The battle at the head of the field is amazing, with seven cars in the thick of it. Juan Montoya in the leading Acura is only 2.8 seconds ahead of seventh place Jordan Taylor in the #10 Cadillac. Both AXR Cadillac's have passed Jonathan Bomarito in the #55 Mazda. There is nothing in it, virtually, at this stage. How long is this race? It's a 20 lap sprint? No. It can't be. Juan Pablo Montoya is going for it, and here's Felipe Nasr going for it as well. Here comes Filipe Albuquerque, too! Oliver Jarvis darts left and right and is a lucky chap to not crash! Juan Pablo Montoya leads by about a second over Oliver Jarvis. Extraordinary racing, as Jarvis finds a gap that didn't exist, between two GT Daytona cars! Unbelievable!
This is fabulous racing, as we have run 38 laps, 135 miles. We've had a full extra lap in hour one over what we achieved in that record setting race last year. Mazda brings the #55 car to the pit lane for scheduled service. Ford fabricators have been working on some bodywork for their two retro liveried cars. That was a quick and scheduled stop for the Mazda boys. Acura #7 heads forpit lane. Both Acura's and the #77 Mazda are in the pit lane. It looks like standard service for everyone at this stage. No dramas. A slightly longer stop for the #7 Penske Acura with Ricky Taylor at the wheel of it. Acura goes ahead of Mazda, and the #10 Cadillac goes ahead of the sister Penske Acura.
The pit lane speed limit runs all the way 'round the radius corner that comes out onto the track. Every Michelin tire has an RFID chip in it, for the count of allocation to each team during the race weekend. The cars have to go at a sensible speed for the RFID chip to be read by the sensor equipment. Hence, the reason for the slow exit from the lane. The #54 Nissan DPi is pitting now for fuel at the very least. Battle resumes on the road between the two Action Express Cadillac's. Augustin Canapino explains that there was a throttle issue on the #50 Cadillac.
Canapino is a star of the future. Look out for him, even though he has only just started driving single seaters and prototype sports cars. Augustin Canapino and another driver named Juan Traverso, these guys are legends in their home country, much as five time Formula 1 World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio was in his time, racing back in the 1950s. Cadillac #5 nearly runs into the team car! Yikes! But, they are pitting now, and let's see who goes out first. Albuquerque's stop was a little slower behind Felipe Nasr. Porsche #99 is also back in the lane for scheduled service.
The #99 NGT Motorsport Porsche had a routine stop, so their race is back on schedule as there is a punctured tire being analyzed that came off the #10 Cadillac. The team runs water over the tire, and air bubbles were seen, so that meant the tire did have a slow puncture. Juan Montoya sets another fast lap in this motor race. Montoya is getting into the groove of being a sports car racer, although 2018 for Penske Racing was not the best, save for thei Mid-Ohio win. Trouble again, for the #99 NGT Racing Porsche after it was in pit lane for service, and he's slammed the barrier coming through turn five it appears.
Jurgen Haring is at the wheel of it right now after Alfred Renauer completed his stint. He's buried the car in the tire wall at the west horseshoe. It looks like Haring is back moving again. He has lost the driver's side door mirror. Other than the mirror, it seems there is no real damage to the automobile. Renauer just slid off the road on cold tires. That's how it happened. The old release agent is making these tires quite slick. He spun off at turn six. He assumed he spun off at the International Horseshoe. Here at Daytona, it is difficult to tell the difference between the two turns within the flat infield road course section.
Spencer Pumpelly and Rolf Ineichen are in a battle among themselves, and a battle between two Lamborghini's in GTD as we see the Brazilian entered #13 Ferrari is off the road. The Via Italia Ferrari 488 GT3 is off on the grass, bounding over the escape road, look. He wants to rejoin at turn six, but he might be stuck for a while. He did the safer thing, spinning onto the cutout, and turn five is calamity corner! The #47 PPM Lamborghini Huracan has also made a pig's breakfast out of his entrance to the corner, spins across the grass, and wallop! He hits the tires, hard! Now, could that have been the #46 Ebimotors Lamborghini? It is. It's Emmanuele Busnelli at the wheel of it at the moment. Busnelli is still sitting there, and has not moved that car yet.
This could lead to a full course yellow and a safety car, ladies and gentlemen. Pit lane becomes busy in anticipation of a full course yellow, as the GTLM leading cars are in. Both Corvette's pit, and so does the #24 BMW. That's the Krohn/Edwards/Mostert/Zanardi driven machine. There is a driver change. A few laps ago, the sister #25 BMW M8 GT also pitted, the Farfus/De Philippi/Eng/Herta machine. Standard pit stops for Corvette, too, as the #3 car has gone ahead of it's sister car, #4. Meanwhile, is there something laid down on the track that's causing these spin out's? Is it oil? Is it water? What could it be?
Alex Zanardi is making his first appearance in this Rolex 24. The inspiration to so many, is now behind the wheel for his first stint, and is able to steer the car, via the wheel, as well as hand controls for the throttle and the brake. He is having issues getting the steering wheel, to work. It will not mount onto it's mounting pins properly. They are swapping the wheel to another one, and he ouldn't start the car, but now, he's off and running. John Edwards brought the car in, and now, Alex Zanardi is running his first competitive laps in the 2019 Rolex 24.
Alex Zanardi is so motivational to his team, and inspirational to everyone. Now, the Mazda has been running very quickly at the sharp end, while trying to catch the #10 and #31 Cadillac's. Olivier Pla is at the end of the crocodile of Prototypes at the moment, seven seconds behind the leading Acura. Jordan Taylor is third overall in the #10 Cadillac as we see a rhythm starting to form in this race. Zero grip for Alex Zanardi into the International Horseshoe. If you look at the inside of the BMW, Alex Zanardi has this big lever which some might think is a sequential shift lever. But, no. That is a hand brake lever to apply the brakes.
We have a new leader! Oliver Jarvis has gone around Juan Pablo Montoya. He gets a great run through NASCAR turn two and out of the Bus Stop chicane as we work 50 laps (178 miles). Oliver Jarvis leads Montoya by 3/10ths of a second. It's not as slippery on the road as it has been assumed lately, according to Richard Heistand who just completed his stint in the #14 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3. So, again, Oliver Jarvis leads this motor race by 6/10ths of a second. Montoya has passd Jarvis for the race lead in traffic. Kyle Masson has also been passed by the #18 DragonSpeed car with Ryan Cullen at the controls. Nick Tandy in the #911 Porsche 911 RSR leads James Calado in the #62 Ferrari 488 GTE in second in class, followed by the #66 Ford GT. Corvette has an advantage over their competition in GTLM as they have already made their scheduled pit stops while no one else has yet.
Trent Hindman is at the top of the tree in GT Daytona in the #86 Acura NSX GT3 over the second place Mercedes AMG GT3, #33, for Riley Motorsports, with Ben Keating at the controls. Rolf Ineichen has the #11 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 in third over the similar car #44 for Magnus Racing being driven by Spencer Pumpelly with Frankie Montecalvo and Daniel Morad next up in the Lexus and the Land Audi respectively. Juan Montoya has passed for the lead for the seventh time in this race. Montoya's most recent lap was in the 1:36 range. The paved section below the double yellow line is race track that can be used without incurring a penalty.
A slow car on track, is the #54 Nissan DPi for CORE Autosport, the retro liveried car throwing it back to the late 1980s and early 1990s Nissan Motorsport factory GTP cars. Jon Bennett at the wheel of it, has had a fraught race in the early going and that seems to continue. Big smoke, too from the GT Le Mans leader! BMW #25 has had a clatter on the circuit, someplace. The Nissan has a cut down right rear Michelin tire, look. Porsche #911 is in the lane, and no splitter issues. Nick Tandy gets out of the car, and a driver change, too, for the #54. Patrick Pilet has taken over the #911 Porsche.
Part of the tire tread must have been caught under the #25 BMW M8 GT with Colton Herta now driving. Herta is bringing the BMW to the lane. We can see a piece of tire debris caught on the front splitter, and that is the tell tale sign of some argy bargy out on the circuit, look. Quick stop for the BMW to clear the debris. The #54 CORE Autosport Nissan is reeled in by the marshals for a pit lane speed limit infraction. He ran through the lane at 87 kilometers an hour, where the speed limit is 60 kilometers an hour. Do the math, and that's roughly 55 miles an hour, normal highway speed, when it should have been 37 miles an hour. 18 over is pretty quick in the lane. Romain Dumas has taken the car over and is answering his penalty.
Jon Bennett has been behind Augustin Canapino in the #50 Cadillac, the Juncos Racing car. We watch in replay, and Jon Bennett was a lucky chap to get that car stabilized when the tire was coming apart. Jeepers creepers! No damage on the left front splitter, and well, now we have the #46 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 in the lane. It's come out from behind the wall. In the meantime, Oliver Jarvis is all over Juan Pablo Montoya for the lead of this motor race coming into the braking area for the chicane. Montoya is defending to the left, look, and Jarvis is right there. They make their way past the #57 Caterpillar sponsored MSR Acura NSX of the all-female driving team, and now, Felipe Albuquerque in the #5 Cadillac is beginning to close up on the lead duo, look.
Albuquerque is going like the clappers at the moment, having gone past both Felipe Nasr and Jordan Taylor. Helio Castroneves also has made his way past the #10 car, and coming up on the WTR Cadillac too, is the Mazda #55 of Olivier Pla. For the Ebimotors team and their Lamborghini, the kerfuffle they've just been in, could be an honest mistake. Emmanuelle Busnelli, who won the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup last year, which shadows the European Le Mans Series, is a bronze graded driver, and he probably ended up applying the brakes too late.
Oh dear. More woe for the #99 Porsche. This is a massive accident! We have the #99 with a gargantuan cloud of really expensive smoke out the back, as it's puking oil all over the shop here, and the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE has also rotated. This will bring out a full course yellow. The #99 is expired. It's game over. Laurens Vanthoor is out of the pit lane and back on track. Now, we see that when the #99 car had it's problems, the engine went ka-blammo on the downshift into turn one on the road course. There's oil everywhere and James Calado has spun away his lead in GT Le Mans.
Joey Hand dived for the lane, and ended up going straightg through. The pit lane is closed as we see the #86 Acura NSX GT3 for emergency service from the GTD lead. That was a five second top up of fuel. There's no point in running someone out of fuel. He will have to pit again soon. The Risi Ferrari is also in for a splash and dash. That's emergency service of some sort and it may actually be the #51 AF Corse car going in for a splash and dash as well. Five seconds of fuel for both. It's 4:15 P.M. Eastern, 3:15 P.M. Central Time at the Rolex 24 right now. Jurgen Haring has had a couple off track excursions.
Now, the Ferrari, and the Acura, will both need to return to the pit lane for full fledged pit stops. A major moment for James Calado. Dear me. The safety car has picked up the field as Juan Montoya leads Filipe Albuquerque, Oliver Jarvis, Felipe Nasr, Helio Castroneves, and Jordan Taylor. No overtaking under a safety car, unless you are caught between the safety car and the leading car in a given class. Then, the stewards will allow a wave by in that particular case. Another car taking to pit lane for emergency service is the #85 Cadillac, the second of the JDC-Miller "Banana Boat" cars. Another car seems to have slowed on the speedway.
This is the plaid liveried #9 Porsche 911 GT3R, the Pfaff Motorsports entry in GT Daytona for Scott Hargrove, Zacharie Robichaud, Lars Kern, and Dennis Olsen. Two Canadian's, a German, and a Norwegian share this car. Full on pit stop action coming for the Prototype field as a good number of the leader's are in. Both Mazda's are down there, as is the #10 Cadillac, and they are doing a driver change along with fueling the car. Acura looks to have the fastest pit stop beating out their sister car along with the Cadillac's and the Mazda's in the race off pit lane as the #9 Porsche is in the lane for a splash and a dash.
Pit lane is now open for the GT classes, both GTLM and GTD. Lexus, Porsche, Corvtte, and others, take advantageof the opportunity to pit. Corvette #3 needs bodywork damage repairs and one of the crew members is frantically trying to make rpairs to the right front corner of the car. He is yelling to his crew members, "I need a hammer!" The two Corvette's came in together, but #4 clipped #3 on pit entry, causing damage. Corvette Racing crew chief Dan Binks looks on, and we have the #9 Porsche spinning through the International Horseshoe and continuing. Now, have the boys at Corvette rrpaired all their damage yet? It appears that they have. The team is still working on the right front corner of the #3.
Is there an issues with the brake system on the car? We watch in replay, and yes, the pit entry for those two was a very close shave indeed. Repairs continue on #3 as #4 is on track, circulating. They are third in GT Le Mans at the moment. We see the Audi R8 safety car, painted in the retro Audi Sport factory livery from the late 1980s, keeping the field in tow. The safety car will now dive for pit lane and we will finish the final five minutes of hour two of the Rolex 24 under green. Dane Cameron accelerates into the tri oval, and he has a run on Eric Curran in the #31 Cadillac, and Helio Castroneves, Olivier Pla, and Rene Rast are all going for it on this restart.
An incredible getaway by the Acura, and it's Acura, Cadillac, and Mazda, followed by Acura and Mazda, and five more Cadillac's completing the top ten. In GT Le Mans, the #3 Corvette is back out into the race after the pit lane troubles documented earlier, and a good scrap is brewing between Ford and Porsche. Antonio Garcia is now at the wheel of the #3 Corvette. Antonio Garcia is now two laps behind both Joey Hand in the Ford and the sister Corvette which is in the hands of Tommy Milner. The troubles we saw a short time ago for the Cadillac, the #5 car, had to do with taillights that were malfunctioning. A new tail section had to be fitted to the car.
Christian Fittipaldi is at the wheel of it, and in the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac, is a superstar, as Fernando Alonso has gotten in the car for his first stint in the 2019 Rolex 24. Chris Miller in the #84 JDC-Miller Cadillac, and Olivier Pla in the #55 Mazda RT24P are now just 1.6 seconds apart. The reflection of the headlights beams across the green and gold Rolex advertising signage headed through the Bus Stop chicane. Don't wait for a bus down there, chaps. This service, has been cancelled unless you want to hitch a ride with a race car. Dane Cameron leads from Eric Curran. It's Acura vs. Cadillac. Rene Rast is closing up on Eric Curran through the tri oval, look.
Leading in GT Daytona, Lexus. Currently, it is the #12 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 with Townsend Bell at the wheel of it. Bell is in an all American team with Frankie Montecalvo, Aaron Telitz, and Jeff Segal. Checking in again on that Corvette pit stop, Jan Magnussen got clipped by Oliver Gavin, and the #3 suffered a broken steering arm. There will be a penalty for Rik Breukers in the leading GT Daytona Lamborghini! Improper final wave by for Breukers, who will incur a stop and nearly four minute hold penalty from IMSA. Breukers, the Dutchman, will not be happy about that. He shares the GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan with Rolf Ineichen of Switzerland, Mirko Bortolotti of Italy, and Christian Engelhart of Germany.
This is a massive penalty for the team and the car that won this race last year in GT Daytona. Breukers and company are easily going to lose two laps in the process.
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