Winward Racing and the #57 Mercedes AMG GT3 had to check their ride height in scrutineering with the IMSA marshals. They are having some issues on that car or so it seems. Russell Ward, Phil Ellis, and Marvin Dienst are the drivers. How will the warm temperatures relate to Daytona back in January? It was frigid at Daytona. It takes adjustment to the heat here at Sebring. The temperatures are a big deal as far as how they fluctuate. Mirko Bortolotti just finished his first stint. He says the battle with the Ferrari with Daniel Serra was a good one. Traffic can help either driver or hinder either driver. He knows what to expect and had fun out on track. The car is running well. There's a long, long way to go yet. Antonio Garcia leads Marco Mapelli in GT Daytona Pro by 1.4 seconds.
Daniel Serra says that the battle with the Lamborghini was a good fight. Serra says he was pushing as hard as possible even with the heat. He is hoping for cooler conditions at night. The car is really hot. The airconditioning helps a bit but not enough. The Ferrari boys know they cannot underestimate the Corvette team. Antonio Garcia has been able to stay ahead of Mapelli and Rigon as well with Augusto Farfus next in the serial in the BMW M4 GT3, the #25 entry. Pipo Derani has gone back past Ricky Taylor for the lead of the motor race. Yikes! Ricky Taylor got balked by the #42 NTE/SSR Lamborghini Huracan GT3. Jaden Conwright, Don Yount, and Matteo Llarena sharing that car, the two American drivers, and the Colombian. It is going to be hot today, with double the temperatures we saw in Daytona Beach at the Rolex 24 in January.
The cockpits get really hot and there is heat soak through the firewall with the front engine GT cars. Ricky Taylor runs 2.3 seconds behind Pipo Derani. Sebring goes away badly in the heat and there is no grip. The rubber melts into grease immediately during the four hours between noon and 4PM. Dylan Murry is ready to go in the #29 Racing Team Nederland Oreca, the Jumbo Supermarkets car he shares with Frits van Eerd and Giedo van der Garde. Pit stop time for the #10 Konica Minolta Acura. Ricky Taylor stays in the car, pitting six laps earlier than the other leaders. Pipo Derani and Mike Rockenfeller run 1-2 for Action Express and it is a 7.8 second gap between the two of them. #31 ahead of #48. In GTD Pro Antonio Garcia has a 1.1 second lead on Marco Mapelli. Corvette vs. Lamborghini.
The aforementioned #29 is in the lane for service changing over from Frits van Eerd to Dylan Murry. Murry has run Michelin Pilot Challenge and LMP3 and he is now an LMP2 driver. Will he eventually move to LMDh? We'll see. LMDh coming next year. Dylan Murry's father David Murry was also a successful sports car driver. Dylan Murry has also run the road course events for the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Murry started meditating, walking barefoot, and eating sardines according to a nutritionist's suggestion. Sardines? Oy. But he is fit, he is focused. Antonio Garcia is doing a double stint and the other drivers in GTD Pro are fresh.
Corvette Racing have kept eyes on the cockpit temperatures and with the new-ish mid-engine Corvette C8.R mid-engine car. Paul Miller Racing missed the Rolex 24 because they did not get their new BMW M4 GT3 until now. Now, here at Sebring, they have it. Miller is a BMW dealer and they had a lot of success with Lamborghini. The BMW M4 GT3 was committed to be racing in other sports car racimg championships worldwide. Erik Johansson, the young Swedish driver, is right on BMW's list. Corey Lewis, a Lamborghini factory driver, could not move on along wit the team. The BMW is very compliant over the bumps here at Sebring. It is early doors for the BMW which understeers over the bumps.
Michael Dinan in another BMW for Turner Motorsports. Dinan has won SRO championships and races. The #48 Ally Cadillac is in the lane and Jose Maria Lopez will get into the car. We should see the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura come into the lane as well as Pipo Derani leads Tom Blomqvist by 16 seconds. Jimmie Johnson racing IndyCar at Texas Motor Speedway could not race with AXR in the #48 this weekend so Jose Maria Lopez was drafted in again. He ran the World Endurance race yesterday and he had a massive accident leading for Toyota and spears into the tires at Bishop Bend. It was an awful accident and Thank God he is OK!
He was cleared by doctors to race today. The #60 Meyer Shank Acura is in the lane for a scheduled stop and Oliver Jarvis is now in the car as Tom Blomqvist jumps out. Oliver Jarvis raced in World Endurance yesterday winning in class. 21 drivers doing the double here at Sebring between WEC and IMSA. Oliver Jarvis won LMP2 in WEC yesterday with United Autosport. #31 back to pit lane for Action Express. Pipo Derani will swap over and get to 21 laps on the fuel number. Tristan Nunez is next into the car.
#31 has a lead of 25 seconds and now, Sebastian Montoya is into the #81 DragonSpeed Oreca in LMP2. He is sharing with his dad, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Henrik Hedman, the Swedish driver. Henrik Hedman has seen the speed, talent, and good attitude of Sebastian Montoya. Elton Julian, team owner, is guiding Sebastian Montoya through this opening stint. He has to be nervous and he saves the car on cold tires through Sunset Bend! Wow. Do not overcommit in that corner. Sebastian Montoya runs wide in the esses. No ABS in a prototype or an open wheeled car. This stint is longer than any of the short, sharp single seater events he has done. Wow. Julien Andlauer is chasing Felipe Nasr in the GTD Pro class. Felipe Nasr raced a prototype in World Endurance yesterday, to a GTD Pro car today.
The opposite happens to Ben Keating, going from a GT Aston Martin yesterday to an LMP2 prototype today. Mike Rockenfeller has to be tired after his stint in the #48 Ally Cadillac for Action Express and Hendrick Motorsports. Pipo Derani is also here. It is hot, pace yourself. This race is long. AXR have been saving petrol. It is going to be a long day in this heat. The car feels great and Pipo Derani is enjoying his final drive in a DPi car at Sebring before we see GTP/LMDh next year. Hydrate yourself. Use ice. Cool down. More woes for the #01 Chip Ganassi Cadillac and Ryan Hunter-Reay is here driving for them with no regular IndyCar ride for the former Indianapolis 500 champion.
Hunter-Reay is still dealing with the transmission issue this #01 car has had. Ganassi Racing are digging a hole in the championship battle right now. Tristan Vautier chasing Oliver Jarvis. #5 JDC-Miller Mustang Sampling Cadillac, defending champions here at Sebring last year, chasing the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura. Trouble for the #39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 in the Fangio chicane. But he has the car running again. Megennis sharing with Corey Lewis and Jeff Westphal. Richard Westbrook is Tristan Vautier's team mate in the #5 JDC-Miller Cadillac. Loic Duval is the third driver.
So, Vautier passes by Oliver Jarvis. The FIA WEC race was shortened due to lightning and heavy rain. Jarvis is looking for the tiger slam to win four straight IMSA endurance events between last summer and now. Tiger Woods was the first golfer to win all four majors in golf and that is why this deal for the endurance sports car racing pantheon is called The Tiger Slam. Tristan Nunez is 5.9 seconds ahead of Ricky Taylor with Jose Maria Lopez a further second behind. Augusto Farfus passes Davide Rigon in GTD Pro for third in class. BMW Team RLL did not test here at Sebring but they are on the money currently as they prep for a pit stop and a driver change. John Edwards will take over the car soon.
BMW Team RLL will be the team spearheading the BMW LMDh effort as well. They have moved from Columbus, Ohio, to Zionsville, Indiana. They are also increasing their IndyCar effort. BMW's drivers are showing how they can prove they should be on the BMW LMDh roster. Sebring will beat up even the best drivers, covered in welts and bruises. This place beats the heck out of drivers and cars alike. Almost a mile of the three and 3/4 mile track is paved in old concrete. Checking in on LMP3. Dan Goldburg leading Alec Udell who is challenging. Efrin Castro had a family emergency and Udell is in the car.
For the #38 Performance Tech car, Dan Goldburg is sharing with Swede Rasmus Lindh and Aussie Cameron Shields. So, the battle is between Udell and Goldburg. Udell is the shark while Goldburg is the minnow. The #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac has gone behind the wall. Richard Westbrook runs sixth aboard the #5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac. Westbrook nearly won a title for the old Spirit of Daytona team in 2015. He ran with Glickenhaus in World Endurance and also in GTE racing with the factory Ford GT program years ago. Stefan Wilson goes off and on in the backup #99 Hardpoint Porsche 911 GT3R. Wilson sharing with Katherine Legge and Rob Ferriol.
Nick Yelloly meanwhile, wants by Davide Rigon. Nick Yelloly is also a test pilot in the simulator for the Mercedes Formula 1 team starting their season in Bahrain tomorrow. Yelloly was drafted into Turner Motorsports in their BMW when Bill Auberlen was not available. Frankie Montecalvo is next in the serial aboard the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3. Montecalvo sharing with Scott Andrews and Richard Heistand. Aaron Telitz was moved into the Pro #14 car sharing with Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat as we welcome Brian Till in pit lane to the broadcast. We have had Dave Burns and Calvin Fish in the broadcast booth.
We saw a pit stop for the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura and Will Stevens has taken over the car from Ricky Taylor. We join Kevin Lee and Townsend Bell now in the booth for NBC Sports/Peacock. Speaking of #10 they are back in the lane. Ricky Taylor actually in the car now. Sebastian Montoya has been clicking off fast laps but ran into the #6 Muehlner Motorsports LMP3 entry of Alec Udell. We welcome Matt Yocum to the pit lane. Action Express currently running 1-2. Tristan Nunez leading Jose Maria Lopez by 4.1 seconds. Oliver Jarvis and Neel Jani are next in the serial for the #60 MSR Acura and the #02 Ganassi Racing Cadillac.
Sebastian Montoya is eating chunks out of Ben Keating's lead in LMP2. Tristan Nunez in the lead of the motor race, slicing and dicing through traffic. Augusto Farfus continues chasing Marco Mapelli in GTD Pro while Antonio Garcia and Corvette lead. Pit stop time and an overshot pit lane box for the Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 #96. Michael Dinan in the car, running also with Robby Foley in SRO GT World Challenge America, in the GT3 championship. Cooper MacNeil has had a full weekend. MacNeil says the Mercedes had an oil leak in Free Practice 1 and then there was qualifying and now the race. Mercedes and Porsche, both running well for the WeatherTech team as the heat continues taking it's toll.
It is incredibly physical in the middle of the day here at Sebring as we see Alessio Picariello chasing Nick Yelloly in GTD Pro. Excuse me. That is Eddie Cheever III. in the Risi Competizione Ferrari #62.
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