Ryan Dalziel has the #18 Era Motorsports LMP2 car that Connor Zilisch is driving, and Zilisch has won in nearly everything he drives, especially stock cars and Mazda MX-5 Cup. Ryan Dalziel is giving the #18 A great performance. Zilisch is a Red Bull athlete as well. Trouble for the #6 Porsche 963 of Nick Tandy? He took the runoff area and the #01 Cadillac is side by side with the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Nick Yelloly. Filipe Albuquerque leads the motor race. The #10 and #5 need longer stops as we should see two more stops. Yelloly trying to pass van der Zande, putting the squeeze on the Cadillac and Nick Tandy takes the pass on Yelloly, too! This is bonkers!
Alessio Picariello gets a bit of breathing space. van der Zande starting to push. The #10 Konica Minolta Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Global Acura is now leading with Filipe Albuquerque at the controls. They have won two races this year. Sebring and Detroit. The #9 Pfaff Motorsports McLaren is off in the grass. WTR Andretti will switch back over to Cadillac for next year. The #9 McLaren is off and running with Oliver Jarvis at the wheel of it, stalled and is running again. Andretti's team name will not be on the Wayne Taylor team for 2025.
All four classes blended together. It has been busy and fun to watch and there's still plenty more in the final two hours of this motor race. Mustang vs Lexus in GTD Pro and now, Harry Tincknell has gone off in the mud someplace because the nose and half the windscreen is caked with mud. Ben Barnicoat is coming in a big hurry with an hour and 45 minutes of racing remaining. The lap time seems to be given to the Ford because they have more horsepwoer even though they don't have the grip or handling. Indianapolis Motor Speedway was meant to be a test track, one of two FIA Grade 1 infield road course tracks, and the third oldest permanent circuit in the world.
Before cars raced at Indianapolis there was a motorcycle race and a hot air balloon race. Albuquerque could be coming to the pit lane very soon. Andy Lally in the Aston Martin vs. Laurin Heinrich in the Porsche and Heinrich prevails. He is in podium position but must protect himself from being vulnerable. Now, van der Zande passes Picariello and it's tree wide with Picariello, Tandy getting sandwiched, and the Iron Dames GT Daytona Lamborghini! Yikes! Yelloly loses big to the cars he is chasing, Picariello and van der Zande. Tandy is going to have Yelloly in the BMW coming in a big hurry.
Matt Brabham makes a wild move in the #99 "Spike the Dragon" AO Racing LMP2 car and a big hip check between the #47 Cetilar Ferrari 296 GT3 of Antonio Fuoco and Loris Spinelli in the #78 Forte Racing Lamborghini as the #10 WTR Andretti Acura pits for the next to last time. Full fuel load, new Michelin tires, and slightly off sequence. They are out of the championship chase. They can throw caution to the wind and use both cars to throw caution to the wind. A top off on fuel for the #5 Proton Competition Porsche 963.
Of course, the GTP cars have internal combustion engines along with the Motor Generator Unit and the battery. The GTP cars are very tricky to drive on stone cold tires that atre not up to pressure or temperature. Brakw early and he locks up the left front going nearly off the road! The braking with the brake by wire system is so, so sensitive. He is over the line and did lock up. I think he might have to do a drive through for unsafe release from the pit lane as Dane Cameron is on the stick and slices past in the #7 Penske Porsche. He can't catch the GT Daytona cars inclduing the #90 car, the Porsche 911 GT3R with Kay van Berlo at the wheel of it.
77 degrees ambient temperature and 81 degrees track temperature, hence the stone-cold tires. Two more stops for the GTP cars before the race ends. Renger van der Zande and Cadillac lead this motor race overall. Nick Tandy has now put the #6 Penske Porsche 963 into the lead in traffic holding station to pass Renger van der Zande. He is only four points out of the championship lead, in this battle of the giants, Penske and Ganassi. Porsche and Cadillac. An hour and a half of racing remaining. IMS President, Doug Boles making history with an endurance race and we see trouble for the Lamborghini.
This endurance race is about what the duration was of the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911 with almost seven hours of racing completed. Happy Birthday to Doug Boles. Big trouble for the #63 Lamborghini SC63. Argy bargy with Andrea Caldarelli clattering into Ben Barker in the #55 Proton Competition Ford Mustang, braking, the left rear toe link and cutting down the left rear tire. Romain Grosjean put the the car out front in the rain. Their race has turned pear shaped. Ben Hanley is now third i the LMP2 class in the #2 United Autosports Oreca 07.
Meanwhile, Tomm Milner ismrunning in third place in GTD Pro in the sister #4 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Hello to IMSA President John Doonan. This is IMSA's second year here. Glad to see WeatherTech and Michelin sponsoring the series. Record crowds and we hope that continues for Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. 17 of 18 brands are winners in IMSA in 2024. They want to put a show on for the fans. Genesis will bring out a new GTP/LMDh car coming in a few years.
IMSA is "the biggest international series in North America". True that. Renger van der Zande in trouble and now, he is scrapping for it against Nick Yelloly and he loses a spot and now Louis Deletraz is right on his six. Poor old van der Zande has chewed up his tires. That is an evil handling Cadillac and he has to pit for new Michelin boots. There was a massive lockup resulting in a flatspot on the left front tire and then light contact with the BMW M Hybrid V8.
New sticker Michelin's on the car as Sebastien Bourdais is back into the car. This has been quite the race today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Nick Tandy in the lane and so is LMP2 leader Mikkel Jensen in the #11 TDS Racing Oreca. One hour and 25 minutes of motor racing to go. We see the #10 Acura and #7 Porsche scrapping and the #6 Porsche pitting. Sebastien Bourdais has cut down a left rear tire. This championship goes upside down with the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac!
He loses the tire and now, he overshoots the corner and picks up the banking on the oval. No evidence of contact. Maybe debris cut down the tire. Curb hopping on a low-pressure tire might have caused it and they've got damage to that car. Their championship hopes will also take a severe hit at Ganassi Racing. Louis Deletraz in the #40 WTR Andretti Acura now takes the lead of the motor race over Jesse Krohn in the #24 BMW and Matthieu Jaminet in the #6 Porsche.
One of the mechanics has to cut the shredded tire away from the brake disc and the axle assembly. The #18 Era Motorsports Oreca 07 has pitted and Ryan Dalziel hands over to Connor Zilisch who has won in everything he's driven. NASCAR Xfinity, Mazda MX-5 Cup, IWSC LMP2. Boulle and Dillman are now opening their lead on Keating and Hanley. Whoops. The #34 Conquest Racing Ferrari of Albert Costa Balboa goes off the road, the Spaniard. Conquest Racing won in GTD Pro at Road America. He was all by his lonesome with broken right front suspension and far too much camber.
Lots of Ferrari 296 GT3's racing globally as Connor Zilisch is flying! Full commitment and full send for the youngster! Connor Zilisch, turning on the afterburners and still on the lead lap in spite of spins and penalties. He passes Stevan McAleer and Graham Doyle in the #66 Acura NSX GT3 and the #45 Lamborghini Huracan as we see the #24 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid in the lane for fresh tires and brimming the fuel changing drivers to Philipp Eng. Eng won for BMW in a GT3 car here in the SRO 8-hour race that will be taking place in a few weeks' time again.
Full Course Yellow. We are under Full Course Yellow. Drama for the #7 Porsche 963 of Felipe Nasr, stopped with a power steering problem. Wow! He tries to recycle the system and that's what he did, but it didn't work. Everyone is taking hits in GTP and there's still an hour and ten minutes to go. I cannot understand stopping a car in the middle of the straightaway with cars speeding by! That's bananas! That was an aggressive area to come to a halt and Louis Deletraz had to thread the needle between the leader who was stopped and the pit wall!
The #40 Acura still needs to pit. Just a shade over an hour to go. Who will claim victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway? Louis Deletraz gives up the lead to come to the pit lane. Felipe Nasr still in trouble with the #7 Porsche 963. This championship is being turned upside down. Mustang, Lexus, Porsche, GTD Pro battle in the pit lane. This is going to be a fight to the end. The GTD leading #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche in the lane. Elliott Skeer out of the car and Jan Heylen will take the car to the finish. The #64 Ford Mustang GT3 will have Mike Rockenfeller finish after Harry Tincknell's stop and Tincknell trips over a tire. He'll be OK. "Rexy" beats everyone out! He goes from third to first. AO Racing! How about that!
In the saga of the #7 Porsche 963, Felipe Nssr cycled the electronics and is still having issues. He doesn't know if he can last for an hour without power steering. They might have to put Dane Cameron into the car. With these hybrid GTP cars without power steering is impossible. The loads are unreal with the switchbacks and the cars are set up for power steering to control a slide. Wrestling the car is not a part of the picture. Seating position, hand position on the wheel. My gosh. That Porsche 963 will be evil to drive.
Porsche #6 in the pit lane looking to the end of the race. Tires and fuel added.
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