Saturday, November 14, 2020

12 Hours of Sebring: Hour 5

Alessandro Balzan has taken over the GTD lead.  Scott Huffaker leads LMP2 and are the only LMP2 on the lead lap.  Fred Makowiecki leads GTLM and Ryan Briscoe leads DPi.  Green flag waves, and we are back to racing.  Simonn Pagenaud has to push like crazy.  Mazda #77 is chasing the #5 JDC-Miller Mustang Sampling Cadillac and Pipo Derani is now third in the #31 AXR Whelen Cadillac.  #10 stayed out to get the endurance bonus points.  There's almost some argy bargy there, look, with Loic Duval and Ryan Hunter-Reay, the #5 JDC-Miller Cadillac and the #55 red Mazda.  BMW #24 in the pit lane for fuel, tires, and a driver change.  John Edwards is next into the car, replacing Augusto Farfus for the next set of stints.

Corvette C8.R #4 is stopped at the end of pit lane.  They are in the penalty box.  #4 has served a penalty for entering a closed pit.  They are five laps down after a litany of issues.  The #31 AXR Cadillac is second in points in the Michelin Endurance Cup right now.  The #63 WeatherTech Ferrari earns MEC points, and they are scrapping with the #48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini.  After the Rolex 24, when the COVID-19 virus came, Paul Miller, as an owner of a car dealership, had to furlough his car dealership employees, and he had to shut down the race team while his workers at his car dealers were furloughed.  They are back now and they can win the Michelin Endurance Cup.  Lexus #12 is in the lane for service.

We are a shade over 1/3rd distance here at Sebring, or 1/3rd of the time.  Scott Huffaker leads LMP2 in his first race at Sebring along with Patrick Kelly and Simon Trummer.  Porsche #911 leads GTLM.  Cadillac #10 leads DPi.  They are looking for their third endurance race win and second in a row.  Cooper MacNeil might be next in the #63 car.  He had to get an I.V. drip after being a little dehydrated, but will be back in the car soon.  The overall lead scrap is heating up.  It's being turned on.  Simon Pagenaud is fending off Pipo Derani.  Pipo, wants it.  This is a hot scrap.  

Pipo Derani is catching up.  Six IndyCar drivers are in this field, and four Indianapolis 500 winners.  They step into a sports car to help out the teams they run for.  But they are talented no matter what they drive.  Michael de Quesada in the #12 Lexus is back out, but the #14 car, it is game over for those boys.  The #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche will be the only car that can close in on the #86 MSR Acura NSX GT3.  Simon Pagenaud leads with Pipo Derani right behind.  Points as they run, are tied for the championship lead.  Pipo Derani is hounding Simon Pagenaud.  They are keeping the pressure up with seven and a half hours left on the board.

Good scrap here too, look, with the #55 Mazda and the #5 Cadillac.  Fred Makowiecki is in the lane, pitting for service.  Fred Makowiecki is going to do a triple stint.  Stephen Simpson is now third in the #85 JDC-Miller "Banana Boat" Cadillac.  Simpson sharing with Scott Andrews and Matheus Leist.  They too, are coming to the front of the pack.  Acura #6 in the lane for service.  Simon Pagenaud out and Dane Cameron is getting in.  The team Penske Acura has Alexander Rossi continuing and Pipo Derani will stay in the #31 Cadillac with tires and fuel.

Pipo Derani is pulling away from Dane Cameron.  Cadillac #5 for JDC-Miller Motorsports is in the lane.  Sebastien Bourdais is going to be an IndyCar driver for A.J. Foyt next year. For the Action Express team to win the title, they have to win the race, and have the #10 Cadillac finish fifth or worse and the #7 Penske Acura finish sixth or worse.  Pit stop time for Mazda #55.  Problems for Mazda.  Ryan Hunter-Reay's team had a problem getting the right front tire off the car.  They had to hammer the wheel nut off.  Oliver Jarvis leads the motor race in Mazda #77, but, he must pit which hands the lead back to Cadillac #31.

Marcel Fassler got biffed by the Mazda.  Oliver Jarvis is in the lane.  He will stay at the wheel.  So, tires, fuel, and bish, bash, bosh, he is down and away.  Meantime, here comes Pipo Derani.  Derani takes the lead back.  Pipo Derani is a confident driver and he has won with another tram here as well, not just Action Exporess.  The #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin is in the lane for service and a driver change.  Pipo Derani goes momentarily off the road passing as GTD car but it is nothing serious.  In the dark, it will be pitch everywhere, so, you will see the lap times and the car balance get better even if your reference points just won't be there.

Scott Dixon has had a tire blowout and he has been limping the car around Sebring International Raceway.  Pipo Derani is leading the motor race once again.  There could be rear suspension damage for the #10 Cadillac.  The DPi championship is up for grabs and so is GTD.  Mario Farnbacher and Matt McMurry lead, and we see Ryan Hardwick and Patrick Long, still in with a mathematical chance.  Currently we are under Full Course Yellow.  Scott Dixon is now back in the garage.  There's damage to the suspension and the radiators.

#31 has made a scheduled pit stop. 

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