Page 41 - KCRPCA MarApr2017

what was to be a dramatic nish.
The Cadillac Prototypes had been dominant all night, and as morning moved into early afternoon, they were clearly trending toward a win. In the lower classes, some great racing was happening, as the track began to dry out and the lap times dropped. In GTLM, the battles continued between Ferrari, Porsche and Ford, with last year’s winning Corvettes thundering mid pack. We headed up into the grandstands to watch the nish, and as the race drew to a close, the new RSR’s were running second and sixth with the #911 Porsche driven by Patrick Pilet, (clearly driving the race of his life), began to close in on the leading #66 Ford GT driven by Dirk Mueller. The turbo charged Fords were faster on the straights, yet the new mid engined normally aspirated RSR would
draw close in the in eld, and at one time both cars appeared side by side, braking hard, entering into turn 1, where the Ford would yield no room for the new Porsche. As the checkered ag dropped, the Cadillac Prototype of Ricky Taylor nished rst overall, while the #66 Ford GT nished rst in GTLM with the new Porsche RSR driven brilliantly by Patrick Pilet, nished second, having exhausted his tires. Amazingly, Porsche did add another win at Daytona, as Michael Christenson in a previous generation 911 GT3, nished rst in the GTD class!
For a Porsche enthusiast or anyone considering attending this event, put this on your bucket list. It is a spectacle that you will not soon forget.
- Ric
March / April 2017
41