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| Oliver Jarvis, who won the Pole aboard the #77 Mazda rt24P, along with his Co-drivers Tristan Nunez, Timo Bernhard and Rene Rast give the Japanese Auto-manufacturer its first ever Overall Rolex 24 victory? (Image source: autoweek.com) |
Was Distractedly putterin' round thou
Bungalow by the Sea on thoust Nofendersville Isle Thursday afternoon, and took
a quick look-see at Racer.com to find out who'd Qualified where for the 57th
Rolex 24 and noticed that they'd just posted the final practice results.
Thus for Humour, I goggled' IMSA Radio and
chuckled over it saying IMSA Radio Steaming live; Hya! As I tuned-in wonderin'
if I'd be able to catch some of the 15mins Qualie' action? and was pleasantly
surprised to come Online just before Qualie' began! Although does it really
matter in a 24 Hours race?
But it was good to once again hear the voice
of 'Der Heindenmeir', nee John Hindhaugh, whom I last heard during the Petit Le
Mans last October. With his veteran "Expert" Analyst Sidekick Jeremy
Shaw alongside, and Johnny Palmer in the Booth. And Nah, that Ain't Dr. Jonathan
Palmer, which perhaps is why he goes by Johnny instead; But I Digress... While
Shea Adam and Jamie Howe patrolled Pitlane.
As perhaps I'm showing my age with my Flashback to
former Tyrrell Formula 1 Driver Jonathan Palmer, Eh? Whom I believe just purchased
one of Justin Wilson's ex-Champ Car mounts for one of his Racetrack museums...
First up was the 23 strong GT Daytona (GTD)
Class contingent, which if I've done my Ryth-Muh-tickin' correctly, is one car
shy of the other three IMSA categories combined; Aye Karumba!
As one of the IMSA Radio Booth Boyz'
correctly noted, pretty sure it was that other Palmer guy, Ci? It was basically
like a Drying Track session. As the Pole position lap time dropped frequently
as the bevy 'O various GT3 Spec chassis crossed the line.
As it was the #13 Via Italia Racing Ferrari
488 GT3 with Brasillian Stock Car champion Marcos Gomez at the controls. As who
knows, perhaps the No. 13's lucky after all?
Next up, in Thar own 15mins Qualie session
was the Gran Torismo Le Mans (GT LM) Class, which features full Factory
"Werks" Professional Gun-slingers behind the "Pumped U-P!"
GT Cars, with no Silver & Bronze rated Pro-Am GTD Driver restrictions.
But it seems a bit lame that Thar were only
nine competitors running round the massive 3.56-mile Daytona International
Speedway race course, leaving me to ponder would IMSA really run a separate
15mins session for the scant four LMP2 runners? Which thankfully they didn't.
As I think it'd be
better to just run two separate 25mins Qualie' sessions with the GT Cars &
Prototypes running combined sessions instead...
Whilst Nick Tandy gave the Corvette Boyz' a
taste of Thar own medicine, calling "Slingshot On!" Utilizing a
double Vette Draft down the Mega' High Banks Straightaway to claim the Pole in
the Throwback Brumos No. 59 liveried #911 Porsche.
As Jeremy Shaw explained
what the Brumos choice of No. 59 represented. As "Peter Perfect," nee
the late Peter Gregg had served aboard the Aircraft Carrier USS Forestal, which
was originally designated CV-59...
Then the final 15mins Qualie session was for
the 15 Prototypes Classes (DPi & LMP2) combined. With All eyes upon the
sinister black No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Caddy', which didn't feature Fernando
Alonso for its qualifying run. As Jordan Taylor, a la the rest of the field
will take the Green flag since he qualified the #10, albeit just P6.
Yet instead it was the Mazda v Acura Show, as
everybody wanted to know if Oliver Jarvis could break P.J. Jones 26yr old track
record?
As Hindhaugh & Shaw mused how
"Ollie," as Hindhaugh called him - Shattered Jones record, ironically
in a Mazda Prototype powered by a similar compact sized 2.0-litre "Blown" (turbocharged)
Inline four cylinder lump'.
Although Toy-Yoters' Beastly inline four
cylinder lump was slightly larger at 2.1-litres - And believe it was Hindhaugh
who quipped that the Dan Gurney All American Racer's (AAR) Eagle MkIII Toyota "4-banger"
was sporting 1200+ Horsepower Wayback in 1993; YIKES!
And Shaw mentioned that the track
configuration's primarily the same, with the exception of the "Bus
Stop" Chicane being slightly altered.
As Oliver Jarvis in the Pole winning Mazda and
"Move Over" Montoya, nee Juan Pablo in the Acura played Leapfrog over
the lead of the race during the first hour's plus 'O action!
But who Knows who'll win the race? And who'll win
Thar respective categories? Which after all, is exactly why the race is run,
Correctomundo! As guess I'd better go see who's leading now, Eh?