Road America is another one of the nation’s oldest, most treasured, most storied motor racing circuits, set in the scenic countryside of the Kettle moraine in upper Wisconsin. Racing has been going on here for six plus decades, especially, sports car racing, which returns today as the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship drivers and teams compete in the IMSA Sports Car Weekend at Road America. Yesterday, in the Michelin Pilot Challenge race, we saw that weather can play a factor on these August days in Wisconsin, with rain affecting the last portion of that event. We saw in this race last year, the very same thing.
We wonder, as fans and observers what today’s motor race
holds in store. Qualifying saw a
remarkable lap for pole as Felipe Nasr aboard the #31 Whelen Action Express
Cadillac DPi-V.R, uncorked a 2:07.919 besting Ricky Taylor in the #10 Wayne
Taylor Racing Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 DPi and Oliver Jarvis in the #55 Mazda
Motorsports Mazda RT-24P DPi. The field
is on the pace lap and getting ready to go.
Corvette Racing are the focal point in GT Le Mans, as the defending
class winners in this race. They are set
to debut the C8.R for the first time at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in two weeks.
The Heart of Racing #23 Aston Martin and the #96 Turner
Motorsports BMW M6, these two teams are going to battle for GT Daytona
honors. 2 hours and 40 minutes around
this historic ace track. Long
straightaways, flowing corners, and heavy braking zones. Passes can legitimately be made here. Victories at Road America do not come
easy. Tire management is a big
deal. A literal uphill battle with the
uphill front straightaway after Canada Corner.
Understand your rivals. Four
races left in the championship and just one for LMP3. We expect a mid-race thunderstorm today.
Here comes the field.
Felipe Nasr on pole. Green
flag! Go! Nasr on it being chased by Ricky Taylor. The GT Le Mans and GT Daytona cars make their
start. Olivier Pla, from sixth moves to
fourth in the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura.
Kevin Magnussen scrapping with Tristan Vautier already! Jeepers creepers! Everyone is on the attack early on and in the
pit lane already, the #19 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini. Misha Goikhberg from Russia sharing with
Franck Perera from France.
Ricky Taylor was in Felipe Nasr’s draft and has the run on
the preferred line and then Nasr elbows him out. Kevin Magnussen, some argy bargy with Oliver
Pla and Tristan Vautier, both, and Magnussen goes off the road. Nasr now leading by 1.2 seconds. The Acura was bullet fast in Free Practice
before qualifying. Action Express has to
win or finish on the podium to cut into the lead of Wayne Taylor Racing and the
Acura team with just three races left after this one ends.
Aaron Telitz, GT Daytona polesitter is penalized for
crossing lanes on the start/finish line.
There have been numerous drivers to forget that particular rule. Telitz will serve the drive through penalty
and easily stay on the lead lap. He’ll
be at the back of the queue in GT Daytona but might just come back. Long track, long pit lane. Felipe Nasr continues showing the way over
Ricky Taylor and in third spot in the Mazda is Oliver Jarvis. Over the curbs in turn five, and now, the
long run through these sweeping, flowing corners, continues. V8, V6, inline 4 cylinder. Turbocharged and naturally aspirated. Such is the variety of engines in this
championship in most classes.
Superstitious eating for the Turner boys. Eat a steak, win a race? Well, we shall see? Surprised it wasn’t tacos or a
bratwurst. Meanwhile, Turner Motorsports
leads Trent Hindman in the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R. The transmission of the BMW M6 GT3 has been
the transmissions. Richard Heistand is
moving in on Zacharie Robichon in the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R and
Laurens Vanthoor is in the tartan plaid colored Porsche from Canada. Felipe Nasr in the meantime is growing his
lead over Ricky Taylor. The GT Daytona
cars, the GT3 cars, are always looking for the faster prototype cars.
You need to know when to give it up. Let the faster DPi cars pass. Olivier Pla is on the attack as well in the
#60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura. On Friday,
it bucketed down with rain and with an hour session, you don’t get many laps on
this long 4-mile track here at Road America.
Driving a GT car here at Road America is like finding some maniac coming
up on you on the highway when you least expect it. Pla was top of the shop on the speed charts
in the morning warmup. Meyer Shank
Racing are confident they can go for the win as they are the only team in DPi
who have not won yet. Everyone else has
at least one, if not two wins including Wayne Taylor Racing, JDC-Miller,
Ganassi, and Action Express. Nick Tandy
is chasing Jordan Taylor in Corvette land.
#4 has to catch up to #3.
This is an internecine battle at Corvette. Whoa.
Audi R8 #42 is off the road and back on.
Don Yount misses his turn in point and hits the gravel trap. He will be OK. He is sharing the NTE Sport Audi R8 with
former IndyCar pilot J.R. Hildebrand. Whoops!
Spin there for the #38 Performance Tech LMP3 car, the Oreca in the hands of Dan
Goldburg, the American, sharing with Rasmus Lindh, and trouble too for the #30
JR III. Motorsports LMP3 entry. This is the
car shared by Terry Olson and Mike Skeen.
Into the pit lane, the #01 Ganassi Cadillac. Is this a routine stop? A very long pit lane here at Road
America. This is a routine tires and
fuel stop for Ganassi with no driver change.
Their sponsor is the V Performance Academy, probably a Cadillac
program. Ganassi is playing the fuel
strategy. They want to make it a four-stop
race. Action Express in the pit lane
from the lead. The team is very happy
with the car and Felipe Nasr is happy with the car. The #10 Konica Minolta Acura is in as well
and so are the Corvette factory cars that will be racing the 24 Hours of Le
Mans next weekend.
Porsche pit stops in GT Daytona and we see a Full Course
Yellow. Both Porsche’s in for tires and
fuel and they are down and away and so is the #1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini
Huracan GT3. Terry Olson’s LMP3 car is
still stranded on the road. This is
where the engineers earn their money. The
DPi cars are on at least a three-stop strategy for the rest of this race. Pipo Derani says everything is going well and
they are hitting their marks to this stage.
Weather might play a role, but the team is doing what they need to do,
hoping for a win. It is a long way to go
but they will push. The rain seems to be
holding off for now.
Pipo Derani says wait and see what happens. Dry so far.
Despite having a good car in the rain, a dry race is a better show and
better for the fans. Pipo Derani is
ready to go for it. This is the point of
the year where Action Express can really go for it. Wayne Taylor Racing has not won at Road
America. 11 months and 14 days between
drinks for Action Express before winning at Watkins Glen last month. A new nose for the Goldburg/Lindh #38
Performance Tech Ligier LMP3 car. We
continue to circulate behind the safety car as the track here at Road America
is cleaned up.
Pit stop time now for GT Daytona and GT Le Mans alike. Corvette Racing in the lane for the #3. Tires, fuel, and a driver change. It looks like Antonio Garcia will get
in. Ditto for the #79 WeatherTech Racing
Porsche which is being shared today by Cooper MacNeil and Matt Campbell. GT Daytona cars have pitted again for a top
up on petrol. The GT Daytona cars can
save fuel and run for a full hour. Four
miles to the lap here. The delta between
drivers can be quicker depending on who is in the car. Cooper MacNeil does not make a living driving
race cars, while Matty Campbell does.
A world class racetrack like Road America is one of those
places that can bring drama and we have seen that to this point in the motor
race. Just a shade over two hours still
to go. Next weekend is the classic 24
Hours of Le Mans in France. Yours truly
has some commitments for the first part of the race and will watch what he
can. However, should the race be
archived as it will be broadcast, I believe on Motor Trend and their app, you
will hear all about it. You will get
flag to flag coverage, from Le Mans, next weekend. Some of the drivers who normally race with Action
Express, are entered, albeit in different cars since it’s a round of the World
Endurance Championship, their crown jewel.
640 acres here at Road America, set in a park-like
environment. We remain behind the safety
car. 160 feet of elevation change in 4
miles. Phil Hill won the first race here
in 1955. So, we are back to green, and a
much calmer restart as Felipe Nasr continues in the race lead. Tristan Vautier has moved around Oliver
Jarvis. The brakes on these cars are so
good they stop on a dime. So, Nasr can
hit his marks and execute his lap time without defending. A spin there for Dwight Merriman, look, in
the #18 Era Motorsports entry.
Dane Cameron is monstering Oliver Jarvis right now. Canada Corner is really bumpy but it is a
very fast corner. The Cadillac is compliant
on the bumps and their electronics work well.
The Acura and Mazda are more stiffly sprung than the Cadillac’s
are. Right now in GT Daytona we see
Roman De Angelis chasing the #88 Earl Bamber Team Hardpoint Porsche 911 GT3R with
Katherine Legge and Rob Ferriol.
Zacharie Robichon moves past Frankie Montecalvo in the #12 Vasser
Sullivan Lexus sharing with Zach Veach.
Frankie Montecalvo has celebrated the birth of his son this
week and is now in it, and his son is Frankie Montecalvo III. The GTD pack is close together. Montecalvo, Trent Hindman, Aaron Telitz,
Madison Snow, and Robby Foley. The #4
Corvette C8.R’s objective today is to stop their team mates. Andretti Autosport, leading LMP3. He was a champion in SRO competition with
production cars last year. Andretti
sharing with Oliver Askew. This is the
penultimate race for LMP3, and their finale will be with everyone else at Petit
Le Mans coming up in November.
Steven Thomas and WIN Autosport lead LMP2 in their #11 car. He is an attorney out of California who wanted to become a racing driver. Ben Keating in the #52 and PR1 Motorsports is second sharing that car with the Dane Mikkel Jensen. Some argy bargy through turn five, look, in GTD as the Lexus cars are all over the Wright Motorsports Porsche. The Paul Miller Racing #1 Lamborghini and the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW are also back there, looking to pick up the scraps.
Not much has changed at the sharp end as Felipe Nasr leads
the motor race ahead of Ricky Taylor, Oliver Jarvis, Tristan Vautier, Dane
Cameron, and Kevin Magnussen. More GTD
battles as now, the Lamborghini and the BMW have both ganged up on the two
Vasser Sullivan Lexus cars. Frankie
Montecalvo’s tires must be knackered.
IMSA recently did their State of The Sport address by IMSA President
John Doonan. The 2022 schedule has been
announced and there will be a Bronze Cup for the GTD class. NBC will air the beginning and the end of the
Rolex 24 next year.
The keyword is stability for the schedule. Lexus #12 in the pit lane. GTD Pro, will be the new GT class for GT3
cars next year. They are consumer
identifiable cars and the manufacturers are in it. We will have factory teams and Platinum and
Gold drivers. Oh no! We have a spin for
the #39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Audi R8.
The future will be amazing as we are getting ready to see LMDh in 2023. It will be a new chapter of IMSA and
endurance sports car racing. We have a
yellow as Richard Heistand spins after running wide in The Kink. Wow!
Close shave! He was distracted
there by the #01 Ganassi Cadillac.
#01 pokes his nose in, Kevin Magnussen, and he was truly in
no man’s land. Yikes! You don’t often spin in the kink at Road
America and get away with it. The field
circulates behind the safety car. You
have missed nothing, as a couple of prototypes in LMP2 and LMP3 are pointed by
the safety car to catch up. Nasr,
Taylor, Jarvis, Vautier, Cameron, Magnussen is the order. Jarettt Andretti leads Gar Robinson in LMP3
with Tandy and Garcia 1-2 for Corvette in GT Le Mans ahead of the WeatherTech
Porsche of Matty Campbell. We talked
about GT Daytona and will be back with them soon.
Mother Nature is cooperating at the moment and no rain has
been seen yet. The personality of this
wonderful track has stayed the same despite some cosmetic changes with moving
the trees and replanting them. Magnussen
tipped Richard Hiestand into a crash.
Heistand is very, very upset with Mr. Magnussen’s actions but must stay
calm otherwise the stewards will deal with this situation, and you don’t want
that. A cooler head must prevail. Magnussen raced an IndyCar here at Road
America, back in June. Bill Auberlen
says the strategy for the rest of the race is just to run hard. They have had some weird fuel strategy, but
they will push.
Go! Let’s light the
fuse again as Felipe Nasr continues to lead the race. Track limits is a hot topic as you can run
wide through the turns here at Road America.
Robby Foley is pressing Trent Hindman hard and is side by side. Hindman slams the door in his face. It’s not can you get there? It’s can you stay there? Roman De Angelis in the #23 Heart of Racing
Aston Martin, they have to catch the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW. Madison Snow slides right to allow the #4
Corvette GTLM car go by with Nick Tandy at the controls. The Corvette C8.R has been racing hard but
the #3 has won nine of 16 races they’ve entered and the #4 needs and wants
more. Lamborghini #1 has pitted and Bryan
Sellers has taken over the car.
It was indeed a driver change for the #1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini. They have handling woes on that automobile they cannot find, but they will continue to stay in the fight. The #1 car is a major threat for the #23 and #96. Shane Lewis is driving well in the #32 Gilbert/Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3 sharing with Guy Cosmo. Two veteran drivers. They are learning the ropes and finding the depth of the talent. Two solid fast, experienced drivers in that car, going for a potential full season in 2022. Zacharie Robichon is still driving the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R. Laurens Vanthoor will take over after competing last weekend at the 24 Hours of Spa.
Global racing for sports cars is major this weekend. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is next week with the
test and the race the following weekend.
Lots of back and forth for these drivers. An hour and a half remains, as pit stops are
coming and Felipe Nasr continues in the race lead. Kevin Magnussen remains in sixth spot, 7.4
seconds in-arrears of the leader. We
also see a close battle between Mikkel Jensen and Ryan DFalziel in LMP2 as
Felipe Nasr continues on his way around Road America in the lead of the motor
race.
Have Action Express found what they need to perhaps get a
second straight victory? We shall find
out. There’s a long way to go yet. We will be at the halfway mark of the race in
eight or so minutes. Matt Campbell in
the #79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche, he continues to chase down both of the
leading Corvette C8.R’s in GT Le Mans. Meyer
Shank Racing brings the #60 Acura to the lane.
Dane Cameron at the controls right now.
The DPi cars are trying to save fuel.
They are trying to make up for what has not been a stellar season for
that team.
Felipe Nasr rockets towards Canada Corner, but he is saving
fuel. You will notice that into the
corner, he backs off way early before downshifting. Short shift, but sail into the braking zones. Everybody is doing that. Achieve the lap time but burn less petrol in
the process as Pipo Derani is ready to go for his driving stint. We also heard Matt Campbell in the GTLM
Porsche doing the lift and coast technique.
Now, Ryan Dalziel has passed Mikkel Jensen. Gabriel Aubry in the #8 Tower Motorsports
car, he is trying his best to move past Mikkel Jensen as well, look. Dalziel has lit the afterburners and poor old
Mikkel Jensen is surely the cork in the bottle as we say.
The LMP2 cars and the driving levels bring an equilibrium to
the class. Nasr leads Ricky Taylor by
4.25 seconds. The #5 Mustang Sampling
JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac goes off the road at The Kink and back onto the
track. Tristan Vautier was forced wide
there, look, by Kevin Magnussen! Yikes! That was close! Kevin Magnussen does not want to play anymore
and nearly takes someone with him for company.
Vautier in the lane and so is the #55 Mazda as Oliver Jarvis hands over
to Harry Tincknell. Loic Duval also takes over from Vautier in the #5 Cadillac.
We have just an hour and 20 minutes remaining. Halfway home.
Action Express is in the pit lane as well for their second scheduled
stop and here comes the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura as well, look. Pipo Derani takes over the #31 and now,
Filipe Albuquerque also is taking over the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura and,
WTR is a team that wants to win for the first time at Road America. They have yet to check the box on this
track. Kevin Magnussen now in the lane
in the #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac and he will hand over the car to Renger van
der Zande.
“The King of Spain” is back on his way. Aaron Telitz goes around Ryan Hardwick. Lexus on Porsche in GT Daytona. #14 vs. #16.
Pit stops have put the cat among the pigeons here. Dane Cameron is now at the wheel of the #60
MSR Acura. Dpi teams working on their
strategy. Cameron now leads doing the
undercut for fresh tires and he leads Pipo Derani by 4.1 seconds. Mikkel Jensen, Ryan Dalziel, and Tristan
Nunez, three LMP2 cars are leading in the overall right now as Mario Farnbacher
slides the #76 Compass Racing McLaren 720S GT3 through turn 14! Egad!
Farnbacher sharing the McLaren with Canadian Jeff Kingsley. Farnbacher, the German veteran.
Nick Tandy leads GTLM.
Eight DPi drivers, five LMP2, one LMP3 six GTLM drivers, and four GTD
drivers are headed to Le Mans. You want
to beat your teammates and the Corvette team now has a chance to debut the C8.R
at Circuit de la Sarthe. Matt Campbell
whistles through Billy Mitchell corner which used to have a bridge there, but
no longer. Matt Campbell is 7.2 seconds
in-arrears of Nick Tandy. WeatherTech
has their base here in Wisconsin, so Road America is their home track. Pipo Derani is now moving in to try to move
around Dane Cameron.
Felipe Nasr says that as the team is flying, they had
pressure from the #10 early and then had everyone covered, looking at the tires
and the fuel mileage. The tire
degradation is much higher today. One
more pit stop for everyone else. Action
Express is maximizing their strategy and running their race right now. You just never know what can happen. It’s gorgeous here at Road America but hot as
well. Dane Cameron pitted four laps
earlier than did the Action Express team.
So, the #60 may have less of an advantage.
Dane Cameron leads the motor race in the #60 MSR Acura. They are the only team that has not won
overall in DPi yet in 2021. Pit stop
time for the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports car of Mikkel Jensen, so they
relinquish the lead. Jensen stays at the
wheel. Just over an hour left on the
board. Matt Campbell continues running
second in GTLM. Pipo Derani is closing
on Dane Cameron, fast. Cameron may need a
couple more pit stops. Meyer Shank
Racing needs a good finish to stay in contention. They are looking for a win. Action Express, they are looking for two in a
row. Corvette #4 penalized for wheel
spin on the air jacks during the pit stop as Matt Campbell is in the lane.
Cameron has older tires compared to the #31 and/or Dane
Cameron needs to save fuel and here come the pit stops for GT Daytona which
hopefully will be some of the last ones before the race ends. Inside one hour left. Fuel, tires, and a driver change for both #14
and #16. Jack Hawksworth takes over the
#14 Lexus and Patrick Long will take over the #16 for the last stanza of this
motor race. Turner Motorsports have
pitted and now the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche is in. Laurens Vanthoor will take the Pfaff
Motorsports Porsche to the finish.
Mercedes #32 will be penalized for a drink bottle ejecting
itself out of the car. That’s odd. The drink bottle attaches to the car by quick
connection. Guy Cosmo at the
controls. Dane Cameron still leads the
motor race. I should correct myself if I
misidentified a car and it’s brand earlier.
The #76 Compass Racing entry is an Acura NSX GT3 not a McLaren
720S. It was a McLaren in 2020 that team
raced. Now it is an Acura NSX. Sorry for the error. Michelin makes tires for every type of
vehicle you can think of and not just cars.
If you are in motion, you have to stop. The tires handle the loads of the brakes
stopping the wheels and Michelin develops tires and compounds for them that
reduces stopping distances and can help with cornering as well. You cannot brake well if you cannot control
the tire and Michelin seems to know how to make that work. The release of the brakes and maintaining the
balance of the car is very important. Pipo
Derani is catching up to Dane Cameron.
Cameron and Derani are matching lap times as we see Antonio Garcia
leading Matt Campbell by 13 some odd seconds.
Just over 47 minutes left on the board. Again, Corvette Racing will be off to the 24
Hours of Le Mans next week. Acura #60 is
in the lane from the lead handing the lead back to the #31 Whelen Cadillac of
Pipo Derani. Meyer Shank Racing wants to
win a race this year. So, they are going
off strategy to see if they can make it work.
Action Express are looking for their second consecutive win. Derani leads Albuquerque by 1.3 seconds. Filipe Albuquerque has now moved the #10
Wayne Taylor Racing Konica Minolta Acura to second spot.
Harry Tincknell in Mazda #55 and Renger van der Zande aboard
the #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac are coming into the frame as well. This race is far from being settled. Action Express have had a great weekend since
they unloaded. The car has been hooked
up in all conditions. Ricky Taylor was
strong in the final Free Practice before qualifying and then in qualifying they
were behind the eight ball while Action Express have been the class of the
field. In LMP3, the #74 entry has been
winning all year. Now, the #31 Cadillac
pits with 40 minutes left.
Pipo Derani is reminded to hold the brake while on the air jacks. Mazda #55 also in the lane. Fill the tank to the brim and be bang on the money for the strategy. Harry Tincknell is still in the #55 Mazda. They too, have been saving gas. What will Filipe Albuqerque do? He is on an in lap. It is “hammer time” for the #10 if they want to capitalize. Derani now will be behind Renger van der Zande in the #01 Cadillac and he is going a lap longer but Renger van der Zande gets into turn five too hot and he spins it into the gravel trap at the turn five but keeps on trucking. #10 in the pit lane now as well.
Four tires and fuel for the Acura. They are in fuel save mode. They are looking for their first Road America victory for WTR. Pipo Derani moves past the #10 and he is on his out lap, maintaining the gap. Corvette in the lane for #3. Antonio Garcia getting fuel and tires. Renger van der Zande now in the lane and he threw away all he gained in turn five on his in lap. This will cycle Acura #60 through. Dane Cameron reassumes the lead. Cameron could well be short on fuel before the end as Renger van der Zande resumes.
We don’t know who has enough fuel to make it to the
end? The DPi running order currently
sees Cameron, Derani, van der Zande, Albuquerque, Tincknell, van der Zande, and
Duval, the top six. Working traffic is
another part of the deal as the leader moves around LMP3 and GTD cars. Richard Heistand is running well in GT
Daytona closing in on Gradient Racing and the #66 car of Marc Miller, the Acura
NSX GT3. Close shave between the #55
Mazda and one of the LMP32 cars. Harry
Tincknell has to move if he wants to make a pass on Filipe Albuquerque and Pipo
Derani is in second but he was slower than his rivals. Oh dear.
Derani maybe was caught in traffic especially in The
Carousel and The Kink. Tincknell
pressuring Albuquerque and he has the better car with the Mazda than
Albuquerque in the Acura. Derani runs 12
seconds behind Cameron with 28 minutes to go.
Tincknell stays with Albuquerque as well. These five classes are running together for
the final time before we get to the last race at Petit Le Mans in
November. Pipo Derani now has clear road
but is still 11.5 seconds behind Cameron as Tincknell is pressing Albuquerque
hard indeed! There could have been a
brush between those two blokes. Jeepers
creepers!
Tincknell has a rocket ship in that Mazda. Corvette #4 down and away for their final pit
stop. 25 minutes to go. Dane Cameron is now pulling away from Pipo Derani. Save what fuel you can. That’s the order of the day. Time is of the essence at Road America. Lift and coast. #10 in the pit lane, the Wayne Taylor Racing
Acura. Albuquerque serviced and sent and
now he is in GT Daytona traffic as we see Dane Cameron motoring on in the
lead. Dane Cameron now leads Pipo Derani
by 13.5 seconds. #60 still is questionable
on petrol.
Filipe Albuquerque just had to pit, and they had a left rear
tire puncture after argy bargy with the #55 Mazda. A flat left rear Michelin for the #10
team. #10 have had the perfect season
and are the only repeat winners. But
they could see a turnaround in points as they are down the order in DPi. Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy want a win in
GTLM before they go to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Matt Campbell is now leading GTLM and he is on full fuel save, lifting
and coasting a couple hundred yards before the braking point. He leads Antonio Garcia only by 36 seconds.
Harry Tincknell is catching Pipo Derani for second. This race is fat from over. 16 minutes left but with thunderstorms
possible so we could see raindrops before the end. Acura, Cadillac, Mazda, the top three. Tincknell is closing up on Pipo Derani. Renger van der Zande is closing on Tincknell
just the same. The lapped traffic moves
out of Pipo Derani’s way. Derani now 11
seconds behind Dane Cameron. Fuel
mileage is a concern for the #60 team.
They could be a lap or two short.
Harry Tincknell ahs dropped behind Pipo Derani. Watch the traffic. It can work for or against you.
Just under ten minutes to go. We are going to be in for a wild conclusion
here at Road America. Stay tuned. Andy Lally checks with the AMR safety
workers. He is OK. #5, the JDC-Miller Mustang Sampling Cadillac
that won the 12 Hours of Sebring in March, pits. Dane Cameron still leads and 20 laps is as
far as he can go on fuel. Now, he is
going to be two laps shy on fuel with seven minutes to go. Pipo Derani is 9.3 seconds behind Cameron
now. Look at historical data and
spreadsheets from races in years past.
Sometimes history does not repeat itself and sometimes it does. Three laps to go. Matt Campbell in the #79 WeatherTech Porsche
still has to save petrol.
Laurens Vanthoor leads GT Daytona in the #9 Pfaff
Motorsports Porsche. Pfaff won here in 2019
with Zacharie Robichon and Matt Campbell driving. Ryan Dalziel hopes to win in LMP2 leading
Gabriel Aubry by 18 seconds. Dalziel
went around Mikkel Jensen earlier on in the motor race. Colin Braun in the #54 leads LMP3 and now,
Dane Cameron is in the lane, two laps shy, a splash and a dash. He will plummet down the order. This promotes #31 back to the lead. Harry Tincknell is now second in the
Mazda. Derani, Tincknell, van der Zande,
the top three.
The momentum must be building for Action Express. White flag.
Action Express has had to save tires and fuel and that is what they did. AXR will be the second repeat winning team of
the season. One more time through The
Kink. Final turn for the last time. Pipo Derani and Felipe Nasr win Road America!
LMP2 honors to go the #18 Era Motorsports Oreca for Ryan
Dalziel and Dwight Merriman. CORE
Autosport wins LMP3 with Jon Bennett and Colin Braun in the #54 Ligier
Nissan. Porsche wins in GT Le Mans with
WeatherTech Racing for Matt Campbell and Cooper MacNeil, and in GT Daytona,
it’s the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R.
Zacharie Robichon and Laurens Vanthoor, the winning drivers.
Here are your winners.
Overall/DPi: #31 Derani/Nasr Cadillac DPi-V.R
LMP2:
#18 Dalziel/Merriman Oreca 07
LMP3:
#54 Bennett/Braun Ligier JS P3
Nissan
GT Le
Mans: #79 MacNeil/Campbell Porsche
911 RSR-19
GT
Daytona: #9 Robichon/Vanthoor Porsche
911 GT3R
So, two in a row for
Action Express! The next race will be out
west, at Laguna Seca Raceway, another famed, legendary venue, of the same
vintage as Road America, next month. We
will see you in California, for all the excitement. So long, for now, everyone.
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