Sportscar365’s notebook ahead of the GTWC Europe Endurance Cup opener at Imola…
https://sportscar365.com/sro/gtwc/world-challenge-europe/imola-thursday-notebook-2/
Thursday, March 31, 2022
Imola Thursday Notebook
IMSA: Alan Jay Automotive Network 120 | EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS | 3/28/22 | Motorsports on NBC
We join NBC Sports and their announce team for abbreviated highlights of the Alan Jay Automotive Network 120, the second race of the season for IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge in 2022, from the fabled Sebring International Raceway. A full race broadcast is also coming up. Let's join Dave Burns and Calvin Fish in the broadcast booth and on pit lane, Dillon Welch and Brian Till, for all the action.
Who Will Be Comeback Kids of 2022?
Last three DPi champions have been seventh or lower in standings after two races...
https://www.imsa.com/news/2022/03/29/who-will-be-comeback-kids-of-2022/
Top 10 Moments of Imola 2020
Race 1 of the 2020 season proved to be an action-packed affair. Re-live the best moments ahead of the 2022 edition of the race.
Famous Car Numbers: 98 and 99 Carry Winning Family Legacies
Gurney, Jones and Agajanian Names Are All Tied to The Success Both in IMSA and IndyCars.
https://www.imsa.com/news/2022/03/25/famous-car-numbers-98-and-99-carry-winning-family-legacies/
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
1000 Miles of Sebring Full Race Replay
The full race replay of the 2022 season opener for the FIA World Endurance Championship, the 1,000 Miles of Sebring. Martin Haven, Graham Goodwin, and Anthony Davidson call the race action from the broadcast booth, with Louise Beckett on duty in pit lane providing reports, insight, and interviews with drivers and teams during the motor race.
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
2022 First NLS race | M4 GT3, 991.2 GT3 R, GT86, M2 CS, GTX, I30 N, Cayman, R8 LMS, Supra GT4, ...
From Belgian-Motorsport on YouTube.
Event: NLS race 1 (67th ADAC Westfalenfahrt)
Track: Nürburgring Nordschleife
Date: 2022-03-26
Coverage of SRO GTWC Europe from Imola
Yours truly is still hoping to cover this weekend's opening event of the SRO GT World Challenge Europe season, and maybe early next week, that will be the time all of it can happen. Yours truly is not only busy with covering sports car racing, but with a few other areas of life as well, and automobile related things. So, when there is time to cover GTWC Europe, you will surely hear about it, everybody. Looking forward to bringing it to you.
Double Stint: NLS1, 12H Mugello Recap; News Roundup (3-29-22)
The Double Stint Podcast returns on Sportscar365. John Dagys, Daniel Lloyd, Davey Euwema recap week's racing, news in first episode of year.
https://sportscar365.com/podcasts/double-stint-nls1-12h-mugello-recap-news-roundup/
Manthey Holds Off Land to Win NLS Season-Opener
Fredric Makowiecki resists Jusuf Owega's challenge to win four-hour NLS round...
https://sportscar365.com/other-series/n24/manthey-holds-off-land-to-win-nls-season-opener/
Monday, March 28, 2022
Weekly Racing Roundup (3-28-22)
News including record-breaking GT4 European entry, program announcements and more...
https://sportscar365.com/features/roundup/weekly-racing-roundup-3-28-22/
Surviving Three Heart Attacks: Shepherd Engineers Win in Her Second Race Atop Ganassi Timing Stand
No. 02 Cadillac team led by Shepherd Overcomes Late-Race Issues to Win.
GT World Challenge Europe headlines
With the 2022 season drawing nearer, here are more headlines pertaining to SRO GT World Challenge Europe.
Inception Confirms McLaren 720S GT3 for Gold Cup
Pro-Am Champions Ramos, Chaves Join Garage 59
Barker Leads Barwell Motorsport Gold Cup Lineup
Calado: Pier Guidi Needed "A Break" After Busy 2021 Season
"Cohesion" Important for Iron Dames in 17-Race Program
Balzan, Sbirrazzuoli Among AF Corse Gold Cup Drivers
Aston Factory Drivers Spearhead Beechean AMR Pro Entry
Driver Lineups Confirmed in 52-Car Entry for Endurance Opener
Sunday, March 27, 2022
ST Racing Scores Maiden Win for M4 GT3 at Mugello
BMW's new flagship racer takes first victory in twelve-hour Italian contest...
https://sportscar365.com/other-series/24hseries/st-racing-scores-maiden-win-for-m4-gt3-at-mugello/
12 Hours of Mugello Race Broadcast
The qualifying session and race broadcast of round two of the 2022 12 Hours of Mugello on Saturday and Sunday, March 26th and 27th, 2022. Let's join the Radio Show Limited commentary team of Jonny Palmer and Joe Bradley in the booth, and Diana Binks in the pit lane, for all the action.
Qualifying
12 Hours of Mugello: Part 2
Saturday, March 26, 2022
ST Racing Leads 12H Mugello at Overnight Intervention
Canadian squad heads top three dominated by German manufacturers with Saturday running completed…
Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Race Broadcast
The race broadcast of the 2022 Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring with commentary from IMSA Radio featuring John Hindhaugh and Jeremy Shaw in the broadcast booth, and Shea Adam and Joe Bradley in the pit lane.
Friday, March 25, 2022
Phoenix Racing Takes Pole for 12H Mugello
Audi factory driver Pierre Kaffer leads pole charge for experienced German outfit…
https://sportscar365.com/other-series/24hseries/phoenix-racing-takes-pole-for-12h-mugello/
The race will be on the Motor Trend app and on the 24H Series Creventic YouTube channel. Tomorrow’s action goes from 6:25 AM to 12:40 PM. Then, be up bright and early for part two, Sunday morning at 1:30 AM through to 9:05 AM.
FIA WEC headlines
More headlines from the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Team Nederland, High Class Consider Pulling Reserve Entries
Fillon: Four Cars Needed for GTE-Pro Class in 2023
Inside Ryo Hirakawa's Toyota Hypercar Debut
ACO: LMH Hybrid Activation Threshold Tied to Tire Size
Derani Confirmed in Glickenhaus Lineup for 6H Spa
ByKolles Vanwall LMH Car Breaks Cover
Thursday, March 24, 2022
Seven BMW M4 GT3's Set for Car's Nurburgring 24 Debut
ROWE, Walkenhorst, Schubert, and Junior Team to represent BMW at Nurburgring 24...
https://sportscar365.com/other-series/n24/seven-bmw-m4-gt3s-set-for-cars-nurburgring-24-debut/
Michelin at Sebring 2022 Recap
Super Sebring 2022 was an event for the record books! It marked the largest event in Michelin Motorsport history with 163 entries. Drivers from IMSA, WEC, Michelin Pilot Challenge and Porsche Carrera Cup North America displayed the performance of MICHELIN® tires.
1,000 Miles of Sebring: Race Highlights
Alpine claims victory in shortened 1000 Miles of Sebring
Florida storm brings an early halt to the opening round of the FIA WEC season, ensuring that Alpine becomes the first French winner in the series' history. Meanwhile, Joshua Pierson becomes the WEC's youngest winner at 16 years old in LMP2
The Tricolore of France was carried to victory by Alpine after André Negrão, Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere won a dramatic opening race for the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship.
The 1000 Miles of Sebring was called to a premature halt after 194 laps of the 6.019km (3.74-mile) circuit with 70 minutes remaining due to the hazard posed by an oncoming thunderstorm of epic proportions.
Full report on FIAWEC.com
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
WeatherTech Championship stories (continued)
Still more post-Sebring IMSA WeatherTech Championship stories to peruse and to talk about.
The new Ferrari 296 GT3 car will be run by Cetilar next year in IMSA's GT Daytona class.
Cetilar to Run New Ferrari 296 GT3 Full-Time Next Year
Caldarelli: Corvette Had Extra "Pace When They Wanted"
Jeff Westphal's latest column.
WESTPHAL: Lemons into Lemonade
Gilbert Korthoff "Surprised Ourselves" with Season Start
Ricky Taylor's latest column.
TAYLOR: The Yellow That Never Came
Doonan: Convergence to Be "Legacy Moment" in Sport
Crucial to Make Sprint Cup Debut at Long Beach
You're Gonna Tell Your Kids about Sebastian Montoya's First Run at Sebring
16-year-old Montoya Proves Apple Doesn't Fall Far from Tree in Maiden Twelve Hours of Sebring Voyage.
Record Number of Full-Season Entries Registered for 2022
Previous record Michelin Le Mans Cup grid of 32 cars surpassed for 2022 campaign…
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/lemans-cup/record-number-of-full-season-entries-registered-for-2022/
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
60 SECOND UPDATE - #GTWorldChEu 2022
Preparing for the kickoff of SRO GT World Challenge Europe, next weekend. Here is a 60 second rundown of what you need to know.
V8 Touring Cars Eligible for Bathurst 12H
Previous-gen Supercars eligible to take part in this year's postponed Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour...
https://sportscar365.com/sro/igtc/v8-touring-cars-eligible-for-bathurst-12h/
Catch Up on Sportscar365's Extensive Coverage from Sebring
More than 100 articles produced over ten-day 'Super Sebring' WEC/IMSA event...
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/sebring-content-recap-3/
Weekly Racing Roundup (3-21-22)
Report from GTWC Australia plus Super Taikyu action, European testing and news...
https://sportscar365.com/features/roundup/weekly-racing-roundup-3-21-22/
Monday, March 21, 2022
McCumbee, No. 40 Mustang Hang on to Win Alan Jay Automotive Network 120
Last caution sets up thrilling battle for victory in closing laps.
2022 Sebring 12 Hours
From Lanky Turtle. The 70th annual running of the 12 Hours of Sebring for the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship.
Post-Race Headlines After the 12 Hours of Sebring
The race recap, and post-race coverage from the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Race Recap:
Taylor Paces Incident-Filled Opening Hour at Sebring
LMP2 Leader Montoya Crashes Out in Third Hour
Derani Leads 12H Sebring at Halfway Point
Stevens Out Front for WTR With Four Hours to Go
Brake Issues Drop No. 48 AXR Cadillac Out of Contention
Corvette Takes Controlled GTD Pro Victory; Cetilar Wins GTD
CGR's Bamber Rebounds Twice for 12H Sebring Victory
Post-Race News:
Watch Extended Highlights of the 12 Hours of Sebring on NBC Sports with commentary from Dave Burns, Calvin Fish, Kevin Lee, Townsend Bell, Brian Till, and Parker Kligerman.
Watch Extended Highlights of 12H Sebring
Bamber Gave It "Absolutely Everything" for Comeback Win
Cetilar's Fuoco "Took Back What I Almost Lost" After Penalty
Cooling Issues Compromised JDC-Miller's Chances
MSR's Pace Dropped Off "Quite A Bit" After Derani Contact
Sebring IMSA Post-Race Notebook
Sunday, March 20, 2022
2022 WEC 1000 Miles of Sebring
From Lanky Turtle. Teams from the FIA World Endurance Championship race in the 1000 Miles of Sebring.
Post-Race News After the 1,000 Miles of Sebring
Post-race news after the FIA World Endurance Championship 2022 lid lifter, the 1,000 Miles of Sebring.
Race Recap:
Lapierre Leads Toyota at Sebring With One Hour Completed
Lopez Toyota Crash Causes Fourth-Hour Red Flag at Sebring
Lopez "Misjudged" Damage in "Big One" at Sebring
Sebring Halted Due to Lightning in Area
Alpine Wins Red-Flag Affected 1000 Miles of Sebring
Post-race News:
American Teen Pierson Becomes Youngest-Ever WEC Winner
Lapierre: Alpine "Pushed the Whole Race" for First Overall Win
New LMP2 Regulations Delayed Until 2025
LMDh Cars Eligible for Pre-Homologation Entries This Year
Possibility of 2022 Race Entry "Interesting Option" for Porsche
Corvette "Brought A Knife to A Gunfight" After Red Flag
Toyota Set to Replace No. 7 Monocoque After Sebring Crash
Sebring WEC Post-Race Notebook
Saturday, March 19, 2022
12 Hours of Sebring: Hour 12 (the finish)
At this point, only half a dozen cars have retired. 47 still left. Bamber trying to flash the lights to distract Westbrook. Maybe the #02 will have an advantage in the corners. Westbrook enters turn three deep, locking the brakes. You can tell he is feeling the pressure from Bamber. Nunez still eighteen seconds out, looking to give Action Express a podium spot. Westbrook is balked by slower traffic. It's on now! Bamber is right on Westbrook's six! Into the hairpin at turn seven. Bamber cannot make it stick. Into the Fangio Chicane. Managing traffic is a big deal. Pick the right lane. Bamber goes for it and makes the pass. Wowzers. The Ganassi Cadillac has more grip than does the JDC-Miller car. Identical machinery but with different setups on the cars depending on what the teams wanted to do.
We have seen action all over the track here at Sebring and right now the focal point is definitely in DPi for the overall victory. Oh dear! Oh dear! #02 has spun off the road! Well, well, well. Just as we were singing the praises of Earl Bamber, he has thrown the Cadillac off the road. Now, will this allow the #5 and #31 to catch up? Will Bamber get back into the lead of the motor race? The plot doth thicken. He ran just a smidgen over the curbs and that tossed the car into a spin. Closer inspection shows that Bamber was alongside a GTD car of some description, and that unbalanced the cCadillac, sending him spinning off the road.
He is back on track now. But, he has Westbrook pulling away and Nunez closing in. Tom Blomqvist the Rolex 24 winner and Ricky Taylor, in the two Acura's, they are not a factor. Final pit stops coming for GTD cars as the #47 Cetilar Ferrari is in the lane where outside of the pit lights to illuminate the team's boxes, it is incredibly dark. Pitch black, everywhere. The #57 Winward Racing Mercedes is also in pit lane. Any other takers? Not sure. Bamber has cut the gap to Westbrook as we see a replay of the spin. The Ferrari wadded up the road a wee bit. Bamber though, that was his mistake. No action taken by the stewards. Bamber is upset with the GTD car. The car is fine. Push, push, push.
Bamber is channeling his frustration, recovering, going after Westbrook to be sure. Again, we see the perils of running in traffic in the dark of night here at Sebring. That is how this race has always been since 1952. That is what it's founder and creator, Alec Ulmann, wanted. He wanted an America version of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We have not had the opportunity to pay attention to the lead battles in the other classes because those seemingly have settled down. It is the overall victory being focused upon. Bamber still in hot pursuit of Westbrook, equal equipment for both drivers save for individual team setups.
The car seems to be undamaged, for Earl Bamber, a veteran GT and prototype racer in sports cars. Other class leaders, while we have the time. Mikkel Jensen is a lap up on everyone else in LMP2 in the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Oreca. In LMP3, Garrett Grist leads his nearest competitor by 23 seconds, so, Grist in the JR III. car is 23 seconds ahead of the #33 Sean Creech Motorsports entry in the hands of Malthe Jakobsen. The other cars are laps down and way out of contention... Rasmus Lindh in the Performance Tech car, and the AWA entry that we have seen spinning like a top, in the hands of Lars Kern. Kern, though, that is no disrespect to his ability as he is, or was, a Porsche road car test driver at the Nurburgring Nordschleife. So, he is a wheel man without a doubt.
Corvette #3 in the pit lane from the GTD Pro lead. The #12 GTD Lexus ducks into the lane ahead of Antonio Garcia. Four tires and fuel, and Garcia will take the car to the finish. Lexus #14 hit the lane the lap before. The window is open for final stop for GTD Pro and Aaron Telitz is 50 seconds behind Antonio Garcia. Everyone else, Bortolotti, Gounon, Campbell, and Eng, are still further behind, and here are a few other cars laps down including the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin which may be retired. Porsche, Acura, and Ferrari not in the GTD Pro fight. It will be a two horse race to the end much like it is in DPi.
A similar story in regular GTD. Antonio Fuoco in the Ferrari leads Bill Auberlen in the BMW M4 by 16 seconds. Daniel Juncadella in the #32 Gilbert Korthoff Mercedes is third followed by Toni Vilander in the AF Corse #21 Ferrari, and Jordan Pepper in the #70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3. Andy Lally is a lap down in the #44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin. Two laps down, the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus of Scott Andrews, and Katherine Legge in the #99 Team Hardpoint Porsche. Further down the order, and retired from the motor race, the #28 Daniel Morad driven Alegra Motorsports Mercedes, and the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche of Jan Heylen, who was in strife from the opening hour of the race this morning
Final pit stops. Garcia is a three-time winner at Sebring and almost won in 2021 battling Connor De Philippi for BMW. Garcia and company came home sixth at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Corvette Racing were the odd man out when GTD Pro was announced. They had to go through engineering exercises and gymnastics to make the Corvette a GT3 car. 20 more horsepower was given to the car on Balance of Performance before qualifying. Garcia and the Corvette are running well, running great lap times. Corvette won in 2017 in the 12 Hours in GTLM and also in the sprint event in 2020 that we had here on a hot Saturday in July. The battle for the overall win continues between JDC-Miller and Ganasi. You've missed nothing.
Bamber goes back past Westbrook. Bamber made up a six and a half second deficit. Wow. Westbrook has nothing left to throw at Bamber, not even the kitchen sink. Westbrook lost power getting into the clag on the outside of the circuit through turn 16 and down the Ulmann straight. Nunez in the #31 is now ten seconds behind, a solid podium. Chip Ganassi Racing looking for their second overall Sebring triumph. Corvette, Lamborghini, and Lexus are still scrapping for GTD Pro honors, and, a cool entry that we have not given a call to, that Wayne Taylor Racing is a part of. They are with Racer's Edge Motorsports. Ashton Harrison, she is racing for the first time in the WeatherTech Championship. Harrison says her co-driver Kyle Marcelli is a qualified pro running in other championships, and Tom Long, has been her driver coach for the better part of a decade.
The idea is for Ashton Harrison to learn how to do these endurance races. The color red is significant for the team. Harrison, she has run with Wayne Taylor Racing in Lamborghini Super Trofeo and Harrison studies the engineering and the data as well. She is trying hard to understand everything. So, Ashton Harrison is doing a fine job in her first IMSA start. DPi final pit stops are imminent. Richard Westbrook pits from second place in the #5 car. So, this is the final stop for the JDC-Miller boys, taking it to the finish.
Tires, fuel, and a drink bottle top up for Richard Westbrook. Tristan Nunez inherits second place behind Earl Bamber. Can he stay there? Can he push Bamber? Or, will Westbrook cycle back through to second? Bamber has not pitted yet. He needs fuel and needs it now. He is in the danger zone and now is in the lane. Pipo Derani will take the #31 Whelen Action Express Cadillac to the end of the race. Tristan Vautier did get into the #5. Mea culpa. Tom Blomqvist in the #60 MSR Acura has come to second place. Bamber and team are right in the window for fuel and could very well maintain the lead. Bamber guns the motor and they are down and away.
#31 and #5 both did driver changes. Vautier and Derani. Each team has their bullet in to the end. The Acura's are getting better fuel mileage than the Cadillac's, but wait to pit. Ricky Taylor will take the #10 to the finish. Vautier now third and Bamber leads. Final stint changes are rare. But Mustang Sampling and Action Express both want a reset and want to chase down the #02 Ganassi car. JDC-Miller asked Richard Westbrook, can you find more pace? He said, "nope". Action Express, on the horn to Tristan Nunez, "can you find more pace? Nope. I've given everything I have." What's the solution? Bish, bash, bosh. You put in a new driver who is ready to go and ready to squeeze every last ounce out of the car to get it to the bitter end.
Maybe one race car suits a driver more than the other. Maybe AXR got out of sync with driver times. That is a question for my pal who owns the team. Bamber has to stay focused on getting the car to the end. A Le Mans winner with Porsche. Will Earl Bamber be a Sebring winner with Cadillac? He has to keep his nose clean for the last 34 minutes. Vautier runs 7.2 seconds down. Pipo Derani is nearly 18 seconds down. We need a reset with a yellow. But if it stays green, Bamber might have this motor race in the bag. Bamber is in the pound seats, but you know darn well that Vautier, Derani, and Blomqvist are going to be digging and digging hard to find something.
A Full Course Yellow could put the cat among the pigeons. Bamber, in the lead, can give it up a shade, being in the race lead. He is the rabbit. Vautier and Derani are the hounds. Richard Westbrook says the #5 does not have a lot for the #02. They have a cooling issue in the cockpit forcing the team to run single stints to the end of the race. The car itself is running very well. Westbrook jokingly said "I think I want a gin and tonic after my stint." Joao Barbosa, leading in LMP3 with Sean Creech Motorsports says his team has done a tremendous job. Malthe Jakobsen will take that car to the end of the race. They lead the division by 20 seconds.
Can anyone catch Bamber? Will there be a yellow to reshuffle the deck? Half an hour on the board before this race is over. The #10 Acura is all over the road but still tracking in a straight line here at Sebring over these ntoroiously bumpty concrrete surfaces, going by lapped traffic. This 70th renewal of Sebring and the 12 Hours, has been amazing. It has been hot insofar as the action and the temperatures, just like always. Cetilar Racing leading for Ferrari in GTD have had an eventful motor race. In hour two, they were biffed into a spin. In the sixth hour, a massive spin into the turn one, backing the Prancing Horse into the tire barriers.
The door had to be changed after that fracas. Hour eight, the car and team were penalized for shoving aside the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3. How ironic, that in hour 11, they'd claw their way back to the GT Daytona lead, passing who else, but the #96 BMW they'd run into earlier in the going. Cetilar Racing, with the all-Italian trio of Giorgio Sernagiotto, Antonio Fuoco, and Roberto Lacorte, they are in the fight once more. That's not a dainty race car. It has become a New York City taxicab. Fuoco in the car leads by 47 seconds in GT Daytona over Daniel Juncadella, the Spaniard who is a Mercedes factory GT3 driver in the #32 Gilbert Korthoff Mercedes AMG GT3.
They scored a podium at the Rolex 24. Five cars on the lead lap in GT Daytona. Toni Vilander is third in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari and in fourth is the recovering Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3, the #96 car, with Robby Foley now at the wheel of it to the end. We have seen seven Full Course Yellow's today but have not had one since 5:30 P.M. this afternoon. The strategy keeps going out the window in spite of the argy bargy we've had. Last year we did see a Full Course Yellow. But we don't know if there will be one, or if it will go clean and green for the last 25 minutes. Vautier is keeping Bamber honest and Pipo Derani remains third, 14 seconds down from the top two. Mikkel Jensen continues to lead LMP2 and as we explained earlier, he is a lap up on his competition.
PR1/Mathiasen needs a five second splash and dash on petrol. They hope for just one more stop. Tristan Vautier and company are pushing hard. But it is incredibly hot in that Cadillac. Richard Westbrook absolutely knackered after his stint. The tension is palpable at CGR with Alex Lynn and Neel Jani. Earl Bamber is mustering the pace to hold off the JDC-Miller entry. No cooling in the #5 entry. He was totally spent. If you don't have all the cooling vents working in these cars, they will cook you like a roasting chicken.
Blomqvist did not want to give it up on Taylor. The Jarvis Slam will not come through. He will only have the LMP2 victory in the WEC race yesterday. Ambient temperature still warm at 80 degrees. Vautier eats 8/10ths of a second out of Bamber in sector one. Vautier is pressing on, hard. The fans haven't left yet. They've been here all week and have seen a great race today as well as the other races with Michelin Pilot, Porsche Cup, and World Endurance. Vautier has his eye on Bamber. He is closing in. 17-18 minutes to go. Last year when JDC-Miller won, Sebastien Bourdais was the driver to bring it home, not Tristan Vautier.
Vautier four seconds down on Bamber. Derani, 12 seconds down on Bamber. Vautier stymied through Sunset Bend by a Ferrari. CGR engineer Danielle Shepherd is lead engineer on the #02 and she engineered Scott Dixon's IndyCar as well over the years. Both #01 and #02 have been in the wars today. 15 minutes to go. Who will win? Two or three cars still in it. The cars streak through the darkness here amid the orange groves of central Florida. The great race, drawing to a close. The scrap between #02 and #5 continues. Traffic still a factor.
Bamber has extended his lead back to four seconds through traffic. Derani now 10.3 seconds down. He is gaining time but may still settle for third. On a clean track with no lapped traffic, Vautier can catch Bamber, in a perfect world. But, this is far from a perfect world. Ganassi engineer Michael Harvey was also a Porsche factory engineer when Earl Bamber drove for the Stuttgart marque. Tristan Vautier continues to give chase. Christian Fittipaldi has won this race before as a driver. Now he is team manager for JDC-Miller Motorsports. Fittipaldi says the car is better in cooler weather. They are going for it right to the checkers.
With ten minutes left, we still have scrapping for position among the GTD cars in both the Pro and regular classes. The GTD cars will be obstacles in traffic for the leaders. Something with the setup suits the JDC-Miller Mustang Sampling car. Third place is vehemently fought for and is done dso in GTD Pro right now. Jules Gounon for Mercedes vs. Aaron Telitz for Lexus. #97 did not practice and they had engine issues during Thursday Free Practice. They needed a new motor after the engine went bang at Daytona. Gounon is not in it for the title. He will throw caution to the wind against Telitz. Shades of what we saw between the Porsche's in GTD Pro at Daytona with Laurens Vanthoor scrapping with Felipe Nasr.
WeatherTech Racing of course fielding a Porsche and a Mercedes. GT Daytona leader Antonio Fuoco is biding his time because he has a 40 second gap in GT Daytona over seocnd place Daniel Juncadella and he wants no part of this madness for the GTD Pro positional fight. Telitz brakes in deep right on the threshold. You know that Gounon wants this podium place. Gounon is staying right with him. Be smart. Don't do anything rash. Six and a half minutes left. Pretty interesting call for Aaron Telitz to be drafted into the Lexus GTD Pro entry from the regular GTD entry. Regular driver Kyle Kirkwood has IndyCar commitments for their second race tomorrow in Texas at Texas Motor Speedway.
Vautier 3.5 seconds down on Bamber. Now 4.2 seconds down. Derani still third, 10.3 seconds out. Vautier has gobs of traffic to negotiate while Bamber has clear sailing for the most part. Derani is still fastest among the top four, three seconds ahead in lap time. Executing every lap cleanly is hard to do because of the traffic. There are no spy gadgets. No oil slick, no smokescreen, no road tacks. The title battle will be one for the ages. We have the six hour race at Watkins Glen and then the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta to come, but loads of sprint racing with just two drivers. We have many teams who can go for the title this year. Meyer Shank Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing, Action Express, JDC-Miller Motorsports. It is going to be hotly contested.
Bamber just clicking off the laps. The gap is 4.3 seconds. Chip Ganassi Racing won this race in 2014 but they never won GTLM with Ford in all the years that program existed. The onboard camera shots at night are amazing. The moon, peaking through the darkness. It has been mostly clear. We were hearing about rain showers but thankfully, those showers did not come in spite of the extreme heat. The last thing you need is rain on top of everything else here at Sebring and thankfully we dodged a major bullet today and had none of it. White flag this time around. He has to do two more laps to get the checkered. White flag next time by. He does not have enough of a margin. Vautier is 3.7 seconds down. At 12 hours, the time expires.
Bamber locks the brakes. It ain't over 'til it's over. A lap and a half to go. Bamber hung up with Telitz who is slowing down and might by off the GTD Pro podium! Oh my! Mercedes #28 moves over. Vautier is coming hard. He too has to get through the traffic. Earl Bamber, white flag. One lap to go. Bamber has been on the charge in spite of some mistakes. The New Zealander will be a winner here at Sebring. Vautier was very close, the Frenchman. Alex Lynn's undefeated record will remain. He won in 2017 in a Cadillac for Wayne Taylor Racing, in his most recent appearance. He will win again. Earl Bamber will add an overall championship at Sebring. Earl Bamber, Neel Jani, and Alex Lynn get the job done.
GT Daytona honors go to the all-Italian Cetilar Racing team for Antonio Fuoco, Giorgio Sernagiotto, and Roberto Lacorte. PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports score the LMP2 win tonight. Ben Keating, Mikkel Jensen, and Scott Huffaker are the winning drivers. A big win for Ferrari. In LMP2, Malthe Jakobsen for Sean Creech Motorsports wins LMP3 with co-drivers Joao Barbosa and Dr. Lance Willsey, win in class. GT Daytona Pro honors go once again to Corvette Racing and their #3 C8.R. Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor, and Nicky Catsburg win. Mirko Bortolotti second and Jules Gounon third. Corvette win Sebring. Jordan Taylor earns his second Sebring Corvette win after winning with Alex Lynn and his brother Ricky overall in 2017.
The fireworks go off over Sebring International Raceway. What a race.
Overall/DPi: #02 Bamber/Lynn/Jani Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R
LMP2: #52 Jensen/Keating/Huffaker PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca 07
LMP3: #33 Jakobsen/Barbosa/Willsey Sean Creech Motorsports Ligier JS P320 Nissan
GT Daytona Pro: #3 Garcia/Taylor/Catsburg Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R
GT Daytona: #47 Lacorte/Sernagiotto/Fuoco Cetilar Racing Ferrari 488 GT3
So, that's a wrap from Sebring International Raceway and the 70th edition of the great half day race, the once-around-the-clock odyssey. Next up, the sprint race season begins for IMSA on the fabled streets of Long Beach, California, in three weeks time. See you then. So long, for now, everybody. Take care.
12 Hours of Sebring: Hour 11
Quick release pins release the front nose of the car. A modular built car. The Audi R8 was the car that developed like, much like a Lego kit, when that revolutionary car came out in the year 2000, 22 years ago. Alex Lynn pits for tires and fuel at Chip Ganassi Racing with their Cadillac. CGR have been strong with the sister #01 car earning pole but going out of the motor race with transmission trouble. Alex Lynn continues to lead. He won here in a Cadillac in 2017 right when the car first ran at Sebring, and he won with Wayne Taylor Racing five years ago. Pit stop time for the #96 Turner Motorsports Liqui Moly liveried BMW M4 GT3. Routine service it appears.
Also on pit lane, the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura for tires and fuel as well as a driver change. Tbey might have also taped up some bodywork. Difficult to tell in the pitch dark here at Sebring even in the pit lane with the only light coming from portable light stands in the pit lane. There is a breeze tonight, something we have not seen here all day in central Florida. Alex Lynn continues to lead the motor race, and we are in the middle of the longest stretch of green flag racing through sunset and into the hours of darkness. 16 more cars in the race this year than last year, from 37 to 53. Everyone seemed to be dropping like flies earlier on as we see Scott Huffaker leading LMP2 in the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca.
Huffaker and Dylan Murry aboard the #29 Racing Team Nederland car are the only two LMP2 cars on the lead lap. The #48 Ally Cadillac for Action Express has had issues, but we will hear from Jimmie Johnson soon who is preparing for tomorrow's IndyCar race at Texas Motor Speedway. We go onboard briefly with the Corvette and also, I believe with the #02 Cadillac, leading for Chip Ganassi Racing. For a few weeks Jimmie Johnson could have run both Sebring and Texas. But, he could only commit to racing IndyCar. Sad to hear his team with the #48 has had problems, but they were strong earlier on. Jimmie Johnson says he enjoys being in the IndyCar and understands where to find lap time on an oval. It is very different in traffic compared to a NASCAR Cup car.
Sebring is a track Jimmie Johnson wanted to race at for his whole career and he did in 2021. The lap is long and the track flows so differently in all places. The darkness and the high commitment turns really show up. Jose Maria Lopez's crash in World Endurance was wild but he came out of it fine. Jose Maria Lopez is a cyclist so he handled everything fine. Jimmie Johnson says the Texas Motor Speedway is still very narrow and trying to get in line and stay out of the PJ1 compound. Watch IndyCar on NBC or Peacock tomorrow at Texas Motor Speedway. It will be a transition for Jimmie between a stock car and an IndyCar.
Daytona was very cold and extremely hot in Sebring. It will be relatively cool, but windy in Fort Worth tomorrow. We wish Jimmie Johnson well at Texas Motor Speedway tomorrow. He will also race the Indianapolis 500 later in the year. Just over an hour and 40 minutes remains to see who wins this motor race tonight. The campfires burn in the darkness as the fans continue to hang out to watch the final stanza and the climax of this motor race, a classic in the world of sports car racing, or worldwide motorsport in general. Here are your class positions at the top of the shop in each division. In DPi, Alex Lynn in the #02 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac leads Tristan Vautier in the defending champion #5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Mustang Sampling Cadillac. He is followed by Tom Blomqvist in the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura, and Mike Conway in the #31 Whelen Engineering Action Express Racing Cadillac.
In LMP2, Scott Huffakers runs first in the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca followed by identical cars for Josh Pierson for Win Autosport, winner of LMP2 with his teammates in last night's FIA WEC race for United Autosport, ahead of the #29 Racing Team Nederland car of Giedo van der Garde, and the #18 Era Motorsports machine in the hands of Kyle Tilley. Joaoa Barbosa leads LMP3 for Sean Creech Motorsports followed by Riley Dickerson in the #30 JR III. Racing car, Cameron Shields, the young Australian for Performance Tech Motorsports, and Canadian Kuno Wittmer for AWA.
Corvette Racing and the #3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R of Antonio Garcia leads the first of the two BMW Team RLL BMW M4 GT3's with Phillip Eng at the wheel of it. Julien Andlauer is next in the #79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 GT3R and in fourth place, the #63 TR3 Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 in the hands of Mirko Bortolotti. In GT Daytona, the classic and original flavor, it is the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 of Toni Vilander ahead of Bill Auberlen in the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3, Antonio Fuoco in the Cetilar Ferrari 488 GT3 and Daniel Morad in the #28 Alegra Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3.
The #44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 is in limp home mode back to the lane with a flat left front tire. Spencer Pumpelly at the wheel of it. Magnus Racing are only doing the four-race Michelin Endurance Cup season, but it would be interesting and fascinating to see what they could accomplish with the British marque in a full-season campaign. Magnus Racing ahve run Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini, Acura, and Aston Martin. John Potter, the Am driver does a wonderful job. Andy Lally has been with Magnus Racing on and off for a decade and Lally will step into the car. Since 1941, 81 years ago, these concrete runways have never been repaved.
The Magnus Aston did have a shredded left front Michelin tire. Meanwhile we see Joao Barbosa leading the LMP3 class in the #33 Sean Creech Motorsports entry. He will run one more stint and Malthe Jakubsen will take the car to the finish. In GTD Pro we have seen two pit stops in the recent time, with Julien Andlauer bringing in the #79 WeatherTech Porsche 911 GT3R and Antonio Garcia doing likewise in the #3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. The objective seems a little hypocritical. Go flat out, but save fuel. Can you do that at the same time? Some drivers can. Saving fuel could pay dividends for the 24-year-old Frenchman from Lyon. Two more Frenchman chasing each other as Jules Gounon in the sister WeatherTech Racing Mercedes AMG GT3, Jules Gounon vs. Matthieu Jaminet in the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R.
Last year, in the old GT Le Mans class, Matty Campbell and Matthieu Jaminet won with the WeatherTech Porsche team alongside Cooper MacNeil in a Porsche 911 RSR-19. Porsche have 100 Sebring wins across all classes here at Sebring. Nothing has changed at the sharp end, folks. Three Cadillac's and two Acura's. Alex Lynn leading Tristan Vautier, Mike Conway, Tom Blomqvist, and Ricky Taylor. Pit stop time for Pfaff Motorsports and the #9 as the DPi's pass the GTD Pro and GTD traffic. BMW #24 is in the lane as well. Philipp Eng stepping out of the car. Not sure if it will be Marco Wittmann or Nick Yelloly getting in.
BMW are aiming to beat Corvette off pit lane. The BMW undercuts the Corvette and Eng was given a short fill on fuel. They don't need two full fuel loads to get to the end. If you are looking for the #4 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, you would have found it racing yesterday in the FIA World Endurance Championship event numbered 64. Corvette choosing to race one car in IMSA and one in WEC. The cold at Daytona was tough and so is the heat here in Sebring. 90+ degrees ambient during the race today. Bill Auberlen, in his 500th race as a BMW driver, he is looking for his 65th career IMSA win. A living legend. BMW has high expectations with the M4 GT3 after the M8 and the M6 both disappeared.
Scott Huffaker brings the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Oreca to the pit lane for a stop. Fuel, tires, and a driver change. Scott Huffaker has stunned. Mikkel Jensen will take the car to the end. Mikkel Jensen will also be a part of the Peugeot factory Hypercar team. We now know they are going to delay racing their radical new 9X8 hypercar at Le Mans, and so we shall wait and see when the new Peugeot makes it's proper racing debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship. We remember the late, great Vic Elfort, a great Formula 1, sports car, rallying, and ice racing driver. He is best known for racing Porsche's, and he did race in NASCAR a couple times. Vic Elford trained drivers, and won races himself in Porsche's.
We lost Vic Elford this week at age 86. "Quick Vic" Elford. Rest In Peace, mate. We'll miss you. With an hour and 20 minutes to go, it is coming down to crunch time and we should see a couple more pit stops in DPi land while just one could very well be required for the GT machinery. Phillip Eng is the first caller to the pit lane in the #24 BMW Team RLL BMW M4 GT3. Mirko Bortolotti and Lamborghini are promoted to second in GTD Pro. The class leader remains Antonio Garcia in the #3 Corvette. A top up required on fuel and on engine oil. Unfortunately, the BMW team have gone cattywampus on their strategy and they can't make it without a splash and a dash.
In GTD, Bill Auberlen may be falling asleep at night with the image of a blue Ferrari in his rearview mirror seared into his brain, albeit with a different driver at the controls this time 'round, in the form of Antonio Fuoco, another of the all-Italian trio aboard said motorcar. Know your opponent. Auberlen does not know how Antonio Fuoco will drive. He has not done much racing in the states, although he is a Ferrari factory driver. He is right on Auberlen's six, and he says "arriva derci" and just drives around the BMW. Ideally, Auberlen will want to leapfrog the Prancing Horse and see if he can save petrol to get to the end.
Fuoco has fresher tires by four laps, than Auberlen. Fuoco is the "night owl" for Cetilar. He ekes out a gap on Auberlen. What will the strategy be? Auberlen wants a win in his 500th BMW start just like he did in his 400th. Prototypes dice their way through the GT field as Alex Lynn is in the pit lane for the penultimate stop. Earl Bamber will finish the race out. Bamber was a successful GT driver for Porsche for many years, now transitioning to prototypes. Bamber is a two-time overall winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Porsche and a man who has run in World Endurance. The #5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac is in the lane too for the last time, with Tristan Vautier at the controls.
We have a spin in the darkness for an LMP3 car. Cannot see the number. Ah. That is the #13 AWA entry, Kuno Wittmer at the wheel of it. He resumes with no worries. Tom Blomqvist has brought the #60 Acura to the lane and so is the #10. Kuno Wittmer's brother won in class in Michelin Pilot Challenge on Thursday. Interesting. Wittmer was assisted into a spin by the race leader. Weird. Maybe he did not know the leader was there. Drive through penalty for the #02 Ganassi Racing Cadillac. Well, well, well.
As a racer, you live by the sword and die by the sword. Bamber will have to push to get back into the game. Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway from Action Express are about to be interviewed by NBC Sports' Parker Kligerman, himself a racing driver. Kobayashi saw the #02's mishap and knew that would be a penalty right then and there. That is the intuition racing drivers have. The order has reshuffled as Tristan Nunez as well as Tom Blomqvist have been promoted to third and fourth place. Bamber was on cold tires as well. He mght drop just one spot. The #5 car, which won here last year, now has a chance to go for two in a row and Richard Westbrook will be the closer for JDC-Miller Motorsports.
Westbrook is leading the motor race. Slow cars given the blue flag being told to move aside for the leaders;. An hour and ten minutes to go. Mikkel Jensen leads LMP2 still. Joao Barbosa for Sean Creech Motorsports still leading LMP3 ahead of the likes of Garrett Grist, and Rasmus Lindh. GTD Pro has Corvette Racing ahead with the #3 car of Antonio Garcia. #5 have overcome adversity like they did last year and Tristan Vautier spun and wrecked in qualifying. They had to race from the time they set before the crash and the car was fine in the morning warmup. Vautier pitted early and the car was rebuilt, fidnding their sweet spot as Westbrook scythes his way through the traffic past Jack Hawksworth in the third place GTD Pro Lexus, car #14.
The Lexus team did not have to change brakes. They were very concerned they'd have to. They are running one of the heaviest cars in GTD Pro which means... more mass and more weight, needs more stopping power. Could the race come back to them if we get a late race yellow? IMSA works balancing performance between these exotic cars, but braking, you have to find a balance between performance and durability. You want to go the full 12 hours without a brake change. Sebring won the sprint event here in 2020 when the schedule was rejigged and restarted after the pandemic. Earl Bamber is 2.5 seconds in-arrears of Richard estbrook as the clock ticks down to the all crucial final hour.
Bamber and Westbrook battled before in GT cars. Bamber driving for the factory Porsche team and Westbrook driving for the Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT team at the time, ironically. Those were some legendary duels you would have seen, following IMSA and ACO rules racing, between 2016 and 2019. Ganassi won with a prototype here in 2014 but never with the GTLM. That was a Ford V6 powered prototype (the same motor that would be used for the GT), where it was shared by Marino Franchitti, Scott Pruett, and Memo Rojas. Those V8 Cadillac's sound so good! They are predominant runners in the field in IMSA this year under three different teams. Ganassi Racing, JDC-Miller Motorsports, and Action Express.
One of these Cadillac's has more speed than the other. Westbrook running right ahead of Bamber, with Tristan Nunez in the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac, within striking distance of going for a step on the podium. Third place is the final podium step. It is go time. Acura run fourth and fifth. Since DPi began in 2017, Acura have never won in this era of sports car competition at Sebring. It seems that Sebring is best suited to the Cadillac teams. We have seen Wayne Taylor Racing (back when they were a Cadillac team), Action Express, and JDC-Miller, score the wins here, for Cadillac. Will Ganassi, JDC-Miller, or Action Express, get another feather in the hat for Cadillac? Will the Acura's of Meyer Shank Racing or Wayne Taylor Racing have anything for the GM brand?
Could Cadillac go for a podium sweep? The Cadillac is one of the best-handling and most compliant cars over these old concrete runways at Sebring since it was introduced in 2017. The Acura with it's turbo V6 motor can lay down flying laps all day long but has ride height sensitivity over the bumps, porpoising a lot, whereas, the Cadillac stays compliant and true over every bump and ripple in this concrete. The next race we have, the first sprint event of the season at Long Beach, California, on that famous street course, is right in Cadillac's wheelhouse too. Action Express have been the team to truly dominate at Long Beach over the past few visits, going for and achieving a hat trick of wins there in 2018, 2019, and 2021. Will they make it four this year? You will have to tune in and find out, and you will hear more about long beach before we end the race report, tonight.
A normally aspirated car vs. a turbo should always have an advantage on these rough old surfaces we see primarily at Sebring but at Long Beach as well. High speed, flowing tracks like Laguna Seca, Road America, and Mosport (now called Canadian Tire Motorsport Park), that is Acura territory, although not quite. Cadillac have won at Road America too, and did so, with Action Express, last summer if you recall. Bamber within 6/10ths of a second of Westbrook right up the road with Nunez, Blomqvist, and Taylor, anywhere from 18-37 seconds out of range. So, this is a two horse race to the end or so it seems.
Tricky entry into The Tower Turn, corner 13. Very bumpy. You always fight the race car at Sebring no matter how compliant your suspension system is and there is traffic all over the sop. Just when Earl believes he has Richard cornered, there could be traffic to make a pig's breakfast out of those plans. 53 cars started this race, divided up among the five classes we have here in IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship competition. Final hour at Sebring, coming up. Don't go anywhere. You won't want to miss it.
12 Hours of Sebring: Hour 10
We have just seen a battle of the sports car superstars. Kobayashi vs. Bamber. Now, Mike Rockenfeller will be scrapping with the #02. The car is kicking brake dust out on the #48. Are they using the brakes more? The #74 Riley Motorsports LMP3 is back on course but it is now down the order. Malthe Jakobsen, Dakota Dickerson, and Rasmus Lindh, the top three in LMP3. Bill Auberlen and Turner Motorsport lead GTD over Maximilian Gotz in the #28 Alegra Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3 as Antonio Fuoco runs third aboard the #47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari. Maximilian Gotz has the Risi Competizione Ferrari trying to get a lap back, the #62 entry. Mike Rockenfeller has taken over the #48 Ally Cadillac from Kamui Kobayashi. Mike Conway along with Jose Maria Lopez, and Kamui Kobayashi could not get into the Cadillac until finishing the race with Toyota in World Endurance yesterday and Kamui Kobayashi made that decision himself.
Kobayashi says he enjoyed his stint. However, he had no drink bottle. He needs to rehydrate. They gambled and stopped for new sticker tires. There is a contract that says the Toyota drivers could not go and race for someone else until after the WEC races are over. So, he had to obey Toyota and their people. The #54 CORE Autosport LMP3 car had a bad switchboard, killing the electronics and stalling the car. Bill Auberlen leads GTD. We need to check the rest of the GTD and GTD Pro order. Game over for Riley Motorsports with a holed radiator and the water pushed all the way out of it. Bad luck for Kay van Berlo, Gar Robinson, and Felipe Fraga. The Stoffel Vandoorne pits the Meyer Shank Acura #60. We are getting closer and closer to sunset. #33 Sean Creech Motorsports car leads in class. Mikkel Jensen leads Giedo van der Garde in LMP2 as van der Garde is now in the pit lane for service.
We have also watched the #44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin of John Potter, Andy Lally and Spencer Pumpelly, a team that has been switched manufacturers over the years. 260 laps now completed. 972 miles. Earl Bamber leads the race for Ganassi Racing in the #02 car with Loic Duval second, 27.1 seconds behind in the #5 JDC-Miller Mustang Sampling Cadillac. Stoffel Vandoorne driving the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura. Pipo Derani is inching towards catching Vandoorne in fourth place. Mike Rockenfeller is fifth in the #48, eleven seconds ahead of Filipe Albuquerque in the #10 Konica Minolta Wayne Taylor Racing Acura. Bamber, 30 seconds to the good at the front. Mikkel Jensen leads LMP2 as the barbecue scent is wafting over the track. We'll have official sunset in ten minutes. Kamui Kobayashi does not run a helmet blower and he doesn't use a drink straw. He uses a squirt bottle and had to go to the infield care center for an IV drip.
Earl Bamber leads the motor race ahead of Lopic Duval, Stoffel Vandoorne, and Pipo Derani. Malthe Jakobsen leads LMP3. Jordan Taylor leads in the #3 Corvette C8.R and in GTD the leader remains the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3. Earl Bamber turns a 1:47.285, his best lap of the race so far. Pit stop time for the #52 PR1/Mathiasen LMP2 leader. Jensen is out so it is Scott Huffaker taking over. Steven Thomas has finished his stint in the #11 Win Autosport LMP2 car. He did double duty with WEC yesterday as well as IMSA. Ryan Dalziel has also pitted in the #18 Era Motorsports entry, an LMP2 car. Earl Bamber pits from the lead and Loic Duval will pit soon from second place. 263 laps now done. Traffic has not thinned out by any means. Within the distance of a regular season sprint race... 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Pit stop time for the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW, Robby Foley taking over. The #28 Alegra Motorsports Mercedes pitted as well and so Antonio Fuoco inherits the race lead in GT Daytona. Fuel, tires, and Joao Barbosa in the Sean Creech LMP3 car. Pipo Derani pits the #31 Whelen Action Express Cadillac as we see Earl Bamber pitting the #02 Ganasi Racing Cadillac. Bamber out of the car and he must be knackered. Not sure if Alex Lynn or Neel Jani stepped in. The #33 Sean Creech Motorsports car is leading LMP3. The GTD Pro class is being led by the Corvette #3 and the #02 pits from the lead.
Earl Bamber will relinquish the driving seat to one of the co-drivers. Loic Duval moves to the front of the motor race. I would think it was Alex Lynn. Yes. Alex Lynn it is. Loic Duval is now in the lead in the #5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac, and he will need to pit next time 'round. Stoffel Vandoorne next in the queue. Duval hits the pit lane, and the #48 Ally Cadillac will be in the lead of the motor race, Mike Rockenfeller. Routine service for the #5. Meyer Shank in the pit lane as well. They are a way behind the leaders.
Good pit stop for the MSR boys. We are looking at oh, four more stops in backtiming this race to the end. Sunset and darkness are on the way here. You can see that as we go onboard with the #79 WeatherTech Porsche 911 GT3R, slithering all over the road, the shadows are growing in the evening twilight here at Sebring. When this place gets dark, it will get really dark. Just wait a few more minutes. It will be pitch black everywhere. Pipo Derani is cahsing down Stoffel Vandoorne at a great rate of knots. Dusk at the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring with two and a half hours to go. Vandoorne and Derani were fighting for position and Derani spins off in turn sixteen.
Maybe Derani turned in early and this will be a drive through penalty for the #31. Damage to the #60 Meyer Shank entry. Last year, Pipo Derani did get involved with a few incidents early in the season in 2021 and of course Action Express came back from that and won the title. Stoffel Vandoorne does not have any damage to the car. Pipo Derani will serve a drive through penalty and maybe be able to stay on the lead lap, just barely. #60 dodged a bullet. The damage to the #60 was not sufficient. Race Control may not penalize anyone here. We'll have to find out. This could become a slugfest between the #60 MSR Acura and the #31 AXR Cadillac.
Vandoorne maybe did not have any idea that Pipo Derani was there. No penalties from Race Control? Ah. There is a warning to the #31 and to the #60. Michael Shank is watching the race from Dallas/Forth Worth, Texas, for the IndyCar race at Texas Motor Speedway tomorrow. Alex Lynn continues to lead, looking for his second win in the 12 Hours of Sebring having won in his only previous race here, in 2017, with Wayne Taylor Racing, coincidentally, also aboard a DPi Cadillac. Mike Rockenfeller runs second aboard the #48 Ally Action Express/Hendrick Motorsports Cadillac. But if Vandoorne gets back to Derani, there could be trouble brewing. Let's hope cooler heads prevail here. Lynn, Rockenfeller, Duval, Vandoorne, Derani, the top five.
Alex Lynn aboard the #02 Ganassi Racing Cadillac is now caught in lapped GTD Pro/GTD traffic. Mike Rockenfeller remains in second spot as mentioned. We have been green for over two hours. A number of teams need a reset and need another Full Course Yellow to be truthful. The strategists are back timing the race. Mike Rockenfeller is in the pit lane for service and he had a drink bottle problem earlier. The fuel is in the car and four new Michelin tires on the car. Darkness falls. Kamui Kobayashi was toast after his stint needing an intravenous at the medical center. Any of the three can get this #48 car to victory lane.
The Action Express/Hendrick Motorsports team looked at and discussed the brake issues on the car, with loads of brake dust going out of the wheels. In the old days, brake changes were far more commonplace in these enduro races than they are now. The carbon brakes, when they thin out, they get overheated and turn cherry red in the darkness. It depends on what kind of brake pads teams want to use. The lights are on in Sebring. GT Daytona cars still use amber headlight gels on the cars. Everyone else uses white headlights and LED running lights to show where the cars are on the road for the spotters and for the fans to be able to see in darkness.
Robby Foley leads GTD feeling the heat from the #47 Cetilar Ferrari. Robby Foley vs. Giorgio Sernagiotto. The Italian, in hot pursuit of the American. Next up is the #62 GTD Pro Risi Competizione Ferrari, laps down. Years ago, Joey Hand for BMW was battling the Risi Competizione Ferrari. He thought he had to do a banzai move on a Ferrari but it was not the same one. The #29 Racing Team Nederland LMP2 entry slices past the Ferrari. Super Sebring weekend is coming to a close but it remains extremely hot. We are not done here yet by a long shot.
The sun has set and we are racing into the darkness. Racing here at night means it is very difficult to hit your marks as it will be pitch black. Find your night owl. Who is feeling it? Who has the eyes to drive in the darkness? Give me the ball. Let me win the game. Alex Lynn continues to lead DPi and overall. Vasser Sullivan's two Lexus RC F GT3's, and James "Sully" Sullivan explains their mission control center in the pit lane to bring the two cars, the #12 and #14 together for info sharing and data analysis. They have telemetry, and telvision cameras to see where their cars are on the road. Jack Hawksworth could finish out the race in the #14.
In the #96 Turner Motorsports camp, they have been fighting Ferrari #47 all day. Bill Auberlen says the #96 BMW M4 GT3 going for it, in his 500th race as a BMW driver. Wow! That's remarkable! Bill Auberlen trained and lost 20 pounds. In his 400th start at the 2017 Petit Le Mans for BMW, he won. Into the pit lane the #48 Ally Cadillac. AN unscheduled pit stop. They were looking at the brakes and they have to do a brake change under green. Crew Chief Chad Knaus says there is zero brake temperature or a rotor. The left front rotor has melted away!
Oh my gosh! The rotor is shot. This puts the #48 Action Express Cadillac with Hendrick Motorsports out of contention. Maybe they were a tad aggressive on brakes. Who knows. There's brake dust everywhere. The disc, caliper, and pads have melted themselves together on the right front. Alex Lynn continues on in the lead with just over two hours to go. A driver change in the #48 as the pit crew is still feverishly working on the brake change. Multiple cars in several classes are on the lead lap with just wo hours to go. DPi cars are running 40 minute stints under green. GTD cars run almost an hour on fuel. GTD cars are closing in on their penultimate pit stops.
Pipo Derani hits the pit lane from third place. They will change the nose of the car as the dive planes and the splitter are damaged, or they are looking for additional downforce in the cool of the night. The new nose is different. The dive planes are different and have edges on them. So, they've changed the balance and they looked at the right front brake rotor. Rear grip and front downforce have to be balanced. There has to be an equilibrium, so the car does not become undrivable. In that time, there was also a driver change as Pipo Derani hops out and Mike Conway takes over. Conway will do a triple stint to the finish of the motor race.
12 Hours of Sebring: Hour 9
Tristan Nunez knows he has to get out of the car. He cannot do another stint. So either Pipo Derani or Mike Conway will get back in. Points earned for the North American Endurance Cup. Will Stevens, Kyle Tilley, Malthe Jakobsen, Nicky Catsburg, and Jordan Pepper. So, that is Wayne Taylor Racing Acura, Era Motorsports, Sean Creech Motorsports, Corvette Racing, and Inception Racing. The #10 Wayne Tyalor Racing Acura is in the lane from the lead of the motor race. Will Stevens stays in the car. Tires and fuel for the car. He is down and away. Richard Westbrook leads over Tristan Nunez now along with Kamui Kobayashi and Earl Bamber. Four Cadillac's now leading as darkness looms. Pit stop time now for Richard Westbrook and JDC-Miller Motorsports. Tires, fuel, and he is back in the race. Kamui Kobayashi in the #48 Ally Cadillac is promoted to second spot for Action Express/Hendrick Motorsports.
Mike Conway is now at the wheel of the sister Action Express Cadillac, the #31 Whelen car. Kamui Kobayashi is in the lead and now, we see that Will Stevens did not read his tires through the RFID reader and drove through the penalty box instead. Only his second WeatherTech Championship start. That's a weird one. Josh Pierson, WEC winner in LMP2 last night. He is happy to be here and to learn from his teammates like Jonathan Bomarito or Oliver Jarvis. Pierson ran at the Rolex 24 too. We also saw him in Asian Le Mans Series competition. The #93 Racer's Edge/Wayne Taylor Racing Acura NSX GT3 has spun in turn three. Wayne Taylor says that the Cadillac's have indeed been quicker than the Acura has. He says Stevens is doing a good job in spite of his mistake.
Ashtyn Harrison, she was tagged by the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R which is many, many laps down after their litany of issues. Jan Heylen, the experienced Belgian, just made an odd mistake. The BMW dives past the #40 FastMD Racing LMP3 car and the #33 Sean Creech Motorsports car. So, in GTD Pro, Marco Wittman and Marco Mapelli are chasing the #3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R of Jordan Taylor I believe. Bill Auberlen leads GTD in the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3. The most recent leader was the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE. Not sure if it is Simon Mann, Luis Perez Companc, or Toni Vilander.
Jaden Conwright says the #42 NTE Sport Lamborghini was damaged after that incident we saw, and the clutch went out. Game over, and the clutch just slid over the bumps, bounced and tweaked the drive train. Conwright was sharing with Matteo Llarena and Don Yount. Earl Bamber has assumed the lead and is now pitting the #02 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac. Neel Jani clocked in the best lap of the race for that automobile a short time ago. #48, the Ally Cadillac pitted and relinquished the lead to the #02. The #74 Riley Motorsports LMP3 car of Kay van Berlo goes back behind the wall. They pitted six laps or so ago and it could be game over. He lost the lead and was third in class. Major trouble for the 74 Hunting Ranch sponsored entry.
Side by side contact with the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R. There's water spewing out of the radiator on the car. Matthieu Jaminet got sideswiped and the marshals will have to have a Captain Cook at that one. Loic Duval, Oliver Jarvis, and Mike Conway has handed over to Pipo Derani in the #31 Whelen Cadillac. Giedo van der Garde is chasing a podium in LMP2 for Racing Team Nederland at 1:48.311. Wow. New lap record for LMP2 here at Sebring. Temperatures beginning to drop. Manage the traffic. Manage your tires. Many cars have incurred penalties to this point in the race. Now then, Loic Duval is now in the #5 JDC-Miller Cadillac which has relinquished the lead to the #48 Ally Action Express/Hendrick Motorsports Cadillac.
Kamui Kobayashi is really turning some great laps. But now, Kobayashi's gap has shrunken from ten seconds to less than four. Kobayashi leads over Earl Bamber. Both Heart of Racing Aston Martin's had trouble but they are back running again. Ian James aboard the #27 and Maxime Martin in the #23. We have had just four retirements with the #6 Muehlner LMP3, DragonSpeed #81 in LMP2, and the Andretti Autosport #36 LMP3 car. We also did hear from the NTE team. Earl Bamber is pushing, trying to catch Kamui Kobayashi. Wayne Taylor says his team needs a yellow flag to make up track position. They are cooperating with HPD, Oreca and others for their new LMDh car just the same as Dallara is doing with both BMW and Cadillac, Multimatic with Porsche, and possible others.
Kamui Kobayashi has been hunted down by Earl Bamber. Kobayashi will be on his toes here. He is holding the lead over Bamber by the skin of his teeth. Three hours and seven minutes to go. So, we will be to the beginning of another racing hour coming soon. Kamui Kobayashi is going to have to pit soon. Bamber sees an opportunity in traffic between a Lexus and an LMP2 car. Bamber is right on Kobayashi's six! Oh boy. To the hairpin they go, and both cars lock the brakes! It's really bumpy into turn ten! Brake dust, or some residue from the #48 car? Oh boy. We'll have to take a look at that. No cars between these two. Coming up is the #93 Racer's Edge/Wayne Taylor Racing Acura NSX GT3. Where does the leader go? Does Earl Bamber follow through? No.
The #59 Crucial Motorsports McLaren has gone off the road. Kobayashi has to pit to see what is going on as Bamber is pressing him hard. Bamber will inherit the lead in the #02 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac, sun in their eyes. Jordan Taylor leads GTD Pro in the #3 Corvette. Kobayashi in the pit lane and Bamber assumes the lead. Car #20, the High Class Racing entry goes off the road at turn one. Driver change for the #48. Not sure if it was Mike Rockenfeller or Jose Maria Lopez got in the #48. Tires and fuel and down and away for the AXR sister car. Mike Rockenfeller in #48.
12 Hours of Sebring: Hour 8
Antonio Fuoco with a damaged #47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari, with damage, has just uncorked the fastest lap in GTD. Wow. He is running a red left side driver's door on that car after the team had to make repairs. Oh boy. Commentators' curse as the #96 spins off at turn three but fortunately continues. Bill Auberlen is back on his merry way. He is in front of the Gradient Motorsports #66 Acura and the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche. Auberlen was tagged by the #47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari. That car hit everything at Daytona, but the Florida Lottery and Antonio Fuoco will be penalized for playing dodge 'em cars as the #54 CORE Autosport LMP3 car of Jon Bennett, he is stopped dead stick at pit out. DPi pit stops. The #5 JDC-Miller Cadillac is in the lane. #48 has pitted for Action Express and AXR is setting up for a pit stop as well. It appears the two Acura's for Wayne Taylor Racing and Meyer Shank Racing will go longer, lifting and coasting, saving petrol.
Jon Bennett has no fuel pressure in the #54 CORE Autosport entry, the defending LMP3 champion at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Pit stop time as well for Ricky Taylor aboard the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Konica Minolta Acura. We have indeed gone Full Course Yellow. Will Stevens will be at the wheel of #10. For the #60 car, we may see a new driver aboard as well. Have to check on that situation. It was announced IMSA and NASCAR will join Hendrick Motorsports to race a Garage 56 entry at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a next generation NASCAR race car. In 1976, two NASCAR stock cars came to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and raced. Rick Hendrick, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet, and Goodyear will cooperate putting together a road racing stock car to race endurance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That will be an interesting prospect.
Garage 56 is reserved for new concepts to experiment, but not necessarily to compete for a win. We wonder how the cars will handle and endure in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. What will the straightaway speeds be? The durability is a major question. The brakes will also have to be beefed up in a major way. We've crossed the threshold to cooling temperatures and they are five to eight degrees cooler. Sebring is going to change bigtime. No fewer than 21 different Michelin tire compounds run this weekend between the three championships for FIA WEC, IMPC, and WeatherTech. The #57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 had the battery die. Philip Ellis brought the car in but the power steering the antilock brakes both failed. Alegra Motorsports had battery and alternator issues at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Speaking of Alegra Motorsports, Daniel Morad, Maximilian Goetz, and Michael de Quesada have inherited the lead in GT Daytona. 15,000 tires for Michelin between five championships here, and 4,500 wet weather treaded tires! So, that's 19,500 tires! Almost 20,000 tires! Holy mackerel. Technicians, mounting machines... egad! Bibendum, Monsieur Michelin, has a smile on his face. That is for dead sure. Car counts are up in many series. 53 in WeatherTech, 45 Michelin Pilot cars, 33 Porsche Cup cars, and 22 Michelin shod WEC cars. We are set for another restart and Will Stevens will bring the #10 Acura to the restart.
We have one more lap behind the safety car before the restart. We should be coming to the end of this Full Course Yellow as the sun is beginning to set. We will soon see darkness here at Sebring. We still have many cars in all classes on the lead lap. The sun is indeed about to set. Green flag once again. Will Stevens is being harried by Oliver Jarvis. Neel Jani, Richard Westbrook, and Tristan Nunez. It is go time and we have four and a half hours to go. The drivers know they must push harder and harder with time being of the essence. Neel Jani wants by Oliver Jarvis. Jani gets loose and nearly makes a move on Jarvis. Discretion the better part of valor. Jani was called up by Chip Ganassi after Kevin Magnussen was rehired by the Haas Formula 1 team where he will race in Bahrain tomorrow.
Three cars on the lead lap in LMP3. Kay van Berlo, Malthe Jakobsen, and Garrett Grist. Matt Campbell is up to the lead in GTD Pro in the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche ahead of Nicky Catsburg in the #3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. Porsche haven't shown their pace yet this weekend. But they might be laying their cards upon the table here. Catsburg squares off the exit at turn 16. The #70 GTD class leading McLaren of Jordan Pepper is coming and Catsburg wants past Campbell and he wants the pass, now. He does not have the track position and Matty Campbell stays in front, look.
GTD Pro and GTD are the exact same cars and here comes Yelloly on Catsburg and can't make the move into the carousel. Yelloly is going to try again throughn the esses. This is splendid racing! Nick Yelloly and Nicky Catsburg continue scrapping. Aaron Telitz is coming into the picture aboard the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 as well. They were off strategy but the Full Course Yellow's have helped them. Here comes Catsburg and there's an LMP3 in the way!. Campbell taps Catsburg! He is clear and to the lead. Blimey! That was a bugaboo. Fifth in line the #70 Inception Racing McLaren with Jordan Pepper at the wheel of it, the South African. Pepper sharing with Brendon Iribe and Ollie Milroy.
Corvette, Porsche, BMW, it is a seesaw battle! They're door to door. Some hip and shoulder there! Close but clean racing. Let's hope. It appears Corvette are beginning to eke out an advantage over the Porsche. Jordan Pepper through an opaque, bubbling windscreen, is chasing down the #14 Lexus in the hands of Aaron Telitz. Meantime, Will Stevens leads the motor race by a considerable margin. We see the #7 Forty7 Motorsports entry of Anthony Mantella coming to the pit lane after Mantella loses it and spins out in the kink! Yikes! He bounces over the curbs and slams the undertray! Mantella, the Canadian, sharing with Matt Bell and Mark Kvamme.
The #44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin is starting to come to the fore after trouble, coming off the air jacks, breaking the driver assistant's foot. Spencer Pumpelly, the third driver, was called in, and he has a bruised foot after the car fell on him! Eek! Sean Heckman from the Dinner with Racer's podcast is calling the strategy. Scott Heckert from NASCAR, he is working with JR III. in LMP3 on the #30 team. That is the Ari Balogh, Garrett Grist, Dakota Dickerson car. Tristan Nunez in the #31 Whelen Cadillac is coming closer to Will Stevens, running second, three seconds behind. Richard Westbrook, Oliver Jarvis, and Neel Jani are coming fast as well.
Tristan Nunez and Richard Westbrook both topped off and have been told to run Harry Flatters to try and catch the #10. Harry Flatters = flat out. Kamui Kobayashi in the #48 Cadillac is fifth also for Action Express. The LMP3 scrum remains hot and heavy. Sebring is the oldest permanent road racing circuit in the United States. The first 12-hour race was in March 1952. This place is 81 years old, built in 1941. We have an hour and a half before dusk hits and then darkness. Sean Creech Motorsports and Malthe Jakobsen has passed the #74 Riley Motorsports car of Kay van Berlo. van Berlo, the 21-year-old Dutchman.
Stevens leads Nunez by 2.8 seconds. Westbrook and Jarvis next in the serial for the overall. Into turn one, you turn into the corner blind when you reach the end of the wall. Commitment to the corner at high speed. It tightens up the track falls away even though the surface is flat as a pancake around here. Be so careful you don't break a steering rack. The frontstretch is so wide and turn one narrows immensely. Nunez is reeling in Stevens, little by little. ECU and steering wheel woes for the #25 BMW Team RLL BMW M4 GT3. The #24 is making their last planned entry in the WeatherTech Championship as they focus on their LMDh/GTP program for next year. They will enter, likely, alongside Porsche, Acura, and Cadillac. We have heard that Audi might not make it to LMDh. It seems very unlikely the Le Mans Hypercar teams like Toyota and Glickenhaus will even try to get into IMSA. Different philosophies clashing with each other.
Yikes! From second spot, Tristan Nunez went off the road and now has to recover in his pursuit to catch Will Stevens. Hopefully he doesn't have square tires after that little miscue. Richard Westbrook aboard the #5 Mustang Sampling JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac is chasing Will Stevens for the lead. Nunez in fourth. Jarvis ahead in third place. Bamber and Kobayashi round out the DPi field. Four hours to go. As darkness falls, mechanical grip returns to the car. Tristan Nunez is now back on his way and beginning to move up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)