The 10th running of the Historic Sportscar Racing Classic Daytona 24 Hour Presented by Mission Foods cruised through the Midnight hour and straight to the halfway mark early Sunday morning at Daytona International Speedway where some first-time race leaders and former HSR Classic 24 race winners alike stepped up to set the pace in their respective Run Groups at mid-race.
As usual, contenders have emerged, and heartbreak has occurred as teams, drivers and cars from around the world compete in six different Run Groups in a twice-around-the-clock succession of 24 back-to-back segments. Each Run Group — from A through F — takes to the track four different times over the course of the two-day event.
Familiar and former HSR Classic winners who have answered the early call to lead at Daytona include Todd Sloan in his ex-Michael Shank Racing 2006 No. 60 Riley XX Daytona Prototype in Group D.
A popular entry has taken the lead in Group B with Jim Norman and former HSR Classic Daytona winner Scooter Gabel co-driving the Alegra Motorsports 1980 No. 00 Interscope Porsche 935 K3. Norman and Gabel, who also have Rolex 24 At Daytona class victories on their racing resumes, and the European-supported Alegra team have not put a wheel wrong in the first half of the race. A victory come Sunday morning would remarkably be a first for a Porsche 935 in the 10-year history of the HSR Classic races.
Group F saw the Matador Motorsports 2017 No. 02 Cadillac DPi of co-drivers Pierce Marshall and Eric Foss step up to lead the fastest collection of cars in the race at halfway. Marshall and Foss are focused on an HSR Classic 24 Hour race win after previously winning both the HSR Classic races at Sebring and Watkins Glen.
Group E has emerged as a production-based GT battleground with the British duo of Mike Jordan and his son Andrew Jordan leading by a scant 7.337 seconds at the mid-race mark in their Jordan Racing Team 2011 No. 77 Porsche 997.2 GT3 Cup.
Longtime historic and vintage racing team Autometrics leads the way in Group C after two rounds with team drivers Cory Friedman and Travis Bedson maintaining a more than 3 minute lead in the 1995 No. 14 Autometrics Porsche 993 RSR.
In Group A, defending winners Iconic Racing and team drivers Gérard Lopez and former professional sports car racing World Endurance Champion Marcel Fassler are halfway home to a second-consecutive victory in the Iconic Racing 1969 No. 60 Lola T70 Mk III. Lopez and Fassler maintained a 40 second lead at the halfway mark.
Unfortunately, Iconic’s bid to be the first team in HSR Classic history to pull off “double double” finishes in consecutive years was cut short early when Lopez encountered a slower GT-class competitor in the infield early in the first Group F race. Neither driver was injured in the contact incident that ensued, but both the GT entry and the Lopez and Fassler ex-JDC Motorsports 2019 No. 5 Cadillac DPi were eliminated from the race. In addition to Group A in the Lola, Lopez and Fassler drove the Cadillac to a Group win last year, but any chance to get both cars back in the winner’s circle again will have to wait another year.
Another early setback was endured by four-time HSR Classic race winner Toni Seiler in his Waite-N-See Motorsports 1969 No. 7 Lola T165 in Group A. After winning the opening segment, Seiler’s Lola encountered carburetor issues early in the second Group A round and finished six laps behind the winning Iconic Lola. Seiler and his repaired Lola will mount a rebound bid to get back in contention as the Classic 24 begins its second half of 2024 competition early Sunday morning.
The 10th HSR Classic Daytona 24 continues through morning hours and straight to just before 1pm ET Sunday when the final checkered flag of the weekend will bring the race weekend to a close.