Rolex 24 – Hours 19-21

 

Hour 19

There are brief unrelated off track moments for Romain Dumas, Jerome Jacalone and david Quinlan – Tired drivers and mucky track surface is beginning to tell as we enter the final quarter.

Quinlan rejoins but with a rear right puncture, the other pair rejoin with no apparent damage.

The leader pits for a routine stop, Montoya takes the lead, but as the #58 pulls off pit road there is a sizeable pool of lubricant underneath it!

 

Darren law is clearly struggling in #58, the car spins as the power goes down onto the banking but no damage – Attrition I beginning to really tell now.

Both Ganassi cars pit together, Driver changes for both but there’ drama on the out lap for Scott Dixon as the #02 Riley loses its front bodywork in the bus stop – Dixon pits immediately and is sent behind the wall.

The sizeable chunk of debris causes the race’s 20th FCY.  With all of that Memo Rojas leads the race in the #01 car.

 

Quietly and gradually, as others falter, the Crawford has made its way back up the order.  Wallace is back at the wheel and the car is back up in 12th position and now getting on terms with the leading GT group.

The Brumos cars are both due pad changes – The team say that there is no further leakage from the #58 car after its recent drama.  Both Brumos cars emerge from pitlane still on the lead lap.

 

The caution periods are longer than they need to be for removal of the hazard as the Grand-Am rules require a lap for DPs to pit followed by a lap for the GT cars to follow suit next time around – We’re about to go green again.

As the race goes green Wolf Henzler holds a masterclass in using the gaps created by passing DPs, he makes rapid progress through the melee.

The TV commentators ask Pedro Lamy to compare the Dallara to the Peugeot 908 – Lamy is polite in his response!

 

Dumas may be several laps down but he is still attacking this race – he grabs one of those lost laps back from the leader with a clean but firm move into the Bus Stop.

The three car group in GT is still duking it out – Kevin Roush currently at the head of the train in the #86 Farnbacher Loles car but the lead trio separated by less than 3 seconds.

 

An off for Jason Pridmore in the #09 Coyote, the car beached, brings out FCY number 21 after Pridmore got it all wrong negotiating the Bus Stop.  There appears to be no serious damage to the #09 car.

 

The leading trio pit nose to tail under the caution - #58 takes the lead with a better pitstop and the Dallara and #59 have a 45 mph drag race down the pit exit – the Brumos car wins the day but the caution has helped Lamy enormously!

 

The race goes green almost at the end of the hour and it’s Law fending off Scott Pruett immediately - 2.2 seconds the gap 1-4 as the race restarts, Lamy grabs third.

 

Hour 19 Positions

 

1 58 DP 1 Darren Law 572 laps Brumos Racing Porsche / Riley
2 01 DP 2 Scott Pruett 572 +0.809 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus / Riley
3 10 DP 3 Pedro Lamy 572 +3.436 SunTrust Racing Ford / Dallara
4 59 DP 4 Hurley Haywood 572 +8.078 Brumos Racing Porsche / Riley
5 02 DP 5 Scott Dixon 568 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus / Riley
6 16 DP 6 Ryan Briscoe 558 Penske Racing Porsche / Riley
7 99 DP 7 Jon Fogarty 551 GAINSCO/ Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac / Riley
8 86 GT 1 Kevin Roush 549 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
9 67 GT 2 Andy Lally 549 TRG Porsche GT3
10 66 GT 3 Spencer Pumpelly 548 TRG Porsche GT3
11 07 GT 4 Jan Magnussen 544 Banner Racing Pontiac GXP.R
12 2 DP 8 Andy Wallace 543 Childress-Howard Motorsports Pontiac / Crawford
13 33 GT 5 BJ Zacharias 542 Wright Motorsports Porsche GT3
14 57 GT 6 Robin Liddell 540 Stevenson Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R
15 88 GT 7 Richard Westbrook 531 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
16 13 DP 9 Jordan Taylor 529 Beyer Racing Pontiac / Riley
17 26 GT 8 Randy Pobst 527 Gotham Competition Porsche GT3
18 69 GT 9 Emil Assentato 523 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8
19 87 GT 10 Wolf Henzler 523 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
20 09 DP 10 Jeff Ward 517 Spirit of Daytona Racing Porsche / Coyote
21 55 DP 11 Scott Tucker 513 Level 5 Motorsports BMW / Riley
22 70 GT 11 Sylvain Tremblay 512 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8
23 32 GT 12 Jeff Westphal 511 PR1 Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R
24 97 GT 13 James Gue 506 Stevenson Motorsports Corvette
25 77 DP 12 Matteo Bobbi 504 Doran Racing Ford / Dallara
26 30 GT 14 Dion von Moltke 501 Racers Edge Motorsports Mazda RX-8
27 68 GT 15 Scott Schroeder 481 TRG Porsche GT3
28 89 GT 16 Giorgio Rosa 473 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
29 85 GT 17 Michael Gomez 467 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
30 35 GT 18 Lawson Aschenbach 454 Orbit Racing Porsche GT3
31 63 GT 19 David Quinlan 451 TRG Porsche GT3
32 44 GT 20 Ross Bentley 406 Bullet Racing Porsche GT3
33 65 GT 21 John Potter 379 1Riegel/ Stanton/ TRG Porsche GT3
34 75 DP 13 Eric van de Poele 374 Krohn Racing Ford / Lola
35 40 GT 22 Jep Thornton 343 Dempsey Racing Mazda RX-8

 

Hour 20

There’s trouble for the GT leading #86 Farnbacher Loles Porsche, smoke from the rear for the car and Kevin Roush pulls off the track – seemingly with no drive.

Greg Loles reports that Roush suspects a broken axle.  Bitter gall after such a close fight.

 

Lally leads Pumpelly, #67 leads #66, TRG leads...............TRG!  Jan Magnussen inherits 3rd in GT, 10th overall as Roush sits waiting for a tow.

 

Andy Wallace has handed the Crawford over to Rob Finlay – He’s now chasing down the Banner Pontiac of Paul Edwards for 10th overall. He grabs that place before the hour is up.

 

The TRG pair have reversed positions, Pumpelly leads Long. The Porsche factory man though grabs back the slot - Game on!

 

Lamy is hanging on in there in the Dallara - My oh my that is an unattractive looking vehicle.  The leaders start their pit stop cycle again, Law is first to stop, Buddy Rice climbs aboard the #58 car. Rice inherits the lead when Hurley Haywood pits the sister #59 car which he hands over to Terry Borcheller.  Hurley tells dsc that his seat had been incorreectly inserted so the team opted to get him out of the car after just a single stint rather than the planned double.

 

Hour 20 Positions

 

1 58 DP 1 Buddy Rice 606 laps Brumos Racing Porsche / Riley
2 01 DP 2 Scott Pruett 606 +2.473 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
3 10 DP 3 Pedro Lamy 606 +27.636 SunTrust Racing Ford / Dallara
4 59 DP 4 Terry Borcheller 606 +46.057 Brumos Racing Porsche / Riley
5 02 DP 5 Alex Lloyd 602 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus / Riley
6 16 DP 6 Ryan Briscoe 592 Penske Racing Riley Porsche
7 99 DP 7 Alex Gurney 584 GAINSCO/ Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac / Riley
8 67 GT 1 Patrick Long 579 TRG Porsche GT3
9 66 GT 2 Emmanuel Collard 578 TRG Porsche GT3
10 2 DP 8 Rob Finlay 575 Childress-Howard Motorsports Pontiac / Crawford
11 07 GT 3 Paul Edwards 575 Banner Racing Pontiac GXP.R
12 33 GT 4 Sascha Maassen 572 Wright Motorsports Porsche GT3
13 57 GT 5 Andrew Davis 571 Stevenson Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R
14 86 GT 6 Eric Lux 566 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
15 88 GT 7 Dave Lacey 562 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
16 13 DP 9 Jared Beyer 558 Beyer Racing Pontiac / Riley
17 26 GT 8 Shane Lewis 554 Gotham Competition Porsche GT3
18 69 GT 9 Matt Plumb 554 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8
19 87 GT 10 Dirk Werner 554 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
20 09 DP 10 Guy Cosmo 549 Spirit of Daytona Racing Porsche / Coyote
21 55 DP 11 Christophe Bouchut 545 Level 5 Motorsports BMW / Riley
22 32 GT 11 Albert Salvo 540 PR1 Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R
23 97 GT 12 Tom Long 535 Stevenson Motorsports Corvette
24 30 GT 13 Doug Peterson 531 Racers Edge Motorsports Mazda RX-8
25 70 GT 14 Nick Ham 528 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8
26 68 GT 15 Steve Miller 511 TRG Porsche GT3
27 77 DP 12 Matteo Bobbi 504 Doran Racing Ford / Dallara
28 89 GT 16 Allan Simonsen 503 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
29 85 GT 17 Ron Yarab Jr 496 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
30 63 GT 18 Kurt Kossmann 479 TRG Porsche GT3
31 35 GT 19 Lawson Aschenbach 454 Orbit Racing Porsche GT3
32 44 GT 20 Paquette/ Bentley/ Carter/ Nixon 410 Bullet Racing Porsche GT3
33 65 GT 21 John Potter 379 Riegel/ Stanton/ TRG Porsche GT3
34 75 DP 13 Eric van de Poele 374 Krohn Racing Ford / Lola
35 40 GT 22 Jep Thornton 343 Dempsey Racing Mazda RX-8

 

Hour 21

 

After much perseverence, the #2 Childress-Howard Crawford has reached the top ten; eighth in class. Further progress  will almost certainly require mechanical issues to strike the cars ahead.

 

With four hours remaining, the race is as settled as it has been at any point. The four cars on the lead lap actually have air between them, but there is still nary a minute between them.

 

In GT, the lead Pontiac - the #07 Banner Racing GXP.R - goes behind the wall to have an exhaust issue sorted.

 

Things are much worse for the #09 Spirit of Daytona Porsche Coyote which busts into flames as Guy Cosmo pits. The flames are extinguished and no injuries are apparent, but it is clear that damage is extensive and their race is run.

 

More trouble strikes the Penske Porsche, when a fluid leak is incurred while the front splitter is being changed in the pitlane. Another lengthy stop - almost 14 minutes - has to be endured by Timo Bernhard and he is only a couple of laps ahead of Alex Gurney in the #99 Riley when he resumes.

 

Lap 634 and the record-equalling 22nd caution period arrives.

 

Buddy Rice pits under yellows, but the #58 Brumos Porsche leaves a huge puddle of fluid behind it as it exits its box. How significant this is will be revealed in the next three hours. 

 

Scott Pruett now leads DP and Patrick Long GT.

 

Hour 21 positions

 

1 01 DP 1 Scott Pruett 638 laps Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus / Riley
2 58 DP 2 Buddy Rice 638 +0.413 Brumos Racing Porsche / Riley
3 59 DP 3 Terry Borcheller 638 +1.743 Brumos Racing Porsche / Riley
4 10 DP 4 Brian Frisselle 638 +2.292 SunTrust Racing Ford / Dallara
5 02 DP 5 Alex Lloyd 634 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus / Riley 
6 16 DP 6 Timo Bernhard 618 Penske Racing Porsche / Riley
7 99 DP 7 Alex Gurney 616 GAINSCO/ Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac / Riley
8 67 GT 1 Patrick Long 608 TRG Porsche GT3
9 66 GT 2 Ted Ballou 608 TRG Porsche GT3
10 2 DP 8 Rob Finlay 605 Childress-Howard Motorsports Pontiac / Crawford
11 33 GT 3 Sascha Maassen 602 Wright Motorsports Porsche GT3
12 57 GT 4 Jeff Bucknum 600 Stevenson Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R
13 07 GT 5 Paul Edwards 599 Banner Racing Pontiac GXP.R
14 86 GT 6 Matthew Marsh 596 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
15 88 GT 7 Robert Nearn 591 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
16 13 DP 9 David Martinez 589 Beyer Racing Pontiac / Riley
17 26 GT 8 Shane Lewis 584 Gotham Competition Porsche GT3
18 87 GT 9 Leh Keen 584 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
19 69 GT 10 Nick Longhi 583 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8
20 55 DP 10 Christophe Bouchut 577 Level 5 Motorsports BMW / Riley
21 32 GT 11 Thomas Merrill 568 PR1 Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R
22 97 GT 12 Ryan Eversley 563 Stevenson Motorsports Corvette
23 09 DP 11 Guy Cosmo 561 Spirit of Daytona Racing Porsche / Coyote
24 30 GT 13 Bryan Sellers 560 Racers Edge Motorsports Mazda RX-8
25 70 GT 14 Nick Ham 548 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8
26 68 GT 15 Chris Pallis 539 TRG Porsche GT3
27 89 GT 16 Giacomo Petrobelli 531 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
28 85 GT 17 Gomez/ Graeff/ Henzler/ Yarab Jr/ Campollo 524 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
29 63 GT 18 Steve Zadig 506 TRG Porsche GT3
30 77 DP 12 Matteo Bobbi 504 Doran Racing Ford / Dallara
31 35 GT 19 Lawson Aschenbach 454 Orbit Racing Porsche GT3
32 44 GT 20 Daniel Harrington 437 Bullet Racing Porsche GT3
33 65 GT 21 John Potter 379 Riegel/ Stanton/ TRG Porsche GT3
34 75 DP 13 Eric van de Poele 374 Krohn Racing Ford / Lola
35 40 GT 22 Jep Thornton 343 Dempsey Racing Mazda RX-8