Lots of headlines headed for the next race in the European Le Mans Series at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria.
The latest Double Stint Podcast, recapping all the action at Mid-Ohio, and the latest news from the world of sports car racing.
https://sportscar365.com/podcasts/double-stint-mid-ohio-recap-news-roundup/
Stay tuned. Yours truly still has to cover the European Le Mans Series at Red Bull Ring. Yours truly has not seen the race or had a chance to blog it yet. So, stay tuned for that.
Reports from GT racing around Europe plus other weekend action and news...
https://sportscar365.com/features/roundup/weekly-racing-roundup-5-17-21/
All of the post-race headlines after the IMSA WeatherTech Championship event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Welcome to the first sprint race of the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, at yet another of the myriad of legendary venues visited by the championship. This is the Acura Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Three classes will feature in the race today with DPi, LMP3, and GT Daytona. No LMP2 or GT Le Mans cars, are entered for this first sprint race of 2021. It is an Acura front row lockout with the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing ARX-05 of Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque on the front row, alongside the #60 Meyer Shank Racing car of Dane Cameron and Olivier Pla.
Mazda has third place with the #55 RT-24P in the hands of the
British duo of Oliver Jarvis and Harry Tincknell, while in fourth spot, it is
the venerable #31 Whelen Engineering Racing, Action Express Cadillac Dpi-V.R to
be driven by Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani.
Back in the early 1960s, sports car racing enthusiasts had a great idea
to build a track for sports car racing.
A sprint race is on tap, in the search for the checkered flag. It is a lovely afternoon and weekend here in
Lexington, Ohio. No rain expected in the
forecast. A dry race is what we shall
have. Acura are going for four wins in a
row.
Meyer Shank Racing is the hometown team, and the Wayne Taylor Acura will also be in contention. Lexus has had the same streak in GT Daytona at this track. LMP3 was introduced to IWSC competition this year and we have seen Riley Motorsports and CORE Autosports as winners. Robert Wickens has finally gotten behind the wheel of a Hyundai Veloster. Welcome back, Robert Wickens. Roger Penske will return to sports cars, with Porsche, in 2023 in the new LMDh division.
Several teams have had to regroup. Action Express had a few troubled races, and they want to come back into the fold, going for the win. Now, Chip Ganassi Racing has had several issues as well, and bad luck. They too, must try to come back. We will see one driver change, with two drivers, and only three or four pit stops. This is going to be a sprint. No question. The engines have fired and we are getting ready to roll. Lexus #14, they are hoping to go for the hat trick. Jack Hawksworth and Aaron Telitz have been on a streak of different winners in GT Daytona.
Wayne Taylor Racing still want to get the monkey off their back at Mid Ohio, and tick the win box. The cars are on track, now. As you pan back from the Dpi cars, we see the LMP3 cars. Gar Robinson starts the #74 Riley Motorsports automobile. Harry Tincknell and Mazda on the pole in Dpi. Survive first lap “Madness”, the section of corners on the backstretch. Watch for the undercut and identify traffic. Here’s how Mid-Ohio works out, between Columbus and Cleveland. Built in 1962, and not repaved since 2006.
Lots of elevation change. The Keyhole is the first overtaking spot. Low grip, and bumpy. Watch the concrete patch, to the long beach straight into turn 4. Watch out for China Beach. Madness, is the section from turns four to 12. Watch The Carousel, the final turn on the road. We saw The Carousel being a point of contention in the Michelin Pilot race yesterday. The drivers say there is lots more grip on some sections. Traffic is going to be a big deal.
Traffic is going to be awkward between GT Daytona and LMP3. Jarett Andretti, third in LMP3 is making his debut in the WeatherTech Championship sharing with Oliver Askew. We have a split start between the prototypes and the GTD cars. Through the Keyhole. Green flag down the back straight. Go! Sprint racing is underway, and Harry Tincknell gets the jump. Pipo Derani bashes Filipe Albuquerque going for the second place. Derani has the inside line but cannot quite get there as we watch the GTD start as well. Aaron Telitz leads the motor race ahead of Robby Foley and Daniel Morad. Side by side down the hill and some contact look, between Lexus and AMG Mercedes. Down the front straight for the first time. Clean start so far. We expected more argy bargy.
Tincknell in the Mazda is booking it as we watch Derani and Magnussen. Kevin Magnussen is being monstered here by Dane Cameron in the #60 MSR Acura, who did an engine change and a tire change. Cameron is also being monstered by Tristan Vautier in the #5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac. Only 3.5 seconds splits the Daytona Prototype International field as we can see the GT Daytona cars. Professional drivers and amateur drivers can compete in the same class, and that is what GT Daytona is all about as Romain De Angelis and Madison Snow scrap for position.
Lamborghini vs. Aston Martin through the left hander cresting the hill coming to the final turn. The elevation change on this track is something else. Kevin Magnussen in the pit lane for a drive through penalty. Magnussen botched the start of the motor race, moving out of line too early. So, he visits the sin bin. Kevin Magnussen is a new driver to IMSA. In the middle of last year, a new rule was introduced about restarts. Don’t get anxious and unfortunately, that’s what Magnussen did. Harry Tincknell leads the motor race.
Traffic ahead. He is working his way through the GT Daytona automobiles. Aaron Telitz still leads GT Daytona. Tincknell slices and dices past the GT Daytona traffic and so does Filipe Albuquerque. We have drivers like Teltiz, Robby Foloey, Daniel Morad, Frankie Montecalvo, and more, scrapping for position in GTD. Dane Cameron moving through GTD traffic is in hot pursuit of Pipo Derani in the #31 Whelen Action Express Cadillac. The fans love this track at Mid-Ohio. It’s an amphitheater type track where there are no grandstands, and you sit on a hillside.
Harry Tincknell is bish bash boshing it right now, as Mazda will bow out of prototype racing at the end of the year in 2021. The race pace could suit the Mazda boys, but the Acura’s and Cadillac’s are chasing. The Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac has struggled so far this season. Daytona and Sebring, both, were races they would rather forget. Tincknell now leads the motor race over Felipe Albuquerque by 4.6 seconds and Pipo Derani by 7.8 seconds. We watch Gar Robinson leading LMP3 over Jarret Andretti, and Brad Goldburg.
Tincknell is moving around Gar Robinson and speaking of LMP3, Lance Willsey has spun the LMP3 entry for Sean Creech Motorsports, car #33. No damage but clean the clag off the tires. There was a spin there but thankfully did not spin into the gravel trap. In Dpi and GTLM it is a ten minute window. In LMP3 and GTD, 45 minutes is the maximum. In LMP3, it is a real gap between the Am and the Pro drivers. It’s like a game of chicken because the cars are so fuel efficient, and can go 65 minutes on a stint on full fuel tanks.
LMP3 cars could all hit the lane at the same time. Gar Robinson leads Jaret Andretti and Brad Goldburg in LMP3. Meanwhile in GT Daytona, Madison Snow has his hands full with Roman De Angelis. Lamborghini vs. Aston Martin, as we ride along with the #39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Audi R8 being shared by Richard Heistand and Jeff Westphal in this team’s first WeatherTech Championship sprint outing. This is a team we have seen before in Michelin Pilot Challenge with a GT4 spec Audi R8. Roman de Angelis is right on Madison Snow’s six, look. He wants this position in class. But these blokes are a wee bit behind the GTD leaders.
Overall leader, Filipe Albuquerque, (actually, second), he is pushing hard as well. Pipo Derani is dropping back, scrapping with Tristan Vautier in the #5 Cadillac. Daniel Morad tags Pipo Derani and sends him wiggling through the corner! Action Express are trying hard to press the reset button and it has been really frustrating for this team. Feeling the pressure. In the meantime, threading the needle in LMP3 past GT Daytona cars. Jarett Andretti has run in GT4 in the SRO series as well.
Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani want to turn their season around. Derani says he and the team have reset. Last year, Ricky Taylor and Helio Castroneves had to rebound. Now, Action Express may be in the same boat. Pipo Derani is fifth of six cars in DPi. Meanwhile, in GT Daytona it remains a four-way scrap. Lamborghini vs. Audi vs. Aston Martin vs. Porsche. Dan Goldburg is putting all kinds of pressure on Gar Robinson in LMP3 as well, look. These two need to stay clean and not make a pig’s breakfast out of their battle as Jarett Andretti closes in.
All the LMP3 cars, evenly matched. That is the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R of Ryan Hardwick and Patrick Long ahead. Hardwick, I believe, started the car, on his return to racing after a concussion he suffered at Daytona at the start of the year. In racing, the further you get behind, trying to recover, can dig you into a hole. The pressure to perform is always there. Dan Goldburg, in the #38 car for Performance Tech has taken the LMP3 lead as Harry Tincknell continues to lead the motor race, being patient in traffic, half an hour into this race.
Dane Cameron is chasing Filipe Albuquerque. Acura vs. Acura for the front of the DPi class. Fresh tires, half an hour into the motor race, is beneficial. Three wide ‘round Jaret Andretti who has taken the LMP3 lead. Meyer Shank Racing has their team located close by in Petascala, Ohio. Meyer Shank Racing would like to win. The #31 Cadillac pits for four tires, fuel, and a driver change. No real damage to the car if there was contact. Felipe Nasr is back on the road. This is an exceedingly early driver change because of the cooler conditions.
The DPi cars are moving around the GT Daytona cars right now. Mid-Ohio is a very busy track. Kevin Magnussen stays in the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac. Tires and fuel. Meyer Shank Racing will pit next time by. Kevin Magnussen has just uncorked fastest lap. Not sure of the time. Dane Cameron now wants to get around Filipe Albuquerque. Cameron tries his best t carry more speed into the turn on Filipe Albuquerque as the GT Daytona scrum continues. Madison Snow continues to fend off the challenge from Roman De Angelis.
Dan Goldburg is still holding off Gar Robinson in LMP3 as well, look. No dice and Goldburg stays in front as Richard Heistand is running very, very well in the CarBahn Audi with Jeff Westphal debuting in the Sprint Cup in GT Daytona. The battles are all over this 2 and a quarter mile track at Mid-Ohio. Right in the queue, we can see GT Daytona cars and LMP3 cars in their own battles. The internecine battle of the Acura’s continues for second spot. Albuquerque’s margin over Cameron is growing slightly. He is putting daylight (Albuquerque), between himself, and the MSR machine.
Mazda #55 in the lane from the lead of the motor race. Tincknell leads by 12 seconds over Filipe Albuquerque. Tires, fuel, and a driver change, as Oliver Jarvis will get into the automobile. Each class has a minimum fuel fill, per the rules. The #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3 is in the lane sharing with Bill Auberlen. Foley just missed pole in qualifying to Aaron Telitz, yesterday. The Acura scrap rages as Filipe Albuquerque is in the lead of the motor race right now. 45 minutes is the minimum drive time for both GTD and LMP3. Maximum for LMP3 and GTD is an hour and 55 minutes.
Pit stop time too for both Acura teams, pitting together. Albuquerque and Cameron. Both in, and there will be a driver change to Olivier Pla. Wayne Taylor Racing also searching for a win at Mid-Ohio for the first time. Maybe there was less fuel for Filipe Albuquerque as the #01 of Kevin Magnussen on hot tires, moves past Olivier Pla. Felipe Nasr has moved up to second behind Harry Tincknell, 5.3 seconds behind. Zacharie Robichon and Laurens Vanthoor were penalized for ride height after qualifying, but they are making their way through the GTD pack, for Porsche and Pfaff Motorsports.
Pit stop time now, too, for the #54 CORE Autosport LMP3 car. This is the car driven by Colin Braun and John Bennett as we also see a flurry of activity in the lane for GTD. Wright Motorsports, Vasser Sullivan Lexus, they are both in for fuel and tires and perhaps driver changes as well. This is the #14 Jack Hawksworth and Aaron Telitz car. Jack Hawksworth is now in the #14 Lexus who has won the last two races, going for the hat trick.
The sister #12 Lexus is coming in as Frankie Montecalvo will be relieved by hometown driver, Zach Veach. Colin Braun and Jon Bennett, had to serve a drive through penalty for running over equipment in the pit lane, as Kevin Magnussen is pouring on the steam trying to move back to the front. Handling troubles for the Lexus boys and new Michelin tires will help that cause. Roman De Angelis in the lane and Ross Gunn will take over the #23 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3. We also see the #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 in the lane for Till Bechtolsheimer and Marc Miller. Poor old Jon Bennett is off the road and back on as he is chasing Oliver Askew.
Check that. It is Colin Braun. Rob Ferriol is pressing on in the #88 EBM Team Hardpoint Porsche 911 GT3R in the hands of Rob Ferriol. Ferriol sharing with Katherine Legge. The Acura’s built around the Oreca chassis, with Mid-Ohio, has a smooth surface and is front tire dependent. Acura’s can keep the balance in the race car longer than some of the other DPi cars such as the Mazda and the Cadillac, although Mazda has the lead of the motor race so far.
The Acura and Cadillac scrap intensifies as we watch the #5 JDC-Miller automobile with Loic Duval and Tristan Vautier. Madison Snow continues to lead GT Daytona and Zach Robichon is chasing. Snow is the rabbit, Robichon is the hound, and Richard Heistand as well, in the #39 CarBahn Audi, he is bang on the money right now as well. Olivier Pla in the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura runs sixth in class in DPi. MSR are looking for track position as their fuel strategy is a target.
Turn one here at Mid-Ohio for a DPi car is incredible, carrying loads of speed. Porsche #88 for Team Hardpoint EBM is in the lane for service. Katherine Legge is into the car, after Rob Ferriol, team principal, finishes his stint. Team principal, along with Porsche veteran driver, Earl Bamber. Katherine Legge is getting up to speed in her stint. Also, into the lane, the #39 Audi. Richard Heistand, out, and Jeff Westphal, into the car. Make sure the driver is comfortable in the car as they take over. Westphal makes his way back onto the circuit.
Kevin Magnussen in the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac is in hot pursuit of a similar car, the #5 JDC-Miller Motorsports entry for Tristan Vautier, the Sebring winner. Pfaff Motorsports in the Porsche in the lane for fuel, tires, and a driver change. It looks like Laurens Vanthoor has now taken over from Zacharie Robichon. Just over an hour and a half left in the motor race. Harry Tincknell still leads this motor race by 11 and a half seconds over Felipe Nasr. Ross Gunn has been nominated as the full-season driver alongside Roman De Angelis at The Heart of Racing.
Kevin Magnussen continues to chase Tristan Vautier, and we have a broken suspension, a broken tie rod on the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus for Jack Hawksworth! Dear oh dear! This is another group that has been on the back foot and they will have a fraught day today unless they can get this problem fixed and we are only an hour and ten minutes in with an hour and a half left on the board. Mo flat tire, but there’s a wobble wheel. The wheel nut could have been loose and maybe something with the suspension is broken for the Lexus team, the #14 car.
They will take the car back to the garage, in damage limitation mode. These curbs are very gentle, allowing motorcycles to also race here at Mid-Ohio. Robby Foley takes the GTD lead in the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW leading the sister Vasser Sullivan Lexus of Zach Veach. No four in a row for the #14 Lexus in GTD as BMW leads in class. Pit stop time for the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac and Pipo Derani will take over the car, along with a change of four tires and fuel. The #5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac is now in the lane as well.
Loic Duval should take over from Tristan Vautier as we have just over an hour and 20 minutes of racing left. What a beautiful track Mid-Ohio is. Harry Tincknell continues to lead ahead of Filipe Albuquerque and Kevin Magnussen. Tincknell in the lane. Now, we have not seen a Full Course Yellow in the motor race yet. Oliver Jarvis will take over the Mazda to the end of the race. We are halfway home now. Magnussen got a nerf a short time ago from Andy Lally in the #44 Magnus Racing Acura NSX GT3, the Speed Racer liveried car.
A confirmed rear suspension failure for the #14 Vasser
Sillivan Lexus, working on the suspension of the car. Lally sharing with John Potter. The other Acura NSX GT3’s in this race are
the Gradient car we’ve mentioned, the Bechtolsheimer/Miller car and the #76
Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3 of Jeff Kingsley and Mario Farnbacher. Jeff Westphal passes Marc Miller. Farnbacher had a birthday recently. He does not have a full season ride, but has
this opportunity with Compass and they ran a McLaren last year in 2020. Good scrap here between Farnbacher and
Michael de Quesada in the #28 Alegra Motorsports Mercedes.
Into the lane, the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura from the
race lead. Olivier Pla in the car and he
will stay there as this is a fuel and tire stop. Filipe Albuquerque resumes in the lead. Pla has Oliver Jarvis and Felipe Nasr
following. Now, our leader is in. Filipe Albuquerque out of the #10 handing
over to Ricky Taylor. Michelin does an
amazing job with the tires. Their tires
can indeed be pushed to the limit. Mario
Farnbacher had an off-course excursion and ran into the dust. He is off the road another time as well,
look. Robby Foley is 25 seconds up the
road from both Zach Veach and Ross Gunn.
This car that Farnbacher is driving, is the same Acura NSX
GT3 he drove in 2019. This is his fourth
straight year driving an Acura NSX GT3. Oliver
Jarvis is back in the lead of the motor race with Felipe Nasr chasing him
down. Nasr is just 1.4 seconds
in-arrears. Action Express has done the
undercut. Nasr is closing in on Jarvis,
little by little. Nasr is working
through traffic having had the Action Express team put him out on a clear track,
mentioning some of the team, including team owner, Bob Johnson, and team
managers Gary Nelson and Tim Keane.
Pit stop time for the #1 Paul Miller Racing
Lamborghini. This is the car being
shared by Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers.
In as well, the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3, the Auberlen/Foley
car. Spin there, ah, for the #16 Wright
Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R. Patrick
Long is in the gravel trap. He is hung
up in the sand. Ah. He gets balked by Michael de Quesada, and he
had contact, too, with Laurens Vanthoor.
Poor old Vanthoor wanted no part of it and the tire came right off the
rim of the #16 car. Jeepers
creepers! Full Course Yellow, now. #31 in the lane. Tim Keane makes the call, and they will have
fuel and track position. It appears the
Wright Motorsports Porsche, the #16 car is now back on the road. Patrick Long is limping around as the tire is
delaminating. Back in 1963, the first
race run here was an SCCA event won by the legendary, late, great Ken Miles.
Oliver Jarvis is in the lane now and so are the other contenders. We have the #10, the #55, the #01, the #31, and the #60 in the lane. Down and away for all of these cars. The #31 responded and did a splash and dash before so they are topped up and there will be one more round of pit stops. We watch the replay of the fracas with the #16, and that was a pig’s breakfast to say the least. GTD cars to the pit lane. Alegra Mercedes, Pfaff Porsche, and others. A driver change in the Mercedes camp. Is it Daniel Morad or is it Michael de Quesada?
The Pfaff Porsche is down and away. Wright Motorsports, mercifully, also enters the lane. A little something for their trouble. NASCAR owns IMSA, and NASCAR has borrowed some of the technology from sports car racing with an undertray, a sequential gearbox, independent suspension, and more. Seven road courses on the Cup Series circuit. All the DPi cars are going to restart together. 51 minutes to go. We also look forward to what is to come in LMDh. Roger Penske will race LMDh with Porsche. This is the most recent announcement of the new cars.
Roger Penske took a Porsche RS Spyder out, driving it. Penske will be in charge of Porsche in LMDh and LMH in Europe, for Porsche. The #31 is in the lead of the motor race as Patrick Long is now stopped off the track. Maybe there is a driveline issue. Another lap under yellow. Now, the #16 Porsche is driving again, so they have not lost drive. What will the marshals and IMSA say about that? Will there be a splash and dash in DPi? The concern is that if there isn’t a split between DPi, LMP3, and GTD. 45 minutes left and we are back to green.
Felipe Nasr leads the motor race ahead of Ricky Taylor and Oliver Jarvis. These Michelin tires are like snowballs and keep picking up the clag. Renger van der Zande screams past Loic Duval and move his way through the queue. Ricky Taylor moves around Felipe Nasr for the lead. 43 minutes to go. Nasr is now six tenths of a second behind as Andy Lally is pressing Jeff Westphal. Ross gunn leads Jeff Westphal, Andy Lally, and more. Auberlen leads the clas over Zach Veach, Bryan Sellers, and Mario Farnbacher.
40 minutes to go. What a great scrap in GTD. So many different cars. Audi, Aston Martin, Acura, Porsche, BMW. Felipe Nasr is keeping Ricky Taylor honest right now.; Fuel strategy, saving petrol, and looking at track position. These are the keys to how to win. Felipe Nasr is reeling in the Acura. Oliver Jarvis lurking in the distance, but 2.3 seconds in-arrears. The leaders are trapped behind GTD cars of Katherine Legge and the beleaguered #14 Lexus which is back on track. More lapped traffic ahead as Oliver Jarvis will be closing in on these two leaders.
Taylor has Nasr all over him as Jarvis is moving in. GT Daytona traffic is massive and here comes Nasr! Jarvis is now going to be balked by GTD cars. Lots of time left on the board and these boys will need a splash and dash before the end. Oliver Jarvis and Renger van der Zande have their own battle for third spot. We watch the #28 Alegra Motorsports Mercedes as well and the scrum in GTD between Vanthoor and Gunn for fifth in class. Back to the lead battle. Taylor leading Nasr. Vanthoor in GTD closes up on the Compass Racing Acura of Mario Farnbacher.
Under a half hour remaining in the motor race. Laurens Vanthoor went off the road in the Porsche. Holy smokes! He lifted and ran over the curbs and Mario Farnbacher threw dirt in Vanthoor’s face. Target fixation. Ricky Taylor leads Felipe Nasr by just one second. In terms of managing fuel, Pipo Derani says the simulator is used for fuel saving, to run the lap time, with not using up too much petrol. Felipe Nasr has probably reached his fuel target either before their final stop or before the end of the motor race.
It sounds like Action Express is happy with the pace. For the Mazda camp, they have not had the pace to keep up with the leaders, running to a fuel number for the splash and dash. The #5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac of Loic Duval has been saving fuel. They are on a fuel saving strategy, the Sebring winners. Nasr will be right on Ricky Taylor’s six now. #54 spins with damage but keeps going! Holy cow! In the last half hour, if there is a Full Course Yellow, pit lane is not open. Watch out for the tooleys on the outside of the track. Ricky Taylor divebombs around Felipe Fraga in the #74 Riley Motorsports LMP3 car! Nasr is still extremely close.
Some argy bargy there, look, between the #01 Cadillac and the #55 Mazda. Whoa. That was close. This motor race has been a barn burner so far. Will the leaders have to pit? Will Loic Duval be able to move in on fuel saving? The #5 team believes they are in the pound seats to go for the victory after winning at Sebring. Now, they believe too, that they have called a great strategy if the leaders falter. Duval will still need to save petrol, though.
Olivier Pla, ahead of Loic Duval, in Acura #60, he does not have enougn fuel or tires. Can he move in? Bill Auberlen, leading GT Daytona, chasing Felipe Fraga’s LMP3 car. Auberlen leads Zach Veach, Bryan Sellers, Ross Gunn, and Mario Farnbacher. 15 minutes to go now. The #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus is second in class in GTD after the sister car was forced to retire. Zach Veach is transitioning from IndyCar to sports cars and GT racing. Bryan Sellers is applying the blowtorch to Veach, though.
Should the leaders pit, Duval may be vulnerable, but could also get on the podium. Ricky Taylor leads Felipe Nasr by 1.4 seconds. The #31 will be close on fuel. Nasr is told to save more petrol. We are coming down to the end of the motor race. Nasr clears the lapped traffic and now has a chance to close up on Ricky Taylor. GTD traffic has played somewhat of a part, but not significantly. The gap between Taylor and Nasr is a second and a half. Nasr has been told to back off a smidgen to save petrol.
Fuel saving is still the deal. Both Wayne Taylor Racing and Action Express want to save fuel so they don’t have to take an extra lap. Both cars are 3-3.5 seconds off their best laps. Four or so, five actually, laps to go. The pace won’t slow down. This is going to be close. Felipe Nasr brakes deep into the Keyhole. Bill Auberlen continues to lead in GT Daytona and is ahead by 3.5 seconds, from a lead that was up around five seconds earlier on. Felipe Fraga leads LMP3.
Pit stop time for Olivier Pla. He needs a splash and a dash. The #10 Acura could also be close on gas. 2.8 seconds between Taylor and Nasr. Nasr has time on his hands. But the team may have enough confidence to get to the end. Felipe Nasr is being told to push. The gap is closing. 1.7 seconds. Taylor has been on a tear. Lapped traffic in the way for Nasr. LMP3 and GTD. Pit stop time, splash and dash for the #01 Ganassi Cadillac. One lap to go next time by.
Rasmus Lindh in the #38 Performance Tech car is a lap down and he is cleared. One more lap to go. Nasr reeling in Taylor. What is going to happen? Traffic ahead. Ricky Taylor wins it, holding off Felipe Nasr. Felipe Fraga and Gar Robinson win LMP3 and in GT Daytona, it is the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3 of Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley.
Overall/DPi: #10 Taylor/Albuquerque Acura ARX 05
LMP3:
#74 Robinson/Fraga Ligier JS P320
Nissan
GT Daytona: #96 Auberlen/Foley BMW M6 GT3
That is all folks, from Mid-Ohio. The next race on the calendar is a race that
did not happen last year due to the pandemic.
It will be another sprint, a street fight at Belle Isle Park in the
Motor City, Detroit, Michigan, coming up in mid-June. Join us there. So long, for now, and take care, everybody.
Pre-race news from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course before the first IMSA WeatherTech Championship sprint event of 2021.
Cameron Quickest in Mid-Ohio Warmup
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/cameron-quickest-in-mid-ohio-warmup/
Second win in three races for AWA McLaren 570S GT4...
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/impc/wittmer-green-take-dramatic-mid-ohio-win-in-awa-mclaren-gt4/
Round three of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge championship takes place at the twisting, turning Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. This is the first natural terrain course of the year that goes uphill and down dale. We have been to the high banks of Daytona and the airport runways of Sebring. Now is the chance for the GT4 and TCR cars to tackle a true, natural terrain road circuit. We have one notable contender making their debut in Michelin Pilot Challenge competition. Transitioning to IMSA from a different championship, we have FCP Euro ready to make their debut. Car #11 is a Mercedes AMG GT4 set to be driven by Nate Vincent and Michael Hurczyn.
Some other notable changes in driver lineups also exist for
this race. The #13 AWA McLaren 570S GT4
has Montreal, Quebec native, Chris Green partnering with Kuno Wittmer. Orey Fidani, his regular co-driver, is at
home awaiting the birth of his son.
Chris Green is the general manager of McLaren Toronto, one of their
dealers. So, he will get a chance to get
behind the wheel and race today. Green
last drove the AWA McLaren at Road America in 2019 where the team scored a top
five finish on that day. We also have
another notable new entry in today’s motor race.
The American Wheelman Ford Mustang GT4 to be driven by Jack
Roush Jr. and Nate Stacy. 330 acres of
beautiful racetrack here in central Ohio.
Turner Motorsports with Dillon Machavern and Bill Auberlen are leading
the Grand Sport points. Consistency is
very, very important. It’s been 17 years
since Auberlen has won a championship title.
Ryan Hardwick, too, is back on track after his concussion, and he has
Jan Heylen co-driving once again. The
TCR class is going to be a big show too.
Road Shagger Racing and their Audi RS3 LMS TCR, they went 70 minutes on
a tank of fuel and now Gavin Ermstone and John Morley are confident.
Again, we have a familiar face with Jack Roush Jr. and Nate Stacy in this new Mustang. This team won the doubleheader for the series at Mid-Ohio last fall. We are halfway between Columbus and Cleveland and the pavement is worn, but the Keyhole will be a major point. Watch out for China Beach and into Madness. The Carousel is also demanding, up and over the crest of a hill. Watch the bumps coming to the finish line. We start the race remotely, headed down the backstretch. Here we go. The clock has started, for two hours. One pit stop will be the order of the day.
Here we go! We’ve got a green flag and the race is on! Ryan Hardwick leads into China Beach. Chris Green follows. Here comes the TCR start with Chris Miller and Mike LaMarra and there’s Perker Chase in the Hyundai and Gavin Ernstone in the Audi. We don’t want a shemozzle at the start. Hardwick leads the motor race in his first race since Daytona. Peeking to the inside is Chris Green. Hugh Plumb in the Camaro and then comes Alan Brynjolfsson in the Volt Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4. He was just in the Prototype Challenge race that ran before this.
Wow. Rory van der
Steur moves ‘round Ermstone. Tyler
Gonzalez next in the queue. The Tyler
and Tyler show. Chris Green has moved
into the lead, look, ahead of Ryan Hardwick.
Hugh Plumb next up in the #46 Team TGM Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R. McLaren vs. Porsche Cayman vs. Chevrolet
Camaro. The twisty nature of Mid-Ohio
suits the TCR machinery. Two Hyundai's, a
Veloster and an Elantra, are pushing, pushin, pushing to get by the bullish
blokes at Audi.
Ermstone almost spun out!
Front Wheel Drive, nail the gas, and save the car! Yikes!
Jeepers creepers! So, Rory van
der Steur is moving up. We see that
Gonzalez wanted to move by Ermstone and ran out of road. Chris Green leads overall. McLaren at the top of the shop as we get
underway. Chris Miller in the JDC-Miller
Motorsports Audi RS3 LMS TCR is making his move to the lead ‘round Rory van der
Steur in the Hyundai. Oh dear. #71 off the road, look. That’s the Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro
from Frank DePew and Robin Liddell. Now,
back on track, and keep on trucking as we go onboard the #3 MIA Racing McLaren
570S GT4, with Sheena Monk and Spencer Pigot sharing the driving chores.
Battle for second place and it’s a dandy. Hardwick is keeping Hugh Plumb at bay with
Alan Brynjolfsson in the Aston next up as Chris Green has already put a
tremendous amount of daylight between himself and the pursuers. Some argy bargy as well, and three wide as
Chris Miller and Rory van der Steur are pressing to get by the GT4 Toyota
Supra, car #14. That is the Riley
Motorsports entry for Javier Quiros from Costa Rica sharing with Alfredo Najri
of the Dominican Republic. The action is
close in TCR as well, look. Audi,
Hyundai, Honda. Man oh man! This is hot stuff! Chris Miller is now going backwards. He is dropping like a stone. The Toyota has made poor old Chris Miller the
cork in the bottle.
Through Madness they go once again. Gavin Ermstone’s broken foot has healed. Miller has the whole field right on his six now,
although Rory van der Steur, too, is beginning to move ahead of Parker
Chase. Tyler Gonzalez is on a mission to
finish. Tyler Maxson is also running
well. He won a touring car championship
in the SRO series, the other North American sports car championship that races
to TCR regulations. Lots of grass
shavings on the road right now. The
curbs are friendly and not large, sharp turtles or sausage curbs.
Chris Green leads the motor race. Green and Orey Fidani are both from Toronto,
Ontario, Canada, and again, Chris Green is a quick driver even though his day-to-day
job is managing the Toronto McLaren dealer.
Alan Brynjolfsson is running very well making the transition from an
LMP3 to a GT4 car. Ryan Hardwick also
races in the GT Daytona class in the WeatherTech Championship that we will see
race tomorrow. 15 minutes now on the
board as Rory van der Steur is being monstered by both Hyundai Elantra’s, the
factory cars for Parker Chase and Harry Gottsacker.
TCR cars are front wheel drive and very fun to drive. The design of the Veloster compared to the
Elantra is so different of course one is a hatchback and the other is a
sedan. Things getting spicy in TCR right
now but back in the lead, Chris Green is on a Saturday cruise at the
moment. Nothing really going on at the
sharp end. Although, there is some
scrapping now in the back half of the GS/GT4 field. Turner Motorsports vs.
Winward Racing vs. McCann Racing. BMW,
Mercedes, Audi. We’ll check back on that
in a minute as the TCR scrap between the Hyundai’s is simmering.
Rory van der Steur in the Veloster continues to lead the factory Elantra’s, but Parker Chase wants a bit of the cherry downhill through the back side of the course and van der Steur does not want to give it to him. Now, he does. He realizes maybe the Elantra has a wee bit more speed. Mike LaMarra, carrying the onboard camera in the LAP Motorsports/L.A. Honda World Honda Civic TCR is also in the fight. This is a fair old dingdong here, look, between these boys.
The top five in TCR is nose to tail. One Honda vs. the Hyundai juggernaut. Through Madness, those blokes in the Hyundai’s are pressing hard. Anything you can do, I can do better. Hardy har har. The #42 Ford Mustang is chasing the Audi and a couple of the Mercedes AMG GT4’s. Russell Ward and Jeff Mosing, they are in the fight and so is Bryce Ward. Two Mercedes’ for Winward and one for Murillo. Nate Stacy and Kyle Marcelli swept the 2020 MPC Grand Sport championship. Mike Hall, a Marine, has put the American Wheelman team together. We appreciate you, and your service to our country Mr. Hall.
Bryce Ward has Alex Papadopoulos and Jack Roush Jr. going for it. Winward won GT Daytona at the Rolex 24, they have been competing in SRO, and also, in DTM in Europe with their new GT3 platform. Rebel Rock and their Camaro, which won Sebring, they are a lap down now and need to get back in the fight. That’s Frank DePew sharing with Robin Liddell. In the lane now, Chris Green for AWA McLaren. Fuel only, perhaps. They will need a driver change but we are not even half an hour into the motor race yet. Save fuel. When will Kuno Wittmer get into the car? We shall see.
If you get a yellow flag, a 56-58 minute window for petrol is all you need. If we go yellow and everyone pits together, the McLaren boys could get their advantage back. But now, Ryan Hardwick in the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche Cayman has retaken the lead of the motor race. The TCR battle is not letting up. We see Mike LaMarra closing in on the factory Hyundai’s hand over fist. Oh dear. Spin there for the #4 Winward Mercedes. Russell Ward is trying to get the car pointed in the right direction. Does so. He’s back in the fight. Keep on trucking.
Deary me! He had contact with one of the Turner Motorsports BMW M4s. Not sure if that was #95 of #96. TCR time again. Rory van der Steur in the Veloster continues in the lead but he is the minnow, the factory Hyundai’s and the L.A. Honda World Honda, are the sharks. van der Steur, Gottsacker, Chase, LaMarra. This is a fair fight in TCR. That pot has been brought from a simmer to a boil. Ryan Hardwick continues to lead in the overall. He is having a stellar return to racing after two accidents at Daytona and had a concussion but is clear to drive. He is whistling off into the distance.
Chris Miller is inching his way into the TCR battle. They are having a little party and they didn’t invite me! Ugh! Those little squeakers! Oh no! More agricultural racing for the Road Shagger #61 Audi. Poor old Ermstone was assisted by Taylor Hagler in the #77 Hyundai Veloster. Calm down. Keep driving. 40 minutes to 80 minutes maximum as you slice the cake for a two-hour race. Cake? What flavor? Not until you win the motor race, lads. Russell Ward and company at Winward have been dealing with handling maladies. He’s on the radio probably saying, “ugh! I can’t drive the race car!”
He can adjust brake bias to get the car to turn for understeer. You cannot make too many adjustments on these cars. Bryan Henderson was fastest in TCR but ran afoul of the tech rules and had to start caboose on the grid. They had a non-homologated aluminum part that should have been made from Kevlar. A.J. Muss is being eaten up by Ryan Hardwick. Talk about a slice of cake. Muss in the #51 Copeland Motorsports Hyundai Veloster sharing with Mason Filippi. The battle rages in TCR, still. Nothing has changed.
Nose to tail in TCR.
This is great action. LaMarra
wants a bite of the cherry but knows he might get the pit. Discretion the better part of valor
there. Rebel Rock Camaro in the
lane. Tires, fuel, and a driver change
as Robin Liddell, the Scotsman, gets into the car. Toyota Supra in the lane as well, having come
in crooked and the Camaro team has to push the car back before releasing from
the box. To the outside comes van der
Steur on the factory cars, and the #88 Honda has spun and is righting
itself. That’s the VCMG Racing machine
for Victor Gonzalez and Ruben Iglesias.
Rory van der Steur continues to hold off the factory Elantra’s. Parker Chase is really applying the blowtorch. The van der Steur family raced in prototypes almost 20 years ago. Trent Hindman is taking over the #7 Volt Racing Aston Martin with Archangel from Alan Brynjolfsson. Don’t spin the rear wheels. It looks like he is going to have a penalty in his future. He selected a gear without having a foot on the brake spinning the tires. Rory van der Steur is leading but Parker Chase tries him into the Keyhole.
The old and new Hyundai’s are evenly matched with Balance of Performance. There’s no real rule to officiate how often you flash your lights. Ryan Hardwick in the lane for service. Pit stop time now. Jan Heylen will get into the car for the driver change. We have an hour and 12 minutes left on the board. They will need a splash and dash if we don’t have any yellows. A clean stop for Wright Motorsports and Heylen back on track. Trent Hindman is back to speed in the Aston Martin. Will they have a penalty? Yes. Two infractions for Aston Martin #7. Speeding in the lane, and rotating drive wheels from a safety aspect.
Pit stop time now for the Road Shagger Audi team as Jon Morley takes over. Think about the big picture. There must be a compromise between drivers, but the setup has to be there. Trouble for tires on the Audi and in replay, we see the rear tires spinning while the Aston Martin was up on the air jacks before being released. Now, the #42 Mustang of Jack Roush Jr. has spun out of the Carousel. That’s a pivot point. Rory van der Steur continues to monster the factory Hyundai Elantra’s. Parker Chase takes over the TCR lead.
Come into the pits, put the car in neutral, and the second driver says “get ready”, but don’t try to put the car in gear yet without holding the car on the brake, or the wheels will spin/. One of the TGM Camaro’s in the lane. Hugh Plumb out, and Matt Plumb in. Full Course Yellow now. Full Course Yellow. Jack Roush Jr. is stranded in the final turn. What happened? Into the Carousel, he got biffed by Russell Ward. This is the first Full Course Yellow of the race. The cars continue behind the safety car and we will see when the signal is given to go back to green.
Pit stop time now for the leading Grand Sport GT4 cars. AWA McLaren are making their driver change as Kuno Wittmer will get into the car and many other teams are doing likewise. Wright Motorsports, Turner Motorsports, Volt Racing, McCann Racing, PF Racing, and more. How will the order shake out after the stops? We are about to find out. Some front splitter damage, maybe, on the #84 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic TCR for Brian Henderson and Robert Noaker.
All 11 lead lap cars in TCR are in the pit lane for fuel, tires, and a driver change. The Hyundai Elantra’s are in. Ryan Norman replaces Parker Chase. Mark Wilkins replaces Harry Gottsacker in the sister #33 car. Dennis DuPont in the #19 takes over from Rory van der Steur with just under an hour to go. Wow. The #27 Copeland Motorsports Hyundai Veloster of Tyler Gonzalez and Tyler Maxson takes the lead in class. Wilkins and Ryan Norman, both are champion drivers. This restart ought to be fun. Stay with us. It is not over yet ladies and gentlemen.
Green flag and we have Matt Plumb in the lead with Jan Heylen, Trent Hindman and also James Vance. Here comes Heylen into the Keyhole. Trent Hindman wants by Jan Heylen. Hindman shared a car with Heylen at the Rolex 24. Matt Plumb defending from James Vance into Madness. The MCLaren is hooked up and has the speed as Kuno Wittmer is bish bash boshing it right now. Bill Auberlen, the winningest driver in IMSA is also flying as we see Stephen Simpson high sided on the curb in turn five just after he took the car over from Michael Johnson.
Side by side to turn four between Audi and Aston Martin. Jan Heylen has the track position, look, over Kuno Wittmer. James Vance has been overtaken by Trent Hindman as Bill Auberlen smells blood in the water. BMW have not had the pace. Oh no. Poor old Mat Pombo is nerfed out of the way by Mikey Taylor! Yikes! Argy bargy ahoy! Meanwhile, the Hyundai scrap is still simmering. Maxson vs. DuPont and Spencer Pigot tags Bill Auberlen who goes off the road! Jeepers creepers! That’s two jeepers creepers calls if you are keeping score at home.
Pigot has a tire rub as we see in replay, Auberlen defends, and Pigot has just enough room but can’t get stopped before slamming the BMW! Bang! Auberlen was a sitting duck. Alec Udell in the #57 Winward Mercedes moves past as well. Udell sharing with Bryce Ward. Oh dear. Auberlen in the lane with crash damage. He has won races, but he is going to be on the back foot in terms of the championship as the right front corner is crumpled.
There could be a broken A arm in the suspension as well. Dennis DuPont’s pace has slowed a wee bit as one of the focuses is keeping the cars cool and getting grass out of the radiator. Wittmer has a run on Heylen and for the Dutchman, it Is get your own back time, look. Hyundai madness also continues in TCR. More damage to the BMW M4 for Turner Motorsports. One of the mechanics says, “take it to the garage. We need a new tie rod.” It could be game over for the Turner Motorsports BMW team and they will have to wait until tomorrow to run well in the WeatherTech Championship in GT Daytona.
45 minutes now remaining in the motor race. It is the foxes and the hounds in TCR still. Oh, we have someone dropping a wheel into the dust. Also, the GS battle is heating up as Trent Hindman is all over Jan Heylen like a rash. Kuno Wittmer runs up ahead. McLaren, Porsche Cayman, Aston Martin Vantage. This is a real humdinger of a scrap we are watching now, ladies and gentlemen. Hindman wants it. He is pushing. Right now, the Camaro is still leading the motor race. Four manufacturers vying for the lead of this remarkable motor race.
Hindman and Heylen co-drove together in the WeatherTech
Championship at Daytona and Sebring.
It’s a difficult dynamic. We have
an update on Hyundai #19 as there was fuel pressure troublke on that
automobile. Denis DuPont is slowing
again. A fraught motor race for these
boys. BMW #95 did go behind the wall,
with Bill Auberlen and Dillon Machavern.
Suspension damage as we mentioned.
They need to get some points in the final 40 minutes. Good scrap now between Mikey Taylor and the
#94 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda of Ryan Eversley sharing with Scott Smithson.
With TCR cars, it is hard to identify them because some cars
even from different brands have similar shapes.
Be careful where you race here at Mid-Ohio because you may end up doing
agricultural racing, indulging in some autocross, turning your race car into a
lawnmower. Now we return to the Wittmer,
Heylen, Hindman story in the scrum for second spot as Matt Plumb is whistling
off into the distance. Heylen is not
getting much closer to the McLaren while Trent Hindman can smell blood in the
ater. The TCR battle for the lead has
Taylor Maxson leading and Ryan Norman in second. Veloster vs. Elantra, (factory Elantra), in
the Hyundai camp.
Good day for a motor race to sit on the hillside, with a
picnic lunch, socially distanced of course, unless you have already been
vaccinated for the virus. Mid-Ohio is a
racetrack but also home of driving schools for track and street driving. Robert Wickens after his horrible accident in
IndyCar, is back in racing. Michael Johnson
who is also paralyzed, and can drive, said “take it easy, enjoy the moment in
the race car.” He will have to learn how
to feel the car through his hands instead of the seat of his pants. Michael Johnson had a great stint and now,
Stephen Simpson is into the car.
Sanctioning bodies are recognizing drivers with disabilities want to compete. There are two rings to control the accelerator and brake from the steering wheel as well as the gearshift. We have seen Alex Zanardi and we have seen a trio of drivers with disabilities in Europe also race. Matt Plumb continues to lead the race. Hugh Plumb said they are being creative, and they have gotten track position and are maintaining a gap. Matt and Hugh Plumb are brothers and have raced both together and against each other.
33 wins between the Plumb brothers, with Matt at the wheel right now. The Camaro had a Balance of Performance tweak for more power but less fuel capacity, less fuel range. The great thing about sports car racing is hearing the different engine notes go by on track. Tyler Maxson has leapfrogged the factory Hyundai’s and he is feeling the heat from Ryan Norman who wants a bite of the apple. It is hard to tell if there is a difference between the Veloster and the Elantra and Norman wants to go for it and Mike Lewis has gone ‘round Mark Wilkins. Back and forth and to the lead, Ryan Norman!
Wow! This is a big fight for the Hyundai team. Taylor Hagler had that argy bargy in the #77 with the Road Shagger Audi earlier on. Some info shared between factory and customer teams at Hyundai, but they are rivals. Mike Lewis is pressing Ryan Norman and I don’t have to tell you, hard. Norman and Lewis have both gone by Tyler Maxson. The Wittmer/Heylen/Hindman battle steams on. This has also been fascinating to watch through the course of the race. They are second and Matty Plumb in the Camaro is a country mile up the road.
Whoops! A smashup for the pink #40 PF Racing Ford Mustang. The left front of that car is crunched. So, trouble for James Pesek and Chad McCumbee. Actually, the whole front of that automobile is compromised. He must have slapped the Armco a ton there. Could be another Full Course Yellow. Put it out? We’ll see. Meanwhile, the second-place scrap continues to simmer. Ah yes. Full Course Yellow. Put it out! That Mustang is dead in the water. This is the second FCY of this motor race. Poor old Chad McCumbee could be out of the motor race. He spins and clips the Murillo Racing Mercedes and tears the front nose off the Mustang. Screech! Crunch! He just squirted the power and lost the tail.
Eric Foss was an innocent bystander. Nothing the poor bloke could do. Just over 22 minutes left on the board before this motor race is done and dusted. Fuel saving might not be too problematic but there was concern on the petrol tank in the #13 McLaren, Kuno Wittmer at the controls. Chris Green did very well at the beginning of this race. Wittmer will be chasing down the aforementioned Matt Plumb. Team manager and former driver Joe Varde has made him aware of that. It is coming down to crunch time with 20 minutes now left.
We run under yellow behind the safety car and when we go back to green, this will be a shootout to the end. So, Matt Plumb will now bring the field to the restart after a short yellow and we are back to racing. Jan Heylen wanted to move ‘round the McLaren but no. Trent Hindman is pushing hard. Hindman goes deep into the turn. Spencer Pigot is fifth and also pushing hard. Into China Beach, Matt Plumb keeps the lead, but he will have to worm for the record as Wittmer pours on the power. Into Madness, off the road goes Hindman and back on.
Plumb knows how to win races and did not see much action with the COVID virus, but the TGM boys are back now. Here comes Heylen, with Trent Hindman on the outside on used tires that are knackered. Heylen forces the issue. Wittmer running on Plumb down the hill and Plumb outbrakes the McLaren. The Camaro has great handling and braking in addition to raw, brute horsepower from the V8 motor. 15 minutes now on the clock. Hindman is pushing, pushing, pushing, being denied by Heylen in the Porsche. Oh dear! Hindman way off the road! Wittmer says the McLaren has the braking power. Plumb is aware of the braking power of the McLaren and Wittmer makes the move into the lead. Hit your marks. The Camaro with Hugh Plumb is quick in sector two. Heylen is clear away from Hindman and in TCR, Ryan Norman holds back Michael Lewis. Lewis is keeping the pressure on as Tom Dyer is off and on running in ninth place in the CarBahn Audi who are debuting in GT Daytona in the WeatherTech Championship, tomorrow.
Hindman wants by Heylen and wants by Lumb as well. This will be a fiar scrap. Hindmna can’t turn in on time before the Porsche takes the spot. Wittmer is seeing this scrap in his rearview mirror and here comes Spencer Pigot, the former IndyCar driver. Roll speed off the uphill under the bridge. Keep going into the Keyhole. No dice for three wide, but what a race from the top three! Wittmer leading Plumb and Heylen. Matty Plumb spins after contact with Trent Hindman! Plumb did nothing wrong. He was just another innocent bystander. Hindman just turns him. He was very aggressive but in a way, needed to be.
Damage for Hindman and now, Alec Udell and Bryce Ward are on the podium. This is the second Winward Mercedes. Trent Hindman in the Aston Martin is into the fence! He has a broken suspension piece or something and cannot steer it. Damage from the contact with the Camaro. What a terrible break for Aston Martin and it is game over for the Volt Lightning Aston Martin. Kuno Wittmer continues leading this motor race as we watch the TCR battle. Norman ahead of Michael Lewis for the Hyundai brigade and then comes Ryan Eversley in the #94 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda.
Once again, give a call to Alec Udell as he is up to third for the Winward Motorsports Mercedes team. TCR leaders catching the back part of the GT4 cars as Nate Vincent in the FCP Euro Mercedes goes off the road in that #11 car he shares with Michael Hurczyn. In replay, we see Vincent going wide and getting off in the clag on the side of the road. Ryan Eversley is running third in TCR. He has to move by Michael Lewis in the Hyundai Veloster #77 with six minutes to go.
Mat Pombo uncorks the fastest lap at 1:28.8 in TCR as the Michelin Pilot tires squeal for mercy. TCR cars are front wheel drive and so the left front takes a pounding here at Mid-Ohio. Ryan Norman leads TCR but he is not home and hosed yet. Jan Heylen will make up ground in points and lose ground as well to the McLaren boys unless of course Heylen can catch Wittmer. Alfredo Najri in the Toyota Supra is the cork in the bottle for the TCR lads. Heylen closes in on Wittmer for the lead.
These two chaps have clear track and can uncork qualifying laps in the battle for victory. Hit your marks. No mistakes. Both leading cars are totally clean and have had no argy bargy today. Wittmer has been able to bring more power because of the fuel mileage being so good for the McLaren boys today. Meantime, a gap in TCR as Eversley has closed on Lewis. The Porsche Cayman has the advantage on the back half of the course and here comes Heylen. White flag! One lap to go. Wittmer vs. Heylen. Into the Keyhole with new pavement. Wittmer goes defensive down toward corner four.
Will Heylen have a sniff at getting ‘round the McLaren? He can turn in crisper with grip and with a tad of roll. Into the esses, and Heylen dirt tracks it over the top of the hill. Wittmer has the lead but barely. Into The Carousel for the last time. Wittmer wins it! Second win of the year and the championship lead. Good race for Kuno Wittmer and Chris Green. Ryan Norman will be able to win his home race. He will do it and the first win for the Hyundai Elantra goes to Ryan Norman and Parker Chase!
TCR: #98
Norman/Chase Hyundai
Elantra N TCR
So, round three of Michelin Pilot Challenge 2021 is done and
dusted. The next event on the calendar
sees the series move to Watkins Glen International Raceway in the Finger Lakes
region of upstate New York, in late June, for the second and final four-hour
endurance event of the season, which will take place on the final weekend in
June. We will see you then. It’s going to be a massively exciting race
judging from what we’ve seen today. So
long, everybody. Take care. WeatherTech Championship racing at Mid-Ohio
tomorrow as well. Don’t miss it!
Saturday stories from Mid-Ohio as we prepare for tomorrow's third race of the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship.
Tincknell Takes First IMSA Pole at Mid-Ohio
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/tincknell-takes-first-imsa-pole-at-mid-ohio/
Gearing up for the Michelin Pilot Challenge support event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course later on today. Here's the 411, what you need to know, going into the race, round three of the 2021 championship.
More Friday news from the official IMSA website.
Amid Sea of Change, HPD Wants Mid-Ohio to Stay The Same
Friday news from the IMSA WeatherTech Championship at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Oreca's LMDh evaluations with various car brands bringing "different philosophies" to the table...
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/oreca-excited-by-different-profiles-of-oems-evaluating-lmdh/
Patching up holes in the IMSA news docket for stories that were missed due to other sports car championships being in action. Here is late breaking news, from the official IMSA website, rolling into this weekend's race at Mid-Ohio.
Michelin GT Challenge at VIR Weekend Offers WeatherTech Championship in Live NBC Network TV Window, Three Hours of IMSA Prototype Challenge Action
Thursday headlines from Mid-Ohio, going into this weekend's third round of the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, and the first sprint event of the season.
Round three of IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend, is sure to be a sizzler as always. Here's some of the latest news going into the race.
Toyota are slated to expand their sports car racing involvement and build a TCR spec version of their venerable Corolla.
The latest news and a recap of sports car racing from the past weekend are what is on tap in this week's Double Stint Podcast.
https://sportscar365.com/podcasts/double-stint-weekend-recap-news-roundup-4/
Reports from Super GT at Fuji and DTM pre-season testing plus news and notes...
https://sportscar365.com/other-series/super-gt/weekly-racing-roundup-10-5-21/
SRO planning to run 24H Spa on original summer date after postponement considered...
Porsche wins Nurburgring 24 qualifying race as Manthey penalty hands Frikadelli a 1-2...
https://sportscar365.com/other-series/n24/frikadelli-claims-nurburgring-24-qualifying-race-1-2/
Watch video of the 6 hour qualifying race for the Nurburgring 24 Hours, with commentary from Radio Show Limited and the team of John Hindhaugh and Peter Snowden calling the action.
Lots to talk about as IMSA heads for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this weekend and the first sprint race of the 2021 season.
Earl Bamber's latest column.
JAS Motorsport satisfied with outcome of two-year Honda factory entry; future IGTC options open...
https://sportscar365.com/sro/igtc/mariani-two-year-jas-honda-factory-effort-reached-targets/
The latest Double Stint Podcast, recapping all the action from World Endurance at Spa and SRO America at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
Reports from NLS and TC America plus other weekend racing action and news...
https://sportscar365.com/other-series/n24/weekly-racing-roundup-5-3-21/
All the action from both days of racing for SRO America at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, with the play by play team of Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish in the booth, and Amanda Busick reporting from pit lane, covering the action.
TC America Race 2
Optimum Motorsport-run McLaren 720S GT3 victorious at COTA...
https://sportscar365.com/sro/sro-america/gt-america/iribe-dominates-race-2-at-cota/
The final race of the weekend at Circuit of the Americas is upon us. It is time for race two of GT America. GT America is a new category but is old school with a combination of cars with single drivers in a sprint format of 40 minutes for the race. A great mix of cars and drivers are set to compete. It is toasty with ambient temps in the low to mid 80s. We are set to go green here at Circuit of the Americas for the second and final time in GT America! Yes indeed! We have a green flag and we’re underway! The front row has Brendon Iribe in the #70 Inception Racing with Optimum Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3, alongside Jason Daskalos in the #27 Daskalos Motorsports Audi R8 LMS Ultra.
Yesterday’s winner, James Sofronas, is sixth. George Kurtz aboard the Crowdstrike Mercedes
AMG GT3, he is trying to avoid a repeat of the heartbreak of yesterday’s race,
starting caboose on the field. Green
flag and they fan out four, five-wide as Sofronas wants to move, riding the
cushion. Third spot for the Lamborghini
and poor old Charlie Luck in the Masters class ranked Wright Motorsports
Porsche 911 GT3R, car #45, is off the pace already, just as this race begins.
Brendon Iribe in the lead of the motor race. Tire pressures building as Jason Daskalos is pushing hard. Cold and damp yesterday. Hot and greasy today. Well, maybe not too hot and greasy, but much warmer. James Sofronas is making up ground but has Jason Harward in the #88 Zelus Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3, ready to pounce. Iribe is eking out a gap on Jason Daskalos as we speak. Ooh! Tight squeeze and some argy bargy between the Sofronas and Harward, and Harward, pushing the envelope, spins out! Blimey O’Reilly! That was forcing the issue.
Cold tires for Harward, pinching it down the inside and is now caboose on the field, waiting to safely re-enter. Jeff Burton has made up four places. Into turn 12, Sofronas goes wide, and Harward wants to make an inside move, but a slight touch, losing grip on the rear tires, spins him out. Jeff Burton passes by Kyle Washington. A pass on a Porsche, by an Audi. Jeff Burton is in the Master’s class. He was down in tenth overall and is moving up. In the dry, Brendon Iribe has scampered away from the others. This is Inception Motorsport’s American debut.
James Sofronas says he had tires to make fastest lap but forgot about it. However, he is moving up. It’s been a while since he raced, after having shoulder surgery. We have a Full Course Yellow, and another thud with big damage between two Aston Martins! Jeepers creepers! What is this? This, ladies and gentlemen would be a pig’s breakfast. Or maybe it is a scrapyard. #00 is Matt Dalton in the Notlad Racing Aston Martin Vantage, crunching into the #120 Porsche Cayman driven by Adam Adelson for the Premier Sportscar team! We saw Dalton have a huge crackup in Pirelli GT4 America and now, the backup chassis he must use, is also heavily damaged.
Sweeping across the apex, is misfortune for two cars and two drivers. Full Course Yellow, with 15 minutes on the board already. James Sofronas will be closer, and so will Jason Daskalos, to Brendon Iribe, who had been whistling off into the distance. The McLaren has come alive. Meanwhile, Charlie Luck who was off the pace, that Porsche is now moving. He is jumbled into the GT4 field. It appears he moved too soon. Alex Welch wondered what was going on. Luck maybe had to do a reset of the electronics. He was a two-time Master’s class winner at Sonoma last time out in March. C.J. Moses is in the field today, and he makes his season debut. Poor old Moses was supposed to race at Sonoma, but like our colleague Calvin Fish, on that weekend, was dealing with the massive pain and discomfort of kidney stones. Ugh!
We have a safety car on track, for obvious reasons. C.J. Moses, sat out yesterday’s rain soaked
event here at Circuit of the Americas as well, and he is a newbie to GT3
racing. A prudent decision to not take a
risk. Matt Dalton went in way too
deep. Adam Adelson also raced in the
Porsche Cup races this weekend. He was
very lucky he was farther into the turn, so he did not get hit in the door
directly. This will be a long
yellow. We are going to lose 10-15
minutes of this short race.
Top speeds on AWS Race Vision tell us that the fastest driver is Brendon Iribe at 155.9 miles an hour while others are within range and tied for the slowest speed thus fat at 153.4 miles per hour, we have Jason Daskalos and Kyle Washington. Brendon Iribe has been impressive racing in GT4 and moving up to GT3. He is a successful businessman, but he wants to take time to race. Ollie Milroy, his team mate is a good one to have. Ross Chouest, in GT4, he is running well for RENNTech, leading in GT4 followed by Jason Bell and Rob Holland, a veteran of sports and touring car racing.
Mercedes, Aston Martin, Ford, many brands involved here in GT America. We will also see more GT2 cars in GT America this year, rather than racing GT2 cars in the GT World Challenge America races. Seat time, and learning tracks are the key here. The SRO championship is structured in a ladder system. We remain under the safety car with 25 minutes left on the board. Now, we are back to green! Brendon Iribe has the hole shot, but now, Jason Daskalos is immediately being monstered by James Sofronas as well, look.
Sofronas goes for the pass up the hill through turn one. Will he have the preferred line? Not quite. Side by side and just barely clears Daskalos in the Audi. Sofronas is now in line to move in on Iribe. What will Sofronas have left in the locker? Time is of the essence. George Kurtz moves around Kyle Washington for fifth overall. Now we move back to the battle for fourth. Andy Wilzock racing against Jeff Burton. Burton in the Lamborghini, and Wilzock in the Porsche. Rearden Racing vs. Flying Lizard Motorsports. Wilzock is happy even though he has his hands full. Speaking of hands full, Jeff Burton blocks George Kurtz and the stewards are going to say something about this.
Jeff Burton is moving in on Wilzock. Be proactive and not reactive. The SRO stewards will not like that. There will be blocking penalties applied. That was a sudden block. Kurtz was in another lane as Jeff Burton jinked over to the other side of the road. Charlie Luck, meanwhile, is recovering or so it seems. He has cleared the GT4 traffic and is at the back of the GT3 field. Did he move by Washington? Yes. Jeff Burton is moving and passing George Kurtz. Remember, one move, and one move only. No weaving at high speeds.
20 minutes left on the board. Brendon Iribe just cut a 2:10.9 lap, one second clear of James Sofronas. Check that. He is three seconds clear according to timing and scoring. He is based in Los Angeles, California, but has raced more in Asia and Europe. Problems for Jason Daskalos in the Audi. He has a problem with car #27 which had transmission trouble earlier on in the week as the team was preparing the transmission but has given up the ghost. Kurtz is moving in on Andy Wilzoch and Charlie Luck will have an bite of the cherry here, too, it seems. Wow! Beautiful move! That is Charlie Luck making a beautiful move on the inside! Wow!
It is not easy if someone over slows and does not move out of the way. Jason Harward, a penalty for passing before the control line on the restart, as Jeff Burton screams past Wilzoch! Wow! He is having a blast with this form of motor racing. Burton is whistling off into the distance and Kurtz gets the wrong line as Charlie Luck gets loose before Kurtz must take evasive action. Wilzoch is not giving up either. He is pressing hard. Don’t give up. We see side by side action between C.J. Moses and Jason Bell, and there’s Ross Chouest as well!
Chouest vs. Jason Bell in GT4. Aaron Povoledo is on the radio to Ross Chouest, and Andrew Davis on the radio to Jason Bell, as it is game over for Jason Daskalos. A tough pill to swallow for the Audi driver. Ross Chouest and RENNTech have had a great weekend. They’ve had SprintX podiums this weekend already as we see the GT2 Lamborghini flash by. Poor old Kurtz was cutting his way through the field like the proverbial hot knife through butter, but he is getting stymied now. No cakewalk in GT America this year, mate. Not a chance.
Jason Harward moves ‘round Kyle Washington, too, look. George Kurtz, though, is falling behind and the leaders have a 20 second gap. Brendon Iribe leads James Sofronas. His margin has ballooned to 6.6 seconds. A second and a half on the most recent lap. Learn tracks, find pace, win. That’s the step by step approached. Wilzoch is holding off Harward. That comic book colored Lamborghini is flying! Kurtz wants to move inside and does, but Wilzoch gets shut off. Wilzoch needs to just bust out the lap times. That’s his focus, but he also has Jason Harward and Kyle Washington right on his six, look.
Meantime, for third place in the overall, Charlie Luck has moved by Jeff Burton. Charlie Luck leads the Masters division. Kurtz in seventh has the best over Wilzoch, and a pitting Jason Harward. A pit stop for Jeff Burton. Maybe it is game over. A pit stop in a 50 minute race, with eleven left on the board, is not the best scenario. Charlie Luck is third, being coached by Jan Heylen, his Wright Motorsports team-mate. Wright Motorsports runs Porsche’s in several different sports car championships.
Jason Bell moves ‘round Ross Chouest in GT4. GMG has many brands they have been involved with. Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, Aston Martin. Sean Quinlan in the BMW M4 GT4 for Steven Cameron Rcing is moving up. He ran very well in Pirelli GT4 America. Jason Bell has had a great race today but Ross Chouest is not giving up. He is moving in little by little. The key for these drivers who have a lot of seat time, is hitting their marks and making no errors.
Brendon Iribe continues to lead overall and in GT3, and Jason Bell leads GT4. Eight minutes left. Andrew Davis is telling his co-driver to focus forward on the radio for sure. Brendon Iribe fastest through the esses at 134 miles an hour. A full ten miles an hour compared to the slowest speed of 124 miles an hour for Jason Daskalos. The lead is six and a half seconds between Brendon Iribe and James Sofronas. Sofronas is a 27-year veteran of World Challenge competition. Optimum Motorsports has a GT3 championship in Europe, and will be going to Le Mans, and racing in Europe.
The gap is stagnating at six and a half seconds. Corner speeds see Harward fastest and Burton slowest, between 94.7 and 96.9 miles an hour. Jason Harward is eighth, and that is not representative at all of his speed and lap times. He will pick up a second Lamborghini chassis following this weekend for Zelus, a second one that comes from TR3 Racing who is also racing in GT World Challenge America. Jason Bell continues to lead GT4 and just ahead of him is the lone GT2 Lamborghini Huracan, making it’s debut. Ross Chouest is driving consistently, less than four minutes to go as we watch Sean Quinlan moving in on Chouest.
The BMW washes out through the corners but is still compliant over the curbs and the bumps. Watch the bumps into turn 11. Sean Quinlan was 2019 Pirelli GT4 SprintX Pro Am champion alongside Greg Liefooghe. Jason Bell has a large lead, but oh no! He spins! He rotates the car! Recover it. Regroup. Keep it together. Now it is on. Jason Bell will be racing angry to atone for his mistake. There’s just not enough time maybe to get to the lead at least he can see. C.J. Moses is running ninth overall carrying the Crowdstrike and AWS colors.
Ross Chpuest leads over Sean Quinlan and Jason Bell, with
only a minute and a half to go. This is
in GT4, a total scrap for the finish. Brendon
Iribe leads overall, and we will see maybe a couple more laps. GT3 has one lap. GT4 has a lap and a half but poor Jason Bell
has dropped like a stone. The body
language of the Aston Martin looks fine, but he has lost buckets of time. Quinlan wants to move on Ross Choueest. No white flag yet for these blokes. Quinlan is in on Chouest who crowds him. Quinlan takes the lead! One to go.
Chouest wants by in the stadium section.
He will square him up off turn 15. Back to power, pressuring Quinlan in the BMW M4. Hang on to your hollyhocks here lads. White flag. One lap to go. Three and a half miles. At the front, Brendon iribe wins on debut in GT America for Inception Racing by Optimum! James Sofronas comes in second with Charlie Luck winning Masters, and George Kurtz in fourth place. Kurtz was stymied but still had a good race. Quinlan vs. Chouest has a mile and a half to go. Burton finishes in third in Masters behind Wilzoch.
Chouest is close but is he close enough? The BMW has more power on the straight. Here comes Chouest. C.J. Moses finishes ninth and here is the lone GT2 car, the Lamborghini of Scott Schmidt. The GT4 battle will be in favor of Quinlan, perhaps. The answer is yes. Qunlan wins GT4! Wow! What a motor race! Steve Cameron Racing wins GT4! Gray Newell finishes fourth for The Heart of Racing, being coached by Ian James.
Here are your winners in Austin, Texas, race two.
Overall/GT3: #70 Brendon Iribe Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3
Masters:
#45 Charlie Luck Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R
GT4:
#119 Sean Quinlan Stephen Cameron Racing
BMW M4 GT4
Invitational: #381 Scott Schmidt TPC Racing Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo GT2
That’s all, from Austin, Texas. We will see you, next time, from Virginia
International Raceway, in early June, for the next event of GT America in
2021. Take care everybody. Bye bye.
