Just to fully explain the way I saw things take place, I'll use the screen shots you posted (nice work btw 👍)
For reference, I'm also going to introduce Exibit B
, an overhead shot of the corner, from Google Earth. I'm using my phone, so if the picture quality is crap, I apologize. Pull up Daytona on Google Earth on whatever you use for reference.
I'm also going to link this article, which has quotes from ALB after the race.
http://www.motorsport.com/imsa/news...el-a-bit-ashamed-after-clash-869538/?tp=2&s=1
The important bit is where he says,
"I had some GTs in front of me, so I could not brake so late. I closed the door and got spun."
Important to note in that quote that he says "I closed the door," which implies he knew that the door was open at some point.
So let's look at Frame 1 of your photo. That is the door firmly closed. There is clearly no space for the #10 to go on the inside.
In frame 2, that is now door open. Not only is the door open, but the #10 now has his foot firmly in that open door. Also note that this is still in the middle of the braking zone, a significant distance from the "turn in point" (those are air quotes lol, because of the curved braking zone, it's tough to define a specific turn in point).
In Frame 3, this is now the #10 with a large portion of its leg in the open doorway. This is when the #5 decides to close the door.
Looking at Frame 2 more, note the gap in the blue ARMCO barrier, above and to the left of the #10. Now, find that gap in the fence in the overhead shot. Now look at Frame 3, and note the change in surface line directly behind the #10. Find this same line in the overhead (it matches up perfectly with the concrete in the runoff).
With these two points of reference, the gap in the ARMCO and the change in surface, look at the distance between them. Using the white vans parked in the infield as a reference, I would guess that's between 30 to 50 feet.
Think about that. The #10 had his nose alongside the #5 for that amount of distance, and
then the #5 decided to close the door.
As for ALB's awareness of where the #10 was, there's only two possibilities - either he knew he was there, or he didn't.
If ALB didn't know he was there, or didn't know where he was, that is his error for losing track of the #10. Knowing that the #10 had stuck his nose in there before, and knowing that they had already gone side by side through there previously, if ALB lost track of where the #10 was, then he has to assume he is on the inside, alongside. If in doubt, stay out.
However, "didn't know," I don't buy it (nore do I gather that ALB is trying to sell that...it's just a possibility). Those cars have position sensors and rear view cameras. While I'm sure they have a significant blind spot, the DPi teams also use spotters at races like Daytona. Unless the radio was off or broken, ALB would have had a voice in his ear telling him the #10 was inside.
So that leaves the option that ALB knew the #10 was inside, yet still decided to turn in. Why do that? He's no idiot or cluts, he's a good racecar driver. I mean, he is human, so he could have cracked under the pressure, made an error in judgement...it happens. That said, there is a rising trend in motorsports (all pro sports actually) where the competitors are more willing to make risky moves, with the sole purpose of forcing the official to make a decision.
In motor racing, one of those moves is known as The Chop. Ironically, Max the Axe Angelleli is famous for it
The Chop is basically leaving the door open for a moment, and then aggressively slamming it shut. It works because in most cases, technically you have the rule on your side (that the lead driver can chose his line, collision avoidance falls on the following driver), but that only works if you time it properly. The goal is to chop the other guy so close that he is forced to slam on his brakes, which gives you a huge advantage on corner exit. It is often seen as being a very aggressive move. The other thing, is that like in all pro sports, what was once an aggressive move becomes regular, which requires more rules to regulate, which then leads to a knew form of aggressively tip-toeing the line.
The biggest problem with The Chop is you put your fate in the hands of your competator and the officials. You basically say to your competator, "This is what I'm doing. You decide whether to back off or hold fast, and if their's contact we'll let the officials sort it out." With the alternative of course being to control your own fate, not turn in, hold the outside which then becomes the inside for the next corner (in this specific case).
Well, in this situation, I think TAY decided he was far enough alongside, for long enough (refer back to the photos), and decided to hold fast. Contact insued, and the officials said, "Sorry Filipe-baby, we're not playing your game today. You had every chance to not turn in the way you did, but you chose to anyway. We're not here to win the race for you."
All that said, I don't think there was over aggressive intent by either driver. The #10 didn't intentionally hit the #5, and the #5 didn't intentionally try an over aggressive chop. It was close, hard racing at the end of 24 hours. Both drivers made split second decisions. A split second earlier or later, a franction of an inch this way or that way, and the outcome may have been very different.
But that's racing!!! Not everything requires a penalty, sometimes 🤬 just happens.
Lastly, you are right that there is some difference in the way American and European racing is officiated. The American way gets a negative label because of some specific incidents in NASCAR, but generally it's a "treat others the way you want to be treated, and police yourself" type of approach. Don't want to get spun out in turn 1? Don't turn in while there's someone there, you only have yourself to blame for opening the door in the first place. This encourages respectful racing, and encourages guys to follow basic protocol like "if in doubt, stay out." The European way is to micro analyze the tiniest of transgressions, trying to blame this person or that person, and then penalize the "guilty" party. This encourages guys to constantly put their fate in the hands of other drivers and officials, and in my opinion, leads to a very entitled way of practicing racecraft.
