Onward and upward to hour four. As I said, my pals at Action Express have reassumed the lead. Partly cloudy, warm, and humid. This affects the temperature, the tires, and the handling of the cars. We may see a rain shower at 6AM on Sunday morning. The sun is setting now, and the visor will be tipped up just a bit or lowered completely. It depends on the intensity of the sun. Matthieu Jaminet in the #6 Porsche 963 has been running outside the powetrain parameters monitored by IMSA. If you exceeed power mandated by the Balance of Performance tables, you don't want the stewards to fix it or you will be penalized.
We have the hybrid tech in GTP and we have the supercars in the GTD Pro and GTD classes. In IMSA as a whole, there have been and are so many great drivers. The technology they don't have in NASCAR like antilock brakes and traction control. We saw that with the Toyota Supra team with Bubba Wallace, John Hunter Nemechek, and Corey Heim. Each GTP has their bespoke engine per brand. Acura with the 2.4 liter twin turbo V6. Don't forget the naturally aspirated thunder of the V8 Cadillac at 5.5 liters, and the turbo 4.6-liter V8 of the Porsche's or the 4-liter turbo V8's of the BMW's. All are different. Different visual designs on each car, and different engine notes.
Colton Herta is now driving the #40 Acura ARX-06. The chassis ride differently too. The Acura is stiffer and more harsh riding than the Cadillac. The Cadillac will not have the level of the tire degradation that the Acura will. The Acura is far more rigid. I don't know about the BMW or the Porsche. But definitely the Cadillac rides smoother. The techology on these GTP hybrid cars is staggering. Scott Dixon looking for a fourth Rolex 24 victory. A lot of GTP drivers have won more than one Rolex 24 in their careers. Drivers such as Scott Pruett, and Hurley Haywood, have won five or six. Derek Bell has won four. If you are new to sports car racing, please type into your web browser and search for the winners list for races like Daytona and Le Mans.
You will be amazed. Trust me. More woe for Lance Willsey as he spun, locking the tires through turn six right between one of the Acura's and one of the BMW's! Yikes! That was a close shave! So, we are under Full Course Yellow again. It is jusr a mismatched downshift, not mismatched, but a slight mistake. Alex Riberas in the Aston Martin was a lucky luck boy to avoid the spinning Ligier. Full Course Yellow. Wholesale pit stops took place during the yellow and now we are back to geeen as I tooj a short break for a snack and some water.
Jack Aitken now third with Action Express although the Ganassi Cadillac of Scott Dixon leads the motor race at the three and a half hour mark. Dixon, Brendon Hartley, Jack Aitken, Phillip Eng, Nick Yelloly, Matthieu Jaminet, Dane Cameron, Colton Herta, Gianmaria Bruni, and Ben Keating. Colton Herta in the burgundy and black Acura #40, was all over the shop! Yikes! The kink is extremely dangerous. If you can see the car wriggle around, my gosh!
The end of the pit wall is the first mark to find your apex as they dive into the International Horseshoe. The gurgling sound you hear with the Acura, which some equate to Chewbacca from Star Wars, is the traction control on the car. Jack Aitken chasing Brendon Hartley. Wayne Taylor Racing Acura vs. Whelen Engineering Action Express Cadillac. He wants to have the momentum on corner exit. The Acura and the Cadillac are equally matched down the straightaway.
General Motors President Mark Reuss tells us that IMSA and Daytona have come a long way and this is very true. The WeatherTech Championship is really at a high level currently. There are eight cars, globally, for the new Corvette GT3 program. Cadillac are introducing the CT4 and CT5 Cadillac Blackwing cars. The new Corvette E-Ray will be coming out soon, which sounds like it will be an all electric Corvette. McLaren not having the best run and Marvin Kirchhofer is turning back into the paddock for repairs. Oh dear.
Jack Aitken is now pressing hard on Scott Dixon for the overall lead in the battle of the Cadillacs. The trouble we are seeing with the #9 Pfaff Motorsports McLaren is a wheel bearing, or truthfully, t is a failed upright on the right side of the car. The races for this team at Pfaff Motorsports will be a test session. Marvin Kirchofer, Oliver Jarvis, James Hinchcliffe, and Alexander Rossi in the car. What have other McLaren operators learned about the evolution version of the car? It is no surprise right sides can be problematic. Let's take a lap with Jack Aitken in the Whelen Action Express Cadillac. Aitken one second behind Scott Dixon.
Aitken's tire advantage is equalizing towards Dixon and maybe Scott Dixon has more tire to work with presently. The fuel loads could also be different. Dixon, Pino, Sims, Foley, the class leaders. Scott Dixon in GTP in the #01, Nico Pino in the #2 United Autosport Oreca, Alexander Sims in the #3 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3R and Robbie Foley in the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3. Traffic ahoy out of speedway turn two. The #66 Gradient Racing Acura on one of the Mustang's as Jack Aitken is chasing Scott Dixon for the overall lead n the battle of the two Cadillac's. The LMP2 and GT Daytona cars added more downforce to take some of the speed away.
The two Cadillac's are gapping one of the BMWs by five and a half seconds, currently. We are closing up on the end of the fourth hour. A decade ago, this race really started to step up the competition level. There is no saving the car anymore. You push from the green flag to the checkered flag. In endurance racing of old, you would do everything to save the car and just rumble around. Not anymore. It is go time, all the time. With the spotters, some drivers can deal with description of car left or right, or car inside or outside. Keep the car in one piece. Harry Tincknell now at the cntrols of the #64 Ford Mustang GT3.
The competition is bonkers and Ford want to fight and win in GTD Pro. Mies thought that he was hit by the Mercedes when the decklid came off. They fixed it though. Everything worked out. The platform of the Mustang is very consistent over the bumps. No side loading or pitching and yawing over the curbs. So, as the sun is beginning to set here at Daytona, we are closing in on the fifth hour f the motor race. We are not quite at quarter distance yet.
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