Sam Bird's Ferrari has surely gone ka-blammo. That's a major dose of engine smoke. A mosquito killer, as they say. That's terminal engine damage and the rear wheels have locked into one position. So, Bird isn't going anyplace. Problems also, for the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3. Justin Marks is running eighth in class, before the car stopped. Cue the drama music. Ugh! It's lunchtime here at the Rolex 24, before we get ready for the end. Bring on the hot dogs! The pace has slowed down again, reducing the distance that has to be covered in the same 24 hour period. Sam Bird climbs disconsolately from the Ferrari, hands on the back of his head thinking, "we were so close! Car, you let me down!"
Bird had been pulling away and Alessandro Balzan, Christina Nielsen, and Matteo Cressoni ran very well. Cressoni drove like a demon. These are the defending GTD champions. No warning. The motor went pop on him. It's not over 'til it's over. The #96 BMW is towed to the garage. Mike Rockenfeller in the #3 Corvette might have a chance to get back into contention here. 601 laps, (2,139 and a half miles), in the books. The Nissan has been running a lot better than we thought, even though it is not the fastest car by any stretch. It's still there. We will have a GTLM car in the top five. Both leading Cadillac's (#10 & #5), come to pit lane. Fuel only for Action Express. Jordan Taylor is getting out of the #10. Ricky Taylor gets in. We have a lead change.
Some fluids were replaced in the car. Was it the start of that stop? Or, was the stop of that start? Yours truly isn't sure. Starworks can now pack it up. Both car #8 and car #88 are officially retired from this Rolex 24. Car #38, currently running 14th overall, will be uncontested to win in Prototype Challenge. That team is the only PC car left. Kyle Masson should take the victory, barring something dropping in from a parallel universe. Jules Gounon still leads GT Daytona over Jeroen Bleekemolen. Lawson Aschenbach and Stevenson Motorsports, are third in their Audi R8. Robin Liddell will bring that car home. Mark Wilkins is in the #93 Acura NSX. He's done some hero stints.
Tom Dyer is in the #86 machine. The #96 BMW M6 GT3 is back out on track, as we see the GT cars in the lane. All four Ford's pit, and so does the #3 Corvette. Antonio Garcia will get into the #3 car. The #62 Ferrari is also in the lane, as it is for the #29 Audi squad. Tires and fuel for Stevenson Motorsports and their Audi. The Corvette has beaten the Ford's, and also, the Ferrari. The #62 Ferrari beat the Ford's. U.S. based Ford's beat U.K. based Ford's out of the lane. Andrew Davis will drive the #57 Audi. Stevenson and Acura will be told by the marshals to swap places. The car in the fast lane has the right of way.
The #26 PC car has a drive through penalty. The #90 car stayed out. #90 does not have the pace of the Cadillac's by any means. Every pit stop for the #10 Cadillac for Wayne Taylor Racing, has been longer than the stops made by the Action Express Racing Cadillac, #5. There could be a penalty for one of the Porsche's because it ducked around the bollard in the pit lane. Kevin Estre may be the driver needing to take the penalty. Here is your list of official retirements, that you can mark off the entry list with your Sharpie of doom.
#24 BMW Team RLL BMW M6 GT transmission
#14 3GT Racing Lexus RC F GT crash
#59 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3R oil line/engine
#16 Change Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 multiple crashes
#73 Park Place Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R crash
#51 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3 unsolvable misfire
#54 CORE Autosport Porsche 911 GT3R crash
#50 Riley Motorsports - WeatherTech Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 crash/crash damage
#21 Konrad Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 unsure Withdrawn
#88 Starworks Motorsport Oreca FLM 09 Chevrolet a litany of problems
#8 Starworks Motorsport Oreca FLM 09 Chevrolet a litany of problems
#55 Mazda Motorsports Mazda RT24P DPi fire
#27 Dream Racing Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 crash
#81 DragonSpeed Oreca 07 Gibson ran out of parts from crash damage
#75 SunEnergy Mercedes AMG GT3 crash/crash damage/stopped on track
#63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 engine failure
Of the 55 starters, sixteen have retired, leaving 39 cars still on track, which for this race, is actually not all that much attrition.
We will go back to green in a minute or so. Rene Rast has done very, very well in this race. When there is rain, he's done well, and so has Renger van der Zande. One hour and 40 minutes remain. Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor will chase Rene Rast on this restart. Antonio Garcia still leads GTLM. Dirk Mueller is second, and third, James Calado. Andy Lally has come to second in class in GTD passing Andrew Davis. It's #5 vs. #90 on the banking. Filipe Albuquerque takes the lead away from Rene Rast! Both Albuquerque and Rast will race for Audi in the DTM this year. Albuquerque is a DTM veteran.
Kyle Masson has a quick drive through penalty. Cadillac goes back to 1-2 as Ricky Taylor flies past Rene Rast. One of the Prototype Challenge cars, is smoking. Which one? Ah. The #26 machine of Trent Hindman is in trouble, again. The #912 Porsche and the #93 Acura may also see penalties coming their way. Stop and hold for car #26. Drive through penalty for #912. Dirk Mueller whistles by Antonio Garcia to take the class lead in GT Le Mans. A battle for third, the final podium place in GT Daytona between the Stevenson and Land Motorsports Audi's.
Connor De Philippi is in a podium place for the time being. The new generation Prototypes have much smaller fuel tanks as we may have mentioned earlier on in the race. They carry just 75 liters of fuel. We have an hour and a half left. Some real argy bargy between the #68 Ford GT and the #911 Porsche coming out of turn six. Pilet stuck his nose in where he shouldn't have, as the car ahead (the Ford), would have the right of way. There's no need to play dodge 'em cars this late in the race. Tire warmers should be used for a race like this. Reliability for the new cars will be something that will get better. There's been some wonderful racing.
GTD has had an amazing depth and a quality in competition. The Balance of Performance has worked well. GT Le Mans has been a bar brawl. After the scrap, they will all be friends. The #66 car has had something extra in the locker that it's used. It's been pretty amazing. A battle for position in GTD between the Land Motorsports Audi and the MSR Acura. Audi goes to second. Can he close three seconds to Jeroen Bleekemolen in the Mercedes Benz? We'll see. Dirk Mueller's pace has been very good in the #66 Ford. It's a battle for the lead, as we see both Cadillac's now side by side.
Ricky Taylor must be patient. Car #90 pits this lap. The lead battle is really heating up now. Taylor makes an inside pass on Albuquerque into the Bus Stop! He keeps the car off the grass as well. Wow! A decisive pass indeed. Albuquerque is not done yet. He wants to go inside into the first turn, but decides discretion is the better part of valor. GT Daytona traffic ahead could give Albuquerque another shot. Rene Rast pits and has to keep a podium place, staying ahead of the #2 Nissan. There will be fuel, and a driver change. Who is now in the #90? This is a full tank of fuel. Not sure who got in the car.
The #90 might be a bit short. Marc Goossens is now in the car. He has a lap in hand over Pippo Derani. Goossens might be lapped by the leaders. 46 laps in two stints, will be right on. But the Multimatic Riley will always be a lap or so short. Goossens has gone a lap down. So, he'll be in fuel saving mode. Stories and drama always happen here at Daytona. There could be a timed stop for the #10. A stealthy run late in the race by a GTD car is common in the recent runnings of the Rolex 24. The #28 Alegra Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R of Michael Christensen is that car now. 618 laps (bang on, 2,200 miles), complete. Ricky Taylor pulls out 2.3 seconds.
Connor De Philippi is catching Michael Christensen who is leading GT Daytona. #28 was a lap down and has now made up a whole lap. That will be a dark horse for the win in GTD. Patrick Pilet now has Antonio Garcia in his sights. This is the battle for third in GTLM. Dirk Mueller has the GTLM leading Ford GT in the top five with an hour and 20 minutes left. The Porsche is making a pass on the Corvette on the high side of the banking. Pilet takes the long way around Garcia, and makes the move! Oh dear! Pilet has undone all that hard work, running wide into turn one! That was a sacre bleu! moment for Pilet.
Problems again for the #13 Rebellion Oreca 07 Gibson. The team of Sebastien Buemi, Neel Jani, Nick Heidfeld, and Stephane Sarrazin has not had the race they've wanted at all. The #13 has it's engine cover off. The rear clip is off, in pit lane, too. It'd be best for them to take the car to the garage. They are on the same lap with another car that has had an equally fraught Rolex 24, the #31 Whelen Action Express Racing Cadillac of Seb Morris, sharing with Dane Cameron, Eric Curran, and Mike Conway. The top three runners in GTD are running right together. Jeroen Bleekemolen followed by Connor De Philippi, and Michael Christensen.
Could Alegra Motorsports pull off a class win here? We'll see. Double checking the figures, this might be 54 straight years of Porsche being on the podium at the Rolex 24. There might be a splash of rain around. The #31 Cadillac has just made a move in the lane around the #13 Rebellion car. This isn't over yet, ladies and gentlemen. Eight and a half seconds separates the top four in GTD. Dirk Mueller leads James Calado in GTLM. Bleekemolen holds the GTD lead as the Benz, Audi, and Porsche, battle. Bleekemolen continues to hold De Philippi and Christensen at bay.
This is the dawn of a new era in American sports car racing. We will lose the Prototype Challenge cars. But no one has been a factor in that category. The three other classes are more than enough to give us fabulous racing. We have a lead change in GT Daytona. Connor De Philippi gets around Jeroen Bleekemolen. The charge to the front is complete for #29. Jeroen Bleekemolen gets passed by the #912 GTLM Porsche with Laurens Vanthoor at the controls. Michael Christensen, too, is all over the Mercedes like a rash. Christensen will go inside Bleekemolen! He makes the pass! Bleekemolen is struggling for grip at the wheel of the Mercedes AMG GT3.
A lot of nerves on pit wall as both Cadillac pit crews are setting up for the final stops. #5 is in the lane. It will be getting right side tires. Four tires and fuel, actually. We also have debris on the track. That piece, is from the #66 Ford GT. It has the number right on it. Pits are now closed. Filipe Albuquerque gets out of the pits just as they close. Also, the #22 Nissan is stopped on track! #22 was at pit out and may have had a problem. Correction on the debris. That piece is not from the Ford. It is from the #93 Acura NSX. Andy Lally and Andrew Davis were scrapping, and Jeff Segal was booking it in the sister Acura #86.
The #13 Rebellion Oreca 07 is no longer in the lane, but cruising slowly on the apron of the oval. Sebastien Buemi at the controls. The car does not have much power it seems as the safety car is back on track again. The leading #10 Cadillac may have to make an emergency stop for a splash and dash. Ricky Taylor may need a stop. The #90 car gets a break and gets mileage to avoid the splash and dash. The debris is from the #93 and the whole front of the car is off of it. If contact was made to the Acura, it is on the right front of the car.
The right front corner of the car is loose. We are under yellow with just about an hour to go. The leader stays out. Ricky Taylor is on his 26th lap of his fuel stint. Do they have more in the tank? Next time around is when regular fuel stops will happen. The pits are closed, and the #10 will have to pit under yellow. One hour to go.
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