Nico Pino is leading LMP2. The 74 Ranch Resort in Texas, over Christmas, do a 74 mile race in side-by-side vehicles. Gar Robinson and Felipe Fraga have won the Rolex 24 before and Felipe Massa is finishing his stint. Massa is staying in the car for a double stint. Felipe Massa has a lot of accolades but the two Felipe's, Fraga and Massa, they are building their endurance resume. In GTD, Robby Foley leads in class sharing the car with Jake Walker, Patrick Gallagher, and Jens Klingman. Jake Walker knows the name of the game is keeping the car clean. That is the objective for everyone. Turner Motorsports and team boss Will Turner, has brought up young drivers for many years.
The learning curve is much shorter with other drivers in endurance racing. Sprint events are so much shorter. #96 coming to the pit lane and so is Spike the dragon, the #99 AO Racing Oreca LMP2 car. Robby Foley out of the car and now, Patrick Gallagher is getting in. This is Gallagher's second year in GT Daytona in the WeatherTech Championship. There is a prototype in the lane that balked the box for Turner Motorsports, and they must be in their own box. The line of demarcation is very close. Will the marshals have anything to say?
Action Express and Cadillac, continue leading the motor race. Nick Yelloly is pitting. We have had some hot racing so far. I want to come back to Daytona. If you have not been there, my gosh, you really need to be here. Don't think about it. Do it. Believe me. You won't be disappointed at all. There are car manufacturer displays, food, a carnival, a Ferris wheel. Each race has it's own identity at Daytona. A record crowd for this race. Absolutely incredible. You can see the cars and the drivers up close. Augusto Farfus in a hot battle with the #10 Acura of Brendon Hartley. BMW Team RLL vs. WTR Andretti. The top three GTP cars are now pitting. Action Express, Proton Competition Porsche, and BMW #25.
Tires, fuel, and a driver change. A solid effort. Tom Blomqvist is taking his first stint in the Whelen Cadillac, the endurance driver for our team. There was a piece of carbon in the engine inlet. Vasser Sullivan noticed that and AXR caught it. Tom Blomqvist on cold tires and Alex Palou now in the #01 Cadillac flashes by. At night, with cooler temperatures, the temperature and the pressure in the Michelin tires will be harder to maintain in the opening laps of a stint. Cadillac, Cadillac, BMW, BMW. Alex Palou and Tom Blomqvist run 1-2.
Palou, Blomqvist, Martin, Farfus, Hartley, the top five GTP cars. You cannot make mistakes. Get through 24 hours. That is what you must do. It is a grueling test of man, woman, and machine. The Cadillac's speed is an advantage for both Ganassi and Action Express. Every team has a different strategy. The teams that don't have the pace would be going a lap down. Still 19 and a half hours remaining. Scott Pruett and Hurley Haywood each have five victories here at Daytona in the Rolex 24.
Every driver wants to win the Rolex watch. There is a solid gold Daytona chronograph watch. Winning it means more than having boatloads of cash to buy one. It is a team effort to win this motor race, 100%. IMSA sports car racing is booming right now. Absolutely booming. We have seen this race in the heat and the bright sunshine, and my goodness, we have also seen them when they are rainy and bitterly cold. Nine of the ten races this year I believe will feature GTP cars. Now, in the GTD Pro and GTD class, Harry Tincknell passes by the Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3. Albert Costa in the Ferrari has gained a lap back, well, not yet. Harry Tincknell is driving the Mustang currently.
Don't get too frantic right now. The headers glowing on the cars, the brake rotors glowing. We are watching Roman De Angelis in the #27 GT Daytona The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3. A spin again, for the #33 Sean Creech Motorsports Ligier JS P217 Gibson LMP2 car. We have our fifth Full Course Yellow now into the evening and poor old Lance Willsey is having more and more woe. This is the only Ligier LMP2 car racing in the world, a barn find out of Europe, honestly. Every other LMP2 car is an Oreca. Nolan Siegel led test sessions in LMP2 at the Roar Before the Rolex 24 test last weekend.
The Ligier stopped development a handful of years ago. Something from the barn in the car? Did someone leave a chicken egg in the motor? We have Scott Dixon on the Peacock Pit Box. Four Rolex 24 wins to his credit, and six IndyCar championship titles. It is remarkable to deal with different speeds and just keep the car on the road. We are under Full Course Yellow currently after the latest shemozzle with the Lance Willsey LMP2 Ligier, the #33 Sean Creech Motorsports car that Willsey is sharing with Joao Barbosa, Nolan Siegel, and Jonny Edgar.
Dixon says the start and the whole race is tough. Once you make it through the night, the traffic thins out, and the new GTP cars are so complex. You cross your fingers hoping the car is going to stay together. Scott Dixon did his first endurance race with Stefan Johansson in a Ferrari 333-SP in the 1999 Petit Le Mans. The IndyCar season begins at St. Petersburg, Florida, in three weeks. Gone are the days with regular racing where teams have two cars. There are far more cars these days fielded by different teams. In the evening, the drivers do press conferences and TV appearances, get a message, and get a short rest. Dixon says "I will sleep a little later tonight."
We are rolling into the darkness. We will soon rejoin our pals in commentary, Leigh Diffey, Calvin Fish, and Townsend Bell. The iconic Ferris wheel sjnes in the darkness here at Daytona as we get deeper into the race. Kevin Lee and Dillon Welch in the pit lane. Felipe Massa has completed his first stint in the #74 Riley Motorsports Oreca in LMP2. He has been doing very well as we are closing in on the end of another hour of the motor race. They are clicking their way by. Felipe Massa, one of the most experienced F1 drivers ever.
James Hinchcliffe is now climbing into the #9 Pfaff Motorsports McLaren. Almost to the end of the fifth Full Course Yellow and we are ready to race once again. The #023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari of Onofrio Triarsi has spun and gets back on the button. Tom Blomqvist leads the motor race and now the #40 Acura for WTR Andretti are back out but still slow. A lockup for the team car #10 too.
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