If you are a good pro driver, you should cut laps within a couple of tenths. If the cars are the same, with the fuel load and tire degradation notwithstanding, you can really be close and that is great skill especially in testing but in racing too. Triarsi Competizione vs. Bimmerworld in the lane. Raffaele Marciello suited and booted ready to go. He will drive through the changing light and should do a double stint. Craft Bamboo have saved their ace in the hole. Juncadella leads and will turn it over to the ultimate closer in GT3 racing. The Pro-Am cars now cycle back out. We shall see one stint of Bill Auberlen battling Alessio Rovera. Both of them cannot take it to the end and they will do a final driver change. Maybe Bimmerworld and Triarsi will be doing single stints.
Juncadella and Serra both in the 1:23 range. If you max out stint time the Mercedes will be in the lane before the Ferrari. Do you do the overcut or the undercut? Marciello should go with fresh Pirelli P Zero's and Ferrari are flexible with their strategy so they can do the overcut or the undercut and could throw the dummy. Jason Daskalos the leader in the Am class in the #88 Zelus Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3 quite a few laps ahead of Askew, Smithson and the rest. Daskalos was a last-minute addition to Zelus Motoesports along with 16-year-old GT4 driver Seth Lucas.
Serra backs it up trying to move on Juncadella past the lapped Lamborghini. He stays in line and is now right on the tail of Juncadella. Meanwhile, John Edwards has been called to the lane to pit. Tires, fuel, and a driver change fr the #96. Racer's Edge also ready to pit. So now, Michael Dinan will get into the #96. Oh boy. Craft Bamboo go with the undercut. Juncadella set to turn it over to the first ever two-time overall GTWC Europe champ, Raffaele Marciello, the Swiss domiciled Italian ace. Serra can cut qualifying laps now to leapfrog past the Craft Bamboo Benz. Craft Bamboo are really going for it. A true international team from Hong Kong taking on the Indianapolis 8 Hours.
Serra in traffic and he will go a lap ahead vs. Marciello. In terms of the wave by, it was an emergency Full Course Yellow that called for a safety car and the wave by wouldn't have worked out. Ellis in the lane from second spot. This is a five-horse race here at Indianapolis. Drivers were told that in an emergency a wave by would happen. If you have to quickly neutralize the field, they'd think of it. We are too deep in the weeds. Serra cuts a 1:23.7. Marciello in the car and is starting his first lap at speed. Where does the #77 fall into the picture when Serra pits?
What is the undercut potential? His first two sectors on his first flying lap is identical. Martin Konrad in the lane and so is the sister AF Corse Ferrari #71 of Davide Rigon. Identical laps between Serra and Marciello. Serra's left front headlamp is busted. Turn on your headlights now to make sure they are working. Samantha Tan has cycled to second and they owe us a pit stop. Marciello just uncorked a 1:23.1. Marciello is pushing hard gaining a second on the Brazilian. How long will AF Corse keep Serra out? A lazy spin for David Askew in car #08 and thankfully he got out of there and we stay green!
No yellow. Marciello getting up on the wheel. AF Corse should be in pit lane in 5-6 minutes, and they will have fresher Pirelli tires than #77. #34 in the pit lane for regular service at Conquest. Daniel Mancinelli at the wheel of their Ferrari. Serra in clean air cuts a 1:23.4. Marciello cuts a 1:23 dead! Oh man! These chaps are cutting qualifying laps now. How much pace do you have? Pit stop at RealTime Racing for the #43 Acura NSX GT3 with Erin Vogel at ther wheel sharing with Michael Cooper and Taylor Hagler.
Mario Farnbacher top of the shop in driver consistency and Onofrio Triarsi is really measuring up to the veteran drivers. Racer's Edge have been going through a major emotional rollercoaster. Mirachi and company went from open wheel racing into IMSA GT Daytona and then into SRO. Jordan Taylor and Dane Cameron, Chris Dyson, and more, have run with Racer's Edge. Mirachi is a certified personal trainer as well. They are based 35 miles north of Orlando in Deland, Florida. Samantha Tan pits the #38 Silver Cup BMW M4 GT3. They are down and away but they did not take fuel. Maybe Tan is going further to meet mnimum drive time requirements.
Five female drivers in the field and Samantha Tan is passed by Ashton Harrison. AF Corse are readying for Daniel Serra's pit stop. Two hours and 35 minutes to go. He could be back into the pound seats. Serra might be able to do fuel save. We shall see. Tire changing means that without the fuel on the last stop you would not have to meet minimum pit time. It is a minimum 52 second drive time in the pit lane. Serra in the pit lane. Check out the only Ferrari IndyCar, the 637 model. Meantime, Serra is in the lane, the Brazilian. Where is Raffaele Marciello?
Tires and fuel indeed. Sticker Pirelli P Zero's. Marciello through turn 12. Hot tires but not up to pressure. Marciello screaming down the road and Marciello makes the undercut work! Serra on hot tires. Two and a half hours to go. Raffaele Marciello said on social media "we will win. I promise." Well, we shall see. "Lelo" is pushing like crazy. 2:15-2:19, consistent fast laps. The gap at 1.8 seconds and Serra will have fresher tires on the Ferrari 488 GT3. The ebb and flow of the tire advantage will be fascinating if this race stays green. This is a strategy duel between Craft Bamboo and AF Corse, from Hong Kong and Italy respectively.
This is a strategy race for sure. Philip Ellis third. Michael Dinan fourth and still on the lead lap I think. So, there are four cars still contending for the victory with less than two and a half hours to go before we see the checkered flag this evening as the shadows grow long at "The Brickyard". We will close in on nighttime soon. Here comes Daniel Serra drawing a bead on Raffaele Marciello. Craft Bamboo liveried in that Teddy Yip paint scheme with sponsorship from Jim Trueman driven by Vern Schuppan the Australian sports car ace. Serra is watching Marciello and seeing if there is a crack in his armor. Marciello matches Serra's lap time to six thousandths of a second, hammer and tongs. Serra answering the bell. A.J. Peterson and Lone Star Racing providing the equipment for Craft Bamboo Racing.
They are using their Hong Kong pit crew. The gap is exactly one second now between Marciello and Serra. AF Corse if they need a reset they could be n the pound seats and Winward as well as Turner Motorsports are also in the fight. Trouble for Patrick Assenheimer in the #63 DXDT Mercedes and oh man, oh man! He has tangled with the #23 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari of Alessio Rovera! Oh my! Racer's Edge will move up to second. Third on the road but the SunEnergy1 Mercedes is not eligible to score points. SunEnergy1 are part of IGTC only not the GTWC America championship. The wave around came late after the K-PAX accident that caused the safety car due to the amount of debris needing to be cleaned up.
Ferrari #71 had the edge until Ulysse De Pauw made contact with the sister car. In the Pro class you must have one Silver rated driver in the lineup. Daniel Morad had a flawless triple stint. But Ulysse De Pauw had an error and is less experienced than is Morad. Rovera in the pit lane and the incident is under investigation. Triarsi Competizione were in their first top shelf endurance event and things went pear shaped. Rovera in the pit lane. Daniel Morad has raced a lot at the Nurburgring and he drove with Dirk Mueller at the 2022 Rolex 24 at Daytona as well as I recall. I could very well be wrong.
Serra matching Marciello. The pace and consistency of the professional drivers, they are metronomic. Some drivers don't want tons of information while others feel the need for it. Someone like Ayrton Senna, the late, great F1 champion was a man who wanted the information. Such fine margins and such split second decisions being made in these races. Martin Brundle, a teammate of Ayrton Senna said usually drivers worry about their own race, 80-90% while Senna had half his brain wanting more and more info and half his brain focusing on driving.
Michael Dinan in his second year in GT3, he had two GT4 titles a couple years ago in two SRO GT4 series' having 17 wins in total to step up to GT3. He has been being mentored by Robby Foley while Robby was mentored by Bill Auberlen years and years ago. Dinan is confident but does not use his ego. Ashton Harrison third in Pro-Am. Michael Dinan also had an Ivy League education and has just started a real estate development company. A waving yellow. What s that about? With Pro-Am, we have just not seen the three-way fight we thought we'd see as Racer's Edge are now controlling their own destiny.
With #45 running ninth, they will be in the clear. Full Course Yellow. Raffaele Marciello in and Daniel Serra stays out. Is this a split strategy? Serra maybe misses the boat by not pitting. Someone has moved the tire bundle at turn ten. A strategy play, at Craft Bamboo springing to action in the lane. Winward is for the driver change, fuel and tires, and Jules Gounon, he will push hard. He is trying to have success like his countrymen Rene Thomas, Jules Goux, and Simon Pagenaud, Indianapolis 500 winners from France. We have a safety car scramble. Serra to the lane from the lead. A driver change at AF Corse as they look to leapfrog Raffaele Marciello.
Ferrari #71 out of pit lane and everyone else is going to be bottled up behind the safety car. #77 has gone by! Oh my gosh! Back on level footing between #71 and #77. Antonio Fuoco will do this stint. Could he be the closer? Jules Gounon should catch up. Marciello, Fuoco, Gounon. Gounon and Winward got trapped behind the safety car! Oh man! They will be a full lap down on Marciello and Fuoco. Wow! Regulations put in place to protect the leader greatly affect the chaser and no, we don't know who hit the tire stacks. Robby Foley should be on the lead lap but will have to get through a couple lapped cars.
The strategists are earning their paychecks today. Safety car lights off. No wave by this time. Jules Gounon will lead the field but he is a lap down in fourth overall and he hopes for another quick safety car period. The leader had the opportunity to pit and Serra did not pit. Actually I think it is Marciello who got a full lap at speed. Winward down one lap as we go back to green. That's Gounon I believ. Green flag. Field fanning out. Winward not entirely a lap down and side by side stuff between Fuoco and Marciello. Fuoco is going with him aroun Martin Konrad in the #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes. Fuoco is followed by Marciello passing by the ST Racing BMW #38 with Gottsacker at the controls.
Tire life should be equal and now, Fuoco is on the back foot in traffic. Zelus and the Lambo of Seth Lucas separates the leaders. Marciello and Fuoco will fight for the victory to the end. No traffic for Fuoco. Gounon uncorking rapid laps in fourth place in the #33 Winward Racing Mercedes. They need a Full Course Yellow turning on the afterburners as Raffaele Marcieloo leads the motor race trying to catch Mario Farnbacher and putting him a lap down.
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