Motor Girls

After a fog interruption of over 6 hours, the AF Corse US team drove unleashed and thus earned a good start into the new IMSA season.

Qualifying the day before the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona was unusually warm, even for January in Florida. Nevertheless, the drivers needed several laps to get their tires up to operating temperature. Starting driver and Le Mans winner Antonio Fuoco took on this task in the No. 21 AF Corse US Ferrari. The GTD class was, as usual, well-represented and fiercely contested. As a result, even the Gold-class driver couldn’t secure pole position. The AF Corse US Ferrari therefore started from sixth place in the GTD class and 47th overall.

The start of the Daytona endurance classic went disastrously wrong. In the LMP2 class, several cars collided in the very first corner, including the No. 343 AO Racing and the No. 18 EMA Motorsport car. While all the cars were able to continue, a dangerous debris field now littered the first corner. Race control therefore issued the first Full Course Yellow (FCY). As the incident occurred shortly after the race start, the pit lane remained closed for the brief interruption. The race restarted just 10 minutes later. Fuoco had made a good start and had already moved up to provisional third place.

The race didn’t stay green for long on the second attempt either. The No. 28 Porsche lost its rear end under braking for Turn 1, spun inwards, and crashed into the beginning of the pit wall on the passenger side. The car came to a stop on the track with its front wheel torn off, but the driver was uninjured. Consequently, the second FCY had to be initiated. Again, the pits remained closed, as the race had not yet run for 30 minutes. Fuoco had previously managed to push the Ferrari into second place.

After 25 minutes, the third race start took place, and this time the green light would stay on longer. Fuoco fought tenaciously for the lead for 20 minutes before taking it on lap 14. This put the Ferrari in 32nd position overall, a position it held for 11 laps. Ellis in the Mercedes then reclaimed the lead before the first pit stops for the GTD class. These pit stops proved to be a bit of a setback for AF Corse US. Although they remained in second place, they received a drive-through penalty for an “Improper Pit Entry” after their stop. After serving the penalty, the team dropped to 12th in the GTD standings.

It took until the 100th minute of the race for Fuoco to reach the top ten again, five seconds behind the Ferrari No. 023. The recovery drive now really picks up speed, and after just 20 more minutes, the team is already fighting for 7th place. Fuoco successfully prevails here as well, shortly before the third FCY occurs. This time, the reason is not a major accident, but a technical defect of the No. 62 car, which is forced to retire with a broken suspension. Since the race has been underway for some time, the pits are opened this time. The AF Corse US team is also able to get in, and Simon Mann takes over the cockpit. They rejoin the track in 41st place overall and 7th in the GTD class, behind Yoluc in the No. 36 Corvette.

After the restart, Mann managed to gain several positions and was only 5 seconds behind the leader before he began to lose time. In his group, he was eventually overtaken by Costa and dropped back again. Mann’s run was short-lived, however, as the fourth FCY was triggered after almost 3 hours: an LMP2 car spun after turn 3 and came to a stop just before the International Horseshoe. The No. 120 Porsche couldn’t see the car in the tire smoke and collided heavily with the prototype. The pit stops during this yellow flag period dropped the team back to 7th in the GTD class. The top drivers were back at the wheel for the other competitors after the restart, so Mann as a bronze driver, slipped to 15th.

After his second stint, Mann handed the Ferrari over to Mosca. Mosca then staged another comeback in his double stint, re-establishing himself in seventh place in the GTD class by the five-hour mark. With 18 hours and 50 minutes remaining, another FCY arrived. This only briefly interrupts Mosca’s comeback. Within the next hour, he manages to move up to fourth place before his driving time is temporarily over.

Now it’s French factory driver Lilou Wadoux’s turn. She rejoins the track just behind Auer in the Mercedes. It takes her a few laps to find her pace, but she manages to stay 10 seconds behind the Mercedes and establish a safe gap to fourth place. Her drive in the now-falling night isn’t slowed down by the rising fog. Auer and Wadoux together manage to close the gap to the front of the class.

The fog intensified rapidly. The lack of wind meant that it didn’t dissipate in the bowl-shaped circuit and eventually thickened to the point of being impassable. The result was a sad record in IMSA history: the longest continuous full course yellow flag period. With visibility sometimes dropping below 400 meters, resuming the race before sunrise was out of the question. Due to the driving time restrictions and the ongoing fuel consumption, positions shifted constantly as a result of the pit stops. As the slowest driver on the team, Mann completed his minimum driving time during this period to allow the professionals to take over the cockpit for the continuation of the race.

At the restart in dawn, Lilou Wadoux was back behind the wheel of the No. 21 Ferrari. A good strategy during the previous 6.5 hours under yellow flags had propelled the team to first place in the GTD class. After the wait, the Frenchwoman drove like she just waited for this, setting the team’s fastest lap of the race so far. However, she couldn’t significantly extend her lead, as she was held up by the identical GTD Pro cars. After five laps, her dream of leading was over, and Foley in the No. 46 BMW overtook her.

At the start of the final quarter of the race, the AF Corse US team made an early pit stop and switched back to Fuoco. They initially dropped to 11th place, but after all the teams had pitted, they secured second. With 4:50 hours remaining, Fuoco pit. In the meantime, the No. 18 LMP2 car had spun in Turn 1 and stalled. Another FCY was called in to recover the car and closed the pit lane. After the restart, Fuoco moved up to second place and battled with McLaughlin. Shortly afterward, he slipped back to seventh. He managed to climb back up to third before the next pit stops.

Mosca took over driving duties in fifth place. The competition showed their true colors in the final hours, making it difficult for Lilou Wadoux’s team to move further up the field. As the best Ferrari in class, they were stuck behind Green in the No. 13 Corvette. Instead of being able to attack, they were overtaken by Auer in the Mercedes. After an hour, Mosca returned to the pits to hand over to Wadoux once again. This time, however, they had bad luck with the next full course yellow and the closed pit exit. A few seconds after entering the pits, the No. 64 Mustang came to a halt in the oval with a severe engine failure. It had also left a large oil slick. This combination resulted in an immediate full course yellow. At the restart, Wadoux was now only in sixth place.

Their pace wasn’t as good as in the morning and they struggled to keep up with the leaders’ lap times. With only 100 minutes remaining, the AF Corse US team dropped back again during the final driver change. Now in 12th place in the GTD class, it was Fuoco’s job to bring the Balance of Performance (BoP)-affected Ferrari back to the front. With the help of the other cars’ pit stops and his own pace, he even managed to climb back up to second place briefly, until the final pit stop. After that, the field was sorted out and Fuoco was in sixth position. In his last stint, he gave it his all and ultimately gained another position. In the end, the AF Corse US team crossed the finish line in fifth place in the GTD class, behind the No. 13 Corvette, and 32nd overall, behind the Aston Martin GTP. The class win went to the Winward Racing Mercedes.

The next IMSA race of the season is also the next endurance classic of American motorsport. The 12 Hours of Sebring will take place from March 18th to 22nd.