March 17, 2018
The race had several high profile failure to finishes during the race's last couple of hours. Otherwise, it was another very competitive race.
Good Morning Race Fans! The hard core fans are slowly waking after a night of partying!
Out of the fog, the final practice before the race commences.
Artist Roger Warrick, working on the Sebring official poster. I personally own several of his works!
Tristan Vautier started the Spirit of Daytona Cadillac on the pole with series lap record. They would not finish the race, with Tristin getting into the marbles on cold tires going onto the pit strait. The ensuing crash into the wall brought out a red flag. The #86 Acura NSX-GT3 caught the front end bodywork but was fixed in time to finish the race.
The race winner, Pipo Derani, had barely outpaced the field, helped by the attrition. The Nissan Dpi of ESM won for the 2nd time in 3 years.
Turns 3, 4 and 5 are a great place to watch, especially as the sun sets!
The winners of the 2018 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona did not fair as well on this leg. Due to a collision with a slower car, Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi and Filipe Albuquerque had to settle for 10th place.
Turn 5 sets up for passing on turn 6 and onto the hairpin.
Edith really is up all night!
The Mazda's were very competitive this year, leading twice. They lead due to pace, not due to the other teams pitting. They had the speed, but a late race battery issue had the second place 55 car stuck in the pits for almost 2 laps.
Looking from turn 14 through 15 and 16, one realizes how vast the track is on the runways portion.
As the sun sets, there are about 4 hours remaining in the race.
The Viking's and their monkeys have come to take control.... of the beer!!
Bringing that castaway experience to turns 9 and 10.
