Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, a legendary, recently repaved, 4-mile ribbon of asphalt, in Wisconsin's "vacation country". It is early August, vacation season. But this is no holiday for the drivers and teams of the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. All five classes are reunited once more and a field of 47 cars is assembled to do battle in the IMSA Sports Car Weekend. Including today, there are three races left for the prototypes, four left for the GT cars. The GT's have their own standalone event at Virginia International Raceway later in the month. But now, it is time to go racing here at Road America for 2 hours and 40 minutes. The IMSA Sports Car Weekend, right here on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog. It's live, and it's coming at you... next!
It is an Acura front row lockout in the GTP class. Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque are on the pole aboard the #10 WTRAndretti Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 and at their elbow is the sister #40 Dex Imaging Acura of Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz. Cadillac's are third and fifth with Renger van der Zande in the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing V Series.R and Pipo Derani in the #31 Whelen Engineering Action Express entry. Between them, is a Porsche 963 but not one of the Penske factory cars. It is the #5 Proton Competition Mustang Sampling gray and gold entry being driven by Gianmaria Bruni from Italy and Bent Viscaal of Holland.
P.J. Hyett has scored his fourth consecutive pole in the LMP2 class at the wheel of "Spike" the dragon, the #99 AO Racing Oreca 07 LMP2 sharing the car today with Frenchman Paul-Loup Chatin. GTD Pro sees a Corvette Racing by Pratt & Miller Motorsports front row lockout. Nicky Catsburg will start car #4 from pole with teammate in the #3, Alexander Sims, at his elbow. Catsburg sharing with Tommy Milner and Sims sharing with Antonio "The King of Spain" Garcia. All ten GTD Pro cars outran the GT Daytona field, the entire GT Daytona field.
On the GTD pole it is Mikael Grenier aboard the #32 Korthoff/Preston Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3. Grenier, the Canadian, sharing that car with American GT3 and GT4 veteran driver, Kenton Koch. Koch has driven GT3 and GT4 cars in a myriad of championships this year. Breaking down this 47-car field into individual classes, there are ten GTP cars, a dozen LMP2's, ten GTD Pro cars, and the most well represented division, GT Daytona, has 15 cars.
Aside from the 2023 repave, which has now had a year to settle in and more races, from IndyCar, to motorcycles, to vintage racing, the layout of this fabled 4-mile ribbon of asphalt has not changed much since Cliff Tufte built it and it opened back in 1955. IMSA in its current form has run races here since 1979. As you saw in a video on their official YouTube channel with racing legend and Wisconsin resident, David Hobbs, back then, it was a battle similar to today in GTP, between Porsche and BMW, except with the BMW 320 Turbo and the Porsche 935. Oh, how we could go on and on and on about the history and the charisma of this place!
While that is fun, I believe it is time to live in the now. We have more history to add, another chapter to write, as we get close to the start of another Road America IMSA race. Deep in the heart of Wisconsin, Road America is an icon, built for speed. Four classes of cars, 2 hours and 40 minutes on the clock, and the best sports car drivers on the planet. 640 acres of park-like setting, encompasses this track. It is awesome! We have seen the sports cars here for decades and IMSA has been racing here for the last 25 years. NBC Sports is providing the coverage on this gorgeous Sunday afternoon. 55% humidity, 85 degrees ambient temperature.
We have Brian Till and Calvin Fish in the broadcast booth, and Chris Willner and Georgia Henneberry reporting from the pits. Porsche Penske Motorsports, won this race last year, in the #7 Porsche 963 with Matt Campbell and Felipe Nasr. They won here last year and have won two races this year at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen. Dane Cameron went off the road in qualifying yesterday in the sister car. In Free Practice, LMP2 cars of Luis Companc and Nick Boulle and through The Kink, Jesse Krohn had a huge off in the #24 GTP BMW M Hybrid V8 while Ben Keating in the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca also had a huge off course excursion!
The #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura with Filipe Albuquerque scored pole. Both of the WTR Andretti Acura's swept the front row. Each car has a victory this year and wants another one. In GTD Pro it is a Corvette front row lockout and starting tenth, the #77 "Roxy" AO Racing pink dinosaur. Rexy's sister is the stand-in. Laurin Heinrich sharing with Julien Andlauer and P.J. Hyett in "Spike" the dragon, the #99 LMP2 car is on pole in the class sharing with Paul Loup Chatin as we get ready to start today's race. Such picturesque beauty around Road America including Elkhart Lake in the background.
We have seen trouble already for the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Connor De Philippi and he spins the car at low speed on cold tires. Last year, into The Carousel, he did the same thing. The car is rolling from P6 on the grid. Alright. It is time to go racing. Safety Car lights off. The field set to go green. Prototypes ana GTD car separated at the start. Here comes the field. Green flag! Away we go! Down to turn one for the first time. Side by side as Renger van der Zande goes alongside Gianmaria Bruni Oh my! Giacomo Altoe almost touches one of his rivals.
Ugh. Nick Tandy spins Pipo Derani! Oh dear! Oh! The #3 Corvette also gets tagged in turn five in the gravel trap! Mike Rockenfeller is losing ground. Alexander Sims stuck in the gravel trap! Into turn eight, the #45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini is moving forward or trying to. Mike Rockenfeller in the #64 Multimatic Ford Mustang GT3 is also in a spot of bother. Pipo Derani, does he have damage. Tandy stuffs it right into Pipo Derani. Alexander Sims was on the gray side of the road and just got spun into the gravel going into the ABS. The #64 Ford Mustang GT3 is on pit lane with a flat right front tire.
The Whelen Action Express team, Bill Kuehler, the crew chief, is examining the car for damage. The contact happened on the left rear. On the Mustang, there is a borken toe link on the suspension. The brake package for the Ford Mustang GT3 has also been troublesome both here in IMSA and in other championships, FIA WEC, SRO etc. Watch track limits in turn one. Turn five has a deep braking zone. Turn eight, another deep braking zone, and then, go through The Carousel and The Kink, and into Canada Corner. This is a special place. Uphill battle for fuel. Literally. Don't ride the carousel. Be very careful going through there. Big track, big picture, big consequences.
The #40 Acura is ahead of the #10. #40 is in the title chase. The #64 Ford Mustang has a broken control arm. OK. Green flag. Jordan Taylor leads the motor race ahead of Filipe Albuquerque as we see Richard Westbrook and Dane Cameron, the battle of the Porsche's. Dane Cameron's dad Ricky is the enginee on the #85 JDC Miller Motorsports Porsche. Pipo Derani has the bit between his teeth. He is making his way back through the field. Pipo "The Dynamo" Derani, has time to get the job done. Penske Porsche has struggled with handling.
In GTD Pro the battle is on between the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 of Bryan Sellers vs. the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 of Jack Hawksworth. Nicky Catsburg leads the race in GTD Pro. #6, #64, and #34 all have penalties in their future for false starts and for contact. 12 minutes of racing in the bag already. Hawksworth and company are focusing on beating "Roxy", the pink Porsche. In the lane, Manny Franco, serving the penalty. Corvette, BMW, Lexus, Porsche, Aston Martin, and more, eight brands in the top eight in GTD Pro. Dirkl Mueller and Joey Hand in the sister #65 Ford Mustang GT3, they are within a chance of a podium finish. The Mustang lacks downforce but has great straight-line speed.
Very little downforce and not enough weight to find the grip, plus a higher mandated tire pressure which really has an effect through The Carousel. Five different winners in GTD Pro in 2024. The Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 has been trying to find straight line speed. Bryan Sellers knows that they can capitalize on restarts. The #01 Chip Ganassi Cadillac Racing team with Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais, they are still in the title fight. In 2023 they had a terrible year. This is their swansong with Cadillac. They will not return next year.
One of the Penske Porsche's heads for pit lane, the #6. This is a penalty for the incident with Pipo Derani. Only one non top ten finish for the #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac in 2024. Oh dear. The #45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini is off in The Carousel. Smoke was filling up in the cockpit. Danny Formal, the Costa Rican driver, is out of the car, sharing with British Lamborghini factory driver Sandy Mitchell. So, this is our second Full Course Yellow. This will help Nick Tandy in the #6 Penske Porsche 963. The driver had to carry the fire extinguisher back from the safety truck to the race car to put out the flames and smoke.
Speed stands out at Road America. Pace in the braking zones and managing it through the turns is extremely important, especially through The Carousel. The Michelin tires can overheat through The Carousel. Car setup is crucial to maximize the life of the tire. This is the second race since the Road America circuit was repaved. Tire management is crucial. OK. Pit stop time for the prototypes. GTP and LMP2 are in. This will be a two-stop race. Make it three, since this is the first one. Try to leapfrog the competition.
Louis Deletraz will take over the #40 Acura. Four tires, the tires on that car sare shot. The #5 Porsche was in and more. The #10 Acura and the #24 BMW stay out. Game over for the #45 Lamborghini. I assume the #40 Acura started on their qualifying tires. We will see the GTD Pro and GTD cars into the pit lane next time around. It is a long lap, the 4 miles, under yellow. The GTD Pro and GTD cars did hit the pit lane and got very busy. The #32 Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes, Mikael Grenier, pitting for fuel only.
Nicky Catsburg, no worries, except for a drink bottle, and the change of one tire in the #3 Corvette. it was a traffic jam off the pit lane. Everyone did well to follow each other out of the lane. That is a tight squeeze if there is overlap. If you are in the transition lane and you are in the fast lane, give way to the other bloke next to you. it is hard to judge to see if you are completely clear. We have just passed the half hour mark in the race. Danny Formal had a slight fire on the #45 Lambo. We have had a six week break between this race and the last event at Watkins Glen for the GTP teams.
Oh. The yellow has been extended. Pit exit review still underway after that GTD Pro and GTD shemozzle in the lane. Oy yoy yoy! That's a real traffic jam and you must not merge in front of another car, just like being in traffic on the highway. Don't budge in line at the buffet to get to the cookies, cakes, and pies, please! Harry Tincknell says the #64 Mustang had a bent control arm and had to replace the darn thing and it took them only five or six laps and now, they need to serve a drive through penalty, Tincknell, sharing with Mike Rockenfeller. This is an extended test session for them. The next event at Virginia International Raceway will be for all GT3 cars.
There will be no prototypes at that race in three weeks. Harry Tincknell, a very experienced driver, can still make a mistake. Jordan Taylor tells us that with the early driver change, it was planned, as long as the fuel and the tires take longer than the driver change. Louis Deletraz is in the car. Jordan Taylor said the tires were shot. The Penske factory Porsche's came to the lane and took only fuel. Green flag and now we see Renger van der Zande side by side with Dane Cameron! Yikes! That was close! Louis Deletraz tags the back of Jack Aitken and now, hee comes Nick Tandy.
Deletraz trying to get into his rhythm. Jack Aitken ahead in the #31 Whelen Cadillac. Everyone trying to settle in. van der Zande was inside Cameron and van der Zande was having none of it. A pit lane speed violation, a pass under yellow, a pit lane speed violation, and running the pit exit light. So, that was the LMP2 cars, the #8 Tower Motorsports entry of John Farano and the #22 United Autosport entry of Dan Goldburg I believe. Sheesh! Deletraz and Tandy racing each other here. Road America tempts drivers to do things. Turn five, contact with the #20 High Class Racing Oreca and Tonis Kasemets in the #33 Sean Creench Motorsports Ligier.
He has to back up. He is from Estonia and is getting back on track, the 50-year-old racing veteran. Close shave there between Tandy in the Porsche and Aitken in the Cadillac. Consequences, consequences, consequences. At least the pavement is smooth, and the cars can stay under control. The temptation is to push. A pit lane penalty for the #22 entry as we talked about. Filipe Albuquerque on a different strategy leading Philipp Eng in the #24 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8. In the GTD Pro class and in GTD, Ferrari leads in both classes. Conquest Racing in GTD Pro and Triarsi Competizione in GTD.
Two cars for Conquest Racing. #34 has Manny Franco and Albert Costa Balboa. #35 has Daniel Serra and Giacomo Altoe, as the #70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3 of Brendon Iribe and Fredrik Schandorff has pitted. Ben Keating leads the LMP2 class in the #2 United Autosports Oreca. The car went off track in qualifying and the team changed everything on the car in time for qualifying and put the car on the front row sharing with Ben Hanley. The Ben and Ben show. So, the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 also had a massive off course excursion and impact with the barriers through The Kink in qualifying yesterday, changing the motor, the sensors, and the bodywork.
It was a 50G impact? That does not make any sense to me! Weirdness. Neither BMW has been on the podium all year. Ah. The #40 Acura has attacked the #85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Porsche 963 of Richard Westbrook. Louis Deletraz made a late, kamikaze move. The #10 Acura is 380 points behind the leaders. It is hard to make up with only three races left, two after today. Dennis Andersen served a drive through penalty and now Louis Deletraz must serve one. The #20 is the High Class Racing Oreca of Dennis Andersen and Seth Lucas.
This traffic is unreal! Connor De Philippi scything his way through. Watch it offline with all the tire marbles. Time your pace through The Kink. Last time out at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park there were no GTP cars. Pit stop time, for the #55 Ford Mustang GT3 of Giamarco Levorato, the Italian, for Proton Competition. The #023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 is doing a dress rehearsal for the endurance races coming up to round out the year. Onofrio Triarsi sharing with Alessio Rovera. Pit stop time for the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8, stretching their next stint with Jesse Krohn taking over from Philipp Eng.
The GTP cars can move past the GT Daytona cars through The Kink. The GTP cars take grip away from the GTD cars as Renger van der Zande is monstering Connor De Philippi, defending like mad. This will be for the lead. Bruni is actually the leader in the #5 Mustang Sampling Proton Competition Porsche 963. Filipe Albuquerque should pit in 10-15 minutes or so. Oh dear, another spin for the #20 Oreca for High Class Racing. Don't back up into the gravel pit, Dennis. he stalled it. Turn five has been Calamity Corner so far. Late braking in turn one with P.J. Hyett making a move on Dan Goldburg. "Spike" has yet to see a podium.
P.J. Hyett first drove an LMP2 car at Road America and his grandpa taught him how to drive a road car in the Wisconsin countryside. Now, the #31 Whelen Cadillac pits for new tires. Tire degradation a big deal. Jack Aitken will do a double stint. He got worried about the traffic. An early pit stop for Action Express as we have now been racing for an hour. Filipe Albuquerque in the WTR Andretti Acura continues to lead. Jack Aitken is in the #31 Whelen Cadillac now, taking over from Pipo Derani. It should be noted that the #55 Ford Mustang GT3 of Levorato, he is sharing with American GT driver Corey Lewis.
Great, Chamber of Commerce weather here at Road America. Cliff Tufte was the founder and contstructor fo this circuit. 640 acres, 171 feet of elevation change. It is known as "America's National Park of Speed" and has the most elevation change of any course on the IMSA schedule outside of Laguna Seca Raceway in California. There are long duration turns and as we said, the elevation change is a big factor here too. In the GT Daytona class, it is Mikael Grenier in the #32 Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 being chased by the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 with Patrick Gallagher at the wheel of it, sharing with Robby Foley.
The #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 has won four of the last six GTD races. Philip Ellis and Russell Ward, the two drivers there. Winward Racing might be in good shape because they are very successful in endurance races and after this event is done and dusted, we have two of those coming up at Indianapolis and Road Atlanta, although we also have that all-GTD race at Virginia International Raceway as well. Don't stuff the car down the inside. The #52 PR1/Mathiasen Inter Europol car had a head of steam. Trouble for the #11 TDS Racing car of Steven Thomas. He has hit the wall out of The Kink. If he does not move we will ave a Full Course Yellow.
The #10 Acura is supposed to give this place up to Adam Adelson in the #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche. Naughty, naughty. That is very unusual. Gianmaria Bruni leads the motor race. Filipe Albuquerque went 27 laps on a set of tires. Ricky Taylor climbs aboard and both factory Penske Porsche 963's are in too. Well, well, well. The #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac is in too. We stay green. Car #11 is back moving again. OK. The #2 car in LMP2 iss also in the pit lane for a driver change. Oh dear. The #01 Cadillac spins, Sebastien Bourdais, on cold tires.
Ben Hanley into the #2 car. What happened to Sebastien Bourdais? He got squeezed by the #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche on cold tires. The #35 Giacomo Altoe Ferrari is in and now, Daniel Serra, the Brazilian is into the car. Gianmaria Bruni is in the lane in the #5 Proton Competition entry now handing over to Bent Viscaal, the Dutchman. Less than an hour and a half to go. It is so difficult for the GTP cars to get grip. Jesse Krohn in the BMW is right on Felipe Nasr's six. This is Penske Porsche #7 and BMW Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 #24. Felipe Nasr leads the championship chase.
Oh! The sister #25 BMW spears off the road and at the exit of The Carousel he tears the whole nose off the car! He has been tagged too by the #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac! Jeepers creepers! Full Course Yellow. Safety Car. We are under Full Course Yellow. These GTP cars are modular like Lego blocks. So, the #01 Cadillac will have a new nose put on the car. Game over for the #25 BMW. Nick Yelloly cannot believe his luck. He and Connor De Philippi are out of it. He just dropped the wheels off the road and Bourdais had to lift so he wouldn't clatter right into the back of the BMW. Bourdais spun off to drivers' right and clonked the concrete barrier.
Yelloly run wide, plowed into the signage boards and spins through the grass. Bourdais was off the road to driver's left and hooked back to the right side of the road. The Full Course Yellow continues. Bliney! What a mess this accident was at the exit of The Carousel! Renger van der Zande tells us that the #01 Cadillac is salvageable, and they had to change the right front tire and they have a fresh set. Many GTP cars now pitting. Giacomo Altoe and the Conquest Racing crew are very happy. Altoe from Adria, Italy, where there is a racing circuit.
GTP pit stops have now been completed. We have a record crowd of fans at Road America which is wonderful. GTD Pro pit stops underway as well as GTD. Both Corvettes are in the lane. Fuel, tires, and a driver change for the #3. "Roxy" has a full tank of gas, the #77 AO Racing Porsche. Bent Viscaal the erstwhile leader. The track crews are cleaning up the tire clag, the debris around the circuit. So, the #5 Proton Competition Mustang Sampling Porsche 963 is at the top of the shop, currently. Just over an hour of racing to go. Filipe Albuquerque in the #10 WTR Andretti Acura is happy about the car. Their strategy was split between the two cars of course, cutting qualifying laps.
We are setting up to go back to green flag racing after the third yellow. OK. Bent Viscaal leading over Ticky Taylor, Matthieu Jaminet, and Jack Aitken. Taylor screams past Viscaal! Viscaal slow through turn one and here comes Matthieu Jaminet and now, Jack Aitken will zone in and try to go for the pass. Jack Aitken finding his rhythm making sure the tires are cleaned up. Now, Aitken is probing Jaminet. Aitken has more energy in the tank compared to Jaminet and Taylor. Taylor is pulling away and the sister #40 car has a penalty for working on the car outside the pit box and the same for the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus for leaving equipment attached to the car on pit exit.
Daniel Serra vs. Alessio Rovera. GTD Pro vs. GTD. Conquest Racing and Triarsi Competizione. More scrapping in GTD between Kenton Koch and Roman De Angelis and now has the GTD Pro #65 Ford Mustang GT3 of Joey Hand! All professional drivers in the two GT Daytona class in Pro and regular. Kenton Koch went deep under braking. Mike Skeen is on strategy at Korthoff Motorsports this weekend. Koch with some argy bargy over the curbs. A piece of bodywork off the car and that is the rear tail of the Ford Mustang! There's contact between Hand and the Aston Martin #27!
We have seen loose bodywork on the Mustang's all year in IMSA, SRO, and WEC. At 160+ miles an hour, the whole tail came off. Full Course Yellow and we need a debris cleanup with 58 minutes left on the board. Ben Keating was amazed to qualify so well in an LMP2 car that was entirely rebuilt. He had a great start and is very happy with where he is with Ben Hanley finishing the race. We are under Full Course Yellow for debris of course with the GTD Pro Ford Mustang and the GTD Aston Martin. We know Meyer Shank and Acura are coming back. Aston Martin coming to GTP. Hyundai will come to GTP for 2026 and we have the very real possibility of WTR Andretti competing with Cadillac.
The Aston Martin is a Hypercar with a bespoke chassis with rear wheel drive only and a lot of the WEC Hypercars have four-wheel drive. A V12 motor for Aston Martin. They will have one Valkyrie in IMSA and two in World Endurance next year. Romain De Angelis could be in that car. Heart of Racing involved in IMSA, FIA World Endurance, and SRO. Ian James is a driver and the team boss. 50 minutes left. We are getting set to go back to green. OK. Green flag. Acura, Porsche, Cadillac, the top three. #01 slices it inside of the BMW! That's Sebastien Bourdais!
All sorts of action in LMP2 between Nicklas Nielsen and Ben Hanley! Nielsen sharing with Luis Perez Companc. Argy bargy between the #88 and the #79 JDC-Miller Motorsports Oreca of Gerry Kraut and Scott Andrews and Felipe Fraga goes for a huge ride through the grass! That is a ride on a mechanical bull! Arms and elbows all over the map! 47 minutes to go. Another drive through penalty for the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3. The #34 Ferrari gets nearly clobbered by Matt Bell in the #13 AWA Corvette he shares with Orey Fidani. The maximum run is 68 minutes on fuel but we have had so much yellow as of late.
Serra is five laps off on fuel compared to some of his competition. Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 could be in the pound seats on their fuel save. Sellers and Snow have not won. Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas looking for a victory. Sebastian Priaulx is a great driver and he is contracted with Multimatic Motorsport but will be back in IMSA. That is for dead sure. Robby Foley is being chased down by Laurin Heinrich. Foley is in front of the #57 Winward Mercedes. In GTD Pro, the situation is good for the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 of Bryan Sellers.
They will be good on fuel to the very end. Some major biff and barge between the #64 Ford Mustang GT3 of Harry Tincknell and Loris Spinelli in the #78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2. This is the only sprint event we have with all four classes and some major argy bargy losing mirrors for the #4 Corvette and the #27 Aston Martin! That's some major scrapping! 300 event starts for Corvette Racing including the customer programs they have here, in FIA WEC, in SRO and so on. 40 minutes to go. Stevan McAleer and Sheena Monk sharing the #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3. McAleer won in Michelin Pilot Challenge with Trent Hindman in a Porsche Cayman yesterday.
Elliott Skeer doing all he can and now, Milner is trading body blows with Roman De Angelis and here comes McAleer and Skeer! Roman De Angelis is in the wars, too! Oh! That was so close! The Corvette was pushing the Ferrari and the Ferrari runs wide. McAleer ahead and there's more contact between Skeer and Spinelli! This s turning into a demolition derby and driver's emotions are overflowing. Skeer clatters into Spinelli. Corey Lewis tries a pass. Spinelli and Skeer have damage. Guys, calm down. Oh dear. The #78 of Spinelli parks it. Watch the radiators on the Porsche ad there is too much debirs. We need to go yellow.
Full Course Yellow. We are under Full Course Yellow. Great call for the #2 United Autosports Oreca of Ben Hanley going to the pit lane for service. Elliott Skeer trundles back to the pits. That will not be an easy fix. The GT3 cars are being built in a more modular fashion, tearing the front bumper off. The exhaust is bent on the back of the car and the rear diffuser has been cut into. Jack Aitken has 55% energy left sitting in third spot. The guys in front will come to the lane, and leapfrog with a shorter fuel fill, in the lane? This is a regular yellow. GTP and LMP2 will take their stops and then the GTD cars. #10 pits. Jaminet, Aikten, and others stay out and here comes the LMP2 field.
#2 will leapfrog to the front. #10 will take tires as well. They will fill the car with fuel. Jaminet now leads Aitken. The #120 Porsche's day may be done. More mechanics can work on it in the paddock. Traffic jam at the red light. Jaminet, Aitken, Nasr, Viscaal, Bourdais, Krohn, Deletraz, Van der Helm, Taylor, will be the GTP running order. We should see a 15-minute run to the very end. A lot of cars are going to get massive fuel save.
No GTP cars have started on the front row and won a race in 2024. #023 pits, Alessio Rovera, from the GTD lead putting Parker Thompson ahead in the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 sharing with Frankie Montecalvo. Pit stop time at Triarsi Competizione. Pack the tank full of petrol. OK. It is soon to be crunch time, ladies and gentlemen. This is going to be a mad dash. Hang onto your hollyhocks here, ladies and gentlemen! Of course, a hollyhock is a plant. So, that doesn't make too much sense. Tee hee! 19 minutes to go. Mathieu Jaminet has inherited the lead. Jaminet, Aitken, Nasr, Viscaal, Bourdais, the top five. Porsche, Cadillac, Porsche, Porsche, Cadillac.
OK. Time for a restart. Green flag! Go! Bourdais has a run on Viscaal. Bourdais all over the #5 and a brake lockup for the #40 Acura of Deletraz! Yikes! Bourdais pressing hard on Viscaal! Jeepers creepers! That was like taking candy from a baby. Ricky Taylor is carving his way through the field on new tires as the #22 United Autosports Oreca of Paul di Resta spins off in turn six or eight. Felip Nasr is now right on top of Jack Aitken, the newly married man, he is really all over Jaminet and here comes the sister Porsche of Felipe Nasr!. Ricky Taylor has grip to spare. He is moving to the front! Porsche, Porsche, Cadillac, Acura. A huge train in the GTD Pro and GTD classes. 13 minutes to go.
12 minutes left on the clock. We are getting down to the nitty gritty here at Road America. Eight minutes and change to go. Jaminet, Nasr, Aitken, Taylor, the top four. Taylor's tires are going away. Parker Thompson leading GT Daytona doing the fuel save of the century barely ahead of Robby Foley. It is a four-mile lap and it is uphill from Canada Corner to the start/finish line. Just over six minutes left. Roger Penske, and Urs Kuratle, making the call. Matthieu Jaminet behind Felipe Nastr followed by Jack Aitken. The #01 Cadillac has spun in turn five. Ganassi Racing up, down, and round. That was a weird one, battling with bent Viscaal, losing the tail after going back to power, Sebastien Bourdais.
Oh dear. Parker Thompson, out of fuel! Robby Foley will inherit the GT Daytona lead and is being harried by Fredrik Schandorff. Less than three minutes left. Lots of GTD traffic for the leaders. Ricky Taylor has gone by Jack Aitken. Nasr has ha huge head of steam running down Jaminet past the Mustang. They drop wheels in the dirt into Canada Corner at 175 miles an hour! Yikes! The GTD traffic is ahead. Time is running out. White flag. One lap to go. #32 off the road and #7 in the dirt! Taylor into the back of Nasr. Jaminet moves ahead. The GTD cars are in the way, still!
Don't lose the aerodynamics. Don't wait too long. Taylor hounding Nasr. Aitken right behind. Taylor trying to pass Nasr. Jaminet has to take it to the end. Matthieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy win Road America. Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher win GT Daytona for Turner Motorsports. Ben Hanley and Ben Keating win LMP2. Daniel Serra is the winner in GTD Pro. Bryan Sellers is right there. This battle, this drama is not done yet. In the GTD Pro class, who will it be?
Will Sellers answer the bell? I think Serra has this thing in the bag for Conquest Racing. It is uphill from here to the checkered flag. Sellers still there but it is not enough. Conquest Racing wins GTD Pro with Ferrari! Giacomo Altoe and Daniel Serra win GTD Pro in anything other than an endurance event. A first Ferrari sprint event win. LMP2 is won by United Autosports USA with the two Ben's, Ben Keating and Ben Hanley.
Overall/GTP: #6 Tandy/Jaminet Porsche Penske Motorsports Porsche 963
LMP2: #2 Keating/Hanley United Autosports USA Oreca 07
GT Daytona Pro: #35 Serra/Altoe Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3
GT Daytona: #96 Foley/Gallagher Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3
So, that's all she wrote from Road America. The sprint race portion of the 2024 WeatherTech Championship is almost done. Just the next event at VIR, Virginia International Raceway, in Alton, Virginia, in three weeks, which, incidentally, is a GT only race. No prototypes will be on the grid. Then, we move into the last two enduros of the year, the Battle on the Bricks, a 6-hour race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in mid-September and the season closer, the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, in October.
Lots of racing left. Join us for all of it. For now, so long, everyone, from Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Take care, everybody.
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