Hello and welcome, everyone, to the Berkshire Hills of northwestern Connecticut, and the fabled Lime Rock Park circuit. This legendary "bull ring" racetrack, at only a mile and a half long, is the shortest track on the IMSA schedule and plays host today, to the next two rounds of the IMSA VP SportsCar Challenge, which we last saw in action just a couple weekends ago, up in Canada at Mosport Park. The LMP3 and GSX (GT4) cars are ready for 45 minutes of racing action, twice on this Saturday. Don't forget, we have a full slate of action today which also includes the GT3 spec cars of the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, and the GT4 and TCR cars in Michelin Pilot Challenge as well.
It is a full Saturday of racing. So, stick with us if you can throughout the morning and the afternoon. This is the shortest race track, as mentioned at a mile and a half with twists and turns everywhere. The weather here in the northwestern part of Connecticut. It is the third longest continually running road course in the United States. A lap around this place takes less than a minute. We join Brian Till and Jeremy Shaw as the fans are on the hill ready to watch the races. The cars are lineup up echelon style on the pit lane. No rain or thunderstorms surfaced. Many people went off the road yesterday and clouds of dust were everywhere.
This is going to be fun even though everyone was dropping wheels. There is a creek by the Paul Newman straightaway which used to be called No Name straightaway. The track has drained well. It has been incredibly damp in the northeastern part of the United States. This place used to be ramshackle and have character. It still has character but it is gorgeous. There is a stream on the frontstretch where people can go fly fishing. The cars now make their way put on track. The paddock area is completely paved. It used to be gravel. The Skip Barber Racing School was based here.
Bijoy Garg has pole in LMP3 and John Dubets is on the pole in GSX. We will have three recon laps. This is a slimmer field but with some great cars and great drivers. In GSX we have many BMW's, a couple Porsche's and lone examples of the Chevrolet Camaro, the Porsche Cayman, and the Mercedes AMG GT4. Safety car lights out. Green flag! We're underway! Bijoy Garg takes the lead immediately. Who is going to be at the top in GSX? A big accident in turn one! Sebastian Carazo and Tim Probert are smashed! Oh my! What on earth happened there?
Poor old Tim Probert will not be happy. It was his birthday yesterday. Ugh! Maintain column formation until after the start/finish line. Sebastian Carazo will lose his points lead over Moisey Uretsky. We have another race later today and I don't think Sebastian Carazo or Tim Probert will be able to race again later today. There was also a BMW involved, the #82 of Patrick Wilmot in the Split Decision Motorsports BMW M4! Egad! Boom. He collects Probert and then Carazo gets crunched. That was like a pinball machine.
What a nightmare! The drivers are OK but the cars are obliterated! Heavy, heavy damage to both cars for Probert and Carazo. Here's it all again, in slow motion. The BMW could have been to the right and it was. Did Vincent Barletta tag the back of Willmot? No one is really to blame here. There's no use in hurling accusations. The safety crews are frantically trying their best to clean up the mess. They did not even get as far as Big Bend. Moisey Uretsky is not racing this weekend. Francis Selldorff is looking for hisfirst win and he had to be at the inside of Willmot. He was in front and Vinny Barletta was a row behind.
Francis Selldorff had a great weekend at Mosport last time out. He is from Boston, Massachusetts, and Turner Motorsports is based here in the northeast. Willmot is fine I think. I don't see any damage. Tim Probert and Sebastian Carazo are out of their cars and OK. The safety workers have the Jaws of Life but the drivers are OK. The hydraulic unit is being used to fix the guardrail so it is in compliance with the regulations so they can arrest and absorb these vehicle impacts.
The long straightaway is the fastest part of this course here at Lime Rock Park. When you are at full speed, you know where the braking point is? But it changes when you are gaining speed. Drivers are learning how to start these races. Maybe there should have been a bigger gap between the LMP3 and GSX cars. At the back, everyone was jockying for position and did not give each other enough space. That accident was absolute carnage and you hate to see it. Tim Probert's car on the back of the flatbed and the same is true for Sebastian Carazo's car.
The good news is that the guardrail is fine. They don't need the equipment to fix it. The LMP3 drivers had no idea what was going on. Refocus and get set for the restart. The good new for the drivers is how short the lap is here at Lime Rock at only a minute and a half. This is round seven of the championship and we will have round eight later this afternoon. Again, Moisey Uretsky is not racing this weekend. So his rivals will gain in points but nobody in the top dozen in GSX points has won a race yet this year. I take that back. Six of one, half a dozen of the other, between LMP3 and GSX.
Green flag! Restart time here at Lime Rock with Bijoy Garg in the lead of the motor race now being monstered by championship leader Dan Goldburg. Bijoy Garg is an open wheel racer for the most part and turned 21 years old last weekend. Garg is improving from where he was at Mosport last time out. JCD, John Capestro Dubets is leading at the top of the shop in GSX for the #26 Auto Technic Motorsports BMW M4 GT4. Patrick Willmot too, is harrying another BMW of Francis Selldorff. Vincent Barletta also in the fight.
Courtney Crone is chasing Brian Thienes as well in LMP3. Forty7 Motorsports vs. US Racetronics. Both of these drivers from California. Crone in "the red dragon" a legendary car driven by Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney for many years. Driver Lance Willsey also not racing this weekend at Lime Rock Park. So he will lose points to his competition. We had more cars in Canada than we do here at Lime Rock Park. But it is still a good field. Bijoy Garg and Dan Goldburg volleying fastest lap around. 50.66 vs. 50.266. Pole time by Garg yesterday in qualifying was 49.1 seconds.
Patrick Willmot chasing down Francis Selldorff. The new G82 BMW M4 vs. the older F82 model. Selldorff says, "you can let go now. Let me run." Willmot says, "no you don't, sunshine." This is auto racing tug of war. Jimmy Ellis the team boss at Split Decision Motorsports racing in memory of a pal who was killed in a traffic accident a decade ago, Rob Farley. Rest In Peace, Rob Farley. God Bless. There was a wee bit of smoke out of Big Bend for the silver and blue BMW. Maybe that was tire smoke. It is from the center of the #88 car in the right hand turns.
It is getting worse. I think it is chucking oil out the back and it is getting worse! Oh no! I think the transmission is cooked. Meanwhile, Bijoy Garg extends his lead and poor old Patrick Willmot realizes it is game over. "Hey buddy, it is game over, mate. Stop the car. Stop the car." Bijoy Garg is on a Saturday drive. This is like Triple A baseball before you step up to the major leagues. Dan Goldburg drove in the old IMSA Prototype Challenge a decade ago, a builder by trade, out of central Florida. He missed racing and then came back racing in NASA competition, National Auto Sport Association I believe, not the space program.
Courtney Crone has a flat left rear tire and went off the road. Deary me. That tire is flat as a pancake. Crunch! She got tapped on the right side of the car. Contact on the left rear. That was contact with the #77 of Brian Thienes. Ugh. Maybe she was deep into the turn and missed the apex. We are about halfway home. I wonder how the marshals will be looking at that shemozzle. Not the marshals, but the stewards in race control. Brian Thiennes raced open wheel cars like Formula Atlantic and the old Formula Mazda championship as well, both for open wheel cars. There wasn't contact until there wasn't. That's motor racing for you.
In the meantime, Bijoy Garg is whistling away from everyone else and thing seem to be peachy. Later this afternoon is round eight. Go get a peanut butter or baloney sandwich before the next race. We have the GTD race for the WeatherTech Championship coming up soon too and the Michelin Pilot Challenge. Again, no racing tomorrow because we don't race at Lime Rock on Sunday so that the residents can have a peaceful, quiet Sunday without, vroom, vroom, vroom, vroom all over the place. Auto Technic Motorsports making their debut in VP Challenge. Rob Christopher and Charlie Scott oversee the team. Jake Walker in second place behind John Dubets. JCD, John Capestro Dubets, his full, proper name.
He ran in Michelin Pilot Challenge and he has done a lot of driver coaching and racing in a couple different championships in different cars. He is racing in Lamborghini Super Trofeo as well and I believe in SRO competition as well. JCD has landed full-time rides and been a super sub as well. Brian Thienes goes up through the chicane at the end of the Paul Newman straightaway. Thienes does serve a penalty for incident responsibility. Oh dear. He has gone a lap down to the other leaders, I think. Hard to tell. He has lost almost a full lap.
One left hand corner and all the rest are right hand corners. Oy yoy yoy! Adrian Kunzle spins from third, and Denis Dupont almost runs into the back, the Belgian driver, now living in Canada, and he is going to race in Michelin Pilot Challenge later this afternoon. Oh no! Bang! Kunzle with crud on the tire, spins off and clobbers the barrier! Criminy! This is an ugly situation. Kunzle through Big Bend, dropping the left rear, under cornering load, screech... ker-runch! Full Course Yellow. We are under Full Course Yellow, with 15 minutes to go. We are into the final third of this motor race. Adrian Kunzle originally from Hampshire, England, and is now in New York City.
He raced an amateur Lotus Elise. He was a skier, breaking his leg. His wife said, "please dear, get another hobby" and he chose motor racing. Well, well, well. Control the race car and control your mind after making a mistake. Don't let those losses of concentration get to you or you will make a mistake. If you think, "ugh! I screwed that up!" Well, focus ahead. "If you make one mistake, don't make another." It is the same with being a pilot and flying an airplane. Being a pilot and a race car driver, same deal. One in the air, one on the ground. Never run out of talent in the middle of a turn. It is the essence of sports, the essence of life. What you do with what you learn, is the deal. To paraphrase Steve McQueen from the "Le Mans" film, "racing is life. Anything else is only waiting."
Courtney Crone in the pit lane, the pit crew looking at the left reat corner with the bonnet off the back of the car. Look for tire and suspension damage, bent suspension. With right hand turns it is the left rear tire that gets loaded. The suspension does as well and there is a lot of toe out with the rear going to the front and the car handling like an absolutely demon. Forty7 Motorsports will take the final moments of this race and treat it as a test session before we head to race two later today. Bijoy Garg cuts his best lap at 50.2 seconds compared to his 49.1 pole time.
Denis Dupont is now up to third and Brian Thienes is still on the lead lap in fourth place behind Monsieur Dupont. Green flag. Bijoy Garg punches it, extending his lead. The field not split like we see in the WeatherTech Championship especially when all classes are racing. Now, Brian Thienes is giving Dupont all he can handle and Thienes almost goes off the road! He is pressing Dupont, harrying him. He is doing all he can to get inside his rival's head and made a halfhearted move. Gently, boys. Dupont's car has damage to the right rear "cheese wedge", the rear fender. Brian Thienes wants the place down the frontstretch and into Big Bend, the first turn. Oh no. The first turn. Please tell me you know what to do at the first turn!
Thienes in the Ligier and Dupont in the Duqueine chassis. John Capestro Dubets leads Jake Walker by a second. He is being coached by former Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice who is now also part of a driver management company. Stephen Cugliari has Francis Selldorff right on his six! Turner Motorsports vs. Auto Technic Racing. Selldorff is trying everything and these cars are flying. Cugliari from Manhattan in New York, is making his GT4 debut. He was diagnosed with ADHD at five years old but went on to get a law degree and is dabbling in motor racing. This is his first time in an IMSA car.
Rob Ecklin in the Automatic Racing Aston Martin is applying the blowtorch to Vincent Barletta. Wow. Ecklin needs the run in the downhill and has it but can't quite pass. Slow down to go fast as we will be on the final lap here soon. Right now, I think. The third place battle overall is steaming along well and we'll see the white flag next time by. Denis Dupont doing a fabulous job in his first race in LMP3. Bijoy Garg passes more GSX cars including Frank DePew in the #72 Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R. Final lap of the motor race. Garg is ten seconds ahead of Dan Goldburg.
Ecklin looking inside of Barletta and gets chopped. Next time by, he will be on a cool down lap. JR III Racing and Bijoy Garg winning this motor race! Win number three on the year! John Capestro Dubets and the Auto Technic BMW team, sweeping the top three in class! Dubets, Walker, and Cugliari, the top three!
Overall/LMP3: #3 Bijoy Garg JR III Racing Ligier JS P320 Nissan
GSX: #26 John Capestro Dubets Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82)
Bijoy Garg racing U.S. Formula 2000 open wheel cars, and also, LMP3 cars in Europe. Can these two drivers repeat this afternoon? We'll find out later on. Join us for that race and join us in a wee while for the IMSA WeatherTech Championship GTD Pro and GTD race soon, too. Sebastian Carazo and Francis Selldorff will be tied on points in GSX going into race two this afternoon for the points lead. That'll be quite the prospect as we check out race two later this afternoon. Talk soon, from here at Lime Rock for race two this afternoon.
We'll see you for the WeatherTech race soon, too, in a couple hours. Stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment