#01 has also had to do a drive through penalty. It is a pit lane speeding penalty. A double whammy for the #01. Phillip Ellis is now being harried by Tom Gamble in GT Daytona. We have had in excess of two hours of time under yellow and we have Marty Snider and Jeff Burton on the Peacock pit box. Well done, Jeff, with the fireworks. That was a fun time. There is rain and lighting, storms that could come into the picture. Light rain half an hour away according to my weather app. We'll have to see what is going to happen. Break out the rain tires. The wet Michelin tires are going to be different between GTD cars and the GTP cars. The GTP wet looks more like an intermediate tire. There is rain coming just briefly. I wonder what the strategy will be. It will dry up fast in the warmth. Power steering trouble earlier for the #13 AWA Corvette.
Pipo Derani continues to lead by seven plus seconds. Antonio Garcia now competing with Mikael Grenier in the #32 Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3. A GTD Pro vs. GTD car. In the meantime, Nick Boulle, a Texas Rolex dealer who is a cyclist and rode for a motorcycle racer, Ben Spies. Spies is actually a champion motorcycle racer. They have two Rolex dealerships, jewelers. Inter Europol won the LMP2 class at Le Mans last year of course. Loris Spinelli in the #78 Forte Racing Lamborghini which is the car that wrecked ealrier and came back. Action Express in the pit lane, with Peter Baron calling strategy. Now, a driver change and it is Jack Aitken next up. The #6 Porsche 963 and the sister #7 are in. The #31 is down and away and the #6 Porsche Penske Porsche 963 is back on track.
Jack Aitken is now in the #31 Action Express Whelen Cadillac. Nick Boulle coninues to run well third in LMP2. Pietro Fittipaldi was not planning to race after Clement Novalak crashed and had a broken rib and a twisted ankle. Fittipaldi got in at 3:00 A.M. and went to the garage at 6:00 A.M. Now things will be busy to the end of the motor race. Pietro Fittipaldi is using Clement Novalak's seat and his firesuit and everything seemed to fit. Porsche have now passed the Cadillac #31 and are running 1-2. Pipo Derani did a quadruple stint. Everything felt OK.
Derani was stretching the longevity of the tires and the car is good. Pipo Derani needs a rest. It takes time to cool off and he will take a break now. Well earned. Trouble in paradise for the #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3, Sheena Monk at the controls. Monk to the pit lane entry. They had the bonnet off the back of the Acura, and it sounded like it had an electronics misfire. Electronics induced misfire. It is an ongoing issue. Nick Tandy in the #6 Penske Porsche 963 leads the motor race currently. Some showers are heading our way. The #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac is a lap down and now, Jenson Button spins after getting deep into the brakes in the International Horseshoe, tagging the Corvette.
There is no ABS braking on the prototypes. No antilock braking system like the GT3 cars have. An update on the #10 Acura. It is hard to say what happened. They think the wiring harness went out. They are not out of it yet. David Salters, the HRC boss, looking on. HRC of course, from motorcycle racing, Honda Racing Corporation. Same people, but the name is no longer Honda Performance Development. Honda Racing Corporation. Felipe Nasr trying to put another lap on Scott Dixon and does so.
Christopher Mies now leads GTD Pro in the #64 Ford Mustang GT3 and has Nicky Catsburg second in the #4 Corvette Racing by Pratt & Miller Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Mercedes 1-2 in GT Daytona, five seconds between Daniel Morad and Mikael Grenier. The #60 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 of IndyCar, Formula 1, and sports car star, going for it. Grosjean at a new IndyCar team for 2024 and he will also race a Lamborghini GTP car in the next three endurance races at Sebring, Watkins Glen, Indianapolis, and Petit Le Mans.
Almost ten hours of racing completed. Time flies when you are having fun. Put a night race, an endurance race, from IMSA, on your bucket list. It is getting colder and there is moisture in the air. Pretty heavy rain coming in around 20 minutes. Felipe Nasr leads the motor race squirming his way past the #57 Winward Mercedes and Laurin Heinrich in "Rexy", the #77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3R tyrannosaurus Rex car. Jack Aitken now second in the #31 Whelen Cadillac, splitting the Porsche's. Heinrich now in the pit lane.
P.J. Hyett is now int he LMP2 car and he is far more confident in driving it along with Alex Quinn, Matt Brabham, and Paul Loup Chatin. Andy Priaulx, Sebastian Priaulx's dad, who has driven worldwide and is accomplished himself, is extremely proud of his son. Tom Gamble still in the top three in GT Daytona. Only two drivers in this race have won both the Rolex 24 and the Indianapolis 500 and one of them is Alexander Rossi. It has been a rollercoaster for the Pfaff Motorsports McLaren team. They were happy with the speed, performance, and balance of the car. For the first four or five hours they were in the fight. Then, everything went pear shaped when the wheel and the upright failed and they are 20 laps behind, having gotten three back.
Still 14 hours to go. We are closing in on hour 11. Alexander Rossi had conversations with Zak Brown, McLaren CEO and James Hinchcliffe, and so, Rossi can race in sports cars as well as Indycar with the papaya brand. IndyCar 2024 is only six weeks away. To the chaps at the Peacock Pit Box, have a good night and we'll see you in the morning. Tire strategy has a softer nighttime Michelin compound for GTP cars but it is too warm to do it. Roger Penske last won the 24 Hours of Daytona way back in 1969. They want another one. They are worried about Cadillac. Rain on the way and Cameron saw plenty of rain in Europe in the FIA WEC.
In the #01 Cadillac camp, Scott Dixon at the wheel of it, and they have discovered a hole near the splitter and the underbody. Jack Aitken running second for Action Express in the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac. If there is drizzle and not enough water for the rain tire, it could be a safety net but it is hard to tell. With the radar, the rain will pass to the north of the speedway. Just sprinkles shown on the weather blob. It won't be too much rain, honestly. There were tire troubles we saw in Michelin Pilot racing yesterday.
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