When we go to Full Course Yellow, pit lane is closed. How heavy is the rain? Will it continue? How sketchy is it on slick tires? Someone who has an ace up their sleeve is the #85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Porsche 963 with Richard Westbrook readying to drive. Game over for the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin of Zacharie Robichon, Ian James, and Roman De Angelis. How long will these conditions last? This is a farmer's rain, a nice and steady shower, not a gully washer. A lot of cleanup, to do with the fluid down and the damage to the barriers. We might see a whole track cleanup to get a reset. The #64 Ford Mustang GT3 leads GT Daytona Pro. The sister car had brake issues earlier and could be the guinea pig. We'll have to see what is going to happen.
Kenton Koch leads GT Daytona in the #32 Korthoff/Preston Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3. Mike Skeen is next into the car. There are some superstitions they have for good luck. Herbs, hula girls, lucky underwear and so forth. A spice bag? Hmmm. I wonder. Maybe they can keep the rain away. There used to be a prototype sports car called the Spice. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 and the BMW M4 GT3 with a turbo both have oodles of torque and are very drivable. Controllable braking systems, power down, traction off the corners.
The #64 Ford Mustang GT3 is in the lane for fresh slick tires. That's fascinating. A slick going on is one thing but these are brand new sticker tires. They will take more time to come in than a scrubbed slick. The two Corvette's are in as well. This is like a rainy day in England. We are into the second half of the race and we are seeing a level two weather alert, 20 miles out, storms barreling in. We need to see what is going to develop here. Some of the storms breaking up before they get here between the Finger Lakes and the Great Lakes. Err on the side of safety and let's not stuff the car into the fence. Make the right call, keep the car on the road.
The next batch of storms will be bigger. Yelloly in the #25 BMW M Hybrid was surviving in the dry a wee while ago. There's a couple different possible strategies but what is the risk? We are going to be playing the weather game for the final third of this race. Blimey! More pit callers inclduing the #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R and the wave by has just happened. #120 is Adam Adelson, Elliott Skeer, and Jan Heylen. They went to the slick Michelin tires, 14th in the overall, same lap is the GT Daytona class leader. To the north and northwest it is clear. In the other direction, it is totally dark. Start to back time this race to get to the end of the race.
The camera scaffolds are coming down because we have lightning around. So, we need to see about a fixed camera that is automatic, to keep the camera operators safe. The next group of storms are to the west of us and could be here either before the race ends or after we are finished. The #14 Lexus RC F GT3 is in to swap from wets back over to slicks. The #04 CrowdStrike LMP2 car is in and had a really aggressive release to try avoiding the Mustang. The #14 Lexus RC F GT3 is in as well. You won't launch out of the pit box as quickly in the rain.
We are going back to racing as we ride aboard the #57 Winward Mercedes-AMG GT3 with Indy Dontje at the wheel of it sharing with Russell Ward and Philip Ellis. Drivers from the European manufacturers who race GT3 cars week in and week out, you can find tracks where there is rain, like the Nurburgring and Spa. We're going back to green flag racing, now. Be very careful out there. Build temperature into the tires as Toby Sowery makes a pass on Charlie Eastwood. The cars are picking up the draft down the backstretch. The turbulence is right there. Watch out if you are driving an LMP2 amongst the GT3 cars. Oliver Jarvis and Ben Barnicoat, two Le Mans class winners from last weekend.
We get the onboard cameras and not the regular shots because there is still lightning around. The track is pretty dry on the racing line on the front part of the course. Three cars side by side. #74 and #11 penalized for passing under yellow and the #22 and #78 have fuel flow time rate penalties in their future. Barnicoat trying to find the right gear as he drafts past the Porsche and now tries to do the same to the Ferrari, through the Inner Loop. Good timing to make the pass on Cedric Sbirrazzuoli. Sebastien Bourdais is now aboard the #01 Cadillac and the majority of the GTP cars are on wet tires.
Nick Tandy maybe went back to slicks. The next storm cell is 40 miles out. It is fairly dark. Porsche, Acura, Cadillac, BMW, BMW, the top five in GTP. We have some cars in the two-minute lap time range. I think Dane Cameron might be on slicks and many cars are in. Jordan Taylor, Andrea Caldarelli, Richard Westbrook, and Dane Cameron at least. More rain through The Heel of The Boot. Andrea Caldarelli cops a drive through penalty for passing under yellow. Watch out in the Corvette being on the paint in the rain. Tommy Milner leading GTD Pro and Ollie Milroy is trying to pass in GTD.
Many of the GTP leaders are on Michelin slick tires. Heavy rain on the frontstretch. You don't want to be on slicks up the hill through the esses. One of the BMW's is really slowing down. I an LMP2 car downforce is your friend. But with no grip, you are walking a tightrope. The rain is really bucketing down again and the windscreen of the Aston Martin totally soaked. Full Course Yellow again for rain. I don't know if there is a car off the circuit or what. The #83 Iron Dames Lamborghini is off the road in turn ten. Watch the paint. Sarah Bovy at the wheel of the Lamborghini. It is just slick on the normal dry line.
Bovy backs it into the fence and bicycles on two wheels! Holy cow! She was definitely up on the paint. Rain on one end of the track and dry on the other. Dane Cameron still in the lead. In back timing this race the laptop computers and calculators will be smoking right now. Turn 11 has been calamity corner today. Especially for the GT3 cars. If you are already loaded, it is hard not to spin. But you are on pins and needles if you are there in the corner so be very careful. Turns one, eight, and ten, marshals will be strict on track limits. Open your hands and run onto the unpainted asphalt. Run the rain line if you can. Look for the aggregate. The polished line is not great in rainy conditions.
The rain is easing for now, but there could be another system of weather coming in soon. It is a real guessing game on the weather, on where the rain is and when it will come. We are ready to go back to green very soon. Safety Car lights out. Dane Cameron still at the top of the tree. Dane Cameron is a three-time IMSA champion, co-driving with Felipe Nasr. In third place, Nick Yelloly in the #25 BMW Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8. The #31 Whelen Cadillac with Tom Blomqvist is now ready to try getting back on the lead lap. He needs to get in front of Dane Cameron and get back on the lead lap if there is another yellow.
Cameron stacking everyone up. Green flag! Away we go again! That was a drag race down the straightaway as one of the Corvette's going to the pit lane. Most of the GTP cars are on slick tires. Cameron making good his escape. Nick Tandy being chased by Richard Westbrook. Diving down to the laces of The Boot. Toby Sowery in the #04 Oreca LMP2 car is likely on wet tires. The GTP cars are on the hard compound Michelin tires. A lockup for Nick Tandy and the lapped Lamborghini SC63 of Andrea Caldarelli. Richard Westbrook has a stop and five-minute hold for the #85 Porsche 963 hitting the RFID chip reader for the tires! Oh my heavens! That is an unbelievable penalty!
Tom Blomqvist has moved the #31 Whelen Cadillac up to tenth place. What will we see Mother Nature do? Ricky Taylor thinks the WTR Andretti Acura team needs a meteorologist. Towards the end of the race the rain might come back. The #10 team is coming off a win at Detroit last time out, breaking a losing streak that had lasted from the middle of 2022 until now. The sun is beginning to peak out from behind the clouds. Boys in the pit lane, eat your ice cream quick so it won't melt. Now, there is some trouble for the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 climbing up through the esses, the car of Simon Mann, Francois Heriau, and Miguel Molina.
Cadillac Racing will go through changes as Chip Ganassi is leaving, and Pipo Derani is leaving Action Express. WTR Andretti might become a Cadillac team again and Meyer Shank Racing could be back with Acura. Now., WTR Andretti have gone to the front. Albuquerque moves past Dane Cameron. Tom Blomqvist wants his lap back. Tom Blomqvist could end up either at AXR or perhaps back in an Acura at Meyer Shank Racing. Good grief. Who knows. The Lamborghini is in trouble being pushed back into the pit box. Trouble for the Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63. They are dealing with overheating trouble and the car will not fire up again.
They are going to the garage. This car did not qualify in the top five but it was only just about 7/10ths of a second off. It is early days in that program. You cannot just throw a car on the track and expect to be at the front. Lamborghini had a solid reliability run at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last weekend as Richard Westbrook now serves the excruciating five-minute penalty in the penalty box and he had overlap with the #40 Acura and he misjudged the exit and tagged the tire reading machine. The equipment is fine and where it needs to be. That's a big deal.
Harry Tincknell in the #64 Ford Mustang GT3 factory car leads the way in GTD Pro. In GTD Pro it is Mustang, Corvette, BMW, Lexus, and Porsche. Harry Tincknell, Antonio Garcia, Madison Snow, Ben Barnicoat, and Laurin Heinrich. "Rocky" has never won the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen. He is chasing the #11 LMP2 car, the TDS Oreca. Filipe Albuquerque has taken the lead in the GTP class. Mustang vs. Corvette, a lot like IMSA GTO and Trans Am. Porsche 963 #85 back in the pit lane. The Ford Mustang excelled on the long straightaways at Le Mans last weekend.
You have to fit a performance box, a window that the tech staff are looking for as far as the Ford Mustang GT3 is concerned I believe. The car is right on weight but has a bigger air inlet restrictor. The Corvette can carve the turns but the Mustang has the straightaway speed. Filipe Albuquerque is the leader in GTP and in overall. Toby SOwery leading LMP2. Harry Tincknell in GTD Pro and Ollie Milroy in GTD. More rain to come in the next 15-30 minutes. It is so hard to plan. You just need to adjust, fuel mileage, stint length, back timing the race.
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