For the first time in three years, since what we have seen throughout the world, IMSA and the WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, are back to race north of the border, in Canada, at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Mosport Park, for the old school fans out there). We are running short on time in the 2022 season. This is the first of five events remaining in the year and only three for the Daytona Prototype International division, and that era of IMSA prototype racing before we see all-new cars next year in a revival of the Grand Touring Prototype class. That is in the future. This is now. Four of the five IMSA classes in the WeatherTech Championship will race today. Daytona Prototype International along with LMP3, GT Daytona Pro, and GT Daytona, are the cars we will see on track here at Mosport.
Your class polesitters here at CTMP include, in the top category and overall for Daytona Prototype International, the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 being started by Tom Blomqvist and he will share the car today with Oliver Jarvis. In the LMP3 class, it is Jarett Andretti on pole in the #36 Andretti Autosport Ligier he shares with Gabby Chaves. On home soil, in Canada, Matthieu Jaminet and Matty Campbell are on the GT Daytona Pro pole in the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R. This is a magnificent speed coliseum that has been around for half a century. The championship is intense. Big risk and insane speed to win championships, that is the point of the season we have come to.
The engines have fired. Happy Canada Day, or, Happy Independence Day. Great to be back at Mosport. The DPi championship is boiling and the speeds are unbelievable here at Mosport. Drivers totally focused with four classes of cars as we said. 2 hours and 40 minutes the duration. It is time to go racing in Canada, in mere moments. The fans are back and he cars are now on track behind the safety car on their warmup laps. This is race eight of ten for DPi and twelve overall weekends. Again, in GTD Pro, Matty Campbell and Matthieu Jaminet, they are both racing here for the first time. Pfaff Motorsports has a series of car dealerships here in Canada as well.
The fans are here in force for them. Vasser Sullivan and Lexus, they had a crackup in qualifying with Ben Barnicoat. Jack Hawksworth is still recovering from injury. Kamui Kobayashi is the co-driver this weekend for Barnicoat in the #14 car. Push your comfort zone. We will have traffic all over and respect the boundaries. No runoff room here at Mosport on this ten turn course. 24 cars, half a dozen cars in each class. Green flag. Go! Tom Blomqvist to the lead over Ricky Taylor. Oh dear. A spin for Frankie Montecalvo from the GTD pole! Yikes!
Another spin too for the #33 Sean Creech Motorsports Ligier as well, look. The time dfferences between the classes are incredible. Big rear end damage to the right rear of the #12. How did this happen? A touch with two of the LMP3 cars and poor old Frankie Montecalvo got tipped. We stay under green. Local yellows only. Tom Blomqvist building his lead as Montecalvo is struggling to get back to the pit lane. This is a round of GT Daytona Sprint Cup. Montecalvo trundling his way up the Mario Andretti straightaway. Half a dozen cars in each class for this race today.
In eplay, we can see the bump between the #36 and fires the #33 entry who cannons into Montecalvo. Calamity corner early doors here at Mosport. #33 thought he had the line and the #36 of Andretti cuts him off. The Willsey/Barbosa #33 entry in the lane for repairs. Dr. Lance Willsey and Joao Barbosa. Mosport is the fastest track we race on in the WeatherTech Championship. Blomqvist was breathless after a massive off in Moss corner during qualifying. Moss corner, named after the legend, and world champion, the late, great Sir Striling Moss.
We can see Alex Lynn chasing down Tristan Vautier for third in DPi. #5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac for JDC-Miller Motorsports vs. the #02 Ganassi Racing Cadillac once again into Moss corner. The DPi field seems to be stretching out. #60 ahead of #10. Two Acura's leading four Cadillac's for Ganassi Racing x2 and also for JDC-Miller Motorsports and Action Express Racing. Hope you are enjoying an awesome holiday weekend. A great weekend here in Canada. Trouble for the #25 GTD Pro BMW M4 GT3. John Edwards has had contact someplace and the entire wheeel is off the car! Egad! We could see a Full Course Yellow.
Ricky Taylor has the run and now Blomqvist is stymied behind an LMP3 car as the yellows wave. In replay, accelerating through Moss corner, the #25 does lose the wheel. John Edwards, three wheels on me wagon. You picked a fine time to leave me, loose wheel. Edwards to the pit lane for a new wheel and a new Michelin tire. So, the #12 car is now also behind the wall being repaired trying to get back on track to gain any points they can. GTD Pro/GTD trouble, early doors, here at Mosport. Wishing everybody both a Happy Independence Day, and a Happy Canada Day.
There are many new cars and drivers, and tires have alway sbeen critical on this fast, flowing circuit, 2.459 miles in length. Watch your step. During the downtime for the pandemic, this track was totally repaved. Challenges abound and two of them are are turn two, as well as at turn five, Moss corner, designed by Sir Stirling Moss himself. The teams set the cars up to provide confidence and consistency and we are seeing high cornering loads and massively quick lap times. Hurley Haywood won the first major IMSA race here that was run in 1975.
Game over for Lexus #12. Frankie Montecalvo watching the work happen. He was afraid of having something happen. He says "I was really unlucky and was at the wrong place at the wrong time." Green flag out again. Alex Lynn chasing Tristan Vautier, still. Ricky Taylor has lost a tire on the Mario Andretti straightaway! The carcass of the tire has come apart and is right in the middle of the Mario Andretti straight as an LMP3 car hits the tire. When you lose tire pressure, it is like sitting on a chair that has a shorter leg or a busted chair.
Now, maybe, this yellow could save their bacon, and of course the other teams think otherwise. #10 in the lane for emergency service. Taylor was flat out at 150 miles an hour when that Michelin tire let go. The tire went pop under braking. On the way in Taylor called on the radio asking about a driver change and the team said "no. Stay in the car." The two front tires have been changed, but no, they cannot do that. The two fresh Michelin's had to wait. Pit lane is open. Meyer Shank, Ganassi, Action Express, all are in the lane now. New left front tire for the #60? Nope. Just left side tires. #02 beats #60. #01 also out. Slow stop at Action Express? Or not? Roll the dice for track position.
Passing at Mosport is very difficult. This is the DPi class split. We have seen bucketloads of action so far and there is more to come. Stay with us here on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog. GTD Pro and GTD pit stops have also happened. Pfaff fastest over Heart of Racing, Corvette Racing, and others who have been to the lane. #10 back to the pit lane as they have to pit after the GT cars to do more work and putting Filipe Albuquerque into the car. Their left rear on that tail, it is separated in some way. WTR were in the championship lead by 17 points only, so the championship in DPi could be turned on it's ear.
In BMW land, John Edwards thought he was riding the brake disc and now they've knocked the right, hand mirror off the car. Tristan Vautier has stayed out and now leads on worn tires. Vautier, Lynn, Blomqvist, the top three in the race right now with not even half an hour on the board yet. Blomqvist in fuel save mode, sailing through the turns. Matty Jaminet leads Alex Riberas, Jordan Taylor, Cooper MacNeil, and Ben Barnicoat in GTD Pro. Roman De Angelis leads regular GT Daytona right now followed by Madison Snow, Russell Ward, Robby Foley, and Aidan Read.
Gar Robinson is the leader in LMP3 followed by Jarett Andretti, Ari Balogh, Jon Bennett, and Orey Fidani. Ben Barnicoat is moving up in GTD Pro. Lexus wanted to get two poles but things went pear shaped after Ben Barnicoat's crash as Orey Fidani is navigating his way through GTD cars. Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers are hoping to rebound here at CTMP. The DPi cars nearly 190 miles an hour compared to 180 and 160 for LMP3 and the GTD cars. The drivers in LMP3 and GTD alluded to traffic. Point and shoot for LMP3 and the closing rate will be much bigger for the GTD Pro and GTD cars.
Half an hour into the race. Robby Foley has a bit of contact with Cooper MacNeil. BMW M4 GT3 vs. Mercedes AMG GT3. Rick Ware Racing ran in the Mid-Ohio IndyCar race earlier and they are also racing Road America in NASCAR Cup. That is in addition to being here with IMSA. Robby Foley holds off Aussie Aidan Read. Everyone on full fuel tanks still. Olivier Pla now chasing after Sebastien Bourdais. Bourdais a four-time polesitter and two-time winner in 2022. Feast or famine for the #01 team. The #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche, Matthieu Jaminet, took left side tires. One brand new and one scrubbed. Scrubbed tires will last longer and survive longer than a brand new, fresh Michelin just out of the release agent and the molds.
Pfaff are one of the few teams who tested here at Mosport, their home track. Matty Campbell is racing here for the first time. DPi leaders working through traffic as Tristan Vautier is holding off Alex Lynn. The closing speed differences between DPi and GTD are at least 30 miles an hour. The battle rages at the top of the shop. #5, #02, #60. Happy Canada Day. Happy Independence Day. Pfaff Motorsports, from Canada, lead GTD Pro in their home race. Jaminet vs. Riberas vs. Taylor. Porsche vs. Aston Martin vs. Corvette. Corvette have won 11 times here at Mosport but have not done so since 2014.
Ron Fellows, the legend, a Corvette driver who won here three times at Mosport. He is a co-owner and operator of this wonderful track. Jordan Taylor on the radio to the team, the left side tires make things feel much better. It is like a full brand-new set of tires. Corvette Racing 11 wins, six for CORE Autosport, two each for Action Express, Chip Ganassi Racing, Riley Motorsports, and Turner Motorsports. The Heart of Racing Aston Mattin team have two cars, one in GTD Pro and the other in GTD. Alex Riberas in #23 and Roman De Angelis in #27. De Angelis has dominated in the past in Porsche Carrera Cup Canada.
The DPi leaders will be lapping past the GTD cars every six or seven minutes and they will have different drivers whp have totally different behaviors in the next stints of this race. Big commitment in turn two at 130 miles an hour. Tristan Vautier lead the race but Alex Lynn is right on his six. #5 will need more fuel than everyone else. 30 seconds of fuel time. Here comes Olivier Pla right on Tom Blomqvist's six. Lapped traffic in the way, the Corvette. Pla in hot pursuit of Tom Blomqvist. Blomqvist earlier, contact with Taylor! Yikes!
Alex Lynn reeling in Tristan Vautier right now. Tristan Vautier eking out a gap over Alex Lynn from high overhead here at Mosport as they scream up the Mario Andretti straightaway once more with the two classes of GTD cars. Madison Snow in hot pursuit of Roman De Angelis. Pit stop time for the LMP3 cars for Riley Motorsports and Andretti Autosport. #74 and #36. Jarett Andretti should hand over to Gabby Chaves and in #74 for Riley Motorsport it is Gar Robinson handing off to Scott Andrews. More pit action. The #79 WeatherTech Mercedes AMG GT3 as Cooper MacNeil has finished his stint handing over to the Spaniard, Mercedes factory driver, Daniel Juncadella. MacNeil has had several different co-drivers this year.
You would like chemistry with a solid co-driver but there is also an advantage to rotating the factory drivers from their lineups. The Mercedes may drive better than the Porsche as MacNeil felt the Mercedes was more compliant to drive and just as quick if not more so. In LMP3, Scott Andrews leads in class. Gar Robinson says that Andrews has new tires and the tire pickup is unbelievable. You pick up more tire debris than what you had before. Minimize mistakes. He had the door opened to take the lead by Jarett Andretti. In great weather, Gar Robinson is pushing hard.
Felipe Fraga, Robinson's teammate, won in DTM today. You will hear more about DTM soon. For now, Vautier hits the pit lane in the #5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac. Alex Lynn moves to the lead ahead of Tom Blomqvist and Olivier Pla. Tristan Vautier stays at the wheel of the #5 and he will do a double stint before handing over to Richard Westbrook. Alex Lynn threading the needle through traffic. Olivier Pla, in the #31 Whelen Action Express Cadillac, slicing through traffic chasing down Tom Blomqvist, the pole sitting car. They have had four consecutive runner-up finishes and these two teams are both looking for victories. MSR won the Rolex 24 earlier in the year to start the season.
Sebastien Bourdais is now right behind Pla. All four tires were changed at Action Express and he should have more grip. Blomqvist is the quickest DPi on the road right now as Alex Lynn continues to lead. Blomqvist, Pla, and the others in chasing mode. #74 and #36 continue scrapping away in LMP3. This battle is hot and heavy between Jarett Andretti, the hound, and Scott Andrews, the rabbit. Porsche, Aston Martin, Corvette still the top three in GTD Pro. That battle too is continuing to simmer well. It appears the Porsche may have the edge over the Aston and the Corvette presently.
Madison Snow in second in GTD right now behind Roman De Angelis. Ben Barnicoat has Kamui Kobayashi as his co-driver who ran with Jimmie Johnson in the #48 Ally Cadillac. Kyle Kirkwood raced the IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio today so Kobayashi is here racing. Yikes! Barnicoat did not see the car with a head of steam. Driver change at the #31 team as Pipo Derani takes over from Olivier Pla. Pipo Derani and his wife are expecting a baby later this year, just as we have heard about Robert Wickens.
#14 now to the lane for service and Ben Barnicoat will stay in the car, back timing the race before they put Kamui Kobayashi into the car for the next stint. Kamui Kobayashi is the driver and team boss at Toyota Gazoo Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Kobayashi has done the World Endurance Championship in GTE before. Blomqvist slices and dices past Alex Lynn for position through GTD traffic. When we are done racing tonight we have only two DPi races left. To the lane, the #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac as Sebastien Bourdais will hand off to Renger van der Zande. Same for the #1 BMW M4 GT3. Bryan Sellers with his sore foot takes over from Madison Snow and they have a busted tire pressure sensor.
The #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura came in and now, Ricky Taylor is back in for Filipe Albuquerque. Oliver Jarvis now into the #60 Meyer Shank Acura as well. Four tires and fuel as well. Jarvis was flying in qualifying. Side by side stuff between Albuquerque and van der Zande. van der Zande will not give it up. This is the out lap. Pipo Derani behind these two. Can he make inroads? Low tire pressures, full fuel tanks, low ground clearance. The #33 Sean Creech Motorsports LMP3 car, Lance Willsey put int into the fence and thankfully gets back on track and keeps on trucking. Responding now, Alex Lynn, in the #02 Ganassi Cadillac.
The dominos are falling. Earl Bamber takes over the #02 car. Bamber says the DPi is easier to drive than a GT car around CTMP. The downforce in the high-speed turns is unbelievable. The racing continues hot and heavy and some debris on the road, look. Nothing on track. Did Ricky Taylor lose a piece of bodywork? That looks like a piece of carbon fiber, a dive plane, off the racing line. Renger van der Zande is the one who is getting track position right now. The action is nonstop here at CTMP. The lead battle now sees Oliver Jarvis attacking Renger van der Zande.
Ricky Taylor now fourth ahead of Pipo Derani. Strategy has been changed with all the early action we saw. Sometimes a certain track clicks more with one driver on a team than another. Oliver Jarvis is being harried by Renger van der Zande through the lapped traffic. Jarvis carving through the lapped traffic. Blomqvist says that the Acura is really difficult to drive here at Mosport. Oliver Jarvis should take the car to the finish. Everyone is putting everything on the line. Putting everything in it and taking massive risks, a driver after their stint, is absolutely shattered. The Acura's could very well lock out the Cadillac's from the championship run. We could see a battle between the Acura's for the title which must be driving the Cadillac teams absolutely crazy.
Maintain pace but save fuel. Sail through the turns. Save gasoline for the next pit stops to take it to the end of the motor race to leapfrog to the front for track position. The 5.5 liter V8 is the same but has a flat plane crankshaft. That is why the car sounds so different compared to the thunderous rumble of the front engine V8. This car was changed from the old GT Le Mans rules and now, they have changed it and made it heavier for GT3 regulations which GT Daytona Pro and GT Daytona run to. There is less aerodynamics and less power but the cars have antilock brakes. They have a spec Michelin tire with one compound. No compound choices like GTLM had. Pipo Derani is now slicing and dicing through traffic.
Jarvis leads the motor race by seven tenths of a second over Renger van der Zande. The bumps that are still here at Mosport for the DPi cars, they are relentless. Porpoising has been a major topic of discussion in Formula 1. Well, we see it with the DPi cars in IMSA too. Jarvis is continually being reeled in by van der Zande. Jarvis looking ahead to gauge the traffic and van der Zande darts to the other side. Last time we raced here it was Mazda winning with Jarvis and Tristan Nunez who has been racing with Action Express this year and is now a test and reserve pilot for AXR. Great to see IMSA back in Canada. The Acura's are fast but they are evil handling race cars too.
The Cadillac's are smoother but do not have the speed. The #5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac wants to catch a break. Tristan Vautier in sixth and will hand over to Richard Westbrook before the race ends. Traffic is never ending here. Everyone embroiled in their own scraps. 134 miles an hour for pole in DPi with 115 in a GTD car, so that is nearly a 20 mile an hour delta. 2.2 seconds behind the GTD leader, it is Aidan Read in the #51 Rick Ware Racing Acura NSX GT3 who has Matt Harvey from Australia who has run with Craft Bamboo, Team Phoenix, and WRT in GT3 in SRO competition in Europe.
Read and Harvey are both engineers, from Australia, but the Aussies love their motorsports as much as we do here in the states. Rick Ware Racing are dipping their toes in the water in GTD this year and might get a full-season program together fairly soon, in a couple more years. Things have settled down with an hour and 15 minutes to go. Ricky Taylor is now keeping the two Ganassi Racing Cadillac's in close range. If WTR gets close to MSR, they will be tearing their hair out. Corvette passes Aston Martin for second in GTD Pro and now Jordan Taylor is making inroads on Matthieu Jaminet. Fuel saving the name of the game right now.
Both Ganassi Cadillac's are sailing past the GTD cars right now and now they are right on top of each other trhough traffic with an LMP3, the #36 Andretti Autosport entry ahead. Ricky Taylor also seems to be making inroads on the two Ganassi Cadillac's as well. Fuel saving seems to still be patt of the plan here. Find lap time and do not use up the petrol. This is what the teams do during testing as well, not just in the motor race itself. Roman De Angelis leading in GTD and Alex Riberas third in GTD Pro. These are both the Heart of Racing Aston Martin's. The Aston Martin Vantage GT3 cars. One of their cars into the lane.
Aidan Read worried about fuel. Come in within the next lap is what the team tells him. Heart of Racing in for petrol and so is the #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac. Pipo Derani has gone past Tristan Vautier and is now fourth. Will the #51 Rick Ware Racing Acura answer the bell and come to the lane? In GTD, saving means backing off by 2-3 seconds. Attack mode vs. save mode saves you 12 minutes grand total. The #23 Heart of Racing entry into the lane and Ross Gunn takes over from Alex Riberas. #51 does answer the call and Aidan Read hands over to co-driver Ryan Eversley.
The #5 Mustang Sampling, JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac pits for fuel and Richard Westbrook will take it to the end. He has more experience at CTMP than any other driver in DPi. He ran with Chip Ganassi Racing during the Ford GT program years. Don't think about how the race will go. Just do it. Just drive it like you stole it. The #31 Whelen Cadillac is in the lane again with Pipo Derani from fourth place. No driver change. Fuel and tires as well as a drink bottle for Pipo Derani. The #9 Pfaff Motorsports GTD Pro leading Porsche in the lane and so will be the #3 Corvette team.
Saving fuel is key. Get to the exact fuel number that needs to be targeted. Coasting downhill into turn two and turn four. The Mario Andretti straightaway gulps up the petrol. Matthieu Jaminet now at the wheel of the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche. Excuse me. Matty Campbell. The #3 Corvette is now in the lane and Antonio Garcia takes over for Jordan Taylor. Just a smidgen over an hour remaining. Get the car down off the air jacks so the fuel can get into the tank. 42 or so seconds of petrol into that car. They are having issues with fuel flow at Corvette Racing and that will cost them some time.
Matt Campbell has hot tires and Antonio Garcia is just out of the lane on cold Michelin's. Battle for the lead and Earl Bamber dives past Oliver Jarvis. Jarvis to the lane. Nobody is leaving anything on the table. Jarvis has to cinch down the belts for the final hour to go for a win. He will be in full attac mode as the #02 Cadillac locks up into the lane! Fuel and tires at the #02 Ganassi team. #60 buried in traffic. Contact between the Acura's. Neither one gives way and they are sandwiched with an LMP3 inbetween! Ricky Taylor skates away from that! Wow!
Jarvis absolutely squeezes Taylor to the wall! That was bonkers! Cadillac 1-2 with Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing. For the title, #10 is ahead of #60. Final stops of the day for LMP3. A ton of speed and racing here at Mosport with the repave we've seen that happened at this track during the pandemic when there was no racing here for IMSA. Full Course Yellow again as the #74 Riley Motorsports LMP3 entry is in the fence! In replay, he got hit by the #60 Acura and careered... ker-runch!, into the barriers. Full Course Yellow. Full Course Yellow. Less than an hour left.
One of the track marshals attending to Andrews in the now stopped Ligier JS P320. Third Full Course Yellow of the day. Andrews on his out lap after pitting. Jarvis made a banzai move and Andrews was still on cold tires before belting the wall. Jarvis in full attack mode. Just like we talked about at the top of the show, respect the boundaries of the track. #60 into the pit lane. Fuel only. Race Control has warned #60 for their actions. Warning for Oliver Jarvis for contact with Ricky Taylor earlier. Jarvis reacted and shoved Taylor aside into the pit lane wall. That was right on the edge of what is acceptable.
We see that impact for Scott Andrews and that was a mega crunch into the barriers, but the Aussie is OK. Fans are enjoying themselves and we have seen a good one today for the first time in Canada in three years. #14 the Lexus was about to hit the lane but then told it was Full Course Yellow and he had to dive back onto the track, bailing out. Spotter shouting on the radio, "stay out! Stay out!" Kamui Kobayashi now driving the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus. Less than 49 minutes remaining as the wreckage of the previous crash is still being cleaned up. Very excited to see the new Cadillac LMDh-V.R making it's debut in 2023.
The GTP Hypercar is amazing. The Porsche is coming as well as BMW and Acura. These cars are sexy and they are gorgeous. Acura, Cadillac, and BMW will all start testing later this month. Green flag. Renger van der Zande back to the lead of the kotor race, cleaning the tires as the marbles get on the track just like eraser shavings on paper if you draw or write with a pencil. Ooh! Westbrook nearly slams Pipo Derani! The bottom three cars in DPi have all topped up with petrol. Jarvis, Westbrook, Derani. Derani will go on the attack against Westbrook.
Westbrook and Deran were teammates at Glickenhaus in World Endurance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans but not in the same car. Westbrook is told that he might have enough gas to go to the end. #01 is off sequence. They still believe they can make it. In GTD Pro, #9 and #3 are fine on fuel but must take care of the front tires. Just over 40 minutes left. In the top five in GTD Pro it is Campbell, Garcia, Gunn, Juncadella, and De Philippi. Porsche, Corvette, Aston, Mercedes, Lexus. Kamui Kobayashi has won two Rolex 24's and a 24 Hours of Le Mans win as well as 75 Formula 1 starts.
Kobayashi runs last in GTD Pro but could move up for sure. In the meantime, Maxime Martin in the #27 Aston Martin has Phil Ellis right on his six. Heart of Racing Aston Martin vs. Winward Racing Mercedes. The Mercedes seems to be more dialed in than does the Porsche in GTD Pro as Daniel Juncadella is chasing Phil Ellis. This is Juncadella's first race at CTMP as we see the #10 in the lane for the final time to roll the dice and get to the end. Fuel only for that car. #60 thinks they will be four seconds to the good when they do their final fuel fill. 39 minutes is the maximum attack number so now, #10 can go for it.
#60 answering the bell. Covering the move is Oliver Jarvis. Do they risk short filling? Everyone is in. #01, #02, #5. #60 down and away in a flash. This is going to be squeaky, squeaky time. Here comes Taylor and now Jarvis ahead of Taylor! This is the championship battle. Pipo Derani the erstwhile leader. Can he stay in front of Bamber and the others? Jarvis may be the bloke in the pound seats. #31 in for the overcut a lap later. Timmy Keane the engineer releases Derani but now he is buried again among the Cadillac's, the other Cadillac's. Derani will now have to push to try and catch the other Cadillac's. Jarvis in the lead over Taylor.
GTD and GTD Pro traffic ahead. Taylor is reeling in Jarvis. #02 spins out the #10! Whoa! That was wild. Taylor back on the button but he got clipped by Bamber. #60 is still leading. Drama in the closing moments. Where is Rickjy Taykor after getting spun? Bamber has a head of steam and he ran really late into the turn in Moss corner. Earl Bamber will serve a drive through penalty for incident responsibility. Half an hour to go. Jarvis leading Bamber, Westbrook, van der Zande, and Derani. The order will shuffle due to Bamber's penalty. If we get another yellow things could change. Bamber will be bluing on the radio to his team.
Bamber will serve the penalty and get it over with. This shuffles #31 and #10 upwards as #02 will drop to the tail end. #02 has nothing to lose. If the #10 was to win, the #02 would have had to finish at least position four. Pipo Derani now fourth chasing down Renger van der Zande. Phil Ellis just six tenths of a second in GT Daytona behind Maxime Martin. Aston Martin vs. Mercedes. The Aston is an edgier car to drive than the Mercedes. It is like comparing the Acura and the Cadillac in DPi with comfort and ease of use. The Mercedes is more compliant than the Aston and the same is true with the Cadillac vs. the Acura.
Ryan Eversley has third in GTD in the #51 Rick Ware Racing Acura. Eversley has a clatter over the bumps. Some of the bumps, the character, the charisma of this place is still there through the Canadian winters, the icy cold Canadian winters. Oliver Jarvis trying to go back to the top of the tree in DPi points as time is of the essence in season 2022. The #10 is off the road and stuffed into the barriers! Taylor is backing up and getting back on track with no damage but he will be stymied and lose oodles of time. He made contact with Pipo Derani.
Westbrook meanwhile gets stymied by Renger van der Zande as well. Wow. The #10 will hit the lane for a nose change with 20 minutes to go. Roman De Angelis says that after the double win for Heart of Racing Aston Martin's at Watkins Glen, their start was a pig's breakfast. But now, they are in a good spot to get their heads in the game. He believes the Aston is strong and so is the Mercedes but has faith in his co-driver, Maxime Martin. Chaos has reigned on restarts. It is wild. Cinch down those belts. It is not done yet. Oliver Jarvis chased by Richard Westbrook and Renger van der Zande.
van der Zande wants it and dives inside Westbrook. Westbrook down to third and now Pipo Derani by Westbrook. Bamber and Taylor are still back there. This is not over yet. Derani moving in on van der Zande who is still hot on Jarvis' heels. Pipo Derani will fly as well. He loves to win. It has been a frustrating year for Action Express and they just want to win after winning the title last year. Phil Ellis applying the blowtorch to Maxime Martin. Just over 15 minutes to go here at Mosport. Ellis still chasing Martin in GT Daytona. Turbo V8 in the Aston Martin, normally aspirated V8 in the Mercedes. Since Watkins Glen the two turbo GTD cars have had 20 kilos of weight added, the Aston and the BMW.
Ellis takes a peek and can't quite get there. He is doing all he knows to try and go for the pass on the Aston Martin. The blue touch paper has been lit. It is going to be a barnburner to the end in DPi and GTD Pro as well as GTD. #60 remains in the lead of this motor race and is eking out a gap over #01 and #31 in a battle of their own. 75 degrees and sunny, a gorgeous day in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. The race is surely on between the #60 and #01 for the win. Blue flags to the GTD cars. Leaders coming through. van der Zande right on top of Jarvis now. Here comes van der Zande for the lead and he catches the traffic perfectly.
Pipo Derani is coming fast. Can he move in to challenge the #60 and the #01? Seven tenths of a second between the #01 and #60 and the #31 is 3.5 seconds in-arrears. #60 and Jarvis want this. Will he go after van der Zande? Will he hold back and take a boatload of points? These two have matched each other all day today. Blomqvist was in a league of his own during the opening stanza. But now it is a major scrap. Derani closing but not by much. Colin Braun and Jon Bennett are ahead in LMP3. This is the first LMP3 race at CTMP. Braun leading Gabby Chaves by a good margin. Renger van der Zande is told to go full chat, no fuel save needed.
Traffic could play a factor in the final five minutes. Phil Ellis wants by Maxime Martin in GT Daytona. Ellis chasing Martin but does not have the speed up the Mario Andretti straightaway. This track is so fast that even with GTD cars, aero wash steals the aero advantage off the dive planes on the front of the car. Maxime Martin must be perfect through all ten turns here at Mosport. Ian James, team boss at Heart of Racing, and who is also a racer in the endurance event. Heart of Racing are going to Europe to the legendary 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium to race with TF Sport in SRO GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. Martin ahead of Ellis.
Renger van der Zande will pass the GTD cars before the end of the race. Pipo Derani wants by Oliver Jarvis. Jarvis shuts the door. Send it. No. Derani will have the aero wash and falls back. GTD lead battle ahead and Jarvis gets bottled up and so does Derani. Bamber wants by Westbrook as well. Bamber trying Westbrook and does and now will be on Derani's six. Earl Bamber is pusbhing and so is Derani as Jarvis catches traffic all over as they pass the GTD Pro leader. Final alp of the motor race. Renger van der Zande has clear sailing. van der Zande and
Matty Campbell wins GTD Pro. GTD honors go to Maxime Martin and Heart of Racing. Colin Braun wins LMP3 while Jarvis holds off Derani and the rest in DPi. LMP3 honors go to CORE Autosport. Pfaff Motorsports win at home in GT Daytona Pro. Heart of Racing take GT Daytona honors for the second straight race.
Overall/DPi: #01 van der Zande/Bourdais Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R
LMP3: #54 Bennett/Braun CORE Autosport Ligier JS P320 Nissan
GT Daytona Pro: #9 Campbell/Jaminet Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R
GT Daytona: #27 De Angelis/Martin Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3
Time is now of the essence in the full championship. The next races for the prototype classes will be at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, the penultimate prototype race of the year in August. The GTD Pro and GTD teams will race next in a standalone event in less than two weeks at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut, the FCP Euro Northeast Grand Prix. Join us for that one in a couple weeks. So long for now, eh, from Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada.
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