Dirk Mueller has had three 12 Hours of Sebring victories. This drops him into the clutches of the #62 Ferrari 296 GT3. Oh dear. Car #66 is off the circuit with Sheena Monk at the controls, celebrating her birthday as this race takes place on this Saturday, March 16th, just before St. Patrick's Day. Monk is sharing the Acura NSX GT3 with Katherine Legge and Tatiana Calderon. This is the runoff area for turn ten. We have seen tons of cars off the road in that corner today. This track is so much more complex than Daytona is. There was a Porsche in the shot as well. A birthday present Sheena Monk did not want. Back up front, and Nick Yelloly is running low on energy. Albuquerque in the lead has had great pace and is able to save fuel and energy.
In saving energy, do you save it the same way as petrol? Or is it being measured as overall energy with combined petrol and hybrid? It is. It is both totaled together. You have to stay ij pit lane for a given time and there is a threshold based on your pit stop and how much you've topped up with a hose with the sensor on it to do a full stint moving forward. Bubbles in the fuel hose usually tell you the tank is full. But the hose stays in the fuel opening, the fuel vent, for a slightly longer time. Extra time was needed. Last year, when the #31 Whelen Cadillac won this race, the sensor for the fuel valve was not working. But they still won the motor race. Meanwhile, Filipe Albuquerque is still leading the 2024 race and Nick Yelloly is dropping behind. Nick Yelloly, in the heat, (even though it is not as hot today as we expected it to be compared to a handful of days prior preparing for the race), the BMW boys don't have a drink bottle.
Not having the drink bottle makes life much tougher. Yelloly is stuck smack in the middle of the Calado and Bamber Corvette and Ferrari battle in GTD Pro. Bamber was not going to let the prototypes join the party. The DPi cars were lighter and had more cornering ability while the GTP cars just rocket down the straightaways even though the new generation Porsche, Cadillac, BMW, and Acura, are heavier than the DPi cars were when they raced in IMSA between 2017 and 2022. When you see someone in the rearview mirror, how far back are they and how clear am I coming into the turn?
Pit action, as the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac for Action Express, of Tom Blomqvist, is now in the lane. Blomqvist will do a double stint as the tires are changed and the fuel is replenished. Nick Yelloly will hit pit lane this time by. Blomqvist was not entirely out of fuel. I think he has been able to adjust the balance on the car and they were able to put fresh tires on and adjust the car. So, the distance is now growing between Albuquerque and Yelloly to 4.8 seconds as Albuquerque now pits.
This will be a shorter stop for the #10 Acura compared to the NMW. No tires at Acura vs. tires for the BMW. No driver changes for either car. So, Yelloly, and Albuquerque will each do double stints. Nick Yelloly is given a temporary drink bottle as the one attached to his helmet in the car is not working correctly. In the heat of racing you don't recognize how fatigued and dehydrated you are until under yellow. The #10 could have gone another lap while the BMW had to pit. Now, Tom Blomqvist has done the undercut and he is gaining on Nick Yelloly.
Blomqvist flies past Yelloly and poor old Yelloly in the BMW is a sitting duck. For Tom Blomqvist, this is the first time he has raced the Cadillac at Sebring. He has raced here before in the Acura. The two GTP cars make their speed in different ways, and I wonder how much of a leap it is for Blomqvist to adjust between the two. Blomqvist is also a full-time IndyCar racer. Blomqvist said the transition and adjustment between the two cars isn't too steep, at least it wasn't at Daytona. Daytona is a whole different kettle of fish compared to Sebring as far as what it offers as a circuit, to a driver.
Blomqvist finished the race for Action Express and the #31 at Daytona. The bumps are unreal. The BMW looked to be off the ground with the right rear over the bumps at turn 17, Sunset Bend. Turn 17 is a situation where the bumps seem to always be moving and you never hit the corner the same way at Sunset Bend, twice. You hit the bump, the rear end of the car unloads, and then, if you are in traffic, be very careful. Blomqvist is getting bottled up in traffic allowing Yelloly to close up. This is an intense battle. Action Express Cadillac vs. Team Rahal Letterman Lanigan BMW.
A number of cars still must pit. Here are the other GTP cars hitting pit lane such as the #7 Porsche and the #40 Acura. Matt Campbell staying in the Porsche, and they are adding fuel. Likewise, just fuel and perhaps tires for the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Global Acura. Routine service, no driver changes. Some taking tires and some not. There are GTD cars taking driver changes. Matt Campbell in the #7 Porsche. He has been on a roll winning the Rolex 24, winning the Bathurst 12 Hours, sitting on pole for the FIA WEC race at Qatar, and finished on the podium, earning fastest lap.
Tom bLomqvist flahses past and now, Renger van der Zande in the #01 Cadillac was leading, but now the Dutchman is in pit lane. He just climbed aboard the #01 doing a double stint. The Cadillac's have done well all day but got cycled to the midfield. They are confident about their cars when the temperatures cool off tonight. Renger van der Zande, like Pipo Derani, has matured and mellowed, and neither of them have lost speed, and they have gained confidence. I think there is a rivalry between the two of them. Each one thinks the other is an absolute nut behind the wheel. Both of them absolutely push to the nth degree.
Ganassi has three top drivers in van der Zande, Scott Dixon, and Sebastien Bourdais who can push the Cadillac to it's very limits and the same is true at Action Express with Pipo Derani, Jack Aitken, and Tom Blomqvist. Renger van der Zande went through open wheel racing and then moved to sports cars. Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque are also great drivers. The thing is, sometimes somebody has an extra tenth of a second but then give it up and let your teammate go for it. Put your ego in the house and trust your teammate. Scott Dixon has great experience his fame has been built in IndyCar. But he steps into the endurance drive and can admit whether he is fast or not.
When you come in as the third or fourth driver on the team for Daytona and Sebring, you are a pivotal part of the overall championship. You are there to win the classic races, the endurance blue riband events. Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, the new six hour race we will have at Indianapolis in the fall, and the Petit Le Mans. But also, you may have a role within whether your team can go for an overall championship. Don't let the ego get in the way and take too much risk because that can ruin the day and your whole season. Wow. Some of these drivers are lighting the fire on the blue touchpaper. Blomqvist uncorks a 1:50.983 and Campbell a 1:50.896.
Everyone else is a second or so behind looking at the top five in GTP. A lot of this is the ebb and flow of traffic. It looks like the balance has been found on the #31 Whelen Cadillac and surely Tom Blomqvist has been able to adjust the car and adapting to the heat and the track temperatures. The #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 is in the lane. Bryan Sellers will do a double stint. Tires and fuel for the car. He knows along with his team at Paul Miller Racing about winning races and championships alike. Five wins in GTD last year and the title. Madison Snow is now a professionald river, a BMW factory driver, and so is Neil Verhagen.
Moments ago, going into the hairpin, "Rexy" the dinosaur, the #77 AO Racing Porsche nearly took a chomp out of the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus! Into turn seven, a bold move on the outside and Laurin Heinrich absolutely stuffed it in there on Kyle Kirkwood who is now at the controls of the Lexus. Wow! Heinrich has been up on the wheel all day long. We're not even at the halfway mark yet. Filipe Albuquerque continues on his merry way in the lead of the motor race. Airport parking is always crowded and especially here at Sebring, this historical WW. II. B-17 bomber training base turned into a racetrack.
Your current class leaders include Filipe Albuquerque in the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Global Acura ARX-06 in GTP, Nick Boulle in the #52 Inter Europol with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca 07, in LMP2, and more. In GTD Pro it is the #77 AO Racing "Rexy the dinosaur" Porsche 911 GT3R, and in GTD it is the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 in the hands of Jake Walker. We have not even made it to the halfway mark yet. A little strategy goes a long way, as Action Express race strategist Peter Baron is keeping driver Tom Blomqvist calm on the radio, when he was very unhappy about the race car.
Fresh Michelin tires will work, and then, because of te undercut, Blomqvist can begin pushing again. You base the strategy on what the driver tells you and the lap time he is cutting. Work the tools and then, see what you can do. The software has to be very different between the Acura and the Cadillac. But Blomqvist is second right now and running incredibly well. Blomqvist is 5.7 seconds down on Albuquerque, as in LMP2, it is Nick Boulle leading in the #52 Inter Europol, PR1/Mathiasen Oreca 07, 3.4 seconds to the good over Josh Burdon. In FIA WEC, there is no LMP2 class this year.
So the European teams have come over to IMSA and put together quality programs. Inter Europol are Polish bakers. LMP2 cars will fill the field and race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this summer on Father's Day weekend. We have more full-time teams, and we have LMP3 teams that stepped up to LMP2 after LMP3 went away and was demoted to the VP Sports Car Challenge sprint championship series. Inter Europol won the centenary edition of Le Mans in 2023, last year. Inter Europol will race LMP3 in Le Mans Cup and in LMP2 in the European Le Mans Series as well. They are smart to team up with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports with team boss Bobby Oergel.
Oergel and PR1 won three LMP2 titles on the bounce here at Sebring in 2021, '22, and '23. All four classes in one frame down the front straightaway. The only difference between GTD Pro and GTD are driver lineups. Laurin Heinrich continues to lead in GTD Pro with "Rexy" the T Rex liveried Porsche. Very cool to see the dinosaur teeth on the front of the car. The reptilian racer. Heinrich teamed up with Sebastian Priaulx and with Porsche factory driver Michael Christensen. Christensen is part of the FIA WEC Hypercar team, which is the same car as here in GTP, the Porsche 963. First through fourth place in GTD Pro are all lined up. Heinrich in the Porsche, Kyle Kirkwood in the Lexus, Ross Gunn in the Aston Martin, and Bryan Sellers in the BMW.
Many of the GTD teams are double stinting tires as the allocation of 15 sets between all the teams in GTD Pro and GTD, they are running skinny. You must manage it effectively and stack some literally for single stints later on in the race. The tire allotment is minimal. Jake Walker leads GTD over Jan Heylen in the green and yellow #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche followed by the other #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 in the hands of Parker Thompson, Russell Ward in the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, and Loris Spinelli in the #78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.
Jan Heylen is second in GT Daytona. The GTD Porsche drops in behind the two GTP Porsche 963's and the traffic levels really get busy on the tighter sections of the course here at Sebring. Six and a half hours to go. Adam Adelson is racing his first 12 Hours of Sebring, and he says he's enjoying the race, and he is very happy with his driving performance. He admits he is a rookie in his second year of GT3 racing. He hopes for a good result. Adelson has raced Michelin Pilot Challenge and Porsche Carrera Cup, too. Roger Federer, the tennis legend, plays every single point the same way. Adelson does the same focusing on every single race and not letting hype get to him. Good idea.
Jan Heylen has won here at Sebring and has won the Rolex 24 at Daytona as well, so he is a good resource for Adelson and for Adelson's co-driver Elliott Skeer. Professional drivers are also mentors and coaches to the younger drivers. In the meantime, talking of successful young drivers, Connor Zilisch is impressive. As a blogger about IMSA, I am seeing his potential, but so is his team at Era Motorsports in the LMP2 class. We are going to see loads from him in the future. The world is his oyster.
He and Era Motorsports have come off their Rolex 24 win. Ryan Dalziel, his co-driver is also amazed by Zilisch and his ability. Zilisch loves to race as he ran both Mazda MX5 Cup races, too. He is a Chevrolet development driver, with Spire Motorsports in the NASCAR truck series and with Trackhouse in NASCAR Cup. Remember, IMSA is linked with NASCAR and always has been since it's inception. Zilisch is a great, talented young man who has been racing since his childhood. He has the natural ability and the race craft.
Zilisch is able to read the situation and go for it. He has the racer's instinct. Speaking of racer's instinct, we are seeing plenty of that as the GTP cars carve their way through LMP2 and GTD traffic. Connor Zilisch made his debut the weekend after the Sebring 12 Hours. Now, we claimed that he might do some Formula 1 races and do some sailing with the America's Cup team. Of course, that is exaggeration and a bit of hyperbole. But, in all seriousness, he could do that if he wanted to. He could push himself into the top levels of any kind of racing. For Connor Zilisch, right now, as a racing driver, and as a young racing driver, the world is his oyster.
Zilisch is likable, too. That is a massive plus as you need people to be on your side in sports or in business. Champions can weather those storms. You've got a massive scrap through the busy infield part of the course here at Sebring between three different classes. There's LMP2, GTD Pro and GTD regular, all in there. Laurents Horr is in the #20 MDK Motorsports Oreca 07. Because of the antilock brakes on the GT3 spec cars in GTD Pro and GTD regular, it is a pain in the fanny for the prototype drivers to negotiate them. GTP and LMP2 cars are not equipped with antilock.
Now, check this out. At the top of the shop, things are really closing up. Tom Blomqvist is reeling in Filipe Albuquerque. Acura vs. Cadillac for the race lead. We saw the #31 Whelen Engineering Action Express Cadillac take fresh tires on the most recent pit stop so this is an overlap. Albuquerque in the #10 WTR Andretti Acura is not on the freshest set of boots. Those tires are probably a handful of stints old by now, or almost a stint old. Action Express are beginning to turn things around and Blomqvist is within a second of Albuqerque as we speak.
This ebb and flow is continuous through the race as the engineers are measuring all of this. Measure the strengths and weaknesses and make adjustments. Build the playbook for the fourth quarter on the run to the checkered flag. Now, this is all about strategy just like a football game. But believe me, trying to compare strategy in football to strategy in endurance racing is like comparing apples and oranges. It just isn't the best analogy. A football team can start slow in the opening quarters, and then, build the strategy for the second half of the game. Well, the same is true here at Sebring or in any endurance event.
We will finish a half hour earlier than we did last year because we started half an hour earlier this year. Which driver do you want behind the wheel? What balance do you want in the car? Which driver will you stick into the car for the last stint? In the GTD Pro class meanwhile, Kyle Kirkwood is sitting just behind Laurin Heinrich in the lead battle. Some of these drivers who ran here at Sebring went on and competed the next weekend in the Million Dollar Challenge IndyCar races at the Thermal Club in Thermal, California of course. If you have not seen that race yet and you have access to Peacock, go back and check it out. It was an interesting race in some ways.
Kyle Kirkwood has been the endurance driver at Lexus in their GT Daytona program and has the full-time Andretti Autosport IndyCar ride. Scott Dixon in the #01 Cadillac is an IndyCar champion. Believe me, IndyCar drivers, in the full-on fight mode for the cash, it was something to witness. Believe me when I say that. It was fun to watch! We have quite the battle brewing in the GT Daytona class presently. The lapped GTD Pro Risi Competizione is the cork in the bottle. But, we see now that Jan Heylen in the #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R, he is reeling in Jake Walker at the wheel of the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 hand over fist.
Walker is another impressive young driver who does not have as much experience in IMSA but is a fast learner at Turner Motorsports. He is learning well from his co-drivers Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher. They finished second here at Sebring last year in the GT Daytona division. Walker is showing he is a worthy racer. He is also managed by former Indianapolis 500 winner, Buddy Rice. The Turner Motorsports BMW was in the fight in GTD at Daytona, but they lost a drive belt on the car. James Calado and Jan Heylen continue their battle. The Ferrari in GTD Pro and the Porsche in GTD.
A lot of people when these classes were devised, they wanted to give the GTD Pro cars a little more. But it is really down to the drivers with the same Balance of Performance on two different cars. Heylen is telling Calado, "Dude, cut me some slack", because he is nowhere near his competition which is the fifth place in class, the #3 Chevrolet Corvette with Spaniard Daniel Juncadella at the controls. Meanwhile, back up front, or towards the front in GTP, it is a scrap between Acura and BMW. Jordan Taylor in the #40 WTR Andretti Acura vs. Philipp Eng in the #24 BMW Team RLL BMW.
This is for seventh overall and in GTP. Jordan Taylor returning to prototype racing. He and his side of the garage at WTR Andretti finished well at the Rolex 24. I think the team is getting their heads around running two different cars. My pals at Action Express did the same thing several years ago and then, elected to scale down to one car in the recent past with the advent of the new GTP/LMDh rules. A quick pit stop in LMP2 for the #74 Riley Oreca 07 in LMP2, that car being shared by American Gar Robinson, Brazilian Felipe Fraga, and Australian, Josh Burdon.
WTR Andretti also has the GTD entry, the #45 Lamborghini, and several cars in the one make Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America championship. That is a massive undertaking. Oh boy! Jan Heylen runs deep into the braking zone in Kristensen Corner. At WTR Andretti, big changes, but they have a superb management team as all the top teams do. Wright Motorsports have recovered from a penalty earlier. Klaus Bachler, 14th in class in GT Daytona, running a lap down, he sure believes he has a hot rod under him because he has been driving with vigor all day. Bachler, the Austrian, sharing the #86 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R sharing with Kerong Li of China and Anders Fjordbach of Denmark.
Bachler has been hitting the flasher switch on the lights all the time. Oh dear! The former leader in the LMP2 class is off the road and buried in the tires! That is the #99 AO Racing LMP2 car! It's Spike the dragon! The purple and orange dragon, his wings have been clipped. He is off the road. Pole sitter P.J. Hyett at the wheel. Something has happened. We don't know what happened. The sister #77 AO Racing GTD Pro Porsche, "Rexy" hits the pit lane for fuel before a probable Full Course Yellow. It appears there is a tire bundle askew behind where "Spike" has ended up.
It is hard to tell if Hyett clipped the tire barrier or just piled into it which would signify a brake failure. Heinrich is back on track. He either had a cut down tire or the team was anticipating a yellow in spite of the fact it is their sister car that is in strife, currently. The #10 WTR Andretti Acura is in. Filipe Albuquerque out of the car, and Ricky Taylor getting in for his driving stint. Full Course Yellow, now. So, this is why the top GTP teams are hitting the pit lane, quite logically. The #31 Whelen Cadillac was chasing Albuquerque down and they too hit the lane along with one of the Penske Porsche 963's.
We are indeed under Full Course Yellow. The severity of this as such is opening an opportunity for pit stop time. #31 pitted earlier and have topped up. Pipo Derani has taken over for Tom Blomqvist as we see debris at the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus which had contact made with the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac. Renger van der Zande got out of the #01 and Sebastien Bourdais has taken over. No damage to the tires. The Lexus team are very upset about this an show their displeasure to head pit lane marshal Johnny Knotts. We are closing in on the halfway mark of the 12 Hours of Sebring. So, please do stay with us.
P.J. Hyett trundling to the pit lane with the damage to "Spike" on the right rear corner. The whole "cheese wedge" on the right rear of the car has been torn asunder from the rest of the bodywork at the back. Hyett in limp home mode. He enters a closed pit lane, but this is emergency service. A tough break for P.J. Hyett and company. What does the right front suspension look like? I do see damage as well to the right front corner. So, can they just throw a new nose on the car? Will everything turn out peachy? We'll have to find out what is happening. There isn't suspension damage. But, we are looking at the repairs being made.
On the backstretch, the debris is shredded all over and that is part of the nose section from the #99. Just like the children's game that little ones might play with their parents, somebody's definitely got Spike's nose, and he will need a new one. This cleanup will take a good while to dispose of the shards of carbon fiber. Be very cautious even under yellow. Pay attention and make sure your strategist has told you of the debris so you are aware. It is just like the risk of a fender bender on the freeway. The #99 AO Racing LMP2 car, "Spike" heads back to the garage.
In another replay, we can see an unsafe release for the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 which ended up grazing the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing gold Cadillac V Series.R when the #01 entered its pit box. You have to know Race Control will have a look. Aaron Telitz at the wheel of the Lexus. Relatively mild damage to the left front of the Lexus. Just a small piece of bodywork on the inside of the headlight but thankfully, the dive planes for the aerodynamic balance, are still intact. You don't drop the clutch until you are told, go. Know your neighbor in the pit lane.
When you are a GT car you are not used to prototypes making their pit stops. No damage to the tail of the Cadillac at all. One of the tire walls has been moved and so the front-end loader has to move it back into place. Hyett went off the road and one of the tire bundles is from the wall he went past. Get the tire bundles back into position and get the safety barriers back in place. That is pit out for the short course for the IndyCar test track. More prototype pit stops for the GTP cars. The two customer Porsche 963's are in, the JDC-Miller Motorsports and Proton Competition entries, #85 and #5, as well as the #63 Lamborghini SC63.
The #5 Mustang Sampling car is in the lane for service. Tires and fuel. A driver change, too. Alessio Picariello has finished his stint. The team is going for taking a tear off, off of the windscreen. I think Gianmaria Bruni, the Italian, might be getting into the #5 Porsche. I believe Julien Andlauer did the opening stint of the race. The "banana boat" was leading and there is a driver change. Phil Hanson taking over from Tijmen van der Helm. They are changing the steering wheel. van der Helm took the wheel with him and dropped it! Egad! Those are extremely expensive steering wheels! That will be a large bill from the Stuttgart parts bin!
Phil Hanson has a lot of experience in these cars as he also drives a Porsche 963 in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Team Jota. Hanson is told to do a reset on the hybrid unit. Turn it off and then back on again. It is very much like if you have trouble with your computer, call tech support, and they ask you to do the same thing. A reboot is necessary. That wheel is an integral part to the brain of the car. In this replay, we watch what happened to P.J. Hyett from onboard the roof camera of the #64 Ford Mustang GT3 with its roaring 5.4-liter V8. Hyett looks to run wide and the track gets really dirty offline. Maybe something broke on the car.
That was a strange wriggle in dirty air on the dirty part of the circuit. That was ugly. He got loose, hooked to the outside, and plowed into the barriers. Big damage and a solid hit. Everyone is catching their breath currently as we go back to green flag racing. Strategize, collect yourself, and we are closing in on the halfway mark. We have a full 6 Hours of Watkins Glen or 6 Hours of Indianapolis remaining. Those are two more of the endurance races we look forward to in the WeatherTech Championship later this year.
We have settled into a groove currently. No racetrack in the world changes character from day to night, more than Sebring. We have wholesale pit stops for the GT cars, for the Pro and regular GT Daytona classes. Hit your marks and don't lose any track position whatever you do. Bryan Sellers is in the lane and now, Madison Snow will take over the car for this coming stint. This team dominated GT Daytona last year. They are down and away as we have crossed over the halfway mark here at Sebring. Five hours and 59 minutes left on the board. So, we have a long, long way to go yet.
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