Van der Zande Paces Field at Three-Hour Mark
Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA
Meyer Shank Racing ran 1-2, led by the No. 93 of Renger van der Zande with three hours in the books at Motul Petit Le Mans.
The Dutchman led his teammate Colin Braun in the No. 60 Acura ARX-06. Action Express Racing used a fast pit stop under caution to move into third place with Frederik Vesti now in for Earl Bamber in the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R.
The MSR duo pitted in reaction just before pit lane closed for the caution to retake the lead.
The second full course yellow of the ten-hour IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season finale occurred in the second hour. Phil Fayer locked up the No. 2 United Autosports Oreca 07 Gibson and spun into the Turn 10 gravel.
Parker Thompson led the LMP2 field by over 27 seconds in the No. 52 Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen before the yellow. Starting driver Mishka Goikhberg utilized traffic to take first.
Rasmus Lindh sat in second after taking off for Daniel Goldburg in the No. 22 United Autosports USA entry. AO Racing rounds out the top three in the class with Jonny Edgar in for PJ Hyett. The No. 99 car pitted on the opening start after a steering issue.
In its final race, the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 driven by Ben Barnicoat led the GTD Pro field at the mark during a pit sequence for the class. Valentin Hasse Clot in the No. 68 Car Blanche Aston Martin Vantage kept his starting spot in second. The championship-contending No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario GT3 fell back to third with Frank Perera behind the wheel in the team’s final race.
The No. 023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO of Onofrio Triarsi paced the GTD category ahead of the No. 28 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Ryan Yardley under the caution.
Salih Yoluc caused another next yellow when the DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R ran off and left an advertising banner on the racing line. He was given a drive-through penalty as the banner removal was deemed an “unjustifiable risk” by race control.
Zacharie Robichon took the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo on track after not starting the race due to an overnight engine change. The Canadian made two stops before pulling back into the garage.
Frankie Monteclavo had an unscheduled pit stop in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing entry final race for the Lexus RC F GT3 with under eight hours remaining. The car had a damaged suspension from contact with the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR LMP2 of George Kurtz who received a drive-through.
The three-hour mark hit under caution as the No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 of Danny Formal stopped on the backstretch. The car officially retired in the last race for the Huracan in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition.
Source: Sports Car 365