The Grand-Am ROLEX racing has come down to a classic American rivalry. It appears as if the “Chevy vs. Ford” argument is being played out on the course from race to race with Chevy and those new Corvette styled Daytona Prototypes placing some good punches.
Ford and Starworks Motorsport are leading the Driver and Team points marks while Chevy has the manufacturer’s lead. Ford swept the top 3 at the ROLEX 24 with Starworks sandwiched between the Fords of Michael Shank Racing. However, from that point on to just this last race in Detroit, the Chevy teams have taken the top spot on the podium.
Will the “Corvettes” dominate for the rest of the season? Will the Ford folks fight back? Can Chip Ganassi hold on while clinging to BMW power?
It does have to be difficult for the BMW / Ganassi Racing teams being the lone guns up against a field overrun by Detroit muscle. They get little sympathy from the Ford teams as the Corvette DP teams are running the show with four consecutive wins following the Daytona opener.
Is it a Corvette Conspiracy or just a coincidence of racing? You might come to the conclusion of the coincidence after watching some of the Corvette teams in action at Belle Isle.
By the way… Who knew, outside of the immediate geographic area, that there was an island in Detroit?
We watched the coverage on SPEED and the racing was tight on most of the course. The exits from the turns gave little opportunity to pass and the dual-class racing with Daytona Prototypes challenging the same paved real estate as the GT class forced bumps and contact. With this, a couple of the Corvette DP runners gave us some fun “What the…?” moments.
The #10 Suntrust Corvette had just made a pit call moments before a caution brought on by the GT #43 Mazda. The Suntrust car had been challenging with fast runs and running in front on occasion. The timely stop for fuel put them into position to run well in the front of the pack as the rest of the field would likely make a pit call with the caution laps. However, they managed to blow the advantage by smacking the outside retainer exiting the pits. The rear suspension was torn leaving the Suntrust #10 limping sideways to an exit.
Really…? On pit road…? With a caution called…? Were you texting?
As if that wasn’t enough fun, the #90 DP Corvette had just taken the lead and dives for a turn inside of the #40 GT Mazda. The Mazda was already committed and running for the apex and the exit of the turn when the ‘Vette’ made the dive. It was an overly ambitious move as there was no real gain. The Action Express cars were chasing but also had to slow for the same corner. Simply following the Mazda and passing on the straight should have been the play. Yet the #90 made the dive, hit the Mazda on the inside causing both to spin and another DP Corvette rear wheel goes cocky.
Two Corvettes out with broken rear wheels… Both, by the way, from careless error.
Two questions, however. Is the suspension really that fragile? And what about Mazda? Both incidents involved a GT Mazda… Hmmmmm.
The Corvette was redeemed at the finish. Joao Barbosa and Action Express Racing in the #9 DP Corvette (co-driver Darren Law) crossed in front followed right up by teammate David Donohue in the #5 Corvette DP (co-driver Terry Borcheller).
As if that wasn’t enough for the Motor City and Chevrolet, the #88 Camaro of Autohaus Motorsports grabbed the win for the GT class.
It was a manufacturer sweep for the “Chevrolet GRAND-AM Detroit 200”. Corvette and Camaro.
When they start winning with a Volt, let us know.