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Pipo Derani aboard the #22 ESM Nissan Onroak DPi en
route to victory at Laguna Seca. (Image source: theapexracing.co.uk)
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As another Sports Car season has already
Zoom-Zoomed by...
Ho Hum, another racing season ends this
weekend, which I really haven't paid much Attenzione to this year, since I
cannot even remember the last IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship event I
watched/listened to? Although Me Thinks I caught the majority of the Bubba
Burgers round at Long Beach Wayback on April 14th.
Having been mightily Distracted for several
months over Jumping thou proverbial Green Flag once upon ultimately moving,
with a few Pitlane Drive-thrus' before finally Box-Box-Boxing in Sleepy 'lil
Florence, Oregon; but I digress...
Although it's funny thinking how a year ago
the BUZZ' in IMSA's Paddock was over whether or not El Capitano', nee Roger
Penske & Co. would be entering the Petit Le Mans as a Tune-up for this
year's Full Season Assault as the "Factory" two car Acura Daytona
Prototype International (DPi_ squad, with its two biggest Stars being HULIO',
aka Helio Castroneves and JPM', Monty or just plain 'Ol Juan Montoya as some
call him.
As this year's theme is Diversity, having
noticed a total of six different Overall winners of the top flight (DPi)
Prototype class prior to the penultimate round at Laguna Seca, Sept 9th. As I
enjoyed listening to Colin Brown's interview with Speed Freaks after notching
his and Cor Autosports second consecutive victory at Road America Wayback on
August 5th.
As the Mustang Sally; Err Sampling Caddy' won
this year's Rolex 24, with JB', nee João Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi collecting
Thar third Rolex wristwatch apiece, with Barbosa's Countryman Filipe Albuquerque ARSE-Sumedly
scoring his maiden Rolex 24 victory.
Continuing in Florida on two of its revered
racetracks, one of Scotty Sharp's Extreme Speed Motorsports Nissan's; Uhm, the
No. 22 Onroak Nissan powered turbocharged chassis won the prestigious 12 Hours
of Sebring with Luís
Felipe "Pipo" Derani, Nicolas Lapierre and Johannes van
Overbeek at its controls.
Long Beach, the season's first
"Sprint" race saw the No. 5 Action Express Racing's (AXR) Cadillac
DPi victorious again, albeit Christian Fittipaldi's only running the endurance
rounds this year, before retiring after next year's Daytona 24hrs event.
Whilst it's Seester' AXR No. 31 Welland Engineering
with Eric Curren and Felipe Nasr at its keyboard claimed the W' at Belle Isle.
Netting the Brazilian Nasr, a former Formula 1 Pilote' his first Sports Car W'.
Acura Team Penske scored its maiden
Weathertech Sportscar Championship win at Mid Ohio, where the #6 with
Castroneves and Ricky Taylor claimed the podium's top step.
Meanwhile, apparently IMSA's Despised BoP'
(Balance of Performance) rules are working, since the European Spec LMP2
Boomin' Gibson naturally aspirated V-8 chassis have won three races prior to
the Laguna Seca penultimate round. (For All Competing Classes)
As JDC Miller Motorsports scored a popular
victory with its #99 sporting "Red Dragon" colours at the Six Hours
of The Glen race. While the aforementioned Colin Brown and his co-driver John
Bennett won at Mosport and Road America aboard their #54 Cor Autosports entry,
with both teams utilizing the Oreca 07 LMP2 chassis.
Although perhaps the LMP2 Spec machinery was doing
too good? Since IMSA gave them a 10-kilo weight increase, plus decreased their
fuel tank allowance afterwards, prior to the Laguna Seca round.
Hence Laguna Seca served as a virtual rubber
Match with the Cadillac's v Oreca's, ironically both propelled by normally
aspirated V-8's having won three races apiece.
And in a race of Coulda-Woulda-Shouldas' at
Laguna Seca, you cannot fault Johannes van Overbeek and Pipo Derani taking
full advantage over their fellow competitors mistakes to notch Nissan and Extreme
Speed Motorsports (ESM) their second victory of the year.
As now it's all down to this weekend's 10hrs
Petit Le Mans event to decide who'll be crowned the respective IMSA Weathertech
Sportscar Class Champions...