We are very close to the halfway mark in the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship season as the sprint events continue to unfold. Round five of the championship takes us to the Midwest, to America's heartland more or less, and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio for today's running of the Lexus Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio. Four of the five classes in WeatherTech competition are here. DPi, LMP2, LMP3, and GT Daytona. The pro-rated GT Daytona teams, get this weekend off and are no doubt tuned into today's coverage of this event. On pole for today's race is the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac of Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais.
There are some driver changes and additions to the entry. Vasser Sullivan Lexus is running a second GTD Lexus RC F GT3 #17 for Jack Hawksworth and Richard Heistand. The LMP3 cars are back. John Farano is joined today by Will Stevens, subbing for Louis Deletraz who raced in the European Le Mans Series event at Monza in Italy, a race you will be able to find out more about, on this blog, very soon, in this extremely busy weekend we have had in the sports car racing world. Lots more coverage coming your way and yours truly believes he has the time and energy to cover all of what has been going on. Going to do everything possible to make sure that happens.
For now, the focus is indeed on the Mid-Ohio race as we welcome you to another 2 hour and 40-minute contest for the WeatherTech Championship today. Race five of the season is right here, right now on 330 acres of prime Ohio countryside where motor racing has been happening since 1962. We have lovely weather. 80 degrees and warm. Sunshine everywhere compared to rain we saw in qualifying yesterday. Half a dozen cars in DPi and LMP2, eight LMP3 entries, and 11 GT Daytona GT3 cars. Acura have won this motor race four times in a row. With their success here, you'd think they are going for a fifth victory. But the #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac scored pole.
They've finished just one event with no tech issues. They have won just once at Long Beach on the street course, two races ago. Feast or famine for the #01 entry. Dane Cameron came from 80 points behind, Ricky Taylor from 190 points down, and last year, Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani, they came from 128 points down. We have seen Chip Ganassi Racing, and Meyer Shank Racing as well as Wayne Taylor Racing win. What about the boys at Action Express? Are they ready to get back to victory lane? You bet they are. 2021 champions. Will the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac pull a surprise out of the hat today? We're about to find out. Tristan Nunez and Pipo Derani want it.
In GT Daytona, Jan Heylen and Ryan Hardwick, are two-time race winners, and they are in their home race. Their #16 Porsche for Wright Motorsports has the speed but they are caboose on the GTD field. The winning GTD entry is the Lexus team and they want to find the speed in their sponsor's race. Patrick Kelly on the pole in LMP2. He is fired up, sharing with 16-year-old phenom LMP2 racer Josh Pierson who won in Asian Le Mans Series and in World Endurance already this year. LMP3, we have Jarett Andretti on the pole in the #36 LMP3 entry sharing with Gabby Chaves. 31 starters in today's motor race.
Keys to winning, survive the madness, a series of turns here at Mid-Ohio. Identify the undercut and pit earlier than your competetion to lkeapfrog the competition. Protect the left front tire through long duration turns like the Keyhole and the Carousel. The Lexus IS 500 safety car has pulled off. We are ready for a start. We start the race on the backstretch here at Mid-Ohio. Here we go. Sebastien Bourdais vs. Filipe Albuquerque. Green flag, and away we go! Bourdais gets the jump but jo. Albuquerque wants it and so does Oliver Jarvis. Here comes Tristan Nunez too.
The GTD field are ready for their start and have started. Watch out through Madness. Tristan Vautier passes Tristan Nunez. It is the Tristan and Tristan show. Nunez right on Vautier's six. Single file for now. Here comes Nunez trying hard to get in the picture with everyone else. The GTD scrum is hot. Richard Heistand has flown off the line and goes side by side, look, with Robby Foley. Poor old Madison Snow in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 has been dropped into the slot and is scrapping hard. So is Roman de Angelis in the Heart of Racing Aston Martin, #27. Stevan McAleer is now leading GT Daytona in the #32 Korthoff Racing Mercedes AMG GT3.
In replay we can see Bourdais getting the jump but got neutral and Filipe Albuquerque squeezes him out of the way. Lynna and Jarvis scrapping too as we see in replay argy bargy already in GTD! Holy mackerel! Robert Megennis is in the fight too in the #39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3. Heistand in the Lexus was blasted out of a cannon. He is back with Lexus and wants to do well. He was with a different team last year and is back at home in Lexus' team. Jack Hawksworth is in the #14 GTD Lexus, the sister car. In DPi, Albuquerque is seven tenths ahead of Bourdais with Jarvis, Lynn, and Vautier next up.
LMP2 sees Patrick Kelly leading Steven Thomas, Henrik Hedman, John Farano, and Dwight Merriman. Richard Heistand has a penalty for jumping the start. Naughty, naughty. You lose 25 seconds trundling through the lane and as a driver you are hot. You are fuming behind the wheel. When the green flag is displayed it is everywhere, but you cannot do the switcheroo between columns. Take what you can get when you can get it, honestly. It is hot and this is a physical circuit. Manage the traffic. Albuquerque in traffic with Bourdais glued to him and here comes the Frenchman in the Cadillac. Bourdais is right on top of Albuquerque now.
The Cadillac's are more competitive here at Mid-Ohio than we thought. Pipo Derani has finished second here with AXR and wants to win. Through the Keyhole, argy bargy between Albuquerque and Bourdais! Holy moly Martha! Oliver Jarvis is cackling like a madman inside his helmet because now he has a chance to reel these two blokes in at the top of the shop as they scream through Thunder Valley, turns ten and 11. Low speed at 60 miles an hour through The Carousel they go. This course changed it's configuration a few times and there was an additional turn in Thunder Valley which was removed. The Keyhole has also been reprofiled. Bourdais got the run and slammed his way through the turn. Braking uphill. Survival is key for the slightly slower cars.
Three poles in five races for the #01 CGR Cadillac. Steven Thomas meanwhole leads by ten seconds over Patrick Kelly in the sister car for PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports. Thomas sharing with Jonathan Bomarito. They had a front row lockout at Laguna Seca but finish down the order in the back half of the top five in class. Jarett Andretti leads Dan Goldburg in LMP3. Gar Robinson next followed by Josh Sarchet and Ari Balogh. Look for high percentage moves in traffic in DPi. Filipe Albuquerque is loose and he has a car that may step out from under him. The cars have not run in this hot and sunny weather in the afternoon. The surface at Mid-Ohio won't get totally warmed up.
So, if it were jet black it would be super-hot and greasy out there. Cadillac leads. They want to beat Acura on their home turf. Will it be Ganassi Racing, or JDC-Miller, or Action Express? Which Cadillac team is going to fight for the win today? The Keyhole is one of the tightest turns on the speedway and the prototypes are mugging the GTD cars. Where do I go? Keep it straight. Frankie Montecalvo in the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus is doing all he can, just minding his own business, while the LMP3 cars do everything to get by. Henrik Hedman in the #81 DragonSpeed LMP2 car sharing with Juan Pablo Montoya, who yesterday, was racing in the rain in an IndyCar in the GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. If you have not seen that race, I urge you to take a look at it.
We are ready for the Indianapolis 500 Memorial Day weekend. You don't want to miss that one either. We are sports car fans, but we love all kinds of motor racing. The LMP2 battle is on. Thomas, Kelly, Hedman, followed by John Farano and Dennis Andersen. 25 minutes gone already. Oliver Jarvis runs third just behind Filipe Albuquerque. Meyer Shank Racing want to win here at their home track at Mid-Ohio. Simon Pagenaud was second in the IndyCar race yesterday while Helio Castroneves was second. Here comes Tristan Nunez, and he goes off the road a wee bit trying to pass Tristan Vautier. Orey Fidani, the Canadian is off the road and trying to get back on. Keep it rolling, Orey. Now then, JDC-Miller and AXR pit. They are in the window for a three stop race.
Pipo Derani will take over the #31 while Tristan Vautier stays aboard the #5. A three-stop race going off strategy could be a blessing for the Action Express team today. What have team owner Bob Johnson, and team managers Gary Nelson and Tim Keane, come up with? We shall see. Cadillac leads still with Sebastien Bourdais driving. Now then, pit stop time for GTD. Aaron Telitz should take over Lexus #12 for Vasser Sullivan. We thought #17 would come into the lane. Not yet. Jack Hawksworth should take over from Richard Heistand. Tristan Nunez passes Tristan Vautier. The Tristan and Tristan show continues. Nunez is becoming far more comfortable in the car but in traffic, Nunez is doing all he can to stay ahead of Vautier. Vautier is pushing hard too, you can bet.
Oliver Jarvis, speaking of pushing, he is right on Filipe Albuquerque's six. This motor race is getting spicy. Stevan McAleer in the #32 Mercedes vs. Madison Snow in the #1 BMW. Whoops. Dwight Merriman, LMP2 leader has spun on cold tires and high sided the race car. He backs it up and is getting back into the race. He was topped up with petrol. Era Motorsports started in historic racing but now they are in IMSA with the pros. Kyle Tilley, the enduro driver, is team manager, and Ryan Dalziel is the other co-driver. Cadillac #02, Alex Lynn, to the pit lane for service. Pipo Derani may be able to move ahead.
Sebastien Bourdais leads the motor race by five seconds. DPi teams have many options about pit strategy depending on pit time and fuel fill. Do the undercut and get fresh tires. You must start on your qualifying tires that had 10-11 laps on them before they get skittish and grimy. Bourdais working lapped traffic passed the #51 Rick Ware Racing Acura NSX GT3. The vast majority of teams have spotters around the track telling the drivers, inside, outside, clear, just like NASCAR or IndyCar. The rearview facing cameras really help, like an iPad or a computer screen sitting on your dashboard. Racing drivers are athletes. No question. The physicality of this circuit is amazing. You are hot, and you are physically and mentally pushing hard to win. Jaret Andretti leads LMP3 off the back of his first IMSA pole yesterday in qualifying (or, quali, is drivers call it).
It is the month of May, and an Andretti on pole. Russell Ward spins off in the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT3, which is a different car than the crashed one from Laguna Seca. Bourdais in the lane as we have seen both Acura's pit too and they are pushing. One of the LMP3's is off the road too, the #33 Sean Creech Motorsports entry. Joao Barbosa sharing with Dr. Lance Willsey. So, Bourdais is now going to be chased down by Filipe Albuquerque. It says Ricky Taylor on the standings. Tom Blomqvist now at the controls of #60. Pit stop time for the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3. Robby Foley and Bill Auberlen driving. Foley stays in the car for now.
Four Michelin tires and fuel for this team. A mechanic dives into the left rear wheel well for an adjustment. Minimum GTD drive time = 45 minutes. LMP2 pit stop for the #11 car. Steven Thomas will stay in the car and has to do an hour before Jonathan Bomarito can finish the race. Team boss Bobby Oergel oversees PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports. 31 cars started in four classes and the GT Daytona lead is very close as Stevan McAleer and Madison Snow. Co-driver Mike Skeen missed out on Laguna Seca and Dirk Mueller subbed as Skeen had the COVID virus but recovered from it quickly and is back now.
Robby Foley is monstering Ryan Hardwick. Porsche vs. BMW in GTD. Foley wants to pass and he will do so. Just over 45 minutes to go. An adjustment was being done for the #96 BMW M4 GT3 to make a chassis adjustment. A sway bar adjustment, excuse me. Ricky Taylor is catching Sebastien Bourdais. Andretti Autosport in the lane for service and a driver change along with fuel and tires. Acura want their fifth straight win at Mid-Ohio, with Gabby Chaves now driving. Josh Burdon had a clashing race with European Le Mans at Imola, not Monza. Again, we will have that race for you soon. Bourdais leads by a second over Ricky Taylor as things stand. This circuit is 2 and 1/4 miles long with 13 corners. 136 feet of elevation change. It opened in 1962. IndyCar and NASCAR also race or have raced at Mid-Ohio.
Ricky Taylor is in traffic and has lost time to Sebastien Bourdais. Filipe Albuquerque says that the first corner is a tough turn to negotiate without getting on the grass. They had a good getaway and had tire degradation and falloff. The greasy nature of the track made it more difficult. #10 wants to challenge #01 and do not forget the other cars like the #60, #5, and #31. This is a fair fight in DPi right now. Albuquerque says the balance is good but the tire deg and pressures are being watched closely. Albuquerque says he will be ready if he needs to take a second stint before the race ends. Meanwhile, the LMP2 and LMP3 cars are in a real battle and they are getting through GTD traffic. Gabby Chaves leads LMP3 for Andretti Autosport being monstered by Rasmus Lindh in the #38 Performance Tech Motorsports car.
31 cars, 62 drivers, four classes. Alex Lynn is pushing hard too, trying to catch up through traffic with the rest of the DPi field. LMP3 and GTD cars hit terminal velocity at 155 miles an hour and DPi's hit 176 miles an hour, so a 21 mile an hour delta. Alex Lynn got undercut by Pipo Derani and Tristan Vautier, both. Patience is a virtue through traffic and you hope there is a ying and a yang in traffic. Richard Heistand still needs to pit but has gained four places from his starting place as have a number of the LMP2 drivers and Felipe Fraga and Rasmus Lindh both in LMP3. Hawksworth and Heistand back together at Lexus. Hawksworth has run in open wheel and in sports cars, both. Chaves, Lindh, and Fraga all scrapping hard in LMP3! Wow! This is wild. Rasmus Lindh is calling and trying hard to go by Gabby Chaves who does not have the experience in an LMP3 car.
Robby Foley is passed by LMP3 cars. The LMP3's have more downforce and better braking ability. Sebastien Bourdais continues to lead. It seems the Ganassi Cadillac gets better deeper into a run compared to Acura #10 with Ricky Taylor at the wheel of it. Derani and Vautier hope to claw back time to catch up with third placed Tom Blomqvist. Pit stop time in GT Daytona for Korthoff Motorsports, car #32. They are second in GTD, Stevan McAleer 13 seconds away from Madison Snow. At DragonSpeed, it is time for a pit stop. Henrik Hedman will hand over to Juan Pablo Montoya. Again, Montoya is having fun with LMP2 and taking it very seriously on the IndyCar side of his career. Scrubbed Michelin tires for the DragonSpeed boys. Montoya a lap down, but he wants to get back in it. Montoya has run here at Mid-Ohio in IndyCar and IMSA, both and has won. 1999 for CART with Ganassi Racing, 2019 in IMSA for Roger Penske's team.
Madison Snow in the lead of GT Daytona in the lane for service and a driver change. Bryan Sellers takes over. Snow said he learned to let the tires come in and not slide the car all over the shop. Less than 15 minutes before we reach halfway in the race. Paul Miller Racing have made the BMW M4 GT3 very competitive even though they were late in getting the car and missed the Rolex 24 back in January. Frankie Montecalvo is closing up on Bryan Sellers while his Lexus teammate Richard Heistand leads the race chased hard by Robby Foley. Heistand neeeds petrol in the tank. Now, Foley is right on Heistand's back door. Don't risk it though. Foley has four seconds on Maxime Martin in the Aston Martin #27, the Heart of Racing entry.
Heistand spins the LMP2 car ahead! Egad! The LMP2's were in the way and thankfully Heistand gets to the lane but Patrick Kelly got rotated in The Carousel! Wow! Jack Hawksworth takes over the car for the final half of this race, the final hour and a half, really. So, Heistand could get back in before the end. 40 seconds for a full fuel load and he needs it. NIn replay, Heistand tries to go to the pit entry and Patrick Kelly had no clude he was there and spun. The slowest turn on the track, Kelly had no way to punch it. He couldn't have. Cadillac #02, Alex Lynn, had to take evasive action. Kelly in the lane for service now. Josh Pierson, I believe, will take over.
Ricky Taylor is closing on Sebastien Bourdais as Rasmus Lindh is stopped at turn six in the middle of Madness. Pit stop time at Action Express and JDC-Miller, both. Pipo Derani stays in and Richard Westbrook will replace Trisan Vautier in the #5. Earl Bamber takes over from Alex Lynnin the #02 Ganassi Cadillac as there was a delay on the #5 car. Earl Bamber back on track and everyone is in. Sebastien Bourdais in the lane and so is everyone else in prototypes in GT Daytona. Both Acura's are in the lane. #10 beats #60 who stalled. Everyone believes we may see the yellow, and boom, there it is. Full Course Yellow. Rasmus Lindh and the #38 Performance Tech LMP3 car must be rescued. Dan Goldburg, his co-driver.
Lexus has seen much success here at Mid-Ohio and they are the title sponsor of this motor race this weekend. Lexus Vice President of Lexus, Andrew Gilleland is excited. They are confident of a good result in GT Daytona, in their class. They have won three times and finished second in 2021. Long Beach and Laguna Seca have given the Lexus team momentum and they have been past champions before and want another one. Many guests and fans are here. They had their LF A production car on track. Andrew Gilleland raced amateur motorcycle competition here at Mid-Ohio back in the day. Some fascinating people in the IMSA paddock.
Mid-Ohio is a technical circuit with elevation changes, off-camber turns, and different pavement grades. The Michelin rain tire is very effective, and slicks work out well on damp and drying track. 16 different carmakers have earned podiums in IMSA and Michelin of course, is the official IMSA tire. No wet tires needed. GTD stops now. Watch for position changes. Bill Auberlen had a shorter fuel fill leapfrogging to the top of the shop. Bish, bash, bosh... they executed a really fast pit stop. I had an experiment with water and a granola bar, but I won't try that, if you saw the IndyCar race yesterday. Don't ruin a perfectly good chocolate chip granola bar. Eat it and then drink the water. That was a rip off.
Meanwhile, back to the motor racing. Mercedes #32 had some trouble and had to take emergency service for trouble with a left front wheel on the car during DPi pit stops. A loose wheel on the car. But the prototypes pit first before the GT Daytona cars, the GT3 machines. The wheel was not seated onto the hub and it had a split of the wheel itself. That is wild. Mike Skeen and Stevan McAleer have dodged a bullet. But, they have to take an additional stop. They did take an additional stop but they did service which you can't. So they have to do another pit stop, maybe. That will turn their race pear shaped indeed. Renger van der Zande now leads the race over Ricky Taylor and he was cleaning the tires. Ricky Taylor tries the outside as van der Zande steps out wide. Pipo Derani right on top of Tom Blomqvist while van der Zande and Taylor push and shove and van der Zande spins!
van der Zande could have damage. Sebastien Bourdais cannot believe it. He must be mortified! Taylor takes it in deep in turn three under braking into The Keyhole. He has the draft to the outside and super deep to the turn, van der Zande does not want to give it up. van der Zande runs out of road and spins off into the dust. IMSA stewards have the incident under investigation. #17 penalized with a drive through for contact with #52. No further action with the #01 and #10 incident. Bourdais out, and fuming I am sure. He is very upset. Renger van der Zande actually has the car back on track but their chances to win are nil in this event.
Pipo Derani now up to third place behind Taylor and Blomqvist in the Acura's with an hour and five minutes to go. Jack Hawksworth serving the penalty accrued by Richard Heistand. So, he shall lose time. Ryan Eversley now has taken the GT Daytona lead in the #51 Rick Ware Racing Acura NSX GT3 sharing with Aidan Read from Australia. Eversley on worn tires while the BMW boys are on fresh skins. Auberlen has Sellers all over him as Don Salama, team strategist at Turner Motorsports has made a good call but they have been stymied by the #51. The top seven GTD cars all together. Eversley, Auberlen, Sellers, Aaron Telitz, Maxime Martin, Phil Ellis, and Jordan Pepper. The whole top ten. So add Jeff Westphal, Jan Heylen, and Mike Skeen.
Acura, BMW, Lexus, Aston Martin, Mercedes, McLaren, Lamborghini, Porsche, Mercedes, Lexus. Juan Pablo Montoya all over for dsecond place, all over Anders Fjordbach. High Class Racing vs. DragonSpeed as Jonathan Bomarito leads for Win Autosport but 11 seconds. Fjordbach, the Dane, has been very quick with countryman and teammate Dennis Andersen sharing the car. Felipe Fraga in the lane quickly from LMP3 and the lead in class. Colin Braun takes over aboard the CORE Autosport #54. They have never won at Mid-Ohio. The leaders are now slicing and dicing through GTD traffic. Blomqvist and Derani chasing down Ricky Taylor. One hour to go. Earl Bamber passes by Tom Blomqvist. Pipo Derani up to second.
Taylor just six tenths ahead of Derani. Bamber is pressing Derani into The Keyhole. Oh dear. How will this work out? Westbrook aboard #5 gets squeezed by GTD cars and one of the Mercedes cars. Renger van der Zande is behind Richard Westbrook. Pipo Derani said that AXR did not have the track position but strategy is. Derani just 4.4 seconds behind Ricky Taylor. Less than an hour to go. Ricky Taylor still leads Pipo Derani. Taylor going for four wins in five years for Acura at Mid-Ohio. Action Express wants their first win in IMSA at Mid-Ohio I believe. Tom Blomqvist is catching Earl Bamber for third spot.
In GTD, Bryan Sellers and Bill Auberlen are closing up on Ryan Eversley. Acura leading two BMW's. Pipo Derani, 2.2 seconds in-arrears of Ricky Taylor. Bamber is four seconds behind in third spot. Blomqvist and Westbrook next up to complete the top five. Robby Foley says the GTD race will turn into a fuel mileage contest. Derani has picked up a second on Taylor. 50 minutes to go. #51 needs a yellow and Aidan Read has to take over from Ryan Eversley. They are in a spot of bother on their fuel strategy. Will Read get back in? He drove 49 minutes in the opening stint. Derani is closing on Taylor, just a second and a half behind. Derani in traffic, in GTD traffic. So is Bamber. Bamber right on top of Derani now. Acura #51 to the lane, Ryan Eversley handing over to Aidan Read.
Oh, no driver change. Just a drink bottle change. Eversley will finish the race. Meyer Shank Racing pits the #60 Acura. They are at the edge of the pit window doing the undercut. Eversley stalls briefly and then gets back underway. 47 minutes left on the board. With traffic, you get fuel save because of the point and shoot nature of the track here at Mid-Ohio. Taylor leads by three seconds with Derani second. What will we see Blomqvist do? Eversley penalized for taking out pit equipment with a drive through. WTR #10 Acura in the lane and so is Pipo Derani in #31. Derani told to cut qualifying laps. #10 beats #31 out of the pit lane and here they come. More fuel for the #31.
#60 does the undercut on hot tires. Blomqvist and van der Zande move up. 40 minutes to go and the #02 had a broken rattle gun and they lost time. Bamber chasing Westbrook. We saw these guys scrap in GTLM over the years. Westbrook for Ford and Bamber for Porsche. Final stop for the #11 PR1/Mathiasen LMP2 car. Jonathan Bomarito will finish with scrubbed tires. Bomarito chasing Juan Pablo Montoya for the class win. Sellers chasing Auberlen in GT Daytona in the battle of the BMW's. Madison Snow says that he was not sure of what his car was like but now the car is good and they are getting used to the car.
Tire life is something they are looking at as well as fuel conservation compared to a different GT3 car they had in 2021. Ricky Taylor leads the motor race going for five wins in a row for Acura at their home track. Tom Blomqvist has moved up to second with Pipo Derani now third. Derani, 9.5 seconds down on the #10 while #60 is almost five seconds down on Taylor. Montoya catching Bomarito in LMP2 after his pit stop. Bomarito came calling on warm tires and snookered the Colombian racing legend. Montoya deep into the corner, he was able to keep it together but is still pushing hard. Half hour to go. Blomqvist chasing Taylor. Derani in third in the final podium place. An intense but respectful rivalry for the two Acura DPi teams. Can Pipo Derani make inroads on the two of them?
Caution flags have been scarce. Will we see a late yellow to change things up? Richard Westbrook pusing but now, Bomarito in LMP2 is off the road. In replay, Bomarito is tagged by Montoya and Bomarito spins right in front of the overall leader, the #10! Holy smokes! Quite the shemozzle here, look. The #60 will gain on the #10. Bomarito says Montoya "rooted" him. Montoya is the LMP2 leader. Will he be penalized. Blomqvist right on Taylor's six. Taylor in lapped traffic. This might just be an Acura vs. Acura fight in the final 23 minutes. Blomqvist trapped behind Mike Skeen in GT Daytona in the battle for that class win.
Skeen moves by Heylen for seventh in GTD. These are the two leading GTD championship fighters. Jan Heylen, you little fighter! Some argy bargy between the two. They are 30 points apart in GTD points. Auberlen and Foley lead in class for BMW. Auberlen up by 3.10ths over another BMW of Bryan Sellers. #51 off and on. Blomqvist loses time to Taylor and Juan Pablo Montoya is pinged with a drive through for contact in LMP2 with the #11. 20 minutes remaining. Montoya in the lane in the #81 for the drive through penalty and Bomarito retakes the LMP2 lead, 20 seconds over Anders Fjordbach in the #20 High Class Racing Oreca. Juan Pablo Montoya very unhappy with that call. Understandably so.
Pipo Derani slicing and dicing through GTD traffic as Jordan Pepper, the South African, passes Aaron Telitz. McLaren on Lexus. Blomqvist three seconds behind Taylor with Pipo Derani 14 seconds behind in third spot. The battles hot and heavy in DPi and GTD. Jordan Pepper is coming into the picture in GTD passing by Bryan Sellers and slamming the side of BMW #1! Holy cow! Major contact. Pepper is burning fuel up at a rapid rate. He will have to do massive fuel save. They are praying for a yellow. Turner Motorsports letting Bill Auberlen know about Pepper pushing like no tomorrow. Less than 15 minutes to go. Sellers locking up trying to avoid a prototype. Pepper wants the spot. You know he is going to go for it.
Blomqvist reeling in Taylor. Derani still third, closing up, but may be running out of time to catch Blomqvist who has his eyes on the #10. Argy bargy as Skeen nearly tags Heylen! Oh man! Traffic all over the place and the battles are raging hot and heavy. Tom Blomqvist has pulled the pin. The finish is coming. The plot thickens. Will the Acura's go hammer and tongs to the end. Can Pipo Derani gain time and get into the picture? The Acura fight is tightening. Ricky Taylor over Tom Blomqvist with eight minutes to go. Meyer Shank Racing want a win on their home track while they are also defending a win at the Indianapolis 500 and Helio Castroneves going for a record fifth win. Montoya passes Bomarito for the LMP2 lead just like that.
Wow. He is called a monster for a reason and will push hard. Pepper passes Sellers in GTD. Earl Bamber scything through traffic trying to catch his teammate Renger van der Zande. Bill Auberlen leading GTD, going for his record 65th win and seventh at Mid-Ohio. McLaren will be short on gas but there's been no yellow. Pepper chasing Auberlen. These two have not competed against each other often. Pepper from South Africa has run GT3 cars on a global level. Taylor only two and a half seconds up on Blomqvist. Pepper only four tenths behind Auberlen. Pepper to the inside! He tags Auberlen going for the lead in class. Pepper wants it and here comes Sellers, too. Pepper to the lead and here comes Sellers.
Auberlen has to defend. Sellers to the inside and no dice. This is sketchy. Pepper stays on track. Auberlen got biffed by Pepper. Who do you believe on the fuel strategy in GTD? Running this pace to clock in a fuel number is a head scratcher. Jeepers creepers. Pepper comes from a racing family. He races, his sister races. His dad raced or races. A racing family from South Africa. Auberlen with the 3 liter twin turbo straight six in the BMW and Pepper with the 3.8 liter twin turbo V8 in the McLaren. Ricky Taylor leading by a second over Tom Blomqvist. White flag. One lap to go. Will Blomqvist pounce. Oh man. Taylor in a heap of traffic. Colin Braun leads Garrett Grist and Felipe Fraga in LMP3.
Ricky Taylor making the moves workm through traffic. Pepper has space but is just ahead of the leader. Blomqvist closing in. This is it. To the checkeres. Five in a row for Acura. Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque. Jordan Pepper and McLaren sharing with Brendon Iribe win GTD! Holy cow! LMP2 win going to Juan Pablo Montoya, Henrik Hedman, and DragonSpeed. LMP3 will go to CORE Autosport with Colin Braun and Jon Bennett. Now, Braun is slow. He has to sip it on fuel. Is the tank dry? The motor sounds like it is laboring. But they will make it! CORE Autosport wins for the first time at Mid-Ohio.
Overall/DPi: #10 Taylor/Albuquerque Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05
LMP2: #81 Montoya/Hedman DragonSpeed Oreca 07
LMP3: #54 Bruan/Bennett CORE Autosport Ligier JS P320 Nissan
GT Daytona: #70 Pepper/Iribe Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3
So, that's all she wrote from Mid-Ohio. We will see you next time from the final street course race in Detroit, Michigan, on Belle Isle, before that race moves to a downtown Detroit street course in 2023. That hour and 40 minute sprint event is slated to run on the first Saturday in June. Mark down June 3rd and 4th on your calendars for the next race in the continuing saga that is the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech Championship. Stay tuned as well, because there's plenty more sports car racing coming your way this week still, and into next weekend. Don't miss it. We'll see you at Belle Isle. So long, everybody. Take care.
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