8 Hours of Portimao: Hour 3

Over the course of this stint, Conway has been 3/10ths of a second faster each lap.  Ferdinand Habsburg and Team WRT lead LMP2 still.  Toyota’s are quick in the twisty bits while the Alpine is fast on the straight.  The Alpine just cut the fastest final sector time of the race on the previous lap.  Ryan Briscoe has been dinged with a ten second penalty.  Wayne Boyd was bang on schedule for his pit stop for United Autosports. 

Jota and Sean Gelael cycle to the lead in LMP2.  Charles Milesi is now driving the WRT car.  Wayne Boyd sharing the United Autosport car with Phil Hanson and Fabio Scherer.  We are less than two and a half hours into the race out of eight.  Andre Negrao hits the pit lane and the Toyota’s resume in the lead of this motor race.  Dennis Andersen and Louis Deletraz remain in their respective cars while Job van Uitert, he gets into the Racing Team Nederland automobile.

Alpine has physically less fuel going into the car.  Juan Pablo Montoya takes over from Henrik Hedman at DragonSpeed.  The D’Station Aston Martin is slow and Satoshi Hoshino pulls off the road.  Maybe that car has boiled the engine.  The engine has overheated.  It stalls and the radiator was the culprit for the car after the contact with the beleaguered Glickenhaus in it’s first race.  Now, the car can be recovered to safety.  Game over for triple seven.  Pit stops for both Jota Sport cars, the #38 and the #28.  Wayne Boyd could take the lead here and he does. 

Roberto Gonzalez is back into the car after Anthony Davidson did his first stint.  We see double yellows at turn nine at the top fo the hill while the marshals work to clear Hoshino san out of the way.  Game over, in the gravel trap.  Thank you very much.  Good night.  Game over.  No drive today for Andrew Watson.  Mike Conway leading Brendon Hartley.  94 laps on the board.  United Autosports leads LMP2 and is fourth overall, as the Glickenhaus is being repaired, the clutch still not working, two and a half hours completed and a long, long way to go.  Are we there yet?

We are going through the order in LMP2.  Scott Andrews chases Augusto Farfus in GTE Am.  Aston Martin vs. Ferrari.  Dylan Pereira being lapped by both Roberto Lacorte and Giancarlo Fisichella in GTE Am.  That car is struggling for stint long pace.  Giancarlo Fisichella moves past Roberto Lacorte like a rat up a drainpipe.  Giancarlo Fisichella is the new GTE Am leader.  In LM GTE Pro, Neel Jani in the Porsche is the meat in a Ferrari sandwich.  AF Corse have leapfrogged Porsche.  Neel Jani has a final warning for track limits. 

Brendon Hartley is told to keep the pace up, and he surely can do that.  He is showing he is quicker than teammate Mike Conway.  There’s a general lack of respect for blue flags and for trackj limits.  Egidio Perfetti is chasing Michelle Gatting in GTE Am.  She is also racing Ferrari Challenge and that has helped with her general pace.  Car #31 will have a drive through penalty for disrespecting blue flags, according to Edoardo Freitas.  InterEuropol Competition will move up, with Louis Deletraz at the wheel of it.  Deletraz, ironically, drives for WRT in the European Le Mans Series. 

#77 has damage.  Proton Competition is racing a WeatherTech liveried Porsche in IMSA and European Le Mans Series and one of those rear bumpers has gone onto the car.  Jaxon Evans got to drive the car and so did Christian Ried, but no drive today for Matty Campbell.  Tatiana Calderon is scrapping with Mathias Beche.  Richard Mille Racing #1 vs. RealTeam Racing #70.  Roberto Gonzalez pens his hands and Job van Uitert moves past.  Another drive through penalty for Charles Milesi and WRT.  They have had a fraught motor race today.

Dylan Pereira moves past Ben Barker in LM GTE Am.  Aston Martin vs. Porsche, using Roberto Gonzalez and Job van Uitert as picks.  Blind, tight corners, sweepers and more, over the brow again, and downhill again.  Algarve has some great corners.  It is very entertaining to watch a race here.  Drive through penalty for no respect of blue flags for Dylan Pereira.  The blue flag penalties are being overly applied or so it seems.

Alessandro Pier Guidi is warned about abusing track limits.  Meantime, passing, everywhere as RealTeam chases the Richard Mille team.  104 laps now completed by the leaders.  One car out of the race for good.  D’Station, and, Dempsey Proton.  Pit stop time for Fred Makowiecki in the #91 Porsche 911 RSR-19.  Glickenhaus will be back on track in a half an hour.  The temperatures will plummet like a stone into the evening hours.  Whoa!  A scrap for second in LMP2 as Charles Milesi moves past Louis Deletraz.  That was hairy!  Milesi has the fire in his belly.

Deletraz was on the dirty line.  Toyota are ready for a pit stop while Mike Conway is warned for track limits.  Brendon Hartley takes over the lead.  Conway stops a lap earlier than his teammate.  Fuel and tires.  No driver change.  Probably no tires either.  Mike Conway is doing a double stint, as Brendon Hartley takes the lead, and then he will pit.  An early bath for Proton Porsche.  They are out.  The rear tires are really being worn out on the last corner.  The tires are being completely crucified by the loads in the last turn.

Sofia Floersch will take over the #1 Richard Mille Oreca.  Brendon Hartley in the lane from the lead of the motor race.  This will be tight indeed.  Mike Conway was leading, and he might get it back but the Alpine is there.  Fuel only for Toyota #8 and a new drinks bottle for Brendon Hartley.  The difference for the new Toyota Hypercar, you can hear the engine fire up instead of electric motors with instantaneous power and torque.  Brendon Hartley’s in lap has overcut the #7 as the Toyota’s are in their 100^th World Championship sports car race over 40+ years even before Group C in the 1980s.

Porsche #88 is in the lane and Julien Andlauer of France takes over the wheel.  Tatiana Calderon spins all on her own, dropping the wheel onto the curbs.  She kept her eyes open and checked for an incoming car.  She’s jolly lucky she didn’t get beached.  Dominique Bastien has run 48 laps in his stints as Job van Uitert has argy bargy with Louis Deletraz I believe.  Alpine are four seconds quicker in the lane.  Porsche #92, Neel Jani, got squeezed.  #1 in the lane.  Sophia Floersch is replacing Tatiana Calderon.

The Glickenhaus is back on track.  Sophia Floersch will do a double stint.  Louis Deletraz has lost time and had a penalty for abusing track limits.  Dylan Pereira is in the lane as Wayne Boyd leads the LMP2 class at United Autosport.  The Glickenhaus is back on track with a new clutch.  They will have to look at the clutch and the gearbox before the next races.  There is not a whole lot with the setup of the Glickenhaus they can chage before the 24 Hours of Le Mans in August.  The car is homologated.  You can apply for performance and reliability.  Romain Dumas at the controls.

The Glickenhaus has not been built for serviceability.  Audi, they were able to build a feature of reliability and serviceability into their cars.  The Audi team engineered their replacement parts and laid them out at Joest Racing right in the same place, all the time.  Hour three in the bag.

 

8 Hours of Portimao: Hour 2

Alpine continues to lead the motor race.  We’ve had some local yellows for debris and innocent spins.  We did see a synchronized spin for Roberto Gonzalez and Ben Hanley.  Ben Keating served a ten second penalty and is now chasing the Car Guy #57 Ferrari.  Not sure who is driving that car at the moment.  Richard Westbrook is very happy to be a part of a new team, and a new car.  The tires are troubling.  They get blistered after 3-4 laps.  They cannot double stint the tires.  This is a test session for the car.  The rear tires are being blistered all the time.

Westbrook says Glickenhaus and the whole team are glad to be here racing in the WEC.  We can see a lead change in GTE Pro as James Calado moves ‘round Neel Jani, as Porsche are working on tire preservation.  In LMP2, Norman Nato is chasing Roberto Gonzalez.  Tomonobu Fujii in the D’Station Aston Martin is now back to the front in GTE Am ahead of Ferrari and Thomas Flohr, and another Aston Martin for Paul Dalla Lana in car #98.  Then comes Giorgio Sernagiotto in the Cetilar Ferrari. 

There’s a lot of flapping bodywork at the back of the #70 RealTeam Racing entry with Norman Nato at the controls.  Kevin Estre is briefing Michael Christensen on the tire conditions as the Pier Guidi/Calado Ferrari is leading LM GTE Pro right now.  Giorgio Sernagiotto is right on Paul Dalla Lana’s gearbox.  Be ahead at the end of the motor race.  That is the key.  Alex Brundle has uncorked his fastest lap of the race so far as Nicolas Lapierre pushes the gap out on Sebastien Buemi to 12 seconds.  Alpine Elf Matmut have taken delivery of a second chassis, for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  We will have only one entry for Alpine, not two.

Sebastien Buemi says that the tires are much better than yesterday in qualifying.  This race is worth points and a half with the eight hour duration.  Buemi runs wide and recovers.  Dominique Bastien is back in the race after pit stops but they are off sequence and Thomas Flohr passes for the lead.  The two Jota cas are nose to tail.  Sean Gelael, the Asian Le Mans Series champion, at the wheel of #28.  LMP2 pit stops are coming up again, for round two as we see the #777 D’Station Aston Martin into the lane.  Tatiana Calderon is the next driver into the #1 Richard Mille Racing Oreca, sharing with Beitske Visser and with Sophia Florsch.

Ferdinand Habsburg is next into the WRT LMP2 car replacing Robin Frijns.  DragonSpeed into the lane and ditto for RealTeam, High Class and Racing Team Nederland, I believe.  Sebastien Buemi is losing time and is worried.  He is having issues with passing the LMP2 cars.  Alpine #36 in the lane from the lead as Andre Negrao takes over from Nicolas Lapierre.  They have to check the radio to make sure it is working properly.  RealTeam Racing take the lead in LMP2 as Giedo van der Garde and Anders Fjordbach pit.  Who will be the next driver into the #20?  We’ll find out.

Andre Negrao is now third.  59 laps completed for that team.  Jose Maria Lopez will slot into second after the pit stops are completed.  Wholesale driver changes in LMP2 as Sean Gelael goes ahead of Frits van Eerd.  Wayne Boyd is into the United Autosports car and there are other cars, can’t tell where they are.  Radio comms have been reestablished at Alpine.  Something went wrong with the spare helmet or the radio system.  Louis Deletraz takes over from Alex Brundle.  Jota Sport now run 1-2.  Jose Maria Lopez moves past the High Class car of Dennis Andersen. 

Miro Konopka is still driving the ARC Bratislava LMP2 car.  Konopka did not even start at Spa.  Now, both Jota cars are in the lane.  Driver changes for both #28 and #38.  Esteban Garcia takes over the #70 RealTeam automobile.  Rahel Frey has taken over the #85 Iron Lynx Ferrari.  Thomas Flohr is now being chased by Giorgio Sernagiotto.  Ferrari #83 is back on track after 14 minutes in the garage, Alessio Rovera at the wheel of it.  Marco Seefried is now the driver of the #88 Dempsey Proton Porsche with Christian Ried still steering #77.

Calado runs 18 seconds ahead of Jani in LM GTE Pro.  Ferrari vs. Porsche.  Both Toyota’s should pit again soon.  #7 is ahead of the Alpine.  The Toyota’s are just a second and a half apart.  Anthony Davidson is now in the #38 Jota Sport LMP2 car.  Ben Hanley will get a drive through penalty for tipping Roberto Gonzalez into that spin we saw earlier.  Henrik Hedman is being lapped now by the second and third place cars in LMP2 as Ferdinand Habsburg leads the class ahead of Wayne Boyd.  Boyd in the United Autosport car. 

Ferdinand Habsburg still looking for traffic.  The Intereuropol car runs wide with Louis Deletraz at the wheel of it, finishing fourth last year in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  Marco Seefried will be investigated for a pit stop procedure infraction.  They are 14 laps behind.  We still have six hours of racing to go or thereabouts.  Pit stop time now for ARC Bratislava.  Miro Konopka ma be replaced in the car, and yes, he is.  Miro Konopka completes his first driving stint without major drama in FIA WEC.  This team races in Creventic, Asian Le Mans, FIA WEC, and other racing championships in Europe.  Satoshi Hoshino outbrakes himself.

Less than two seconds between Sebastien Buemi and Jose Maria Lopez.  Andre Negrao will have to pick up the pace.  He is 7/10ths down on the Toyota’s and they will get quicker as the fuel load burns off.  Lopez and Buemi have been in their cars since the race began.  So, we will see tire changes and driver changes.  Into the lane comes Porsche #91.  Gianmaria Bruni pitted early for vibration in the tires.  We are getting close to the end of another racing hour.  Bruni hands the #91 Porsche to Fred Makowiecki.  Five LMP2 cars all want the same real estate.  This right action.  Thomas Jackson gets passed by Anthony Davidson and others.  Dennis Anderson, gets the break.

Rahel Frey and Matteo Cressoni, the two Iron Lynx cars chase each other.  Toyota will see Mike Conway in the #7 car and Brendon Hartley in the #8.  Whoa!  Henrik Hedman gets monstered by two more LMP2 cars!  Squeaky, squeaky there, look.  Oh dear!  The Glickenhaus of Ryan Briscoe has spun, and he may have a false neutral.  He goes inside, and tried moving in on a couple of GTE cars.  He’s lost drive.  He could not grab first gear and could not clear the Aston Martin or the Porsche.  Briscoe is driving back to the pits. 

There’s a vibration on the righthand side of the car, and has a slipping clutch to deal with.  Bring it back slowly.  Toyota in the lane here in #7.  Mike Conway takes over the controls.  Andre Negrao moves around Toyota #7.  New tires for Conway.  The Glickenhaus has a slipping clutch.  The clutch has probably been overheating.  Wayne Boyd locks up and ALMOST gets chopped by the Porsche!  The tires are flat spotted, and the Glickenhaus has a slipping clutch.

Sebastien Buemi still in the Toyota and he is through.  Glickenhaus, again, in the garage, making repairs.  He is used to this, fixing a car in the Nurburgring 24 Hours.  They have to take the tail off the car to get the engine cover off.  Joest Racing, who had successes aplenty with Audi at Le Mans and with Mazda in the IMSA championship, one of the developers of the Glickenhaus.  Jaxon Evans is now in the #77 Dempsey Proton Porsche and the second #88 car is in the hands of Marco Seefried.  Scott Andews has moved around the #98 Aston Martin, who locks up the brakes and speeds in the lane, not down to 60 kilometers an hour.  The Glickenhaus is now back in the pit lane, trying to get back on track.  A splash of petrol, and they are going back into the race, as they learn the game of FIA World Endurance Championship racing.  This is one of the bigger grids in WEC history outside Le Mans.

The Glickenhaus team is checking things, checking the clutch, changing the nose and more.  He wil come back to the pits.  This is surely a test session for the team.  The car looks great, however, it still needs reliability.  Big damage to the #777 D’Station Aston Martin on the right front corner.  The sister car, #33, has Dylan Pereira at the controls.  Two hours ito the race.  Alpine leads Toyota and the leading WRT LMP2 car.  78 laps on the board now.

One outlap and the Glickenhaus is backm in the garage, fixing the car.  Briscoe out of the car.  It will be a very long stop, or it is game over for the boys.  Six hours left in the race.  They have a long time to fix the car even if a clutch is needed.  No drive on the Glickenhaus.  No bite on the clutch at all.  Change the clutch, chaps.  So, they are planning that repair.  Hopefully they can get back out and learn a heck of a lot about the car in race trim before the season continues.

Porsche #92 in the lane from second in LM GTE Pro with Neel Jani at the keyboard.  Ferrari takes the lead in GTE Pro, James Calado in the #51 entry.  Tires, fuel, and a driver change.  The tires are twisted on the Porsche.  So, this track at Portimao is abusing the tires.  D’Station are in the lane in the Aston as we mentioned.  Matteo Cressoni gets a track limits warning in the #60 Iron Lynx Ferrari.  Ferrari’s run in the top four in GTE Am.  Pit stop time now too for the #51 or #52 CAR.  A modern race car is robust and utilitarian while looking svelte and lovely on the outside.

Brendon Hartley and Mike Conway, the internecine Toyota scrum.  Andre Negrao actually leads the motor race.  The odds are stacked in favor of Toyota if they can run cleanly.  The Alpine just cannot carry enough petrol in it’s tank per the rules.  The trouble for the Hypercar drivers is that the LMP2 cars are right on the same pace here at Portimao.  The Hypercars don’t have the boost that the old LMP1 cars had.  Cetilar, AF Corse, and Kessel have all pitted in GTE Am for the Ferrari teams.  Roberto Lacorte is back in the Cetilar Ferrari once again.

Driver change for Kessel and it could be Mikkel Jensen at the wheel of that one.  Speeding in the lane for the LMP2 leader?  Yes.  Ferdinand Habsburg also has been pinged for disrespecting blue flags?  That is what we hear.  Cannot verify it.  Rahel Frey is in the lane and a driver change is happening.  This is the Iron Dames car.  Toyota #8 finally passes the #31 WRT car.  Ferdinand Habsburg has been lapped. 

Only the Hypercars, with the Alpine, and the two Toyota’s, are on the lead lap.  Traffic is just going to be a bigger issue for Hypercar.  The cars do not have the available boost that the LMP1 cars had.  Jim Glickehaus says that the car was handling erratically due to the wrong tire pressures.  They had contact as well as we’ve seen.  Unfortunately, the clutch is toasted, and needs to be replaced.  They will need an hour to fix the car.  He is upfront and totally honest about what is going on.  Mike Conway is pushing, and I don’t have to tell you, hard.  Sebastien Buemi is being eaten up.  Sebastien, Mike is quicker than you.

 

 

8 Hours of Portimao: Hour 1

Welcome, to a brand-new venue for the FIA World Endurance Championship, as the drivers and cars tackle the Algarve circuit in Portimao, Portugal, on the stunning Algarve course, for the first time ever.  This race also (at long last) marks the debut of the new Glickenhaus Le Mans Hypercar, designed and built by American automotive designer and entrepreneur, Jim Glickenhaus.  The Portimao track is 4.684 kilometers, (2.927 miles around).  Pole position in qualifying went the way not of Toyota as expected, but of one of the other Hypercar entries, the Signatech Alpine.  This is the #36 all-French crewed car in the hands of Nicolas Lapierre, Matthieu Vaxiviere, and Andre Negrao.  Two Frenchmen, and a Brazilian, share the car.

Glickenhaus’ sole entry in this motor race is the #709 Glickenhaus Racing Glickenhaus 007 LMH for Australia’s Ryan Briscoe, Romain Dumas of France (a veteran of racing for Audi and Porsche in the prototype ranks), and Englishman Richard Westbrook, a veteran of the Ford GT and Chevrolet Corvette GT racing programs.  In qualifying, the new car experienced teething problems with the gearbox.  So, it is a learning experience for Glickenhaus today, a man with major ambitions, who wants to win Le Mans with his own car, and an American team. 

The visual spectactle of this course is stunning.  We are ready for eight hours of racing as we see the Glickenhaus on track.  The car has finally arrived.  We’ve seen a lot about this car.  Great to see it in the flesh and proving speed.  It looks a whole lot like one of the old Group C cars from the 1980s.  You feel that this track could have been built in the 1950s or ‘60s like the other legendary motor racing palaces of Europe.  Hypercar of course is the top class, and we wait for the Le Mans Daytona Hypercar hybrids and we have GTE Pro and Am. 

This racetrack is incredible.  It has 15 corners and is so incredibly old school in it’s layout.  Take a look at track temperatures.  They are hot, anywhere from 34-50 degrees Celsius.  Jim Glickenhaus, in his hat, is stunned to be here.  This is an historic day.  Jim Glickenhaus and company designed and engineered the car.  The approach here is taken for design from a Porsche 917, Ferrari 512, or Lola T70.  Absolutely incredible.  Glickenhaus says the cars all have to look different, much like the ‘60s and ‘70s at Le Mans, or even the ‘50s, they are and were all dream sports cars.

That is what Hypercar is all about.  We await Porsche, Audi, Acura, Peugeot, Ferrari, and maybe even General Motors.  The future of Hypercar is going to be amazing.  BMW has also announced they will be here and GM might as well come in.  This is fantastic for the world of sports car racing.  People of passion and vision are looking to the future of our sport.  We will see amazing grids in FIA WEC and in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans!  Yours truly cannot wait! 

We look at the GTE Am field and those cars, we will talk about as the race gets underway.  Team Project 1 with Egidio Perfetti are on pole in GTE Am.  Alpine on pole.  Nicolas Lapierre says it is better to start out front.  It was close.  Eight hours is a long way and watch for traffic through the blind corners here at Portimao.  The tires will not be too much of a problem.  Traffic management is going to be crucial.  That is what we will see.  Two completely different cars, between the Alpine, and the Toyota, as well as the Glickenhaus.  Can Alpine distance itself from the Toyota’s? 

It is the first pole for a French team, which is a surprise because of the fact that the World Endurance Championship itself is French.  In GTE Pro, Ferrari will race with two drivers.  Porsche has three drivers.  Fred Makowiecki and Michael Christensen are together in the trio and same for the next event we will see at Monza in Italy.  It is windy and hot at Portimao.  This is going to be a tough race.  Ben Hanely is set to go, chatting to Juan Pablo Montoya.  The Glickenhaus team actually has an AER engine.  Jan Magnussen for High Class Racing is on pole in LMP2.

Kevin Magnussen won yesterday for Chip Ganassi Racing at Belle Isle in Detroit, yesterday in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship.  Inter Europol Competition has found speed in LMP2, car #34.  Jakub Smiechowski sharing with Alex Brundle and Louis Deletraz.  Phil Hanson, Wayne Boyd, and Paul di Resta.  Fabio Scherer is not here, as he is recovering from the COVID-19 Coronavirus.  Racing Team Nederland were third in LMP2 with Job van Uitert, Frits van Eerd, and Giedo van der Garde.  Antonio Felix Da Costa, Anthony Davidson, and Roberto Gonzalez have been running well.  The sister Jota entry, car #28, is on LMP2 pole.

That is the Sean Gelael, Stoffel Vandoorne, Tom Blomqvist car.  Toyota #7 is third, having lost their best lap due to track limits.  Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Jose Maria Lopez.  Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Kazuki Nakajima, are the drivers in the team car, the Spa Francorchamps winning #8.  Nicolas Lapierre will start the pole sitting Alpine.  Richard Westbrook is going to start the Glickenhaus, a very bold, unique automobile.  Glickenhaus was a filmmaker after investing and gaining in the stock market. 

We are going to also watch the GTE Pro and GTE Am classes very closely.  32 cars will start.  We have sunny skies for the race.  Sunny and hot.  This surface was repaved before the Formula 1 Grand Prix here at Portimao in 2020.  The engines have fired up.  Edoardo Freitas, Race Director, has been in motorsports for 30 years and is in his home country, Portugal.  Have a plan and execute.  Green flag.  We’re onto the formation lap.  The Glickenhaus was a tad slow rolling away.  The tires are cold, and do so faster than a cup of tea.

Glickenhaus had gearbox issues in practice, but hopefully not in the race.  This is a short lap.  Monza, next time out, will be the shortest lap.  Everyone has to line up, side by side as we get set for a start.  The Alpine will lead.  The safety car moves into pit lane.  The lights flash green and away we go!  Good start from Nicolas Lapieree and here comes the Toyota and the GT caers are closing on the Glcikenahus already and around goes the #28 of Tom Blomqvist!  He got tipped off the road.  Porsche leads GTE Pro.  It’s a struggle to get the tires up to temperature.  The LMP2 cars have started well as Alex Brundle is moving up but not good for Jota.

Antonio Felix Da Costa has also started badly.  We have a local yellow flag as well it appears.  Side by side stuff as Alex Brundle moves around the High Class Racing car.  That is, oh, and he’s off the road.  It’s Jan Magnussen I think.  Nicolas Lapierre leads the motor race by 2.3 seconds.  Elbows out in GTE Am as Christian Ried leads Egidio Perfetti while the #777 D’Station Aston Martin of Tomonobu Fujii is moving up, fast.  Paul Dalla Lana in Aston Martin #98 is chasing Manuela Gostner in the Iron Dames Ferrari 488 GTE. 

 

Racing Team Nederland and Giedo van der Garde are moving up and so is WRT with Robin Frijns at the controls.  Phil Hanson has to make hay while the sun shines, as he could get trapped behind Frijns and van der Garde.  Kevin Estre leads LM GTE Pro over James Calado.  Porsche vs. Ferrari.  Estre won the Nurburgring 24 Hours last weekend.  He blitzed everyone in GTE Pro qualifying.  Sebastien Buemi and the Toyota’s are starting to come into their own. 

The Hypercars are running in the 1:31 range with the LMP2’s next.  The Glickenhaus is quick, but cannot overtake.  Their game is to make sure they execute a clean race and keep the car reliable.  Look to the future.  It is a brand new car and a brand new team.  20 minutes of screaming through the field and bish bash boshing everything won’t work.  Francesco Castellaci is battling Tomonobu Fujii who is also monstering Egidio Perfetti.  Fujii moves ‘round Perfetti and poor old Perfetti has had the door slammed in his face.

Roberto Lacorte and Paul Dalla Lana move up as well.  Quick lap times xtill coming in Hypercar.  Fujii and Castellaci are Silver rated drivers.  Most GTE Am cars have started their Bronze rated drivers.  Fujii leads the motor race in GTE Am.  D’Station Racing is run by TF Sport in England.  The same as Ben Keating’s #33 Aston.  Fujii locks the brakes and poor old Christian Ried is falling down the order like a stone!  Maybe the cooler track surface is paying dividends for the Aston boys.  Perfetti has sunk to sixth place in class.  Racing Team Nederland leads Team WRT in LMP2.  They are legends in GT racing.  But they are making a name for themselves in prototypes.

Poor old Christian Ried is being completely mugged here.  Perfetti wants it and almost three wide!  Ben Keating decides discretion is the better part of valor.  Takeshi Kimura in the Kessel Racing Ferrari is down the order.  Marcos Gomes, is starting the #98 Aston Martin, the Brazilian stock car racing champ.  This is a great battle in GTE Am.  The track here at Portimao is so wide and is not a single groove circuit.  These guys are knackering their tires already with just four laps on the board.  Toyota #7 runs third.  He passes Claudio Schiavoni and Mike Wainwright.  The Iron Lynx #60 Ferrari and the #86 GR Racing Porsche. 

4.9 seconds is the gap between first and third spot.  Jose Maria Lopez can use the traffic to his advantage to try and pass Sebastien Buemi as Nicolas Lapierre is leading this motor race.  Ben Keating is still trying to move ‘round Christian Ried.  Traffic is a huge issue in the WEC and as we have seen, in the European Le Mans Series.  The Alpine moves ahead of the Toyota.  He has clear track ahead.  Giedo van der Garde leads Robin Frijns in LMP2.  Dominique Bastien in the #88 Dempsey Proton Am class Porsche 911 RSR is in the lane.

There could be an electrical issue on that car as the passenger side door is open.  Lapierre leads now by five seconds in ten laps, leading over the Toyota’s.  The Toyota’s will not have it all their own way.  Traffic will be a factor.  Giedo van der Garde locks the brakes, and Robin Frijns is closing in.  There’s been a spin for Norman Nato in the #70 RealTeam Racing LMP2 car.  Nato is back on the button now.  Frijns might try to tuck himself into the corner tighter than Giedo van der Garde.  Some corners, you can pick a line.  Was Norman Nato assisted from behind?  Maybe it was an unintentional touch.  Nato sharing with Mathias Beche and Esteban Garcia.

Robin Frijns could not carry momentum and here comes Antonio Felix Garcia.  The GT cars are going through the turns faster than the LMP2 car.  Francesco Castellaci is in his own fight, trying to take the GTE Am lead.  Frits van Eerd, the CEO of Jumbo Supermarkets, he puts on race days for fans at Zandvoort in Holland.  Antonio Felix Da Costa is making his escape from his rivals.  Portimao is a spectacular racetrack.  Absolutely spectacular for sports cars, Formula 1, touring cars, you name it.  Tom Blomqvist was knocked into a spin by his teammate, Da Costa!  Jeepers creepers!  That was nearly a pig’s breakfast. 

Aston Martin’s battle for second in GTE Am as Francesco Castellaci leads in clas, after passing on the outside of Tomonobu Fujii.  Fujii had his nose chopped off (figuratively of course).  Kevin Estre in the #92 Porsche, the star of qualifying in GTE Pro.  He is leading by four seconds over James Calado in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari.  Calado and Estre continue their scrum and we will see more of that as time goes on.  Beitske Visser has her hands full with Tom Blomqvist and makes the move, splitting the two Aston Martin’s.  The Norman Nato driven RealTeam car is back on track now.

Traffic is huge.  It is just going to be a big part of this race today.  Look at the delta between fastest lap and average lap, as Nicolas Lapierre cpntinues to lead.  His fastest lap 1:31.1, and slowest, 1:33.6.  Tomonobu Fujii’s tires are trashed.  He has a puncture and heading for the lane.  There’s smoke coming from the car.  That tire is toasted.  Seven and a half hours on the board.  A long, long, long way to go.  Refueling the car and now they are tackling all four tires.  Antonio Felix Da Costa is third in LMP2 and he is two seconds down the road from the leaders in class.

Sweeping, dipping, diving, that is what this circuit here at Portimao.  The inside edge of the tire gets pasted here as it’s dragged through the right-hand corners.  Uphill on th inside of turn 13 is a good overtaking spot.  Egidio Perfetti goes off the road and back on.  Richard Westbrook is moving up.  They have to finish and learn.  Jim Glickenhaus, looking on.  Richard Westbrook, once again, sharing with Ryan Briscoe and Romain Dumas.  Rear left tire pressure is too high for the Glickenhaus.  Above two bars of pressure on tracks other than Le Mans, is a nightmare for braking and wheelspin. 

Adjust your brake bias forward.  The Glickenhaus is not a hybrid powered car.  Francois Perrodo divebombs past Ben Keating.  Poor old Francois Perrodo had a lockup into turn oje and is making his way back.  Takeshi Kimura at Kessel Racing/Car Guy is following Christian Ried.  Kessel is making their first race start outside of Le Mans.  They have run at Le Mans and now are racing in WEC, as well as having raced in Asian Le Mans Series, European Le Mans Series, and Le Mans in the 24 hours itself.  We have a long, long way to go yet.

Nicolas Lapierre continues in the lead of the motor race.  Something is wrong with the radio at Alpine because they can see him, they can talk to him, but they can’t hear anything he says.  Have a backup if the radio fails.  Use a pit board or something.  Flash your lights.  Jose Maria Lopez is told to straighten off the final corner and don’t hang onto a wider line with steering lock.  V the corner in the hairpin and tighten the corner.             

Ben Keating has moved past Takeshi KLimura as Francois Perrodo is warned for track limits.  That is the #83 AF Corse GTE Am car.  Perrodo of France sharing with Alessio Rovera of Italy, and Nicklas Nielsen of Denmark.  Toyota and Glickenhaus are expected to go longer on fuel stints than is the Alpine.  Tomonobu Fujii has moved around the #88 Porsche.  There will be more GTE Am cars coming for the next race at Monza in Italy. 

 

 

Gianmaria Bruni is managing his tires in the sister #91 Porsche.  He is oversteering and might have a tire vibration.  There’s clag, pickup on the tires.  Richard Westbrook in the Glickenhaus has had the same issue.  Porsche have already had a cycle on their tires in qualifying and Gianmaria Bruni has to give it up, allowing Daniel Serra to go by in the second AF Corse Ferrari, car #52.  Force the other chap to be where you need him to be, to make the pass you want to.

Giedo van der Garde and Jose Maria Lopez, both have been warned about track limits.  Ditto for Alex Brundle.  Robin Frijns tries to move in on Giedo van der Garde.  Jota are in the lead in LMP2.  Racing Team Nederalnd are fueling but not changing tires.  Also, in the lane it looks like WRT.  We are only 45 minutes into the motor race and Alpine in the lane from the lead.  31-32 laps for a regular fuel stint.  Hypercar has a minimum fuel fill time to adhere to as we saw with Toyota at Spa Francorchamps last time out, last month. 

Toyota #8 and Sebastien Buemi leads the motor race now.  Alex Brundle stays in the Intereuropol car.  Jota #28 in the lane, and a new driver into the car as Christian Ried has been warned for a third time about track limits before he may have to serve a drive through penalty.  Two tires, left side only, for the #28 car.  Roberto Gonzalez is now into the #38 car.  A four tire change and Roberto Gonzalez might just go in for a double stint.  Check that.  Maybe a single stint for tire strategy, working backwards from the end of the race to the beginning.

We have a 1-2-3-4 for Hypercar.  Richard Westbrook has the Glickenhaus fourth, but he will be lapped soon by the Toyota.  Something is flapping underneath the Glickenhaus.  That’s odd.  Miro Konopka gets biffed by Takeshi Kimura.  Three yellow cars all in one picture.  Racing Team Nederland still lead in LMP2 over WRT.  United Autosport is up to third in LMP2.  We have four yellow cars in this race.  Ben Keating is closing on Christian Ried for seventh and eighth in GTE Am.  Whoa!  Ben Keating tags Christian Ried and Ried spins!

Porsche #91 in the lane.  That was a late call for fuel.  Front tires for the Porsche, and a full set of four tires.  Porsche down and away.  Both Jota cars are back on track with new drivers.  Tom Blomqvist has finished his stint.  The stewards are investigating the GTE crash we just saw.  Christian Ried is back on the circuit.  Poor old Dempsey Proton, they are tail end Charlie’s in the actual race order.  Toyota #7 of Jose Maria Lopez is in the lane from second spot, trying to leapfrog their teammates.  Alpine, where are they? 

We have to see where the Alpine is.  The pit lane is on the right hand side, and now, Sebastien Buemi, let’s see, he is likely to have the advantage and now the #7 is back on track.  WRT lost time on the pit stop with their fueling rig as the team Toyota pits, car #8, with 37 laps on the board.  Sebastien Buemi stays in the car.  Alpine goes through and retakes the lead.  The Glickenhaus is pitting.  How will they deal with their first WEC pit stop?  Glickenhaus have raced the Nurburgring 24 Hours for a number of years.  Ryan Briscoe is next into the car.

Oh no!  Francois Perrodo has heavy right front damage from a mega iszed right front puncture!  Egad!  Deary me.  That Ferrari needs to be repaired, and hopefully it is only tire and bodywork.  Ryan Briscoe at the wheel of the Glickenhaus but is the last Hypercar and second to last running prototype.  This is a brand-new car getting mileage.  The #83 Ferrari is being refueled but needs to be repaired in the garage, being wheeled in on the dollies.

AF Corse will run the Ferrari hypercar that will be entered in 2023.  Their last car, the 333SP was a barchetta, an open top roadster.  The last Ferrari factory car was entered at Le Mans in 1972.  Will their Hypercar program allow for the most awesome Ferrari ever?  We shall see.  AF Corse should run LMH.  Porsche #92 is in the lane now.  Also in is Ferrari #51.  Daniel Serra stopped a lap earlier.  A driver change in the #92 but no driver change in #51.  Ferrari may just have a third driver for Le Mans.

Will AF Corse have to fuel save?  They will need a yellow, no doubt.  Porsche #56 is in the lane of Egidio Perfetti.  The sister car for Team Project 1 will be repaired in time for the next race at Monza in Italy.  Mike Wainwright hands over to Ben Barker in the #86 GR Racing Porsche.  They had a disaster at Spa and did not start the motor race last time out.  Anders Fjordbach at the wheel of the #20 High Class Racing LMP2 car is being warned about track limits.

Porsche #91 in the lane.  That was a late call for fuel.  Front tires for the Porsche, and a full set of four tires.  Porsche down and away.  Both Jota cars are back on track with new drivers.  Tom Blomqvist has finished his stint.  The stewards are investigating the GTE crash we just saw.  Christian Ried is back on the circuit.  Poor old Dempsey Proton, they are tail end Charlie’s in the actual race order.  Toyota #7 of Jose Maria Lopez is in the lane from second spot, trying to leapfrog their teammates.  Alpine, where are they? 

We have to see where the Alpine is.  The pit lane is on the right hand side, and now, Sebastien Buemi, let’s see, he is likely to have the advantage and now the #7 is back on track.  WRT lost time on the pit stop with their fueling rig as the team Toyota pits, car #8, with 37 laps on the board.  Sebastien Buemi stays in the car.  Alpine goes through and retakes the lead.  The Glickenhaus is pitting.  How will they deal with their first WEC pit stop?  Glickenhaus have raced the Nurburgring 24 Hours for a number of years.  Ryan Briscoe is next into the car.

Oh no!  Francois Perrodo has heavy right front damage from a mega iszed right front puncture!  Egad!  Deary me.  That Ferrari needs to be repaired, and hopefully it is only tire and bodywork.  Ryan Briscoe at the wheel of the Glickenhaus but is the last Hypercar and second to last running prototype.  This is a brand-new car getting mileage.  The #83 Ferrari is being refueled but needs to be repaired in the garage, being wheeled in on the dollies.

AF Corse will run the Ferrari hypercar that will be entered in 2023.  Their last car, the 333SP was a barchetta, an open top roadster.  The last Ferrari factory car was entered at Le Mans in 1972.  Will their Hypercar program allow for the most awesome Ferrari ever?  We shall see.  AF Corse should run LMH.  Porsche #92 is in the lane now.  Also in is Ferrari #51.  Daniel Serra stopped a lap earlier.  A driver change in the #92 but no driver change in #51.  Ferrari may just have a third driver for Le Mans.

Will AF Corse have to fuel save?  They will need a yellow, no doubt.  Porsche #56 is in the lane of Egidio Perfetti.  The sister car for Team Project 1 will be repaired in time for the next race at Monza in Italy.  Mike Wainwright hands over to Ben Barker in the #86 GR Racing Porsche.  They had a disaster at Spa and did not start the motor race last time out.  Anders Fjordbach at the wheel of the #20 High Class Racing LMP2 car is being warned about track limits.  Roberto Gonzalez is being chased Ben Hanley.  Be neat and precise through the corners. 

 

 

Winner & Highlights of the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic at Belle Isle Park

Detroit.  The Motor City.  Once again, as is customary every June, the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, returns to the automotive capitol of America, for it’s annual street fight.  An hour and 40-minute sprint race.  A knock down, drag out brawl at Belle Isle.  Last year, this race was cancelled because of the severity of the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.  But, with the pandemic waning, sports cars are back to rumble and race on the city streets. 

Motown’s hopes rest on General Motors and their entries in the field.  In Daytona Prototype International, the usual suspects for Cadillac, starting off with the venerable #31 Whelen Engineering Racing Action Express entry for Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani.  Right on their tail, for sure, will be the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac of “The Flying Dutchman” Renger van der Zande and Dane Kevin Magnussen, and another at the top of the shop, (but having trouble with a smashup in qualifying), the #5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Mustang Sampling Cadillac for The French Connection of Loic Duval and Tristan Vautier. 

Acura and Mazda will also be there.  Wayne Taylor Racing, going for back-to-back wins after dominating Acura’s home event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, a month ago, with Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque.  Then, there is the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura from the team that just won the Indianapolis 500 with Helio Castroneves claiming his fourth crown in the greatest motor race in the world, tying him with legends A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr., and Rick Mears.  But today, MSR entrusts their Acura to their dynamic sports car racing duo, Olivier Pla of France, and American ace Dane Cameron.

We also see representation of the GT classes.  GT Le Mans will be represented by Corvette Racing, again, like Cadillac, on GM’s home turf since they are not in the normal place where they’d be this weekend in France at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  That fabled sports car classic is not until the third weekend in August this year thanks to pandemic related schedule shuffling.  This is also a probable test run for Corvette to perhaps dip their toes in the water of GT Daytona when GT Le Mans becomes obsolete as a class at the end of the year.  Will they keep this same spec of car?  Will they race a GT3 Corvette? 

Odds are, from reports, they will not build a GT3 machine and will keep the GTLM C8 platform with modifications to allow it to be doctored into GT3 spec.  We also have a spate of GT Daytona cars to keep our eyes peeled on as always.  Some of them are one off entries for these “Sprint Cup” races that will earn points towards their own championship.  In total, this makes for a 20-car grid.  A nice, even number, and it needs to be with limited space on a street course. 

We have been waiting an extended period to get the race here at Belle Isle underway, after a massive, frightening accident in the first IndyCar race of the weekend for Swedish driver Felix Rosenqvist, who hit one of the turn walls on the Belle Isle course at a tremendous clip, with a stuck throttle.  So, the track has had to be cleaned up.  Now, we are ready to race at Belle Isle Raceway Park.  Again, Kevin Magnussen is on pole, and we have Richard Heistand on pole for CarBahn with Peregrine Racing in their #39 Audi R8.

Things begin to heat up as we have three races in the next month.  Total commitment required at Belle Isle and errors are not forgiven.  On the ragged edge for both DPi and GTD.  General Motors, in their home race, have been very consistent in the winner’s circle.  In 2019, they were robbed by Acura.  Mazda also wants a slice of the pie.  Ricky Taylor has won DPi three times, and a bunch of races.  In qualifying, Chip Ganassi Racing earned the pole.  Tristan Vautier crashed yesterday in qualifying in the #5 JDC-Miller Mustang Sampling Cadillac.  The team has fixed the car.  In GT Daytona, Turner Motorsports want to do well.  Bill Auberlen and company, with Robby Foley, are leading points in GT Daytona.  Experimenting with the car has brought it to life and did so in morning warmup. 

The #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 crashed in qualifying and was fixed.  The GT Le Mans category was invited to Detroit when the 24 Hours of Le Mans was moved to August.  So, only Corvette took the invitation card, and are here.  With any street course you need to be inch perfect.  Look at tire decisions and an early Full Course Yellow.  Theoretically, this is a one pit stop race.  Two tires or four tires is the debate.  But, you could even go 100 minutes on one set of Michelin tires.

We are on Belle Isle, with a 2 and a quarter mile track with 14 corners.  Narrow, concrete walls, high speed.  Thread the needle in turns one and two.  Crest over the river bridge.  Watch the surface change through turn five.  Bumpy into turn seven in the braking zone.  Don’t run straight on down the escape road.  Predominantly right hand turns.  The big unknown is how the IndyCar tires are so different from the sports car tires.

 Green flag!  They are double wide.  Don’t cross lanes before the start finish.  Everyone starts together.  Go!  Great start by Pipo Derani forcing his way through on Harry Tincknell.  In GT Daytona it is hot and heavy.  Pipo Derani is chasing Kevin Magnussen and he has Tristan Vautier right on his tail as Jeff Kingsley is ping ponged into the wall on turn three exit in the #76 Compass Racing Acura Nsx.  Msha Goikhberg squeezes Till Bechtolsheimer and into Jeff Kingsley.  Two Acura’s and a Lamborghini.  Harry Tincknell tries to regroup.  Here comes Pipo Derani as well.

Magnussen followed by Derani followed by Vautier.  Pushing pays big dividends.  Don’t go too far over the line.  Be committed to get the lap time.  Harry Tincknell, scrubbing his tires, is moving in on the top three Cadillac’s as Pipo Derani locks the brakes and keeps on trucking.  Kevin Magnussen is one of 14 drivers debuting here at Belle Isle and poor old Michael de Quesada has had a clatter into the battiers someplace.  The two Corvette’s racing each other.  Jordan Taylor in #3 and Nick Tandy in #4.  Richard Heistand, in the #39 Audi R8 is really motoring, the only Audi in the field.

Great mechanical grip on the Audi.  This is the #39 team’s second race in IMSA.  Kevin Magnussen continues to lead the motor race.  Now we move to sixth place and find Olivier Pla in the #60 MSR Acura chasing the identical car for Wayne Taylor Racing, Ricky Taylor at the wheel of it.  Oh no!  Another crackup into the wall with one of the GT Daytona Porsche’s!  That is the #88 Team Hardpoint EBM Porsche 911 GT3R, hard into the barriers!  That is Rob Ferriol at the controls.  Ferriol tries to pass Michael de Quesada, and gets pivoted and, bang!  Michael de Quesada ran wide and ran out of road.  Ferriol ran out of road.

Game over for Rob Ferriol and Katherine Legge.  You’ve missed nothing at the front.  It is still a hot and heavy battle as Ganassi leads Action Express and the rest.  The safety crews are tending to Rob Ferriol after the wreck.  How will the rest of this short motor race play out?  This is a street fight and we’ve seen it already.  Through the years, since the WeatherTech Championship originally formed in 2014, this is an amazing motor race.  There is a huge Corvette corral here at Belle Isle.  Everyone in IMSA are running Michelin tires, as Townsend Bell is back driving the #12 Lexus RC F GT3 alongside Frankie Montecalvo.

Bell is an IndyCar commentator for NBC Sports.  He replaces Zach Veach who is recovering from a bout of the coronavirus. 

How will the different rubber from IndyCar affect the Michelin tires?  The front tires seem to be going away.  Are the drivers adjusting to the rubber on the road?  Is the car handling, right?  The IMSA cars usually race before IndyCar on their doubleheader weekends, but today, IndyCar went first.  So, weaving the tires to get temperature into the tires using the heat of the brakes is crucial.  The Acura’s are lurking, behind the Cadillac’s and the Mazda.  Green flag back out.  Magnussen leads. 

Pipo Derani si still in the fight and so is Tristan Vautier.  Corvette’s side by side look, as Tandy goes inside Jordan Taylor and in GT Daytona, Robby Foley gives a love tap to Roman De Angelis.  BMW M6 GT3 vs. Aston Martin Vantage.  Romain De Angelis and Ross Gunn are running very well and we see Frankie Montecalvo has spun, perhaps tagged by the Lamborghini of Madison Snow, the #48 Paul Miller Racing entry.  He is applying the blowtorch to the Audi and Madison Snow was right there.  Just a little causal contact sending Montecalvo on the whirligig through turn eight.

Heistand has his hands full with Snow and with De Angelis.  Heistand took off like a scalded cat, but he is being reeled in as the party continues.  Everyone was invited.  Kevin Magnussen’s gap increases over Pipo Derani.  The battle in GT Daytona rages on as this queue of cars are noe to tail.  Audi, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, BMW, Lexus.  That’s a wide variety of production-based racing cars.  Another Lamborghini lurking in the wings as well.  That is the #19 Grasser Racing car of Misha Goikhberg and Marco Mapelli.  Roman De Angelis wants to find a way by Richard Heistand.  Can he make that work?

Madison Snow has a drive through penalty for incident responsibility for that GTD fracas we just saw.  Car #1 gets a drive through penalty for tipping the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus.  Richard Heistand was an open wheel racer, who ran out of budget, and then started sports car racing a few years ago.  Ricky Taylor is struggling on the back half of the course and has a hard time with handling and speed compared to the Cadillac’s.  The pace is dropping just a shade.  Kevin Magnussen and Pipo Derani have both been told to back the pace down.  A wee bit of fuel saving can help.  25 minutes into the race.  Ah.  #10 does not give Montecalvo enough room.

Taylor has his hands full with Olivier Pla in the second Acura, the #60 MSR machine.  Ricky Taylor has been warned by the stewards.  Will that give him a penalty?  Belle Isle is brutal when the car isn’t working.  Aaron Telitz in the sister #14 Lexus is fourth in class in GT Daytona.  #14 and company have been snakebit this year so far.  Misha Goikhberg battles Robby Foley and Aaron Telitz, and a battle between the Acura’s of Till Bechtolsheimer and Jeff Kingsley as Australian Kenny Habul goes wide in the #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes sharing with Canadian Mikael Grenier.

Tristan Vautier has Harry Tincknell right on his six, meanwhile.  This is a fascinating scrap.  Magnussen continues making his way through GT Daytona traffic.  This is the second sprint race of the year after Mid-Ohio last month.  This is a two car race so far as Magnussen and Derani are seven seconds ahead.  Save fuel, but push.  Derani is coming and fast.  Save fuel and make consistent lap times.  That’s what sports car racing is all about.  Sail into the braking zones.

Pit stop time for the #96 BMW M6 GT3 as Bill Auberlen replaces Robby Foley in that automobile.  They will need fuel saving and are in the pound seats if there’s a yellow.  They seemed to stay on the same set of tires.  Lexus #12 in the lane as well.  The domino effect.  This is the danger zone, mate.  Townsend Bell is now into the #12 replacing Montecalvo with just over an hour left on the board.  Magnussen leads Derani by 1.3 seconds.  Acura #76 was in the lane as the tire changer falls and gets right back up.  Maybe falling or somersaulting is a good idea.

DPi cars can go 46-54 minutes on full tanks.  Lexus #14 in the lane for service from third spot.  Left side tires, and Jack Hawksworth is into the car.  Driver change complete.  They have a lap extra of fuel.  Mario Farnbacher is now aboard the #76 Compass Racing Acura.  Roman De Angelis is pushing, pushing, pushing to catch Richard Heistand for the potential of leapfrogging in pit lane.  All the good work will be wasted if the yellow flag should fly again.

Jeff Westphal replaces Richard Heistand in the Audi.  Roman De Angelis, from Windsor, Ontario, Canada, just across the river, is replaced by the rapid Brit, Ross Gunn, Aston Martin factory ace.  Ross Gunn is passed by Bill Auberlen.  Auberlen, the veteran, is now in the zone.  We now Jeff Westphal and Audi are fast too.  Kevin Magnussen continues to lead overall with Pipo Derani glued right to him.  This battle of the Cadillac’s has been hot and heavy the whole way so far as they come towards more traffic to negotiate.

Harry Tincknell in the Mazda, meanwhile, is still chased by Tristan Vautier.  That battle has not let up either.  Corvette are back here at Belle Isle for the first time in many years.  There is a production based Corvette C8.R that has similar paint schemes to the two race cars, depending on which one you are a fan of.  Jordan Taylor into the pit lane after fuel saving, handing the car to Antonio “The King of Spain” Garcia.  Nick Tandy leads in the sister car.  Opposite, split strategy, after 12 weeks of no racing.  Less than an hour to go.  Antonio Garcia makes his debut at Belle Isle today.

Mazda #55 sliced and diced the way by Tristan Vautier.  Vautier tries to do the crossover on Harry Tincknell and Tincknell slams the door in his face.  Watch the crest out of turn two.  Watch the curbs and don’t ricochet into the wall like a pinball machine.  Magnussen still leads with Pipo Derani second.  Magnussen moves around the #3 Corvette and Pipo Derani shall do likewise, hopefully.  Yes.  He clears the Corvette and now is on a tear, chasing down the Ganassi Racing Cadillac. 

Derani flashes the lights at a slower Lamborghini.  That’s the #1 Paul Miller Racing automobile.  Corvette #4 in the lane for scheduled service.  A driver change as Nick Tandy is now at the wheel.  Derani is told to save fuel.  Can #31 do a one stop race?  #01 might be short on fuel as well.  This is going to be very interesting with just 52 minutes remaining.  Talking to Gary Nelson from Action Express, he says “we need seven gallons of fuel more if we stay green.”  Mario Farnbacher is pressing hard with Marc Miller pressing hard in another Acura.  Miller, the only Michigan born driver in the race, having taken over from Till Bechtolsheimer.

Tommy Milner has actually taken over the #4 Corvette from Nick Tandy.  Tristan Vautier is being monstered by Ricky Taylor and Vautier slams the door in his face.  Don’t’ throw things away.  Keep the dive planes on the nose.  Aerodynamics are still important on a street course.  Kevin Magnussen now leads Pipo Derani by four seconds.  Ricky Taylor is desperate, and in attack mode.  Flat tire on the #14 Lexus!  Poor Jack Hawkswroth!  Mercedes #28, with Daniel Morad has a splitter let go.  Here comes Hawksworth to pit lane.

Magnussen still leads by 3.8 seconds over Pipo Derani and now, the #55 Mazda in the lane.  The Meyer Shank Racing #60 Acura is in, and Dane Cameron takes over from Olivier Pla.  Olivier Pla cannot handle an understeering car.  Magnussen in.  Derani in.  This is going to be close.  Felipe Nasr will take the car to the end.  Renger van der Zande will be in the #01.  Fuel up to the end of the motor race.  #5, the JDC-Miller Cadillac is also in and Loic Duval will take over from Tristan Vautier.

Tincknell nearly chops the Lexus coming into the lane, but thankfully there was no contact.  Renger van der Zande is going to cycle to the lead of the motor race after pit stops are complete.  Acura #10 in the lane.  Fuel, tires, and a driver change, as Filipe Albuquerque takes over from Ricky Taylor.  The chase is on now as Nasr is working his way towards catching Renger van der Zande on this 2.35 mile circuit.  This is the first of two 100 minute sprint events of the year before we head to Long Beach, California, in September.

The GT Daytona scrum also continues as the Turner Motorsports BMW leads The Heart of Racing Aston Martin.  Anything can happen in street course racing.  Save fuel.  Play the fuel game the whole way with just over 40 minutes to go.  This might be a squeaker.  It’s been horrendously hot.  Pipo Deran is exhausted.  He says it was very hot in the car.  Having the race later helps and the training is important.  It’s a street fight.  Strategy is huge.  Derani says that the car is running very well.  It is so hard to have the speed and then have to save petrol. 

Audi #39 with Jeff Westphal at the controls, is good on fuel as we have just 40 minutes to go.  CarBahn has legendary tuner Steve Dinan as part of their team, steeping up from Michelin Pilot Challenge.  Oliver Jarvis is pushing hard trying to catch Filipe Albuquerque in the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura.  Tommy Milner leads GTLM but has no way for the team to speak to Milner on the radio.  Make a sign and use a signaling board in the old school way.  No radios in European racing back in the day.  Loic Duval is also closing right back up on Oliver Jarvis here in the middle of the pack.

Duval wants to make a move or so it seems as Albuquerque is putting daylight between himself and this other battle we are watching.  This battle continues through the twists and turns of the Belle Isle streets.  Nasr is closing up, meanwhile, on Renger van der Zande for the lead.  Kevin Magnussen forgot to switch on his helmet fan and I drenched, but he says he had a good stint.  Nasr is closing up on Renger van der Zande.  It is getting cooler as cloud cover blankets Belle Isle.  The fuel mileage margins are paper thin.  Nasr is on a charge.  He is pushing, hard. 

They both move past Townsend Bell in the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3.  Half an hour to go.  Through turn eight, not a lot of droop in the front suspension for the Cadillac, raising the wheel.  This is such a fuel game.  Fuel mileage is major.  Work on it on the simulator or on the track.  Can the Cadillac’s make it to the end on fuel?  That was a close moment with the Compass Racing Acura chopping across the #31 car!  Wow!  Felipe Nasr now out of traffic, chasing down Van der Zande once more.  They clear Tommy Milner and Antonio Garcia.

Dane Cameron in trouble, spinning the #60 Acura ARX-05 Dpi, wa out wide and just misses the Lexus!  Blimey O’Reilly!  Ross Gunn is gaining on Bill Auberlen in GT Daytona.  Four tires for Aston Martin compared to two for Audi and BMW.  Felipe Nasr is good on fuel.  He is told to pull the pin.  Nasr 1.3 seconds behind Renger van der Zande.  Great torque from the 5.5 liter V8 Cadillac with compliant suspension to absorb the bumps compared to the lighter cars like the Acura and the Mazda with less dwonfroce with all the bumps.  Keep tire temperatures.  That is hard to do when saving fuel. 

Where are you vulnerable around the track?  20 minutes to go.  Can Felipe Nasr apply the blowtorch to Renger van der Zande?  Nasr closing up on van der Zande.  He wants it.  He is flashing the lights to his rival saying, “I am behind you.”  Corvette’s in lock step in GTLM, chasing down the Turner Motorsports BMW and the Heart of Racing Aston Martin GTD machines.  In fourth spot, Oliver Jarvis is pressing hard.  Multimatic has a simulator, a driver in motion racing simulator helping Multimatic develop truck parts for Chevrolet and Ford. 

Multimatic will construct a Porsche and also an Audi.  Lamborghini and Bentley could also be a part of the arsenal.  Albuquerque is being monstered by Jarvis and there is a problem for WTR.  Get the job done.  Something is wrong with the car.  Loic Duval is also moving in on Oliver Jarvis.  15 minutes to go as Nasr is caught behind a GTD car.  The leaders are 30 seconds down the road from this battle between Acura and Mazda.  Nasr is a second behind Van der Zande.  Nasr has a slightly quicker lap time though.  Closing up, Felipe Nasr.  No one has told Renger van der Zande to pull the pin yet.

Jeff Westphal leads GTD as Jack Hawksworth is chasing Marc Miller who has run at Belle Isle in Trans Am.  Mario Farnbacher is out of the race after having no brakes.  Game over.  Trouble for the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW with a blown tire.  Maybe it is something different.  It is likely driveline related and power loss for the BMW.  #96 cannot get off the track and we have a Full Course Yellow.  Grasser Racing wants to go for the lead as we are getting ready to go back to green with five minutes left.  We have a yellow with five minutes to go. 

Tim Keene says fuel is not a concern for Action Express.  The tires and brakes are heated up.  The restart will be crucial.  Keep an eye on Rosa Gunn in the Aston Martin who will be chasing Jeff Westphal in the CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Audi.  Keep the tires clean and keep temperature in them.  Green!  Felipe Nasr is right on top of Renger van der Zande as Albuqueqeue is being monstered by Jarvis and Duval.  Nasr is right on van der Zande’s gearbox.  Get the clag off the tires.

Something is wrong with the #10 Acura.  Nasr fishtails and got on the power too early!  Oh dear.  White flag.  Final two corners.  Renger van der Zande wins.  Felipe Nasr finishes second.  Who win GFTLM?  Cprvette battle.  Milner leads Garcia to the finish.  Jeff Westphal, and co-driver, Richard Heistand, win GT Daytona with Steve Dinan and CarBahn with Peregrine Racing.

Overall/DPi:        #01 van der Zande/Magnussen                 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R

             GT Le Mans: #3 Taylor/Garcia                                Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R

             GT Daytona: #39 Westphal/Heistand                    CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Audi R8

So, that’s a wrap from Belle Isle.  The first of two street course races for IMSA in 2021 is done and dusted.  Next up, round three of the Michelin Endurance Cup, the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, coming up two weeks from now.

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