The Art of Racing in the Rain, Corvette wins thriller at Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL
Antonio Garcia & Jordan Taylor in the # 3 C8.R were overall winners a rain-soaked 100-minute night race for IMSA GT cars consisting of 6 GTLM and 12 GTD.
Taylor starting on pole after a one-hour race delay, prudently held back, giving up the lead in torrential conditions as Hurricane Delta made its way northeast from Louisiana.
Their 5th win came despite standing water and low visibility on a new track for which Driver-in-the-Loop simulation training, for what it was worth, went out the window.
Foreshadowing Halloween, the race took on kind of a scary sinister look at times!
With less than 25 minutes to go, Garcia stalked the # 24 BMW M8 GTE of John Edwards. Exiting the infield, he passed for the lead and pulled away. And then held on to win an exciting 6-minute shootout after a caution flag slowed the action and bunched up the field.
Ironically the caution came from teammate Tommy Milner crashing the # 4 C8.R Corvette into the NASCAR turn 4-wall. The cause is suspected failure of the right-rear suspension. The impact shot his car across the track into a barrier where it came to rest. See crash at 6:50 in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRwiwIcK3z8
It might well be said the mid-engine layout was the edge when it counted to pass the front-engine BMW M8.
It can also be said the C8.R is a lot harder to repair than the tank-like C7.R and might not make it in time for the 10-hour Petite Le Mans at Road Atlanta less than a week ahead.
The CMS Roval is a diabolical 2.28 - mile, 17 turn circuit confronting drivers with tight walls of a street course, rolling terrain of a road course and sweeping, banked corners of an oval. Open track time was made available Saturday night after the conclusion of the X-Finity for IMSA to squeeze in the GT race that was scheduled for Lime Rock in July.
After missing Mid-Ohio completely, both Porsches suffered miserably and were out early,
To get a better feel for the Roval you can ride along with former Trans Am champ Tommy Kendall in this simulation. https://youtu.be/T_VBv6pfo8E
Here is Driver-in-the-loop video prep: https://youtu.be/7G26fhxh7r0
Victory Lane video: https://twitter.com/i/status/1315123234292064256
Results compiled by Wayne Ellwood
Next race is Oct 17 Petite Le Mans at Road Atlanta
