After some intense on-track battles early this morning, the 62nd Rolex 24 At Daytona has been rather settled as the race heads into its final two hours.
With the GTPs within their final three stints, all signs point to a Porsche vs. Cadillac battle. The No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport currently seems to have the measure of the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing V-Series.R, although it’s entirely possible the 31 has been playing a waiting game. Felipe Nasr is freshly installed in the No. 6 and will likely finish. Tom Blomqvist was wheeling the No. 31 entering the final two hours, but expect Pipo Derani to take the car to the finish.
Louis Deletraz is in the third-place No. 40 WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06, but hasn’t shown any potential to run the two leaders down. The Acura has been stopping several laps sooner than the other two, so if it comes down to a fuel contest, WTRAndretti is likely to lose out. The No. 5 Proton Competition Porsche 963 is waiting to pounce should the top three experience any issues.
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Winward Racing appears firmly in control of GTD unless a caution should erase Philip Ellis’s more than 20s margin to his closest competitor, which was the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F in the hands of Aaron Telitz. The Lexus driver, though, was at the head of a potential three-way battle for second among the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari with Kei Cozzolino at the wheel and the No. 32 Korthoff Preston Motorsports Mercedes AMG currently wheeled by Maxi Goetz.
Triarsi Competizione’s chances of a GTD victory have been hurt by the team having too many crew over the wall during its last pit stop, incurring a drive-through penalty.
Risi Competizione’s closest pursuer for the GTD PRO victory, the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3, reported brake problems at the end of the hour, and just after the clock went past two hours to go, Bryan Sellers brought the car in for a brake change, Sheldon van der Linde getting into the car at the same time. Things only got worse for the BMW, as the right-front wheel was not seated, and after van der Linde limped the car back to the pits, the wheel gun got stuck trying to fix the problem, dropping the No. 1 down three laps. The race is now Risi’s to lose.
The No. 65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang has been officially retired after being sent to the garage with a broken wing.
Class leaders after 22 hours:
GTP: Felipe Nasr, No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 936
LMP2: Connor Zilisch, No. 18 Era Motorsports ORECA 07
GTD PRO: Alessandro Pier Guidi, Risi Competizione
GTD: Philip Ellis, No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT3