Last Hour It's been difficult to say too much about Sunday morning's events. By midday, the stationary Dyson R&S had slipped to seventh, but thereafter it dropped ever faster. At 12.10, Jim Downing's Kudzu was 'past' as it completed 599 laps. The Robinson R&S was in trouble with the clutch, others were or already had recreated their machines into something that could reach the flag - while the lone factory cars rumbled by in first and fourth, solit by the #31 Porsche and the #86 Freisinger Porsche. Haberthur looked likely to take fifth (rather than their first last year), while sixth was the third placed GTS entry from the Bytzek brothers. 81 / 43 / 39 / 10 completed the top ten, then came the first Prototype. Kerry Morse made his feelings known about the Prototypes during the night. It's tough though, if you don't spend factory money. Rob Dyson equips his team with the best equipment he can buy: what was it James Weaver said on Thursday? It was to the effect that the factories can buy the best equipment, then go away and make it better. Lozano discard a mass of connecting rods before they find a set to go into one of their Fords, but Audi presumably craft their own. This isn't Audi territory - perhaps we ought to be grateful. What it is is 300 drivers living their dream of taking home one of those watches. Most will go away with some big bills and no watch, but they'll be back. The Marcos story is an almost but not quite; the power and the glory for nearly 12 hours, then the frustration of watching the car being fixed, then slowed by overheating. Calum Lockie will remember the day he bested the Earnhardts - for nearly half the race. It's been a dull old Sunday in two respects, the only real incident the one that made the purists sigh. These races should be won by the Prototypes. If there's detail missing from some areas of this material, well, perhaps we've made up for it in other areas. Nearly 90 cars. What a gathering. Results will be posted as a front page link as soon as possible after the race. What will we remember this one for? The magnanimous Corvette management, the C5-Rs, Dyson's 21 hour engine, the Mantara, the weather, the damaged cars - and Daytona International Speedway. And the last hour = "The Zombies Emerge" is Janos's expression. Apparently even the #23 Camaro will take the flag. Forgetting to arrange a crew? That's got to go down in the next edition of 'Time And two Seats'. Twenty One Plus Hours A quick calculation reveals that the #2 Corvette should take the lead 50 minutes or so after the Leitzinger car's retirement, but #16 should hang on to the class win until something like 30 minutes from the end. The SRP winner looks as though it will be the Jim Downing / Howard Katz / AJ Smith / Chris Ronson Kudzu. They've had serious gearbox probelms and have failed to remain in their expected competive position, but if they can maintain present pace, they'll win the SRP class. If they slip up, the dead #16 will win. It couldn't happen in Europe, but this isn't Europe. 09.40 With a 26 lap lead, Butch Leitzinger suffers a major engine blow-up, parks it and walks away. It is a repeat of last year. #16 seems destined not to win this race. Twenty Hours Plus "They're going round and round," was one description of Sunday morning. By 09.00 the rain had effectively stopped. Still completely overcast. Twenty Hours Unofficial Retirement List With thanks to Janos Wimpffen for his capacity to absorb information. #54 - The early class leader lost time being the first to go to wets and also changing the wing angle (3 ½ hours); also had a long stop changing brakes; otherwise very fast. They had another delay at 14 hours, again with a slow brake change, once more losing a class lead that they had steadily built up. Put out from the class lead by an oil leak resuting from hitting debris. #12 - McNish’s strong lead was another early highlight; then van de Poele spun on cold tires at 6 1/2 hours; electrical problems with lights, then a balky brake change knocked them back. Serious brake and wheel problems at the 8:50 mark appear to have cost them an immediate shot at the lead. Their commendable 2nd place continued till near the early morning, but a blown head gasket put paid to the effort at the 16 hour mark. #22 - Near perfect run into the night, racing conservatively, and it paid off as other front runners in class failed. However, a broken shaft out on the course at the 15 ½ hour mark changed the complexion of the SRP II contest and ensured that the winner would end up well down the overall list. Eliminated after contact with #09, Tony Dudek driving into the path of the AGT after a spin coming onto the banking. #09 - First AGT to begin to gradually fall apart, but kept going for many hours with no hood - until the above incident occurred. AGT driver completely blameless. #4 - Despite a couple of lurid but harmless spins and some cooling problems, they were an SRP survivor; gear selector problems slowed them in the night hours; Burton spun in pit lane while exiting; Overheating was their next hassle. It all ended with a head gasket going out in the 13th hour. #68 - Slight accident at 3 ½ hrs, then Earle involved in big crash with #6, little damage to the Porsche. They later had another slight “off”. #35 - Quiet, uneventful affair, until blindsided by the SR II Kudzu in the infield at the 14 hour mark. #17 - A slow driver hand-off dropped them from an early 3rd in class; then suffered from oil on the windscreen. Its relatively clean run ended with engine failure at the 12 hour point. #18 - Early class leader had body / tire problems at 3 hours; many hours in the paddock as per usual in AGT. McNeil then hit the infield barrier in the 17th hour. It brought the 8th full-course caution and the first in several hours. #47 - Rookie team’s fairly uneventful run came to an end at 10 1/3 hours when Schultheis took off across the sodden infield grass and hit the concrete at unabated speed. The car ended up stalled on the other side of the infield hairpin, bringing out the 6th caution. Schultheis was uninjured. #7 - Apparently retired during 11th hour. #48 - Hit #65 at hairpin, suspension damage. Then, Seiler had a bizarre accident when the bodywork took leave of the chassis. Bereft of all bodwork and much of the components, he somehow brought what was left of the former car back to the pits. It brought about the 7th caution of the race shortly after the 11 hour mark. #38 - Vibration in 1st hour but stayed well into contention until engine failure at 7 ½ hours, related to heavy braking to avoid another car. #80 - Reason for retirement not known #27 - Very early gearbox replacement, then Kevin Doran decided to retire the car when another transmission was needed. Promising debut. #78 - Big early accident (Macaluso) with the #5 Viper and Cirtek Porsche, completely rebuilt, out with engine failure. #6 - Accident. Ran near the head of the class. #53 - Unretired after repairing accident damage, then retired again. #06 - DNF. #92 - Spin in 3rd hour and smoke from engine 60 minutes later. #36 - DNF. #8 - Various ailments from which the car returned several times before retirement related to engine sensor. #83 - Simon spun on 1st lap; returned after long stop and then Simo had accident on front straight. #46 - Hit rail in hairpin. #28 - Problems early on with a spin at the ¾ hour mark, then gearbox linkage failure. #02 - GT pole sitter was competitive, but a driver error left part of the nose sitting on the track after contact (3 ¾ hour mark). This was the second nose dmaging incident - no spares available. #5 - Wheel and body damage related to suspension failure. #91 - Ugo Colombo was collected by the accident between #15 & #78. #15 - Ran fast but suffered heavy front end damage in Bingham’s accident with the Norma. Bent chassis leg ensured retirement. #23 - Last on grid and nearly first retired, hit wall bringing out the 2nd yellow. #60 - Hit another car early on, losing an hour (Fred Moss) then the same driver repeated the feat between 08.00 and 09.00. #42 - Engine failure early on. #76 - Accident damage under a full course caution, then a turbo change, then a bad oil leak. #95 - Piston let go on lap 4. #49 - DNS. Only ran in Qualifying to gather data. Provided suspension to repair #48 after its first incident. Eighteen Hours Plus Is the sun ever going to appear over this track again? Shortly before 07.00, the M3 pits with a two lap lead over #31, but loses it. There's damage underneath, and investigations allow Randy Pobst through into third place. Porsche's numerical advantage does at last pay off. For BMW, it looks like the end. Tom Milner explains that they have an oil leak, which looked as though it was getting onto a tyre. The car goes back to the garage for further investigations, but Porsche look to have this class sealed up. If the BMW doesn't return, there's (almost) only Porsches left in GT. The #10 BMW is sitting pretty in a very good ninth place. GTs are third, fifth and seventh through twelfth. As the sky lightens, the rain comes down again. Dyson had been managing their water temperatures during the night, blanking off the ducts when the track was at its wettest, calling Andy Wallace in for tape to be removed as it dried a little. Just after 18 hours elapsed, Tony Dudek in #22 Archangel Lola B2K / 40 had a spin coming onto the banking and ended up on the inside. He drove up the banking but appeared to arrive most of the way up going too slowly. The back slipped down, he tried to drive it up, and pincered the Flis Camaro. Heavy contact saw both eliminated, the AGT car after completing most of the race with no bonnet. They deserved a finish. Janos Wimpffen is suggesting that it won't take much before we have an overall GT winner. It's still raining. Nearly Seventeen Hours Clint Field explains why the Intersport Lola is 130 laps out of the lead: "They changed the seals in the clutch cylinder twice, then they realised that the problem was with the throw out bearing." Your car seems to brake later than any other into Turn One. "Oh yeah, Dad was really on it, you can almost brake as late as in the dry. He was doing 1:48s in the rain." Driven this car in the rain before Clint? "One of my two stints was when it was damp, on slicks. I had one spin coming onto the banking. But I'm due to go out now - in about ten minutes time." He didn't seem that concerned. He was more interested in the fact that the Lola is sixth in class, and who can they catch. Only Ferrari on current form. The 333 was pressurising the water system after what looked like a significant engine failure. Clint Field might be lucky - the rain is easing off a little. The #20 Dyson car is back on the track after a long thrash in the garage working on the gearbox and input shaft. Approaching 06.00, the BMW V8 has completed more laps than the Ferrari and is in third place. Change that weather description. Within minutes, it's hammering down again. Sixteen Hours The '99 pattern or the '00 pattern? This is the '00 pattern. Dyson's #16 is the only trouble free Prototype, as the Risi Ferrari is pushed back to the garage, where terminal overheating is diagnosed. Weaver / Wallace / Leitzinger are now battling through the heaviest rain of the race, with no one chasing them. Pressure right off. They've got a 23 lap lead over the Fellows Corvette, then the GTs are third and fourth, separated by two laps. GT class cars third and fourth.........Corvette second, just as the Viper was last year. Archangel are still struggling in the rain with the gearbox on what was the class leading SRPll, which is about to lose out to #21. The weather is now positively evil. The Intersport Lola looks like the fastest car on the track. It's over 100 laps down after that clutch master cylinder malfunction. Wetter and wetter. Press room has nine sad souls in it. There might be six people up in the grandstand, sheltering right at the top. Fifteen And A Half Amazing how often the two leaders find each other on the track. Leitzinger harries McNish to put him another lap down, eventually finding a way by. They're still cutting through traffic in spectacular style. Janos Wimpffen spots a great on track battle at tbe 15 hour mark between Cyril Chateau in the #86 Freisinger entry and Terry Borcheller in the BMW. The Porsche is third in class and several laps down, but hung gamely onto the V-8 and nudged past in the infield, before the Munich car's new found torque out muscled the flat six on the straight. Meanwhile, Archangel's brilliant reliability record has come to an end as the SRPll class leader stops on the track with gearbox trouble. It's hauled back in and Andrew Davis sits patiently while the wing is removed and the gearbox attacked. He had been running an outstanding seventh. The Jet Motorsports BMW finally has a cushion of a lap or more over the #31 GT3R. Fifteen Hours Plus The rain eased off and stopped just before 04.00, and McNish chose intermediates. Dyson stayed on wets as the cautious compromise, and were rewarded with more rain, which brought McNish in for wets again. How do you catch Dyson in these conditions? We know the R&S is better in the wet, and the track continue to favour them. #20 has plummeted down to 23rd with its long delay, while the #74 R&S has dropped to 12th. Fellows and friends remain third, the top two GTs are fourth and fifth, now back on the same lap after the BMW lost some time changing wheels earlier in the night. It's that low point of the dark hours - and it's still raining. Fifteen Hours Janos Wimpffen, following the race on the excellent Speedvision coverage, offers these thoughts on the race so far. Although it's not the Prototype meltdown of last year [yet?], it does say something that the Robinson car s back on the category's podium after having been in the paddock for hours. That's nothing against the valiant Texans--they're determination is exemplary, but it shows that the class is thin and weak. I doubt the Dyson car will fail like last year, Pat Smith is too smart for that. But the Risi Ferrari always seems one step away from disaster. [oops, as I write, Baldwin is slowing.] It does look like Fellows will take a deserved GTS win. Thank goodness it will go to him and not to the exalted taxi wrestlers in no. 3. While its sad that the Marcos effort stumbled, their performance will be long remembered. One of the concerns of the GTS runners, the 911 GT1s and the Saleen proved unfounded, although the Ford powered car wasn't around long enough to provide a true test. The Porsches seemed to be too burdened with restrictions to pose a threat, or unreliable, or aged, or all of the above. GT is by far the most interesting contest. The M3 on steroids may not pass the Olympic drugs test, but it sure has made it interesting. I'm certainly proud of our Seattle boys in the White Lightning car--namely team manager Walter Gerber and engineer Greg Fordahl. Messrs. Pobst, Fitzgerald, Luhr, and Menzel are to be complimented as well. It's far too early to call the GT contest, which is as it should be. No one expected the Mosler to last. It deserves to be back--but you'll never see it in Panozia. SRP II has been a bit of a disappointment in terms of its competitiveness. But then, this was the class' first true endurance test. Most of the teams were too inexperienced to know what to do with the Lola. Thus, it is no surprise that Mike Johnson's Archangel group is doing so well. Congratulations to them for having topped their 2000 championship by heading towards a strong 1-2 here. AGT is at best a field filler at the shorter races. At the 80 car grid of the Rolex 24, the tubeframes are mere moving (and disintegrating) chicanes. It is hard to get excited about short-trackers rolling around the back of the field--a class winner in 26th overall, come on? Approaching Fourteen Hours FCC for three cars stuck out on the circuit - one is Max Papis in #20. Electrical? He gets a tow back. #68 Racers Group Porsche also stopped, and one of the Mantaras. The Robinson car continues its climb - all the way up to fourth now, just ahead of the leading GT battle. More moisture in the air, and spins become more common. Kelleners has one, coming back onto the banking. Papis' car is being worked on, but it's going to be a long stop. Kelleners comes in for wets. He's not the only one. It's wet. This race is becoming a real trial as conditions fluctuate minute by minute. Thirteen Hours Positions The first two are still only three laps apart, and fourth to tenth is an interesting mixture. 1 16 SRP Dyson Racing Team Weaver/Wallace/Leitzinger 388 Laps 2 12 SRP Risi Competizione Kelleners/McNish/van de Poole/Brabham -3 Laps 3 2 GTS Corvette Racing Fellows/Kneifel/Freon/O'Connell -16 Laps 4 20 SRP Dyson Racing Team Dyson/EFR/Papis/Jonsson -27 Laps 5 54 GT JET Motorsports Jennings/Borcheller/Stuck/Said -27 Laps 6 31 GT White Lightning Racing Fitzgerald/Luhr/Pobst/Menzel -28 Laps 7 74 SRP Robinson Racing Baldwin/Robinson/Hoerr/Lazier -29 Laps 8 22 SRPII Archangel Motorsport Services Dudek/Clinton/Durand/Davis -32 Laps 9 86 GT Freisinger Motorsports Kaufman/Chateau/Stewart -33 Laps 10 01 GTS Bytzek Motorsports Bytzek/Holtom/Brenner/Schumacher -33 Laps Midnight Rambler Kerry Morse It is always about this time that enough of the initial excitement is over and enough of the crowds have cleared out, one has time to reflect on the happenings to date. On the surface, the Grand Am organization has a great event going. Hype, a decent crowd, beautiful facility, wonderful noises. Everything has cooperated except the weather. To cap it off, an announcement came on Friday that Rolex has signed on for the year and Grand Am now has the extra clout of a heavily respected much desired high end consumer object de' watch. That coup alone has given Grand Am the edge over Don and the ALMS. Simply put, Panoz cannot win the marketing war. I admire much of what Don Panoz has accomplished. The fact that we were able to see the BMW LMR and Audi R8R compete in the U.S. is reason alone to thank the man. Where he loses points is in the stability area. The ELMS program is at best, a poor idea with little to support it. Run two races over there and then stay home and truly concentrate on building the ALMS program. But wait a minute, I am here at Daytona after midnight. What about it ? OK, the driving has been decent, even exciting! But what are we watching? Cars that would qualify 9th and 11th overall at an ALMS race and would not be allowed to even be unloaded at La Sarthe. Unless of course, that the Riley & Scotts and solo Ferrari 333 were in the historic parade. The question is WHY? Things get a little better in GTS with the factory Corvettes and an absolutely heroic effort courtesy of Cor Euser and his magnificent Marcos. GT is mostly a Porsche affair but it's always that way isn't it? Some great driving and pit work have at least made GT worth the effort. Randy Pobst has turned in to a hell of a driver and while he isn't in an Alex Job Porsche, he has been impressive. No doubt he will have a great season ahead of him. A word on the trackside announcing and television coverage. OK, this is Daytona; we know it is the heart of NASCAR. But enough on the Earnhardts. Ron Fellows went out and buried them early on, this token PR gesture has been lame and annoying. The fact that GM wasted HUGE bucks on getting Pop and Jr. has only rankled many who felt the money could have been spent more wisely. Fine, you want to promote sportscar and endurance racing. I doubt many NASCAR fans will be convinced to tune in future races if there are only those "foreign drivers" which is why many of us are here now and not at the 500 in a few weeks. Our heroes are McNish and Brabham, not the tube frame carburated oval guys. To each his own. Into Part Two Mechanical ailments are afflicting the field. The gallant #24 Marcos, so strong for 11 hours, had a power steering pump bracket break one lap into Cor Euser's new stint. This was just after the car's 13th pit stop. Resigned looks all round, rolling eyes from Calum Lockie - but they'll be back out. Access to the bracket is a nightmare. The Goldin Brothers had a hub break on the #32 Mazda. The engine broke on the Red Bull Porsche at around 01.00. Toni Seiler was at the wheel of the Pilbeam when it crashed. Shane Lewis had earlier had a contretemps with a Porsche, so the right front suspension from the #49 spare had been fitted. The accident was caused when the bodywork blew off. Twelve and a half hours and the moisture that has been hanging about in the air starts to fall with a little more determination. The Swedish Lola has retired with its engine trouble. The #3 Corvette still won't go with its new transmission. The crew go for a half shaft next. Half an hour was lost altogether, dropping the car to 15th. Robinson Racing's R&S is up to seventh now. Half Way The Earnhardts' Corvette had to have a transmission change, which would have taken the pressure off the Marcos, but the big, V8-engined, multi-coloured Dutch machine with an English heritage is in trouble. No details at the moment, but it's gone many laps down. Unofficial half way positions: 1. #16 352 laps SRP 2. #12 348 laps SRP 3. #2 335 laps GTS 4. #31 328 laps GT 5. #54 327 laps GT 6. #20 326 laps SRP 7. #4 325 laps SRP 8. #74 325 laps SRP 9. #22 324 laps SRPll 10.#86 323 laps GT So the GT battle has now come all the way up to fourth and fifth overall. Fellows is lurking, if the two SRPs left at the front have a problem....... The first two are side by side, four laps apart, just after midnight. It's finely balanced. Notice that the Robinson R&S has fought right back to eighth. Doran Summary #27 Crawford SSC The Doran team seemed happy enough with their maiden event, despite hitting gearbox trouble so soon. “I am very happy with the team. They deserve some success with this new car,” said Fredy Lienhard. “It is to be expected to have problems. Maybe we were too confident. It ran so well in testing. We do know through this race that the car has potential. I am looking forward to the next race and the season. The good thing about the 24 Hours is that it’s the first race. We have the whole season ahead of us. Our strength is the team. You can’t buy a team – its spirit and dedication. With the potential of the car, we are optimistic with our team’s future.” Eleven Hours Light rain falls just before midnight. The Pilbeam, way down in 53rd place at 11 hours, gets loose and spins violently against the wall, shedding every piece of bodywork. The driver is left stationary in the middle of the track, but limps away in what looks like a single seater. A FCC sees the leader make a stop to cure a leak of power steering fluid which is making the pedals slippery. The lead is down to four laps, with the 333 SP nine laps ahead of the Fellows Corvette. Dyson's #20 had a gear cluster change, which dropped it to fourth. Ten Hours Plus Dyson #20 has lost second gear, helping to explain how the Ferrari picked it off quickly as it moved back into second. The BMW V8 only ran for the first time ever on Thursday. What a performance to be right up there at the head of the class on its debut. Ten hours fifteen minutes - the #47 Porsche skates across the wet grass and rams the tyre wall, bringing out a full course caution. Here are the GT positions at ten hours: 1. #31 - 277 laps 2. #54 - 276 laps 3. #86 - 272 laps 4. #17 - 271 laps 5. #39 - 268 laps 6. #81 - 267 laps 7. #10 - 266 laps 8. #43 - 265 laps 9. #50 - 265 laps 10. #56 - 264 laps 11. #05 - 260 laps 12. #71 - 260 laps 13. #52 - 258 laps 14. #41 - 255 laps 15. #67 - 254 laps 16. #34 - 253 laps 17. #40 - 249 laps 18. #14 - 248 laps 19. #60 - 242 laps 20. #35 - 236 laps GT cars occupy 20 of the top 36 positions. The Archangel #22 Lola has a 10 lap lead in SRPll, over the delayed Spencer Kudzu. Dyson's #20 has gearbox problems that now need attention. #0 dropped away from the GTS battle with a loss of all gears except fifth and sixth. They will return after repairs. Nine And A Half Hours Dyson #20 pits and loses second place to McNish. Weaver then pits in the leading car and has a front brake service. A very quick change of pads and he's back out with a five lap lead over the chasing pair. It has been an immaculate performance from the Thetford / Norcold / Dyson team. No change in GTS, but the big old ding dong is between the Jet Motorsports BMW and the #31 White Lightning 911 GT3R. Pobst / Luhr / Fitzgerald / Menzel against Said / Stuck / Jennings and Borcheller. The two GT leaders are three laps ahead of Freisinger's RS and six ahead of Red Bull's R, with the strong G&W car another lap down. This is building up to be a 24 hour class classic. Andrew Hartwell has gone out to get the detail on the top two, at least. Risi's problem was that the right front was cross-threaded at the stop. The mechanics "changed the offending part," according to John McLoughlin, which we think means the hub, hence the loss of five laps to the #16 Dyson R&S. GTS Position GTS cars are now fourth, fifth and sixth. Corvette - 3 laps - Marcos - 2 laps - Corvette. (Porsches are seventh and eighth, 1 - 2 in GT). So now we have a clear pattern of three SRPs, three GTSs and two GTs, then the Downing Kudzu and Schubot Lola. Can the GTSs win again? Much will depepnd on Dyson Racing's reliability. The pressure is off them to an extent, but the Marcos looks as though it will keep the leading 'Vette entirely honest. The Marcos has been the star of the race in many ways. Calum Lockie has 75 guests here, and they're having a wonderful time. Long way to go though..... They won at Suzuka in gruelling conditions last August. What have the next 15 hours got in store? Nearly Nine Hours We're struggling to get the news out as often as we would like. Here's some though. McNish pits at 21.50, ducts cleaned out, fresh tyres - and a wheel (right front) comes off. It rolls along the wall on the back stretch, McNish slowing drastically and pitting for another. Meanwhile Andy Wallace had completed a double stint. A front wheel had been taken off and replaced in a different position. Rubber build up on the inside of the wheel gave him a terrible vibration. The Ferrari has dropped to third, Dyson now 1 - 2. McNish then has a spin on a new set of tyres. Frustration setting in? McNish pits again, to check the radiator ducts. This is rather more like last year than '99 at the moment. One Scotsman who is not happy right now. He wants a Rolex. But he is seven laps down now. Seven Hours Plus van de Poele's troubles on slicks saw the Risi Ferrari a good lap down when he got out at 20.00, but he'd driven throughout the tricky conditions. As Ralf Kelleners got in to start the rotation again, the front was removed to clear out the ducts, as things were getting a little messy in there. The situation is very stable at the front. The #74 is back on the track but still not sounding very sweet. Calum Lockie was one happy British GT Champion - second in GTS in #24 Mantara, but half expecting to lose that spot to the chasing GT1 Porsche, as Herman Buurman was at the wheel. That isn't meant to sound unkind, as the Dutchman was losing just a couple of seconds to regular pace. Lockie reckoned that the Earnhardts had spun "about five times". However, as we've seen, even the most experienced have had spins here - the two cars out front for example. Racing this hard in these conditions has to lead to spins. It's fully dry now. Seven and a half hours and the Champion Lola is smoking very badly. The car that might have completed the Rolex 60 looks as though it is doomed. Yes it is, at least for now. Sascha Maassen had to get on the brakes very hard to avoid another car, and when he went to go back on the power, something in the engine cried enough. Are they looking at it though? Turbo? The Crawford has been withdrawn. The replacement gearbox was starting to go down, and Kevin Doran didn't want to lose another half hour. So that's two top SRPs out of it within half an hour. They are being hit hard, just like last year, every year. Six And A Half Hours "We might have lost a cylinder," explained George Robinson, as worked continued on his Ranch Resort car. No decision yet whether it has been retired or not. The #62 Kudzu is still circulating, but it's 30 laps down after changing a header after that second hour problem. Dramatic stuff at the front. Risi stopped later for slicks than Dyson, and as Eric Van de Poele continued, he 'did a Butch' and looped it on sticker tyres. He completed a two and a half hour stint at 20.00. At six and a half hours: #16 - 187 laps #12 - 186 laps #20 - 185 laps #38 - 182 laps The Euser / Lockie / Buurman Marcos is only two laps down on the GTS leading Corvette: #2 - 180 laps #24 - 178 laps #0 - 177 laps #3 - 177 laps #89 is two laps ahead of #79 in SRPll. GT: #31 - 175 laps #54 - 175 laps #56 - 174 laps #86 - 174 laps Corvette #2 is edging away in GTS, SRPll sees a similar gap, but all the top four classes see good races going on. Prototypes are looking a little short on numbers though. Beyond Quarter Distance Risi stopped before Dyson, so as Leitzinger stopped 10 minutes later, a better halt saw him out first, before van de Poele came by. First drama though for #16. Butch lost it at the East Horseshoe on fresh tyres, looping onto the grass. He was straight back into it, but new slicks on a tricky surface had caught him out. That dropped him 28 seconds down on the Belgian. Dale Jnr.is out as the track dries and he spins at the same place. There are four laps between the two Corvettes, in fifth and ninth. The #74 R&S is being worked on in the garage and is expected back out. The Mosler is in serious gearbox trouble and doesn't look as though it will be out again. Nearly Six Hours A FCC for the #6 SRPll Lola bunched them up again, Dyson with Risi right behind. The Lola hit the wall at Turn Four, wiping off much of the back end. The rain has stopped. The banking is showing signs of drying out already. We're losing the Ranch Resort R&S, which sounded very flat, then pulled in to have the engine cover removed. It's 20 laps down. We're down to four top SRPs at the front, then the GTSs. Dyson / Risi / Dyson / Champion is the order, so nothing much changing now that the Judd powered cars have faded. Intersport are back in the race, but are over 20 laps down too. The Doran Crawford is recovering all the time, fighting back up to 11th place after that unexpected gearbox change. GTS is #2 Corvette / (#4 Lola) / #24 Marcos / #3 Corvette / #0 Porsche. So we have a pattern developing with the top SRPs ahead of the top GTSs. Then there's a mixture, with the Crawford in among the top SRPlls (#89 and #79) and then the GT leading #31 Porsche. #54 V8 BMW is less than a minute behind. Just short of six hours, the Ferrari takes the lead, van de Poele getting the better of Leitzinger. Track drying, advantage Risi? Updating Saleen news, that tyre / wheel problem put it out after less than two hours. The A arm assembly broke, and the term took the cautious decision to withdraw. 24 cars are out of the race. Five Hours Slightly distracted here, but as darkness approaches at 18.00, Janos comes to the rescue. Apparent retirements as of 4 1/2 hrs. #95, R & S, engine, 4 laps #23, Camaro, accident, 36 laps #76, 911 GT1, oil leak, 37 laps #48, Pilbeam, ? , 37 laps #15, Viper, accident damage, 46 laps #91, 911 GT2, accident, 50 laps [interesting that the most damaged car in the accident, the Norma, is back out] #5, Saleen, wheel, 51 laps #32, RX-7, electrics , 58 laps #18, Camaro, 76 laps, suspension? Kelly Collins had a fraught last lap in his stint. First he spun on a painted line and then ran out of fuel. Despite some frantic short-shifting he rolled to a halt in pit lane and had to be pushed. After their slicks /wets goof, the #3 'Vette has its problems. Dale, Jr. deferred from taking the next shift -- unlike dad, he's not ready for the wet, and Andy Pilgrim has taken his second shift. But a moment later a full-course caution came out when the #65 Cirtek GT3R and the sole Pilbeam banged together in the Hairpin. The SRPll got by far the worst of it with bent front suspension. Full course caution. A chance to get Andy Wallace to explain how he was three seconds faster per lap than David Brabham: "He was much slower out of the slow corners, and not so good under braking. The Ferrari was much quicker round the banking on top speed though. He nearly got me back. Same tyres, but we've got more downforce." Just Past Four Hours A tradition in AGT is that the Camaros begin to shed body parts as the hours go by. First to do so this year is the #09 Flis car, which is running sans hood - reports Janos Wimpffen. The Rodriguez Hairpin has seen more than its share of spins, most quite harmless. It's probably the spot where the on-off rain has contributed. A surprisingly long stop for the V-8 BMW (wing adjustment) hands the GT lead to a Porsche for the first time. It's the #31 White Lightning car. It's really wet now. Weaver explains that his Goodyear tyres are "extraordinary". He wants it to stay wet for the whole race. Wallace has pulled out 20+ seconds on Brabham in seven laps. So why has the Dyson car got a tyre advantage, when Risi are also on Goodyears? Rain seems as though it could fall for several hours. It's not hard, but enough to keep the track wet. Four Hours #76 Porsche 911 GT1 The Gunnar 911 GT1 is out after suffering two problems. The first was being struck by a Camaro under a Full Course Caution. The damage was repaired, but a great first stint by Gunnar Jeannette was negated in a stupid moment. Next problem was a turbo failure. It was replaced but the car was in more trouble with an oil leak. Race over, for this lovely old favourite. Three And A Half Plus Rain gets heavier. Everyone is on wets now. Rooster tails on the banking, everywhere. Brabham seems to have a longer stop than Wallace, but it's Papis who creates a stir. He tries to get a lap back from the Ferrari in #20, and a furious dice ensues. Papis finally makes it past, and pulls a long way ahead immediately. Are Risi struggling on wets, as Kelleners predicted? Wallace moves past Brabham and into the lead, pulling out three seconds per lap. The Mosler loses its nose on the infield (East Horseshoe), and pits. Nearly Three And A Half Hours No change at the front, gap is maintained. #20 is a lap down, #74 is 3 laps down, #38 is next, then the Schubot Lola. #2 and #0 are separated by less than a minute. #89 and #79 are split by 3 seconds at the head of SRPll, just behind Downing's Kudzu and the #3 Corvette. The Jet BMW leads GT from #31, then the two Archangel Lolas and the #26 Lola, then the next group of GTs. Rain is still just spots, most people stay on slicks. Chamberlain #15 is out with a bent chassis leg after that Turn 1 sort out, which also involved the Cirtek GTS Porsche, Ugo Columbo at the wheel. No sign of #37 reappearing yet, but the #28 Intersport R&S is fired up and looks likely to return. Three Hours Gone AGT is a non-event with the defending champs, Comer Racing, 6 laps up on the Tropic Zone Camaro, remarks Janos Wimpffen. Thank you Janos. The Ferrari is maintaining the gap, maybe losing a little of its advantage that came about largely from the full course yellow. Leitzinger is hanging on well. Konrad is in trouble, the car has broken a pin on the crankshaft, which means that the driver cannot switch off at a pit stop. It was running roughly anyway. Rain starts to fall - very light for now - at the 3 hour mark. Leitzinger gets the gap down to 43 seconds. This is a repeat of '99, except that it is #16 this time. Tom Volk explains that, "the engine (in #95) blew a piston after 4 laps. We've not had that had before. Ten minutes of the 24 hours, that's all we lasted." Rain tyres start to be fitted at just after three hours. More Third Hour #29 Intersport R&S is behind the wall with shift linkage trouble. Green flag at about 2 hours 10 minutes into the race, and McNish benefits from slower cars behind him to rush off at the front. Yellow flag pit stops favoured the leader (those 12 seconds he had pulled out were valuable), so his lead become a minute from Leitzinger. A Seikel Porsche is in the barrier in the infield at the re-start. Approaching 150 minutes into the race, it's McNish setting the pace, Dyson more cautious. The Scot has set the best lap so far at 1:41.961. Only Baldwin has been in the 1:42s. The lead stays at around a minute. SRPll is #89 / #79 / #21 / #22. GTS is #2 / #0 / #24. The Intersport Lola is in the pits, drops out of the top four and is pushed behind the wall. It joins #28. #12 / #16 / #38 / #20 / #74 at the front. All well spaced out at the moment. Like the editor. Start Of Third Hour Full caution to clear a big three car incident at turn one. Chamberlain #15 and Norma #78 collide, somehow taking out the #91 Cirtek GTS Porsche. Chamberlain car makes it back to the pits and goes behind the wall. Chris Bingham: "He stayed in the middle of the track. I came down low and he cut me off. I don't know where the Porsche came from." Nearn and Vann look glum. See photo on the Thumbs page shortly. End Of Second Hour Before the full course caution for the Montgomery smash, the Red Bull Porsche spun in pit-lane, in the curves on the way out. After the caution was over, Leitzinger led but McNish flew past. A little more caution from Dyson than from Risi. The Corvettes are glued together, but #3 is a lap down on the GTS class leading #2. Dale Earnhardt holds off Johnny O'Connell and prevents himgetting the lap back. Dale is rather used to this. The Saleen is one place down on O'Connell, but loses a rear tyre, and might have a big wheel wobble too. BMW still lead GT from #31 now. Red Bull did a slow lap after the spin and has dropped to 11th. #62 / #89 / #79 still first to third in SRPll. Then the Spencer Kudzu stops at 1 hour 50 or so with a lot of smoke out of the back. McNish pulls out 12 seconds in as many minutes. He does his stuff in GA as well as ALMS. He and Leitzinger are a minute or more clear of Joel Field. #20 and #74 next. More Second Hour Interesting stuff. Jon Field is penalised 10 seconds for undoing his belts as he came down pit lane, then Leitzinger halts from the lead, soon after taking over. Baldwin set the best lap in the first hour, a 1:42.884. He was driving hard. No more news on Leitzinger's delay yet. Something to do with taping up the bodywork? The sister car leads by 33 seconds approaching 90 minutes. #12 / #38 / #37 / #74 are next. Then it's #2 Corvette in seventh, 11 seconds ahead of Maxwell's silver Porsche. Spencer leads SRPll, from #89. #23 Camaro hits the wall very hard. Mark Montgomery must have wished he didn't make it. Past 1 Hour Weaver about to lap Schroeder. Spencer Kudzu is in the pits, but stays second. Euser pits from the lead of GTS. Weaver pits just after the hour for his second stop. Was the first just a precautionary check? Weaver tells Speedvision what's going on, but we haven't got Speedvision. Leitzinger is in #16, now in fourth, behind EFR. Field leads - it's all change here thanks to the out of sequence stops. Dyson cars change positions. The Mosler goes behind pit wall. #54 BMW leads the class, from #56, #81 and #17 Red Bull. Caffi's partners may struggle to maintain the pace, so #54, #81 and #17 are the expected early favourites - Said, Law and Riccitelli. The Earnhardts' Corvette leads GTS after stopping under the yellow. Bytzek Porsche second. Vann stops out on the course in the #15 Chamberlain Viper - out of fuel? Overall is #37 / #12 / #16 / #20. Up To 1 Hour Caution over, and its Baldwin against EFR, more excellent racing at the front. Andy Hartwell has caught up with Doran's trouble, details shortly. The car is back out with a new transmission. 20 / 74 / 16 / 37 / 38 / 4 / 12 at the front, then the amazing little Dutch chap in the Marcos #24. The Sezio Florida entry is next up. Champion are in trouble with their #76 911 GT1, no details yet. #89 Lola has taken the lead in SRPll, in 10th place. #2 Corvette is 11th, Dennis Spencer is 12th. Chamberlain are up to 4th in GTS, ahead of the #3 Corvette, thanks to pit stops. Caffi leads GT from Said and Riccitelli. Cirtek and G&W are next with their leading entries. EFR pits under green, leaving Baldwin out front. He's driving the Ranch Resort hard, five seconds ahead of Weaver. The #83 R&S has been behind the wall but now looks as though it may complete its second lap of the race. There's the first hour nearly done, and hopefully the system here is working well. It's all text on this page, so it should load quickly, even though it will grow and grow. See the Rolex Race Week Photos page for photos. Weaver is closing fast as Baldwin stops for the first time just before the hour mark. Schroeder pits too and stays in. George Robinson hops into his car, but loses out by not stopping earlier, under yellow. Weaver leads at 1 hour, from Field and Kelleners, the same three who dominated the first 20 minutes. Beyond Half An Hour Was there contact between Kelleners and Weaver? Also a suggestion that Kelleners was hit on the head by a piece of flying rubber. It doesn't seem to have affected him. Still under a full course caution, but Baldwin, EFR and Schroeder haven't pitted and lead, in that order. Field, Weaver and Kelleners did pit. Euser has gained the lead in GTS, ahead of Maxwell. The Mantara is touching 312 kph on the banking, according to Calum Lockie. Marcos making a real impact early on. Corvette playing a waiting game for now. #56 and #17 Porsches lead GT. That didn't take long. Morse confirms from the Risi pit that they did touch. 15 - 30 Minutes Kelleners leads, from Weaver, Field, Baldwin, EFR, Champion Lola and Schubot Lola, with Konrad fading fast. Weaver plays it very careful on the banking as Kelleners is held up, Field pitching in in third place. These three are glued together. Excellent long distance racing. Gap ebbs and flows, but Weaver looks as though he'd rather be two places ahead of Field. He is, passing Ralf on the banking as they avoid some rubber on the track, which brings out the first caution. The Crawford is in the pits with transmission trouble. Pit stops begin at 25 minutes. Opening 15 Minutes A spin for Norman Simon on lap one scattered the field, but it was Field J who was on the move. Into second at the first turn, he passed Weaver within a lap to go first. On Lap 5, Weaver took the place back among traffic. Scott Maxwell led GTS, but it was Euser making the moves, up ahead of both Corvettes. The Swedish Lola led SRPll, the Mosler slipped well back in GT, leaving the V8 BMW out front. Alex Caffi was second in last year's winning number (56) ahead of the Red Bull. The GT pack were behaving, on the whole. Out front, it was the expected group in the top spots, Konrad dropping away quickly in his LOla. 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