The biggest sports car race in North America is approaching, next weekend. Well, before you can race the Rolex 24, you must qualify. Today, that is what the largest field for North America's greatest endurance sports car race in eight years, is about to do. We have 61 entries in five classes ready to do battle on these fabled high banks including seven Daytona Prototype International entries, in the final year of the category. Two Acura's vs. five Cadillac's. Acura, racing with Wayne Taylor Racing and Meyer Shank Racing. Cadillac's five entries, spread across three teams. Two cars apiece from Action Express and Chip Ganassi Racing, and a lone entry from JDC-Miller Motorsports. LMP2 and LMP3, the more spec prototypes are also represented. Plus, we have a new class to speak of. GT Le Mans is history, and IMSA has replaced it with GT Daytona Pro, super boosted GT3 spec production cars with probable factory support, along with their brethren from the existing GT Daytona class.
Traffic management, with this large grid of motorcars is going to be the key deal, especially in DPi. Once again, this is the final year we will see the DPi cars at Daytona after a very successful run of six seasons, before next year's debut of the LMDh division which is eagerly anticipated. Three and four driver teams will be entered for the big race next weekend and with the Motul Pole Award 100 being only a 100-minute sprint, two driver lineups will be utilized, just as they would be for the other sprint events this season. We will discuss the driver pairings as the race gets underway. If you've consulted the entry list, you will know that the drivers with asterisks next to their names are the ones racing today for the Motul Pole Award 100.
This is the 60th anniversary of the Rolex 24. Gorgeous weather for today's qualifying race. Fans are headed to the grandstands as we get ready to go. This is a points paying race. This is a big weekend. We had just a ten week offseason to get ready. Lots of movement with manufacturer, category, and driver changes. One full-season driver lineup is the same at Wayne Taylor Racing Acura while all the other teams have new drivers and new crew members. The cars are on track, for their pace laps. This is a test session as well as a race. The Scouts have been here for the weekend. Now, Pipo Derani is a top level champion. Can he back it up? Pipo Derani and Tristan Nunez will be the full-time drivers.
#31 is starting third on the grid. Looking forward to this, and Action Express won this race last year which led them to a championship. Can they repeat? Five classes. DPi, LMP2, LMP3, GTD Pro and GTD. Tight field. The #10 Acura had a tech issue and had to go to the tail end of the field. 35 GTD class cars all together. Green flag. We are underway! Taking the lead, the #5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac leads in the hands of Tristan Vautier as Tristan Nunez slots into second aboard the #31 Action Express Whelen Cadillac as Renger van der Zande is trying to move in on Nunez.
His team mate Alex Lynn is buried in the pack at the moment. GTD Pro and GTD are scrambling. The only difference is the driver lineups. Through The Bus Stop for the first time of asking. In the meantime, in GTD Pro, Porsche and Mercedes-AMG for WeatherTech Racing. Cooper MacNeil will be doing double duty in both cars. McLaren slicing and dicing their way through, the #59 Crucial Motorsports automobile. 61 cars, a full field for the race next weekend. What will happen when the prototypes catch the GT cars?
25% more cars in the field this year than last year. Tristan Vautier leads the motor race on a cool, yet sunny Sunday at Daytona Internatuonal Speedway. These conditions are similar to what we will see next weekend for the 24 hours. Engineers like consistent data and curveballs are thrown with track temperature changes. Next weekend, the overnight hours will be cold just like at Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, last November. Trhough go the DPi cars on GTD cars and poor old Don Yount in the #42 NTE Sport Lamborghini is the meat in the sandwich as Mark Kvamme in the #7 Forty7 Motorsports car off the road in the grass.
Now, he is back on his way. No worries. Mext weekend, overnight, it will be cold. No tire warmers allowed in IMSA. The corner coming out of pit lane, will be tough because you do not want to whack the fence on cold tires. Many a driver has done that in this race at Daytona over the years, over the six decade history of the Rolex 24, a wonderful race. Tristan Vautier leads Renger van der Zande and Tristan Nunez currently. GT Daytona and GT Daytona Pro, scrapping with each other. They are intermixed and not separated. The dynamic will be a major deal for today, the 24 hours, and the whole season ahead.
The Am drivers had to qualify and start. McLaren, Porsche, Lamborghini, Lexus, Mercedes, Corvette, BMW. Tons of exotic cars that youngsters who are car nuts, have posters on their bedroom walls of. Corvette Racing are adapting the C8.R to GT3 with a detuned car that has ABS brakes and new spec tires. No confidential Michelin tires as GT Le Mans, the now defunct class, had last year. Now, Tristan Vautier leads this motor race. He is gapping both Renger van der Zande and Tristan Nunez at the moment. Vautier sharing with Richard Westbrook of England. Loic Duval and Ben Keating will be racing in the #5 entry for the race. Keating is pulling double duty in DPi and LMP2 for the race next weekend.
Richard Westbrook will be a help to Tristan Vautier as a full-season team mate for the JDC-Miller team. Tom Blomqvist, the new driver for the #60 MSR Acura, he is scrapping with Filipe Albuquerque and Tristan Nunez. These DPi boys are having to slice and dice through the GTD cars. Both Pro and regular classes. Tristan Nunez went off the road trying to get past an Aston Martin. He is on debut with Action Express. He ran with Mazda a couple years ago, feeling out the team with AXR after getting the call from team boss Bob Johnson and team manager, Gary Nelson. Nunez continuing to chase the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura of Filipe Albuquerque.
Tire temperatures and car balance being monitored early in the game. Tom Blomqvist, in 2019, he raced with BMW and did not race at the Rolex 24 in 2019 due to visa issues. But Blomqvist now is in it with Meyer Shank Racing and Acura in DPi. He is managed by F1 and sports car legend, Mark Blundell. GTD, has the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 scrapping with the #97 WeatherTech Mercedes AMG GT3 as we dee a spin there, for the #23 Aston Martin I believe. Russell Ward leads Jon Miller and the others in GT Daytona.
Teams are grabbing information for being a part of one large GTD field. DPi minimum drive time is five minutes with 30 minutes in GTD Pro I believe. Ah, that ealier spin was the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin going off the road. Roman De Angelis sharing with Tom Gamble. Ganassi Racing were 1-2 in the morning warmup. They are gearing up for the new LMDh class next year as are the other DPi teams. With DPi there are just seven cars for lining up on the grid. The GT Daytona Pro and regular field is going to be massive not just in terms of car count but in terms of how the points will work out for this race, for the Rolex 24 and the rest of the season.
How do I dial in the car for next week? This time, everyone will be applying the blowtorch from the get go. Gain all the points in qualifying and the race. Push, push, push. That is what we will see all year. Lapped traffic ahead for the lead as we see the #8 Tower Motorsports LMP2 entry! Yikes! John Farano, sharing with Louis Deletraz. The traffic is mentally exhausting. That is for dead sure. Ben Keating, though, he is the leader of LMP2 in the #52 PR1/Mathiasen entry over Stephen Thomas in the #11 WIN Autosport car. Keating sharing with Mikkel Jensen. #11 has Steven Thomas and Jonathan Bomarito.
LMP3 car #7 takes a shortcut through the chicane. Meanwhile, we see in GTD Pro, the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R leading. Mathieu Jaminet sharing with Felipe Nasr. Matty Jaminet and Matt Campbell will be full season. Felipe Nasr will be racing LMP2 in Europe with Team Penske and will be racing with Porsche and Penske Motorsports in LMDh next year. Second in GTD Pro, the #2 KCMG Porsche 911 GT3R from China. Swiss driver Alexandre Imperatori sharing with Patrick Pilet. They have raced in GT3 racing and prototypes. First pit stop, for the #31 Whelen Cadillac. These are the champions from last year. Pipo Derani will be getting into the car. They won this race last year as well.
This is a one-year deal for Tristan Nunez with AXR. He will have to prove himself. The team is committed to a three-stop race and they are now on a different strategy and might just have to save fuel, which is something Action Express is indeed capable of. Filipe Albuquerque, meanwhile, passes Tom Blomqvist, in the battle of Acura's. Blomqvist in the lane now for service. Blomqvist out and into the car now, Oliver Jarvis. Jimmie Johnson has the sister Action Express #48 Cadillac now fifth, sharing that car with Kamui Kobayashi. Renger van der Zande tries threading the needle on Tristan Vautier but can't quite make it.
The winner in each class will qualify on pole for the Rolex 24. The DPi machines slicing and dicing through the GTD Pro and GTD fields. Corvette Racing and Alegra Motorsports in their Mercedes. Chip Ganassi Racing's second car is a ruby red color. Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber will be sharing this automobile. In the low-speed corners, the DPi and the GTD cars are are 25 miles an hour apart, but then, in the twisty stuff, they are more equalized. You just have to be on your toes through turn six and up onto the banking as Nick Boulle moves out of the way of the leaders, driving the Team Hardpoint Porsche along with Stefan Wilson.
Pit stop time now for Renger van der Zande. Sebastien Bourdais will take the car over from Earl Bamber. He has run with Chip Ganassi in the Ford GT program from the past. Bourdais will be full-time in sports cars both in IMSA and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Jimmie Johnson has moved up to third aboard the #48 Ally Financial Action Express Cadillac sharing with Kamui Kobayashi. Dennis Andersen in the #20 High Class Racing entry makes a move. More on that in a wee while. Drive through penalty for speeding on pit entry for Renger van der Zande in the #01. Richard Westbrook takes over the #5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac on their pit stop.
Westbrook is a veteran. Jimmie Johnson, seven-time NASCAR Cup champion is running very well. Second place for this Action Express Cadillac, their endurance entry. #01 serves the penalty. Here comes the #48 car to the pit lane along with the #10 WTR Acura. Just over an hour left on the board. Driver change for the #48. Analyze fuel mileage in traffic for next weekend. Check that. Johnson continues behind the wheel of the #48 Ally Cadillac. Mike Rockenfeller will be Johnson's co-driver for the other three endurance events. Kamui Kobayashi will also be in the other few races save for the six-hour race at Watkins Glen in June.
Second and fourth for both Action Express Cadillac's at the present time. Ricky Taylor and Oliver Jarvis first and third for Acura. Off/on for the #66 Gradient Rscing Acura NSX GT3 which had crash damage from an incident yesterday. That is the GTD Acura of Kyffin Simpson and Till Bechtolsheimer. Alex Palou, IndyCar champion in 2021, will be on the Chip Ganassi Racing team for the Rolex 24 next weekend. Pipo Derani is now reeling in Oliver Jarvis. Taylor and Westbrook also are in this fight. It is not over yet. This race has been fairly clean thus far. No real shemozzle. Alex Palou was married to longtime girlfriend Esther. Congratulations. Mikkel Jensen leads LMP2. Cameron Shields leads LMP3.
Good scrap in GT Daytona as we see Russell Ward battling Julien Andlauer in the #79 GTD Pro Porsche 911 GT3R of Julien Andlauer. Russell Ward and his dad Bryce, both race. Bryce Ward living near the Kyalami circuit in South Africa and that inspired him to race. Winward Racing have a major notebook of info from racing not just in IMSA but also in Europe and globally. Pipo Derani is closing up on Oliver Jarvis. They are slicing and dicing through traffic and it is going to be hectic. You have to have your head on a pivot, watching mirrors and rearview cameras. Less than an hour to go as the LMP3 Sean Creech Motorsports entry off and back on, Dr. Lance Willsey drivinv the #33 car sharing with Joao Barbosa.
Kamui Kobayashi has now taken over the #48 Ally Cadillac from Jimmie Johnson. He is fifth in DPi. They are on a different plan because they are only in the endurance races and not the overall IMSA championship. They are learning and getting Jimmie Johnson and his co-drivers up to speed. Jimmie Johmson is far more comfortable in the Cadillac now. Ricky Taylor and Richard Westbrook were team mates at Spirit of Daytona years and years ago. Three wide with a GTD car into the International Horseshoe! Egad! That was a bear! Luis Perez-Companc nearly had to panic there, look.
Ricky Taylor almost off the road and Richard Westbrook says, "thanks, mate" and plays right through. Austin Cindric in the #15 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes AMG GT3, he is a rookie in NASCAR Cup and a former Xfinity Series champion. Cindric and others will be racing in some of the events here. A lot of NASCAR drivers had scheduling conflicts so they could not race the Rolex 24 this year. There is more testing with the new NASCAR next generation car which is really based on a GT3 sports car as far as it's technology.
Poor old Austin Cindric was spun after coming into contact with a Lamborghini, the #39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Lamborghini. Robert Megennis and Sandy Mitchell sharing that car today. Kenny Habul, in TD, from Australia is in another Mercedes AMG GT3. He was a part of the 24 Hours of Dubai that we saw two weeks ago, a race hopefully yours truly will be able to post video of soon. The podium finishers got to ride camels on the way to the podium in Dubai. That's a lot of fun. We wonder about sandbagging for BoP influence. In GT Daytona and GT Daytona Pro, it sounds like everyone is giving all they have and not hiding stuff.
Owen Trinkler aboard the #64 Porsche isbehind. Pit stop time for GTD. Townsend Bell takes over the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus as Dirk Mueller is now replacing Austin Cindric in the #15 Mercedes. Bell replacing Frankie Montecalvo for the second stint. Lamborghini #19 is in the lane as well and we see two LMP3 entries also in the lane. That #19 is the TR3 Racing car. The #38 goes behind the wall, Performance Tech Racing, is in the garage now. We have two of the WeatherTech entries in the lane. The pit boxes will be very tight with the 61-car field. Double stacking pit stops will be a big issue. Corvette Racing also in the lane for service.
Coming to halfway. Heart of Racing Aston Martin, #27 in the lane too. Niki Thiim and Marco Sorensen are here this weekend. But Sorensen is a part of the #4 Corvette C8.R. Ross Gunn and Roman De Angelis are split this year after being co-drivers last year, having won a few races in 2021 in unusual ways. GT Daytona teams only get four days to test unless they have professional drivers in which case you get eight days. Alex Riberas is now in the #23 entry to be joined by Belgian veteran Maxime Martin. Some close racing there, Felipe Nasr in the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche sliding past the #79 WeatherTech Porsche.
Trouble for the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 with right front damage making the debut i North America. Flat right front for Bill Auberlen having made contact with Tom Gamble. Gamble tried to dive in on Auberlen and did not see him, and crunch! This M4 GT3 raced in Dubai with ST Racing. Now they are making the debut in IMSA with Turner Motorsports. Blimey! That right front tire is shot, and the suspension is damaged. They have a backup car they will campaign in a different series in SRO later in the year.
Oliver Jarvis is now leading Pipo Derani by a second and a half. Westbrook is closing in on Derani up on the banking. Westbrook is making a statement that he can still drive. Lapped traffic ahead. LMDh will be a worldwide class for next year. Westbrook in the #5 Cadillac has been able to cut through the corners and has good mechanical grip. We watch LMP3, and Josh Burdon leads in class alongside Jarett Andretti, who raced with his late father, John, a decade ago. Just over 40 minutes to go. Cameron Shields pits from the lead in LMP3. Shields, from Toowoomba, Australia, the same town as IndyCar driver, Will Power.
He is sharing with American Nolan Siegel I believe. Wondering if that car is having some engine trouble as the bonnet is off. Pit stop time for the #31 Whelen Cadillac. 40 minutes is a stretch on fuel. We shall see what happens, technical director Iain Watt watching on. These boys had gearbox trouble in last year's Rolex 24, but that is history. Now, the team is far more confident after winning the title last year. Two entries for Action Express. Now, Derani is praying for a yellow flag so he does not have to save petrol. Kamui Kobayashi in the sister Action Express entry is fourth. Lucas Auer has the wheel of the #57 GT Daytona class leading Mercedes AMG GT3 for Winward Racing, taking over for Russell Ward. Game on in GTD.
Oopsie Daisy. The #18 Era Motorsports car in LMP2 off the road. Paul Loup Chatin at the controls, getting on the curb. This team won the Rolex 24 last year. Ryan Dalziel will share with Dwight Merriman in 2022. MSR and the #60 Acura in the lane for service. Olvier Jarvis sharing of course with Tom Blomqvist. MSR are looking at damage control and how their pit strategy is going to work. Felipe Nasr and Alessio Picariello are scrapping in GTD Pro, two Porsche's. Picariello is far more experienced in a Porsche. Cooper MacNeil will be sharing the Porsche full-time with Belgian driver Alessio Picariello. Picariello goes deep on the brakes as the #01 Cadillac for Ganassi Racing in lane with Sebastien Bourdais at the wheel of it.
Michael Harvey, and Peter Baron, are two new members at Ganassi who are both veteran team managers in sports car racing. No different than a team like Action Express with Gary Nelson and Tim Keane. JDC-Miller #5 in the lane for fuel and tires and the tire change is taking longer than it has to. So, they may have to catch up. Westbrook wants to come out with a bang on his return to IMSA. He mortgaged his house to get back to racing. During his off time in the real world, he must have had a job he probably didn't care for. He said, "OK. I want to race. That is all I want to do."
Ricky Taylor now leads Kamui Kobayashi. Taylor now in the lane. Nasr and Picariello continue their GTD Pro scrap. We also see a battle between Corvette and Lexus. With the Corvette's, they have their same GT Le Mans chassis while modifying the car to GT3 specification, reducing aero and power and using antilock brakes. IMSA, GM, and the Corvette brand expected that they had to fit in someplace. They are having a respectable run in GTD Pro right now but will have to keep pushing. So many GTDa teams know the GT3 platform which is a global sports car platform of course.
Townsend Bell in the Lexus RC F GT3 giving chase. Jimmie Johnson is racing all of the IndyCar series while also racing endurance events in IMSA with Action Express. His confidence is raising steadily. The #48 team is stepping up with both Action Express and Hendrick Motorsports. Pipo Derani has moved back up to fourth spot. Jimmie Johnson is planning to run both the 12 Hours of Sebring and the IndyCar season opener at Texas Motor Speedway in the same weekend. We shall see how that turns out. Jimmie Johnson wants to win this race. He has finished second three times. But he has to play his part and knock out the hours.
Johnson said that he does not care what other people think. GM motorsports manager for many years, Herb Fishel, told Jimmie Johnson, "the key is patience" and it is true. He has gone from off road to stock cars to sports cars to IndyCars. The race lead battle now is hotly contested between Ricky Taylor and Richard Westbrook. Westbrook continues to do well through the turns. For Wayne Taylor Racing, Will Stevens and Alexander Rossi will join the team for the Rolex 24. The top teams do their homework to try and win these races. Don't abuse the car. Don't clobber the curbs, because you will absolutely wreck the car. Go easy and be smooth and then, charge.
The 30,000-foot view does not mean the starting place is as crucial. But the data will be a big deal. The ambient and track conditions will be similar next weekend to what it is now. Wow! Westbrook and Taylor thread the needle around the GTD entry of Chilean Benji Hites. This race next weekend will be a flat-out sprint. Push, push, push. The lead in GTD is getting spicy as Paul Holton in the #59 McLaren for Crucial Motorsports trying to chase down the #57 Winward Mercedes in the hands of Lucas Auer. Picariello did pass Nasr in GTD Pro. Paul Holton ran the McLaren with Compass Racing in the Sprint Cup championship. Holton is a hot shoe in a McLaren in both Michelin Pilot Challenge and the WeatherTech Championship.
Ricky Taylor continues on in the lead. Don't risk the car. With sports cars and IndyCars, if a car is wrecked and repaired, the aerodynamics can change. So keep the car in one piece. Ricky Taylor and Richard Westbrook continue the fight. Holton has Alex Riberas to deal with aboard the Aston Martin for the lead in GTD. Actually, Lucas Auer is ahead. In the Pro class, Picairello leads Mirko Bortolotti, Felipe Nasr, and Alex Riberas. Jules Gounon in the #97 WeatherTech Mercedes is working to get ahead. Richard Westbrook raced at Le Mans last year with the Glickenhaus team.
Earl Bamber cuts a 1:34.6. Slowest is 1:35.1 for #60. Half a second in it in DPi while the leaders are only four hundredths of a second apart. Mirko Bortolotti, the Italian, he is a monster at the wheel of a GT3 car. He went to Audi and that did not work. But back in at Lamborghini, he will share with Rolf Ineichen and the other co-drivers. For the lead in GTD Pro, Bortolotti has a run on Picariello! 15 minutes left on the board. Bortolotti gets chopped by the #66 Gradient Racing Acura! Mama Mia! That was a massive deal! Bortolotti is still applying the blowtorch and passes Picariello out of turn six back onto the banking in GTD Pro!
Westbrook is pressing Ricky Taylor for the overall lead. Deep braking into the chicane by Bortolotti! Yikes! Dancing on a knife edge is that Lamborghini! Holy mackerel! In replay, we see Bortolotti carving the corner right on the curb with compliant suspension. Westbrook is keeping up the pressure on Ricky Taylor for the overall lead with 13 minutes left on the board. Pipo Derani has moved up to third so Action Express might get on the podium. Drivers are so fit, running decathlons and triathlons and they are right on for driving the race car. Lamborghini in the way of the leaders and Westbrook dives in on Taylor! Through turn six he wanted to outbrake Taylor! Holy smokes!
Ten minutes remaining. Getting on the power through the Bus Stop, the gearing and torque are the factors for both the Acura and the Cadillac. 3.5-liter turbo V6 vs. naturally aspirated 5.5-liter V8. 30 points for a race win. Westbrook has to adjust his line. The GTD cars have antilock brakes so you won't see tire smoke. The prototypes do not have that assistance. Felipe Nasr in the meantime in GTD-Pro, is closing on Alessio Picariello as Ricky Taylor twitches through turn six! Westbrook is really charging trying to pass Ricky Taylor. He is probing, trying to find it. The Cetilar #47 Ferrari is in the way, and Westbrook loses a wee bit of time.
Lapped cars passed by the leaders. The downforce is still there for the prototypes. Traction Control kicking in as the tires are knackered through the west horseshoe. Driver inputs maxed out. Westbrook might just have a speed edge. BMW M4 GT3 #25 pits. Connor De Philippi at the controls. He shares the car with John Edwards. The sister #24 could have also been pitting. Nick Yelloly and Sheldon van der Linde sharing that automobile. The finishing order of this race sets the grid for the 60th renewal of the Rolex 24. A change for Action Express as the #48 Ally Cadillac is now third with Kamui Kobayashi. Felipe Nasr has dropped back a wee bit as we are on the white flag lap.
Again, remember, Ricky Taylor and Richard Westbrook were team mates. White flag lap/ Westbrook makes contact with Taylor and Westbrook spins! Where is the #48 Ally Cadillac of Kamui Kobayashi. Westbrook got inside and tagged the rear end plate of the Acura under hard braking in turn one. Yikes! The incident is under review by the marshals. No action. Final lap. Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque win the qualifying race. Now, in LMP2, back-to-back wins for the #52 PR1/Mathiasen car for Mikkel Jensen and company. The Roar winners have gone on to titles. LMP3 sees Josh Burdon in the #36 Andretti Autosport entry winning in class with crew chief Robin Pemberton, a former NASCAR crew chief.
GT Daytona Pro, Mirko Bortolotti and Lambirghini win. GTD honors go the way of Winward Racing and Mercedes. So, your winners.
Overall/DPi: #10 Taylor/Albuquerque Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05
LMP2: #52 Keating/Jensen PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca 07
LMP3: #36 Burdon/Andretti Andretti Autosport Ligier JS P320 Nissan
GT Daytona Pro: #63 Bortolotti/Caldarelli TR3 Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3
GT Daytona: #57 Auer/Ellis Winward Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3
No yellow flags in this race. It went green the entire way. We will see you, next weekend. Tune in all weekend on Saturday and Sunday, for wall-to-wall coverage of the 60th Rolex 24. Get some rest everyone. You will need it. Yours truly knows he will. If you have the app, tune in for the race on Peacock as well. So, that is a wrap from the Roar. We will see you next Saturday for the big one. So long for now, everyone, from Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
No comments:
Post a Comment