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.
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