In GTD, we can see a batgtle beginning to brew. It's steeping and simmering. Ellis, Nielsen, and Stolz are the top three. A Ferrari in a Mercedes sandwich. Also, Simon Pagenaud is working traffic and he has to take risks to get past the GT cars. It's a real teeth grinder here. Rossi seems to have the edge, but Pagenaud has the patience. He has to hang in it with Rossi to see if it comes back to him. GTD and LMP3 in a chess match on the high banks. The true chess game is this ongoing, simmering battle between Ferrari and Mercedes. AF Corse vs. HTP Winward. Alexander Rossi leads by 2.5 seconds. This is the first time Wayne Taylor has not raced a General Motors product in 28 years, since 1993.
CGR had a penalty for speeding overnight. Scott Dixon will get into the #01 soon, running also with Renger van der Zande. Max "The Axe" Angelelli, is now in a business relationship with Dallara. He is representing Dallara, but taking on his dear friend Wayne Taylor who he drove with and managed a team with. Now, the #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes has taken over second in GTD from the #21 Ferrari. Luca Stolz at the wheel of it right now. As we check in on LMP2, Ryan Dalziel has the #18 Era Motorsport car in sixth. Christopher Mies could deliver a third consecutive LMP2 win for DragonSpeed in the #82 car since the #81 machine is out. Timothe Buret is third in the #8 Tower Motorsports entry as well.
Scott Andrews and Riley Motorsports lead LMP3. Corvette leading GTLM and they have not won in that class at the Rolex 24 in five years, not since 2016. Nielsen closes in on Ellis little by little. This is the cat chasing the mouse or the shark chasing the minnow as it were. Cooper MacNeil says that he has had a tough race, but he is helped by a few different co-drivers to be taught about a Porsche 911 RSR. Tough start in a 24 hour motor race. Cooper MacNeil, Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Lietz, and Kevin Estre were crashed out before the race even started by an amateur move from a pro driver. Cadillac #48 is pitting and so is the #60 MSR Acura.
Cooper MacNeil will be at Le Mans with Proton and Porsche and he too is also a licensed helicopter pilot. #10 in the lane. Filipe Albuquerque is into the car. Alexander Rossi was working hard to hold off Simon Pagenaud. Cooper MacNeil and his family are behind the WeatherTech company. The #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac is in the lane as well. Now, Simon Pagenaud is third overall and he is fully up to speed on warm tires, while Filipe Albuquerque has cold tires. The three way battle in GTD is still on. We have Phil Ellis vs. Nicklas Nielsen vs. Luca Stolz. Jordan Taylor leads Nick Tandy in GTLM by 4.2 seconds.
This laser focus on GTD racing is extraordinary to watch. Interesting to see who has the advantage in different spots of the track between the Mercedes and Ferrari. Filipe Albuquerque in the #10 Acura continues to lead. Meantime, Colton Herta says the Turner Motorsports BMW is competitive in GTD and they need a brake change and will become competitive. They lost a lap with a flat tire and then they had a disconnected fuel line which sprayed fuel in Bill Auberlen's face. It was a bit of confusion but he's OK and got a shower. Battles all over the shop here at Daytona.
Corvette #3 is ahead of #4. Are the #4 boys trying to do a fuel strategy trick? The two Corvette teams want to beat each other. Inter-team rivalries. Corvette #3 into the pit lane. Tires, fuel, and a driver change. Standard operating procedure. Also, a new drinks bottle added to the car. Jordan Taylor lights up the tires and he's back on the track, down and away. Simon Pagenaud is closing in on Filipe Albuquerque. Pit stop time for both the #57 and #21 cars in GTD. Ellis and Nielsen continue their scrum. Now, Nick Tandy speaks about the different options on tires and compounds. They are obvious both day and night but there's a crossover point on the custom Michelin tires for GTLM that have a variety of compounds, sort of like an assortment of chocolates for instance. Will it be cream filled or caramel and nougat? Or will it be a chocolate covered cherry?
GTD has added a new player to the game. Matteo Cressoni was pushing Phil Ellis in the braking zone for turn one and paid the price by spinning! Man oh man! Initial argy bargy washed the nose out and Matteo Cressoni gets the short end of the stick on that deal. He's still in it. Not an early bath. But now the tire is starting to come apart. Matteo Cressoni is a cool customer. But he has to be bugged by this. This is purely a racing incident. Simon Pagernaud reeling in Filipe Albuquerque. Scott Dixon is also chasing Juan Pablo Montoya. No further action on that GTD shemozzle we just saw.
#21 goes up on the air jacks for the tire change and there is fluid pouring out and a crimped exhaust pipe. Ferrari has not won in class at the Rolex 24 in 40 years or so. Ferrari has one GT class win in the Rolex 24, in 2014 with Level 5 Motorsports. Check what was said earlier. Ferrari has overall wins but just one GT class win. Pagenaud is 1.1 seconds behind Albuquerque now. Just over four hours to go. Katherine Legge and Christina Nielsen, racing for Earl Bamber Motorsports, are representing women in motor racing and Katherine Legge had to go through lots of rehabilitation after a huge crash in a prototype. But she is back and racing. Acura #10 on and off pit lane. Scott Dixon brings the #01 Ganassi Cadillac in as well.
Sticker tires for CGR. #48 in the lane, and Mike Rockenfeller gets into the car taking over for Simon Pagenaud.
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