Krohn drops from sixth down to ninth place and loses time on the road. He remains on the lead lap for now. He's fine I think unless the #7 Porsche passed. Yes. Krohn goes a lap down. The #31 Whelen Cadillac of Tom Blomqvist may need to serve a drive through penalty. Corvette #4 is back on track, 51 laps down, with Earl Bamber at the controls. Pratt & Miller will race an LMP2 car next year. They began in prototype racing. They do have connections with General Motors, and could we see a GTP program with Cadillac for Pratt & Miller in the near future? We'll have to see. Pratt & Miller were rumored to be expanding to IndyCar, but they aren't ready to commit to it yet. The LMP2 battle rages on with Hunter McElrea in the #11 TDS Oreca 07 hounding the leading #88 Richard Mille AF Corse Oreca 07 of Nicklas Nielsen.
The traffic is never ending, and I think we've seen just a single retirement thus far. Once darkness falls, things will be wild. John Potter seems to be shown as the only retirement from this event in the #44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 that he was due to share with Spencer Pumpelly and Andy Lally. So, the stewards have spoken and given an incident responsibility penalty to the #31 Whelen Engineering Action Express Cadillac of Tom Blomqvist for tagging Jesse Krohn just a few minutes ago. Blomqvist will need to hit pit lane shortly. We are watching Ryan Dalziel aboard the #18 Era Motorsports Oreca 07 running down in ninth place in class in LMP2. Connor Zilisch of course is in this car, winning at Daytona and Sebring and winning in many other races as well including stock cars in ARCA, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series competition.
We have Connor Zilisch with Ryan Myrehn for an interview. It is a long, grueling race with insane traffic and a cool track. Zilisch has had fun driving with Era Motorsport trying to get back on the lead lap in order to be there at the end of this one. They have a plan to get back on the lead lap. Connor Zilisch in IMSA has won Daytona and Sebring and ran third at Watkins Glen in June. So, here are some of Zilisch's successes during the 2024 season.
LMP2 class winner at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Sebring.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series polesitter at Circuit of the Americas.
ARCA race winner at Dover Downs International Speedway.
Mazda MX-5 Cup race winner at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
ARCA race winner at Iowa Speedway.
ARCA race winner at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
ARCA race winner at Michigan Speedway.
ARCA race winner at Watkins Glen International Raceway.
NASCAR Xfinity Series race winner at Watkins Glen International Raceway.
That is unbelievable! He won his first five ARCA starts, his debut race in a Xfinity car, the MX-5 Cup win, and more. Zilisch is now a Red Bull athlete as well. Porsche Penske Motorsports in the pit lane now for the #6 car. Kevin Estre, the Frenchman, now getting behind the wheel of the Porsche. He leads the FIA World Endurance Championship effort with Porsche Penske with one round to spare in Bahrain. Now, speaking of FIA WEC, there will be a few of the races coming up here on the blog, from Japan at Fuji Speedway and from Bahrain, so, please do stay tuned for those.
Kevin Estre spent many years in GT cars. The hybrid GTP cars are heavier than the old Daytona Prototype International cars, the high downforce and high-speed cars like the Daytona Prototype International entries from years past. Estre would use every bit of the road and more in a GT car but now in a prototype he is looking at the big picture but is still a very versatile driver. Felipe Nasr in the sister Penske Porsche 963 continues to lead overall and we'll see because they should be pitting very soon.
With their consistency, the #7 Porsche has a 100-point lead and Penske Porsche have won four races this year split between the #7 and the #6 car. Team Penske has 13 titles in sports car racing dating back to their first with Mark Donohue in 1967. Felipe Nasr pitting now and he might do a double stint. We have not seen Dane Cameron in the car yet. Four tires going on the Porsche and they took a tear off off of the windscreen. There is a lot of smoke and heat coming off the brakes on the Porsche 963's. When you get that tear off, off of the screen it is a breath of fresh air for a driver. I can see, again! Nicklas Nielsen is leading LMP2 over Hunter McElrea, Tom Dillmann, P.J. Hyett, and Daniel Goldburg.
Lilou Wadoux's last time in IMSA was in her win at the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen. She knows the traffic is a challenge and she and her team need to be very careful, stay on track, and see what happens. Stay on track and keep in the fight as the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Global Acura has pitted. Scott Dixon says that all the IMSA events are great. Dixon's first time here at Petit Le Mans was in the second running of the race, 25 years ago, in 1999, racing in a Ferrari 333SP open cockpit prototype with Stefan Johansson and Jim Matthews.
Dixon has been able to race at the Rolex 24, the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Petit Le Mans. The Ganassi Cadillac team has had a lot of trouble so far, pitting early for answering a black flag for car issues, and a later penalty, so they are in regroup and catch-up mode. They have speed. Dixon's stint plan is to be in the middle for his co-drivers to have more time, keep the car in one piece and keep things at a normal pace. Here are the GTP points as they run right now.
1. #7 Campbell/Nasr Porsche Penske Motorsports Porsche 963 3,002 points
2. #6 Jaminet/Tandy Porsche Penske Motorsports Porsche 963 2,829 points -173
3. #01 Bourdais/van der Zande Cadillac Racing Cadillac V Series.R 2,734 points -268
The last time we had a female driver win in class was in 2005 with Liz Halliday from England in LMP2, and Venezuelan female racer Milka Duno has also won in the LMP2 division before at Petit Le Mans when the class was known as LMP675 for 675 kilograms minimum weight. It is clear the #01 Cadillac has the speed, laying a streak of rubber down, climbing the hill! Meanwhile, the telltale smoke from the brakes of the #5 Proton Competition Porsche 963 in the pit lane with Ben Viscaal bringing the car in and going for a driver change.
Good gosh. There's a lot more smoke off the front brakes of the #5 Porsche than what we saw with either of the two Penske factory cars when they pitted earlier. I wonder if the #01 Cadillac team are double stinting tires, two stints for one set on the Cadillac, currently, maybe trying to go long and get their lap back. Use your sticker tires and go as fast as possible to drive your way back through. It is not as easy as it used to be to get laps back these days as it was in the old days. We have seen lots of drama with mechanical woes, contact, penalties. The timing of a yellow can make or break a strategy.
So, the #77 AO Racing "Rexy" the dinosaur Porsche has the gearbox problems now fixed. Thud. There was a hip check with the #18 Era Motorsports LMP2 car and now, Devlin DeFrancesco, a massive twitch and he skitters off into the grass exiting turn 12 aboard the #78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2! That was a close shave! We are close to seeing the Michelin Endurance Cup points awarded at four hours, eight hours, and at the end at ten hours. This is very similar to the stage racing we see in NASCAR where at the end of each stage, points are awarded to contend for the championship. It works the same way with the Michelin Endurance Cup in IMSA.
5, 4, 3, 2, is the order of points allotment as Devlin DeFrancesco still hanging on, second in class. Devlin DeFrancesco has felt awful and completely under the weather this weekend and has lost his voice completely. He feels pretty decent today, in a Pro-Am class but everyone on board must do a triple stint, two and a half hours minimum drive time. It is not easy in these conditions. Devlin DeFrancesco has run mostly in open wheel cars. At least he is beginning to feel better. DeFrancesco is optimistic about being full-time in IndyCar again in 2025. Therefore, I doubt we will see him making cameo appearances on the sports car circuit.
We have an interview with Matthieu Jaminet, driver of the #6 Porsche. He says the team had a tough start because of the nose change but now they are finding the energy saving to be effective, especially during "Jam Jam's" double stint. Penske has been on top of things with the nose changes when they have needed them. He is giving lots of credit to the pit crew. The weather is gorgeous but physically it is tough out there after an hour and 45 minutes in the heat and the traffic is mad with 50+ cars on the road in a fast prototype. It is tough physically and mentally. On break, drivers will be able to get food, have a massage, and maybe take a short nap or close their eyes during the massage.
But they know the work will indeed continue later in the race. Porsche Penske need to keep digging. This is one of the crown jewels. It is special. It is a blue ribbon enduro that grows in stature year after year, a mini Le Mans event here in the U.S. The fanbase is tremendous with the traditional October date. The entry gets bigger and bigger. We truly are in a golden era of sports car racing, and believe me, this is why yours truly spends so much time at the keyboard, at the computer, writing about it. It is something that I believe, must be recorded and preserved for historical purposes.
The paddock access is massive. Fans all around this facility to watch. American sports car racing has real momentum right now. The championships are not as close as they could be, but the race delivers anyhow. Wait until it gets dark. That is when things really begin to happen. OK. My friends at Action Express and the Whelen Engineering Cadillac are set for another scheduled pit stop for the red and white #31. No driver change, but fresh Michelin tires going on the car. Blomqvist is under contract with Meyer Shank Racing. No announcements yet, but it sounds like he might be headed back for their resumption of their sports car program next year.
This means, Action Express are hard at work finding new drivers and new talent to fill the cockpit for 2025. Watch this space for whenever an announcement is going to be made. Meyer Shank Racing will be back to run an Acura program next year. I feel confident that might just happen. Nobody is ready to make official announcements yet. So, fans, please just hold your horses. Everything is going to come together for a lot of the teams in the coming weeks and over the offseason. The tire clag, the marbles at the side of the road here at Road Atlanta are becoming more and more extreme. Blimey! I mean, we still have six ad a half hours to go and the racing line for passing is going to get narrower and narrower.
You will get out there, pick up that clag, and it will be more and more difficult to make effective moves, effective passes. We were just watching a nice formation, not really a battle, but formation flying for the #55 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 and the #19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 with the trio of Franck Perera of France, the current driver, Mirko Bortolotti from Italy, and South African, Jordan Pepper. They were reeling in the #55 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 of another Italian, Giammarco Levorato, who is sharing that car with American's Corey Lewis and Ryan Hardwick.
Bortolotti makes his pit stop. This is GTD Pro vs. GTD and now, speaking of Ford Mustang's, the #65 factory Ford Mustang GT3 run by Multimatic, they go to the front with Joey Hand currently driving. He is sharing that car with Dirk Mueller and Fredric Vervisch. The Mustang is improving with Balance of Performance assistance and also, handling improvements they are finding. The aerodynamics did not work out for homologating the car. The entire car was designed around that original set of aerodynamics. The original parameters of the car's design, shall I say. Now, they have worked out the improvements. It is good in a straight line and reasonable on tire degradation too. We are obviously going to see one of the two factory Porsche 963's win the title today. But there are the customer Porsche 963's we are also having a Captain Cook at.
Proton Competition in the #5 Porsche 963 from Proton Competition, has been on the lead lap. Bent Viscaal says that the car is running well, and surviving is the deal. It is wild through GTD traffic, and they are managing the tires and have a good car for the end of the race. The car is set up for the whole distance. The medium compound Michelin is struggling now with the track temperature. Viscaal is racing part-time in IMSA and full-time in the European Le Mans Series. Viscaal loves racing in the states. The Porsche 963 is a great car to drive and the American tracks are completely different to the ones in Europe.
It is about lunchtime for Bent Viscaal. What is on the menu? Viscaal says, "just plain pasta. I think the burger will come later tonight." This is true. Pasta and carbo loading are what the drivers want during the race to have energy to drive but not to be too loaded down. You can go for the really good stuff, the burger, if you as a driver are truly hungry and want to celebrate a good result, later. It is the end of the season, so you can splurge. But don't splurge during the race. Plain pasta is a wise decision for a lunchtime meal if you are a driver right in the middle of the race. What? No olio? No olive oil? I would say "olio! Olio! Molto olio!" Then again, maybe not.
Right now, Proton Competition with the #5 Mustang Sampling sponsored Porsche 963 are fourth in GTP with the car being driven now by Gianmaria Bruni from Italy. Next year, we are going to see Meyer Shank back running the program. We have Colin Braun, in the booth. As a fan, he is walking around, doing the grid walk and checkijg the race out. More manufacturers and more people. In the American Le Mans Series days it was all about the fans and with the merger, Jim France has the same idea. It is amazing to be in Georgia during college football season and we have record turnout for an auto race, a sports car race.
Colin Braun says he was just laying low, being a fan. This race has been pretty exciting. Colin Braun drove an open wheel car for the first time in 15 years when he had a chance to race an IndyCar for Dale Coyne at the first two IndyCar races in 2024 at St. Petersburg in Florida and at the Thermal Club in Thermal, California. Braun tested the car and then did four days of training to put muscle and weight on and raced the car. No power steering on the IndyCar. But the deal is, the braking markers, the speed, the perception is very similar between a lot of cars he has driven, so, IndyCar, GTP, LMP2, LMP3, GT3, GTLM, and so on.
The brake markers in the corner, the speed, the perception are about the same. Braking, engine power, they are all better than they used to be. Plus, these modern cars make more downforce. In a way, a lot of the cars are completely different animals. He got in racer mode really quick with the IndyCar as we ride along in the #3 Corvette with Alexander Sims. We are watching the #31 Whelen Cadillac with Tom Blomqvist driving and of course, sharing, with Jack Aitken and Pipo Derani. Colin Braun wants to be back full-time in IMSA. He won Petit Le Mans overall in 2023 and he has experience in GT cars.
The question to Colin is, what is the more difficult car to drive here at Road Atlanta in this event, as crazy, as frantic as the pace is? For him, the GTP class is easier because you are focused forward and can dictate the traffic. On the flip side, it is hard to predict where the GT3 cars will be. Braun has raced both the prototypes and the GT3 cars before and there is lots of give and take. Sometimes you have to give and take and see things both ways, and in a rhythm, you understand what is going on when people might give you some leeway. Tom Blomqvist cutting through the traffic.
Meanwhile, there is a mechanical black flag, a "meatball" for the #9 Pfaff Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 for failing to adhere to tire operational requirements resulting in a stop and go penalty. We saw this same tire problem with the #01 Cadillac, which was actually a power and engine issue. How interesting that Tom Blomqvist is now running a faster lap time than the leading GTP Penke Porsche, the #7 Porsche 963 for Porsche Penske with Felipe Nasr at the controls. Blomqvist just ran a 1:14.603 while Nasr clocked in last time by at 1:16.402.
This situation with the #01 is tire pressure which is monitored in real time by the technical stewards from IMSA. Too much tire pressure = too much spring rate and the tire gets stiff, and so, low pressure is what they want. All the tires need is more nitrogen. Racing tires use nitrogen to maintain pressure, not air like in passenger car tires. Before we continue, let's take a quick look at our overall and class leaders nearing the halfway mark of the 2024 Petit Le Mans.
Overall/GTP: #7 Nasr/Cameron/Campbell Porsche Penske Motorsports Porsche 963
LMP2: #88 Nielsen/Perez Companc/Wadoux Ducellier AF Corse Oreca 07
GTD Pro: #62 Pier Guidi/Serra/Rigon Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3
GTD: #120 Skeer/Adelson/Heylen Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R (992)
Ahead of Nasr, is the beleaguered #77 AO Racing "Rexy" Porsche 911 GT3R (992), five laps down with shifting troubles. #77 still has a mathematical shot because Ross Gunn at the wheel of their closest competitor, the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 only runs fourth in class currently. This is a tough event. They were dealing with electrical troubles with the steering wheel and are overcoming the deficit or trying to. They need more than speed. They need Full Course Yellows, wave arounds, and getting back on the lead lap.
The electrical gremlins can sometimes hide themselves like they are not entirely solved, and the Porsche has an electromechanical gear change system. Before we keep talking about that, I want to revisit the GTD Pro points table as it stands currently.
1. #77 Laurin Heinrich AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3R (992) 3,122 points
2. #23 Ross Gunn Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage
AMR GT3 Evo 3,098 points -24
3. #3 Garcia/Sims Corvette Racing by Pratt & Miller
Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R 2,974 points -148
Perhaps the steering wheel was the part of the issue. On the GTP cars the wiring loom is all internal within the steering column, so it is easily changed. But on a GT3 car, they had to fidget with the wires being connected differently. Just barely off the lead lap in GTP right now is the #63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63. They are currently in sixth place in GTP and in the overall with Matteo Cairoli behind the wheel. Lamborghini have been dealing with traction control troubles and it seems like things are OK for now. This is year one for the Lamborghini and they are not running an entire season.
We are also about to hear from Vasser Sullivan Lexus and specifically, Ben Barnicoat, driving the #14 GTD Pro car for them. Barnicoat says that currently there isn't a diagnosis yet, but it is not looking good for them. The sister #12 car is second in GT Daytona. They are lucky to have a great team. Currently in the #12 car it is Aaron Telitz along with Frankie Montecalvo, and Parker Thompson. We see that the #14 team is 39 laps down. So, this is preparation and testing for the 2025 season. Telitz believes though that the #12 is going to be fast tonight.
Connor Zilisch is winning in sports cars and stock cars alike. Colin Braun did the same thing. Of course, Connor Zilisch was one of the LMP2 winning drivers at Era Motorsports in LMP2. The difference is night and day between a prototype and a stock car. Connor Zilisch has a knack for feeling the grip of the tires. Zilisch will drive for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Colin Braun drove for Roush Fenway Racing in NASCAR but also drove the sports cars at the same time. The racing is great in sports car racing, too, of course. The big races like the Rolex 24, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and this race, draw you in.
Matteo Cairoli has still been struggling with the traction control in the #63 Lamborghini SC63 GTP cars. For traction control on a road car there are one or two settings, but the settings on the steering wheel of a GTP car, there are a lot of them and of course a whole manual about how to work the gizmos on the steering wheel. It is important for a single lap but also in endurance races with double stinting tires; to preserve it, the traction control is a must. The GTP cars on cold tires on an outlap are diabolical on traction, longitudinally and laterally.
There is a reference mark under the bridge at turn 17 at Sebring, Sunset Bend, and here in turn 12 at Road Atlanta. You come up under the bridge and you can't see. You come up under the bridge and have no idea where the track goes at all. It is a frame of reference. Tuning the TC when the tires don't slip, you spin the tires up with all the power in a GTP car, and they lose traction and get torn to shreds. Sebring has a painted dot only to mark where the bridge is out of Sunset Bend, turn 17. Alessandro Pier Guidi is leading GTD Pro in the Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 being passed by Christopher Mies in the #64 Ford Mustang GT3 factory car so Mies can get a lap back.
In a GT3 car, it is typically flat through the uphill esses. Log laps, be smart, take care of the equioment, lift to extend the fuel range. No wheelspin, no traction control needed. The GTP cars have a real head of steam past the GT3 cars as the Whelen Cadillac whistles by. Fourth gear up the hill in a GT3 car. Downforce is an immense difference between a GT3 car and a GTP car. Problems for the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8, doing a reset on the electronics. Nick Yelloly behind the wheel, and a lap down, not at full song or full speed at all. He is in limp home mode.
Believe and trust, or get your tail kicked in a fast corner, sending it into turn one. Turn one in a prototype at Road Atlanta, light brake, downshift. In a GTP car, they are a bit faster on the straightaways but so are the LMP2 cars. The LMP2 cars don't make the lap time down the straightaway, but do so in the corners, so you send it into turn one. They are amazingly nimble. The LMP2 cars are almost as quick as a GTP car, and they are slightly lighter and float through the corners. The BMW we were speaking of, is now pitting.
In the Petit Le Mans, this is a physical race and a mental race through traffic especially in a GTP car. We can see there is more going on with the #25 BMW than an electrical reset as the rear tail has been removed and the mechanics are going to work. It is a physical and mental event, and you must be the most focused and physically fit before the end of the race. Of course, BMW had a 1-2 sweep at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 6-hour race at the Battle on the Bricks the last time we checked in with a full race report from the WeatherTech Championship.
Every GTP manufacturer has won this year. OK. In the LMP2 class it is Nicklas Nielsen leading Mikkel Jensen right now, a battle of the Danish drivers. AF Corse vs. TDS. Tom Dillmann is in third spot and that is exactly where he needs to finish in order to clinch the class championship for 2024. One of the drivers on an LMP2 team must be a Bronze-rated driver. Nicklas Nielsen was an overall Le Mans winner this year with Ferrari, while Mikkel Jensen is incredibly fast in an LMP2 car and a Hypercar. He has driven the Peugeot Hypercar in FIA World Endurance.
This is a perfect example of the mental side of one of these races.
Let's have a quick look at how the LMP2 points as they run, stack up.
1. #52 Dillmann/Boulle Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca 07 2,247 points
2. #74 Robinson/Fraga Riley Oreca 07 2,086 points -161
3. #11 Steven Thomas TDS Racing Oreca 07 2,074 points -173
So, there is just a dozen points separating Robinson and Fraga in second from Stephen Thomas in third place in LMP2 points standings as we see it now. There are so many cars ahead of you looking to pass. This is mental chess every lap and you are driving the car on autopilot and using your brain to strategize moves. These two have the #55 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 in GT Daytona, and the #31 Whelen Action Express Cadillac in GTP right behind them. The deceleration point can chage right in front of a driver and they must be on top of it.
Jensen makes his move to the front in LMP2. He stays on drivers' left and tries where his rival is not, the normal racing line, is the preferred line under braking. The #11 has the fastest lap in class which was set at one time by Hunter McElrea, and they've overcome their earlier drive through penalty. Ross Gunn has now made it to second in GTD Pro in the #23 Aston Martin for Heart of Racing. He is now working on passing the lapped #55 Mustang having passed the factory #65 Ford Mustang in the hands of the Belgian, Frederic Vervisch.
Again, here is the championship scenario, and then, we'll follow it up with how the points tabulate as they run. Remember, Ross Gunn must finish second or better and the #77 AO Racing "Rexy" Porsche must finish 11th or worse, for the British brand from Gaydon, Warwickshire, England, to take the title. For Laurin Heinrich, he must hustle, because he is currently in 11th place in GTD Pro aboard the #77 automobile. So, here are the standings, the top three.
1. #23 Ross Gunn Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo 3,138 points
2. #77 Laurin Heinrich AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3R (992) 3,122 points -16
3. #1 Snow/Sellers Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 2,969 points -169
#77 are three laps behind the tenth place GTD Pro car. They need attrition because their problems with the shifter have put them five laps down. The hot, middle portion of the day is a more challenging segment of the motor race. This phase of the race the drivers must show their maturity and intelligence. The track is slick. Get through the tire allotment so that you can single stint sets of tires towards the end of the race. Set up for a fuel advantage and a tire advantage coming towards the end of the race. If you think you have control at this point in the race, believe me, you must be dreaming. You must be joking.
No comments:
Post a Comment