Heart of Racing AMR claim a lights to flag win at weather affected IMSA race from Lime Rock
Sunday, July 18, 2021
Riding on something of a crest of a wave with podium standard results from both Watkins Glen and Detroit, it wasn’t exactly unsurprising to see Roman de Angelis place his #23 Aston Martin Vantage GTD on class pole and on the second row of the combined GTLM/GTD grid ahead of the start of yesterday’s 2hr 40min race.
With those team eye’s still looking up at the skies as the air temperature hit triple figures, de Angelis made a textbook start as a smaller grid of just sixteen cars ventured their way around turn one.
With this grid just running with professional drivers, there was none of that unnecessary bumping and bashing going on like in the earlier GT4 race but progression was hard to achieve as the equally BoP’d cars clocked in the laps around the short circuit. By the end of the first twenty minutes of racing, just one second separated P1 and P2 in GTD!!
With two hours of the race remaining, the race quickly became under threat as more thunderous rain systems were moving towards the circuit. De Angelis had meanwhile pitted from the lead in class for full service before handing the reigns over to Ross Gunn. Through Gunn’s next hour long stint, the AMR factory driver would scroll through to retake the lead just as the red flags came out for weather.
With lightning detected close to the circuit, IMSA rules mandate a 30-minute margin from the last detected strike through to getting back to racing but with such a large system now arriving, there appeared little chance of any resumption and particularly so at a circuit with a strict 18:00hrs curfew.
As the race clock continued to count and with the weather system still overhead, Race Control eventually called the race as done leaving the #23 crew of de Angelis and Gunn to take another class win in the Championship to now lead the GTD Class as the Championship moves onto Road America in three week’s time.
It wasn’t the way the team would have preferred to take their first lights to flag win but they all count and sometimes you have to take what’s offered!!
Well done guys
Photo credits - HoRT / IMSA / F Lagunas
