That’s right.  The race is over, and the trophies have been handed out, but the teams have already begun thinking about what went wrong, and what they can do to prevent that from happening next year.  For the teams that managed to do well, they’ll document how they can go even faster next year.  Every year, this race blows my mind with how close the finishes are, and this year is no different.

Breaking news update – IMSA has issued a statement on the state of GTD classification.  See new information after the jump.

 

First, we’ll get down to what was wrong with this race from a fan’s perspective.  As promised in my last installment, I’m going to have a mini-rant on the broadcast before continuing with the final quarter race report.  

The bad –

Last year, I think SPEED provided excellent coverage of the Daytona 24, with good television coverage, and passable overnight online streaming coverage.  SPEED, in 2013 was in about 85 million American homes.  While not phenomenal, it was pretty readily available for those who wanted it.  This remained for Fox Sports 1 (what SPEED has become), but during the Saturday afternoon hours, the race was broadcast on Fox Sports 2 (formerly known as Fuel TV) which has less than half the broadcast numbers at only 37 million.  

The overnight streaming coverage (from 9PM Saturday through 7AM Sunday) visually, was quite nice actually.  There were a few problems with it, though.  First, there were some massive hiccups just after the 9PM switch.  I’m not sure if the traffic was what caused the issue, but only a minute or two into the stream, everything just went black for about 15 minutes.  My other concern with the feed was the audio.  Unlike SPEED, who had continued their overnight coverage with their own commenting team, Fox Sports deferred their audio to the Motor Racing Network (MRN Radio).  When it comes to NASCAR events, MRN is absolutely top notch, but when it comes to any form of sports car racing, however, they are out of their element and completely inept.  I’m not sure if it was reactionary, or simply a technical glitch, but the MRN audio feed died off with about an hour and a half or so to go before the broadcast reverted to television.  Frankly, the silence was better than their drivel.

The other major gripe that I heard was from a variety of overseas fans, who didn’t have any way to watch.  I know that the race was broadcast on MotorsTV, but I don’t have any experience with their availability, or what it takes to get MotorsTV.  If I were IMSA, however, I’d take a page out of the CREVENTIC 24 hour series (Dubai 24, et al.).  They broadcast a non-geoblocked video stream of the entire 24 hours on their website for free.  Even the FIA WEC offers a 100% free stream for worldwide fans.  Getting this sport to grow will require getting the sport in front of the eyeballs of fans.  More eyeballs means more sponsorship money, which means more committed teams.

The number of commercial interruptions, especially during the final hour, was completely absurd.  

Some local Fox affiliates blacked out the first two hours at the start of the race, in preference of other programming.  This, I think, was the worst of the offences.

The Good – 

As I wrote earlier, the visuals provided from the online stream were quite nice.  There were a wide array of onboard cameras to choose from, with multiples in each class, and when the television broadcast was not running, they [understandably] reverted to bouncing between a number of onboard cameras, and using the camera mounted to the roof of the grandstand, manned by the incomparable Ray Wenzel Jr. (@Rooftopray).  

The fact that the race got two full hours of coverage from the Fox proper station was great.  Fox is in millions and millions of homes, and grabbing the attention of a Saturday afternoon channel-flipping casual fan is important to the growth of the series.  

So that’s the end of my rant.  Please feel free to continue the conversation in the comments below.

The on track action –

The battles have roared on, between the overall lead having swapped among a number of different Daytona Prototypes, and the GTD battle, there is action all over the track.  The Prototype battle has been covered by the proverbial blanket for several hours, with 3 cars on the lead lap for many hours leading up to the finish.  GTD, as well, had 3 quick cars in the form of a Level 5 Ferrari, a Flying Lizard Audi R8, and a Snow/Wright Porsche 991 all within just a few seconds for much of the final section of the race.

Shortly after our last report stated the #912 GTLM Porsche went to the garage, the team announced the official retirement.  Retiring from second in class is always a disappointment, but the #911 has held a steady lead, making things 

Not necessarily action on track, but the #556 Level 5 Ferrari of Milo Valverde hit a cone at the bus stop chicane, and it stuck around for a while.  The next lap it fell off into the infield grass.

From about 10AM, both Action Express Daytona Prototypes reported issues with their sequential gear shifter, in which the shift lever had to be returned to the center after each gear shift.  They aren’t sure what the issue is, but they are driving around it, preferring that, rather than lose time in the pits attempting fixes.

Just after 10, the third placed BMW Z4 (at the time, driven by Graham Rahal) went straight to the garage with a rear wheel bearing failure.  According to Rahal, the brake pedal was going soft, as the play in the bearing allowed the rotor to push the pistons back into the caliper.  The fix was about 15 minutes, allowing the sister car to move into third in GTLM behind the leading Porsche #911, and the sole remaining #4 Corvette.

At 10:30ish, Jordan Taylor goes off from the overall lead, collecting a lot of grass in his radiator that required a special pit stop to remove.  The off was a result of avoidance maneuvers, attempting to not get collected by the spinning #50 Dinan Riley.  Taylor stayed in the car, but lost the lead, falling to second overall.

At 11AM, Gaston Kirby’s BAR1 LMPC car suffered a spin and a deflated right rear.  Hot footing the car just a little too much getting back to the pits caused the carcass of the tire to separate at the bus stop, shredding his rear bodywork, and leaving the tire in the middle of the apex of the bus stop, necessitating a full course yellow.  

At the restart, the battle for the GTD class went to full tilt between the 555 Ferrari of Townsend Bell and the 45 Audi R8 of Spencer Pumpelly. Bell led from the restart, but Pumpelly took P1 in the infield.  When they got around to the oval, Bell took the lead back, and then Pumpelly passed Bell again on the entrance to Turn One. It was a hot couple of minutes.

Around 11:30, the remaining #4 Corvette Racing C7.R showed signs of smoke from the rear of the car on the banking.  The car headed straight to the garages, and required a transmission replacement.  Porsche #911 remained in the lead, with the black #55 RLL BMW moving up to the second position.

Just before noon, the Starworks LMPC of Kyle Marcelli burst into flames, and came to rest on the apron of the back straight.  Marcelli was in second position at the time, and it just goes to show that “it ain’t over until it’s over”.  Two hours to go, and anything could happen.  Anything did happen, and brought another yellow with it.

During the yellow, the #45 Flying Lizard needed fuel, and had to come down a closed pit lane for a splash before returning.  Needing to pit again after the pits were open, the Audi lost its GTD lead, and returned in 3rd.

The Ganassi Racing squad has proven relatively quick (if a little bit down on top-speed), but have suffered several setbacks.  With only an hour and a half remaining in the race, Scott Pruett heads to the garage with serious issues.  The car is determined to be terminal, and work is halted on the car.  Teammate Scott Dixon still sits in 4th place, one lap down to the overall leader, Sebastien Bourdais. 

Just before the clock ticked into the final hour, the pits were filled with action.  The GTLM leading Porsche hit their box for a fuel and tire change, stating they’ll need a caution or a splash to make it to the finish.  The two Daytona Prototypes fighting for the overall victory say they will definitely need one more stop to make it to the finish, and the  #5 Action Express Racing car with Joao Barbosa aboard leads the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing car driven by Max “the Ax” Angelelli.  On track in GTD, the Flying Lizard car has passed the Snow/Wright Porsche for second, and has set his sights set on the leading Level 5 Ferrari.  After pit stops, the final stint of the race is to be fought by Jan Heylen (Snow/Wright), Markus Winklehock (Flying Lizard), and Allessandro Pier Guidi (Level 5).

With 50 minutes remaining, the 02 of Dixon pitted to investigate an issue, and it was rolled behind the wall.  The car will not rejoin.

With 40 minutes to go, both of the fighting Prototype leaders, Joao Barbosa and Max Angelelli, pitted for fuel only and returned to the track in the same order.  Both took enough fuel to make it to the finish from there, and it was a dogfight to the finish.

Just 22 minutes remained when the #911 pitted for a quick splash of fuel.  They hit their marks and got back out again in front of the BMW of Joey Hand.  Seconds after returning to the track, the Weathertech Porsche shunted into the wall, bringing out another yellow flag period, despite the car driving away from the incident.  The yellow bunched Joey’s BMW up to the back of Pilet’s Porsche.  The game was fully set up for a scrap in GTLM, GTD, and the Prototype class.  The Prototype Challenge class was pretty well decided from a handful of hours before the finish.  [Frankly, the yellow flag was a bit too NASCAR for my taste…] 

“Contact” between the Level 5 Ferrari and the Audi of Flying Lizard resulted in Level 5 receiving an “avoidable contact” penalty, relegating them off of the podium.  Replays show that there was no contact.  While Markus Winklehock fought like a terrier, it was the Level 5 guys that deserved the win.  I’m no fan of Scott Tucker, but that team got ROBBED.  If you need proof, here’s the images from MotorsTV.

[Breaking News: IMSA has rescinded the penalty on the #555 Level Five Ferrari.  They have now officially won the GTD class of the 2014 Daytona 24 hour]

Finally, the official update on Memo Gidley is that he is in stable condition, but will require a third surgery to repair a fractured spine.  He will remain in hospital in Daytona until he has properly recuperated.  We’re happy that he’ll pull through, and our thoughts remain with Memo and his family.

Inaugural Class Victors – 

Prototype – #5 Action Express Corvette Daytona Prototype – Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi, Sebastien Bourdais, and Burt Frisselle (1st overall)

GT Le Mans – #911 Porsche North America 911 RSR – Patrick Pilet, Nick Tandy, Richard Lietz (6th overall)

Prototype Challenge – #54 CORE autosport Oreca FLM09 – Marc Wilkins, Jon Bennett, James Gue, and Colin Braun (9th overall)

GT Daytona – #555 Level 5 Motorsport Ferrari 458 Italia – Jeff Segal, Scott Tucker, Bill Sweedler, Townsend Bell, and Allesandro Pier Guidi (18th overall)  I guess the “official” winners are the #45 Flying Lizard Motorsport Audi R8 LMS – Spencer Pumpelly, Nelson Canache, Markus Winklehock, and Tim Pappas

See ya’ll at Sebring in March!

Photos provided by IMSA.com, indycar (twitter), Shea Adam, and MotorsTV.

Bradley C. Brownell is an Editor with Hooniverse.com, but he also contributes to his own site “BavarianDrive“. Head over there for more of his work.