20 minutes away from sunset here at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in the 23rd annual Petit Le Mans. The #5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac is now in the lane for JDC-Miller Motorsports. Juan Montoya spun and had to take evasive action. That earlier accident, the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3, that car was also involved in the earlier accident. Jordan Taylor says he has some lower back pain and some hand pain after the accident. Action Express, it appears is starting to move up. We can see the #48 is in the lane for service and now Mike Conway is pressing on and moving back up the order in the #31. Kamui Kobayashi has moved up. Jordan Taylor says IMSA must consider the quality of drivers they wish to have racing. 35-40 rookies in the field.
Earl Bamber aboard the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac now leads over Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi, with Alexander Rossi fourth in the #10. Cadillac, Cadillac, Cadillac, Acura. The lifeblood of the sport is the factory teams with the professional drivers and the smaller teams with more amateur drivers. We shall see. We have over four hours to go yet and the sun has yet to set before this motor race is done and dusted. We are going to see the more experienced drivers getting into the cars when the darkness hits. 43 cars sees the biggest Petit Le Mans field since 2014. Kevin Magnussen called in sick and Bamber was hired by Ganassi for their second car in 2022. Ganassi team manager Doug Duchart was surprised to have to make a change, but they have.
We have debris on the road and it's from the #01 as the #01 Ganassi Cadillac is tagged by the #5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac which also has damage. Pit stop time now too for the #55 Mazda. The #01 is repaired and sent on it's way. #01, cold tires, fighting for grip under full throttle. Never in the throttle because of stone cold tires. Misjudgment by the #5 car. I think Loic Duval was taken totally by surprise as the sun continues to set. 12 years ago, Scott Sharp got together with a GT car and flipped his open cockpit Acura prototype way back in 2009.
Pit stops under yellow for the leaders. #01 Earl Bamber has lost the right rear corner and they will undo the fastendera dn put in a new rear tail section of the car, a new rear bonnet on the automobile. We have also seen some of the other top contenders that have pitted as well. The aerodynamics are so crucial. You cannot close Pandora's Box. Aerodynamics for racing on foot, on bicycles, on motorcycles, in cars, it is all about aero. We watch now as the sun sinks lower in the sky and pit stop time for GTLM and GTD class cears. Corvette Racing, Pfaff Motorsports, Wright Motorsports, and more, in the pit lane.
At night, on pit exit, you cannot see anything. The top of the hill is dangerous on cold tires, diving down the hill on ice cold tires with cars screaming past you at 170+ miles an hour, right to the apex. This is the most treacherous pit exit in all of racing. Thank you Townsend Bell for that little piece in night practice as we have a gorgeous sunset and we see Mr. Moon in the sky. In 60 degree temperature with tire temp you can attackj, but in this ice cold we will see in the next couple hours, it is going to be sketchy. It is no different than hydroplaning in the rain. Criminy! It's a sticky situation out there. Low pressure in the tires on the prototypes, man oh man, it's like a rock skipping across a lake.
The sun has set. We race intp the night starting now. Four and a half hours to go with Juan Pablo Montoya leading the motor race. Montoya, Rossi, Nasr, Duval. Felipe Nasr saved his lap and now, Nasr is just eight tenths of a second behind. No math needed. Who finishes in front of who between the #10 and the #31 will be champion. The Cadillac is known for getting power down out of low speed turns. Ricky Taylor, somehow, is good off corners as well, but it may be due to tire temperature alone as opposed to handling or mechanical grip.
Turn seven launches you onto the straightaway to make a pass. The DPi car is a lot like an IndyCar and a lot of dirty air, that does not punch a huge hole in the air like a stock car would or even a GT class car. The DPi cars are full of grip and the drivers are totally committed every lap and we are close to seeing the cherry red glowing brake discs and glowing headers and exhaust pipes. That is what makes nighttime racing so much fun and so special. Patrick Long is racing his last possible professional race and he might not get back into the car. With yellows and conditions, his co-drivers might just spend more time in the car to the end of the race.
We have had a great time seeing Patrick Long racing for Porsche all these years between 2003 and now. He will stay there. Meanwhile, Felipe Nasr screams past Alexander Rossi. Juan Pablo Montoya still leads the motor race in the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura. In LMP3, the beleaguered #7 entry makes a pit stop for service, for tires and fuel. That is the #7 Forty7 Motorsports car of Rodrigo Pflucker, Mark Kvamme, and Stefan Rzadzinski. Montoya, Nasr, Duval, Bamber, the tip four. Thomas Merrill leads in LMP2. Scott Andrews in LMP3. Alexander Sims leads GTLM for Corvette and Daniel Morad in the #28 Alegra Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3.
Harry Tincknell is now back in sixth place, after a broken spark plug in the #55 Mazda. Stick around to the end. Rear tire woes on the #10 car, with fluctuating tire temps. Don't do too many pit burnouts because your tires will warm up too much on a cold track. Thomas Merrill shares with Tristan Nunez. He is headed to Action Express next year, driving for Win Autosport today for the last time. Scott Huffaker is second followed by Gabriel Aubry and Wayne Boyd. Tristan Nunez will be next into the #11 LMP2 car and he shall be a new driver for Action Express come 2022.
Just over four hours to go as an orange sunset permeates the skies at Road Atlanta. GT Daytona, the battle is hot between Mercedes, Daniel Morad, Porache, Laurens Vanthoor, and Aston Martin, Ross Gunn. Vanthoor is right on Morad's gearbox, or wants to be. Out of turn six, shift down a couple of gear and a few more into turn seven, accelerating back up the hill. The prototypes are some 30 miles an hour faster. The sweet scream of the flat six Porsche vs. the rumble of the Mercedes and the in between growl of the Aston Martin. Alexander Rossi is clicking off clean laps. You have to let the top drivers rest.
Alegra Motorsports on a comeback in GT Daytona. Daniel Morad sharing with Michael de Quesada, and factory Mercedes driver, Spaniard Daniel Juncadella. So much lighting on these cars including the glowing marker lights. There are lights so the spotters and teams can see the car, with LED lights. In the night, these sports cars, might resemble a mythical dragon. 43 cars started this race, but we have had ten retirements. 33 cars on the road. No mechanical attrition, thank goodness. In the old days, it was about getting cars to live, between the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, and even up into the '90s and to quite recently. But now, these cars are so incredibly reliable.
Laurens Vanthoor knows the Porsche, and got past Morad. But Morad is playing the long game. We still have four hours left to race. This is a dress rehearsal for the final hour and we are moved into the night. The #38 LMP3 car is off the road, in the darkness. Time to draw a line in the sand. We also have a spot of bother for the #2 United Autosport LMP3 car that has no lights and no power. Dark as a dungeon out there and no power in the car makes it worse.
No comments:
Post a Comment