Rolex 24, Hour 20: GT battles raging

A yellow for debris brought the Rolex 24 field closer together and brought the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsports back into the fight, along with the No. 40 WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06. At the front, Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 PPM 963 pulled a bit of a …

A yellow for debris brought the Rolex 24 field closer together and brought the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsports back into the fight, along with the No. 40 WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06. At the front, Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 PPM 963 pulled a bit of a lead over Jack Aitken in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing V-Series.R.

However, all eyes were on the GT battles, particularly GTD. Triarsi Racing is on a different sequence than the other GTD contenders, which gave the team track position after the last yellow when the other GTD leaders pitted. The next few hours will show if the team choosing not to top off during the caution was the right call. Onofrio Triarsi held off Indy Dontje for half an hour after the last restart, the Ferrari looking absolutely planted to the asphalt and Triarsi able to put it where he wanted to keep Dontje behind him, despite tires six laps older than those on the AMG. Dontje finally took the lead with 12 minutes left in the hour.

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GTD PRO was a fierce battle between James Calado in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 and Verhagen in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3. Calado found some comfort by putting the GTD battle between his Ferrari and Verhagen’s BMW.

“With four hours left, to beat the 62 car, we’re going to need some help,” lamented Verhagen’s teammate Bryan Sellers, noting the pace of the Risi Ferrari.

Just after the hour ticked over, Verhagen made contact with Triarsi, spinning the Ferrari but apparently leaving it without damage.The incident is under review.

Christian Rasmussen had the No. 18 Era Motorsports ORECA in pursuit of Colin Braun’s No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR for the lead in LMP2. Braun pitted just before the race entered four hours to go, leaving Rasmussen at the front. Five cars are solidly in the fight for the LMP2 victory.

Kevin Estre had a scary moment as he tried to push the No. 6 ahead of Aitken’s No. 31 Cadillac heading into the Kink when, going to the right of a GT Lamborghini, he was pushed off track. Estre recovered to continue his pursuit of Aitken.

Pfaff Motorsports, whose problems began early in the race with a bad wheel bearing on the No. 9 McLaren 720S, has retired from the race. Sean Creech Motorsports has indicated that the No. 33 Ligier LMP2 car was going to be retired as well, but it was not yet official.

Class leaders after hour 20:

GTP: Felipe Nasr, No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963

LMP2: Christian Rasmussen, No. 18 Era Motorsports ORECA 07

GTD PRO: James Calado, No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3

GTD: Indy Dontje, No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT3

HOUR 20 STANDINGS

Rolex 24, Hour 19: Corvettes drop out of GTD PRO fight

As teams and drivers welcome full daylight and the final stretch to the checker at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the battle at the front continues to be intense between the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 and the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing …

As teams and drivers welcome full daylight and the final stretch to the checker at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the battle at the front continues to be intense between the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 and the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing V-Series.R, with Felipe Nasr and Jack Aitken the current gladiators. The No. 6 PPM Porsche should be in the thick of that battle, but the team has received another stop-plus-10s penalty for exceeding the powertrain parameters.

Six cars are on the lead lap, including all four Porsches in the race and the No. 40 WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06.

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The No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R spent 10 minutes in the garage with an unknown issue, mechanics working furiously in the engine bay. The car returned to the track, eight laps down to the GTD PRO leader. Just before the 19th hour came to an end, the No. 4 Corvette also headed to the garage, the crew investigating something at the front of the car. That’s left two cars fighting on the same lap in GTD PRO, the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW and the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296.

The Risi Ferrari is wearing a unique livery that harkens back to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2019 when it had a partnership with Ferrari Club of France. That livery was imagined and designed as part of a contest that brought together 21 pairs of students from different sectors of ENSAAMA Oliviers de Serres (School of Art and Design), a decorative arts school in Paris, France. A similar partnership was revised in 2021.

This year the Risi team is once again in a partnership with the Ferrari Club of France, and therefore ENSAAMA once again helped design another special livery for the team. The student who designed the graphics is Carla Mallein- Gerin, a third-year French student in Digital Design and Animation at the art school. Carla shared that her choice of stripes and the shades of colors were inspired by nighttime racing photos and particularly light trails which evoke speed and the goal of victory.

Unmistakably a Risi Competizione Ferrari, but with a unique twist. Richard Dole/Lumen

Five LMP2 cars remain on the same lap, with the No. 2 United Autosports car a lap off the lead. Colin Braun currently has the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA in the lead, with Ryan Dalziel in pursuit in the No. 18 Era Motorsports ORECA.

GTD is currently the domain of Winward Racing’s No. 57 Mercedes AMG, Indy Dontje at the wheel. However, Triarsi Racing, Korthoff/Preston Motorsports, Lone Star Racing, the Iron Dames and Vasser Sullivan Racing remain int he hunt. Riccardo Agostini was leading in the No. 023 Triarsi Ferrari 296 as the hour ticked over.

Both AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs are now officially retired.

Class leaders after 19 hours:

GTP: Felipe Nasr, No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963

LMP2: Colin Braun, No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA 07

GTD PRO: Madison Snow, No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3

GTD: Riccardo Agostini, No. 023 Triarsi Racing Ferrari 296 GT3

HOUR 19 STANDINGS

Rolex 24, Hour 15: Disaster strikes for No.01 Cadillac

With nine hours remaining in the 2024 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 of Kevin Estre is scored as the leader following pit stops from the No. 7 Porsche of Josef Newgarden, and the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac …

With nine hours remaining in the 2024 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 of Kevin Estre is scored as the leader following pit stops from the No. 7 Porsche of Josef Newgarden, and the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R of Pipo Derani. Both the No.6 Porsche and No. 31 Cadillac are on different fuel strategies and have alternated in the overall lead.

Derani in the No. 31 Cadillac runs second, 6s behind Estre, while Colton Herta is third in the No. 40 WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06.

However, the significant update in GTP is that the Action Express Racing-run No. 31 is now Cadillac’s sole remaining challenger following the retirement of the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R. Renger van der Zande was trying to mount a comeback from the puncture the car suffered earlier, but with 10 hours and 40 minutes to go, the gold Cadillac broke down with a terminal issue that has yet to be diagnosed by the Chip Ganassi Racing team and Cadillac.
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The No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 was running second but at its last pit stop, the engine cover had to come off the car, and the car has gone to the garage after Connor de Phillippi ran as high as second.

The lead fight in LMP2 has ignited, wherein reigning Indy NXT champion Christian Rasmussen has taken the lead of the class aboard the No. 18 Era Motorsport ORECA 07. Rasmussen overtook the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA of Matt Brabham at the Le Mans Chicane with an orthodox pass up the inside.

The No. 8 Tower Motorsports ORECA of Ferdinand Habsburg recently passed Brabham for second; Ben Hanley runs fourth in the No. 2 United Autosports USA ORECA.

As it was in the last hour, Risi Competizione’s No. 62 Ferrari 296 GT3 driven by Daniel Serra is scored as the leader at the top of the hour after the No. 3 Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R came in for service, about eight laps off sequence of the Ferrari.

Serra leads the No.4 Corvette of Tommy Milner by over 15s, followed closely by Sheldon van der Linde in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3; Juncadella in the No. 3 Corvette has slotted into fourth.

And in GTD, Indy Dontje in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 continues to hold a comfortable lead, some 30s up the road of the pack.

Ollie Millroy in the No.70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3 EVO has taken second after the No. 32 Korthoff Preston Motorsports Mercedes of Kenton Koch had to serve a mechanical black flag for tire operational requirements. Rui Andrade is third in the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes.

Also in GTD, the No. 66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 is the latest official retirement. The team confirmed a terminal electrical issue, some time after Stevan McAleer struck a piece of tire debris on the road.

HOUR 15 STANDINGS

Rolex 24, Hour 14: Class by class, still anyone’s game

With more than half the 24 hours now gone in the 2024 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, regular full course yellows have played into the hands of nearly every team in every class. At the close of hour 14, the overall battle for the lead in GTP sees the top …

With more than half the 24 hours now gone in the 2024 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, regular full course yellows have played into the hands of nearly every team in every class. At the close of hour 14, the overall battle for the lead in GTP sees the top four together on the lead lap, led by Tom Blomqvist yet again in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac.

Perhaps the most miraculous standout is P4 — the No. 40 WTR Acura, having rebounded solidly from electrical gremlins not long ago. Colton Herta currently sits just 2.9s behind Blomqvist, still solidly in contention so long as the car stays solid.

In LMP2, the top five has gone through a major shakeup through the hour, with Colin Braun leading in the No. 04 as the hour closes in the midst of another pit cycle. The No. 52, having previously held a commanding class lead in the double digits of seconds, has slipped completely out of the top five — now down to P7 in class at the hands of Jakub Smiechowski.

Risi Competizione is back at the head of GTD PRO with Alessandro Pier Guidi still behind the wheel of the Ferrari 296. The No. 3 Corvette of Daniel Juncadella had powered into the class lead prior to this pit cycle, and based on the math should be battling once again with the No. 62 Risi car once the cycle is complete.

The GTD top five are separated by only 12s as the hour draws to a close, still led by the No. 57 Winward Mercedes. For hours now, the class has been remarkably trouble-free, even as the prototype leaders fly past in near-constant wheel-to-wheel infighting.

HOUR 14 STANDINGS

Rolex 24, Hour 13: Porsche, Cadillac trading overall lead in heated nighttime strategy battle

As the second half of the Rolex 24 at Daytona met its cool, dark genesis, Porsche Penske Motorsports found itself back in the overall lead at the hands of Laurens Vanthoor in the No. 6 963. With the race having gone green once again after Wayne …

As the second half of the Rolex 24 at Daytona met its cool, dark genesis, Porsche Penske Motorsports found itself back in the overall lead at the hands of Laurens Vanthoor in the No. 6 963.

With the race having gone green once again after Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport’s electrical hiccup, Vanthoor used the clean air to great effect to pull out a 15s lead over Maxime Martin’s No. 25 RLL BMW in just 30 minutes.

Previous leader Jack Aitken handed the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac over to teammate Tom Blomqvist during the FCY in the previous hour, the car falling to P4 after pitting.

“I was working a bit harder than usual,” Aitken told IMSA Radio after he exited the car. “There were a few nice on-track battles with the other guys. There’s a lot of traffic out there, so it’s keeping you on your toes.

“Now that it’s night and a bit cooler, we’ll try and extend the stints a little bit so we have a bit more time out of the car as well. I think we’ve got three capable guys, so it’s not too bad. …We all feel pretty comfortable in the car.”

Blomqvist went on a tear from 80s behind leader Vanthoor, clawing time back under green — just 0.5s off the tail of the Porsche with 17 minutes remaining in the hour. A powerful slipstream and Cadillac V8 torque allowed the No. 31 to sail past the Porsche on the outside along the backstretch heading into the Le Mans Chicane. Within two laps, Blomqvist had already pulled out a 1.5s lead.

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Deadstick drama came again, though, this time for the No. 24 RLL BMW of Dries Vanthoor. With 10 minutes left in the hour, the car — just like both WTR Acuras — went dark and rolled to a stop, bringing out another FCY. As the AMR Safety Team arrived on scene, Vanthoor’s lights were seen alight once again, but the car unmoved and later towed away from the infield.

Leading GTP crews pitted, most taking fuel only save for the No. 31 which dropped down the order to P4 after changing rubber. This left both Penske Porsches cycling through back to first and second overall, the No. 7 of Matt Campbell ahead of Vanthoor. Rene Rast’s RLL BMW moved to third, with Renger van der Zande following everyone else in the No. 01 Cadillac in P5.

LMP2 remained steady and drama-free, with the only significant change coming in the form of Formula 1 veteran Felipe Massa taking over the third-place No. 74 ORECA. Tom Dillman still leads in the No. 52.

The No. 3 Corvette of Alexander Sims pitted and handed the car over to Daniel Juncadella after moving into the GTD PRO lead over the Risi Ferrari just prior to the FCY, traffic having facilitated an immensely close fight.

Winward Mercedes’ No. 57 led GTD on the hour.

HOUR 13 STANDINGS

Rolex 24, Halfway: More electrical oddities for WTR Acura

Halfway at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The eery stillness of full course yellow reared its ugly head once again for the bulk of the twelfth hour, this time at the hands of yet more drama for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport. Just over 20 …

Halfway at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The eery stillness of full course yellow reared its ugly head once again for the bulk of the twelfth hour, this time at the hands of yet more drama for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport.

Just over 20 minutes into the hour, the circuit drew quiet for heaps of debris on track near Turn 5, potentially from the No. 40 Acura of Louis Deletraz, ceasing Jack Aitken’s deft use of traffic to keep Dane Cameron’s Porsche 963 1.2s behind the Whelen Cadillac not long after Aitken executed a masterful pass for the overall lead.

Come time for the pits to open for leaders, the Rahal Letterman Lanigan BMW team made good use of the unseasonably warm weather, taking no tires are firing both cars away ahead of the two Penske Porsches, relegating Cameron and teammate Laurens Vanthoor to P4 and P5 respectively. WTR swapped a new nose onto the No. 40 before a spot of drama as the No. 78 GTD Lamborghini attempted to leave pitlane with the fuel hose still attached, causing a small fire which was mercifully brief but would eventually yield a penalty for leaving the box with equipment still attached.

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Green returned with just 15 minutes remaining before half distance, the threatening rain having still not arrived. Almost instantly, Vanthoor muscled back past both RLL BMWs to move back to second overall.

The action lasted only briefly, though. Only minutes later WTR’s woes returned once again in almost the same manner suffered earlier by the No. 10 Acura. As Deletraz approached the infield exit, the No. 40 went dark and coasted to a stop, bringing a full course yellow out once again. Oddly, Deletraz managed to restart the car minutes later while the AMR Safety Team attended and made his way, at speed, back around the field readying to claw time back.

Post pit cycle, Tom Dillman now leads LMP2 in the No. 52 ORECA ahead of Connor Zilisch (No. 18) and Malthe Jakobsen (No. 04) with previous leader Ben Keating having slid to fifth in class.

Alessandro Pier Guidi remains in the GTD PRO lead in the No. 62 Risi Ferrari with Alexander Sims still stalking just 1.5s behind.

GTD is led by Frederik Schandorff in the No. 70 McLaren 720S Evo.

HOUR 12 STANDINGS

Rolex 24, Hour 11: Heart of Racing Aston meets electrical trouble

Nighttime at the Rolex 24 at Daytona can offer a methodical plod along as the halfway point approaches. When rain beckons, that plod can turn frantic. With 14 hours remaining on the clock, Felipe Nasr held an ebbing and flowing overall lead in the …

Nighttime at the Rolex 24 at Daytona can offer a methodical plod along as the halfway point approaches. When rain beckons, that plod can turn frantic.

With 14 hours remaining on the clock, Felipe Nasr held an ebbing and flowing overall lead in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963, with Jack Aitken’s No. 31 Cadillac drifting between 2.5s and 4.5s behind as the pit cycle began in earnest when the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin came to a brief stop on track at the hands of Marco Sorensen.

That lead would only lengthen by the close of the hour — Aitken 12s adrift himself as another pit cycle began again with just over 13 hours remaining.

The No. 27 Aston’s woes only increased as time wore on, the car again falling deadstick and needing to be pushed down pitlane, sinking further down the GTD order.

“The car shut off twice out on the track,” Sorensen told IMSA Radio. “Then we came into the box and we had the same issue. We’re trying to find out what the actual electronic issue is right now because I…lost power steering when I was going through a quick corner and went basically straight. Not ideal for now, but now [we’re] doing a bigger service because we lost so many laps. Yeah, I don’t think we’re going to have a chance at a win anymore, but if we can just get the car out and get some valuable data for running, then we’ll do that.”

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Pato O’ward continued the dominant lead in LMP2, continuously opening the No. 2’s lead up past 43s in the first quarter of the hour before Ben Keating took the wheel at their mid-hour stop.

The No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura ARX-06 made a surprisingly quick return to the circuit just before the hour’s halfway point. Marcus Ericsson took the car around for just a handful of laps before reentering pitlane for brief checks, now 83 laps down. Troubles also continued for the Pfaff McLaren — a lengthy stop with the crew working inside the car’s nose before appearing to be pushed behind the wall once again.

In GTD PRO, James Calado (No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari) slipstreamed by the No. 77 Porsche of Laurin Heinrich approaching the Le Mans Chicane and took the class lead before motoring away to a more than 10s lead over Alexander Sims in the No. 3 Corvette as time went on, the Porsche sinking back down the order to fifth in class.

GTD leader Daniel Morad (No. 57 Winward Mercedes) remained in a commanding class lead, 15s ahead of the No. 70 in second as the hour drew to a close.

HOUR 11 STANDINGS

Rolex 24, Hour 10: Smooth and quiet for Porsche

The 10th hour of the Rolex 24 At Daytona ended with the Porsche Penske Motorsport 963s first and third, sandwiching Jack Aitken in the Whelen Engineering Cadillac Racing V-Series.R. Felipe Nasr led in the No. 7 Porsche, with Nick Tandy third in the …

The 10th hour of the Rolex 24 At Daytona ended with the Porsche Penske Motorsport 963s first and third, sandwiching Jack Aitken in the Whelen Engineering Cadillac Racing V-Series.R. Felipe Nasr led in the No. 7 Porsche, with Nick Tandy third in the No. 6. Nick Yelloly is staying in touch in the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL M Hybrid V8 as the race has run an hour-and-a-half under green.

Jenson Button nearly changed that when he locked up the brakes on the No. 40 WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06 while passing Alexander Sims in the No. 3 Corvette and made contact. Button spun the car, but got going again.

“I made a mistake, which is annoying for the team, in Turn 3,” Button explained. “So I went on the inside on No. 3 Corvette and I braked and he braked super late … I didn’t realize he would still be on the outside through the apex and I locked up a little bit and ran into him. So swung the car around — luckily there was no damage to either. So up until that point it was it was going all right; we were running in fifth behind Yelloly sort of five seconds doing similar lap times to cars in front, so it wasn’t too bad.”

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The sister Acura was still in the garage as the crew worked to replace the wiring loom. In a further blow to WTRAndretti, The GTD No. 45 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 has gone to the garage to replace a front left hub.

The No. 66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 has struck trouble, the team reporting a loss of power. Sheena Monk has made a couple of trips to the pits moving slowly. The problem was traced to electrical, and with a change of ECU and other components, the car was back on track with Monk at the wheel, albeit 15 laps down.

The No. 44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 has re-entered the race after a long time in the garage to repair crash damage after getting caught up with a spinning LMP2.

Class leaders after 10 hours:

GTP: Felipe Nasr, No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963

LMP2: Pato O’Ward, No. 2 United Autosports ORECA 07

GTD PRO: Alexander Sims, No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R

GTD: Daniel Morad, No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG

HOUR 10 STANDINGS

Rolex 24, Hour 9: Trouble strikes WTR Andretti No. 10

After eight hours of relatively trouble-free running for the GTPs, Filipe Albuquerque rolled to a stop in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 during the ninth hour. Albuquerque exited the car before getting back in to try …

After eight hours of relatively trouble-free running for the GTPs, Filipe Albuquerque rolled to a stop in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 during the ninth hour. Albuquerque exited the car before getting back in to try something, but eventually the car had to be delivered to the garage on a rollback under a full-course caution.

“I started smelling something in the car,” said Albuquerque. “Actually I reported, ‘Yeah, something strange here and like feel some smell,’ and literally the second after, the car completely shut down — nothing left. I couldn’t pick it back again. I tried to put the emergency buttons on the outside but that was it, it died. We couldn’t even go to neutral we could not tow, nothing.”

The problem has been traced to the wiring harness, and the team is attempting a replacement, but says it will be a long repair.

The No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 received its second drive-through penalty for failure to adhere to the controlled powertrain parameters, and since this was the second time, it was increased from a drive-through to a stop plus 10s.

Pipo Derani was still out front in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac Racing V-Series.R as the race entered its 10th hour. Sebastien Bourdais had been running second until he locked up the brakes and sailed off in the International Horseshoe. Bourdais continued, but had a puncture on the left front, the cause of the lockup.

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“The GT that was in front of me coming up to [Turn] 3, swerved to the right and there was a pile of debris right there,” Bourdais explained. “I don’t know what it was. It was, I think, a mirror and something else. Initially I thought it was just a piece of debris under the car but it slashed the tire right away and I was lucky not to hit the tires, because I didn’t think I was going to stop it.”

The debris likely came from contact between Dennis Andersen in the No. 20 High Class Racing ORECA that eventually re-emerged from the garage and the No. 83 Iron Dames Lamborghini with Rahel Frey at the wheel.

Derani was being pursued by Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 PPM Porsche 963 and Connor De Phillippi in the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL M Hybrid V8. The leaders have completed 285 laps of the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway.

The No. 2 United Autosports ORECA leads LMP2 with Pato O’Ward at the wheel, being chased by Josh Burdon in the No. 74 Riley Motorsports ORECA.

The GTD PRO and GTD cars on the lead lap have been separated by the wave-around process during the Albuquerque caution, and the GTD cars are now a lap behind. Antonio Garcia is at the head of the GTD PRO field in the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R, ahead of Andrea Caldarelli in the No. 19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini and Davide Rigon in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari. Philip Ellis leads GTD in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG, followed by Tom Gamble in the No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren.

The GTD PRO No. 75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes AMG that has had repeated trips to the garage has finally gone behind the wall for good and has been retired.

Class leaders after nine hours:

GTP: Pipo Derani, No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac Racing V-Series.R

LMP2: Pato O’Ward, No. 2 United Autosports ORECA 07

GTD PRO: Antonio Garcia, No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R

GTD: Philip Ellis, No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG

HOUR 9 STANDINGS

Rolex 24, Hour 8: Derani back in front as GTD and GTD PRO stays intermixed

Eight hours in, and in a sharp contrast to last year, not only have none of the GTP contenders had to have any meaningful repair, but all but one are still on the lead lap. Only the No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 has fallen a lap down. …

Eight hours in, and in a sharp contrast to last year, not only have none of the GTP contenders had to have any meaningful repair, but all but one are still on the lead lap. Only the No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 has fallen a lap down.

Pipo Derani took the lead from Josef Newgarden early in the eighth hour and has kept the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac Racing V-Series.R as Newgarden tumbled down the order to fifth. But Derani still has a Porsche chasing him, now the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 with Kevin Estre at the wheel. Filipe Albuquerque has been moving up in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06, and has it up to third.

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The GTD PRO and GTD cars continue to be intermixed, the top two in GTD PRO followed by the top two in GTD, then back to GTD PRO. Sheldon van der Linde leads GTD PRO in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 with Davide Rigon in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296.

Aaron Telitz is at the front of the GTD field in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F, with Philip Ellis following in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG. The No. 32 Korthoff Preston Mercedes AMG that had been battling at the front is currently in third, Mikael Grenier having taken over from Maxi Goetz.

“It’s still too early to say if you’re battling for a win, but I guess the package we have is good,” said Goetz. “My teams are fully committed and also the teammates. Now, Mik is doing his first stint so he gets also taste now, and then I think we already for the second half of the race.”

Goetz added that he is more used to races where the GT3 cars are the quickest rather than the slowest, so he finds himself looking backwards as much as forward.

Class leaders after eight hours

GTP: Pipo Derani, No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac Racing V-Series.R

LMP2: Alex Quinn, No. 99 AO Racing ORECA 07

GTD PRO: Sheldon van der Linde, No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3

GTD: Aaron Telitz, No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT

HOUR 8 STANDINGS