Detroit Sports Car Challenge - Live reporting from the VICI Racing pits

12:15 AM It's just after midnight and we've finished loading up at last. Everything is now stowed in the truck neatly, safely and correctly positioned, it's all ready for truck driver Guy to set off for our Miami base tomorrow. After a very long week here the team is all set to leave the city of Detroit behind. It's back home now and then immediately it will be time to start preparing for Petit Le Mans, the next ALMS round, which will come around very, very fast. It's always a case of looking forward for this highly professional race team, onwards and upwards, new challenges and new horizons beckon; the uncompromising drive to succeed and win defines VICI Racing, it draws this team together.

11:30 PM The #18 car is now being loaded. The long evening is drawing to a close. The crew have worked is a professional, clockwork manner, but, despite our retirement from the race spirits are high. Motor racing brings highs and lows, we all know we will bounce straight back from this week stronger than ever. The time ticks away but this is just another of many late nights for the crew this week and they take it in their stride. The crew are the backbone of the team, often they are unsung heroes, without them we wouldn't go racing. The bond is strong between them; Crew Chief Alex and his hard-working team here tonight, Jody, Juan Carlos, André, Guy, Max and Pat, have done a superb job.

11:00 PM The 'spare' RSR is now stowed safely on the top deck, whilst the lower deck is now almost impassable as a stack of equipment and wheels are steadily strapped into place. All the equipment is loaded piece-by-piece and carefully positioned for the long journey back to Miami; the job is done with a precise routine.

10:00 PM Right next to our paddock space is the former casino on Belle Isle, built almost exactly a century ago. Regarded as one of the United States' finest casinos it has served as the media centre this weekend. Perfectly restored today, it is magnificently lit up at night, the spotlights picking out its detailed features.

9:30 PM The top deck of our-state-of-the-art new transporter is designed to carry the cars plus equipment. With a low height it is designed for race cars which will be tie-strapped securely into position. Meanwhile there is a very deep red sunset beyond Belle Isle.

8:50 PM The amount of equipment that the team brings to each race is amazing. Not only the two Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs but a swage of spare parts, rigs, fuel tanks, wheels, awnings, flooring, carts, etc; and it all has to be dismantled and stowed away.

8:30 PM The sun is going down over Belle Isle and the crew are starting the task of breaking camp in the paddock, it's a big job that is set to run on for several hours.

4:10 PM The replacement driveshaft is almost fitted now. Nicky is getting prepared, he will now take over driving duties in the #18 for our remaining participation in the race.

3:40 PM The crew are now changing the offending right hand driveshaft in the pitlane. The team will quickly repair the #18 car and use the remaining time in the race to test tires.

3:20 PM The race started really well, Marc was up into the top six in GT2 and he was closer to the pace than we have ever been; however a driveshaft failure stops the #18 car's progress abruptly. Marc is in the pits now and out of the car. The disappointment etched on his face says it all, Marc doesn't like to go out of a race, no one on this team can accept losing. The sheer will to win defines VICI Racing. Dropping out of the running today is a bitter blow to take, especially after a week of hard work.

2:20 PM The legions of fans have now cleared off the grid, the national anthem plays, the seconds are ticking away quickly, we are just minutes from command to 'start engines' and go racing.

2:15 PM Marc is getting prepared to be strapped into the cockpit. He will start the race. With track temperatures at 78 degrees and air temperature at 101 degrees this was going to be the hottest ALMS race of the year so far; it's going to be very hot in the #18 car this afternoon.

2:12 PM There's a last chance to look at the data before the race goes green. After the crash at Mosport in Canada last weekend there are some lingering concerns over the engine, but these concerns will be factored into our race strategy.

2:10 PM Roland is on the pit wall preparing for the race. "I'm very pleased with how the warm up session went," he says, "it gives us a strong indication that we have a good set up for the race now, and the changes made to the car overnight have been positive. Nicky was very quickly up to speed on the track in the dry, although I would not expect anything different from him."

2:00 PM We're on the grid now. The race is counting down to the two hour forty five minute Detroit Sports Car Challenge, the ninth round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series, which is scheduled to go to green flag conditions at 2:35 PM.

11:55 AM The drivers are always in demand from the media, here Francesco is taking a break from signing autographs for the fans to talk to about the advanced simulation techniques that are widely used in the motor racing world today.

11.45 AM The autograph session is just half an hour here, but the fans are still thronging in to meet the stars; the weather in Detroit is warm and sunny now, we had a promising start to the day in the warm up session, and the drivers, Nicky, Marc and Francesco ("The Kid") are all in high spirits. Race day and it's so far so good.

11:30 AM The drivers' autograph session this weekend isn't taking place in the paddock, as is the usual case, but in the temporarily constructed entertainment zone with all the drivers sitting in a long row at tables. It works very well, with the huge line of enthusiastic fans able to meet all the drivers and collect the autographed 'hero cards'.

11:10 AM ALMS does entertainment very well, in fact in America race day festivities are really an art form, and on Belle Isle a big section of the immaculate green grounds have been turned into an entertainment complex for the weekend. As the drivers prepare for the autograph session, a school band is entertaining the crowds with music and dancing. The trumpets and other highly polished instruments glitter in the warm sunshine.

10:15 AM With just two laps of the 2.09-mile, 14-turn street course yesterday in the rain under his belt, Nicky Pastorelli is in the cockpit of the #18 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR and will run during the warm up session to acclimatise himself to the track in dry conditions for the first time. The session has been delayed from an original start time of 9:35 AM due to the early fog which put back this morning's programme and the lights have just gone green at the revised time of 10:10 AM.

9:45 AM The mist that hung over downtown Detroit and Belle Isle this morning has delayed the hectic timetable today, and the warm-up ahs been rescheduled for 10:10-10:35 AM. In the paddock our bodywork expert Giuseppe is touching up scrapes on the rear wing. Street racing is a tight affair and during practice yesterday Marc rubbed the walls, the evidence is apparent on both rear wheel arches.

8:15 AM It's race day at Belle Isle. The action will get underway with the 25 minute long morning warm-up session (9:50-10:15AM). Then it's a build up through late morning and early afternoon before the Detroit Sports Car Challenge presented by Bosch, round 9 of the 2008 American Le Mans Series, goes to green flag conditions at 2:35 (ET). The chequered flag is due to be waved on the 2 hour 45 minute duration race at 5:20PM. The crew are now at work, final preparations are being made to the #18 car.