It is time, right now, for the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship to get underway. After a trying 2020 with the global virus pandemic, we hope to be able to run races more consistently in 2021, starting right here and right now with the 59th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. International sports cars have been racing here since the early 1960s. We have so many champions here, from the world of sports cars, NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1, you name it. Each class winner wants that Rolex oyster perpetual chronograph watch. The great curiosity of drivers and the history and respect of this motor race, brings drivers here.
The cars are on track. 59 rookie drivers in a field of 191 drivers. Everyone will be on the edge of their seats. So many drivers are here going for their first win, or, another win. The drivers are nervous about anything that could happen. Be on your A game the whole time. Chase Elliott is NASCAR's reigning champion, and has won four road course races in NASCAR. But he is feeling so much pressure racing with Action Express. Jimmie Johnson, seven-time NASCAR Champion is also racing with Action Express sharing with Mike Rockenfeller, Simon Pagenaud, and two-time defending Rolex 24 champ Kamui Kobayashi.
We saw the drivers who won poles in the qualifying race last weekend. Now it is time to get down to business and to endure, have reliability, work as a team, and have the stamina and athleticism to go for it. Oliver Jarvis in the #55 Mazda is headed to the back of the grid as the safety car pulls off. Green flag! The Rolex 24 is underway! Felipe Nasr is being monstered by Dane Cameron and here comes Loic Duval right away as well. The WeatherTech #79 Porsche 911 RSR-19 spins at the start for the TLM and GTD cars and the RLL BMW of Bruno Spengler tags Kevin Estre! Deary me!
You want to solve problems early as Felipe Nasr leads the race sharing with Pipo Derani, Mike Conway, and Chase Elliott. Elliott ran this car for the first time nine days ago. Chase Elliott is still wondering if he can match pace with his co-drivers Mike Conway, Pipo Derani, and Felipe Nasr. Bill Elliott drove this race in 1986 and Kyle Busch was one of the drivers in this race last year when yours truly saw this race in person. For Oliver Jarvis and Mazda, the car had to be power cycled before the race began. It is running at full chat right now. Jarvis sharing with Harry Tincknell and Jonathan Bomarito.
The #79 WeatherTech Porsche 911 RSR-19 has gone off the road, again. Estre has his hands full, sharing the car with Cooper MacNeil, Richard Lietz, and Gianmaria Bruni. Pit stop time as well for Alegra Motorsports Mercedes, and we see more battles in GT Daytona. Risk assessment is key. Frankie Montecalvo and Robby Foley scrap and so does Dane Cameron, trying to move around Loic Duval for second overall. MSR vs. JDC-Miller. Acura vs. Cadillac. Duval has the preferred line through the kink.
We can see the #79 Porsche has just lost the whole rear bumper cover. Alegra Motorsports just pitted as mentioned, and that car, the #28 Mercedes AMG GT3 has on the driver's strength, Daniel Morad, Michael de Quesada, Billy Johnson, and Maximilian Buhk. We are just eleven minutes into the race and under the first Full Course Yellow of the race. Half an hour nearly into the race. Chase Elliott is fascinated with racing sports cars. Jimmie Johnson has started the race for the #48 Cadillac for Action Express.
We are currently also watching a battle between the Corvette C8.R and the Ferrari 488 GTE in GTLM. The #1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 is in the pit lane for some reason. Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow, Corey Lewis, and Andrea Caldarelli sharing the car. Right now, Felipe Nasr leads Loic Duval, Renger van der Zande, Filipe Albuquerque, Dane Cameron, Oliver Jarvis, and Jimmie Johnson. Ben Keating leads Roberto Lacorte in LMP2 right now. Antonio Garcia is leading Alessandro Pier Guidi in GTLM at the moment. Again, it is Corvette vs. Ferrari. After his spins and wrecks, Kevin Estre in the Porsche in nine laps behind already.
LMP3 is currently being led by the #38 Performance Tech Motorsports entry in the hands of Sweden's Rasmus Lindh. He shares that car with Guatemala's Mateo Llarena, Cameron Cassels from Canada, and American Ayrton Ori. Now, pit stop time for the Ganassi Racing #01 Cadillac DPi-V.R. First of the leading prototypes to stop. Renger van der Zande is in the car, and has won the Rolex 24 the last two years in succession. This program came together very late. Ganassi Racing won 60% of the prototype races between 2006 and 2015. Action Express pitting from the lead. Felipe Nassr stays in the car as we are now 40 minutes into this motor race.
You lose 45 seconds plus the service on the car. The DPi teams could be changing tires every pit stop. Double stints could be possible during the night. The Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 leads GT Daytona in the #12 car. The #10 Konica Minolta Acura is in the lane and so is the #60 MSR Acura. Jimmie Johnson is also pitting the #48 Action Express Cadillac right now. Mazda #55 has been dinged with a penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Stints are validated by the fuel runs.
Now then, the beleaguered #79 WeatherTech Porsche is back on track with repaired bodywork. They are a ways down however, as the lead battle in GTLM continues. We also watch the GT Daytona class #42 Audi R8. This car is being run by NTE Sport for a quartet of American Pro Am drivers. Alan Metni sharing with Andrew Davis, Don Yount, and professional IndyCar driver, J.R. Hildebrand. Filipe Albuquerque just ping ponged the #10 Acura between a GTD and an LMP3 car.
Filipe Albuquerque is pressing Felipe Nasr. These two blokes used to be team mates. Nasr is back into the lead. Also, Renger van der Zande and Loic Duval are pushing. We have several cars with some damage. Can we sustain this pace? I don't know. Maybe it will settle down. Cool it, chaps. This is a long, long race. We can see some trouble for a couple of cars as the Magnus Racing Acura in Speed Racer livery has a dud tire and one of the two DragonSpeed LMP2 cars. Cannot tell if it is the #81 or #82? #81 being shared by Rob Hodes, Garrett Grist, Rinus Veekay, and Ben Hanley.
Felipe Nasr, Filipe Albuquerque, and Loic Duval are pressing hard in the top three. #82 is Eric Lux, Devlin Defrancesco, Fabian Schiller, and Christopher Mies. Filipe Albuquerque is passed by Loic Duval. This is feisty scrapping. Don't go off the wall this early in the motor race chaps. One car that has dropped back is the #60 MSR Acura of Dane Cameron. On their first pit stop they lost 20-25 seconds after the tires were mismatched.
The compressed off season after Sebring ended last November, has really squeezed the teams. Nine cars had varying incidents in the opening hour. John Potter had a right rear Michelin tire come apart in NASCAR turns one and two in the Speed Racer themed Acura NSX GT3. Renger van der Zande moves past Filipe Albuquerque. The #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE is in the lane and so is one of the BMW M8 GT's. The Ferrari is being shared by Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Jules Gounon, and Davide Rigon. Now, Aaron Telitz has also just brought in the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3. For the #24, that driver team is Aaron Telitz, Kyle Kirkwood, Oliver Gavin, and Jack Hawksworth.
In the #24 BMW M8 GTE it is John Edwards, Jesse Krohn, Augusto Farfus, and Marco Wittman. Ben Keating as well, in LMP2 is running well and he will drive two different cars again this year. We will talk about these teams in a moment as Keating is running for the sixth time in his career, two cars in the same race.
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