This race will be dry. Heavy rain at Sebring means red flags and undrivable conditions. Past halfway. Under six hours left on the board. Renger van der Zande leads the motor race. Oliver Jarvis in the Mazda, they won't have too much worry with no air conditioning, but they have had over boost and some radio troubles. The #60 Meyer Shank Acura has had aero balance issues, but not now. Olivier Pla is running well. Now, Alexander Rossi, after the penalty for the pit equipment is in the middle of a triple stint. Ricky Taylor will be the next driver into the car, and they have made up 30 seconds on pace alone. It sounds like the #60 Acura team adjusted their ride height on the car.
With the ride height corrected, the #60 team could get back in the game. Renger van der Zande has a big wiggle as he moves in on Stevan McAleer in the #7 Forty7 Motorsports car in LMP3. There have surely been many heart in mouth moments through this race. It happens to everyone. There is a muffler sitting outside of turn 17. Where did that come from? Who knows where that sucker came from. Maybe it was hiding in a pothole or it came from a B17 bomber during WW. II. This place has been around for 80 years. Katherine Legge is glad to be back after a didaster last year breaking both legs in a crash. She and Christina Nielsen are teamed up together, showing that women can be racing drivers, just like others in sports car racing in the past... Lyn St. James, Desiree Wilson, Kathy Rude, Deborah Gregg.
Trent Hindman still leads in GT Daytona with Lars Kern second and Ross Gunn third in the Aston Martin. Katherine Legge also had a massive Champ Car crash years ago but it didn't even phase her one bit. Alexander Rossi, meantime, has the #10 Acura in the pit lane and Ricky Taylor is back into the car. Rossi might be the man to also finish this race for WTR. Sebring as a track, changes so much. When it is overcast, in the cool spot, the track stays consistent. The grip level always changes. Peak tire and car performance does not fall off as much in cooler temperatures like these.
Pit stop time now for the #52 PR1/Mathiasern LMP2 car, the leader in class. Scott Huffaker out, and into the car, it is either Mikkel Jensen or Ben Keating. Ah. It is Mikkel Jensen. Oliver Jarvis is in the #55 Mazda. They are pitting for service and Trent Hindman will hand the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R to Patrick Long. Also in the lane, Renger van der Zande in the #01 car. Renger van der Zande stays in the car. No penalty for the earlier incident between Pipo Derani and Renger van der Zande. It was a racing deal, a racing incident, pure and simple.
As the sun sets, in another three hours, the sun might heat the track surface. The braking zones into turn seven, and turn 17 (Sunset Bend),. Some damage to the left rear of the #38 Performance Tech Motorsports car of Matteo Llarena. Llarena has lost the fender, the "cheese wedge". Poor old Llarena is going to have to make around another lap. The race has been green since 2PM. The exhaust system on that automobile is loose. It looks like an RLV off a 100cc direct drive. Llarena is still circulating, and the team is looking for some form of Full Course Yellow. He is coming to the lane.
We have Dave Burns, Townsend Bell, and Kevin Lee on the broadcast now to replace Leigh Diffey, Calvin Fish, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Now, Simon Pagenaud has pitted the #48 Cadillac. A spin for the #22 United Autosport LMP2 Oreca. Oh my gosh. Pipo Derani thankfully lifted! Egad! Meanwhile, the #3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R is in the lane, Jordan Taylor hopping out, and Antonio Garcia into the car. Matthieu Jaminet is now in the #79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche in GTLM. A coming together too for the #55 Mazda and the #60 Acura. Dane Cameron and Jonathan Bomarito. Cameron is back in the motor race but where is Jonathan Bomarito?
Bomarito got hit in the right rear. There will be a penalty there for the #60 car. Race Control are reviewing the incident. #60 will serve a drive through penalty for incident responsibility. Through the spotters, Cameron apologizes to Bomarito, or vice versa. Call a truce. Pipo Derani is lucky, as Jim McGuire will get a penalty for his incident with the #31. Game over for the #38 Performance Tech car. Rasmus Lindh, Matteo Llarena, and Dan Goldburg, game over. Matt Bell, meanwhile has stuffed the #83 WIN Autosport car into the wall, in turn 13, the Tower Turn. No drive. Is the engine or transmission busted? Bell sharing with Rodrigo Sales, and Niklas Kruetten.
Under yellow, Cadillac #01 and Acura #10 pit leaving the #31 to stay on track. The #55 Mazda came to the pit lane as well. #38 and their team found a dead squirrel in the car. Oh boy. We've seen alligator but no squirrel. Hmmm. Hungry? Squirrel on a stick. Barbecued alligator. Get your vittles here. Extremely posh grub available. OK. Pit stop time for GT Daytona as the #44 Magnus Racing Acura NSX GT3 on Andy Lally, John Potter, and Spencer Pumpelly, with the Speed Racer, Mach 5 livery. The #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche is in the lane for service, diagnosing something for a quick repair under the bonnet. Of course, the engine is mid mounted in a Porsche. It sounds like the team is doing a brake change, and the mechanic under the hood was pouring brake fluid into the master cylinder.
You see a lot of people do some crazy things at Sebring, although, it is family friendly now. It's been a nice, temperate deal as far as the weather. We are glad fans are at Sebring and yours truly is also enjoying this motor race. We remain under Full Course Yellow with nearly another hour on the board. In the meantime, the #52 PR1/Mathiasen LMP2 car, the Wynn's car, has just pitted to top off fuel. #31 has taken the wave around making a lap up, full fuel load, and tires. Pipo Derani will catch the leaders. He is going to be slotted in somewhere. Oh no. Driver time limit for #48, for four hours in a six hour period.
So, the stop has been made and Kamui Kobayashi is now in the car, replacing Simon Pagenaud while the #31 is at the tail end of the DPi queue. Kamui Kobayashi si also told to slice his way thorugh the GT's. The pace car scampers away. Renger van der Zande tries to move around Bomarito and Ricky Taylor is also getting close. Derani and Kobayashi are charging. Side by side between #10 and #01. Ricky Taylor jinks right and then left. That's a lot of bish bash bosh there boys. Fight amongst yourselves, lads. Poor old Pipo Derani is trying to move in on Dane Cameron. Bomarito leads the motor race.
Renger van der Zande has inched away from Taylor, working on Bomarito. Five hours to go as we approach the end of another racing hour. Cadillac vs. Mazda. The backstretch from 16-17 will tell the tale of the tape.
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