The #90 VisitFlorida.com Spirit of Daytona Coyote-Corvette leads the #5 Mustang Sampling Action Express Coyote-Corvette up the hill through the spray towards Road Atlanta’s Turn Five during the 2015 Tudor United Sportscar Championship petit le mans endurance race. (Bill Kent/Epoch Times)
Veteran motorports photographer Bill Kent has offered this set from the very wet Tudor United SportsCar Championship season finalé at Road Atlanta, the ten-hour Petit Le Mans.
The race was shortened by yellow and red flags and eventually stopped an hour ahead of schedule as days of constant rain left rivers flowing across the track. (See this short description of the race.) While the track was hot, there was plenty of racing action in all four classes.
All photos: Bill Kent/Epoch Times
The GTLM-class #911 Porsche North America 911 RSR won overall; with its engine over the rear wheels the Porsches could put the power down better than any of the other cars, and without the aerodynamic downforce generated by higher speeds the prototypes’ Continental tires couldn’t grip in the rain as well as the Michelins (and Falkens) of the GTs. (Bill Kent/Epoch Times)
The #33 Viper wrecked on the first lap, bringing out the first of many yellow flags. (Bill Kent/Epoch Times)
The #33 Viper sits trackside, having shed some body parts. Driver Ben Keating was able to start to the car and drive, but cleanup for lost bodywork and for the #11 Prototype Challenge car, which also went off, forced a yellow flag after only three minutes of racing. (Bill Kent/Epoch Times)
The Corvette Racing C7.Rs, Like the Porsche 911 RSRs, led on pace at various times through the race. (Bill Kent/Epoch Times)
At times there was standing water on the track and the spray was completely blinding; at others, the rain slackened and it seemed almost reasonable to race high-powered cars under those conditions—then the rain would pick up again. (Bill Kent/Epoch Times)
The #52 PR1-Mathiesen Oreca-Chevrolet endured to take the Prototype Challenge class victory. (Bill Kent/Epoch Times)
The #0 DeltaWing DW13 ran well enough but didn't last, a repeat of most of its 2015 season. The car didn't break on its own this time; collision damage ended its day five hours into the race. (Bill Kent/Epoch Times)
