Rain continues to pour as the #33 Mercedes AMG GT3 leads in GT Daytona with Mario Farnbacher at the controls. Too many lead changes in GT Daytona to count. Ezequiel Perez-Companc is second in the Grasser Lamborghini, and Robin Liddell is third in the #57 Stevenson Motorsports Audi, with the two Mike Shank Racing Acura NSX's in fourth and fifth in class. Aston Martin and Lamborghini have not led, but they've been up to second in class. Who will be in the lead of GTD in less than nine hours, towards the finish? The raindrops continue to fall. We watch the class leading GTLM Ferrari 488 with James Calado at the wheel. The #911 Porsche is second right behind him on the road. We have seen 25 overall lead changes among five cars in 15 hours.
Here's the breakdown with the car number and number of laps.
#5 Cadillac: 81 laps
#31 Cadillac: 89 laps
#22 Nissan: 10 laps
#90 Multimatic Riley: 25 laps
#10 Cadillac: All the rest.
Puddles of standing water still are prevalent in the road course section. The crocodile is still long. Ezequiel Perez-Companc has come to pit lane, and maybe has put the Lamborghini #11 into the garage. It was the second place GTD car. Robin Liddell is now second in class ahead of the two Acura's of Mark Wilkins and Ozz Negri. The Lamborghini has issues that need to be solved, so, that's good reason to take it to the garage. The #991 Porsche pits. Patience is sometimes good in 24 hour races. But if the car has a niggling problem that you want to nip in the bud, nip it in the bud and don't let it fester, or the situation will get worse.
Get to the garage and get it fixed. The pit lane is closed, but #991 needed to be topped up with fuel. Wolf Henzler ran 39 laps in that last caution. The water is gathering between turns five and six, and also at the chicane and the International Horseshoe. Tristan Nunez brings the #55 Mazda in and also in the lane is the #13 Rebellion Oreca 07 Gibson driven by Sebastien Buemi. Fuel only for the Mazda. Fuel for the Rebellion, and both doors are open on the Oreca. Sebastien Buemi gets out, and there will be a driver change. #22 is in the lane and Brendon Hartley takes over the Nissan from Bruno Senna. Ryan Dalziel will be the next driver in the sister #2. The #81 DragonSpeed car is in the lane as well.
The #13 Rebellion has a wing change, and maybe a nose change. Yes indeed. A nose change for #13. Water and electricity don't go together. Now it is time for GTLM and GTD cars to pit. Both Porsche's in. Driver change for #911. Fred Makowiecki gets in the car, replacing Dirk Werner. The #912 also pits with no driver change. The #912 car nearly collected the Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 #48. That car, sees a driver change, and Dion von Moltke getting into the car. The Lamborghi and the Porsche, nearly collided. Oliver Gavin also had a quick stop. But the #62 Ferrari will take the GTLM lead. Correction. Ferrari was leading and will still be P1 in class.
The radar still looks ugly. The #27 Dream Racing Lamborghini is in the pits. So is the #991 Porsche. We want to race, but these are not conditions conducive to race in. Fred Makowiecki had the rear brakes changed on the #911 Porsche. When car #991 pitted, Wolf Henzler handed the driving chores to Mike Hedlund. Jordan Taylor continues to lead. Nothing new there. James Calado pitted and has reemerged in fourth in class. The #21 Konrad Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan is in the pits, way down in 17th in GTD, but has a very steamed up window. Let's hope the defroster is working on that car. Marc Basseng is at the wheel of it. Mechanics are looking at the car.
They are looking at the back of the car with torches, trying to figure it out. Torches, you say? Well, in British parlance, a torch, is a flashlight. Is there a gearbox issue on that Lamborghini? You have to remove the diffuser, which is the undertray. Then you can gain access to that car, after unbolting the underside. Let's rewind the last few years to talk about race distances. Ten years ago, in 2007, saw the least laps of distance completed in the modern era. 668 laps (2,378 miles). With better weather, we may go above that. Early on in the race, 36 laps were done in the third hour. Eight hours and 34 minutes still remain as we are still under yellow due to the rain keeping on. It's been raining for nine and a half hours.
At reduced speed, a Prototype can run 30 laps on fuel, compared to full speed. Christian Fittipaldi in the Cadillac made it 34 laps at this slower pace. Keep an eye on driving time, still. Dirk Mueller has been in the car for three hours. We are focusing on GTLM at the moment as Andy Priaulx, Dirk Mueller, and Mike Rockenfeller (two Ford's and a Corvette). need to pit. Car #28 is in the lane, for Alegra Motorsports. Some teams have two spotters. That Porsche is getting a brake change done. #63 pits. Matteo Cressoni, out, and Sam Bird, in. In GTD, we've had at least 45 lead changes. Ozz Negri Jr. leads GT Daytona. 45 among 15 cars, and eight drivers. The Lamborghini has been as high as second, and the Aston Martin was also second early on.
Porsche #911 in the pits. #22 for ESM pits, for just one tire (the left rear) to be changed. We remain under yellow due to rain. This is the second weather related yellow flag. The #20 PC car is in the pits. Chapman Ducote is driving. This yellow has lasted for 17 laps and almost an hour. Jordan Taylor is still leading this motor race. Car #90 pits. Marc Goossens is still in the car. New tires go on the car. Goossens' windscreen is so fogged up, he couldn't see his crewman telling him to go. The Visit Florida car did not lose much except for a few places in the queue. We have been under yellow for 17 or 18 laps right now.
The rain isn't really the visibility concern. It's the foggy, misty condensation collecting on the windscreen. Drivers will have squeegees on a stick wiping the windscreen, and that's the best you can do. No end in sight for this weather band, and the standing water on the road is the tough part. Mist and spray, hanging in the air. We wait to see three of the GTLM cars make their pit stops. When will they hit the lane? Mike Rockenfeller, Dirk Mueller, and Andy Priaulx are the drivers being awaited. Each driver has run 28 laps, and in, comes Mike Rockenfeller in the #3 Corvette. A front brake change is taking place on the car.
Brakes and tires. Piece of cake. Practice, practice, practice. Very impressive. Rockenfeller was in the lane for two minutes and 17 seconds. More water in the chicane. Many cars have crashed on the exit of the Bus Stop of course, throughout this race so far. Six minutes left before we have eight hours to go and are very close to 2/3rds distance. Plenty of standing water in the apex of turn six. Jordan Taylor leads, and 437 laps are in the books. 437 laps, 1,556 miles. Cadillac, Cadillac, Multimatic Riley, Nissan. Four Prototypes in the top four, followed by a couple Ford GT's, then Tristan Nunez in the Mazda, and GTLM cars take up eighth to 13th in the overall. Olivier Pla is in there, along with James Calado, Richard Lietz, Fred Makowiecki, Mike Rockenfeller, and Augusto Farfus.
The #13 Rebellion Racing Oreca Gibson is back there, with Stephane Sarrazin at the controls. The #88 Starworks Prototype Challenge car is in the lane. There's a rumor this caution is for ducks crossing the back straight. #88 finished its service. The Oreca FLM 09's are in their final year at Daytona. Connor Daly is back in the car, wearing a replica helmet of the one his father, Derek Daly wore when won with Nissan at the 12 Hours of Sebring a couple of times. Race Control has told the teams that these lengthy cautions are so, because the idea is to avoid putting the red flag out and stopping the race altogether, just letting the clock run and having no cars on the track. A change of safety cars, from an Audi to a Porsche. The Audi, is out of fuel and needs the tank filled.
More than an hour under this safety car, and hour 16 is in the bag.
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