Two hours in at Petit, and big changes happening

On the restart with two hours and seven minutes in the books, Michael Valiante nearly gave it all away as he spun just past the starting line on the second lap, ending up in the mud and trying to back up onto the track as the starter waved the local yellow flag.

Disaster was avoided, but the fastest car in the field immediately fell to sixth place, as the full course yellow flew just as Valiante was getting the car underway. So far it appears the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com is the class of the field, and Valiante nearly ruined it all.

On the first lap of the restart, Wolf Henzler spun in the same place, after turning some of the fastest laps of the race in the No. 17 Falken Porsce GTLM car, in its final race ever.

With two hours down, eight to go, rain is falling harder than it has all day at Road America – never remotely a downpour, but never light enough to establish a dry line. And with the ground absolutely saturated, caution periods allow standing water to deepen, making first laps back under green a challenge.

With one hour and 54 minute to go, the field went under caution for Christian Fittipaldi’s trip into the gravel trap, from which we was able to escape on his own. His No. 5 Action Express Corvette DP was running second at the time.

That left Richard Westbrook, so far the class of the field, in the lead in the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Corvette DP, with Nick Tandy second in the No. 911 Porsche GTLM entry. Cameron Lawrence continues to impress in the long-races-only No.  83 Dodge Viper, and Alex Popow is leading in the Prototype Challenge class in his No.  88.

During this caution, Valiante took over for Westbrook. Similarly, Scott Dixon is in for Joey Hand in the No.01 Ganassi Ford Ecoboost DP. Jorg Bergmeister has replaced Earl Bamber in the No. 912 Porsche GTLM car, and Patrick Pilet is in for Nick Tandy in the sister No. 911.

Lap times are interesting: Westbrook is fastest with a 1 minute, 28.840 second lap, but Tandy clocked a 1:29.581. Typically the PC cars are closest to the Prototypes, but they are about five seconds back of the Prototypes. Never this seasn whave we seen a GTLM car less than a second behind the fastest Prototype.