Sorry again, ladies and gentlemen. I am a wee bit late again. We have begun hour four. Pit stop time at Corvette Racing. We have a car off the road as well. This is the Turner Motorsports #96 Liqui Moly BMW M4 GT3. That is the quartet of drivers of Patrick Gallagher, Robby Foley, Michael Dinan, and Jens Klingman. Full Course Yellow. We have the sister car in this field for that team as well, another M4 GT3 Bill Auberlen, Chandler Hull, Bruno Spengler, and John Edwards. Now, Patrick Gallagher is slowing down and has lost drive. If you have issues, turn left. Do not turn right because you will be out on an island. Currently the car has no drive. He stopped in the middle of the road and did not go all the way to the gate back to the paddock area. That's actually a smart move.
This is the largest crowd ever at the Rolex 24. The campsites are full. Pit stop time in GTP. Renger van der Zande into te lane and Scott Dixon will take over the #01. Both Acura's in the lane. Louis Deletraz stays in the car ad they had a brief downshifting issue. Colin Braun into the pit as well. Recharging and fueling. Electric getaway, like a golf cart, and then... boom! Petrol power! The electric motor is all torque. Minimal wheelspin too, thanks to the traction control in the mild temperatures to get the mod release off the brand-new Michelin tires. Alexander Sims is now in the #31 Whelen Cadillac.
GT Daytona Pro and GT Daytona pit stops. Kenton Koch does a double stint at Korthoff Mercedes. The Winward Mercedes is in the lane as well with Daniel Morad in the backup car as we talked about. Mercedes at the top of the shop in GT Daytona. An emergency service stop required for Jack Hawksworth who gave way to co-driver and Toyota factory WEC Hypercar driver, Mike Conway. BMW #25 is back and ready to get back on track. New tires, and more after the car has been fixed. It looks like we are getting set to go back to green. Over the last decade we have seen a sprint race here at Daytona.
This year, this is back to being an endurance race as Colin Braun is at the top of the shop followed by Matthieu Jaminet, Louis Deletraz, and Richard Westbrook. Two tire compounds for the GTP cars. Low temperature soft and high temperature soft. Low temp tires are designated only to race during the nighttime hours. When the tailwind is pushing you into the braking zone, the cars have less downforce and are heavier. The Acura's have the speed and here comes Deletraz trying to pass Mathieu Jaminet. Acura ARX-06 vs. Porsche 963. The engines make the power in a different way of course. Alexander Sims is right up behind Deletraz and Scott Dixon is really pushing as well.
We have seen the Acura bringing more power. We wonder about the power levels for Porsche, BMW, and Cadillac. The scoop is, the brands can only consume so much power. 670 horsepower in total. Go the distance. It is not always about being fastest. Acura's NSX model is the basis for their GTP car and they want to go for a hat trick at the Rolex 24. That is their objective. Honda have also won the last three straight Indianapolis 500s. Colin Braun leads the motor race. The #18 ERA Motorsports LMP2 car is in the lane.
He is serving a penalty for improper wave by. Merriman sharing with Ryan Dalziel, Christian Rasmussen, and former Daytona Prototype International driver, Oliver Jarvis. Race Direcot Beau Barfield told drivers, it is your responsibility to know if you are part of the wave by. Meanwhile, Alexander Sims is passed by Matty Campbell. That was an uncontested pass. Scott Dixon in the #01 Chip Ganassi Cadillac is also in this battle. Every GTP car has the same power rating of course. Acura are coming with an evolution with the Porsche being all new and same with the BMW. The Cadillac too, is a development of the DPi car from years gone by.
Colin Braun continues leading the motor race over Matthieu Jaminet. Renger van der Zande says the Ganassi Cadillac is running well and no one knows what will happen as the night is going to come soon. The conditions are changing. The ambient temperature is cooling off. Remember, the tires have to double stint and in doing so, the pressures drop. Put in the laps at night and we look towards the wee small hours which is the "zombie land" stage where everyone is lapping, and the pit crews are catching a nap. Braun Pierson, Barbosa, Taylor, De Angelis are the class leaders.
Josh Pierson, he is doing sports car racing and doing Indy Next, the Indy Lights class of old with open wheel cars. Kyffin Simpson and Nolan Siegel doing the same. The GTP teams are ready for anything. A whole transaxle, brake rotors and calipers, and anything else they need. That is how you go endurance racing if you are a championship team. Everyone has gone above and beyond with a new package. In LMP2, man oh man, we have Josh Pierson being reeled in, look, by Scott Huffaker. These are the two team cars at TDS Racing. #11 is Steven Thomas, Mikkel Jensen, Scott Huffaker, and Rinus Veekay.
The other car is being shared by Francois Heriau, Giedo van der Garde, and Job van Uitert. The youth movement is all over motor racing. Open wheel, stock cars, sports cars. It has been overcast and the sun is steadily going down. We welcome Parker Kligerman to the broadcast, stock car and truck racer. The Porsche 963's are beginning to gain on the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura. Matthieu Jaminet in the #6 and Matty Campbell in the #7. The Penske Porsche's have been changing left side tires more for some reason and they might have more grip. #6 has Matthieu Jaminet, Nick Tandy, and Dane Cameron while #7 is driven by Matt Campbell, Felipe Nasr, and Michael Christensen.
Colin Braun has been a champion and he is in his 21st Rolex 24. Matthieu Jaminet is right on his six. Acura vs. Porsche. Braun is being told to defend and save petrol at the same time. The Porsche's are turning it on as we get to the nighttime hours which is extremely long. It is longer than Le Mans in June for sure. Braun locks up and Jaminet tries to go for it but cannot get there. We have Matty Campbell and Louis Deletraz getting after it with GT Daytona Pro and GT Daytona traffic. Acura, Porsche, Acura, Porsche. Holy mackerel! You have six hours after the sun comes up before the end of the motor race.
You have to have your head on a pivot and rely on your spotter. Colin Braun locked the brakes on the rear and then the front. He ran wide. Remember, these cars have brake by wire systems and the steering wheels are full of buttons and dials. Red switch, Bravo 3, setting 2 and so on. You are trying to operate a machine at 200 miles an hour as Louis Deletraz sweeps around Jaminet! The #93 Racer's Edge Acura NSX GT3 was right in the way! Traffic giveth. Traffic taketh away. Acura, Acura, Porsche, Porsche. Braun, Deletraz, Jaminet, Campbell. Deletraz is sharing the #10 Acura ARX-06 with Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, and Brendon Hartley.
The #35 of Josh Pierson and the #11 of Scott Huffaker pitting their LMP2 cars. Huffaker will do a double stint. TDS are transparent sharing setups and info between both cars. The sun is setting beneath the cloud cover. Multiclass racing in the darkness. This is going to be a scream! Don't go anyplace. There is so much more of the story of the 61st Rolex 24 left to tell.
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