Parker Thompson now takes over the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 from Frankie Montecalvo with Aaron Telitz also in the car I believe. Yes indeed. All of the GT Daytona class will look different in 2024. Now, Robby Foley is in the lane. There will be a customer Corvette program. Jordan Taylor might want to get back into prototypes after winning in DPi. Can he look to coming back to GTP? He will have to switch manufacturers if he wants to come back to his dad's team with possibly having two cars for them next year. Michael Dinan now at the wheel of the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3. The sole remaining BMW M Hybrid prototype in GTP is out in front between the two GTD cars, the meat in the sandwich.
Thompson now right on Dinan's six. Dinan has to let him go. No grip in the tires. Don't push too hard to hitting the blue Armco. Thompson to the lead. Discretion is definitely the better part of valor. Dinan settling in and starting to feel the car. A warm day above 80 degrees with a Real Feel temperature in the 90s. Nolan Siegel in the #04 APR CrowdStrike LMP2 also racing single seaters. Danny Formal in the lane in the #93 Racer's Edge with Wayne Taylor Racing Acura NSX GT3. Formal sharing with Ashton Harrison and Kyle Marcelli. Lexus #14 now retakes the lead in GTD Pro. Barnicoat, Caldarelli, Gounon, Rigon. Four brands in the top four. Lexus, Mercedes, Lamborghini, Ferrari.
A wheel off to the outside of the track. I think that is the one lost by the #10. #31 to the lane from the lead with Alexander Sims. He is finding his feet aboard the Cadillac GTP car. Driver change it looks like with Jack Aitken. They had a very tough Le Mans race did my buddies here. Iain Watt said that they are building a notebook and doing testing at Watkins Glen and then going to Mosport and continuing to go for it. You have to be there and we are there right now. It is Alexander Sims doing a double stint.
Easy on the brakes, get tire temperature. Jack Aitken lost control in the rain at Le Mans and our boys continued to build the notebook and get the setup right on the car. Will we be back at Le Mans in the future? I hope so. GTD Pro, the #79 WeatherTech Mercedes AMG GT3 in the lane. This is Jules Gounon driving currently sharing with Daniel Juncadella in a two driver team. So, Alexander Sims now runs in third spot and Porsche and Acura have come back by. We have had a variation in different duration races and different race tracks. We will be in for a sprint race next time out and more about that when this race ends.
A puncture for the #60 MSR Acura. The tire is fixed and the energy is replenished. Penalty, failture to adhere to minimum full refueling time for the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura. Matthieu Jaminet retakes the lead of the motor race and another tire issue and penalty for the #78 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 now driven by Patrick Liddy. Liddy, Misha Goikhberg, and Loris Spinelli. Michelle Gatting in thei Iron Dames Lamborghini is second. Patrick Liddy cut his teeth in the sprint race world of Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America also sanctioned by IMSA for five races.
Matthieu Jaminet leads GTP, Nolan Siegel in LMP2, Nico Varrone in LMP3, Ben Barnicoat in GTD Pro, and Patrick Liddy in GTD. What will Lexus be doing in the next couple years? They might have a new car. We'll see. We still have a wee bit more than a typical WeatherTech Championship sprint race to go yet. Patrick Liddy to the lane for service doing a double stint. Refueling and tire changing of course. Took a quick break and we are back at it again. Matthieu Jaminet slicing and dicing his way through traffic. Alexander Sims continues in second place.
Nick Tandy will finish this race. Of course, Meyer Shank Racing had a pit lane speeding penalty and a puncture to deal with. Vasser Sullivan bringing the heat in GT Daytona of course. GT Daytona Pro that is. Trouble for the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R of Klaus Bachler. Does he have a puncture? Is it a locked brake? It is a compressed sidewall and he is struggling through the last two corners. He really has to slow down. That wheel has welded itself to the stub axle. Wow. Thankfully it happened at the end of the lap.
He was a lucky luck boy there but will have to fight to stay on the lead lap. The whole carcass of the tire was wrapped around the suspension. Similar to how they had troubles at the Rolex 24 at the beginning of the year. It will be tough for the Pfaff Motorsports team to keep their podium streak alive. Meanwhile, the weather has dissipated and moved on. Nico Varrone leads LMP3 over Dakota Dickerson. Dakota Dickerson, Garrett Grist, and Dylan Murry. That is quite the trio. There are multiple cars on the lead lap between both LMP2 and LMP3.
Nolan Siegel leading LMP2 ahead of Alex Quinn and Christian Rasmussen along with Josh Pierson. Some bright, young talent headed either for open wheel racing or sports cars. Ben Barnicoat is now being monstered by Andrea Caldarelli. Lexus vs. Lamborghini in both GTD Pro and GTD alike. Again, the largest field seen in the 6 Hours of the Glen since 1984. Matthieu Jaminet continues to lead overall for Porsche Penske Motorsports ahead of Action Express Cadillac and Alexander Sims.
https://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/Watkins_Glen-1984-07-08.html
Check out the cars from the 1984 race at your leisure. I think you will enjoy seeing the history. Amazing is this area of New York in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York and of course the United States Formula 1 Grand Prix was run here for 20 years. Two hours and 25 minutes remaining in the race. A huge incident! The #01 Cadillac with Renger van der Zande in the mess with an LMP3 car and two GTD cars! The NTE Sport and Iron Lynx Lamborghini's in GTD pro and the #38 Performance Tech LMP3 car.
As fast and capable as Lamborghini has been, they are in trouble. In replay, let's see what happeend. Caldarelli got nailed by the #38 Performance Tech LMP3 car with Alex Kirby and Renger van der Zande had nowhere to go. Alex Kirby in limp home mode out of the laces of The Boot. GTP pit stop time for BMW, Whelen Cadillac, and more. BMW will lose spots. Nick Tandy taking over the #6 Penske Porsche. Jack Aitken has now leapfrogged to the lead of the motor race in the #31 Whelen Action Express Cadillac.
Survival is the key. Colin Braun has been uncorking fastest lap after fastest lap after fastest lap. Tom Blomqvist and Oliver Jarvis won the championship in DPi last year and of course Jarvis has gone back to Europe now. GTD Pro and GTD cars in the pit lane. Iron Dames in from the lead and Gold driver Rahel Frey gets into the car. Vasser Sullivan are hoping to double up in GTD Pro and GTD. So, Jack Aitken now leads over Colin Braun, Nick Tandy, Nick Yelloly and others in GTP. We will soon get back to racing.
Of course, the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen is the only IMSA endurance race run completeluy in the daytime hours. Michelle Gatting says that Iron Dames are stepping up and they are continuing to push. The brakes are beginning to be a challenge but they'll keep going. Ambient temperatures are extremely hot in the car. Doriane Pin and Michelle Gatting at Iron Dames have really put in the laps and been on pace. At Action Express, Jack Aitken wrecked on the opening lap of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was very similar to Augusto Farfus today.
Can you imagine if Jack Aitken could steer the Whelen Cadillac to the win today? We'll see. Cold tires on a restart. Here we go. Get the heat into the tires. Be careful. Colin Braun and Nick Tandy are right on it. Jack Aitken up on the wheel. He has to erform. Colin Braun closing hard, though. Nick Tandy also remains in the fight for Porsche. As does Nick Yelloly in the sole remaining BMW. Colin Braun will have to hand off again to Tom Blomqvist before this race ends. We could see Blomqvist in open wheel racing in the very near future. No more than four hours in a six hour period. This is a six hour race of course.
Corvette are running a second off the pace in GTD Pro but they are still in the fight. Antonio Garcia third in class chasing Alex Riberas and Heart of Racing Aston Martin.
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