So, Kevin Estre and Porsche are in the lead five seconds up on Pipo Derani. Colton Herta next followed by Josef Newgarden and Neel Jani. #52, the Inter Europol LMP2 car has pitted and done a driver change. The Winward Racing #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo is in the lane, and they are doing a front brake change on the car. It is that time of the morning. The #20 High Class Racing LMP2 is out and so is the #22 United Autosport entry and the #88 Richard Mille AF Corse entry. Thank you, very much, and good night. It was a full brake change at Winward Racing. The GTD Pro battle is heating up, it is simmering. Sheldon van der Linde uncorked the fastest lap for the Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 and he is reeling in Tommy Milner in the Corvette Z06 GT3.R hand over fist. But he dives for the lane instead. Okie dokie then.
van der Linde sharing with Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow, and Neil Verhagen. Sheldon van der Linde will do a double stint. Iron Dames just made a pit stop in the #83 Lamborghini and we have to see who is in the car. PMR pit stop is done and dusted. Fuel and tires only. Rahel Frey is now in the #83 after Michelle Gatting and Sarah Bovy still had stints. OK. Rahel Frey has handed off to Doriane Pin. The #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 is back on track. Corvette #4 also in the lane for service. Tommy Milner, sharing with Nicky Catsburg, and Earl Bamber. Milner pitting from the lead in GTD Pro.
A dozen LMP2 cars started this race and nine are still running. Let me see. Juggling some details here as the Peacock broadcast, I really have had to see where I am. So, Kevin Estre now leads over Pipo Derani in GTP and the overall. Christian Rasmussen ahead in LMP2. We will see where the GTD Pro and GTD leaderboards cycle after the pit stops. BMW not addressing the light on the kidney grill of the LMDh prototype. It is running under it's own steam with Connor De Philippi and they are now seventh.
So we are ten minutes into the fifteenth hour of racing here and I swear, I am still behind on all of this. Forgive me. Ye olde Peacock stream is being fussy and I have had to rewind it and play catch up. Peacock wants me to rewind the stream while I am still in part three of the coverage I suppose. A strange situation. So, I am making sure I am on the same page. The Acura #40 is not fighting on a level playing field with the others. Colton Herta though i catching Kevin Estre. I correct myself. Pipo Derani is chasing Estre. Neel Jani is fourth. Herta is third. Estre, Derani, Herta, Jani, Newgarden.
Porsche, Cadillac, Acura, Porsche, Porsche. Colton Herta is catching up albeit slowly. Pipo Derani si closing on Kevin Estre who will need more fuel and energy soon. Go to the IMSA webpage and check the telemetry. I've got me hands full telling the story. Because of the Red Sea conflict, the Rolex 24 and the Dubai 24 Hours are clashing this weekend. No spoilers. I shall put the videos of Dubai up soon. I have a lot of Creventic material I want to share and in February, well, we'll get there. Believe me.
McLaren diving for the lane. The rear deck, the engine cover is off and they are doing a battery change. Take the air ducting off the front of the car first. This is on the #70 Inception Racing entry. In the meantime, Kevin Estre is closing in fast on Pipo Derani. Ollie Milroy is not sure if the battery in the McLaren is flat or not. The damn thing won't start. But Milroy says the car feels awesome. So, there is a positive and a negative there. Inception have been in the lane for eight minutes after leading in GT Daytona.
The other McLaren is the GTD Pro Pfaff Motorsports entry for James Hinchcliffe. Pipo Derani has retaken the lead on Kevin Estre through the Le Mans Chicane and Estre will soon pit. Pipo Derani on a different strategy from Action Express. Colton Herta should move to second. Pipo Derani qualified with the fastest ever lap around the circuit here at Daytona Beach. 4:00 A.M. Central Time. 5:00 A.M. Eastern Time. Maybe in future years, Daytona and Dubai will be separated. They have been for years. Usually the order is Dubai, the Roar Before the 24, and then the Rolex 24.
The #85 JDC Miller Porsche 963 has had a nose change. They needed a new one for a change in downforce I think not for damage. One of the lenses on the headlamps was broken. Five laps to go until we reach to 500 laps I think. The #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 has lost oodles of time. Jesse Krohn doing all he can to make up time uncorking a 1:37.1 and then the #25 car has been lapping quickly too. Both delayed but lapping extremely well. Pipo Derani needs to find more time to eke out over Colton Herta. His most recent lap he has uncorked a 1:37.3. BMW #25 had Nick Yelloly driving and he has finished his stint.
The trouble is an oiling issue I think, and they lost laps due to that. They will need to trust yellow flags even though they are running as normal. They had a slight steering wheel issue too. BMW still going for it and staying in the game despite their troubles. Yelloly will get in after Connor De Philippi concludes his stint. Eight and a half hours to go. 833 laps is the distance record in 2020. I was there in person. The #5 Proton Competition Mustang Sampling Porsche 963 has had a full service pit stop. Mustang Sampling is an oil and gas testing firm. Proton Competition very new to be running GTP and Hypercars stateside and in Europe. Same cars, different titles.
Corvette #3 of Daniel Juncadella being harried by Daniel Juncadella. I take that back. Daniel Juncadella leads over Daniel Serra, Sheldon van der Linde, Tommy Milner, and Sebastian Priaulx. Eight and a half hours to go. We have a move being p;lanned by it gets stymied by the Porsche's and an LMP2 car. This is fabulus motor racing! Absolutely fabulous! Can Daniel Serra place the Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 in the right spot? Not quite. He does not have the real estate. It is the Daniel and Daniel show.
But, discretion is indeed the better part of valor in the early morning darkness, the early morning gloom, here at Daytona Beach. Now then, another pass for a GTD Ferrari 296 GT3, the Cetilar car. No. That is the green Forte Racing #78 Lamborghini in GTD. The Ferrari is closing on the Corvette. That is Sandy Mitchell at the wheel of the Lambo. Ollie Milroy's Inception Racing McLaren has been behind the wall for 20 minutes. Corvette running ahead of Ferrari. The Risi Competizione Ferrari is really gpooing for it as Pipo Derani is leading by four seconds over Colton Herta, Josef Newgarden and Nick Tandy. Neel Jani in fifth is a lap down.
Poor old Connor De Philippi is ten laps down. The sister BMW had a steering wheel issue, Dries Vanthoor in the #24 sister car, 14 laps behind. Wow! Daniel Serra tries the slingshot in the Le Mans chicane but no. Serra tries the bottom line on the banking. Can he do it? Here comes the Corvette right in striking distance of the Ferrari. Into turn one they go and they are still jousting through the ambient mist here. Great scrap in GTD Pro! Unbelievable! This is good stuff, here ladies and gentlemen. These two blokes are really racing each other! Wowzers. Finally, a wee bit of excitment, eh?
Acura #10 back to the pit lane, back behind the wall I think, for Brendon Hartley. He is now into the garage for more work on that car. They have had a fraught race. Colton Herta in second is only 3.7 seconds behind Pipo Derani and ahead of Josef Newgarden and Nick Tandy. Antonio Fuoco pitted the #47 Cetilar Ferrariand now, Pipo Derani is in the pit lane after a 29 lap stint. Action Express running like clockwork right now with 51 seconds over Josef Newgarden and Pipo Derani will do a double stint.
Again, the #01 Cadillac from Ganassi Racing is out. Maybe there was an electrical issue. Pipo Derani is now second. Eisi Competizione continue leading GTD Pro at Ferrari. At Penske Porsche, the #7 Porsche 963 is in. Dane Cameron, Matt Campbell, Felipe Nasr, and Josef Newgarden. Medium compound tires go onto the car. We have seen mixed compounds in the FIA World Endurance Championship. But keep things simple in the IMSA WeatherTech CHampionship as Pipo Derani now leads ahead of Nick Tandy and Felipe Nasr is now driving the #7 Porsche 963. The customer Porsches of Neel Jani and Tijmen van der Helm are fifth and sixth with BMW's seventh and eighth.
A double stint on tires for Action Express and Pipo Derani in the sole remaining Cadillac V Series R in the motor race. Save where you can. Nick Tandy will be pitting soon and we will see Jordan Taylor cycling to second in the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Global Acura. Neel Jani and Tijmen van der Helm will pit soon in the two privateer Porsche's. Pipo Derani and the Whelen Cadillac have been running like a dream. We are getting close to 6AM Eastern, 5AM Central Time. Mechanical woes for the #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac.
Cetilar says Antonio Fuoco went off the road on two out laps recently. Corvette Racing #3 in the lane, full service, with Antonio Garcia getting in the car replacing countryman Daniel Juncadella. They are topping up with oil or water, and now, the car is stalled. Power cycle it? No. It is restarted now. It's down and away. Garcia was not doing well with doing up the belts. That can happen. 5:30 A.M. Eastern Time. We still have ten minutes before crossing 2/3rd's distance. 511 laps completed, 1,819 miles. Daniel Serra leads GTD Pro Phil Ellis leads GT Daytona. Christian Rasmussen leads LMP2.
Nick Yelloly back in the race after a pit visit. So, the lead gap between Pipo Derani and Nick Tandy is 7.1 seconds. Anyone coming to take over at car at 5AM or 6AM won't be so sharp no matter how much coffee they drink. Nick Tandy will pit from second. Tijmen van der Helm in the #85 JDC Miller Motorsports Porsche 963 will be in the pit lane soon. The 24 Hours of Daytona is probably the most intense daylong race there is, out of all of them. Le Mans, Spa, Nurburgring, Dubai etc. We have more pit callers including the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 ad they have to do another brake change.
That's an oddity because I swear they just did one a wee while ago. Brake changes too on the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3. Gosh. Are they doing the front left brake? Yes. Take the pain now and then get after it. Philip Ellis has plummeted after having a 30 second lead and they should have done both front rotors unless of course the brakes were snatching. The pads on the left side were used a lot and they had to do one wheel at a time. Those hot brake pads have had a lot of meat eaten off the bone.
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