Cars that did not start

Brilliant Bob did it!

The course had been moved just north of the previous location, and the pavement was smooth. The track was not especially fast, with two small 300m straights, and many tight corners. The only safe overtaking place being Biscayne Boulevard, offering a suitable passing zone under braking. The track was also to suffer from asphalt breaking up under the grip of the GTPs. It would be fixed by using some quick dry concrete pads. The qualifying purse was the highest ever to be won, so many drivers would get ready to fire up their cars. The Chevrolet Corvette GTP driven by Sarel van der Merwe was the fastest of the session, followed by the Porsche 962s driven by Jo Gartner and Bob Wollek. Al Holbert was next, followed by Oscar Larrauri, John Paul Jr in the Hawk Buick, Pete Halsmer in the Ford Mustang Probe. Hurley Haywood was the fastest Jaguar driver, just ahead of Klaus Ludwig, with Drake Olson next. The latter would not take part in the race, due to the car's extensive damage. The new BMW GTP driven by David Hobbs would start from the 11th position on the grid, while the Nissan ZX Tc GTP would be in a lowly 20th position, due to a broken shifter. Emerson Fittipaldi was co-driven by Bobby Rahal and Tony Garcia in a car rented from Blue Thunder Racing, entered by promoter Ralph Sanchez. He would start from the 13th place. The race was promising, and Sarel van der Merwe would jump into the lead, followed by Bob Wollek, Oscar Larrauri and Jo Gartner. John Paul Jr was behind the Porsche trio, followed by Al Holbert, Klaus Ludwig, Hurley Haywood and David Hobbs. Emerson Fittipaldi was moving up the field and got past of Bob Tullius and Whitney Ganz. The first caution period occurred when Pete Halsmer and Lew Price met at turn one. At the restart, Oscar Larrauri proved more reactive, but Sarel van der Merwe would regain his position. However, he would be out after 28 laps, with a broken exhaust. Another caution period allowed Bob Wollek to take the lead after Walt Bohren's March would collect the spinning Sauber C7 of Fomfor. Al Holbert was now second, followed by Hurley Haywood Jaguar XJR5 and AJ Foyt, were the only drivers on the lead lap. Brian Redman would jump in for Hurley Haywood, but he was nearly one lap down. Danny Sullivan had lost some time exiting the pits while the Sauber was being cleared from the track. Bob Wollek was still behind the wheel, but Derek Bell was in for Al Holbert, and both drivers were now nose to tail. Bob Wollek had stretched his lead to six seconds but lost it after a collision with Lyn St James Ford Probe. The two experienced drivers would swap the lead many times, setting lap times in the 1m18s range. But another collision between Derek Bell and Gianpiero Moretti would end up the duel. He would bring in the car with a broken suspension. Now Bob Wollek was alone in the lead, while John Paul Jr was working his way through second place. However, he would retire later with engine trouble. Bob Wollek handed the car to Paolo Barilla with 45mn left. Brian Redman and Danny Sullivan, now in second and third place, were gaining in on him because of his slower pace. Hans Stuck and Jo Gartner were just behind them. They would find themselves in second place when Brian Redman and Danny Sullivan pitted for fuel. The end of the race was exciting, with Brian Redman being passed by Danny Sullivan for second place. He was now catching Hans Stuck, whose tires were wearing out. He would overtake him with three laps to go! Then Brian Redman would crash his Jaguar at Turn Five, but he would manage to cross the finish line. Klaus Ludwig and Tom Gloy ended up in fifth place at the wheel of the first Ford Probe. Al Holbert and Derek Bell ended up in fifth place, while the best BMW GTP was ninth and the Nissan ZX Tc GTP driven by Elliot Forbes Robinson and Tony Adamowicz took an encouraging 10th place.