DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Porsche Penske Motorsport’s No. 7 Porsche 963 leads the way in the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway after an accident took out the dominate Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 40 Cadillac V-Series.R.
At the 16:29 mark, Louis Deletraz lost control on a restart due to cold tires, hit a barrier and then ricocheted back into the middle of traffic, where several drivers made hard contact. Five teams were caught up in the mayhem. Wayne Taylor Racing had spent time in the lead after Kamui Kobayashi hammered down on a restart in Hour 5 to the capture the lead.
Now leads Nick Tandy leads the way for Porsche Penske Motorsports in the 63 running of the prestigious race, followed by Cadillac Whelen’s No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Jack Aitken. Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian’s No. 60 Acura ARX-06 is third, followed by JDC Miller MotorSports’ No. 85 Porsche 963 and Porsche Penske Motorsports’ No. 6 Porsche 963.
Other teams in GTP have fallen victim to the grueling race as well.
On Lap 34, Automobili Lamborghini Squadra Corse’s No. 63 Lamborghini SC63 suffered a mechanical issue and dropped out of the race. Mirko Bortolotti was piloting the car at the time of the issue. The early departure was heartbreaking as the team was making Lamborghini’s factory debut in IMSA’s GTP class.
Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian’s No. 93 Acura ARX-06 driven by Alex Palou suffered a suspension issue. Palou was unable to drive back to the pits, so the race experienced another full-course yellow as the car was towed back to the garage.
In LMP2, United Autosports USA’s No. 22 team that started on the pole leads the way by less than a second over Era Motorsport’s No. 18 team that started the class in next to last. The No. 22 car is currently 10th overall with Paul Do Resta behind the wheel. AO Racing’s No. 99 team is third, followed by AF Corse’s No. 88 team and Crowdstrike Racing by APR’s No. 04 team that spent time out in front of the class earlier in the race.
The Ford Mustangs have found their way to the front of the GTD Pro field. As of Hour 8, Frederic Vervisch in Ford Multimatic Motorsports’ No. 65 Ford Mustang GT3 leading the field by less than a second over GetSpeed’s No. 69 Mercedes-AMG GT3 being piloted by Fabian Schiller. In third is the other Multimatic Motorsports Mustang with veteran driver, Mike Rockenfeller behind the wheel in the No. 64 car. Fourth is Thomas Preining in the No. 20 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) and NASCAR driver, Connor Zilisch in Trackhouse by TF Sport’s No. 91 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
Forte Racing’s No. 78 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 driven by Franck Perera has moved up into the top spot in GTD. The team leads Mattia Drudi in Heart of Racing Team’s No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo by less than one second. Rounding out the top-five is Charles Scardina in the No. 023 Ferrari 296 GT3, Anthony McIntosh in the No. 19 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo and Manny Franco, who is piloting the No. 34 Ferrari 296 GT3.
On Sunday, coverage will kick off on NBC and Peacock at 12 p.m. and both broadcasts will take fans to the finish of the 63rd running of the Rolex 24.
Below are images TheFourthTurn.com’s Mitchell White and Christopher Vargas captured.
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