We see Nasr in traffic, but we wonder if Derani can get tire temperature and now, Sebastien Bourdais, too, also on cold tires, is ahead of Felipe Nasr. Ricky Taylor now in the pit lane. Full service for fuel and for tires. No driver change and Taylor will do a double stint. Both of the BMW M Hybrid V8's are also in the lane for service as we speak. Connor De Philippi in the #25 and Philipp Eng in the #24. The situation at BMW is that the #25 team, they have been happy with everything, but the sister #24 machine has been living with understeer issues and fighting the pushing condition all day. The cooler weather is set to give a lot of these cars a running advantage. Tread carefully as Nasr has passed Bourdais and is now chasing Pipo Derani. Bourdais passes by Taylor after the undercut.
Bang! The #47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 biffs the #81 DragonSpeed Oreca 07 out of the way. The #47 car is the all-Italian team in GT Daytona of Roberto Lacorte, Giorgio Sernaigotto, and Antonio Fuoco, the Ferrari Hypercar driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship, up against the #81 DragonSpeed Oreca 07 that is being shared by the all-Scandinavian driving team of Dane Malthe Jakobsen and Swedish drivers Henrik Hedman and Rasmus Lindh. This event at Sebring is a magnificent race as Pipo Derani leads Felipe Nasr and Sebastien Bourdais and then Ricky Taylor and Louis Deletraz. Connor De Philippi is the lead BMW. Pipo Derani will be in the car for another hour, then we expect Jack Aitken to take over, and for the run to the checkered flag tonight we might just see Tom Blomqvist bring it home, as he did for them for their second-place effort at the Rolex 24 at Daytona back in January.
You need a driver lineup with no compromises. Any of the GTP cars have that. The strategists are counting backwards to the end of the race. Also factor in the Michelin Endurance Cup points at four hours, eight hours, and the end. We see another gold car celebrating the 50th anniversary of Mobil 1 motor oil. This is the #3 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R being shared by Spaniard's Daniel Juncadella and Antonio Garcia, and British racer Alexander Sims, who, after a year in the prototype ranks, coincidentally as part of the Action Express Cadillac team, is now back into GT racing with the Corvette team where he has been before.
Dani Juncadella is at the wheel now. Corvette Racing have won this race 14 times! That is absolutely astonishing! Dani Juncadella has been driving a triple stint from the GTD Pro lead, and he will pit. He has really been going for it. The pressure is on as Connor De Philippi in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 is pouring on the steam against Louis Deletraz in the #40 WTR Andretti Acura. Wayne Taylor is bullish on Louis Deletraz as he has the speed in spades. Deletraz was playing his role last year. Now, in 2024, he has become more and more demonstrative and telling the team exactly what he wants and needs in the car to go faster.
The blue #10 sister car for WTR Andretti, in the hands of Ricky Taylor, he is making his move into turn one on Sebastien Bourdais, currently third, aboard the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac. Taylor is now right on Bourdais' six. Bourdais led the motor race earlier on. It is fascinating to compare the Cadillac and the Acura on the tire stint. Let's review something we touched on earlier today and that is the Balance of Performance changes between Daytona and Sebring in the GTP class.
Manufacturer Weight (lbs.) Horsepower
Acura: -38 -11
BMW -2 -11
Cadillac +66 +13
Porsche -4 -15
No, Lamborghini does not count because this is their first ever IMSA race with a GTP prototype and only their second event after also competing at the World Endurance Championship season opener in Qatar. Bourdais and Taylor, side by side and now, Bourdais uses the GTD class Winward Mercedes as a pick and leaves Ricky Taylor in no man's land. Philip Ellis took over the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes from Russell Ward on their most recent pit stop. Ten minutes before, Bryce Ward radioed in and said, "check to see if I have damage."
This car, the Rolex 24 winning Mercedes, they won in class at the Rolex 24. But, they have not won, has Mercedes, here at Sebring in seven years. The package for the Mercedes is bulletproof but they have not won at Sebring. However, they won GTD at Indianapolis, GTD Pro at Petit Le Mans, and GTD at the Rolex 24 at Daytona with this specific team.,. We are about to hear from "Mr. Le Mans" himself, Tom Kristensen.
He is joining us from his home in Denmark and we will hear from him. Tom Kristensen has won six races here at the 12 Hours of Sebring, one win for BMW, and five more for Audi. He was part of that whole era of Audi dominance with the R8, R10 TDI diesel, R15 TDI diesel and R18 diesel and R18 eTron Quattro hybrid, really the first hybrid powered prototype sports car. Tom Kristensen enjoys Sebring and he wants to be back at the track to see it.
Our mate, TK, he envies the drivers going racing now into the hours of darkness when the track and ambient temperatures are beginning to cool off. The prototypes are incredibly strong. He is envious of the drivers going racing in these conditions when the darkness comes. We are at the peak of the heat of the day. How difficult is it to stay patient with the race car when it is not doing what you want it to? Calvin Fish, in the broadcast booth, poses this question to Tom. We await "happy hour". It is not easy. Sebring is so bumpy with many blind turns and every single lap is different.
Be alert and expect the unexpected. Be strong in order to contend for the win. Don't drop too far back. Push, but keep in it even with small setbacks, and stay on the plan. You never know, as Sebring can bite you. Of course, Pipo Derani is running very well with the #31 Cadillac and they do have the advantage currently. Discipline yourself going through GT traffic. How do you decide to take chances to pull off the win? It is where you position yourself as the circuit is rubbering in on the racing line and the apex, but offline it is very dirty. Read the race, read the traffic.
We surely see that the LMP2 cars are close to the performance levels of the GTP cars at certain sections of the track here at Sebring. Confidence is the key otherwise if you hesitate, you could land in trouble. Don't hit each other. It is physical, tough, and the track has not changed since the successes Tom Kristensen and his teammates at Audi had for so many years. We need the old school elements of racing because the public, the fans, love it. Before we get back to the discussion with Tom Kristensen, here is a breakdown of the winningest drivers in Sebring history, for reference.
Tom Kristensen: 6 wins
Rinaldo Cappello: 5 wins
Frank Bield, Allan McNish, & Pipo Derani: 4 wins
Phil Hill, Olivier Gendebien, Mario Andretti, Hans Joachim Stuck, & Marco Werner: 3 wins
So there you have it. Five of the most successful sports car drivers in history have three wins here. Phil Hill and Mario Andretti, are also, the two American Formula 1 World Champions. Hill won it for Ferrari in 1961. Mario Andretti won it for Lotus in 1978. The Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans have the grandeur. But, the 12 Hours of Sebring is the hardest sports car endurance classic to win. Most times you are bringing a new car to the circuit. Back in the early 2000's, Audi and Tom Kristensen never raced at the Rolex 24.
When Kristensen was racing he was with Audi, and they were up against BMW, Cadillac (the earlier and less successful Le Mans Prototype Cadillac factory cars that bore little to no resemblance of the Cadillac endurance cars of today, Riley & Scott, Peugeot, and Porsche. Peugeot, like Audi did with the R10 and R15, ran a diesel LMP1 prototype with the 908 HDI FAP. Toyota were very strong towards the end of the original GTP era in the early 1990s. Now we have a new golden era of sports car racing, says Kristensen. He is happy to see what is going on in IMSA and WEC. All eyes though will be on the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Everyone can feel if they do a good jo and get their driver combination right, everyone can have a chance.
Tom Kristensen has six wins in the 12 Hours of Sebring and nine overall wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well. Last year, of course, we heard from Tom Kristensen along with Leigh Diffey and Calvin Fish on Eurosport for their coverage of the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and amidst all of this, those three blokes went out and played golf together. Uh oh. Now you've done it, Tom. You've tucked poor old Leigh Diffey up like a kipper right on live television! Blimey O'Reilly! What's next? With that, we say, "thanks for being here, Tom! It's been fabulous!"
Oh boy. Now the nostalgia begins flowing. Our mate, Calvin Fish, interviewed Tom Kristensen for many of his wins, on the old SPEED Channel for a long time. Leigh Diffey had that same honor, when Leigh was in Australia, covering motor racing for Network Ten. Oh man! The icing on the cake is the third pic in this little montage. That is the Eurosport commentary booth at Le Mans with Leigh, Calvin, and Tom, from the centenary Le Mans race, last summer. Wowzers! Great times!
Oh, my heavens! Oh, my heavens! From the best of times to the worst of times, to paraphrase the opening to "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. Can you believe what you are seeing? This is the race leading automobile of Pipo Derani, the Whelen Engineering, Action Express Racing Cadillac, turned turtle, upside down on top of the tire barrier! Let me tell you, when I was watching this live, I was mortified. Leading by 12 seconds, Pipo Derani came into contact through no fault of his own, with the GTD Pro #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 of Miguel Molina, the Spaniard, and it was enough to put Pipo Derani over the top and for the Cadillac to flip over into the tires, on its roof!
To quickly editorialize, remember, this is the team yours truly, has a connection with. The Cadillac was sent sideways, reeling upside down. Pipo Derani is definitely OK. He has been moving around, but he is trapped inside the race car, upside down. That is a horrifying feeling for a racing driver. He is likely trying to undo his safety harness to come out of the race car. Jim Campbell of General Motors is there, with the team, and I cannot imagine. I won't even attempt to... this is absolutely bizarre. Campbell is in discussion with the lead engineer at Action Express, Iain Watt. Miguel Molina's Ferrari is stopped at the Tower Turn.
There is a small amount of damage to the Ferrari on the left front corner, but other than that, it appears to be unscathed for the most part. The left front of Molina's Ferrari tapped the right rear of Pipo Derani. Immediately, Pipo Derani got on the radio to talk to the team asking, "Pipo, are you OK?" He said, "yes, I am OK. But I am stuck now, and I can't get out of the car." At first glance, maybe Pipo Derani stayed in the center of the road. Either Pipo Derani came across or the Ferrari moved over. I vouch for the latter.
Pipo Derani reels into the tire barrier and thank goodness the tire wall abated the speed. There's water buried in the tires from the rain we have had. It was all in Pipo Derani's hands, 12 seconds ahead of everyone else. There were fans ready to jump over the fence and rescue Pipo Derani from the overturned Cadillac GTP racer. You don't know initially as the AMR safety team now has a MacGyver project to deal with. They must figure out now, how to turn the red Cadillac over onto it's wheels.
They are using a couple sets of safety straps on the front and rear wheels. As slowly as possible, the idea is to turn the car over on it's side or find a way to get it over the top of the tire bundles. Suspend the car in the air, right it, and get Pipo Derani out of the car. The driver, Pipo Derani, is the first concern. Then, the other concern of course is the car itself which could be completely used up in this incident. These prototype race cars are not easy to get in and out of right side up, or worse, upside down.
They have been this way for decades, because of the small cockpit sizes for safety and for aerodynamic efficiency and of course, today, all the prototypes are closed cockpit. But even in the days of the open cockpit machinery such as Can Am, World Sports Cars, and the LMP900 prototypes that raced in the American Le Mans Series and in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the cockpit areas of these prototypes are diminutive. Fortunately, there was no fiure. The boom on that tow truck needs to secure the car and the hybrid system must have a green light on it.
Try tearing the door off to get him out and here he comes! Thank God! He is out of the car and is fine. The tire wall was like a cushion for the car. He walks away and is absolutely fine. If you are in any way claustrophobic, you don't want to be hung upside down in a race car that has turned turtle. Believe me. He says "thanks, I am OK." That was a massive wallop for Pipo Derani! Oh, my heavens! Derani on Miguel Molina, and... boom! This race has taken a massive turn. Action Express, out of the race, but mark my words. We will be back. We will be back. You can count on it.
Michelin and team engineers see this race as a three-act play. 73 degrees track temperature at the beginning, 104 degrees at noon, peaking at 115 degrees in the afternoon. These temperatures fall back down in the evening. The original concrete slabs can be cooler than the more recently paved asphalt portions of the circuit. The asphalt coolers quickly than the concrete. We will see track temps at 80 degrees, in the darkness when it comes to money time. Thanks again to the AMR safety team. The GTD Ferrari and the GTP Cadillac have both been retrieved. Again, we are glad to see Pipo Derani, four-time winner at Sebring, last year's champion.
The car is wounded. A four-time winner here at Sebring will not get a fifth this year. Again, we will be back. Pipo will have a fifth victory in this race, in the future. You can count on it. As soon as Pipo has collected himself and figured out what happened, we will hear what he has to say. So, the cleanup continues, and we have a feature once again with Matt Yocum, and he is back at the famed Officers Club here at Sebring, which has been rededicated. IMSA and the France family are custodians preserving history for future generations. The Officer's Club is probably the most original part of Sebring.
The France family, NASCAR, IMSA, are out here to preserve the past while looking to the future. We honor and appreciate the B17 pilots and crews learning to fly the planes in WW. II. Race fans can buy a ticket, sit on the patio, enjoy the race, or listen to some music of the late, great Jimmy Buffet, a musical star who we recently lost, but who's icon status will live forever. In fact, I also wouldn't be shocked if you hear on the radio at the Officers Club, some big band jazz, some traditional jazz from the likes of Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, or Count Basie.
You can conjure up those sounds of the big bands with the horns and the drums. The fan is the winner. A great place to relax and take in the race. We are under our seventh Full Course Yellow again because of Pipo Derani's accident. But Pipo is fine. Mike Rockenfeller is now the driver aboard the #64 Ford Mustang GT3 factory car. Again, this is the inaugural year of the new Ford Mustang GT3. This race is an absolute classic. We are soon ready to launch again after the cleanup of the Action Express Cadillac. Again, our pal Pipo, is just fine. He is perfectly OK. We will be back to racing very soon.
Nearly eight hours complete with just over four to go. The tire wall is being rebuilt after Derani's accident. Gary Nelson, team manager for Action Express, is headed over to check with Pipo Derani who is in the medical center being evaluated. We saw Matthieu Jaminet in the Porsche 963 in qualifying yesterday, have a massive accident, too. So, two of the contenders have had massive incidents this weekend and the strength, the rigidity of the tub, the safety cell of these Grand Touring Prototypes has held together. To quote Jaguar IMSA racer Bob Tulius from the heyday of GTP 1.0 in the 1980's, "we measure the damage to these cars, primarily if it is suspension, or tub. If it is a tub, it is serious. If it is suspension, we can replace it."
For the Penske Porsche on Friday and the Action Express Cadillac today, there is tub damage. So, whole new cars were needed, and will be needed for the rest of the season. As advanced and amazing as these cars are, that is a costly hit for these teams to need an entirely new automobile to go racing again as we get into the meat and potatoes of the sprint race portion of the season after Sebring has concluded this evening. The tire barriers have held together. Action Express are waiting for the car to return and to repair it, so they can salvage anything.
We are coming close to the end of the eighth hour as we go back to racing and now, the complexion of the race has changed, entirely. We have BMW at the top of the shop, with both of the BMW M Hybrid V8's running 1-2. Maxime Martin in the #25 entry leading the sister #24 in the hands of Jesse Krohn. The Belgian and the Finn. In third spot, Matthieu Jaminet in the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsports Porsche 963. Fourth place is the #40 WTR Andretti Acura ARX-06 in the hands of Louis Deletraz. Rounding out the top five it is the sister WTR Andretti Acura, the #10 car of Ricky Taylor.
Let's keep running down the top five in each class. In LMP2, it is Mikkel Jensen leading the class aboard the #11 TDS Racing Oreca followed by Tom Dillman in the #52 Inter Europol/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports entry. Third place is Bijoy Garg in the #22 United Autosport Oreca. n fourth, Felipe Fraga in the #74 Riley Motorsports Oreca, and rounding out the top five is Colin Braun in the #04 Oreca for CrowdStrike Racing by APR. Let's move into the GTD Pro and GTD classes to see what the running order is there, and then, we will get back to discussing the race as it is happening.
In the GTD Pro class, leading is the #77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3R of Michael Christensen. That is "Rexy" the dinosaur. Madison Snow is second aboard the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3. Third place is Alexander Sims in the #3 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R for Corvette Racing by Pratt & Miller Motorsports. Mario Farnbacher is in fourth spot in the #23 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo. Rounding out the top five in GTD Pro it is Jordan Pepper, the driver from South Africa, in the #19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.
Fredrik Schandorff, the Danish racer, leads GT Daytona in the #70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3 EVO. In second spot is the second Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, for The Heart of Racing. This is the #27 entry with Canadian Zacharie Robichon at the wheel of it. Onofrio Triarsi is third driving his #023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3. The team boss is in the car right now. Fourth place is held by Elliott Skeer in the #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R, and in fifth place, it is the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 currently in the hands of Patrick Gallagher.
Martin leads the mototr race and there is a challenge as Matthieu Jaminet is thinking of going to the outside of the BMW. The two Acura's are also side by side. BMW 1-2 at the front and Jaminet has to give it up. BMW last won this race overall 25 years ago in 1999 with the glorious BMW V12 LMR open cockpit racer, with six-liter V12 power in the hands of J.J. Lehto, Tom Kristensen (who we talked to earlier), and Jorg Mueller. Jesse Krohn getting defensive and that battle will continue. BMW, BMW, Porsche, Acura, Acura.
Guess who else is still in the fight on their debut? It is the Lamborghini SC63, the #63 car. They are having a far better race on their debut stateside than they did in the FIA World Endurance Championship season opener in Qatar. Side by side and argy bargy through turn ten! Jaminet shows Jesse Krohn no respect, and simply nudges him out of the way. Now, look, Ricky Taylor is also having a go. Jaminet had the advantage. Taylor runs Krohn wide and off the road! Now, Louis Deletraz wants a bite of the cherry. Jesse Krohn gave him no room. Scott Dixon now, in the sole remaining Cadillac in the race, the #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac, he is scrapping with Gianmaria Bruni in the #5 Proton Competition Mustang Sampling Porsche 963!
These guys are throwing punches everywhere! It is a true boxing... never mind... a wrestling match! Gianmaria Bruni bails for the pit lane. He knew something everyone else didn't and is like, "I've got to get out of here!" So, he needs fuel and tires. That is for dead sure. Dixon realizes that discretion is the better part of valor and must let Jesse Krohn in the #24 car go. Through Kristensen corner they go. OK. At the medical center, we have Pipo Derani and he is now ready to describe just what on earth happened to him, in one of the scariest moments we have seen in IMSA racing in recent memory. The best part, Pipo Derani has walked out of the medical center under his own steam. First question to Pipo is, "mate, are you OK?"
Derani tells us, "Yeah. I'm alright. Thank God Dallara and Cadillac build a strong car. Man, it is one of those days when things go upside down, literally. I'm OK but it is just a shame because we had a really strong car. The Whelen Engineering V Series R was going strong and there was not much I could have done and the wall came up pretty quickly. First time for me flipping a race car. Not the nicest feeling to be upside down until they can turn the car around. But good thing I am racing in 2024 and not in the 1960s." Pipo is asked about what it is like being trapped in a prototype race car, upside down.
Derani says, "I felt OK. But it is a little annoying when you are trying to open the door and you can't, and you are thinking whether there's fire or anything. Everything was alright and the safety crew was there. Once you can see them from outside, I feel OK. I didn't feel any pain and the tire barrier reduced the impact quite a lot. Thanks for the safety crew as well, for the car, and everyone who showed up to see if I was OK." Navigating GTD traffic is hard. Pipo is unsure. Everything was going fine. "Maybe he didn't see me, and maybe I was expecting him to hold his line to the right, knowing I was going to go on the left."
"It is one of those situations where it happens, without you thinking of whether you should have done something different or not. Our championship took a little hit with this one. Eight races to go and we'll try again next time. I wanted my fifth win. But it will have to be next year. So, we'll be back." We are glad Pipo Derani is OK. As I said, my favorite team, we will be back. You can count on it. Great to hear from Pipo Derani and you can only imagine what a split second is like. But it is like he told us in the interview, you make those moves thousands of times throughout one of these long-distance races. Now, there might have been a bit more room Pipo could have used. But who is to say?
At first glance, Molina looked to turn in but maybe he did not. You get so used to the longitudinal and lateral rhythm but 30+ GT Daytona cars, it is a wild. Now, we have more drama. There is a massive chunk of debris in turn one and that appears to be a diffuser from the underside of one of the cars. Oh my gracious! It has come out from underneath the #55 Ford Mustang GT3 which slewed across the grass to drivers' right! It just tore itself out. Goodness gracious me! Full Course Yellow. We are under Full Course Yellow. The decklid is up, too.
We saw issues with the rear trunk on the Mustang's at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. So, the decklid situation has not been cured, but the wing has not failed this time. Jeepers! You can make some big moves in turn one, but trust me, you must be brave! We have seen in excess of two hours of Full Course Yellow this weekend at Sebring. Fun is to be had for everyone during spring break time for adults. Spontaneous acts of radical self-expression. It is a party here at Sebring. Sebring has to be seen to be believed.
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