Each stint is a 30 some odd lap feature race. Go run your race, 31 laps at a time. The #60 Acura is closing fast on the #01 Cadillac aiming to put the Ganassi Cadillac a lap down. At Meyer Shank Racing they have had no rear end issues and they are putting a spare together for preventative maintenance. In the overnight hours, we do not know yet about the idea for a brake change. Some teams don't need to change brakes because they don't have any. Dane Cameron in the #6 Porsche 963 is starting to feel a long brake pedal. The pit crews are in the fight, in the trenches, on call for the whole race and the hours you were here preparing the car. You have to want to do this.
In the top class, with the old DPi cars, it was 35 minutes between pit stops. Drive time, yellows, and more will be big factors for the final stages of the race. Now then, Colin Braun continues to lead, reeling in Earl Bamber. Bamber might be going a lap down quickly. Simon Pagenaud is almost set to get ready to get back into the car at Meyer Shank Racing Acura. Simon Pagenaud is the fourth wheel who can get the car through the night. That is the same deal at Action Express with Jack Aitken as Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims will be the full-season AXR drivers.
Colin Braun leads Alexander Sims by 11+ seconds. The #55 LMP2 car will incur a drive through penalty. That is the Proton Competition Oreca 07 of Fred Poordad, Francesco Pizzi, James Allen, and Gianmaria Bruni. Two Americans, an Australian, and an American. James Allen in the car, failing to meet minimum fuel stint time at a 40 second fill. Joao Barbosa, the legend, a former driver for Action Express. He is going for another Rolex watch. His sons Rodrigo and Gilles as teenagers, are artists and decorate his racing shoes. Alexander Sims to pit lane. #31 back in and maybe sooner than expected. The codes for the teams making changes on the steering wheel are numbers and colors. Energy replenishment done and dusted.
A quick stop. Maybe engine oil was added from a pressurized bottle. On hot tires the drivers are about ten seconds down from what they normally would be and Alexander Sims has clear road ahead of him for the time being. He is still looking for tire temperature. The #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac of Scott Dixon is in. Remove the wheel and put it back on, resetting the car. The driver controls when they go back to the internal combustion engine. The hybrid unit is a spec part but the settings are different between the teams. Alexander Sims is down a lap and will have to recover. Colin Braun leads Louis Deletraz by 41 and a half seconds.
Earl Bamber to the lane for service for energy replenishment only with the electric motor providing immediate torque before the internal combustion engine kicks in. Meyer Shank Racing Acura, car #60 is in the pit lane and Simon Pagenaud takes over from Colin Braun. Energy replenishment and down and away. Simon Pagenaud leads over Alexander Sims, Louis Deletraz, and Dane Cameron. Romain Grosjean visits his old boss Gunther Steiner and with Pietro Fittipaldi. How about that. In GTD Pro we have a good scrap here between Andy Lally and Darren Turner with Kenton Koch driving the leading #32 Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3.
Daniel Morad, who did not have a ride before this race and now is the fill-in for Winward Racing after the unfortunate accident for Lucas Auer who is recovering. Scott Dixon is having to reprogram his steering wheel and settings. There is an electrical glitch on the interface that is being worked through, while he is driving the car as well. The #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura, Louis Deletraz is running very well. Deletraz is going to do the sprint races for John Farano and Tower Motorsports in LMP2 in the sprint events in the WeatherTech Championship.
Deletraz locks the brakes. Andretti Autosport wants to get into Formula 1. We shall see. The #93 Racer's Edge Acura in the pit lane for service and no decision to put the front bonnet on the car. Ashton Harrison, Danny Formal, Kyle Marcelli, and Ryan Briscoe. Sebastian Alvarez continues to lead in the LMP3 class for MRS GT Racing and we are 18 minutes to the halfway point in the race. Close to 400 laps complete. With the distance covered by whoever wins this race it's like traversing the width of this country from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
Pagenaud, Quinn, Barbosa, Gunn, and Kirchhofer, the class leaders. In GT Daytona, Maximilian Goetz is pushing and speaking of pushing, the #16 Wright Motorsports entry goes a wee bit wide through the International Horseshoe with Zacharie Robichon, the Canadian, at the wheel of it. He runs off onto the grass and maybe has a flat left rear tire but it is hard to say. They are the defending GT Daytona champions. Alexander Sims runs second behind Simon Pagenaud, working to make up ground as he is 17.6 seconds behind. Pagenaud and the #60 car are double stinting their tires but they are gapping the competition.
Scott Dixon is the last GTP car on the lead lap in fifth place while Bamber and Wittmann in the second Ganassi Cadillac and one of the BMW M Hybrids, are a lap down and of course, Michael Christensen is 17 laps down in the #7 Penske Porsche 963. Pit stop time for the LMP2 leading #88 AF Corse entry with Nicklas Nielsen at the controls sharing with Matthieu Vaxiviere, Julien Canal, and Francois Perrodo. Eric Lux pitting the #51 Rick Ware Racing Oreca in LMP2 and Austin Cindric will be getting into the car in about 12 minutes.
Some drivers are caffeinating using black tea compared to espresso, coffee, or energy drinks. The #43 MRS GT LMP3 car is on fire. Another car on FiYah! David Frost, an open wheel driver, at the controls. Wowzers. Ther whole rear bodywork section lights up! This is a catastrophic engine or transmission failure. Full Course Yellow at the midway part of the motor race. Well, well, well. Pagenaud, Sims, Deletraz, Cameron, Dixon, Bamber, Wittmann. So, the #01 Cado;;ac os a ;a[ dpwm with Scott Dixon at the wheel of it. Little things snowball. That is for dead sure. Oil all over the windscreen of the Cadillac and we saw the #3 Corvette C8.R with the flat tire earlier on in the game.
Jordan Taylor remains at the wheel. We are going to get a restart soon too about halfway home. Grab some coffee or espresso or black tea. You are going to need it. Believe me.
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