Four hours to go. A typical enduro for Michelin Pilot Challenge left. We are tired and dragging a wee bit. Ben Hanley splits the gap. Hanley is a former LMP2 class winner at the Rolex 24. Hanley goes around the #64 TGM Aston Martin. Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR race winner Jon Morley is spotting for the AWA LMP3 team. Eddie D'Hondt, spotter for Jeff Gordon and Chase Elliott in NASCAR Cup, he is a spotter at the Rolex 24 sometimes as well. Two Formula 1 drivers who have some experience there and in sports cars are Esteban Guttierez in the #04 and Giedo van der Garde driving at TDS Racing. George Kurtz found out about Esteban Guttierez as he was an ambassador at AMG Mercedes as Crowdstrike sponsors Mercedes in Formula 1 and the Mercedes Formula 1 safety car.
Owner of CORE Autosport Jon Bennett who was a driver, has retired twice. Will he keep racing? I wonder. Three cars on the lead lap to fight for the win. Dixon, Pagenaud, and Lynn. Simon Pagenaud is reminded by the Acura GTP of the Peugeot 908 HDI FAP diesel LMP1 car he drove at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, goesh, 14-15 years ago or more. The diesel prototypes from Audi and Peugeot raced consistently together for a five year span I think between 2006 and 2011. Holy smokes. It is a gorgeous morning in Daytona Beach! 71 degrees! It was freezing cold in 2022. It is balmy in Daytona Beach on this Sunday morning, mate.
The #27 Aston Martin for Heart of Racing is doing routine service. They pulled rubber from the brake ducts and fueled the car. The boys at Mercedes are worried about the Aston Martin's performance. The Mercedes has the edge on the infield, but the Aston Martin has top speed on the high banks. Acura knocking on the door and McLaren have led too. Lexus are there. BMW have not had a great race and then Lamborghini, Porsche, and Ferrari, are all new and they just have not had the speed. Where on earth are the yellows? Six hours sans a yellow. The next race is Sebring, "Super Sebring" from March 15th-18th with the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech Championship. I would love to go to Sebring for those races but Sebring is hot and muggy!
In 2020, the year I was at the Rolex 24, green flag racing last seven hours and 48 minutes in a stretch. We will surpass the distance covered last year at 761 laps, 2,709 miles. The Cadillac drivers are told they can open the vents on the cars to keep cool. The #31 Whelen Action Express Cadillac has a cool suit that Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims, and Jack Aitken can use. Our boys think of everything. Keep in mind, I am pals with AXR and their team even though I am just a humble blogger. I shall blog something about AXR and the race we had, once I can think of it a bit and see what to say even though the race has not quite been in our favor. We will recover, maybe.
We are, and so is everyone else, keeping the energy up before the end of this thing. The Cadillac has great throttle response even with the hybrid. Very interesting character to the new car. The great thing about GTP is the variety of engines. #01 is in the pit lane for tires, fuel etc. You have to love the sounds of rattle guns and air jacks going up or down. Meyer Shank Racing are splitting their strategy. This is Cadillac vs. Acura but it is also Dallara vs. Oreca. An Italian chassis vs. a French chassis. Massive accident for the #20 High Class Racing Oreca 07!
This is an LMP2 car that has backed it into the fence they are snakebit again at the Le Mans chicane! Criminy! Full Course Yellow, now. Nine yellows and this one after running under green for 5 hours and 45 minutes! Holy Moly Martha! Pit lane closed to extract this motorcar which is very secondhand after the crunch. Driver Anders Fjordbach should be OK, we hope. The right rear looks completely cattywampus and completely and totally smashed. Anders Fjordbach, the Danish driver climbs out gingerly under his own steam.
He just fired it in, and... smash! Thank God for the tire wall to absorb the energy! Jeepers creepers! Totally unabated speed. Ouch! It takes the air out of your lungs, literally. We shall hear from Dave Burns, James Hinchcliffe, and Brian Till, soon. We are now back to green after a great conversation with IMSA boss John Doonan about the new cars and now, Nick Tandy is trying to go for the lead and now, Nick Tandy's Porsche 963 is pushing hard splitting Simon Pagenaud. Jules Gounon and Tommy Milner get feisty through the Le Mans chicane! Wow! The Lexus is also on the same lap in GTD Pro! Penalty for the #35 LMP2 car fourth in class, the TDS car, I think.
Simon Pagenaud has gone to the lead of the motor race. Tandy in the Porsche on full send. He is two laps down. Pagenaud, Bourdais, Westbrook, Tandy. Why didn't both 01 and 02 pit and gone on split strategies? That is what everyone might wonder. Is Porsche showing their hand, bringing something to the table? Are they putting their chips down? The answer is yes. Pagenaud is pushing it hard. Head-to-head. #60 vs. #6. MSR vs. Penske. Pagenaud gives it up. Nick Tandy is taking the Penske Porsche Motorsports 963 to the tail end of the lead lap. Meyer Shank has won the Rolex 24. They have won the Indianapolis 500. We are closing in on th standard time of a sprint race at 2 hours and 40 minutes. Jeepers creepers!
Westbrook is now down by two some odd seconds. Bourdais is a second and a half down, I think. We have seen the team's backtiming this race from certain points and that backtiming is either going to pay off or backfire. Porsche's have had a tough old time with the 992 GT3R in GTD Pro and GTD. They are doing all they can, and Bachler had to dodge through the chicane after a car went off the road. The marshals have designed the tire chicane so you lose a bucketload of speed and you cannot gain any kind of advantage. No need to stop entirely anymore. It is not a stop sign. It is "stoptional", an optional stop. Tee hee hee. Lamborghini know they are going GTP racing next year. They will develop their new car with Romain Grosjean.
Jordan Pepper and Romain Grosjean are working together well. Pepper, Grosjean, Mirko Bortolotti, and Andrea Caldarelli. Drivers can reach a level they've aspired to for many years with the GTP opportunity. Manufacturer relationships are key. They are very beneficial for a driver. Jules Gounon has taken the lead from Tommy Milner in the Corvette. Gounon, Daniel Juncadella, and Maro Engel are going for it with Cooper MacNeil. This is Cooper MacNeil's final Rolex 24. It is his last race too and he has to be there to help the family business with WeatherTech who sponsor the series. He might be back. We shall see.
No comments:
Post a Comment