The ninth round of the 2024 VSCA SportsCar Championship, the Miami Sunrise 6 Hour, unfolded with intense battles and dramatic developments at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday. The event, which also marked the fourth round of the VSCA Endurance Cup, saw Fischer Motorsport claim a significant victory in a thrilling six-hour race marred by incidents and strategic pit stops.
Homestead-Miami Speedway made its debut on the VSCA schedule, hosting a championship event in the series for the first time. The 2.30-mile track, which will be replaced with Indianapolis on the 2025 season schedule, provided a race marked my tough competition, close battles, breath-taking dive bombs and aggressive moves and incidents that left some competitors fuming at Race Control, as the marshals issued several post-race penalties.
Throughout the race, there were two full-course yellow flags, adding a layer of complexity to the teams' strategies. The first caution came out 51 minutes into the race, while the second occurred nearly two hours later, both impacting the flow of the event. A total of 38 minutes were spent under yellow flag conditions, with the the mixed-class restarts bringing race fans on the grand stands to their feet and providing fresh opportunities and challenges for the field.
Fischer Motorsport Triumphs Amidst Drama
Despite the race being defined by dramatic moments, it was Fischer Motorsport who emerged victorious. The #44 Porsche 911 GT3 R, driven by Daniel Gruber, Stephen Nobes, and Jay Van Meppelen, started from seventh on the grid but managed to climb six places to take the win. This marked the first VSCA career victory for all three drivers and the team’s first triumph of the season. They crossed the finish line with a comfortable 39.508-second margin.
Their win was made possible by a combination of strategic brilliance and capitalizing on the misfortunes of other teams. The #992 DS Racing eSports Porsche, which started on pole thanks to Bruno Carreira’s blistering 1:15.438 lap, dominated the early stages of the race. However, disaster struck 90 minutes in when it became entangled in a major incident with the #86 GSE Racing Esports Dallara, forcing it to pit for extensive repairs and effectively removing it from contention for the win.
While the #44 Fischer Motorsport Porsche’s race was largely clean, several other GT PRO competitors found trouble.
The #12 Delta Racing BMW, which was in contention late into the race, was set back by an additional pit stop for fuel and a post-race penalty, dropping them down the order. Similarly, the #69 North Sim Racing Porsche, which led the most laps (144), was penalized after the race due to a driver rating violation, leaving them without any championship points. The winner's team-mates in the #84 Fischer Motorsport Porsche also struggled after an incident with the #112 Dallara LMP2 car of Rusty Spatulas Racing in the opening hour, which led to extensive repairs.
Gruber, Nobes, and Van Meppelen Celebrate Career Milestones
The victory was a momentous occasion for all three drivers of the #44 Porsche. Daniel Gruber, the 22-year-old from Würzburg, Germany, was ecstatic in victory lane. When asked about his first VSCA win, he remarked, "It’s a surreal feeling. We had such a tough season, but today everything just clicked. I can’t believe we pulled it off." His co-driver, 45-year-old Brit Stephen Nobes, echoed the sentiment, adding, "This is something I've dreamed about for years. To stand here with Daniel and Jay after such a hard-fought race feels incredible."
Jay Van Meppelen, the 43-year-old Canadian, who made his 21st VSCA SportsCar Championship career start Saturday, was also emotional about his first career win in the series. "I’m just so proud of what we accomplished as a team today. This race was a grind from start to finish, but we kept pushing, and here we are on top. It’s an unforgettable moment," Van Meppelen reflected.
Post-Race Standings and Penalties
As a result of the post-race penalties, the final standings saw the #67 Kinetic Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R take second place, followed by the #6 Torque Freak Racing Porsche in third. Kinetic Racing’s drivers, Aedan Campbell and Linden Swaby, delivered a solid performance, navigating the chaos to secure a well-deserved podium finish. Meanwhile, Torque Freak Racing’s lineup of John Goodwin, Jonathan Dance, and Neil Middleton earned their third-place result through a combination of consistency and clean driving.
The race wasn’t without its casualties. The #911 RPM Racing Chevrolet Corvette retired after just 49 laps following a collision with the #12 Delta Racing BMW in Turn 3. Despite these setbacks, Fischer Motorsport’s triumph served as a major highlight and significantly reshaped the Endurance Cup standings.
Endurance Cup Standings Shake-Up
With just one round remaining in the VSCA Endurance Cup, the #992 DS Racing eSports Porsche still holds the top spot with 40 points, despite its misfortunes in Miami. Fischer Motorsport’s success saw the #84 Porsche move up to second place, six points behind, with the #44 car now in third, only eight points off the lead.
Big step towards series championship for #44 Porsche
By winning at Miami, the #44 Fischer Motorsport heads into the season finale with a 215-point cushion over their second-place team-mates in the #84 Fischer Motorsport Porsche and the #67 Kinetic Racing Porsche that sits third, 235 points behind. With their big misfortunes at Miami, the #992 DS Racing Esports Team Porsche has dropped to fourth in the series standings, 279 points behind.
Season Finale Petit Le Mans up next
And thus, the stage is set for the season finale, the third annual Petit Le Mans on October 19 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, where the teams will battle it out in ten hours of racing, and the new SportsCar Championship and Endurance Cup winners will be determined. As has been the case all season long, thanks to series sponsor Twin Busch USA, GreenFlag TV will broadcast the race live from start to finish, starting Saturday, October 19th at 13:50 GMT.
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