For the first time in 20 years, sports cars tackle the "roval" at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, as part of the revamped 2020 schedule for the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. No prototypes in this race, only GT cars. We are ready to race, it is rainy here at Charlotte, delayed just a bit by the NASCAR Xfinity Series race that came before it. We are turning back the clock, for this race, to October 10th, the weekend before the Petit Le Mans, a race you've read about already.
These are the production based sports cars from GT Le Mans and GT Daytona. Half a dozen GTLM cars and a dozen GTD cars are entered for this race. This is the shortest event of the year at an hour and 40 minutes. Turn seven coming off the road course, back onto the banking for the oval is going to be a big deal. If you make a mistake, there will be major consequences and you are going for a ride. Many cars went off the road in practice and qualifying. Limit mistakes with the standing water on the road. Look at how wet it is out here at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This is going to be a big deal. The Corvette team has shown a ton of speed here at Charlotte.
Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia want a win here at Charlotte. In GT Daytona, it is Lexus vs. Acura. They were very close, coming into this race, in points. Jotdan Taylor has his third pole of the year, while Aaron Telitz is on the pole in GT Daytona. Porsche have nothing to lose. They missed the previous round of the championship at the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course, a race you will also hear about as we catch up with some that took place in 2020, over the abbreviated off season. Meanwhile, Matt McMurry and Jeff Kingsley have good qualifying spots. McMurry, in the #86 MSR Acura NSX GT3. Kingsley, the Canadian, a new recruit for the #76 Compass Racing McLaren 720S GT3.
Pit strategy is going to be crucial in this motor race if you want to be at the top of the shop, throughout. Take a pit stop if you get an early yellow flag. But, at the same time, don't botch the stop. No mulligans on pit lane. Also, will you take two or four tires? This is very much NASCAR type strategy as opposed to typical strategy we see in the endurance races. In the wet, will someone roll the dice and run the entire 100 minute motor race on one set of tires? We have an hour and 40 minutes on the clock. It's dark and wet out there. It's going to be hard to see the cars as they race, but we are going to try our best.
It's Corvette vs. Porsche across the front row of the starting grid. Jordan Taylor vs. Fred Makowiecki. Bruno Spengler and Jesse Krohn in the BMW's are next. The green flag waves, and away we go! Jordan Taylor gets the jump, and turn one is calamity corner. Everyone gets through, but thye drivers can barely seea thing through nall this spray. Bruno Spengler twitches through turn five. Will BMW push? They have to win to be in contention for the title. Krohn goes inside the Porsche for the pass. In the dry, it was believed the agility of the Porsche would make it hard to beat.
Spengler moves to the oputside and then to the inside into the chicane. Oh dear! Spengler loses it, spinning the car. You turn the brake bias to the rear brakes so you don't lock up the front brakes, but then you risk going on the whirligig in the wet, and that's just what Bruno Spengler did. He's back on the road, now. Meanwhile. the #24 BMW of Jesse Krohn is hounding Jordan Taylor. There's more and more water puddling on the infield road course as Jesse Krohn is on the attack. Corvette and their #3 team have ticked all the boxes.
Poor old Krohn just got loose in the wet, and he rotated it. The Corvette boys are good on long runs. Robby Foley has also looped it, in the #96 GT Daytona Turner MotorsportnBMW M6 GT3. Robby Foley is on the edge of the roadf and he rotates as well, look, running the normal dry line, and the car hydroplanes. No Daytona Prototype International or LMP2 cars in this motor race. The prototype boys are watching back home, on the sofa, grabbing a beer, saying, "thank goodness we don't have to be in this mess!"
Krohn closing on Taylor into turn one. In the wet, with cold tires, Jordan Taylor gets loose and Jesse Krohn whistles by in the BMW. The #911 Porsche is back in play. In these conditions, physically, you feel fine. Mentally, you are in overload, your brain, your racing brain is making split second decisions about where the rain line is and how to keep the car on the road so you don't spin off into the toolies somewhere. Whoops! Misha Goikhberg has spun in turn one at the wheel of the #57 MSR Acura NSX GT3. Goikhberg sharing with Alvaro Parente.
It is easy to spin there. Now, you are just gently driving, but it is so hard on your mind, trying to focus. Jesse Krohn leads this mkotor race but it is still early doors yet. Big scrap for position here, look, between a number of the GT Daytona machines, snaking their way through the twists and turns of the road course section, here at Charlotte. We watch the AVS Lexus chasing the Gradient Racing Acura. Hard to see the numbers in the spray. It could be the #12 AVS Lexus of Townsend Bell and Michael de Quesada, or the sister #14 in the hands of Jack Hawksworth and Aaron Telitz. Hard to tell which one exactly.
They are the pursuee, as it were, and the pursuer is the #22 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3, in the hands of British driver Till Bechtolsheimer, and Marc Miller. Look at the rooster tails on the banking. Unbelieavable. Meantime, Jesse Krohn continues on his merry way in the lead. Ah. Pit stop time for the #912 Porsche 911 RSR-19 for fuel and tires. This is the shortest race of the year. Minimum drive time is five minutes for GTLM. Damage to the rear tail section of the Porsche, Laurens Vanthoor at the wheel of it. In replay, and spins sideways, and, wallop! Right intop the wall. Earl Bamber is now in the driving seat.
But, the damage to the right rear portion of this Porsche is extensive. The whole right rear quarter panel is missing. Earl Bamber crashed twice and then, Laurens Vanthoor also had a testing crash here at the Charlotte roval. Now, more woes for Stuttgart! Fred Makowiecki has rotated the #911 sister Porsche in turn one, look. We do have a local yellow flag. Oh deart. Fred Makowiecki is trying to back up, as the cars are coming through the first turn on the road course. Makowiecki is back on trtack while the sister Porsche is still in the lane. A twitch, paint, grass, and then, the wall.
Porsche dominated in 2019. But they have not won yet. Now, as you've read in subsequent race reports after this, Porsche did turn their season around, mildly. But, to this point at Charlotte, and in this race, it was all pear shaped. This is a short yellow and we will be back to green in a moment or two. Here are some factoids about the Charlotte roval. IMSA has run here before. IMSA, American Le Mans Series, Can Am, and Trans Am races have been held at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the old version of the infield road course, from 1971-2000. Then, the road course lay dormant for 20 years, until this race.
So, there is sports car racing history, here, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, believe it or not. Well, well, well, there is debris on the road, and we still see the #912 Porsche in the lane being repaired. They are going laps down and will be out of contention more than likely. The car is down off the air jacks and it seems they are getting set to return to the track. Just put in the laps for the rest of the motor race. That's all they can do. This is the first race that NASCAR and IMSA have shared a bill on a race weekend, since 2014 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Earl Bamber has climbed out and it is game over for the #912 Porsche. They are finished for the night, and they moved on to the Petit Le Mans.
Jordan Taylor is now second, having been down in third. The team told him, "adjust your brake bias". He called on the radio and said "brake bias isn't the trouble. I'm aquaplaning." The cars are skating on top of the water. Wow. They will use the chicane on restarts. BMW leads both Corvette's, the yellow #3 and the silver #4. Oliver Gavin at the wheel of #4, followed by Bruno Spengler. Krohn leads and Jordan Taylor is getting further behind. Oh dear! Till Bechtolsheimer has crashed the #22 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3! He's slammed the wall, and there's heavy damage, look, to the left front corner of the car.
He qualified well and was racing well at the very beginning, but with only 17 minutes on the board, Bechtolsheimer has crashed and it could be an early bath for he and co-driver, Marc Miller. Another Full Course Yellow, allowing pit lane to open. Bechtolsheimer has wrecked at th exit of turn one and into turn two. Did he get tagged or did he ping pong into the wall, sliding through a puddle? It's bumpy through turn one, and in the rain, the pavement connection between the flast and the uphill is where all the water collects. The Porsche team, the #911, has a huge problem with the front end. The left front of the Nick Tandy, Fred Makowiecki car, is being repaired. The front bumper is torn off and there's left front damage.
Nick Tandy stays in the car, but this means Porsche is going to be on the back foot for the rest of the motor race. Till Bechtolsheimer is out of the car and he is OK. You could come in and top up with fuel in GT Le Mans, now that Corvette and BMW are the only two teams still in contention. Aaron Telitz running well in GT Daytona as we prepare for pit stops. Now, GTLM cars will pit, and then, GTD cars can pit the next time by. But the issue is where we are on the clock. Exactly an hour and 20 minutes to go. 20 minutes are already on the board. They will not have met the 30 minute minimum drive time for GTD. Ah. Let' see. BMW in the lane. John Edwards will get into the car.
Fuel, and no tires. Same for Corvette. Antonio Garcia is in the car now. John Edwards, again, is in the leading BMW. A typical driver change is 18-20 seconds. A short fuel fill on a stop means the driver change really, really needs to be quick. No slip ups. No mistakes can be afforded. A part of sports car racing means you need to be in good physical condition not just to drive, but to make the driver changes work effectively. We send our well wishes to Bobby Rahal, who, when this race was taking place, was recovering from back surgery.
Bobby Rahal and his team won both the Rolex 24 and the Indianapolis 500. Game over for the #911 Porsche. Both Porsche's out of the race within 25 minutes. The team is absolutely gutted. They missed the previous race at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course (a race, you will hear about, as these other events from IMSA 2020 are updated), soon, due to an outbreak of the Coronavirus within the team. No GTD cars have pitted yet. A real rough start for Porsche in GTLM. #2020. It's been a bear for Porsche. BMW and Corvette are at the top of the shop in the overall order, however. Yes. It is ture. Good night, Porsche. It is game over for those blokes.
Jesse Krohn says that BMW knew they had the pace but had a red flag to deal with in qualifying that put them behind. He needed to get to the lead because of the visibility and the treacherous conditions. John Edwards will finish the race. Connor De Philippi is now in the sister #25 BMW, the red car. We are back to green flag racing with just an hour and 12 minutes left to run. Corvette #4, Tommy Milner at the controls, moves by Connor De Philippi. The lap times in qualifying were surely close. Aaron Telitz and Matt McMurry run 1-2 in GT Daytona with Michael de Quesada third. de Quesada, filling in for Frankie Montecalvo. On the weekend of this race, Frankie Montecalvo, got married. Congratulations!
Aaron Telitz continues to lead GT Daytona. Every lap is different. The puddles are variable as the rain has now stopped. It is a challenge to find a safe spot on the coursde. It is very dark in the infield as well. Connor De Philippi has dropped behind. The anti lock braking system, you can attack the brake pedal. Don't smash it. But, it doesn't lock up the tires. You need rear brake, but there's some confidence in braking with the ABS on the GT Daytona cars.; De Philippi had locked rear brakes and some axle hop. So, now, Aaron Telitz is fourth overall in the motor race. De Philippi has to press his way by Telitz while we see the #86 MSR Acura in the lane.
Matt McMurry out, Mario Farnbacher in. Minimum drive time for the first assigned drivers has been completed, just over an hour to go. You need only half a tank of fuel so you can stay on the lead lap. Mario Farnbacher is fast no matter what, but he is very, very quick in the wet as well. Paul Holton is now at the wheel of the #76 Compass Racing McLaren. His co-driver, Jeff Kingsley is a dominant force in Porsche GT3 Cup North America, also sanctioned by IMSA. But this is his first go in a GT Daytona car. Aaron Telitz is in the lane, handing over to Jack Hawksworth.
Michael de Quesada handing the sister #12 Lexus to Townsend Bell. Fuel in the tank and no tires for the #12. The #12 has a delay on the stop! The mechanic's goggles are fogging up in the rain, and so he cannot see to assist Townsend Bell with the seat belts, and so, AVS Lexus lose time in the lane. The Lexus boys are going to be on the back foot. BMW #96 with Bill Auberlen at the controls, has passed. Mario Farnbacher is long gone, quarter of a lap up. Helio Castroneves is watching this race, happily, as he does not have to drive tonight.
Good battle look,between the Lexus cars, and there is the #23 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 as well, being shared by Ian James and Roman De Angelis. They are in this fight as well, look. Wow. #23, just as we speak of that car, he runs wide and then gets back on the course to continue. Commentator's curse? Maybe not. Onboard now, with one of the Corvette's as well, as they chase each other, mkoving around the #44 Magnus Racing Flex Box Lamborghini of Andy Lally and John Potter. The #24 BMW still leads with John Edwards, over Antonio Garcia in Corvette #3.
The race track will continue drying as we near the one hour to go mark. Connor de Phillippi is moving in on the top three cars. Tire temperatures will be key on a drying track so the tire does not explode from temperature change. Mario Farnbacher leads GTD and of course we saw the trouble with the Lexus pit stops. Now, the two Lexus cars are running together. Hawksworth goes around Bell. They're not far from Bill Auberlen, but Mario Farnbacher is another 15 seconds up the road. Hawksworth has moved around Townsend Bell.
Aaron Telitz is a former open wheel champ and now has found a home in sports cars. So, now, we have Connor De Phillippi trying to make a move on Paul Holton. He is right on Holton's six, look. It is a four car fight for GTLM honors with BMW leading and Mario Farnbacher leading GTD for MSR Acura. This race isn't over by a long stretch yet, ladies and gentlemen. John Edwards continues to lead, but the Corvette's have swapped spots. Tommy Milner goes in deep and actually loses a place to Connor De Phillippi to be more accurate. That corner is so deceptive. Watch out for the puddles. John Edwards has gone to the lead of this motor race, with Antonio Garcia chasing in the #3 Corvette C8.R. Connor De Phillippi did some gamesmanship on Tommy Milner.
Milner and company have not had the same amount of speed in the #4 as the #3 car has. Mario Farnbacher leads GT Daytona, but their lead is shrinking. Bill Auberlen and Patrick Long are taking chunks out of that lead as Paul Hlton has spun the #76 McLaren. Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley like the wet weather. Turn seven and eight, Holton is carrying too much speed and spins on the paint beside the wall. Crunch! Right into the wall. There thankifully is not too much damage on the car except for ripping the number panel back just a shade.
Mario Farnbacher is still 8/10ths behind Bill Auberlen. He might be driving in a conservative manner, but there are only 49 minutes left. Now,l we can see John Edwards' margin over Antonio Garcia has ballooned slightly. The track won't be fully dry, but it is getting better. Time is of the essence, here, at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Foley is closing up on Farnbacher or so it appears as we watch the battle ensue through the twists and turns of the road course here at Charlotte. Ah. Foley is making his move but Farnbacher does not want to give it up. He runs a wee bit wide, and nloses ground to the BMW through the final chicane going to start another lap.
Yes indeed, we can see the contrast in light between the NASCAR banking and the infield road course. No different here at Charlotte than it is at Daytona for the Rolex 24 for example. So, the change for the lead in GT Daytona has become official. Race Director Beaux Barfield said there would be a stop and hold penalty for drivers who do not stop if they cut the chicane. Mike Shank says, "we don't have the pace or the grip" compared to the BMW. They will not get a stop and go penalty. He gave up time, so no penalty necessary I don't think.
Don't throw everything away. It is not worth it. Jack Hawksworth is trying to be faster than Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley. Auberlen is in the #96 car. He is going for it, pulling a gap out on Jack Hawksworth in the #14 Lexus. We wonder what it was like back in the 1971 race. There was also a race here at Charlotte in 1985 for IMSA. If you'd like some references, check these out.
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