Porsche are coming back into the fray in GTD Pro and GTD. Be careful with the air restrictor. Supersonic air charge can stall the motor. We go onboard with the #7 Porsche 963 of Felipe Nasr powered by the 4.6-liter turbocharged V8. Not as much coasting in energy save mode. Nasr needs to attack and push. Don't challenge Dixon, just keep the gap. Zacharie Robichon is fighting with Indy Dontje. Porsche vs. Mercedes in GTD. The Porsche is more a handful over the bumps. The Porsche is far more stable than it used to be. The engine in the Mercedes is well back in the chassis with it's long nose, and the engine in the front. The Porsche has the new 992 generation 911. They wanted the car to be more drivable. GTP pit stop time, look.
I wonder who is in the lane. It is the #10 Acura for Wayne Taylor Racing/Andretti Autosport. Louis Deletraz should do a double stint. Assessment of the tires and the front nose section. Acura feels sturdy and better on the long run pace than the Cadillac's currently as far as tires althought we can see Alexander Sims has now moved up to fourth place in the #31 Whelen Engineeering Cadillac now in the lane. Venting the cockpit? Driver change? I think it is cockpit ventilation. Be methodical on the pit stops all the time. Jordan Taylor in the lane and so is the #79 Mercedes AMG GT3 with Jules Gounon stepping into the car now. Jordan Taylor staying in the Corvette. The Corvette and Mercedes both off the air jacks but the Corvette retains the lead.
Jules Gounon has to find the balance of the car and the track, find the sweet spot. BMW in the lane. Box, box, box. This is Nick Yelloly I believe and there will be a driver change. I think it is Sheldon van der Linde, the South African. Renger van der Zande taking over the #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac from Scott Dixon. Worn tires and a greasy racetrack. The level of driver talent in this field is amazing. Ryan Hardwick is taking over the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R from Zacharie Robichon I believe. Yes indeed. Jan Heylen is the third driver. Drivers who cannot find a vacancy in open wheel racing, they get into sports car racing and go for it.
Scott Dixon explaining to Renger van der Zande how the car is working. Instant feedback from the previous driver who knows how the car is handling. Interpreting strategy is even hard for the drivers as it is indeed coded. Dixon got sandwiched between the wall and an LMP3 car into Sunset Bend during his stint. 56 minutes on a tank of fuel. The tire degradation is wild. Dixon had a flatspotted set f tires to deal with. Front loading on double stinting tires so that tonight it won't be a problem and the stints can be shortened up. All the energy savings and the hybrid drive is amazingly complicated. The engineers' messages are very complex. Go to red dial 3, 4th indent, 3 over. You don't have a straightaway to rest except at the front and back of the course.
Helio Castroneves in the lane in the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura. Colin Braun will take over the car. The third driver being Tom Blomqvist of course. Braun ran with CORE Autosport last year which has ceased operations. Jon Bennett who headed up CORE Autosport for years, ran in IMSA Prototype Challenge to the factory Porsche GT Le Mans cars winning the title and the Rolex 24. Colin Braun did not have other opportunities and they kept it together with Jon Bennett until a door opened. Then, Meyer Shank Racing called. He has won in NASCAR truck series racing and in sports cars all over the place.
Corey Lewis currently leading the GT Daytona class in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3. Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers co-driving for the full season. He is 4.8 seconds to the good over Jaxon Evans in second in the #91 Porsche 911 GT3R for Kelly Moss Racing. The BMW M4 GT3 is now in it's second year as a GT3/GTD race car. Renger van der Zande leads by 47 seconds over Louis Deletraz in the #10 Acura ARX-06. Trouble for the #01! Oh boy! Was that Renger van der Zande? That's odd. It was a yellow and black car. He locked the right front and could not turn into the Tower Turn.
Smoke trailing off the right front. The brake bias is very sensitive on the #01 Cadillac and it should be that van der Zande shall have to adjust the brake bias. Every driver is different. You can move the braking capability between the front and rear brakes. The trouble with the GTP car is that it s amechanical hydraulic front brake and a electronic brake by wire in the rear for the hybrid unit. These are seamless hybrid units unlike some of the Hypercars in World Endurance where you hear a whirling sound with the flywheel. The flywheel is spinning up but you do not hear it. Dixon spun and he got pinched by an LMP2 car who did not see him. Well, well, well,. Then, van der Zande went off the road all by his lonesome.
van der Zande still leads Louis Deletraz by 44 seconds. Double stinting these tires, it is like driving on ice towards the end of the stint. MSR lost 80% of their practice time waiting for computer updates for the car to load up just like your laptop at home. A software update is what it is. Jack Aitken moves past Colin Braun for third. Some chopping and changing at the top of the shop and now, Jack Aitken at the wheel of the #31 Whelen Engineering Action Express Cadillac V Series R has moved past the Acura #60 of Colin Braun for third place in the overall.
Corey Lewis has handed the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 to Bryan Sellers. The GT3 drivers are just trying their best to stay out of the way of the prototypes. Seven and a half hours to go yet. Mike Skeen leading GT Daytona still in the #32 Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3 and he had some argy bargy with the #93 Racer's Edge Acura NSX GT3 as Ben Barnicoat in the #14 Lexus RC F GT3 is watching all this, Ashton Harrison driving the Acura who is improving constantly and stepping up her game. Sheena Monk is the same way. The Acura NSX GT3 is not the easiest car to drive. It has a peaky performance curve.
Hats off to both Ashton Harrison and Sheena Monk. Kyle Marcelli has won a championship with an NSX GT3 in SRO racing. Lance Willsey has another spin in the #33 Sean Creech Motorsports LMP3 cars and he got in a little hot into the hairpin, look, and goes off in the dirt. He had the BMW GTP car, one of them, right at his elbow. But he is back at it now. Mike Skeen continues leading GT Daytona again in the #32 Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3 sharing the car with Mikael Grenier and Kenton Koch. Mike Skeen got into go karts with his dad being in the military.
Friends do not introduce you to go kart racing. Forget I said that! Hardy har har. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Korthoff Motorsports is really pushing. Ashton Harrison's car, now with Danny Formal at the wheel of it, went off the road bigtime! Into turn one and hit the bump and he is on a rodeo ride! Wow! That Acura NSX GT3 turns into a bucking bronco! This is when the track gets really greasy in the heat. 88 degrees ambient this Saturday afternoon in Sebring. It is hot! Some drivers have air conditioning but have to check and see if it works. It is intermittent. The track is really beginning to feel like a skid pad. Just over seven hours left on the board.
The #04 of Ben Hanley in LMP2 has spun at Sunset Bend and fortunately did not hit anything. Wow. The driver who beat this team at Daytona, will join them at Le Mans, James Allen I believe. Hanley locks up. George Kurtz and Colin Braun of course also race together in SRO in a GT3 car. Such a great atmosphere here at Sebring. Wayne Taylor Racing put signed coins out in different places and fans found them. Jack Aitken passes Louis Deletraz. Aitken has fit in really well at Action Express. Aitken made a power move past Louis Deletraz who has slimy tires on that #10 Acura. Aitken subbed for George Russell at Williams in the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix when their driver George Russell was subbing for Sir Lewis Hamilton.
The LMP2 and GTP cars are very similar. 26 drivers have done the double between the 1,000 Miles of Sebring and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Paul Loup Chatin leads LMP2 in the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Racing LMP2 over Ed Jones, former IndyCar driver, driving this year for TDS Racing and the #35 TDS Racing LMP2 of Francois Heriau has a huge shunt just out of the Le Mans corner and onto the Ulmann straight. The #10 Acura does full service and will do a driver change. Louis Deletraz out of the car and Filipe Albuquerque into the car. Refueling and a driver change, and now, down and away. Francois Heriau is back on the road.
But he got into the power, got hooked on a birm, and overcorrected. He gets into the power, ovedoes it and ker-runch! Right into the tires. The tire barrier needs repair. A top five for TDS Racing at the Rolex 24 in LMP2. The right front suspension is askew and can be repaired as long as it did not tear the pickup points out of the tub. GTP cars in the lane. Driver change and fuel at Chip Ganassi Racing and fuel for Action Express with Jack Aitken continuing his stint. Electric power launch = all torque to get to the speed limit in the lane.
Spaced tire bundles for arresting speed is still a standard for impact absorption. Have them as far away from the racing line as possible. But they are very effective. Pit stop time for GTD. Mikael Grenier is next into the #32 Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3. Jordan Taylor steps out and now, I believe it is Tommy Milner getting into the #3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. A new GT3 spec Corvette coming next year.
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