The seesaw battle continues as we enter the fourth hour between #60 and #10. It has been a wild scrap to watch between #10 and #60. Down to the wire, intense competition. That is what we have seen all year long between the two Acura's. Taylor and Albuquerque now lead Jarvis and Blomqvist in points by 34 markers as things stand just over four hours in. In the LMP3 standings, Braun and Bennett have just a four-point gap on championship day to Gar Robinson. Josh Pierson is only 16 years old and Kay van Berlo is also a young driver. He lost the Porsche Carrera Cup championship but has been able to focus forward on his duties in the WeatherTech paddock. van Berlo is two for three on endurance races in 2022 as we watch Oliver Jarvis in the fourth position. Tom Blomqvist says that the track has changed entirely as far as wind direction. The track is also at its hottest. Blomqvist hopes the track comes to his team. Loic Duval leads Mike Conway in the overall by 1.3 seconds with Brendon Hartley, Oliver Jarvis, and yan Hunter-Reay completing the top five.
The DPi cars are so aero dependent. Tailwinds can make the car really loose while headwinds seem to pull the car along. Jarvis behind Hartley. Tom Blomqvist might be the closer in the #60. Loic Duval is now only 7/10ths of a second ahead of Mike Conway. It is JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac vs. Action Express Cadillac. This season has been down to the wire and intense all year. It has been wild to watch. With the elevation changes at Road Atlanta, we wondered if the wind would be a factor thinking it wouldn't be but it sure has. When the wind comes from behind the car becmes a parachute as the tail is loose and it is a crosswind uphill. The shark fin on the back of the car is essentially a sail.
Keep an eye on what the wind direction is doing at different parts of the track. Brendon Hartley has been a sports car driver and a guy who was plugged into simulators to be driving for Formula 1 teams. Filipe Albuquerque is suited and booted ready to go for the next stint. The cockpits of these race cars are becoming more and more complicated just like an airplane. Connor De Philippi is now all over Ben Barnicoat for the GTD Pro lead. De Philippi will be a BMW GTP driver. The new cars are so exciting to see. We have talked so much about them of course.
The new LMDh/GTP cars worldwide, it is going to be incredible. A lot of these drivers have learned the sophistication of open wheel cars and then a manufacturer supported GT program, and then when they get into a prototype, they know what they are driving and knowing the capability of cars trying to pass them. Know the braking points are in the GT class cars. Campbell and Jaminet are GTD Pro champions and now Ben Barnicoat has passed by Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia. Pfaff Motorsports had Scott Goodyear racing veteran win a championship in 1988 for that team in Porsche 944 Cup competition.
The pit window for a GTD car is between 42-49 laps. The Mercedes AMG GT3 is more balanced on a run and has better tire degradation as they are staying close to everyone else. Team Hardpoint has had plenty of ups and downs in the #99 Porsche. Following Watkins Glen their tractor trailer had a fire. They had a show car and then had to change it to a race car. They had to change the headlights on the cars. The #5 Mustang Sampling JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac is in the lane. Tristan Vautier sharing with Richard Westbrook and Loic Duval. Grip is at a premium as we wait for the temperatures to cool off as the race moves towards the hours of darkness.
PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports are in, in the #11 car for Josh Pierson who is handing over either to Tristan Nunez or to Steven Thomas. Cadillac #02 also to the pit lane. Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, and Ryan Hunter-Reay. Ditto for the #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac. So, both Ganassi cars undergoing routine service. Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais, and Scott Dixon. So the order has changed. The #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura is in now too. Fuel into the tank and four tires. Jarvis, Blomqvist, and Castroneves. Teams will be here for the next couple days doing testing at Road Atlanta of the new GTP cars.
Acura #10 to the pit lane. There is a driver change along with the fuel and the tires. They are waiting for temperatures to cool off. At this point the top four are Brendon Hartley, Oliver Jarvis, Loic Duval, and Mike Conway. OK. Yours truly has had trouble with the Peacock race broadcast and we are moving forward as the #57 and #32 Mercedes cars have had an incident and warnings to both Korthoff Racing and Winward Racing. So, let me see. I think we are still in hour four. We are. Josh Burdon is at the wheel of the Andretti Autosport LMP3 car #36.
We will be halfway through this race very soon. Without Dr. Don Panoz and Jim France, combatants at first, but then allies, and there's all kinds of scrapp[ing between the DPi and LMP3 cars! We are seeing Felipe Fraga pass Josh Burdon. Wow. Jon Bennett and company, with Colin Braun and George Kurtz are going to be clawing their way back and we saw the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura go by. Whoa! The #79 Mercedes AMG GT3 has spun out and is now back on track. Maximilian Goetz in the car. He was going to hit the pit lane but did not. That was a late call. They left it down to the drivers. He was barreling into turn one at speed trying to pass the Ferrari of Simon Mann but got tipped by the #25 BMW M4 GT3.
Oh my. It is the #25 BMW M4 GT3. Incident under review by the stewards. Now then, check this out. Filipe Albuquerque is being caught hand over fist by Mike Conway! Now, Oliver Jarvis passes Renger van der Zande and almost crashes! Yikes! That was a close one! van der Zande wants by Jarvis. van der Zande off in the dirt. To win the title you need to stay on the road and he almost goes off the road as well, look. This is wild stuff! Jarvis was held up by a Lexus. If you move first, that is your move. But if you move in response to someone else a penalty can come. 130-160 miles an hour working traffic here at Road Atlanta.
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