Pit stop time for McLaren and a brake change on the car. It was a seal failure, actually, on the McLaren. Not a brake change. Matt Campbell defends from Alessandro Pier Guidi. We're also keeping an eye on the #44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in GT Daytona for John Potter, Andy Lally, Spencer Pumpelly, and Jonny Adam. To the lane comes the #60 Meyer Shank Acura. Fuel and tires at the very least. Just under four hours to go. Pipo Derani has gone back to third and the two Acura's are now back to the front. Derani oves back to second. If we get no more yellows, this race comes down to strategy. Loic Duval is now in the #5 Cadillac passing Filipe Albuquerque. Pipo Derani now retakes the lead. Richard Westbrook and his team are on a different strategy to the Action Express Cadillac. He wants to see more front aerodynamics and the track conditions are changing like crazy. Out laps are horrendous. Loic Duval is now 4.5 seconds behind Pipo Derani.
Watch out for the white sticks in the Bus Stop curbing, the Le Mans chicane. Cut the chicane finer and finer as the curbing wears away. The cars are not hopping over the curbs. Potter, Lally, Pumpelly, and Adam in the #44 Aston Martin are a lap down but they can get back into it in GTD currently third. Lally and Pumpelly have both started the Rolex 24, 20 times. We will check in with Mr. Le Mans himself, Tom Kristensen. You won't want to miss it. We do say hello to Tom Kristensen. He has wins at Sebrng, Le Mans, and Petit Le Mans. When the car gets sharper and you gel with it, there is nothing better. But if you haven't, it is tougher.
It is lovely feeling to be in touch with the car, on a rubbered in track even on a cold night. Two Cadillac's being chased by two Acura's. Loic Duval was teammates at Audi with Tom Kristensen at Audi in 2013. He is a fast driver. He has been maturing in American racing according to Kristensen. The Acura's could get quicker as the track rubbers in. The draw of endurance racing is, we are bitten by the bug as drivers and fans. So, Kristensen says that you always want to do better and optimize the automobile.
There are so many elements that need to be brought together. Prove yourself. Have camaraderie with you teammates. Tom Kristensen has shown us the gallery of his winning cars and trophies as well as his helmets, motorcycles, diecast cars, and he has his son's soccer trophies. Now of course, there is more meshing between the Daytona 24 Hours and the Le Mans 24 Hours. We have the 60th anniversary of the Rolex 24 now. We will have the 100th anniversary of Le Mans next year. Hypercar and LMDh, are huge. Tom Kristensen called Pierre Fillon, Presidnt of the ACO to congratulate him on the century mark of the race and the Le Mans corner at Daytona. We will again see a Daytona corner at Le Mans.
Take more risks but be sure of what you want to do. More grip is available in the tires, maybe, in spite of the cold. Drivers prove to their teams, mechanics, and families, that they are the best. The cold will be a huge deal for the pit crews. It was dark and cold in the wee hours of the mornng. Loic Duval is now hounding Pipo Derani for the lead. This race has become a sprint. When do you pull the trigger to go for it? Duval in the lead, Derani in second, fighting, fidgeting as the hours wind down. #31 in the pit lane now for service. Pipo Derani will stay in for a double stint. Loic Duval stays out after #31 came and now, they come.
They are changing tires and doing a driver change, doing the undercut. Albuquerque and Pagenaud move to the front in the Acura's. The #26 LMP3 car is off the road with mechanical woes. Nolan Siegel at the controls. The Acura's have a ways to go before deciding to pit before a probable yellow flag. Crucially, back time this motor race to the end. The #48 Ally Cadillac of Jimmie Johnson has spun. Cold tires on the out lap in the International Horseshoe and Jimmie Johnson just spun the car. Cold tires and he got the right side tires on a painted curb.
Acura #10 pitting. Routine service and scrubbed tires. They have one lap on them to get the bright sheen of the release agent off the tires. By design, there are not enough tires in DPi to change for every stop. Doubling and tripling the stints on the tires is very important. Acura #60 in the lane with Simon Pagenaud. A spinning Lamborghini in the first turn on the road course. That looks like the TR3 entry, car #19. Hard to tell. Four DPi entries still on the lead lap, the cars we have been speaking of Filipe Albuquerque gestures to the #60 MSR Acura. They wat to work together to run down the Cadillacs. Loic Duval leads Pipo Derani.
Tom Blomqvist is back into the #60 MSR entry. Porsche #2 for KCMG pits in GTD Pro. High intensity and extra track position is still a huge deal, a huge part of this 60th anniversary Rolex 24. We continue watching the Acura. The #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche is in the pit lane. Felipe Fraga is the leader in LMP3, still and that is who we are watching on track right now. Loic Duval still leads Pipo Derani overall with only three hours to go. Duval leads Derani by eight and a half seconds. The top four are covered by 18.6 seconds.
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