorch, turning up the heat, as we speak. 2:15.9 his fastest lap in TCR thus far. Nate Stacy in GT4 in the Aston Martin is setting the pace at 2:12 and change. Ryan Norman and Ben Waddell are second and third in TCR. The boys at Hyundai are pleased as punch with their performance so far. They want the W. Robby Foley has best sector two time, but can't quite get best lap. It's almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit out there. It's humid, too, in the summer, in Florida. We've raced now for ten minutes. This race opened up the action at Sebring. You've read already about the WeatherTech race that happened.
Still waiting to bring you coverage of last Sunday's thrilling WeatherTech Championship race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Do not despair. That will be posted in the next day or two once yours truly can get organized. Nate Stacy is just too far back from the BMW. Trouble for the #29 BHA Hyundai which is stopped at the hotel hairpin. Poor old Spencer Brockman got biffed into a spin by somebody. The #71 Urban Grid Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R, is also in a spot of bother on the circuit. Frank DePew sharing that car with Robin Liddell just as they did at Daytona. Frank DePew at the wheel of it now.
This could bring out the safety car, or safety SUV as it is for this race. Robby Foley is focusing forward as we have a Full Course Yellow. Nate Stacy can't close up on Foley. The car is hung up in the grass, and it has no drive. Spencer Brockman and Parker Chase are just in their late teens, and early 20s. We can't mention their ages again. Ugh. A couple of young chaps getting into racing. Tyler McQuarrie's lead has gone now in a puff of smoke. There are minimum drive times in this race. Whoa. Hold on. We have a red flag on the circuit. We have to wait and see what this is all about.
The race is being stopped. No further action declared on that incident. What is the deal with the red flag? The leader has dove into pit lane. Everyone is coming in, and of course this is the seconary pit lane on the back straight out of the esses. We just have to wait and see what is going on. Dylan Murry says the team did not have the best start but they will reset and try to go for it, and make up positions they've lost already. You can't push the reset button. Just go forward. These blokes have been away from racing for six months, again, due to the pandemic. The first couple months of the virus quarantine had to be really tough.
Dylan Murry went back to a race track a month or so ago, and all of his memory comes back. Murry, from Georgia, is used to the heat, but it's hot here in central Florida. We'll see fit drivers separate from those who aren't. Murry says he is not sure, but he thinks the rain might help his Mercedes and he can go through the field. The red flag is for lightning. This is a hold for the weather. If there's lightning, the marshals are brought indoors for safety. So, we wait for this electrical storm to end. That early argy bargy between the #4 and #35 Mercedes' reviewed by the stewards and no further action. But, there was a jump start for the #14 Bluff City Racing Mercedes AMG GT4 of Anton Dias Perera and Cory Friedman. They will have to take a drive through penalty once the race resumes.
We are under a red flag and we've run through about 20 minutes. We've had lots of sports car races affected by weather this year in several different championships so far. Leaden skies linger over Sebring. The Hyndai Veloster did resume and has it lost a lap? No. He was able to get back on the track while the Camaro is being worked on to get back on track. It has outside assistance which is no trouble, but if it is given a flat tow, they might have to discuss the idea about rejoining the race. There's blue skies to the north, but overcast and gray to the other side. This stoppage is only for lightning. The clock continues to tick. A small number of local spectators have been allowed to come and watch, socially distanced of course.
Tyler McQuarrie came to the pit lane before other cars did who did an extra lap. We are still in a holding pattern due to weather. We saw lightning at half past the hour. We're on a pause in racing after 50 minutes elapsed. Frank DePew managed to get the #71 Camaro to the pit lan. There's no wind right now as the American flag next to the starter's stand hangs in a limp fashion from it's pole. The top ten when we resume racing is Tyler McQuarrie, Robby Foley, Nate Stacy, Chad McCumbee, Scott Maxwell, Jeff Mosing, Alan Brynjolfsson, James Clay, Nick Galante, and Rob Ferriol.
The best TCR car is Harry Gottsacker in the #21 Hyundai Veloster. Gottsacker was bish bash boshing it earlier, moving through the field like a hot knife through butter. All that good work, when we go back to racing, will be thrown out the window. So, he will have to light the afterburners and bish bash bosh it again. Only three drivers in TCR are 50 years old, or older. Many of these drivers are just 18, 19 years old. Dylan Murry was born in September, 2001. That's a scary thought. Robby Foley is very used to driving GT4 cars. He was asked by Will Turner to drive both cars in this race.
The seating position for Foley and Auberlen is different enough between the GT4 and GT3 BMW's. The steering wheel in the BMW M6 GT3 is faster, more cramped, and has a more complex steering wheel than does the M4 GT4. The GT4 car is much slower. BMW uses different cars. M2 for GT4, M4 for GT4, M6 for GT3, and M8 for GTE/GTLM. Every car is different. Robby Foley says he is fresh from driving different cars, and can keep an open mind about how the cars handle. He and Bill Auberlen can go between platforms on the BMW team.
Developing cars for virtual racing is similar to real racing. In five minutes, the drivers will be back in their cars to keep racing for the final hour and ten minutes. We are five minutes away from resuming racing. The lightning is dissipating. Again, an hour and ten minutes still on the board. Go back out on slick tires as the track has dried out. The engines are being re-fired. But the cars all have a sequence for being started up. That's how modern race cars work. All of these cars are on the backstretch in the WEC pit lane. We will be in the window for final pit stops, soon. Fuel is what we are looking at, but also needing to be advised, is minimum driv time, obviously.
Keep an eye out for the #14 Bluff City Racing, Autometrics Mercedes AMG GT4 that will need to do a drive through penalty after the original race start as the tractor sweepers are drying the apexes of the corners. Front wheel drive in the drying conditions will be helpful for the boys in TCR. They will have more grip than the GT4 cars. There's very little moisture on the road as the sweepers and jet dryers are still working. The track temp has risen three degrees. The humidity has gone up after the shower with a very slight wind. The track has been heat soaked for sure, as we are just a few minutes away from resuming this motor race.
Chad McCumbee and Scott Maxwell are both driving their way out of the pit lane as we speak. Chad McCumbee, Jeff Mosing, and Scott Maxwell are being put back into position. The safety vehicles are finishing their duties. The top ten that was mentioned earlier, will be the formation, with Harry Gottsacker next in line and there will be a wave by of all the GS cars, all the GT4 machinery. Some of the TCR cars are sprinkled into the GS field, but all of them will line up behind the GS cars. Gottsacker, Norman, Waddell, Filippi, and others. There's a blend of slick and wet tires on the pit lane. W'ere now under Full Course Yellow, and the cars roll out onto the track.
Holmatro safety equipment is a new supplier for IMSA and so is ESI which is fire suppression equipment, extinguishers and the like. The minimum drive time will be reduced via a byzantine rule in the IMSA rule book. We lost 50 minutes out of two hours. So, the drive time at minimum will be just 20 minutes. We have a new wheel for the #29 Hyundai on the right rear. One more lap behind the safety car and we'll go back to proper motor racing. The TCR cars drop back, and there will be a split restart so the GS cars are ahead of the TCR's. I said it before. I'll say it now. Harry Gottsacker will bish bash bosh his way through the field.
Tyler McQuarrie leads from Robby Foley and Nate Stacy. Audi, BMW, Aston Martin. Now, the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes has spun. This is the car being shared by Bryce Ward and Alec Udell. Ward is driving, and he may have lost a motor. Did the engine go bang? Ah. We are ready to go racing as the lights are out atop the safety car heading for the pit lane. Turn 17, and we are going to restart. There damp patches. The green is out and we're back to racing!n Tyler McQuarrie leads. No All Wheel Drive in this championship. Front Wheel Drive for TCR. Rear Wheel Drive for GT4.
The track is damp as all cars are on slick tires. No word from Race Control declaring it a wet race. Bryce Ward spun at turn 11. The #09 Aston Martin has also spun. Ramin Abdolvahabi at the controls, sharing with Rob Ecklin. He gets back into the race with no contact. Tyler McQuarrie has Robby Foley glued right to his tail. Chad McCumbee is now in fourth again, and we have another spin for the sister Automatic Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4. That's the #99 of Gary Ferrara, sharing with Kris Wilson.
Gary Ferrera points the car in the right direction and keeps on trucking. Jeff Mosing is being monstered by both Nick Galante and James Clay who move both of their respective BMW M4 GT4's around his Mercedes AMG GT4. Quite the variety of cars in Michelin Pilot Challenge competition. Two or three cars went around for an extra lap or so. The gap is eight tenths between McQuarrie and Foley followed by many of the drivers already mentioned. McQuarrie though, is stretching his lead and breaking the hearts of his competition as Foley and Stacy are charging to keep up. McCumbee in the pink Mustang is still pushing as well. It's as you were before the rain delay an hour ago with just an hour of racing left on the board.
We lost a fair chunk of this race, around 42% due to weather. Harry Gottsacker has begun another charge to the front, pulling Ryan Norman with him, his Hyundai team mate. Sheena Monk and Ben Waddell are next and the Hyundai's and the other TCR cars are being held up by the GS cars, the GT4's. Norman and Waddell are right behind Gottsacker. He wants a better result after finishing fourth in TCR at Sebring in 2019. Meantime, Tyler McQuarrie is moving ahead of the competition in GT4. Chad McCumbee is hanging right with the BMW and the Aston Martin. 2:29 was the best lap time at this stage, which is way off their best laps from earlier in the motor race. Meantime, Rob Ferriol wants by Harry Gottsacker. Ben Waddell, though, has moved to second in TCR as the GT4 cars are wokring their way through.
The top five in GS is now a battle between five cars. Foley looks inside McQuarrie in turn ten. Watching and waiting, Chad McCumbee who has Scott Maxwell also right on his gearbox. It won't be too long before final pit stops. We had just ten minutes of racing before the red flag and we've added fifteen more minutes. So we've really been racing for just 25 minutes. 40 minutes was the minimum drive time and we've covered the newly adjusted minimum drive time for first pit stops as we are going to have a flat out sprint to the end of this motor race. Ryan Norman takes the TCR lead as Harry Gottsacker has been dealing with the old argy bargy again, losing spots.
James Clay and NickGalante are making up time as they try staying ahead of Mosing and Brynjolfsson followed by Russell Ward. Mason Filippi was listed as going slowly, but he has not pitted and we've seen another spin, that was actually at the restart, for the #99 Aston Martin. McQuarrie has seven tenths of a second as the battle continues. Chris Miller brings the #37 LA Honda World Honda Civic TCR to pit lane for scheduled service. Shelby Blackstock will take over the car and drive it to the finish.
Nick Galante has moved ahead of James Clay. He is closing in steadily on Scott Maxwell and Chad McCumbee in the Ford Mustang's. No tire warmers in IMSA. So, Shelby Blackstock will have cold tires on the damp spots on the track. Leaders in TCR in the lane. Both Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai's. Fuel and tires and a driver change for both cars as Robby Foley has been passed by Nate Stacy. Mark Wilkins takes over the #21 Hyundai. Michael Lewis is now at the controls of Hyundai #98.
Tyler McQuarrie runs a 2:16. Russell Ward, though, is charging and is up inside the top ten. The RCR leader is in the lane, and so, Ben Waddell will take over the lead and Gabby Chaves takes over the #33 car from Ryan Norman. This will be a fuel stop, but they are hung up on the belts for Gabby Chaves! Disaster for the #33 team. Max Faulkner is handing over to James Vance in the Fast MD Audi. Also, Stephen Simpson takes over from Michael Johnson, and John Morley from Gavin Ermstone. Nate Stacy moves around Robby Foley for second spot. Nate Stacy sweeps between the Alfa Romeo of Roy Block, and goes buffalo boy around Tyler McQuarrie.
Now, this is another wrinkle, as rain is falling again, here at Sebring! Rain is falling, with just 45 minutes on the board. Will the tires last? The strategy has been thrown in the air, again. Russell Ward runs 2:15 dead, and that's the best lap of his race so far as the track is drying here at Sebring. Alan Brynjolfsson pits the Volt Lighting Porsche Cayman to hand the car to Trent Hindman and Rob Ferriol brings in the Hardpoint Audi R8 GT4 to hand the car to Spencer Pumpelly. Ben Waddell has yet to pit. Dakota Dickerson, sharing with Ryan Eversley, has moved up to second in TCR in the #77 L.A. Honda World Honda Civic TCR.
Dakota Dickerson is just under 20 seconds away from the lead in TCR. Mark Wilkins made a pit stop and is the fastest car at the moment. We are also seeing the two FASTMD Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR's running well. #23 being shared by Max Faulkner and James Vance, and #32, with Mikey Taylor and Michael McCarthy, who is making his first start in Michelin Pilot Challenge racing. Pit stop time for Robby Foley in the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4. He has to come in to switch into the other car. Bill Auberlen is into the car for the final 40 minutes. Robby Foley will get into the #96 sister car, taking over from Vincent Barletta.
Pit stop time. Four tires and fuel, and the driver change for Turner Motorsports. He stood on the pit wall only for a minute. There was a slight issue with the rattle gun on that car. Nate Stacy meanwhile, pits the #60 Aston Martin. He will hand the car to Kyle Marcelli, who has only had five laps on track before a mechanical gremlin hit the car in practice. Dillon Machavern will take over from Nick Galante in the Bimmerworld BMW M4 GT4, car #80, and the #4 Winward Racing Mercedes pits, and Russell Ward hands the car to Indy Dontje.
This will be Indy Dontje's first drive in his career at Sebring. Tyler McQuarrie assumes the lead but he will have to pit and hand the Carbahn Audi to Jeff Westphal. Sebastian Priaulx has also taken over the #22 Ford Mustang GT4 from Scott Maxwell. The Priaulx family, Seb and Andy, have rented a motor home and traveling 'round the country together. James Pesek will take over the #40 PF Racing Ford Mustang GT4 from Chad McCumbee. Ben Waddell is in the lane for fuel and front tires. The pit crews are earning their money today.
Alex Papadopoulos is now at the wheel of the #47 Hyundai. Meanwhile, 2:12.994 is Trent Hindman's best lap aboard the #7 Archangel Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport. Tyler McQuarrie pits from the lead of the motor race with 35 minutes left, only a minute and 21 seconds up on Kyle Marcelli in the Aston Martin in second spot. Jeff Westphal will take ovr the car. This is the team that won the Michelin Pilot Challenge championship last year. Westphal is in the car and back on track. He could very well be in the lead of this motor race. No fuss, no muss, but no tire warmers. Now, the Aston Martin gets trapped by another lapped Aston Martin, and Kyle Marcelli is going to be hounded by Trent Hindman.
Bill Auberlen has taken over the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW which has fallen behind, and Eric Foss in the #56 Murillo Racing Mercedes, is down the order. The Porsche is the lightest GT4 car while the Aston Martin is heavier. Jeff Westphal leads this motor race as Hindman still applies the blowtorch to Marcelli. Oh no! Robby Foley is slowing past the pit entrance and he's stopped dead stick, right next to the cutout in the paddock wall on the Ulmann straight.
This might be only a local yellow but I don't see a yellow flag or a marshal's post. Meantime., Jeff Westphal is putting daylight between the battle that rages between Kyle Marcelli and Trent Hindman, while Jeff Westphal knocks down another fastest lap and a lap record at 2:11.7. Devin Jones set the record last March at 2:11.945 and Westphal's lap is 2:11.779. The evo version of the Audi has a new front splitter. No one will catch Westphal and company in the next 27 minutes unless something weird happens.
Trent Hindman is now third as Gabby Chaves dials in fastest lap in TCR after his lap belt dropped down and cost time in the pit lane. Battle for fourth in GS, between Eric Foss and Indy Dontje in the two Mercedes AMG GT4's with shiny, chromed paint jobs. Dylan Murry has reached the top ten setting fastest lap at 2:11.662 and Kyle Marcelli dials in a 2:11.673 in the Aston Martin. Track conditions are very good at the moment. Dylan Murry is right behind James Pesek, and then up the road are Sebastian Priaulx and a couple of the BMW's with Indy Dontje ahead of them behind Eric Foss. Trent Hindman is right behind Kyle Marcelli. Nick Galante said he was dealing with some slick conditions, but it is dry.
Nick Galante's daughter Andi is seeing her first race in person. Mark Wilkins leads TCR, still. He has a healthy margin over the sister #98 Hyundai, followed by Forty7 Motorsports, and the FastMD Audi. A right front tire puncture for the #77 L.A. Honda World Civic TCR. It has been a fraught race for Dakota Dickerson and Ryan Eversley. Eversley is at the wheel of it right now. The Hyundai's are checking out at the moment in TCR. The Balance of Performance is not as close in MPC as we've become accustomed to. Carbahn had a quick stop, stationary in the lane for just 81 seconds. Alex Papadopoulos has taken over the Forty7 Motorsports Hyundai. They are running one car this weekend instead of two. Papadopoulos drove an Alfa Romeo in TCR in the SRO Series last weekend at VIR. That's a race you'll eventually hear about once yours truly can get to writing about it.
Game over for Shelby Blackstock and Chris Miller. They've scored very few points in this truncated season. Audi #39 around the Hotel Hairpin is in control of this race as we have less than 20 minutes to go. It's dash for cash time now. Trent Hindman, through good pit strategy, has been running really well, but the Porsche Cayman just does not have the pace of it's competition. Bill Auberlen moves past Eric Foss, running a 2:11.8. Indy Dontje is the next car on his shopping list. Less than 17 minutes remaining and we have a Full Course Yellow. This will throw the cat amongst the pigeons.
Is there more rain? It could be. There's a short yellow. There's a nasty looking cell of rain to the east and the south. The dark clouds have returned to invoke their wrath. Watch out for lightning. All cars pack up in single file. We are into the last 15 minutes. We are trying to do a short yellow, which means you can't open the pit lane and there is no wave by, no pointing lapped cars by the safety car. GS cars will however, move ahead of the TCR machines. Another penalty for the #14 Mercedes. They've been pinged again for a pit lane speed violation, with Anton Dias Perera at the wheel of it, having taken over from Cory Friedman until the end.
Ooh! He was eleven kilometers over the speed limit in the lane. Not good. Let's hope we can go back to racing quickly, or, we will have to end the race early if there's more lightning. The track temp has gone up since we restarted from 29 to 37 Celsius. There's a storm cell to the north with severe weather in it, but there's no rain on the radar as we wait to hear from Race Control about why we are under yellow with just about 12 minutes left. IMSA Race Director Beaux Barfield said that the red flag was late for some cars and they gave a free pass. No gain, no pain. Fans and pit crews will have to take shelter. The #37 Honda had a loss of power steering and they had to retire the car. No power steering on a front wheel drive car, has to be a nightmare.
If there's lightning, we just won't be able to get back to green with ten minutes left to run. There has to be a 30 minute window but the race will be over by then and the drivers could do a foot race, but that's about it. We could go green, white, checker. At the moment we might just finish this thing behind the safety car. The two FastMD Audi RS3's have had a smashing race today. Gabby Chaves has been really pushing his way through the field, setting a new TCR lap record at 2:15 dead. 2:15.4 by Tom O'Gorman is the old record. Mikey Taylor has had poles, but now, he too is boosting his race performance and so has Jon Morley. Along with Jeremy Shaw at IMSA Radio, I thought there was a smaller discrepancy. Maybe not. Right there with you, Jeremy. Didn't know.
Five minutes to go, and honestly it does not look lik we are going to go back to green. There are no flag marshals or corner workers. We are in a weather hold and we can't race because no marshals can be at their posts. So, we just have to run out the clock. This is the final lap of the motor race. If no one throws the checkered flag, does this motor race ever end? This is the motor race that would not end. Maybe they'll come over the radio and say, "OK, stop. The race is over with checkered and double yellow flags." The buffers between Mark Wilkins and Michael Lewis, or Jeff Westphal and Kyle Marcelli, will remain, but there will be no battles to the finish. An anticlimactic finish due to the weather warning.
The race is over. We will be at the checkered flag any second now even if the checkers aren't there. Jeff Westphal and Tyler McQuarrie win the Advent Health 120! Winning from pole, Carbahn with peregrine Racing. There's the checkered flag. It is an all Hyundai podium in TCR. Harry Gottsacker and Mark Wilkins win.
Overall/GS: #39 McQuarrie/Westphal Audi R8 GT4
TCR: #21 Gottsacker/Wilkins Hyundai Veloster N TCR
So, that's it from Sebring. The next event took place at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Looking forward to blogging the WeatherTech race from Road America, soon, and in due course, you'll read about the MPC event at Road America as well. So long, for now, from Sebring International Raceway, everyone. Take care.
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