Nicolas Lapierre, who was just in the pit lane, just had contact on the track. Turn three behind the pits, is where Nicolas Lapierre is stranded. He had forward momentum, and the windscreen wiper is off the windscreen and so, he's had a spin. This is not good for Ben Keating and his ambition of drive time in an LMP2 car. Nico Lapierre brings out the seventh Full Course Yellow of the motor race after two and a half hours of green flag running. Oliver Gavin, also, has pitted and taken the #14 AVS Lexus RC F GT3 behind the wall. The top three GTLM cars have pitted. No driver changes. Alexander Sims in #4, Nicky Catsburg in #3, and Phillip Eng in the #25. So, in replay we see the car almost getting tapped, and he spins to avoid the #38 LMP3 Performance Tech Ligier. It is believed Nico Lapierre is staying in the car but the flatbed will pick it up. The bodywork and the suspension are damaged on the car I believe. The Performance Tech car was o the road, and the #52 did take two full spins through the International Horseshoe.
Oliver Gavin is now back in the race with the #14 Lexus RC F GT3. The #12 Lexus had the debris damage from earlier. #52 has bodywork and suspension damage and the car is stuck in gear. But Nico Lapierre is out of the car and is just fine. Pits are open for prototypes and Kenton Koch is in the lane in the #6 LMP3 car for Muehlner Motorsports America for a brake change. This is the mandatory technical pit stop, the mandatory brake change in an eight minute window I believe. Also, the #10 Acura ARX-05 is in the pit lane from fourth, with a a brake change as well as Ricky Taylor stays in the car, on a dry brake system with quick disconnects on the calipers etc. without draining the brake fluid.
There's nothing holding the disc on. There is a spline, a locating peg, that holds it on. Floating disc brakes. The #18 Era Motorsports LMP2 Oreca was having trouble with the electronics for the downshift for the transmission. But, everything seems to be working out OK for the team at the moment. Dwight Merriman has met his minimum drive time and so now, Kyle Tilley, Ryan Dalziel, and Paul-Loup Chatin will take the car to the finish. Era Motorsports are racing in IMSA and also in the Asian Le Mans Series. Era Motorsports will be racing the Asian Le Mans Series at the Dubai Autodrome and the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi.
Green flag, and did someone pass before the start/finish line? Jonathan Bomarito is trying to get a lap back. That was close to accelerating before the start/finish line. That was very close. We shall see a replay on that, maybe. Restart under review? Very possible. Mike Rockenfeller still leads the motor race in the #48 Ally Bank Cadillac. #55 is the car that may be penalized. A stop + 60 second hold for Muehlner Motorsports #6, the Duqueine D08 Nissan. Working on a car in a closed pit. That could have been for emergency service but apparently it was not. Action Express are back to 1-2 order. Mike Rockenfeller leads Felipe Nasr.
Another interesting penalty for the #14 Lexus RC F GT3 for working on a car in an unapproved area of it. We are getting close to the morning hours. Felipe Nasr was muscled onto the grass somehow or other. Has the restart been put under review? Not yet. Not that we can tell. Jonathan Bomarito was trying to get a lap back, and he moved in on Felipe Nasr. Montoya, Dixon, and Taylor are running fourth, fifth, and sixth. Corvette has split their strategy although it seems the #4 has been getting better fuel mileage than the #3, and now, the BMW is pressing the Corvette, giving it a fair fight. Alexander Sims is 3/4 of a second up the road.
Yours truly was taking a short break and now, we can see some chopping and changing as Felipe Nasr leads, leading Montoya, Dixon, and Taylor. There was some talk about the Michelin tires and their specs. Yours truly missed that. Meanwhile, we are watching the #57 Winward Mercedes being absolutely hounded by the #21 AF Corse Ferrari. Indy Dontje vs. Nicklas Nielsen. Spencer Pigot is the new leader in LMP3. We miss the works Porsche's, and thankfully the WeatherTech team took the Porsche 911 RSR-19 along with Proton Competition, after the farewell tour with the factory Porsche team. We were talking to Frank Weissman, the project manager for Porsche Cars North America.
The #31 Whelen Cadillac is back in the pit lane and it looks like it is standard service and Nasr has been passed by Scott Dixon in the #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac. As for Porsche and customer racing, LMDh has been announced, with the new version of the DPi cars. They really are focusing on coming to IMSA. Porsche Carrera Cup North America is officially hosted. We are looking forward to what is going to happen with LMDh in 2023. Porsche Cup have also now aligned with Michelin tires.
Drivers will be able to advance on the Porsche Racing ladder as well. Indy Dontje continues on in the lead of GTD ahead of Nielsen, Luca Stolz, and Charlie Eastwood. With GTD Pro, they will have works or semi works and customer teams at Porsche and at other brands as well. Nicklas Nielsen seems to go one step forward and ends up two steps back while Mike Conway leads the motor race for the #31 Cadillac team.
No comments:
Post a Comment