Yahoo Autos Rolex 24, Hour 3: Ford teething troubles and Lexus returns
Hour three saw both GTD PRO Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3s suffer the same affliction, a loose trunk lid. Both appeared to have come loose at the front and then blown back with the airflow and broken. Each car required unexpected visits to the pits to replace the lid.
Louis Deletraz led much of the hour in the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 after going off-sequence with the rest of the field and staying out for track position, but at the end of the hour it was Philipp Eng in the No. 24 BMW M Team RLL M Hybrid V8 leading as the GTP field was cycling through pit stops. The real race leader, however, was the No. 01 Cadillac with Scott Dixon at the wheel, and the two Cadillacs looked solidly in control of the pace.
“It’s quite hot outside and it’s very hot in the cars,” said Deletraz after his stint. “But I think we [are maximizing] everything so far. We’re trying to keep it clean and go long. The strategy now is way out of what will be in the end, so just running, seeing how the car behaves and try to see where we are with the competition. And I think the last stint was pretty good, too, out front. But I feel our competitors are strong and we’ll have to fight this out.”
The No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F rolled out of the garage eight minutes into the third hour after repairs from the collision with the No. 20 High Class Racing ORECA in the first hour, Mike Conway at the wheel. The car is 26 laps down from the GTD PRO leader.
IMSA has provided a new tool to help follow the race, live telemetry from the GTP cars. It includes energy level and usage, as well showing when the car is regenerating energy, the gears and brake and throttle application, and speed. It can be found at https://www.imsa.com/gtp-telemetry/.
