2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona

[Matthew Little]

Updates.............
---the #8 Starworks entry of Mike Forest spun at the bus-stop a little earlier; they're now mired in 14th overall, 1 lap down
---both the #02 Ganassi DP and the #70 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 GT entries have deflated right-rears; there also appears to be damage to the right-rear on the #70

Class Leaders.........
DP} #10 SunTrust Ford/Dallara(Max Angelelli), 53 laps
GT} #94 Turner Mtrspts. BMW M3(Boris Said), -2 laps

note.....if you're following the Rolex 24 via MRN, don't be surprised if the audio-stream drops out every so often; the audio-stream uses the domestic radio coverage for online listeners and their U.S. broadcasts will resume at 8pm US EST. The online audio stream will continue, though, through to 8pm when domestic coverage resumes

 

[Matthew Little]

Here's another update as the sun sets, headlights begin to turn on(white for the DPs', yellow for the GTs'), the big ole' Ferris Wheel begins to spin up & shine and nighttime begins to envelop the World Center of Racing..........

---2 front-runners behind the wall: both the #45 Flying Lizard DP and #57 Stevenson Camaro GT are in the paddock atm, the Lizards' w/a busted radiator after Seth Neiman went agricultural racing and the Stevenson boys' w/a possible fuel pump issue(Speed's Chris Neville asked the #57 team how long it would take to fix whatever was wrong and they said 'it could take 10 minutes, it could take an hour.....we just don't know right now!')

Class Leaders...............
DP: #5 Action Express Porsche/Riley(David Donohue), 73 laps
GT: #94 Turner Mtrspts. BMW M3(Bill Auberlen), -2 laps)

SpeedChannel's Broadcast Crew for the 2011 Rolex 24..................
Booth: Bob Varsha, David Hobbs, Leigh Diffey, Calvin Fish, Dorsey Schroeder
Pitlane/Paddock: Brian Till, Chris Neville, Jamie Howe, Justin Bell

 

[Matthew Little]

In case anyone's following some of the "guest" drivers(i.e. non-Rolex Series regulars) at the 24, here's how a few of them are doing atm................
--Martin Brundle, #23 MSR-United Autosports, 5th overall
--Ryan Briscoe, #10 SunTrust, 7th overall
--Justin Wilson, #6 MSR-Curb Records, 9th overall
--Dario Franchitti, #02 Target, 15th overall
--Patrick Dempsey, #40 Dempsey Racing, 27th overall
--Wolf Henzler, #67 The Racer's Group, 29th overall
--Kenny Wallace, #4 The Racer's Group, 34th overall
--Jim Michaelian, #53 TRG/Nadeau Mtrspts., 40th overall
--Seth Neiman, #45 Flying Lizard, 43rd overall

 

[Matthew Little]

Updating the race as we approach the 8pm hour here on the East Coast.............

Class Leaders.............
DP: #01 Telmex BMW/Riley(Memo Rojas), 135 laps
GT: #94 Turner Mtrspts. BMW M3(Paul Dalla Lana), -5 laps

Full course caution atm courtesy of the #36 Yellow Dragon Mazda who, for some reason after losing a few puddles of oil on the racing surface, waited 'bout 2 additional laps before going to the paddock for repairs.........

 

[Brogan]

It's just like being there

Thanks for all the updates Matthew

 

[Speshal]

I'd be interested in watching the progress of the "Blundle" Brothers in Car 23.

Currently running in 11th

 

[Matthew Little]

Passing 9:30pm on the East Coast...........6 hours into the 49th running of the Rolex 24; here are some of the headlines as the racing continues on the highbanks of Daytona.............

---Class Leaders...........
DP: #6 MSR-Curb Records Ford/Dallara(A.J. Allmendinger), 186 laps
GT: #48 Marquis Jet Porsche 911 GT3(Bryce Miller), -8 laps/14th overall
---Notable Guest Runners..........
DP: Buddy Rice, #5 Action Express Porsche/Riley, 5th overall
DP: Jamie McMurray, #02 Target BMW/Riley, 8th overall
DP: Nicolas Minassian, #76 Krohn Aviation Ford/Lola, 9th overall
GT: Brendan Gaughan, #67 The Racer's Group Porsche 911 GT3, 15th overall
GT: Hurley Haywood, #59 Brumos Porsche 911 GT3, 16th overall
GT: Jeroen Bleekemolen, #54 TRG/Black Swan Porsche 911 GT3, 20th overall
GT: Nick Tandy, #17 Burtin Racing Porsche 911 GT3, 28th overall
DP: Patrick Long, #45 Flying Lizard Porsche/Riley, 30th overall
Here is the link if anyone wants to follow live timing & scoring during the course of the 24........

---Broadcast Updates
Speed Channel will be finishing up their Saturday coverage of the 24 in about 10-15 minutes; their Sunday coverage will pick up at 9am and run through to 4pm. MRN will resume its' broadcast coverage on both domestic radio & online starting at 7am. But don't fear; I'll keep everyone abreast of events as they happen; I got the coffeepot brewing, the internets up and running and lots of music on-tap..........

---He Said What?
There was an interesting conversation btwn. Speed's Brian Till, Dorsey Schroeder and Martin Brundle from the #23 MSR-United Autosports entry a little while back. Till asked Brundle how he felt after his stint in the DP and Brundle said,

When I put my racing suit on I felt twenty years younger; I still do!

. Before Till could add anything, Schroeder quipped,

If I felt that way,I'd have to put on a bigger suit.........

. Till's reaction was priceless, a combination "You just didn't say what?" and "WTH was that?" Come to think of it, where's Murray Walker when you need him........

 

[Matthew Little]

Speed Channel: Rolex 24 Live Chat
---Speed's Marshall Pruett & John Dagys are hosting a live chat through the overnight hours; on-tap at the moment are Speed's Bob Varsha & David Hobbs, Radio LeMans's John Hindhaugh along with Declan Brennan

 

[Matthew Little]

One question that's been making its' way through the Grand-Am paddock has been whether the tires for the race would hold up for 24 hours(Grand-Am signed a 3yr contract w/Continental Tire to provide tires for the series, replacing Pirelli). The verdict so far.............although there have been several right-rear punctures and flats up to now, CT engineers throughout the paddock report that the tires are performing well.

David Hobbs in the Speed chat had his own thoughts on the tires...........

They seem to be working very well. Obviously Daytona has a whole lot of issues with the banking, and it's difficult to build a road race tire that works on both the oval and banking and Continental seems to have come up with a good solution. There seemed to be some issues with the wheel camber, which cause heating on the inside, but most of the teams have adjusted it and the problem seems to have been solved. The drivers all tell me the tires are good out of the pits cold, but we'll have a good test of the tire with a hot Saturday afternoon and a cold night. If they get through that test, it will prove to be pretty successful.

John Hindhaugh added,

On Tyres - In addition to the camber some teams had gone agiast the advice of Continental regarding pressure

 

[Matthew Little]

On an unrelated front, Speed's Bob Varsha was asked whether he and the rest of his F1 crew(Varsha, Hobbs & Matchett) would be at Austin in 2012 for the USGP or back in Charlotte at the Speed studios. Varsha's answer.....

First, we will have to strike a deal for coverage rights, but assuming that goes well, yes, we'll be at the track

 

[Matthew Little]

There is one bit of interesting news..........unless I'm read this wrong, it appears Radio LeMans will be covering the 2012 Rolex 24. Quoting John Hindhaugh from the Speed chat,

we were expecting to do live coverage by the deal didn't quite happen - we are already working on 2012 Rolex 24 and have had some very good meetings with MRN today, we'll pick up the thread in March and let you know how we get on

 

[Matthew Little]

Class Leaders after 7 hours.................
DP} #5 Action Express Porsche/Riley(Burt Frisselle), 216 laps*
GT} #59 Brumos Porsche 911 GT3(Hurley Haywood), -9 laps/13th overall
*--at the current pace, expect the total number of laps after 24 hrs. to run about 740 or so

 

[Matthew Little]

Nice bit of comedy on the Speed chat a few moments ago; someone asked(in reference to John Hindhaugh, who's one of the people answering questions on the Speed chat),

Is this THE John Hindhaugh from Radiolemans.com, the best broadcaster in the racing world? Wish we could hear you calling the Rolex 24

Speed's Marshall Pruett replied,

No, just a lumpy man from Sunderland......

 

[Matthew Little]

---Notable Guest Runners
DP: Christophe Bouchut, #55 Level 5 Mtrspts.BMW/Riley, 3rd overall
DP: Max Papis, #9 Action Express Porsche/Riley, 4th overall
DP: Dario Franchitti, #02 Target BMW/Riley, 5th overall
DP: Justin Wilson, #6 MSR-Curb Records Ford/Dallara, 7th overall
GT: Jeroen Bleekemolen, #54 TRG/Black Swan Porsche 911 GT3, 17th overall
GT: Lucas Luhr, #66 The Racer's Group Porsche 911 GT3, 22nd overall
DP: Seth Neiman, #45 Flying Lizard Porsche/Riley, 25th overall
GT: Nick Tandy, #17 Burtin Racing Porsche 911 GT3, 33rd overall
GT: Jean-Francois Dumoulin, #56 Bennett Racing Ferrari F430, 42nd overall
DP: E.J. Viso, #2 Starworks Mtrspts. Ford/Riley, 44th overall

Currently over in the Speed chat are Speed's Marshall Pruett, John Dagys & Jamie Howe along w/Magnus Racing's Craig Stanton...........apparently the old lumpy guy from Sunderland needed some rest for later on in the 24......

 

[Matthew Little]

Approaching 9hrs.,45 minutes.............

Class Leaders...........
DP} #02 Target BMW/Riley(Juan Pablo Montoya), 296 laps
GT} #40 Dempsey Racing Mazda RX-8(Patrick Dempsey), -13 laps/12th overall
Notable Guest Runners............
DP: Juan Pablo Montoya, #02 Target BMW/Riley, 1st overall
DP: Martin Brundle, #23 MSR-United Autosports Ford/Riley, 6th overall
DP: Graham Rahal, #01 Telmex BMW/Riley, 8th overall
DP: Ryan Briscoe, #10 SunTrust Chevrolet/Riley, 9th overall
GT: Patrick Dempsey, #40 Dempsey Racing Mazda RX-8, 12th overall
DP: Jorg Bergmeister, #45 Flying Lizard Porsche/Riley, 20th overall
DP: Richard Westbrook, #95 Level 5 Mtrspts. BMW/Riley, 21st overall
GT: Richard Lietz, #44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3, 25th overall
GT: Ross Kaiser, #77 Doran Racing Ford/Dallara, 28th overall
DP: Jimmie Johnson, #99 Gainsco Chevrolet/Riley, 32nd overall

 

[tooncheese]

Been keeping a close eye on this race, listening to the radio in another tab, so here's an update whilst Matthew is having a well earned rest

DP
1) Buddy Rice
2) Scott Pruett
3)Dario Franchetti
4) Ricardo Zonta
5) Micheal McDowell

GT
1) Charles Espenlaub
2) Bryce Miller
3) Spencer Pumpelly
4) Patrick Pilet
5) Lucas Luhr

 

[Matthew Little]

*Returns to the coverage booth, rested & ready to round out the 24........70's music in the background as the coverage picks back up. I think to myself, "Hmm....."Devil Woman"'s on the stream atm; now that I think about it, there's a couple of female racers I've run across over the past few years that fit that description off-hand...........

Anyway, after a few hours rest and visions of past 24s' in mind, welcome back to coverage of the Rolex 24 at Daytona here on Clip the Apex...........

Speed Channel: Overnight Update
It was an interesting overnight for this year's 24, to say the least.............

---Class Leaders
DP} #02 Target BMW/Riley(Juan Pablo Montoya), 595 laps
GT} #67 The Racer's Group Porsche 911 GT3(Wolf Henzler), -28 laps(13th overall)
---Notable Guest Runners
DP: Juan Pablo Montoya, #02 Target BMW/Riley, 1st overall
DP: Martin Brundle, #23 MSR-United Autosports Ford/Dallara, 3rd overall
DP: Max Papis, #9 Action Express Porsche/Riley, 4th overall
DP: Justin Wilson, #6 MSR-Curb Records, 5th overall
DP: Ryan Briscoe, #10 SunTrust Chevrolet/Riley, 8th overall
DP: Patrick Long, #45 Flying Lizard Porsche/Riley, 11th overall
GT: Lucas Luhr, #66 The Racer's Group, 17th overall
GT: Boris Said, #94 Turner Mtrspts. BMW M3, 34th overall
GT: Nick Tandy, #17 Burtin Racing Porsche 911 GT3, 39th overall

 

[Matthew Little]

Inside of three hours now at the Rolex 24................

---Class Leaders:
DP} #01 Telmex BMW/Riley(Joey Hand), 630 laps
GT} #67 The Racer's Group Porsche 911 GT3(Spencer Pumpelly), -29 laps/13th overall
---Notable Guest Runners
DP: Joey Hand, #01 Telmex BMW/Riley, 1st overall
DP: Scott Dixon, #02 Target BMW/Riley, 2nd overall
DP: Mark Blundell, #23 MSR-United Autosports Ford/Riley, 4th overall
DP: Nicolas Minassian, #76 Krohn Aviation Ford/Lola, 5th overall
DP: Buddy Rice, #5 Action Express Porsche/Riley, 8th overall
DP: Johannes van Overbeek, #45 Flying Lizard Porsche/Riley, 11th overall
DP: Ryan Hunter-Reay, #95 Level 5 Mtrpsts. BMW/Riley, 12th overall
GT: Tim Sugden, #48 Marquis Jet Porsche 911 GT3, 14th overall
GT: Dominic Farnbacher, #66 The Racer's Group Porsche 911 GT3, 15th overall
GT: Johnny O'Connell, #88 Autohaus Mtrspts. Camaro GT-R, 31st overall
DP: E.J. Viso, #2 Starworks Mtrspts. Ford/Riley, 32nd overall
GT: Nick Tandy, #17 Burtin Racing Porsche 911 GT3, 39th overall

 

[Matthew Little]

Bad news for The Racer's Group #66 Porsche; they've taken the car back to the paddock w/reports of a driveshaft failure........

OTOH, there is shaping up to be one hell of a fight at the front btwn. the #02 Ganassi DP(Dixon), the #9 Action Express DP(C. Fittipaldi) and the #23 MSR-United DP(Blundell). Yeah, that's right; the "Blundle" brothers have a good shot at overall victory today!

---Class Leaders
DP: #02 Target BMW/Riley(Scott Dixon), 652 laps
GT: #67 The Racer's Group Porsche 911 GT3(Spencer Pumpelly), -30 laps/13th overall

 

[cider_and_toast]

Looks like 2 hours to go and the Blundle car is only 1.6 seconds off the lead in 3rd place. Going to be a tight finish.